Skip to main content

Achieve Your Goals by Starting with Your Feelings

This is the time of year everyone is talking about New Year's Resolutions and setting goals. I used to think that the "resolutions" themselves were actually the goals. Turns out I had it all wrong...

“Goals” are more like “stepping stones” that will bring you closer to the kind of life you want to live; what you’ve always dreamed your life would be like. It's what pulls you through when things get challenging and you feel like giving up. Having a great life is all about goals: big goals, small goals. Together, they assemble your life from dream to reality.

I've also recently discovered that goals are so much more than “physical” or material achievement. I've met many people whose amazing accomplishments have left them feeling spiritually unfulfilled, emotionally ill, physically broken, and deeply unhappy.

So aside from getting a raise or promotion, losing weight, meeting the love of your life; whatever your goals may be - what emotions do you want to experience by achieve those goals? Do you want to feel “sexy” again? Do you want to feel "strong" and “in control” of your life? Try to achieve those “emotions”, and the “physical” manifestation will follow.

Let's say you have a goal of losing 20 pounds. When you focus on how reaching that goal will make you feel, you won’t get stuck beating yourself up over the last few pounds if you are already feeling fabulous. And, that freedom from self-abuse will be what "pulls" you toward the completion of your goal - effortlessly.

It’s what some people call it the “Big Why”.

Why do you want to achieve your goal? Dig deeper than your initial answer. Your initial response to wanting to lose 20 pounds may be to look good in your clothes. Don’t stop there… Why do you want to look good in your clothes? Your next response may be that you want to feel confident about yourself. Well, then.... keep going - Why is that self-confidence so important? (See where I’m going with this?)

Perhaps that self-confidence is important to you because you will then feel empowered to do more of the things that you wanted to do and live your life to its fullest potential! This is the BIG reason!

Feelings like this will pull you forward when you feel unmotivated. They will be what gets you back on track when you fall off the wagon.

So, get in touch with your feelings (your REAL feelings); the root feelings of why you desire reaching any particular goal. Then make note of them whenever you write down your goals.

On a side note: make sure they are stated in the positive. Since the subconscious mind does not filter the “negative” – if you say, “I don’t want to feel tired” your subconscious mind only focuses on “tired” – and you will stay being tired.

Instead, say “I want to feel energetic and productive,” then your subconscious mind will actively work toward finding to achieve a more energetic life!

Your "do it now" action item: 
Make some time this evening to journal about what feelings and emotions you want to have through achieving your goals in 2014. Create a “Big Why” statement and remember to "go deep." Ask "why" you want to achieve a goal at least three to five times to get to the real "core" of your motivation. Then, keep this list handy to review and recharge whenever your feel stuck or fall off the wagon.

I would love to hear what you come up with. So feel free to leave a comment below.

As always - Enjoy Your Life

John Aaron Villarreal


Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When Should I Get a Massage and How Often?

This is a question I get often… Let’s face it, if it were up to massage therapists we’d say that you should get a massage every day, but in reality – very few people ever have the means or time to make this scenario play out in their lives. So technically speaking, your frequency should depend on how much you like massage, how often you experience chronic pain, and your budget. If you’re able to afford it, getting a monthly or weekly massage works best at helping prevent injuries by catching tight areas before they become problematic. With my more athletic clients (runners, weightlifters, gymnasts), I usually recommend timing their massage to coincide with the times they are training their hardest. For example, runners can develop tight hamstrings and hips, gymnasts and weight-lifters can get tight shoulders. These tight muscle groups can elicit injuries over time if they aren't treated by massage. If you are physically active, I recommend getting a massage within 24 hours ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Coffee Has Health Benefits

Anyone who knows me knows I love my Joe…. err, “cup of joe” that is. In fact, I’m enjoying a cup as I write this post. However, as a wellness professional that little admission of guilt has gotten me a few sneers and looks of condescension. Caffeine is BAD for you, they say! Well, perhaps abusing caffeine may be “bad” for you, but ‘caffeine’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘coffee.’ Despite this fact, coffee has gotten a bad rep over the years after a few health experts linked it (or rather, linked caffeine abuse) to several diseases. But is coffee actually that bad? Probably not; new research shows that drinking coffee in moderation provides numerous health benefits. Antidepressant It might seem a little odd to find that coffee could help with depression, but new research has shown that it does just that. Now, don’t go throwing out your prescriptions or quit counseling just yet though, coffee is not a cure for depression. Rather, the caffeine in coffee helps regulate your mood trans...
2 comments
Read more

Cutting Calories: 4 Easy Steps

It’s been said that if you want to lose weight, you need to move more and eat less. For some, however, the eating less part is the most dreaded. Yet, cutting calories from your diet doesn’t have to be a struggle and you don’t need to go on some fad or trendy diet to do it. Making small, simple changes can make a huge difference. To prove this point, I’ve outlined 4 simple steps that you can take toward cutting calories today. Step One: Stop drinking soda Whether you drink regular soda or diet soda, it’s a good thing to remove from your diet. It’s a lot of empty calories and replacement sugars that you don’t need in your body, and don’t even get me started on the subject of “corn syrup” or artificial sweeteners. If you want to kick your addiction to sodas then cutting them out completely is the best way to do that. You will save yourself money and a lot of unneeded calories by cutting out just this one item. Step Two: Portion properly It’s very important to learn what prop...
2 comments
Read more