Debra Kasowski

3 Surefire Ways to Keep Your Eyes on Your Goals

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Goal setting is something you can do at any time of the year but most people wait to the end of the year to set goals. I recommend that you set daily goals, monthly goals, and yearly goals in all areas of your life. You will be more focused and get greater results when you have a plan and work on them intentionally. Strategic planning for your life and business.

3 Ways to Keep Your Eyes on Your Goals:

1. Write them down on an 3 x 5 index card. When you write them down you are able to get your goals out of your head and onto paper. Keep them where you can see them throughout the day – by your bathroom mirror, on your car dash, day timer, or in your wallet.

2. Script Achieving Your Goal in a Journal. Write out what the day or event will be like when you achieve your goal. What will it feel like? List out all the details. Do this daily or weekly.

3. Write a letter to yourself. Dear ________, write out a letter to yourself about what it would mean to achieve this goal and all the steps you took to get their. The more detailed you can be the better.  You can do this on a daily basis or mail it to yourself one month, 3 months, or 6 months from now.

Before you know it, you will be accomplishing what you set out to do. Writing your goals down makes a difference. Review your cards, journal, or letters regularly to envision the goal achieve and be able to recognize when you have achieved them. Step by step you will get there!

I would love to hear about what you do. Comment below…let’s get ready for the best 2013 ever!

Your Excuse Today Affects Your Tomorrow

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Photo Courtesy of David Castillo Dominici/freedigitalphotos.net

When you finally get a chance to sit down and the end of the day, can you honestly say that you have given your very best effort for that day? Several individuals will say, “Absolutely!” whereas others may say, “Well, I guess I could have “tried” a little harder.” Notice the difference. One statement , is with conviction and the other is weaker. Could have, would have and should have’s are not declarations of intent. When you say I will try, it means maybe yes and maybe no. Now what if you said, “I will” or “I am going to give my best effort.” Do you notice a difference? Which statement sounds stronger?

There is so much power in the words that you use. No matter what you do – business interactions or interactions in your relationships, the same rules apply. I want you to examine or reflect on the words that you use. The power of the mind can be one of the greatest challenges or your greatest gift once you master your thoughts. The words you tell yourself, are what hold you back and when in doubt you mind can play tricks of comparison and competition. The only person you should be comparing yourself or competing with is YOU!

What excuses do you say or give for not giving your best efforts.  You need to take responsibility for what you have control of.

 

 The top 5 excuses I hear are:

1. My Boss – My boss did not give me clear direction or not enough time to complete a project. What could you do here? Ask for more detail, direction, and perhaps negotiate a deadline.

 

2. My Kids – Yes, kids have bedtimes and routines that need to be followed but do they really stop you from accomplishing your goals? Usually not. You need to get creative – get up an hour earlier, exercise with a video tape or go to the gym where they have babysitting, or even hire a babysitter or ask a trusted friend.

 

3. Not enough time – This is a big one! The  solution to this is tracking your time for one week. Look at where time gets wasted. When you start becoming vigilant and focused on the amount of time you spend in different areas you will notice that you can find more time to do what you love.

 

4. I am too tired. – Keep saying “I am too tired.” and the more things that will come up to ensure this statement reigns true. Get enough sleep so you can function at you optimal level.

 

5. Not enough money. – Many individuals say that they do not have enough money to go after what they what. One thing that I know to be true is when you investigate the cost of some of your goals or dreams you will realize that they are not so far out of reach after all. When you make a decision and plan, you can make many things happen and even surprise yourself.

 

BONUS ONE: I do not know enough. I am not good enough. Are you resourceful? Can you find the answer or ask someone who knows? A silver platter is not being held out with a note saying – here it is! You need to get in the game of life. You can learn and find out.

 

The excuses you tell yourself affect your tomorrow. Change the perspective of your excuse and take responsibility for your action. Have you tried changing someone? Doesn’t work so well does it? The only person you can change is YOU! Drop the excuses, get the results that you want, and be victorious!

How Do You Start Living With Intention – By Getting F.R.E.S.H.

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Do you know anyone who prepares and plans for the next day? Do you know anyone who reflects on their day and journals points of gratitude? Do you know anyone who wishes that they could stretch their day into the 25th hour? Is that someone you?

Intention living is all about planning and tracking events. Planning means preparing all the pieces you need for smooth execution of a project or task. This can be as simple as having your lunch ready in the fridge or an outfit laid out on the bed. You are ready to take on the day. Tracking is not for the purposes of comparison but to evaluate where time, money, or resources are lost. If you want something to grow you need to measure it to see if you in fact have achieved it.

Five things you can start doing today to start living with intention:

  1. Frame Your Mindset – Start right when you get out of bed. You determine what you what type of day you will have. What are the first things you say to yourself as you look in the mirror when you brush you teeth? Your words and thoughts are very powerful and can frame your mindset for your day. A self fulfilling prophecy.
  2. Record your action set steps for the day. Write down 5 action steps you would like to get done by the end of the day. They are not a “have to” but a want to and get to”. You have the choice to create the results you want with intention.
  3. Exercise your mind and body. Get physically active for 30-60 minutes a day. Increase the blood flow throughout your body and feel energizes. Some of my greatest ideas surfaced when joggin on the track at the gym. Take time to sit in silence and pray or meditate to clear your mind.
  4.  Start being proactive. You do not have to wait for the ship to come in – go out to it! Prepare your meals in advance. Plan your calendar 1-3 months in advance. Pay your bills early.
  5. Have a plan. People who have a plan of action are already half way there. Those who being their day without a plan waste much time getting out of bed and getting into action. I have some of those days too. The days I do plan in advance – WOW! it has been like a firecracker has gone off. I get so much done because I intentionally plan my day and create lists and mindmaps to keep me focused on getting to my end goal. On the days that you plan, how much do you get done?

