Plans

Re-evaluate Your SMARTER Life Plan

Goals

Sheri here,

Now that we are well into September, the last month of the Third Quarter of 2022, how are you doing with your SMARTER goals for the year? Notice I didn’t say New Year’s Resolution – see my blog: Resolutions – Not! Make Goals Instead, for my thoughts on these pesky items.

No Goals?

Oh, you don’t have any goals either? It is never too late or too early to start a plan, a vision plan for a quarter, a year or a lifetime.

They never go out of style. I always have something I’m working toward. It keeps my attitude and outlook fresh and flowing.

This year, I had several major focuses : 1. Publish my book; 2. Re-ignite my spiritual program; and 3. Declutter.

With all three, I’ve made great progress. On my book, it is ready for pre-sale – check it out here. So excited! I also have done some great work on my spiritual program. The declutter project is sometimes more difficult to measure, as there is less around; but my life feels lighter as I see more space and feel more spaciousness in my home, office, and garage.

How about you? How are you doing? Any great news? Leave a comment and let me know.

A SMARTER Plan

Oh, you don’t have any plans at this time – that is easy enough to fix. Pick something, or 2, or 3 somethings. Write out your specific objectives, make certain you have a way to measure progress, and pick a date to be done by. You’ve got the first elements of a SMARTER plan. See my blog, Making Change – SMARTER Goals for more information on SMARTER goals.

Why a SMARTER plan? First what is a SMARTER plan? It is made up of a handful of smarter goals:

S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Time-Bound
E – Evaluate
R – Readjust

My favorite part is how we evaluate them periodically and readjust them as necessary – this is one of those logical and periodic times for evaluation. A quarter end is a good time to take stock of progress on your collection of goals – your SMARTER plan.

Around Town

My book Everything I Learned About Life I Learned on Vacation, is now in the pre-sale stage. You can go here and pre-order one copy or add a second for only $5.00 more!! Can’t wait to hold a copy in my hands. Would love your help to make this a smashing success just click here!

Have a blessed week.
Ciao,
Sheri

Intentions – Friend or Foe

Intentions

Sheri Here –

“Good intentions pave the road to he**”, or so Mom used to say. My brain always shorted out and went into overload when I tried to figure that out.

I think what she really meant was intentions without action never happen and become your foe. You may as well be making a wish. Intentions need action to be your friend.

Intentions Work Anywhere

My yoga instructor always starts our session by setting our intentions for the practice: our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual purpose for that hour.

I appreciate the reminder that there can be multiple facets to a single intentions and one set of actions can cover many bases.

At the end of our yoga session, I like to be reminded of the intentions I set and almost without fail that hour of focused action accomplishes my previously stated goals. Generally, with my yoga, I want to relax, let go, feel strong and connected to my higher power. Remarkable because that happens. Here the act of choosing an objective helped me achieve it.

The same holds true when I start my day, intentions are my friend, when I remember to set them early in the day or when planning my day, the night before. My day’s actions will support fulfilling my stated goals. While my day’s intentions may not be completely fulfilled, I’ve gone a long way toward the finish line.

Intentions, Friend or Foe?

Why does it matter, well Mom would say something profoundly cryptic and I’d go off the rails trying to figure it out. But I believe without a plan, a purpose, or a goal, I wind up wasting time and energy and heaven knows, I have too little of both to waste. So then my intentions become my friend. But when I neglect to either put action to my plan or worse, I am rudderless and have no direction, an intention won’t help and becomes my foe.

Even if you are on vacation or retired, you can set an intention or two – have a blessed day, a day of service, a relaxing and fulfilling day and then you can set about making it happen. Naps count in that case!

If you are still working, setting an intention or two supports you in working toward a project completion, a sales goal, writing X number of words, or starting or finishing a creative project.

What about you? Do you have plans you want to achieve? Do you have actions you need to take to make that plan happen, but you aren’t making the progress you desire? Or are you rudderless and need some help?

