Positive Energy - How Do You Get in Touch with Your Heart’s Desires?

February 2009

Dear Anne

It's been a really busy month for me and here we are already at the Chinese New Year. New Year's resolutions are a fantastic idea! Unfortunately after a few weeks you can start to slip back into your old habits. That's why this month I'm asking you to re-focus and check that your goals and aspirations for 2009 are right for you. I've got a great exercise that's designed to help you understand what you really want out of life – and then go get it!

Don't forget to forward your copy of Positive Energy on to family, friends and colleagues who could benefit from some motivational tips each month. They can subscribe for their own copy at the bottom of the page.

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

Best wishes,

"It's never too late to be what we might have been." George Eliot

If you have a dream or an ambition, it's because deep down you want something in your life to change. Unfortunately we can't just click our fingers and magic up the required result. Changes rarely happen automatically. They usually require some planning, effort and most importantly some action.

Many people feel it's wrong to want things for themselves. They think it's selfish. But you have to consider Number One; otherwise you can end up feeling down-trodden and resentful. Focussing on your own wants and needs can help you to become a happier person. When you're happy then you're much better equipped to think about and help others.

The other benefit of going after your dreams and ambitions is that it will give you energy, drive and motivation. It will also seriously boost your confidence. We all need a good dose of positive energy on a regular basis – don't we?

Let 2009 be the start of positive changes for you and your future!

Positive Practice

Here's a challenge for you. I want you to indulge yourself and come up with the biggest wish list you could ever imagine. Delve deep into the inner recesses of your mind and uncover all your wildest dreams. If you're struggling to understand what it is you want to change about your life, then this is a great way of unearthing your heart's desires.

Firstly write your wish list – Take a notepad and pen and find a quiet room. Write down everything you want - from things you'd like to change about your current life, to big, hairy and audacious goals that seem completely unrealistic. Don't hold back. You're not going to share this with anyone else.
Next, look at your list - Try to work out what it is telling you about your current life. Perhaps lots of your goals will need you to have more spare time. Or perhaps they focus on changing the relationships in your life? Maybe they hinge on you having more money in the future. If you've been completely honest in creating your list then you're bound to see patterns and opportunities for change emerge from what you've written down.
Finally, decide where to start – Based on what your personal wish list is telling you, decide which aspect of your life you need to focus on. Start setting yourself some goals and taking small steps to making some changes. I'm not suggesting that if your list included a round the world trip that you go ahead and book a ticket tomorrow. Perhaps you can look at methods to save money or investigate cheaper ways of visiting your top destinations.

Never dismiss your dreams or aspirations! You might not be able to tick off everything from your list within the next few months or even this year. However, just writing them down will allow you to make a start. You will have altered the focus of your thinking. If you then revisit your list in a few months you'll be surprised how you will have moved closer to these aspirations even if you haven't consciously been thinking about them.

If you've decided what your goal is, but you're not sure how to reach it, there's a worksheet on my website designed to help you. You can click here to download it from my website - select How to Achieve Your Goals from the list.

Sarah from Manchester wanted her boss's job

Sarah was ambitious. She had all the right qualifications and experience. There were no jobs she could move into except for the one her boss had. During her Spring Forward programme she was advised that she should be positioning herself to be the obvious person to take over if her boss left. However her boss loved the job and showed no sign of leaving. Sarah wrote down her goal and went back to work. As the company expanded she took on more responsibility. After 18 months her boss suddenly announced that she was moving to America to take up a more senior role and Sarah was offered the job. Only then did she go back and review her notes from the Spring Forward programme. She realised that although she hadn't been consciously thinking about it, she had been steadily moving towards that goal having written it down.

Springing Forward by Gina Harris and Liza Edwards. This is the book that accompanies our Spring Forward programme. It's positive, practical and has some inspiring examples and quotes.

Get a Life then Get a Man by Jennifer Bawden. If your relationships need a spring clean in 2009 then you need to start by focusing on yourself.

Game Plan by Bob Buford. Make the second half of your life the best by moving from success to significance.

Training your Brain by Terry Horne and Simon Wootton. Most of us only use a tiny fraction of our brain power. Sharpen up your thinking; get more focussed and who knows what your future may hold!

BlogPositive

Some extra reading for you:

New Year Revolutions

Making Dreams Come True

Taking Action

What’s Happening?

Fresh Stepping

Call us ASAP to put your name down for our free Fresh Steps taster session in Manchester. We already have people from around 20 different organisations who are coming along on the 23^rd February to find out about this powerful new course for older workers. Act today to turbo-charge the rest of your life and click here for details.

Women and Work 2009

We are still running government subsidised women's development projects across companies in the science, engineering and manufacturing industries. Get in touch to find out how you could benefit, whatever your job is. Click here to email me.

Positive Praise

"Keep the inspiration coming …."

Moira, South Wales

"I'm following your blog. I like the insights and it helps to keep me on track with being positive."

Dave, Carlisle

You now have a clearer understanding of what changes you may want to make in your life. In next month's issue of Positive Energy we're going to go one step further and look at how you fit in with the bigger picture.