5 Steps to Personal Growth and Happiness

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps it’s because escape is easier than change.”

What is your opinion of Rohn’s quote? I feel motivated as I take a look at the New Year and make plans to do some things that are important to me. An important project I started last year was writing a book. The rough draft is basically complete with the research and the bibliography.

Now comes the real test. Following through. I am feeling scared about this project and it’s success. The book I am writing is about how to use Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) to build a private practice that is congruent with what is meaningful to the practitioner. Research on success at achieving goals has mixed reviews. Some research says keep your goal to yourself. Check out this TED talk by Dereck Siver for the skeptics of telling. Other research results support that sharing a goal helps an individual follow through. Hence, I am going with the research of telling you. Chick here to read to Andy Crestodina article about goals and success in the positives of sharing your goals.

Some other goals I have set for myself is to offer more affordable workshops for people to attend to learn how to create a life they love living. C

Meanwhile, I have a few questions for you

What are your passions?
What’s important to you?
Who is important to you?
How do you plan to live a life that is filled with the important things?

Below is a road-map to help you over the next 12 months. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals.

Specific: Define your goals with objective behaviors that can be measured. For example, be more loving is too general. How many and when are you giving hugs, compliments or hand holding.
Meaningful: Is it important to you. Such as, becoming fluent in a foreign language may be important if you want to live abroad or it may not is you plan to stay in your home country .
Adaptive: Will it alter your life in a way that is meaningful that you can adjust to?
Realistic: Setting a goal such as winning a NASCAR race is not possible if you don’t own a race car. You may need to break your goal into smaller steps.
Time Framed: Someday is a fantasy. A firm deadline will help pull you along and can even motivate you. We will talk more about motivation later on.

A word of caution: be Aware of the pitfalls (F.E.A.R.) that can keep you from creating the life you want.

Fusion: This is about believing the scaring thoughts in your head. Click here to see the demons who can bully you into letting them run your life.

Excessive goals: Know where you are at so you can set realistic goals. Excessive goals create a sense of failure.

Avoidance of discomfort: Be willing to feel the discomfort of change and risk. If you set goals that are connected to the important things in your life you may feel some discomfort in taking a risk of pursuing those goals.

Remoteness from values: Do some soul-searching about what’s really important. For instance Why is getting a big fat raise or promotion such a big deal. Ask yourself, “What does it mean to have more money or a promotion? Will you be better able to give to your loved one? Or does it mean you can travel more because you like adventure?