Why You’re Still Waiting to Get Started on Your Dreams

dreams

Do you tell yourself that you’ll get started on your big plans at some future date? You can start a business after the kids graduate from college? Or, maybe you’ll just wait until Memorial Day to begin your exercise program. We’ve all done it. There always seems to be a good reason not to get started right here and now.

Are you sure you know the real reason you’re waiting? If you’re waiting to begin pursuing your dreams, you’re likely just procrastinating!

Consider these excuses. Is one of them yours?

  1. You’re waiting for the perfect time. Are you waiting for the stars to align and the heavens to tap you on the shoulder and give you permission? You’ll be waiting for a long time. The time will never be perfect to get started on something significant, so just get started.
  2. You’re waiting for something else to happen first. Maybe you’re waiting for the kids to move out or for the mortgage to be paid off. Or you’re waiting until your next promotion. Or you’re waiting until your parents pass away.
  3. You’re waiting until you have more money. Regardless of your budget, there’s something you can do to get started today. Even if it’s just doing research and learning new skills, you can do something. There’s never enough money. You’ll find the money you need along the way.
  4. You’re waiting for Monday, or the first of the month, or the first of the year. So many people wait until Monday to start a diet, or the first of the month to begin an exercise routine. There’s nothing magical about any date on the calendar. The calendar is a man-made invention. There’s no reason to be bound by it.
    • Will you get more accomplished if you start today or wait three weeks?
  5. You’re waiting until you know more. Some people believe they need to know every shred of information related to their quest before they can get started. This simply isn’t true. It’s a procrastination technique. You don’t need to know a lot to begin.
  6. You don’t really think you’ll be successful. It makes sense that you won’t get started if you believe you can’t be successful. This is a sign that you might need to start with a smaller objective. A perfect goal is one that you believe you can achieve that also excites you.
    • In this case, address the underlying issue instead of stalling.
  7. You’re afraid you will be successful. Many people are afraid of success. They’re comfortable with their current situation even if they don’t like it. They would rather have predictable misery than uncertain success. There’s no way to predict 100% what your life will be like if you’re successful.
    • Focus on the positive aspects of achieving success. List out all of the benefits and visualize yourself enjoying those benefits.
  8. You’re scared. If you’re honest with yourself, this is the most likely reason you’re postponing the pursuit of your dreams. Whether you dread the feeling of being hungry on a diet, sweating on a treadmill, or making a fool out of yourself with a failed business, you’re simply afraid.
    • Make yourself more afraid of doing nothing. Imagine how terrible it would be to waste your life. Think about how awful it would be to never test yourself or to never have a chance of living your dreams.

In most cases, it’s better to get started immediately, rather than waiting for just the right time to get started. Even a little progress is better than no progress. Have faith in yourself and jump in with both feet.

You can’t be successful if you don’t get started. Your dreams are waiting for you.

You can book your 15-minute “Get to know you” call by clicking on the blue button below:book nowand we can talk about how we can work together to get you started on your dreams but also make your dreams into goals.

To your success

Michael

Michael W

 

 

 

 

P.S. you know that living a life that is in balance is important. When you can balance your work, family, health, relationships, fitness and money, you feel better and can achieve your goals. You have the support of your family and friends which makes life worth living.

Check out my programs at Confidence and Life Coaching by clicking on the logo below:

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How to Achieve Huge Goals

big goals

Achieving a huge goal is similar to achieving smaller goals. However, you must be much more diligent and aware of any negative thoughts associated with your goal. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and lose all your momentum. Huge goals take more time and persistence. If you’re up for the challenge, there is no reason you can’t achieve a huge goal.