In either case, we need to talk and maybe I can help, either hit return or call me here.

My current intention is to focus on moving my book through the current phase of editing. If you’ve ever written a book, you know it’s more than just slapping words on a page and printing! This is a journey, despite the desired destination of publication. Along this adventure there are milestones to be accomplished. So, I’m off to go work on editing comments!

Talk soon and til the next time…

Ciao,

P.S. Setting goals are part of what makes our dreams a reality. Sometimes though, it is easier said than done. If you are struggling with accomplishing those goals, feel free to reach out and let’s talk. Book a call here.

Turn Your Daydream into Reality

Turn Your Daydream into Reality!

Vision

Sheri here –

This is a great time of year to reflect on your vision for your future – your dream of what you want your life to look like in the year to come. Now is the time to set your intention, make a plan and dream big. 

As we approach the New Year, I like to map out my goals for the next year to create a roadmap to my dreams.

What Happens When Dreams Take a Turn?

But this year we had a lot that upset our apple cart, so our dreams may have gone awry.  

I don’t know about you, but about mid-March this year, my dreams, my goals and my routines all shifted. While I was accustomed to planning activities that involved jumping in my car and going somewhere – hither and yon – braving the LA freeway traffic, that came to an abrupt halt. Since then I think I’ve filled up my gas tank twice and before it was at least twice a month.

In all honesty, what I’ve come to realize is that I used busyness before to procrastinate and not do some of the things I’d wanted to do, needed to do to make my dreams come alive.

Sometimes You Have to Slow Down to Go Fast

The shutdown and stay at home period gave me time to fill differently. Time to try some new things that terrified me. Time to fill with new dreams, bigger dreams. Since COVID-19, I’ve put on webinars, challenges, speeches and reached out to people in ways I’d only imagined before (thank you, Zoom!).

Sure my actions shifted, but my dreams didn’t. I’m closer, farther along the road to my dreams than ever before. I never saw slowing down as a way of going faster and further.  Sometimes you have to slow down to go fast to achieve your wildest dreams. Who knew?

How about you?  Did your actions shift? Did your dreams shift as well? Maybe you don’t have a dream right now. This is the perfect time to revisit your dreams. The end of the year positions you to reflect back on the year, come to closure on the things that need closure, set new goals and hit the ground running toward your dreams come January 1.

Goals Are a Dream, a Vision, with a Plan

If you have found your vision is cloudy, then maybe you could use a boost.  I have a do it yourself vision course bundle to craft or refine your vision and create your goals to move you closer to Your Next Great Chapter – your BIG dream. Join me!! Check it out here.

You deserve to do this for yourself. A little daydreaming never hurt – in fact, we need to dream our dreams before they become reality. Just saying! Give this gift to yourself – just click here now.

As you think about your year and your dreams – consider sharing some of your successes and even some of your misses in the comments below.

May your week be filled with blessings.

Until next time.

Ciao,

Sheri

P.S Be gentle with yourself as you consider your year and your dreams. This is a time for self-compassion and self-forgiveness. If you need someone to talk to about those things, set up a call with me right here and give yourself a break!  Or, if a do it yourself vision course isn’t your thang, let’s talk here about how you can do it live.

Reflect on the Year

Self Reflection

Sheri here –

Here we are – the first week of December. Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday have all come and gone, and the holiday decorations are in full bloom! Whew, what a whirlwind of a week it’s been. I can hardly keep up with all the social media “holidays” and all the special shopping days.

The first weekend of December is usually our holiday open house where friends we know and love stop by and visit. We wear our favorite holiday attire – aka ugly Christmas sweaters – and enjoy holiday treats!

This year it will be different! We’ll do the same thing, but it will be virtual. We’ll still visit with friends, wear our holiday attire and enjoy holiday treats, but the camaraderie will be via Zoom. Different times call for different tactics–and the “new normal” doesn’t actually feel as abnormal as it did last spring.

