Positive Energy - 5 Ways to Get a Great Report for You Ltd!

December 2008

Dear Anne

How did December race up so fast this year? I feel like I only just put away my sun-glasses and now there is snow on the hills outside. I have been very busy acting as an emergency stand-in trainer over the last month so maybe that's how time flew by without me noticing.

I want to congratulate you for all the successes you've achieved this year. I know about a lot of them because you email to tell me. You've also told me that your monthly dose of Positive Energy has given you motivation, ideas and a push to help you along the way. I've got lots more hints and tips lined up for 2009, so until then, I wish you a very happy holiday season and fantastic new year, whatever you are doing!

If you'd like to get in touch you can email me or call me on 01697 747 821.

Best wishes,

“Reduce your plan to writing... The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire.” Napoleon Hill

It's time to put together your chairperson's report. It's the report for ‘You Ltd'.

At the end of a business year the boss usually writes a report about how the company has performed. It's a great idea for you to do one for yourself. You can reflect on what has gone really well for you and allow yourself to celebrate your accomplishments. Many of us find we spend too much time focussing on the negative events. That's why it's important (and a real confidence booster!) to sit back and remember everything that was good about the year.

Making time for reflection also allows you to look at what didn't go quite so well and to learn from these things for next year.

I know you'll all be busy getting ready for Christmas, but if you find a few moments to review your achievements and lessons from 2008, I promise you it will be time well spent. It's comforting and exciting to realise that what you may think of as a fairly mediocre year, actually included lots of achievements, smiles and adventures.

It's a great way to end the year on a positive note. I guarantee it will leave you feeling motivated and excited about the year ahead.

Positive Practice

Here are five simple steps to follow:

Get a special notebook. Every year when I complete this exercise I love looking at what I wrote down in previous years. So why not treat yourself to a lovely new notebook that you can save for this annual exercise and build yourself a motivating diary of achievements, goals and learning?
Let's start with the positives. Write down absolutely everything that was good about 2008. Your list can include achievements at work and at home, new friends that you've made and relationships you've rekindled, events you enjoyed and goals you reached. Also record positive feedback you received, unexpected gifts and small moments that just made life worthwhile. Fill up as many pages as you can!
Now review the negatives. Think about the things that you didn't enjoy about 2008 or that didn't go so well. Positive experiences can always come out of the negative ones so view them constructively and consider what you've learned from the experience. Write them down.
Now plan your celebrations. Reward yourself for your achievements. You don't need to spend lots of money; a walk in the park or your favourite magazine could be a fitting reward for your successes. Make a list of all the celebrations you are going to enjoy.
Finally, start making plans for 2009. What do you really want to achieve next year? Aim as high as you like. This is between you and the page you're writing on, so the sky is the limit! And remember – writing it down is just the first step towards achievement.

Of course, once you've set your ‘sky's the limit' goals for 2009 you need to work out how you're going to achieve them. You'll find a very useful worksheet ‘How to Achieve Your Goals' on my website. Visit www.milecastle.co.uk and click on DIY Motivation.

Millie from Nottingham had a family celebration.

Millie attended Fresh Steps and really enjoyed listing her life's achievements. She hadn't realised she had so many until she really sat down and concentrated on them. She soon filled several pages. After the course she talked about the exercise with her family. They loved the idea. So one weekend they all sat down together and wrote down everything they had achieved. They all felt great acknowledging their successes. After this they planned some family celebrations to share all of these achievements. They now intend to make this an annual event.

What Can You Read?

This is what I'm reading at the moment:

The Charisma Effect by Andrew Leigh. Find out what it is you do, that helps you to create a brilliant impression. When you know what it is, you can then do more of it!

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. I'm really interested in how we process thoughts. This book helps us understand those moments when we know something without understanding why.

Trust Unwrapped by Dan Collins and David Thompson. I picked this up last week. It's about being authentic and building an organisation that runs on trust rather than fear and control.

What’s Happening?

I thought that December was going to be a quiet month. Not a chance. I'm on my travels again to Manchester, Kidderminster, Penrith, Newcastle and London. All that and the diary isn't yet finalised so there may be more courses and more towns.

Oops!

I gave you the wrong dates in the last newsletter for the FREE Fresh Steps tasters in Manchester. The correct dates are:

16^th January in the morning

23^rd February in the afternoon

Science and Engineering

I'm already working with two organisations who have taken up our offer of development for women through SEMTA. This project is only running until February so contact me now if you want workshops or coaching to help your women gain greater career success.

Senior Women

I've just agreed dates with a government agency for a second Development Plus Programme for their senior women in 2009. This 5 day programme is valuable for women at the top of organisations. We cover things like leadership strengths, strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, advanced communication all mixed in with our challenging and creative exercises to enhance your success, self esteem and confidence. If you'd like one of these for your senior leaders then contact me soon.

Positive Praise

Using some of the things I learned on the Springboard programme, I plucked up courage and got a new role as a Supervisor in a reorganisation at work. Then I got invited to be a speaker on a Springboard programme. A comment from a participant that my talk had been an inspiration to her meant so much to me. I just wanted to say thank you Sue for your efforts, advice and positivity and I hope you realise how inspiring you are to an awful lot of women out there. Angela

Thought I'd drop you a line to let you know that I've taken Fresh Steps to heart, literally. I was galvanised into action by the timeline and I realised that my 80 year old mother had a better social life than me. I've been saying “yes” to more invitations and have taken up ballroom dancing. I'm buzzing when I come out of my lessons. Fresh Steps was one of the best courses I've ever done, I enjoyed it immensely. Annie (age 55), Newcastle

In next month's edition of Positive Energy we'll give you ways to keep your motivation going throughout 2009!