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7 Steps to Reaching Your Goals with Visual Goal Setting

2014-02-17 By Monica 4 Comments

Imagine reaching your full potential, having a successful career, being happy, and living the life of your dreams. What does that look like? How would that feel? What steps do you need to take to make that dream a reality?

It is possible to live the life of your dreams. In my eBook, Design Your Dream Life, I talk about the importance of creating a clear vision for your life and being as specific as possible with how you would feel. I also discuss how to create a plan, and the importance of taking the right actions to help you get there.

How Visual Tools Help You Reach Your Goals

The use of visual tools, including vision boards, mind maps, and dream charts can be very helpful in designing and achieving your dream life. They activate the creative right-side of your brain and help you see new possibilities. Visual tools also help create an optimistic, positive mindset that is helpful in changing your habits and behaviors into positive ones that will help you reach your goals.

Author Patti Dobrowolski created a visual tool that is perfect for this, and shared it in her book, Drawing Solutions: How Visual Goal Setting Will Change Your Life. I had the privilege of meeting Patti recently, and attended one of her workshops. [Read more…] about 7 Steps to Reaching Your Goals with Visual Goal Setting

Love Advice from 4 of My Favorite Bloggers

2014-02-11 By Monica 4 Comments

Do you want to improve your loving relationships? Or perhaps meet that special someone this next year? Here is some thoughtful advice from four of my favorite personal development bloggers to help you find that true love.

From Penelope Trunk, author of PenelopeTrunk.com

“Love yourself first. There is no way to be a good parent, good spouse or good manager if you don’t love yourself first. Loving yourself is not an end-game, it’s a spectrum, and you never stop working on it. Also, you are always changing so accepting yourself is an ongoing process. Life is full of disappointments, and the biggest one is ourselves. It’s so hard to accept that. I am still trying. Every day.”

What Are Your Anchor Habits and Why Do You Need Them?

2013-06-25 By Monica 3 Comments

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~ Aristotle

An anchor is a device that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. When the vessel starts to drift away from its intended location, the anchor helps protect it by securing its spot and not letting it drift too far away.

When you think about it, some of our habits serve as anchors for us. When we start to drift away from where we want to be, there are certain habits you can start doing that will almost immediately help bring you back to your center and to your intended direction.

Activities or Practices That Help Anchor Us

One of my anchor habits is yoga. If I maintain a regular yoga practice of at least once a week (twice or more times per week is better, and daily is ideal), then it is much easier for me to maintain my other health and fitness habits of eating more vegetables, drinking eight or more glasses of water per day, maintaining a healthy weight, and relaxing more and being present in the moment. When I stop doing yoga, I tend to drift out to sea a bit, my healthy eating habits start to slip, and I feel more stressed and less like myself.

Anchor Habits At Home

Another example of an anchor habit that we often see in the home is keeping a clean sink. You will find if you are able to keep your sink clean, meaning the dishes are all washed and put away or in the dishwasher, it is easier to keep the rest of your house clean. Once a few dishes start to stack up on your sink or counter, it can be easy to begin to drift and before you know it, you have a much larger mess. Making the bed is another example. If you have the habit of making your bed every day, it’s easier to stay on track and anchored with the rest of your room.

A Simple Secret to Adding More Time to Your Day

2013-05-13 By Monica 4 Comments

Do you feel like you don’t have time to do the things you’d like to do?

Do you wish you had more time to exercise or take up that hobby you’ve always been interested in?

Do you wish you had more quality time with the people you care about?

The answer to these dilemmas may be in the middle of your living room. After work and sleep, TV viewing is the most commonly reported activity in the U.S., taking up just over half of all leisure time. In the U.S., people average about five hours of TV time each day. TV Watching:

Increases the liklihood of gaining weight, becoming overweight or obese,
Increases the risk of weight-related disease including heart disease, diabetes, and early death (1),
Leads to lower attention and poor brain development in children.

Need more reasons to stop watching television? Check out Kill Your TV.

About three years ago, I made the commitment to stop watching television, and for the most part, have been able to stick to that. For almost a year, I didn’t even own a television. While I will still occasionally watch a movie or catch a short clip of The Daily Show on my iPad, I no longer spend my evenings or weekends in front of the television. Not watching television has allowed me to focus more energy on:

Learning yoga and starting a yoga practice,
Going to the gym and working out on a regular basis,
Working on completing my Master’s degree,
Starting my own businesses and blogs,
Planting and working on my garden,
Learning photography and offering my photos for sale on two photo websites,
And perhaps most importantly, meeting and marrying my husband!

Enjoy Replacement Activities – What things would you love to have more of in your life? These may include:

Exercise – start a new activity, get a gym membership, train for a 5k, or just enjoy an evening walk.
Improve your relationships – spend time with friends and family members.
Start a new hobby or learn new skills– learn how to knit, sew, make candles, garden, or cook.
Go back to school – finish your degree, start a master’s program, or learn new skills such as graphic design, photography, massage therapy.
Organizing and decluttering your home or office – to simplify your life.
Start a blog and share your knowledge with others.
Join a Meetup Group – where you can learn salsa dancing, wine tasting, public speaking, computer skills, or just meet new friends.
Develop a spiritual practice – visit a new church, learn meditation, or practice gratitude.

What are your thoughts? Share below.

(1) Harvard School of Public Health Article

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