 

BONUS “H”Hug more. Researchers have said that hugs can increase immunity, reduce blood pressure, and increase our survival rate. Hugs the people you love for the health of it!

Be flexible in your plans as life does throw challenges along the way. I love how Joel Osteen frames them, “Setbacks are setups for great comebacks.”

You are here to do great things so why not plan your seeds of growth intentionally – you have the choice to choose greatness!

How Does Hindsight Help You GPS Your Best Life?

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written by Debra Kasowski & Charmaine Hammond

Do wish you could turn back time so you could have the results you wanted the first time?

You have probably heard the saying that “Hindsight is 20/20”. You always learn from where you have been if you take the time to consciously look at how your day went and where you may have improved. Foresight is worth its weight in gold.If you plan with intention to learn from your mistakes you can improve your relationships, career, family dynamics and even your health.

Courtesy of Dundee Photographics/freedigitalphotos.net

Where you are right now is all a matter of the daily choices you have made to bring you to where you are right now. In order to change, you need to examine your daily habits and track what you wish to improve. Tracking helps you to identify areas that are working well and even those that are not working so well. You may even notice there are some choices you need to stop making because of the results you are getting. You will continue to get the results you’re getting if your actions do not change.

Lasting change often occurs with small shifts in behaviors, actions, and even habits. Every choice you make should be followed with, “Is this choice supporting my goal?” If the answer is no, replace the behaviour with something that will support your goal – purposeful actions. When you continue to do this, you will always have actions that support your goals.

Take time to reflect on each day to see identify if there was an area that you may have improved or taken action. Do not spend too much time focusing on the past as you cannot move forward while looking back. Why not learn and more forward so you can celebrate your journey?

Charmaine Hammond and Debra Kasowski are the authors of GPS Your Best Life- Charting Your Destination and Getting There in Style.  Jack Canfield, co-author of The Success Principles and Chicken Soup for the Soul says that “Charmaine and Debra show you how to navigate through life’s inevitable roadblocks and obstacles with ease and grace, so you can reach your desired destination”. To find out how to GPS Your Best Life, visit www.gpsyourbestlife.com

 

Three Things You Must Know to GPS Your Best Life

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GPS Your Best life…The What and the Why Make the HOW possible!

Charmaine Hammond & Debra Kasowski

 Have you ever been lost or wondered what you should do next?

“If you don’t know where you are going, how can you expect to get there?”  This is a quote by Basil S. Walsh.

The challenge for many people is knowing where they want to go, and what they want to have, be and achieve.

Imagine going to a mega mall that you have never been to, one where you could get lost in the parking lot, let alone in the mall. Amy and Emma had were overwhelmed by the size of the mall, and how they would find their vehicle after a day of shopping. As they entered the mall they noticed the “you are here” sign. Taking note of the current location was the first step in finding their car at the end of the day and navigating through the mall. This sign helped them Get Positioned for Success (GPS).

To GPS your best life, you must first know where you are, then visualize where you would like to be, and finally map out a plan to get you there. Here are a few tips to help you GPS your best life, and get there in style:

 

Knowing where you are:

Knowing where you are right now… not yesterday and not tomorrow… but right now, is the first step.  Take a few minutes to acknowledge your strengths, your values and what makes you who YOU are. Think about the quality of the relationships you are in (friendships, business collaborations, marriage or dating, family relationships, and your relationship with yourself). Consider the aspects of your life that are comfortable or better yet, going well. What about the areas where you feel off course?

Knowing where you are is the first step in getting in the driver’s seat to create your best life.

Where you’d like you go:

Once you have a sense of where you are, think about where you would like to go, or what you would like to do, be and have. Sometimes people discover their purpose (true calling), some were born with it, and in some cases, their purpose finds them. Your purpose or true calling is your WHY. To get greater clarity on your true calling, ask yourself these questions:

What revs my engine?

What do I love to do that feels effortless?

What do people acknowledge my strengths to be?

When I sit back and imagine my life as it could be, what does that look like?

When you are crystal CLEAR on the “what and the why”, the how begins to emerge

Mapping a plan to get there:

Sometimes people try to map their plan before they are CLEAR on the what and the why.  Mapping your plan is the how. When you know what your life is like now, and what you envision for future, you can map out how to achieve that reality.

Chunk it down, think about the actions in bite size pieces. Write down every possible action (don’t’ worry about the order of the steps) to make the goal a reality. Every day, choose five mini actions, we call this your Daily Five GPS steps. Little steps lead to consistent action and big results.

And along the journey remember to acknowledge your growth and successes, and share them with others.

 

Charmaine Hammond and Debra Kasowski are the authors of GPS Your Best Life- Charting Your Destination and Getting There in Style.  Jack Canfield, co-author of The Success Principles and Chicken Soup for the Soul says that “Charmaine and Debra show you how to navigate through life’s inevitable roadblocks and obstacles with ease and grace, so you can reach your desired destination”. To find out how to GPS Your Best Life, visit www.gpsyourbestlife.com