Golden Rules of Goal Setting

If we want to succeed in any activity undertaken by us, we need to set goals. Without goals we lack focus and direction. Goal setting not only allows us to take control of our life’s direction; it also provides us a benchmark for determining whether we are actually succeeding.

To accomplish our goals, we need to know how to set them. Goal setting is a process that starts with careful consideration of what want to achieve, and ends with a lot of hard work to actually do it. In between there are some very well defined steps that transcend the specifics of each goal. Knowing these steps will allow us to formulate goals that we can accomplish.The human brain is set up to help you achieve goals that you sincerely believe are achievable.

Here are our five golden rules of goal setting:

1. Set Specific and Clearly Define Goals

Make sure your goals are concrete, concise and attainable.You should clearly define your business goals from the very start, which should be  specific and well defined. The point is for you to articulate exactly what you want to achieve.

2. Set SMART Goals

We have heard of setting “SMART goals” already. But do we always apply the rule? Simple fact is that for goals to be powerful, they should be designed to be SMART. There are many variations of what SMART stands for, but the essence is this – goals should be:

• Specific.
• Measurable.
• Attainable.
• Relevant.
• Time Bound.

Set Specific Goals
Your goal must be clear and well defined. Vague or generalized goals are unhelpful because they don't provide sufficient direction. Remember, you need goals to show you the way. Make it as easy as you can to get where you want to go by defining precisely where you want to end up.

Set Measurable Goals
Include precise amounts, dates, and so on in your goals so you can measure your degree of success. If your goal is simply defined as "To reduce expenses" how will you know when you have been successful? In one month's time if you have a 1 percent reduction or in two years' time when you have a 10 percent reduction? Without a way to measure your success you miss out on the celebration that comes with knowing you have actually achieved something.

Set Attainable Goals
Make sure that it's possible to achieve the goals you set. If you set a goal that you have no hope of achieving, you will only demoralize yourself and erode your confidence.

However, resist the urge to set goals that are too easy. Accomplishing a goal that you didn't have to work hard for can be anticlimactic at best,and can also make you fear setting future goals that carry a risk of
non-achievement. By setting realistic yet challenging goals, you hit the balance you need. These are the types of goals that require you to "raise the bar" and they bring the greatest personal satisfaction.

Set Relevant Goals
Goals should be relevant to the direction you want your life and career to take. By keeping goals aligned with this, you'll develop the focus you need to get ahead and do what you want. Set widely scattered and inconsistent goals, and you'll fritter your time – and your life – away.

Set Time-Bound Goals
You goals must have a deadline. Again, this means that you know when you can celebrate success. When you are working on a deadline, your sense of urgency increases and achievement will come that much quicker.

3. Set Goals In Writing

By clearly defining your idea, your imagination, heart and intellect can begin to work together to make it a reality.The physical act of writing down a goal makes it real and tangible.  So, we should write our goals down.The act of writing our ideas down, or say, keying them into our laptop, will force us to think in concrete terms. It will also spark additional ideas. This is the birth of our action plan. And, goals are nothing more than what you “plan” to accomplish.

 4. Make An Action Plan

The best, perhaps the only, way to turn an abstract goal into an attainable reality is to create an action plan. By writing out the individual steps, and then crossing each one off as we complete it,and with this we’ll realize that we are making progress towards your ultimate goal. However, we don’t need a complete plan in place to rise to the challenge and embrace its possibilities. Achieve greater success by continually updating our action plan and integrating the new information and ideas we uncover.

5. Stick With It!

Remember, goal setting is an ongoing activity not just a means to an end. Build in reminders to keep ourselves on track, and make regular time-slots available to review our goals. Our end destination may remain quite similar over the long term, but the action plan we set for ourselves along the way can change significantly. Make sure the relevance, value, and necessity remain high.

My other posts in this Blog on ACHIEVING GOALS :

http://svsaibaba.blogspot.in/2011/04/achieve-your-dreams-six-steps-to.html

15 Easy Tips that Will Improve Your Life in 60 Seconds

The modern rat race can cause us great stress and leave us with little to no time to take care of our health and bodies. However, there are quick and easy ways to improve our lifestyle, improve our mood and improve our health, and they only take about 60 seconds each. Even if you only make some of these into habits, you’ll still enjoy a happy and healthier life with little effort and time.

