GOALS - The Success Formula

My guess is that if you have taken the trouble to pick up an article on goal setting you are someone who is interested in self improvement, who lives a conscious life and who knows "if it's to be it's up to me.

You may have even heard of the now famous study of a group of 1953 Yale graduates who were interviewed in 1953 and again in 1973.  What the study found was, that in 1953 only 3% of these graduates had written down a set of clear goals.  When re-interviewed 20 years later, these 3% were worth more financially than the remaining 97% put together!  That is powerful stuff!!  They also measured their level of happiness and fulfilment and once again the 3% were way in front.

Most people set goals or make resolutions in their minds, but what makes some people able to achieve their goals and others just abandon them?

The first golden rule of goal setting is to get it from your mind and into writing.  This way you can refer to it (every day is best) - you will own them more, and even if you get off track you have it there in writing as an incentive.

A common acronym for gaol setting is SMART - ie Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Frame.  The ability to measure how you are going adds incentive along the way and giving your goals a time frame gives you the motivation you need to start.

Goals need to be specific - eg. you could change "I want to spend more time with my family" to "every Wednesday night and Saturday morning we will do something fun together as a family".

Make your goals realistic - you will not be able to be Prime Minister of Australia by the end of the year if you have only just finished school.

You need to make your goals about YOU!  This is not about pleasing anybody else, living up to others expectations or trying to be something you're not.  Goals need to be something worth pursuing, that you have the resources now to begin the process and are within YOUR control.

A powerful addition to your goals setting is visualisation.  If you spend 5 minutes daily with your eyes closed and visualise yourself having achieved your goal your subconscious mind will be mobilised to help you to succeed.

Achieving goals by themeselves is not what makes us happy in the long term; it's who you become, as you overcome the obstacles necessary to achieve your goals that can give you the deepest and most long-lasting sense of fulfilment.

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.  Boldness has genius, power and magic in it" - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe.


www.newell-life.com.au

Relationship Maintenance Tips

In preparation for the New Year and 2014 many may have undertaken maintenance around the house such as: sprucing up the yard, painting the deck, spring cleaning the house, even booking a holiday etc.  But what about maintenance on the primary relationship - maybe it is in fine shape but it's always a good idea to do a check.

The following are some handy relationship maintenance tips:

Create a genuine commitment by; spending pleasurable time together, sharing each other's world and frequent reassurance of your love.  Commitment starts with a decision - decide to be committed.

Become emotionally connected.  Connecting requires not only bonding but also more importantly intimacy.  Bonding is a shared experience, which includes physical proximity, while intimacy includes emotional closeness and mutual vulnerability (ie sharing feelings).  Talking openly and sharing each other's life creates connection.

Show that you value your partner by:

• Giving their happiness high priority.
• Showing an interest in your partner's life.
• Showing you value your partner's input.
• Not taking your partner for granted.

Maintain best friend & physical chemistry by:

• Giving the relationship top priority ie doing relationship maintenance including creating romance.
• Creating an emotional safe zone by:  Being approachable, being open to hear your partner without defensiveness and anger.  Eliminate the need to 'walk on eggshells'.
• Listening to each other from the heart.  Be present.
• Creating relationship equality through respect and fairness.
• Commitment to peacemaking ie begin working on restoring the trust quickly if it is broken.
• Commitment to work on self-love eg clearing away baggage from childhood etc.
• Commitment to personal development.

Chris Newell www.newell-life.com.au

 

Why Diets Do Not Work

WHY DIETS DO NOT WORK

The weight loss / weight gain cycle
     • Most people lose weight on a diet but once the diet is stopped weight is put back on often             leaving them heavier than before the diet. 
     • Many diets in fact do not work at all.  Most dieters are happy when they see that they have lost weight but some of that weight loss is muscle tissue.  Muscle tissue is not the type of weight you want to lose because muscle tissue helps burn fat.

Most diets include some form of deprivation and / or denial; some involve counting calories, or points but all merely serve to program the mind to think about food.
      • Thus when and individual gives up a diet, she/he will find him or  herself thinking about food more than he/she ever did before.

In the denial of eating different meals to the rest of the family, three things happen.
  1.  The mind fights against it.
  2.  The body fights against it.
  3.  The day to day environment fights against it.

Conscious self-denial can often increase the desire for that very thing.
       • Cutting down is achievable whilst cutting out is not.

Portion size is a key driver to weight gain/loss – conquer this one first. 
Virtual Gastric Band hypnosis (VGB) helps with portion sizes.  VGB enables people to eat consciously and are able to be receptive to the stomach’s full signals.  

For more information go to: www.newell-life.com.au

Weight Loss Insights in a Nutshell

• Portion size is a key driver to weight gain/loss – conquer this one first
• Muscle burns fat
  - therefore weight sessions are good
• Cardio workouts are also very good Muscle weighs 3X as much as fat
  - therefore scales are irrelevant
• Carbs become sugars, sugars become fat if not burned off
  - therefore small carb (low GI) portions are good
• Natural fats are OK in small amounts
• Be careful of labels saying “skinny” or “lite” or “fat free” because they often contain extra sugars which leads to weight gain.

For more information go to: www.newell-life.com.au