Set a big goal and change your life quickly:

  1. Choose the right goal. A goal can be too big. If your goal exceeds your belief that you can be successful, you’re finished before you even get started. The biggest goal you can reasonably achieve is a goal that makes you think you can be successful if everything goes perfectly and you work hard. Anything beyond that may create too much internal resistance.
  2. Get clear on what success means. Some goals, like weight loss and income goals, are easy to measure. Other goals can be more challenging. Be sure you know how you’ll measure your success. Otherwise, you might be successful and not even know it.
  3. Create a plan. Develop a general plan that will ensure success. It can helpful to start at the end and work your way backwards. Work back until you have a step that you can do today.
  4. Create a detailed plan. Now that you have a general plan, create a detailed plan that will get you from one step to the next. Talk to experts and get the information you need to make an intelligent plan. Your local library is full of experts that provide free advice.
  5. Develop habits related to your action plan. Seek to develop habits that help you to reach your goals. For example, you might take a daily walk before breakfast if you’re trying to lose weight. Or your habit might be to skip breakfast!
  6. Review your results regularly. You can’t know how well or poorly you’re doing if you never check. Regularly review your progress and make the necessary adjustments along the way. This is an important step that many people skip.
  7. Check your attitude daily. Are you feeling doubtful, intimidated, or fearful? Are you procrastinating? It’s critically important to deal with negative feelings immediately. The amount of willpower anyone possesses is limited. You can’t push your way through negative emotions indefinitely.
  8. Find a mentor. Odds are, someone else has already accomplished your very goal. It only makes sense to take advantage of someone else’s knowledge and experience. Most people are happy to help. It never hurts to ask. If necessary, consider hiring a mentor/coach. It might be some of the best money you’ve ever spent.
  9. Visualize success. Spend a few minutes each night visualizing success. Imagine how you’ll feel when your goal is achieved. Where will you be? How will you feel? How will your life change? Make the experience as positive as you possibly can. If you rated the desirability of achieving your goal on a 1-10 scale, it had better be a 10!

Big goals require an appropriate goal, a good plan, a mentor, and stamina. To achieve a big goal, you must be prepared to do things you’ve never done before. Are you willing to be more than you’ve demonstrated to this point?

Set a big goal and get excited at the prospect of achieving success. Evaluate your progress and continue striving until you’ve reached your objective. Life is ticking by, so set a big goal and get started on the path to achieving it.

You can book your 15-minute “Get to know you” call by clicking on the blue button below

book now

and we can talk about how we can work together to help you set and achieve big goals in life.

To your success

Michael

Michael W

 

 

 

 

P.S. What is holding you back from achieving the success in your life and career? For many people it is their Limiting Beliefs. Once you understand and remove your old limiting beliefs and replace them with new empowering beliefs, success becomes that much easier.

Check out my basic Limiting Belief, self-paced program at Confidence and Life Coaching by clicking on the logo below. This program will get you started on identifying 14 of the most common limiting beliefs, you will probably be familiar with some of them, and will give empowering beliefs to replace them in your life if you have them.

After completing the course, you will be at the starting point of your success journey.

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How to Develop Your Strengths

superhero

Everyone has unique talents and strengths, but whether we’ve discovered and actively developed them is the real question! Maybe we’ve been told that we’re good at something, but we let our skills go untapped while we wait for the confidence and courage to take action.

There are even some people whose self-esteem is suffering to the point that they truly believe they don’t possess any talents at all! If this is you, please believe that your talents are there, just waiting to be revealed to you!

These tried and true strategies will help you develop your strengths to their full potential:

  1. Perhaps you think that you’re strong in one area, but you aren’t completely sure. This is where you need to look into things that interest you or that you believe you might be good at. See what resources are available and what it would take to make the commitment to strengthen your strengths.
  1. Patience. Developing your strengths to their full potential won’t occur overnight. To fully develop a talent, you must be patient. Patience is not easy and many of us tend to struggle with it. But if you can be patient, you’ll definitely reap the benefits at the end of the process.
    • A useful way to think of developing your talents is to consider it as a journey. It may take a while, but you’ll learn a lot along the way.
    • You’ll make mistakes and celebrate milestones, and by the time you’re done, your strength will be fully developed to the peak of your abilities.
  1. Set goals. People are more successful when they set goals. Write down what you’d like to accomplish and what date you’d like to achieve this by. Remember to be realistic and review your goals frequently to keep yourself on track.
    • Post your goals in places where you’ll see them throughout the day. The refrigerator, bathroom mirror, and your computer monitor are a few ideas. This will not only keep you on track, but it’ll also motivate you to reach these goals as quickly as possible.
  1. Believe you can do it. Confidence can be one of your greatest strengths and assets. When trying to improve yourself in any capacity, if you truly believe that you’re able to accomplish anything, you’ve won half the battle.
    • The battle with your mind is often greater than any challenge you face in reality.
    • You may have tough days when you’re unsure of yourself, but as long as you get back on track quickly, you’ll build momentum. Remember, you can do this!