1. Take a deep breath We all get nervous and stressed, be it because of work, traffic or even house chores. In our most stressful moments, it’s vital to remember that we have an innate relaxation mechanism. Taking deep, controlled breaths for 60 seconds when feeling stressed or tired can completely alter your state of mind. Deep breaths lower your blood pressure, slows down the production of stress hormones and helps to ease anxiety and internal disquiet. 2. Hug someone you love Hugging feels great on its own, but it also has scientifically-proven health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure and stabilizing the heart rate. Hugging releases dopamine - a natural painkiller and can reduce cortisol levels (a stress hormone). A hug can give you more mental energy, and help you handle most obstacles. 3. Laugh and smile There’s a reason laughter has a reputation for being the best medicine. It’s one of the body’s natural painkillers and shares several physiological functions with exercising. William Fry, one of the pioneers in laughter research, claims that using a rowing machine for ten minutes exercises the heart as one minute of laughter. Laughter also improves your memory and burns calories. If you’re feeling down or even somewhat depressed, a little smile (even a fake one) can change your mood. 4. Eat some dark chocolate Isn’t it great to know that some delicious treats are actually good for us (in moderation)? Dark chocolate is beneficial for your health, it lowers blood pressure, raises the levels of “good cholesterol” (HDL) and reduces the levels of “bad cholesterol” (LDL). Dark chocolate is also known to be beneficial to the cardiovascular system, and some evidence indicates that it can prevent diabetes and even keep your skin healthier.

5. Stand up whenever you can Most of us spend our days sitting down: Working, driving and watching TV are just a few of these things. A recent research found that prolonged sessions of sitting can induce psychological distress. Another study has found that women who sit for 10 hours a day or more are in a risk group for heart and cardiovascular diseases when compared to those sitting for only 5 hours a day. Even standing up for a few seconds will improve your circulation significantly. 6. Wash your hands You may think it’s obvious, but this simple and quick action can protect your health more than you can fathom. Most people wash their hands before eating or after visiting the restroom, but washing your hands with soap more times a day will reduce your chances of getting sick by 20-30%. Remember to moisturize your hands from time to time. 7. Wear a seatbelt As trivial as it may seem, this easy action takes about five seconds saves thousands of lives every year. Think about it: You’re not climbing the Everest or running a marathon. You’re simply reaching back, and pulling on a belt. This is particularly important when you have children in the car. So don’t be lazy and think about comfort first, it’s better to “waste” ten seconds than risk your life. 8. Add cinnamon to your breakfast Cinnamon has a variety of medicinal properties, including helping with diabetes by reducing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon is also beneficial in fighting obesity, lowering bad cholesterol levels, and it even warms up the body on cold days. You can add cinnamon to your breakfast by mixing it in your yogurt, oats, cereals and even your coffee.

9. Wear sunscreen lotion It doesn’t matter if you live in a sunny place or not, UV light is still there, and it’s still harmful. Avoiding the #1 cause of skin cancer takes no effort and very little time – simply put on sunscreen lotion before you leave the house. 10. Use the stairs It doesn’t matter if we’re late, busy or even just lazy, most of us don’t’ engage in physical exercise in our free time. The modern world doesn’t give us many chances to walk: we get in the car or on the bus, use the elevator and sit at our desks. This is why it is vital that we take every opportunity to exercise. Instead of waiting for the elevator, take the stairs and burn some extra calories, and help you avoid stiff muscles and joint pain. 11. Take a break from staring at the screen If you have a desk job or are just an avid technology lover, it’s safe to say you spend a lot of time in front of a screen. Staring at the screen for so many hours is bad for your eyes, so it is crucial to take frequent breaks. The best method is the “20-60-20”: every 20 minutes look away from the screen at an object 60 feet away for 20 seconds. If you can, take a moment to walk around the office. 12. Add lemon to your water Adding a slice of lemon to your water is not only refreshing, but also has many health benefits. Lemons are a superfood and are considered to be one of the most efficient detox agents, making them a great addition to your diet.

13. Clean up your desk It doesn’t matter how tidy you keep your desk, it still gets covered with germs. Take a minute to wipe down leftovers and crumbs, which are the main of bacterial contamination in your workplace. Use an antibacterial wipe on your keyboard and mouse, they are the most used items on your desk that come in contact with your hands regularly. 14. Elevate your feet 60 seconds of lying down with your legs raised up and leaning against a wall energizes the body as much as a half-hour nap. Rest your arms at the sides of your body and remain that while taking slow, deep breaths. Studies have shown that this position helps the blood in your legs to flow back to your chest and head.

15. Chew some gum

Researchers from the University of Swinburne, Australia found that chewing gum improves your levels of alertness and reduces stress. Behavioral specialists recommend chewing gum before an important meeting, a job interview, and while driving. The reason is that chewing gum tricks the body into thinking it’s eating, meaning we’re safe and have nothing to fear.

