5 Things That Could Be Stopping You From Achieving Your Goals

The New Year is coming and it is again time for most of us to set new goals for ourselves. But before you start making your list, take a moment and try to think back to your last year's resolutions. Were you able to do all of it? If not, try to remember the reasons why you failed to achieve your previous goals. Here are some of the things that might be stopping you from completing your goals to become a better person than today.

1. Fear - Most people stop pursuing their goals because they are afraid of many things. The fear of failing, the fear of being embarrassed and sometimes the fear of succeeding or change stop them from doing what they really want. The only thing that you should fear is not doing anything to make your life better.

Face your fears and free yourself from any doubts. It's the only way to live a happy and better life. When the opportunity to change knocks on your door let it in and don't initially resist it. It could be an opportunity for personal development and to motivate you to follow a new direction in life.

2. Evaluation - There are times when we lose focus on our goals because we try to evaluate the results of our efforts too soon. And when we do, we often find certain shortcomings or flaw with ourselves that make us want to give up even if we're not yet done trying. When you are trying to achieve something, you can review your progress from time to time. But if you don't see any significant changes it doesn't mean that you should give up already. But rather, it is a message that you should try harder and perhaps rethink your strategies.

3. Comparing Yourself to Others. There are some people who often end up comparing themselves based on what others are achieving. Then, they feel miserable when they see someone more successful than they are. Remember that when you try to look around you will always see people who are more successful than you. And when you do see them, don't feel bad about yourself. Instead, try to learn from them and get some ideas on how you can improve your strategies towards achieving your goals.

4. Poor Time Management - One of the most important elements of success is time. When you don't have it, how then can you expect yourself to achieve anything? Time is valuable so, don't waste any minute of it. Learn when your most productive time of the day is, then, set your agenda appropriately. Remember that procrastination is the enemy of success. So, never put off tasks that you can do now.

5. Indecisiveness - If you can't make up your mind about what you really want, you end up not achieving anything at all. Make a choice, stick with it, and never look back. You need to be very decisive on matters that concern your personal development.

5 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Take Personal Goal Setting For Granted

Have you ever felt like your not getting anywhere in life? Or do you work so hard and yet you still end up thinking that all your efforts are not worthwhile? Perhaps, the reason why you are having these unpleasant feelings is because you are not spending enough time to think about what you really want in life and you haven't set your goals formally. Of course, anyone who sets out in a journey must know where he is going in order to get there.

Goal setting is proven to be a very powerful process in achieving whatever you desire in life. It allows you to turn your vision of your future into reality by having the right kind of motivation and knowing where to focus your efforts. Here are more reasons why you should not miss out on personal goal setting.

1. Goals give you a clear target to aim for. You cannot manifest what you want without setting concrete goals. With a clear target in mind, you will be forced to use your time and resources wisely to hit that target. Always remember that all things are created twice. First, you create something in your mind. Then, you must work on it to become reality.

2. Goals provide the right kind of motivation, desire and persistence. The biggest accomplishments in life are often riddled with obstacles and failures. This is why people don't always get what they want on the first try. If you are aiming for something significant in life, it is likely that you will be faced with different struggles before you achieve it. Thus, you need to have the right motivation or reason to move on when things get rough.

One of the main reasons why some people fall short of achieving their dreams is because they forget their reasons why they need to move forward and work harder. Having a clear set of goals allows you to remember why you shouldn't let yourself fail.

3. Goals help set your priorities. You will find a lot of diversions between where you currently are and the place where you really want to be. Other people might even tell you or influence you on where to go, thus altering your main objectives. Do not let other people determine where you should end up. Goals give you a mental framework of your priorities and help you do the right things based on these priorities.

4. Goals let you take full control of your future. Whatever goals you set in life, whether it is about relationship, work, family or health, you are creating a specific path for yourself. It means that you're putting yourself in control of your life and you're not letting anyone or anything hinder you from achieving your dreams. In life's journey, you are the driver of your own vehicle. And if your vehicle is the choices you make in life, the goals you set are maps that will take you exactly where you want to be.