Final Thoughts on Developing Your Strengths

Strengthening your strengths may be a daunting and overwhelming journey at times. And, yes, it will take some work. But everything worth anything involves hard work!

It’s important to focus on the big picture and remember the rewards you’ll enjoy once this process is over. Also, ensure that you have the unwavering belief that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. By possessing these two attributes, you’ll be on the road to success in no time!

Book a 15-minute “Get to know you” call by clicking on the blue button below

and we can talk about how you can develop your existing strengths to be more successful

To your success

Michael

Michael W

 

 

 

 

P.S. if you have always thought that you should have a Life Coach on your personal team to help you create the best year of your life but were put off by the cost and the time requirement, I have created a Self-paced course that covers what we would do when working together.

While not the same as working one-on-one with a Life Coach, this self-paced course can help you to understand your present situation, how you got there and how to set goals that will move you forwards to success.

Click on the logo below to find out more about the course

 

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Discipline: A Simple Plan for Cultivating a Crucial Habit

discipline

We all want more discipline than we have. Discipline requires dealing with discomfort, which is something we all instinctively avoid. However, all the amazing things you want to have and achieve will require at least a little discipline.

Without discipline, luck is your only other option. Luck is great when it happens, but it is a poor strategy. Discipline is a tremendous advantage to have.

Use these techniques to create the life you desire with discipline:

  1. Practice dealing with discomfort. Discipline is uncomfortable because you’re either doing something that you don’t want to do right now or you’re avoiding doing something that you want to do right now. Neither one is as enjoyable in the moment as following your impulses.
    • When you feel discomfort, notice where you feel it in your body. Describe it to yourself. What does it feel like? Continue objectively observing it until it goes away. It will go away.
  2. Examine your excuses. What are the excuses you give yourself for eating that ice cream, staying up late, skipping the gym, or not getting your work done? How do you justify your lack of discipline?
  3. Choose your goal wisely. A highly meaningful goal is much more motivating than one you feel lukewarm about. You’ll do more and endure more to achieve a goal that means a lot to you. Life is too short to spend your time on anything less than goals that are spectacular to you.
  4. Do it every day. Practice discipline each and every day. You can make yourself stare at the wall for 10 minutes. Make yourself sit up straight at work. See if you can actually work for 30 minutes without checking your email or phone.
    • There are plenty of opportunities to build your discipline muscles!
  5. Reward your successes. When you successfully show a new level of discipline, give yourself a reward that doesn’t break the bank.
  6. Do it earlier in the day. Discipline tends to be higher in the morning. Use that to your advantage if possible.
  7. Have a plan for when you falter. What will you do when you start to slip? What is your plan when you have the urge to order a pizza, call your ex, or buy something you know you shouldn’t?
    • Will you call someone?
    • Go for a run?
    • Eat a carrot?
    • Take a nap?
    • Listen to your favourite song?
    • What are you going to do?
  8. Slow progress is acceptable. A little progress each day is more than enough. Big changes rarely stick unless life and limb are at risk. Be thrilled with making consistent slow progress.
  9. Focus on the action rather than the desired outcome. If you want to lose weight, the scale matters. However, it’s even more important to follow your diet day in and day out. It’s more important to keep saving part of your paycheck than to have a specific bank balance.
    • Keep doing the right things and the results are guaranteed.

We admire those people with high levels of discipline. We often associate discipline with elite soldiers or Buddhist monks, but most people can train to have just as much discipline as either of these groups. Remember that discipline simply means choosing the future you desire over the thing you desire in this moment.