Nine Steps to Dealing With Negativity

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it."

You may be in daily interaction with negative people, be they friends, family members, a romantic partner or colleague. You love them, you care about them, you can't just cut them out of your life, but they are negative and their negativity is eating away at you. What can you do?

The best way of dealing with life's challenges is to take a good look at ourselves and take responsibility for what we think, feel and do.

Never give your power away by blaming others for what you have or don't have, what you feel or don't feel. Once you do so, you'll become a victim of circumstance, and instead of using your time and energy to beat life's challenges, you'll sink to a dark and miserable place. 

Here are 9 smart, positive and effective ways of dealing with the negativity of the people close to you:

1. Give up the need to complain.

Make sure you are taking responsibility for your feelings and mood. Don't go complaining that other people's negativity is affecting you, because it will only create more negativity. Take responsibility for your thoughts and feelings and see what you can do to make yourselves feel better and change the existing situation.

"Whoever has limited knowledge of human nature and seeks happiness by changing everything but his own attitude, will waste his life in futile efforts."
Samuel Johnson. 

2. Similarity Attracts

Good brings about good, bad brings about bad, and if we want to or not, we pull into our lives events, situations and people that reflect our internal state. Ask yourselves: "How am I feeling? Am I happy, excited, thankful and calm? Or am I anxious, frustrated and judgmental?"

You may find that you yourselves radiate misery to the environment and that part of the negative energy surrounding you is in fact a reflection of yourselves.

3. Don't believe everything you think.

This is definitely one of the hardest things to learn. Look closely at the negative people in your life. What is it about them that gets you going? That affects you so much? Is what they are doing really that bad or is your brain playing games with you?

Remember, the brain is configured to look for trouble, and one it focuses on someone's negative qualities, it'll be very hard to get it to see the positive side of things. It doesn't mean it's not there.

4. Focus.

Ask yourselves: "Am I ready to find the good in these people? Am I able to see their good qualities?"

Let the answers come naturally, make sure you are being honest with yourselves.

If you feel like you're insistent and won't change the way you are looking at people and situations, don't give yourselves a hard time. This takes time and patience, and when you are ready, you'll make this step. Remember, we all have good in us.

"It's so hard when I NEED to do it and so easy when I WANT to do it."
Annie Gottlier.

5. Don't make their problems YOUR problems.

For their sake and yours, make sure you are not adopting their problems and becoming negative about them yourselves. If you want to cure negativity, sliding down right along with the negative person won't help, just make it worse by validating their thought and behavioral patterns. Rather, focus on solutions, not problems. Offer that and nothing else.

6. Taking ownership.

Instead of being a victim and judge, blame and pass criticism, you need to take full responsibility for your thoughts and feelings, and take a different approach.

"Everything that annoys us in others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves." Carl Jung.

Don't waste your time obsessing and thinking: "They are ruining my energy, making me miserable, their negative energy is infecting my own..." Instead, say to yourselves: "How can I use this for my advantage? Is there something I'm doing wrong? How can I improve the situation and increase my positive energy to be stronger than their negative energy? What do I learn from all of this?"

7. Come with your own positive energy.

Focusing on negative energy cannot create positive energy, and the other way around is also true. Focus on making yourselves happy enough that you have great positive energy, and you will see the negativity cringing away from it. 

Remember, energy is contagious. 

How to put up positive energy? Focus on the things you like about the negative people, focus on things you love about yourselves, life and the world around you. Think of loved ones, of things that make you happy. That way, you will increase the positive energy exponentially.

If you incur negative energy by thinking about bad things, the opposite is also true, and you'll be able to hopefully 'wake up' your fellow workers. You can't focus on them both at the same time, so choose - happiness or misery.

8. Be part of the change you'd like to see.

The world is no more than a reflection of who we are, deep inside. 

Try to go for a feeling of well-being, to live a positive life, a merry life, that has love, trust, and the pursuit of happiness...

We cannot change others, but only ourselves. This is the only way to change the world. 

Think of it this way: When you are happy, the world seems happy, and the sky is open and blue. When you are sad, the world seems sad as well, and the sky is grey and uncaring, leaving you alone to deal with your pain.

Flow with life events, don't resist them, live in harmony and be the change you wish to see in the world.

"Never underestimate your power to change yourself. Never overestimate your power to change others."Wayne W. Dyer.

9. Awareness and acceptance

Work on understanding life's inevitable duality - accept the negative with the good.

Don't harp on people's negativity, don't judge or fight them. Let them be, look and accept. Remember, your world is no more real than a reflection of who you are, deep inside.

"Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness of others." Carl Jung.