Reflect on Your Goals

In addition to holiday celebrations, this is the time of year I reflect on the goals I set earlier in the year, and assess my progress. I talk about the goal setting process in a couple of blogs, here and here if you are looking for more insight! I’m more likely to be successful with a goal than if I simply made a wish or even a resolution.

I plan goals and assess my progress around my health, financial affairs, self-care, relationships, service commitments, my business and a couple of special projects.

Goal setting requires that I think through my plan of action and map out my goals so I have direction. Writing down your goals is an important part of the goal setting process that helps you manifest them. In addition to working the goal, it does require periodically assessing progress.

But the goal assessment process is something less discussed. I typically review my goals at least quarterly, and determine if I need to adjust – either up the ante or back-off a bit.

This year, pandemic aside, I’m trending on track with my health goals. I’ve actually lost weight and expect to make my 10 pound loss goal – primarily because I’ve been eating healthier at home. Everytime I assess my progress on this goal, I’ve found that I’ve lost a pound or two!

That same activity, meal prepping, has added a new dimension to my relationship with my husband, George. We make meal preparation a joint activity, which has proven to have several positive results – healthier eating and a healthier, more engaged relationship!

Situations Change; Modify Your Goals

Generally, the goals I’ve set for myself are moving in the right direction – except one. That’s my business revenue goal – that one took a hit for several reasons. While I felt I had a good plan for ordinary times, it was insufficient for extraordinary times (read pandemic!). Sure I made adjustments, but they weren’t enough to stay on my original path, so I modified the goal.

What?! Modify a goal? Is that even allowed? Why yes, it is. Goals are tools to help us move forward toward our dreams. If circumstances change, you need to adjust.

Modifying goals is part of the assessment process to reflect on a changed situation. Doing that is important. Otherwise, the old goal may become more of an anchor around your neck and serve to demoralize you rather than encourage you to make progress.

This is also where self-compassion and self-forgiveness become important tools in your toolbox. Without these tools, we might beat ourselves up for not achieving something that is doomed to fail because circumstances change.

That negative mindset will stand in the way of us making the necessary adjustments to achieve any level of success. By having compassion and forgiveness for ourselves, we can acknowledge that we did what we could given the situation. We can come to accept circumstances and move in a new, positive, doable direction.

Celebrate Your Successes

In addition to the holiday celebrations, this is a perfect time to celebrate achievements. Celebration needs to be part of every goal setting plan. While the accomplishment should be its own reward, it’s not always enough. Sometimes you need to reward yourself to further acknowledge that you accomplished your goal – a great big atta girl! If not you, then who will do that? Think about that for a moment.

How about you? Maybe you could benefit from some reflection, goal setting, reassessment and celebration, too.

Share some of your successes and even some of your misses in the comments below.

Remember – a little self-compassion and self-forgiveness go a long way in nurturing ourselves and keeping us emotionally fit!

‘Til the next time…

Ciao and Happy Holidays,

Sheri

P.S. Do you need help with practicing self-compassion or self-forgiveness? If so, hit reply or set up a call with me right here and give yourself a break!

Making Change – SMARTER Goals!

Goals

Sheri here –

Well here we are, well into the new year and a new decade. 

Did you decide where you were going to start?

Write SMARTER Goals

Did you write any SMARTER goals?  As I mentioned last week SMARTER is an acronym, which sets out the actions for goal setting:
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Time-Bound
E – Evaluate
R – Readjust

These have a higher success rate than New Year’s resolutions. 

Where to begin?  Frequently losing weight and reducing debt are two that are high on the list.

These both have a lot in common.  They require focus, intentionality, and tracking.

Goal Success Requires Focus; Maybe New Habits

With food, some of the best success rates that I’ve experienced have come with daily food tracking – either in an app such as My Fitness Pal or the old fashion, manual diary. 

