I was reading an article earlier today and it has been on my mind all day. Unfortunately, I can’t find the article again so I can’t share the author or link. (If you know who it was, feel free to share in the comments below.) Even though I can’t share the article link/author, I can share the “new” concept that I got from this article. I say “new” (in quotes) because I have heard of doing this before, just not in this way.

How many of you keep a journal? Let’s take this a step further… How many of you keep a gratitude journal? Even though I don’t keep a separate gratitude journal, part of my journaling has included listing 3-5 things that I am grateful for. Since it is Thanksgiving this week, pretty much every blog that I have subscribed to is sharing information about gratitude and being thankful this week. This particular blog that I read this morning talked about the FOUR steps of practicing gratitude. In my mind, I was doing at least one step (writing down what I am grateful for in my journal), so I was curious to find out what the other three steps were.

It turns out that the first step was to start a journal. Ok, I have my journal so that step is done. The second step was to write down everything that you are thankful for. Yup, that’s done too although I just list 3-5 things. Step three was to stretch yourself and think ahead. Huh… I’ve heard of this before but I’ll share more on that after I give you the last step, which is to go back and read your journal every day. I do that too but not every day.

So, what is this “stretch yourself and think ahead” all about? It is about thinking about your goals and where you want to be in the next month or six months or year and being thankful for reaching that goal… and writing it down in your journal like you have already reached it!

I have heard of this before from several different coaches. Jack Canfield talks about “Act As If” in the 12th principle from his book “The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be“. Others simply tell you to write down your daily affirmations starting with “I am so grateful that I am…” and then ending it with whatever your goal might be. It could go something like this: “I am so grateful that I have reached my goal weight of ___ and have so much more energy to play games with my kids.” or “I am so grateful that I am now living debt free and am able to travel to fun, exotic locations around the world several times a year.” You get the idea.

This author took the same concept but added it to the gratitude journaling part of your day. I think that makes so much sense! Think about it. You are already in a thankful state. Writing about your goals as if you have already achieved them when you are already in a thankful state makes them so much more powerful. And it keeps it as a daily habit, like affirmations, but the fact that you are already in a grateful state makes it so much easier to BELIEVE. Honestly, I had problems believing some of my “As If” affirmations because I wasn’t already in a grateful state.

So this is something that I am going to start today. I am going to write what I am thankful for in my journal at night and then read them in the morning so that I start my day off on a note of gratitude. And you know what they say… your thoughts create your actions! This can only make my goals a reality that much faster!

Who is with me? Feel free to make a comment below or go to my FB group and share what you are grateful for! (Monica Hirman)

When you set up your business goals, you have an initial surge of motivation. The planning stages are exciting because of what you may accomplish by proceeding with your plan. However, as time passes and other aspects of work get in the way, you may feel less motivated to make those achievements happen. Here are some ideas on how to stay motivated.

Goals and Tasks

Keep a written copy of your goals and tasks on your desk. Create a daily task list (that you write out) and keep it near you as you work. Daily tasks are more granular than the task list that supports the goals. You can check them off as you complete them. Make sure those daily tasks are as relevant as possible to the tasks on the master list. It’s understandable that you will have to perform tasks outside of these goals but try to keep those to a minimum.

Benefits of Completing the Goals

You are responsible for taking your business to the next level. You have to know WHY you want to achieve these goals. Think about the benefits of completing the goals for your business. Why do you want this for yourself and your business? For example, if you are in the health/fitness industry, your WHY may be helping others take control of their lives instead of their weight/health issues taking control. There is a reason why you started your business. It will help if you post your WHY on your desk or on the wall in a nice frame. Put it somewhere that you will see it several times throughout the day. As your eyes sweep over it, take a moment to read and really feel that passion behind your why.

Please note that it is normal, as you progress through your plan, to find that some goals or tasks are no longer relevant. Perhaps you have changed your business initiatives and some of the previous goals are no longer valid. It is a worthwhile exercise to review your business goals on a regular basis to make sure that you are on track with your vision for your company. I would recommend reviewing your business goals at least twice a year, if not quarterly.

What if You Don’t Do That Task?

Another way to motivate yourself to keep on track with your goals is to imagine what may happen if you don’t complete them. You may stop signing new clients or stop selling the product and your business will grow stagnate. Imagining what will happen if you don’t complete the task or goal can be a great way to ensure that you keep pushing forward.

Celebrate Milestones

When you reach a milestone, find ways to reward yourself and your team. This can be as simple as going out for a celebratory drink after work, catering a lunch at the office, buying a new suit/outfit, etc. Whatever makes sense for your business and will inspire you and your team to reach for the next milestone. Achieving goals often becomes habit-forming (the good kind) so the more you do it, the higher the chances that you and your business will succeed.

What choices are you making today that define who you are? The first principle that Jack Canfield teaches in his book The Success Principles (which I highly recommend reading) is to “Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life”. You are responsible for where you are right now! Think of yourself as the CEO of your life. Your life is the greatest thing you will ever manage and you are responsible for every choice you make. Designing your life enables you to identify exactly who it is you want to be and what it is you want to do.

Designing Your Life

Designing your life demands that you have an open mind. It bestows power and trust in the palms of your hands to construct your life and live it the way that is best for you. Imagine this process as being somewhat similar to flipping a house. Sometimes you have to take a home down to its studs to rebuild something better. It takes a lot of work, but in the end… it is so worth it!

Here are a few actions you can take to design your life.

Demolition Day

Just like when you are flipping a house, designing your life can sometimes require the need for a wee bit of demolition. In order to get where you want to go, you may need to break down a few walls, tear down a few floors, and evaluate a few things about your foundation.

To determine what needs to be changed, you have to consider what is working for you as well as what is not working for you. Demolition day requires us to question what we know and whether or not it is still going to take us in the direction of our goals.

Renovation

After this process of self-reflection is complete, you are ready to begin the renovation process. You are now prepared to move and think differently. How do you want to engage with people every day? What is your degree of dedication and performance in the workplace?

Other Actions to Design Your Life

There are other actions you can take to design your life despite the circumstances that may be influencing you.

Make a Plan – What is your three to five-year plan? You may just by trying your best to make it through today but having a plan can help to ensure that what you do every day, the people you surround yourself with, and the plans you are making are going to take you into the future you desire.

Accept Those Things You Cannot Change – Another aspect of designing your life is accepting those areas in life that you cannot control or change. People often tell us that if we do not like something that is happening, take steps to change it. One of my favorite quotes states that, “If you don’t like where you are, move! You are not a tree.” But what about those things we cannot change? What should you do? You may have to make the hard decision, for example, to move away from a city that you do not like, or you may have to change jobs or take steps to entrepreneurship if there is no opportunity for growth with your current work situation.

What Impact Do You Want to Have on the Lives of Others? – The critical thing to consider with this question is understanding what role that you hope to play in the lives of others. The decisions we make or the actions we take can have a positive or negative impact on another person. We can be a source of positive energy, but we can also be a source of negative energy.

Take a Chance – Do not miss an opportunity to take a chance or try different things. Find opportunities to step outside of your comfort zone. Designing your life does not mean you have to build rigid walls around everything you do or draw a hard line for the decisions you make. If you find you are going in one direction and something happens that creates a desire to change directions, that is ok. Your new path may lead you to an even better future. Remember, you own the blueprint for your life and you have the power to design it the way that you want it!