Energy Coaching

Today I am sharing a nice ten step list from Zig Ziglar.  It’s fitting for this time when there is so much hope in the air!  Make 2010 an spetacular one!

Ten Steps to Goal-Getting by Zig Ziglar

1. Make the commitment to reach your goal. “One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest.” -Mary Crowley.

2. Commit yourself to detailed accountability. Record your progress toward your goals every night, and list the six most important things you need to do the next day. Daily discipline is the key to reaching your goals.

3. Build your life on a solid foundation of honesty, character, integrity, trust, love and loyalty. This foundation will give you an honest shot at reaching any goal you have set properly.

4. Break your intermediate and long-range goals into increments.

5. Be prepared to change. You can’t control the weather, inflation, interest rates, Wall Street, etc. Change your decision to move toward a goal carefully-but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand.

6. Share your “give-up” goals (e.g., give up smoking, being rude, procrastinating, being late, eating too much, etc.) with many people. Chances are excellent they’re going to encourage you.

7. Become a team player. Remember: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

8. See the reaching. In your imagination see yourself receiving that diploma, getting that job or promotion, making that speech, moving into the home of your dreams, achieving that weight-loss goal, etc.

9. Each time you reach a goal your confidence will grow so that you can do bigger and better things. After accomplishing any goal, record it in your journal, weekly planner or portable digital device.

10. Remember, what you get by reaching your destination isn’t nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals-what you will become is the winner you were born to be.

Enjoy the journey!

With energy,

Ana

Most ALL of us use procrastination at some time in our lives, do we not? It seems to me if a tool is so widely used, there must be something to it. As a coach, procrastination is almost always the first thing my clients want to eliminate from their lives. As you will read, I advise them not to eliminate the very tool that is there to help them navigate the rough spots in life and business.

I prefer to think of procrastination in the same category as a detour in the road. The purpose of a detour is to give us a warning, help us avoid something dangerous and provides a safer route. Detours usually take a little longer, they circumvent the problem, but in the end we arrive at our destination safe and sound. In most cases you will discover that properly employed procrastination, like a detour, will give you an alternate route to the solution of the problem at hand.

Talane Meidaner, in her book, Coach Yourself to Success poses this question: “What if procrastination was a good thing, and we stopped beating ourselves up about it and learned why we do it?” She describes several circumstances in which people find themselves procrastinating and offers solutions to the problem.

The Put Off: We Put off something we do not like doing. Sometimes if we procrastinate long enough it causes another person to do it for us, sometimes it becomes too late to do it and we end up not having to do it at all. What if instead, we looked at what it was we were putting off, determined it was something distasteful to us and immediately found a way to delegate it to another person? There may even be times when it makes sense to decline to do the task. In this instance it would be important to inform any people that may be depending upon us for the result or task, but in the end they are better served if we decide and inform them as soon as we know so they can get the job completed by someone that will probably do a more complete job anyway. And our reward is: the uncomfortable or distasteful task is off our plate and the energy drain caused by its presence is eliminated.

The Fear Factor: Sometimes we find ourselves procrastinating because we are frightened. We may believe we are not capable of completing the task. We may believe we do not have the knowledge or expertise to complete the project. We may believe we do not have anything of value to contribute. We may be frightened of rejection. The project may feel too big to us and we allow ourselves to become overwhelmed with its scope and not able to move ahead with the process. Fear is a real emotion and one to be heeded. But the possibility exists, to examine the fears and discover the energy behind them.

• If lack of knowledge or expertise is the fear, we can find ways to gather the knowledge we need or find experts in the particular field to support our work. We may need to request more time for research, but we can move ahead and complete the project.

• If the fear is that of not adding value, or being rejected: we can review our strengths, research, brainstorm and discover a method of adding value that may also eliminate the potential for rejection.

Once we can name the fear, we can often find a solution to its source and eliminate it.

There are many reasons why we procrastinate. The above examples are just a few. Think about times when you get stuck or are overwhelmed and procrastinating. What are some of your reasons?

In most cases you will discover that properly employed procrastination, like a detour, will give you an alternate route to the solution of the problem at hand. You can shorten the detour or speed up the process if you treat your procrastination as a tool that can help you through life rather than beating yourself up and wasting time in self-chastisement.

You can learn to use the five steps to using procrastination as a tool for life.

• First: Recognize when you are in procrastination mode. Speak out loud and call it by name!

• Second: Congratulate yourself for using so valuable a life tool!

• Third: Take the time to stop, think and look at why you are procrastinating.

• Fourth: take each why and discover solutions to those issues. Once you discover the why, and there may be multiple whys, it is much easier to break the problem into smaller parts and approach each issue.