Your level of discipline impacts the quality of your future. Are you willing to give up meaningless short-term pleasures for a great future? If so, you can have the future you desire.

A lack of discipline may mean that you have beliefs that are holding you back. These beliefs may limit your success by stopping you from achieving your goals.

Book a 15-minute “Get to know you” call by clicking on the blue button below

and we can talk about your limiting beliefs and habits and how you can change them to be more successful.

To your success

Michael

Michael W

 

 

 

 

P.S. if you have always thought that you should have a Life Coach on your personal team to help you create the best year of your life but were put off by the cost and the time requirement, I have created a Self-paced course that covers what we would do when working together.

While not the same as working one-on-one with a Life Coach, this self-paced course can help you to understand your present situation, how you got there and how to set goals that will move you forwards to success.

Click on the logo below to find out more about the course

 

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Set A Life-Changing Goal

life changing

If we sit down and think about it, most of us have goals. The problem is, they are often undefined thoughts just sitting in our subconscious. In reality, these are more daydreams than goals. If you are ready to actually set a goal that can change your life, then follow these tips:

  1. Figure Out What You Want to Change

If you could change one aspect of your life, what would it be? Would you focus on your career, family or health? It doesn’t matter what you choose, you simply need to figure out what area of your life you need to change.

  1. Know Why You Want to Change

Why do you want to change that area of your life? Think about this …a lot. This is essentially your motivation. Take some time to brainstorm all the benefits of changing this area of your life. Go back to the list often, especially when motivation starts to wane.

  1. Dare to Dream Big

SMART goals are important. Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely goals should make up the majority of our goals. That said, don’t fear dreaming big. Sometimes it takes a big goal to really motivate us. What may seem unrealistic now, might not be as far out of your reach as you think.

  1. Write Your Goal Down

Keeping your goal in your head, is only worth the paper it is printed on. You can’t set proper goals without writing them down. Simply writing your goals down will differentiate you from the vast majority of people. Choose your goal and write it down. It is simple as that.

  1. Break Your Goal Down into Smaller Goals

If you took the above advice, you dared to dream big. That has probably left you with a big goal that may overwhelm you. The best way to deal with this is to break this larger goal down into smaller, more achievable goals. These smaller goals can be considered your action plan.

  1. Set Deadlines

Every goal you set should have a deadline. You don’t need to be cutthroat here, but you should be aggressive. If you struggle with hitting deadlines, then consider building in a reward system. If you meet a goal by the deadline, reward yourself in some way.

  1. Take Action

At the end of the day, achieving your goals comes down to you. Are you ready to not only set goals, but take action upon them? Taking action is the only way you will ever achieve a goal. If you are struggling on where to start, choose the easiest task and start there

  1. Reflect and Adjust

There is real value in taking time to reflect on your goals. Setting goals should be considered a fluid undertaking. Every once in a while you need to stop and think about what is working, and what isn’t working. You also need to check in with yourself to see if your wants/needs are still the same. Taking some time to reflect on your goals, and adjusting where needed will make sure you stay on course

  1. Don’t Stop

Did you reach your goal? Perhaps, you reached an obstacle or impasse? Whatever the case – you keep going. Once you reach a goal, you set another one! If you get stuck on your goals, you either deal with the obstacle, or you move on to a new one. You can’t change your life overnight, it takes persistence and dedication.

Goals are important if you want to be successful in your life, but setting the right goal is important. If you set the wrong goal as your Primary Life Goal, you could spend time pursuing a goal that really doesn’t matter that much right now.

Book a 15-minute “Get to know you” call by clicking on the blue button belowAnd we can discuss how you can set your Primary Life Goal and develop the plan on how you can achieve it.

To your success

Michael

Michael W

 

 

 

P.S. if you have always thought that you should have a Life Coach on your personal team to help you create the best year of your life but were put off by the cost and the time requirement, I have created a Self-paced course that covers what we would do when working together.

While not the same as working one-on-one with a Life Coach, this self-paced course can help you to understand your present situation, how you got there and how to set goals that will move you forwards to success.

Click on the logo below to find out more about the course

 

 

 

Image by kirillslov from Pixabay