The most important thing is to keep track of what you are eating, then followed by PLANNING what your food consumption will look like.

Oh my, does that sound like a lot of work or what.  Well, if you are just starting, yes, it is work, because you are changing patterns – creating a new habit.  Changing habits is frequently at the heart of weight loss and fitness.

Even the commitment to do exercise daily or 5 days a week may be a change in pattern for you.  I know it is for me.  It starts with desire and intentionality.  Being committed to achieving your goals, whether it is weight loss or just to feel better.

It does take effort.

Changing your spending patterns are much the same.  It takes a written plan (aka budget) and tracking your actual spending daily.
This can also be done using an app, manually on paper or even using a spreadsheet.  It takes a commitment to do the work to make a change.

As you track your daily spending, you get a LOT of information about how you spend money.  You may begin to see ways you could reduce what you spend – either in cash or on credit – and make real differences in your life.

Adopting new habits, no matter what they are – changes in eating, exercise or spending requires some dedicated focus.  It might also require a coach, a trainer or an accountability buddy. 

Change Requires Action

Many of our goals requires change. Wishin’ don’t make it so – changes require action.

Are you committed to change, thinking about it? 

What changes are you focused on making?  Share with us in the Facebook Group Reinventing You, just click here! 

Nothing changes until something changes.  It can be a dream, that becomes a goal, that becomes an action.  It can be one small step on a journey that will, over time, change your life.

Need some help – all you need to do is ask…

Ciao and hugs,

Sheri

P.S.   If you really want to change and you know you need some help, let’s talk, you can schedule some time to chat right here with this link.   

Resolutions – Not! Make Goals Instead!

Goals

Sheri here – 

Are you making New Year’s resolutions?  Don’t waste your time! 

What you say?  Don’t try to change?  Don’t try to improve yourself?
Only 8% of the people who make resolutions are successful – that is a pretty sad success rate!  Many don’t even survive the WEEK, let alone the month.

Make a Plan

I am not advocating that you don’t strive for personal growth or improvement.  But use a method that WORKS!

There are studies (well, purportedly, there are studies) that say 3% of Harvard grads that made written goals WITH A PLAN, made 10 times the money their fellow grads made who either had no goals or had goals with no plans.

Create Goals

So, as I said, don’t make New Years’ resolutions – make written goals with a plan!

I remember years ago when someone had told me about goals, I decided that I would write a set of goals that I wanted to achieve during my lifetime.

I spent quite a bit of time working on them.  I wrote them out.  I wrote out STRETCH goals, the kind that seemed possible but really stretched me. Life got busy.  The piece of paper with my goals got buried in the clutter of everyday life.

One day when I was moving, several years later, I came across the piece of paper and was stunned to see that I had already achieved a number of those goals.

Once again they got buried in the move and resurfaced again, years later.

This time, I realized that I had achieved every single one of those goals that I had written down.  They had been acting as a rudder for my actions over the years.

Make Them SMARTER Goals

I’ve become an advocate of goal setting.  But…I have discovered, there is a method to assuring greater success with your goals.

That method is setting SMARTER written goals.  What you say – SMARTER written goals?  What on earth is that?

It is an acronym, which sets out the actions.  Here ya go:
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Time-Bound
E – Evaluate
R – Readjust

So get a piece of paper and write out your SMARTER goals – not New Year’s resolutions!

Try it.  It might make the difference you have been looking for.

I’d love to hear your top 3 SMARTER goals for the year.  Share it with us in the Facebook Group Reinventing You, just click here!

Whether you write goals or not, spend a little time reflecting on the year, even the decade that is ending and dream a little about how you want next year to be.  Then, maybe write some goals!!

Have a safe, wonderful New Year’s celebration.

Sheri

P.S.  Ok, so you like the idea of written goals and how they could make your dreams more realizable, but you are still BAFFLED by SMARTER goals.  If you’d like some help, let’s talk, you can schedule some time to chat right here with this link.

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