5. Goals make you time bound. Its one thing to say, "I will be a team leader" and another to say," I will be a team leader in 6 months". It's like giving yourself a deadline. And by doing so, you are putting a little bit of pressure into the equation of success. Pressure is also a good motivator to work hard and see the realization of your dreams.

Teaching Your Kids the Value of Saving

 

Teaching Your Kids the Value of Saving

Your kids learn a lot of things from you as they grow up. They learn lessons that you specifically teach them, such as how to tie their shoes and proper study habits, as well as lessons from observing you, such as ethical principles and morals. The vast majority of the financial education that children receive also will come from their parents. Some of these lessons may be observed and others may be taught through structured or planned lessons. One of the most important financial lessons that you can teach your kids involves the importance of saving and how to save.

Why Saving Money Matters

Adults who are financially secure are those who have a healthy cash reserve in savings accounts and other types of accounts. The amount of personal debt adults carry has an indirect correlation on their savings account balance. Savings allows you to use cash rather than debt to make large purchases, to pay for life's emergencies and more. Furthermore, adults who have sufficient balances in their savings accounts are not forced to live with the stress of living paycheck-to-paycheck. Saving money helps adults to live a comfortable, financially secure life. As a parent, this is a type of life that you want your kids to enjoy.

How to Teach Kids to Save

There are several different ways to teach kids to save. You should talk to them regularly about the steps that you take to save money. The best way to save is to make small, regular contributions to your savings account. Ensure that your kids know that a portion of your income regularly is deposited into your savings account. You should also show kids the value of saving by opening up a savings account for them. Encourage them to earn money by doing chores around the house. If they are old enough, they may earn money with a side job like babysitting. Deposit a portion of their regular earnings into a savings account. Review the balance of their savings account regularly so that they can see their account balance grow with time. When kids want to make a purchase, encourage them to save up their money for it rather than hand them the money as they desire it.

Teaching kids about money, and particularly about saving money, can take a long time to do. By saving a small amount of money on a regular basis, savings account balances can grow significantly. Because of this, showing kids the rewards associated with saving money will take time and regular effort, but the benefit that your kids will enjoy throughout their adult lives will be worthwhile.

http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/teachchild.pdf

How Changing Bad Habits Can Positively Change Your Life

Everyone has bad habits. Some people smoke, some binge eat and some might even engage in self-destructive behavior. These habits are often deeply ingrained into one's personality, to the point of becoming the traits by which many define themselves. If you want to change the course of your life you have to learn how to change these bad habits. Although it is an often long and difficult process the results will allow you to succeed where you may have otherwise failed. The steps below can help you learn how to identify, confront and eventually eliminate the habits that might control your life.

Changing Your Habits

Your bad habits are often part of who you are. You might make excuses for them, embrace them or even get a bit prickly when others bring them up. In reality though, these are not just habits -- they are a failing. They might be holding you back from achieving success in business, your social life or even love. Embracing your bad habits means simply learning how to live with what is going wrong, but eliminating them means that you are willing to make a positive change in your own life. There is nothing that says that this is easy, of course, but you should be willing to try it. After all, getting rid of your bad habits is one of the few ways that you can control your own life.

What Does It Mean To Get Rid of Bad Habits?

Getting rid of bad habits is more than just eliminating a negative behavior. To truly break yourself of a bad habit you have to learn how to make an effective change in your life. If you fail to do so you might replace your current bad habit with one that is just as bad. Or worse, you might even find yourself slipping back into old habits without giving yourself a chance to change. Instead, you must consider breaking yourself of bad habits to be a journey that will allow you to understand not only what you are doing wrong, but also to understand why you have made the choices that you have made. While this is not always a pleasant experience it can help you to change your life for the better.

