Dear Sally,

This is the year I’m going to…..what?

What will you do in the forthcoming year?  Move house, change jobs, create a better work/life balance, decorate the spare room, volunteer your time, take an evening class, get rid of that comb-over, take up tiddlywinks?

This issue of Seesaw will help you take a quick look back at what you achieved last year and start you thinking about what you will be fabulous at in 2006.

If you have ideas about what you want to achieve this year but would like some help to gain a greater clarity on what exactly they are, contact me to arrange a free ½ hour coaching session where we can look at them together and generate excitement about your year ahead.

Until next time

Kathryn

Please forward Seesaw to your friends and colleagues who you feel may enjoy it too.  If you’ve been sent Seesaw by a friend and would like to receive your own free issue, visit  www.nolimitscoaching.co.uk and register.


So how was it for you?

As 2005 recedes into the distance ask yourself if you got what you wanted out of last year?  Did you…  triumph at work, take plenty of fun filled holidays, go on an adventure, meet new people, dare to be different?

Looking back you’ve probably no idea what you did!  It all went past in a blur!  Does thinking about last year bring a smile to your face as you recall what happened, the people you met, the experiences you created?  Or do the ‘Despair Triplets’ visit you, reminding you of what you ‘should have’, ‘could have’ and ‘would have’ done if you’d had more time/energy/freedom/nerve/money/encouragement?

Is there anything that you regret not doing?   I heard a phrase a while back -  ‘Regrets are free, so help yourself’.  Regrets are always on special offer, not just in the January sales. What regrets do you have for last year?

You were successful in 2005 – honest!  You lived another year, grew a little wiser and you’re obviously growing older even more gracefully than last year! I’m sure there are lots more achievements you are able to list.

There is a ‘rock opera’ called Rent, which is inspired by the opera La Bohème.  Written by Jonathan Larson, a man passionate about living life and creating music, it brings the story of love and dying of consumption into the 20th century.  Larson died suddenly on what was to have been opening night, a sobering reminder to make the most of the time we have.

The second half opens with a song called ‘Seasons of Love’ with the following lines:

525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife

In 2006, how will you measure your year?

Driving your year

Imagine that you’re a lorry driver.  The load in the back of your lorry is your potential for 2006; all the things that might possibly happen to you this year.  As you’ve travelled through previous years, you’ve discovered places you want to go, new experiences you want to try, careers you want to change, stars to be reached and placed them all in the back of the lorry.

We’re so busy looking at the road ahead, keeping to the speed limit, trying to balance work life, home life, social life and me time, that we forget what’s in the back of our lorry, what it is we really want to do.  We struggle to make a pit stop and actually do something!  If you don’t start living your life, you will overload your lorry and you’ll run out of time and energy to make a start.  2006 is delivery time.  Time to unload the lorry and deliver on the promises you made to yourself.    What will you do this year and how do you make sure that you do actually achieve something?

The 'give it a go' bit

What successes will you have in 2006?  Here’s your chance to spend five minutes giving some thought to your year ahead.

Step One - Decide what you are going to do

Simple, but effective! Open your lorry, survey what you’ve collected and pick something to deliver.  Start with the sentence

‘In 2006 I will…….’ and complete it with up to six things that you will do.

They can be things you’d really like to do, things you didn’t get round to last year, things you’ve always dreamed of or things you know you must do.  Even if you can only think of one, note it down.  Achieving one thing is better than regretting a year.

Step Two - State it in the positive

What you are going to do needs to be uplifting.  ‘I’ll try to lose a stone through dieting’ can seem incredibly depressing.  ‘I will follow a healthy balanced eating plan’ has a more positive appeal to it. Note the use of the word ‘will’.  Affirm what you ‘will’ do, rather than what you’ll ‘try’ to do.

Step Three - Create your motivation

What will doing these things give you?  Create a compelling reason for doing it, otherwise it won’t get done!  Whether you’re learning a new skill, improving your lung capacity, breaking out of a routine or being able to spend quality time with your children, without motivation, you’ll be putting your goal back in the lorry, undelivered.

Step Four - Tell someone else what you’re going to do

Experience has shown me that you are much more likely to do the things you said you would if you’ve told someone else that you will do it.

Does it work?  I did a similar exercise with friends last year.  They noted down five things they were going to do in 2005 and it’s amazing what they all achieved.

If you’d like someone else to keep a note of good things in the back of your lorry that this year will see the light of day, then drop me an email at kathryn@nolimitscoaching.co.uk.   I’ll keep a note of them and email you every few months to see what progress you have made.

Have a great year and I really look forward to hearing about your successes.

Your monthly thought to contemplate…

‘I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.’  Diane Ackerman



Kathryn Proudlock
Tel: (01235) 810938
Mob: 07786 270951
kathryn@nolimitscoaching.co.uk


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