Source :http://www.ba-bamail.com/

Tips for living a better Life

These life tips were collected from men and women 85 or older. Some have been through wars, others through depressions, sickness, and even concentration camps. They are a generation that was unlike any other, and we can all profit from their advice. Even those of us over 85 ourselves, because these days, it is never too late to get good advice.

Health 1. Drink lots of water. 2. Eat your breakfast like kings, your lunch like princes, and your dinner like beggars.  3. Eat more things that grow on trees and plants and less things that are made in factories. Remember your digestive system doesn't know it's the 21st century, so help it out by feeding it stuff it's built for. 4. It's always a good time for some TEE - Truth, Energy and Empathy! 5. Walk 10-30 minutes a day.  6. Get more actual games in your life, games that have no gain but the simple pleasure of playing them. 7. Read more books than you've read last year.  8. Sit silently (without a tv) for at least 10 minutes a day and take time to ponder things (for some - pray).  9. Invest at least 7 hours a night in your sleep. It'll pay back big time later on. Character 10. Smile while you walk those 10-30 minutes a day. 11. Do not compare your life to those of others, it's easy to see the good but the bad is as well hidden as yours, or better. You have no idea what their lives are really like or if they are happy inside, get on with yours instead. 12. Don't waste time and energy thinking of things you will never be able to change. Instead, use that energy to works towards future positive moments. Make your spouse laugh for a moment, isn't that better than feeling bad? 13. Don't be extreme in any action. Remember that truth is mostly in the middle, and life  is hardly black and white.  14. Accept the fact that you will sometimes lose the argument, and that you were wrong.  Or if you still think you are right, agree to disagree. Very few people have ever been shouted into true agreement. 15. Don't waste your energy complaining about people you don't know and their actions.  You have no idea what motivates or what lead them to that decision. Judging is so easy even 4 year olds can do it. The driver honking at you might have had a horrible day, or is anxious to see his sick wife at the hospital while worried about making rent. We only see the behavior, never the events leading to it.  16. Dream more while you are awake. 17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have what you need, and being envy won't create more for you. 18. Try to never again bring up your spouse's past mistakes. It WILL destroy your present happiness, and even being right - just isn't worth it. 19. Life is too short to hate people. You should fear some and pity others, but hate is a bigger waste of time than any other emotion. 20. Make peace with your past, or it will make short work of your future. 21. No one controls your level of happiness but you. 22. Life is the school, remember that you are here to learn. Problems are like tests, and the lesson you take will help you solve the next one correctly. 23. Smile and laugh more with your entire face, including your eyes. Find humor when you can. 24. Don't take yourselves so seriously, no one else will! Community 25. Call your family often enough so they feel like you are walking besides them in this life. 26. Every day - do at least one good thing for others that really helps them out. It will make you feel better about your own and later on - someone grateful will help you when you need it. 27. Try to forgive, it's the hardest thing there is, much harder than hate, but it's doable.  28. Spend some time with people over 70 and under 6 - it will teach you patience and empathy. 29. Try to make at least 3 people smile, every day. 30. What other people think of you is none of your concern, since they'll never tell you! So why bother? Live your life and stop wondering what's on the other side of their skulls, you will never know the complete truth! 31. Your work buddies won't take care of you when you're sick. Your family and friends will.  Don't let people that care about you out of your life. We all need help at some point, don't throw caring away. Life 32. Do the right thing. The kind that doesn't leave anyone hurt, despite your personal feelings. It will be worth its while in the long run. 33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, sentimental or brings you true pleasure in life. 34. Forgiveness can heal more than you can ever imagine. It can revive relationships and rekindle love and true appreciation. Forgiveness is way to show strength, and strength is impressive and attractive. 35. Doesn't matter how good or bad the situation is - it will change at some point. So plan for either and don't lose your head to overjoying or over fearing. 36. Doesn't matter how you feel at this particular moment - get up, get dressed and be there on time. A good start will help get rid of that feeling. 37. If actors can become huge successes in their 70's, you can believe that the best is yet to come. And if it isn't, then try to create the best for someone else, it will often be surprisingly great for you as well. 38. When you wake up alive in the morning, don't take it for granted - embrace life! 39. The biggest secret is that anyone can be happy. But some decide they won't be and then look for reasons to support that theory.Don't fall for that! Assume you are happy and find reasons to support that claim! Keep creating these reasons, and you just might start believing it. 40. Enjoy yourself, every day. Remember, life is just a ride, and you are shown many different things, some wonderful, other awful. But you always continue and it is always just a ride. Enjoy it. "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think... enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink... The years go by... as quickly as a wink..."