Tag: Goals

How To #Thrive In Tough Times

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Searching for the light – Photo by Dewang Gupta on Unsplash

There are 153 days left in 2020. I suspect I won’t be the only one glad to see the back of a year which has featured widespread: 

  • Health dilemmas 
  • Job insecurity 
  • Prejudice against minorities 

Fortunately, there have been desperately difficult times before (and sadly there will be more in the days ahead).

Nonetheless there is wisdom we can tap into to inspire ourselves and those around us. Wisdom which reminds us that the future is brighter than the present.

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus, to see the light

Aristotle

In other words: it is the toughest times which test us most. Those are the times during which we need to look hard, to find the life lessons to keep us moving forward. 

What is the phrase you use to motivate yourself, or the people around you when the going gets tough? Share your thoughts in a comment, or by tweeting @RogerD_Said

#BlackLivesMatter – They Always Have

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Photo From Shane Aldendorff from Pexels.com

Black Lives mattered in the 1960s when the sign my parents came up against when apartment hunting in London said ‘No Coloured. No Irish. No Dogs’.

They mattered in the 1970s when a member of the public could say they wanted to speak to a White member of staff, rather than my Dad (and have that ‘reasonable’ request honoured by management) .

They mattered in the 1980s when on a degree course someone could refer to a third party as a Black C*nt (and then add, ‘no offence mate’ when he saw I had heard what he said).

They mattered when George Floyd said to police officers, ‘I can’t breathe’ and called out for his mother.

These are different sized examples, some big some smaller in scale. They take place at different times, but all contain the same message: being from an ethnic minority means being less than equal, in some people’s eyes.

So here we are in 2020, still needing to take substantial steps to level society up. All because those steps were not taken 60, 50 or 40 years ago.

Here are some steps we can take to embed improvements in this generation:

  • Accept the principle that Black Lives Matter does not mean other lives don’t.
  • Agree there is enough equality to go around and that the inter section between ethnicity and any other personal characteristic matters too.
  • Act today to take personal responsibility for making one change in the world around us, which makes things better for everyone tomorrow.

What goal will you set yourself to make a difference? How will your actions show you are a leader when it comes to making change happen? You can comment below or Tweet @RogerD_Said if you prefer.

3 Steps To Getting Stuff Done

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Nothing betas the feeling of getting stuff done – Photo by Rakicevic Nenad from Pexels

Wow.

We have made it to the end of January.

Blue Monday is behind us.

Eleven months lie ahead.

And that is a lot of space for completing goals.

To be fair I’ve accomplished one of my main 2020 goals already (there are plenty left on my list).

This was one I had put off, as there is some pain linked with it, which made it harder to deal with.

Anyway, my method to get even the painful stuff done is simple;

  • Clearly define what needs doing
  • Set a specific time aside to do it and
  • Line up a reward for afterwards

What works for you? You can share your secret to success on Twitter @RogerD_Said

What Should We Do To Enjoy A #Happy New Year?

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Inspiring image of a climber
Where Will Your Next Step Take You? – Photo Credit smswigart via Morguefile.com

We all want a happy new year.

Don’t we?

At the start of the year advertisers make the most of that fact. They tell us that:

  • If we join the gym we can be healthier.
  • Moving home will make us that much happier.
  • Our lives will be even better if we start a new job.

But investing in those changes means accepting there are happiness gaps in our life (affecting our Health, Comfort or Career) and that these gaps need to be tackled.

Gap filling tools include, self help books; trusted advice; even blog posts.

Speaking for myself I am going to make more time this year to keep score. By that I mean taking time to assess my life to work out where the happiness gaps are. If an area scores 5 out of 10, or less, then I have to move it up a notch. I will set a goal, agree some actions, relate the actions to dates and get started. I’ll write about the results here.

I hope this post helps nudge you to sit down with a cuppa and score the important parts of your life out of 10, to work out what you can change.

Feel free to comment on your goals here, or share your thoughts in a tweet @RogerD_Said

Here’s to a great 2020.

3 Steps to Beating The Autumnal Blues

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Experience less stress by getting out into the world - Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels

Experience less stress by getting out into the world – Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels

The clocks have gone back, so the end of the year must be close by. Do you ever feel like staying indoors and hibernating until the spring? I have felt like that, so it is understandable if you answered ‘Yes’.
It is better though to set a goal to do something to safeguard your health and then take action to tackle that goal.
Why?
Because, despite the cold, wet and gloom of the autumn there are health benefits to getting out and about. Doing this means we get to experience:
  • Fresh air, instead of the recycled climate stirred up by air conditioning
  • Fresh scenery and the chance to top up our vitamin D reserves
  • Fresh perspectives and space for mindfulness, not the time suck of incoming messages that keep us nailed to our desks
Mixing things up keeps things from getting stale. That’s good news for you, your team and your customers. I hope the ideas above help you over the coming weeks. Feel free to share your secrets to beating the autumnal blues!