• Fifth: Create a strategy and timetable to carry it out.

Coach’s challenge:  This week begin to look at procrastination in this more positive light. You will discover that it immediately becomes a friend, not a foe and the energy around it relaxes. Go a step further and begin to employ the five steps to using procrastination as a tool for life.

With energy,

Ana

I am preparing for an event this coming Tuesday.  Needless to say I am doing the best I can and making sure that all basis are covered by the time I am ready to deliver the talk.  In the middle of my preparation my computer started to act up on me.  I noticed the tension creeping up to my shoulders.  I could feel the contraction and the anger starting to show their ugly heads. 

I stopped everything I was doing, turned off the computer and went to the kitchen to do the dishes.  I began to imagine how absurd the situation was if I started to get angry with anything related to this awesome opportunity I was given to share my message with others.  I was preparing myself to give my best to others and I didn’t want any negativity to be part of this preparation!  I reminded myself that nothing is exclusively because of my efforts.  I was planing and creating something for my future as if I was  the one with a major saying on what’s going to happen then!  I reminded myself that I am but a partner with G-d in this journey that is life.  And I know that when I forget to recognize that I become a bit pathetic in thinking that I am totally responsible for my future.  Not to mention that is such an unnecessary weight to carry! 

It is very healthy to recognize that there are major aspects of our existence that are not our responsibility to know about.  As for my struggle with the computer, after finishing the “dishes-meditation” and getting back to my desk, I turned it on and it was working nicely again…

When facing an unpleasant situation this week, before you get exasperated, try removing yourself from it if you can.  Take a break, breath and give it up to the Infinite One.  Remember that you have a partner that has your best interest in mind at all times!

With energy,

Ana

Recently, I was in one of my favorite places in the world:  Israel.  While in Tel-Aviv, I stayed in a very cozy hotel by the beach.  There was a nice restaurant overlooking the ocean and its theme was pop music.  In one of its walls it was written: 

“Sometimes, the only way to create something new is to go all the way back to the beginning.”  - It’s by Genesis the band, not Genesis as the first chapter in the Bible!  

However, I am sure there is an equivalent quote in the Holy Book because it is such great advice!  And also exactly what I needed to hear (or read in this case) at that moment.  Many times we think that going back and starting over is a sing of failure.  Sometimes we imagine that to review a certain plan or change a project is equivalent to a huge defeat.  It can also mean that we are being inflexible and stuck in our ways because of our pride.  When something is not “flying” we could benefit from changing the course a bit, review the whole game plan or even to go back to the drawing board and start over.  Why not? 

Next time you feel your intuition telling you to drop something or to start over, pay attention to it.  Sometimes it might be that you need a bit more persistence.  However, it could also mean that you need to go back to the beginning and review your strategy.  This action by itself develops flexibility, an open mind and humility; all great attributes for us to foster in our lives. 

With energy,

Ana

Imagine your home free of clutter, free of unwanted stuff and filled with bright light and clean spaces!  What a vision uh?  Well, I want to share with you a great resource I came across as I was reading my Real Simple magazine that will help you make this vision a reality.  There was an article on blogs and they suggested www.unclutterer.com.  Being the organizing enthusiast that I am, I quickly made my way to the link.  It’s fabulous!  They offer an amazing amount of tips on how to get organized and how to keep yourself organized.  And guess what?  The tips are not exclusively related to the physical aspect of your home!  What makes this blog unique is that they offer tips on how to organize everything; from your online recipes to your music, from your office to your car, from your cable clutter to your kitchen and even on your tracking numbers with TrackMyShipiments.com!  The whole idea is that as you start to implement a bunch of small changes in your life you automatically begin to change your habits and become a more organized and uncluttered person.  

Take this “delicious” tip for instance; Del.icio.us is a website that allows you to:  Keep links to your favorite articles, blogs, music, reviews, recipes, and more, and access them from any computer on the web. Share favorites with friends, family, coworkers, and the del.icio.us community. [And] Discover new things. Everything on del.icio.us is someone’s favorite — they’ve already done the work of finding it. So del.icio.us is full of bookmarks about technology, entertainment, useful information, and more.  Most importantly, del.icio.us takes away the need to print out websites you’re afraid you’ll never find again. Instead of printing and then filing the paper, just save the URL to your del.icio.us folder and tag it so that you’ll easily find the website again. 

Being a clutter free enthusiast, I can attest to the freedom that a clean and organized life gives us.  Use this inspiring blog to get ready and excited about spring cleaning!  Ah!  And while you are at it, take the items that you don’t use anymore and donate them to your favorite charity or to someone who needs them.  Recycle is the word!  Unclutter your life and do good; a win-win situation!  Happy cleaning! 

With energy,

Ana