You have your lists of wants, balanced in the different areas of your life. You have checked them against your values, and each supports the other. Now, how do we turn those "wants" into meaningful and achievable goals?
Today, take one of your Balance Wheel sections. One that is always important to me is Family. Traveling as much as I do, it would be very easy for me to lose contact with my children and grandchildren. So, one of my goals is to spend time with each of them, and for them to know that I am always available.
Now, it is important to understand the difference between "want to" and "do." "Wants" set up the "do's" in your life, and your goals will need to be written to reflect the "do." So, when my goal is to spend time with each grandchild, I write the goal like this: "I spend quality time with each of my grandchildren. They all know how important they are to me."
Suppose that you are a single mother, trying to balance work and home and family. It is a difficult road to travel, one filled with many choices. You want to spend as much time with your family, but you have to work. Guilt kicks in as you attempt to do it all. Now, thinking of work as a "have to" causes additional stress, which can shadow your work and home time. To remove the "have to" from work would help a lot, so your goal would be written as, "I love the work I do, because it affords me what I need to spend time with my kids."
One final tip: When you write out your "wants" and goals, make sure you write them in the present tense - the future as now. Take out the "going to" and replace it with "I am." You are seeing your future as if it has already happened.
Take each of your Balance Wheel "wants" and turn them into goals for the future, written in the present tense. You have come a long way in the last few days, and have started on the path to a successful 2012!
Today, take one of your Balance Wheel sections. One that is always important to me is Family. Traveling as much as I do, it would be very easy for me to lose contact with my children and grandchildren. So, one of my goals is to spend time with each of them, and for them to know that I am always available.
Now, it is important to understand the difference between "want to" and "do." "Wants" set up the "do's" in your life, and your goals will need to be written to reflect the "do." So, when my goal is to spend time with each grandchild, I write the goal like this: "I spend quality time with each of my grandchildren. They all know how important they are to me."
Suppose that you are a single mother, trying to balance work and home and family. It is a difficult road to travel, one filled with many choices. You want to spend as much time with your family, but you have to work. Guilt kicks in as you attempt to do it all. Now, thinking of work as a "have to" causes additional stress, which can shadow your work and home time. To remove the "have to" from work would help a lot, so your goal would be written as, "I love the work I do, because it affords me what I need to spend time with my kids."
One final tip: When you write out your "wants" and goals, make sure you write them in the present tense - the future as now. Take out the "going to" and replace it with "I am." You are seeing your future as if it has already happened.
Take each of your Balance Wheel "wants" and turn them into goals for the future, written in the present tense. You have come a long way in the last few days, and have started on the path to a successful 2012!