What Difference Does #Happiness Make?

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Happiness Involves Doing What You Love With And For Others – Photo by RUN 4 FFWPU from Pexels

So, what was the highlight of your month?  For me it was last weekend. In 48 hours I met several goals, including getting to see some friends, catching up with family and spending time on my own stuff. I am grateful that I was able to spend my time in this way.

Looking back at your month, how much time did you get to spend happily doing what you wanted?

Did you get to spend enough time seeing people you love and meeting your needs?

Or did work overwhelm everything?

Would you score yourself above 6 out of 10 on the happiness scale?

If we live to our mid 70s we will have spent more than 27,000 days on Earth! If we are too busy running from Point A to Point B to be happy in that time we are doing ourselves a disservice. So what conscious step will we need to take today, to make ourselves a little happier?

 

5 Tools For #Success In Tough Times

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How Do You Start Moving Towards Success? Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

Wow, it is almost the start of June and there are 215 days left until the new year.

There is no way I can predict what will happen between now and then, any more than I could have anticipated what I have had to deal with so far in 2019 (the list includes bereavement, bureaucracy and building new relationships).
Having said that I have found the following 5 points to be important in achieving success with my goals even in tough times (I hope you find them useful too):
  • Openness – being prepared to ask for help before being overcome by feelings of overwhelm.
  • Sharing – letting others know what is happening and what it is teaching you.
  • Listening – I have found paying close attention to what people are saying, beyond the words they are using, has been very helpful.
  • Humour – this can be difficult, but finding the lighter side of a dark situation can help with keeping things in perspective.
  • Forgiveness – we all make mistakes and no one is perfect. Getting hung up on the harm others have caused us reduces the time we can spend making a positive contribution to the world.
What are your top 5 success tools? Which one do you go to most often? Feel free to Like or Share if this post has struck a chord.

How to #Communicate Effectively By Telling Vivid Stories

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People in discussion

Use vivid stories to connect to your audience Photo by Abel Tan Jun Yang from Pexels

It can be difficult to sum up the direction a life has taken without resorting to a list: when someone was born; where they went to school; which skills did they acquire; how they used those skills to make their living.

 

When I recently wrote and delivered a, well received, eulogy I took a different approach. Rather than a dull list I told vivid stories which brought an entire history to life. The audience received a rounded picture of the person they knew as a relative, friend, neighbour or ex-colleague.

 

Follow the link to YouTube if you would like to learn more about using stories to communicate the details of someone else’s life (or maybe your own). Remember to Like, Share and comment too if this post has helped you.

 

3 Actions To Take To Make Our #Goals More Effective

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4 People With Good Ideas

Goal Setting Ideas For The Year Ahead – Picture From Pexels.com

Christmas is nearly here. So a big Thank You is due to all those who work through the busy holiday period, making it less stressful for those of us coordinating parties, presents and people.  

Everyone has ideas about how to be productive during busy times. I think there are 3 key principles we should hold on to, especially when we are surrounded by people wanting our attention, our commitment, or our energy. We should:   

  • Aim to take care of our own needs first, so we can be better at helping others. 
  • Be patient with people who resist change, or who are only thinking about themselves. 
  • Choose our battles, so that when we say ‘No’ that answer is heard and respected.  

I think these ABC actions help, whether our goal is to thrive during the festive season or make change happen in the year ahead.  

Feel free to Like and feedback if you try these principles out and they work for you (or share this post with someone who needs it).  

Have a Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. 

 

3 Steps To Greater #Success This Autumn

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Smile

Would you like to get your smile back? picture credit Pexels.com

Autumn is the season for making changes, starting new projects and pursuing new goals. Students, startups and job seekers know that can be hard work.

I know how overwhelming change can seem with so many moving parts to think about. So, I’m going to suggest 3 steps to overcome the overwhelm problem and get your smile back:

Accept Your Feelings

If your new project feels nightmare-ish work out how to break down your big goal into more manageable chunks. When we aren’t struggling life feels better. Start completing those smaller steps and you will feel more in control of your situation.

Build Your Network

Take time to connect to people who you can help and who can help you. Reduce the number of people in your world who drain your energy and frustrate your focus.

Celebrate Your Progress

I know it is obvious, but sometimes we don’t notice we are improving and downplay positive feedback. We should be hungry to receive constructive feedback and able to feel good about the significant improvements we start to make once we get going.

What’s Your Next Move?

Obviously, these are tasters of bigger themes and it isn’t easy to put these 3 steps into practice. It is worth it though. Give it a go and feel free to comment on how things work out. Like and Share too so others can benefit too.

Have a great month.