September

Photo credit: humbledavenport.com

The display of fall colors is beginning to show.  For me, the beginning of the year is September!  I know that technically, January 1st is the beginning of the year because that is when every new calendar year starts.  But other than a date change, it’s just not the beginning to me.  September means ‘hit the restart button’. I’ve felt this way since I was a young girl.

                                                                    Photo credit: imgarcade.com

Maybe it’s because school always starts at this time of year?  Maybe it’s because the new TV line up starts in the fall?  Maybe it’s because the United Methodist Church, with which I am pretty involved, runs on a fall-to-summer schedule?  Maybe it’s a combination of all of these things?  Regardless, every September I find myself thinking ‘time to restart.’  And this fall season is no exception. I literally have butterflies in my stomach thinking of the possibilities!

I am busy setting goals for this final third of 2017.  Some are continued but reviewed (and maybe tweaked a bit), some are new.  They include writing goals, health & fitness goals, and financial goals, to name a few.  I know that may sound like a lot, but if goals are broken down into reasonable bites, they are manageable.  And trackable.  They need to be manageable and trackable or you’ll get overwhelmed and possibly lose sight of what you set out to achieve in the first place.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” – Tony Robbins

I wholeheartedly believe this.  Many goals start with a thought like this: “I wish I could lose 25 pounds.” The key is to take a thought like that and work backwards, putting the steps in place to get to that point. That’s really goal setting in a nutshell.

I believe that setting goals, real, achievable goals, takes dreams out of the ‘someday’ realm and makes them a reality.  And when you measure and track them, the results are motivating and should be celebrated!

What are some of your goal setting tips?  What do you find are the best ways to motivate yourself to set goals?

 

Judy