Celebrate Your Achievements

Many people just don’t take the time to stop and acknowledge what they have achieved. It could be a very small accomplishment or a huge deal, but if we don’t stop and take stock of it, we’re essentially telling ourselves that what we’ve done doesn’t matter, that it’s not worthy of acknowledgement or celebration.

 Now, I’m not talking balloons and cake (well, not always) but some sort of private or personal acknowledgement. Some people buy themselves a little trinket or that fancy vacuum they’ve been coveting. Others get a massage or have that very special glass of champagne with friends or co-workers.

The focus here is to take the time to praise yourself. When the mind and body get that positive reinforcement, they’ll like it and will want more. You’ll find it will become easier to do whatever it is you’ve set your mind to because you’re kind to yourself when you reach your goals or achievements.

www.GYSPermission.com/coaching

Give YourSelf Permission to Have FUN

Do you sometimes think, “Well, I just don’t have the time to have fun”, “I don’t want to seem silly or frivolous,” or “Having fun makes no money”?

If so, what happens then? Do you have fun anyhow? Or negate that side of you?

Now consider how you feel after having had a little fun, a good laugh, or a wild dance? How do your mind and body feel at this point? I suspect you might feel lighter, calmer, and maybe even freer.

Many people feel that having fun is a waste of time or that they shouldn’t be taking the time out. In the conventional workplace, having fun is seen as goofing off or unproductive. Increasingly, however, many of the new companies, especially technology companies like Google and Yahoo! have come to see that it’s good to encourage play and, in fact, it increases productivity.

I cannot tell you how many clients look at me blankly when I ask them what they do for fun. They have no idea, and when pressed to come up with something, they squirm in their seats and often show real resistance to giving themselves permission to even think of doing something for themselves. This is when I ask them to tell me what they used to do for fun when they were younger, less busy and had fewer responsibilities. Finally, they remember something, a flicker of recognition crosses their faces and they visibly relax.

Exercise: Fun

What did you use to do that made you happy? Something that was a lot of fun? Is there an element of whatever it was that you could take and blend with your current lifestyle? What would the activity look like now? What actions would you need to take to make this fun activity happen?

So, are you willing to give fun a go and not feel guilty about it? Many find they’re far more productive at home and work after having had a little fun and are more engaged with those around them. So, why not go out and make fun be your priority this holiday season?

Make Your 2013 Vision Board - 7 Easy Steps

Simply put, a Vision Board is a poster size “collage” of images and words which depicts the vision you have for your life. It is not an arts and crafts project. I encourage many of my clients, both male and female, to use this technique to access goals, values, actions and needs they sometimes find difficult to articulate verbally or in the written word. The Vision Board is the end product of an intuitive and creative process that can be enjoyed and referred back to when you need focus or encouragement.

I’ve seen articles about what “right” way to make  vision board, but I don’t think there is a right or wrong way, it’s a very individual project and you need to find the way that works for you.

The key to a good Vision Board is be open to whatever comes up, trust your instincts, pay attention to the process of making it and have fun. I also would say think big, most of my clients limit themselves by thinking too small.

Step1:

Develop a clear idea of what you want this specific Vision Board to represent (e.g. work goals for 2013, parenting goals, giving or service goals, self-care goals, life goals, health goals etc. etc.-or everything together). My intention was to have a board that represented what I wanted for my work in 2013. I knew I wanted to get my book published in 2013, but there was nothing too clear beyond that. However by doing the board all the supporting actions became apparent.

Step 2:

Choose about 4 or 5 magazines you think are interesting and relevant to your 2013 goals. Don’t think too hard; just pick the ones which jump out at you. Also pick a board in any colour that takes your fancy.

Step 3:

Go through the magazines and just rip out the pages with images, titles and quotes that speaks to you, or evokes some positive or empowering emotion or feeling. Also, keep your focus on the intention for the board. In this case what you want for your life in 2013. Again, don’t think too hard, just keep ripping, you can always triage later. I would suggest doing this in one sitting to get momentum. You will know when you have enough material.

Step 4:

Mock up or find online anything imperative to the board you did not find in the magazines. I (tentatively) mocked up a cover of the book and added the desired publisher’s logo to the cover. I also found a 2013 header I liked and I would suggest adding a picture of yourself as it puts you in the scenario and vision.

Step 5:

Cut out everything you found from the ripped pages. Start to look at what you chose and see if there is anything that surprises you or if there are patterns emerging. By looking at some of the phrases I had chosen I started to see that it was time for me to take real, strong and meaningful action.

Step 6:

Start pasting the images onto the board. I sometimes find the larger images can anchor the corners and then smaller images can overlap the larger. Take your time with this, but I would suggest doing this in one sitting too. You will start to see themes and groupings and you can paste relevant images together. It really is up to you and what makes sense to you.

Step 7:

Admire your work, focus on your intention and understand what your actions need to be to realize your goals. Some of the images evoke a feeling or thought for you but may mean something different to others, but don’t worry... it’s your board and you can show it, or hide it, from whomever you please.

If anyone wants to share their boards with me, I would love to see them. You can email them to me at priya@prkcoaching.com.

Happy Vision Boarding and Happy Planning!