How To Make A Change

The process of changing bad habits is one of small steps. The first, and perhaps most important, step is to figure out why you do what you do. Take the time to log your bad habits, noting both the time and what preceded the action. If your bad habit is late-night snacking, try to get an idea of the situation in which it occurs. Do you snack because you are hungry, or because you are stressed? If you know why you undertake the behavior you are more likely to be able to change it.

After you figure out the "why" you can move on to making a change. Sometimes, the mere knowledge of the behavior will be enough to break the habit. For others, it will take greater discipline. Try giving yourself a small reward when you go a day without performing the habit. Or try to take time to replace the bad habit with something positive. If you like to smoke in the morning, for example, you might be better served by going for a run. Changing the behavior is a key to controlling your life.

What Happens After The Change?

The real question when making any kind of life change is whether the effort is worth it. For most, eliminating a bad habit can have one of many possible side effects. You might eliminate a habit that costs you money, or you might eliminate something that allows you a better chance to excel at work. You might become more attractive to the opposite sex in some cases and you might learn to have a better opinion of yourself in others. No matter the specific change, though, you will be engaging in a process that will allow you to have greater control of your own life. You may think that you are only eliminating a problem habit, but the reality of the situation is that you are taking the first steps on a path to greater personal success.
 

5 Common Mistakes in Setting Personal Goals

 
Setting personal development goals is important since it creates a clear 

direction of where your life should be heading. Goals encourage you to grow and 

become the person that you want to be. They help you achieve things that you 

probably think impossible for you to achieve. If you don't have your own set of 

goals, you might spend the rest of your life fulfilling the goals of the people 

around you.
 
However, you need to be very careful when setting goals for yourself. If you 

don't do it right, it is more likely that you will only be wasting your time and efforts. If you want to create significant changes in your life, you have to 

avoid the common goal setting mistakes listed below.
 
 1. Not putting your goals in writing. Just like any other things, writing your 

goals down allows you to remember them easily. It will also help you keep your 

focus on what you really want instead of the random things that come to your mind

every single day. It gives certain clarity on what you have to achieve, allowing you to come up with better strategies for success.
 
 2. Not creating a system for remembering your goals. Although, writing down 

goals is a good start, you need to have a system for remembering them. You need 

to be constantly reminded of the things that you have to do. One way of doing 

this is by writing your goals on a piece of paper. Then, put that paper where you

can always see it such as on your bathroom door, work/study table or computer 

monitor.
 
 3. Not setting specific or clear goals. The rule in effective goal setting is 

that your goal must be quantifiable or measurable. For example, you want to lose weight. How will you know when you have already reached your goal of losing 

weight? After you've lost 5 or 10 pounds? It would be difficult to track your 

progress if you are aiming for unspecific goals.
 
What you should do is include hard numbers to your goals. By doing so, you are 

creating a finish line for yourself which allows you to say when you have finally

succeeded.
 
 4. Not setting realistic goals. So, you now have a set of specific goals. 

Fantastic! The next thing to do is make sure that they are realistic or 

attainable. Nothing can kill your motivation faster than unrealistic goals. If 

you want to lose 5 pounds in a week, that would be a great goal, measurable and 

realistic. But if you say, you want to lose 5 pounds in a day, that's called day dreaming. Unrealistic goals are overwhelming and often results to procrastination.
 
 5. Not having a plan. Achieving your goals doesn't end in just having a goal. 

Of course, you have to make them happen. You have to create a plan on how to be 

where you want to be. You may need to do a bit of research before creating a 

plan. You may search the Internet or ask your friends who have actually been to 

where you want to be for some advice.
 
Create a clear, specific and practical plan to achieve your goals. However, be 

careful of over-planning. Otherwise, you might not get started at all. You also 

have to remember that when it comes to planning, you have to be very flexible. 

Make room for the things that might happen unexpectedly.
 
When things don't go as planned, you need to be able to adjust your actions 

based on what is actually happening around you. Analyze the situation and create another plan of action.
 

Expand Your Vision

"God is not found in places. God is found in consciousness."

-Joel Goldsmith

You've heard of thinking outside the box, right? When you think outside the box you open yourself to innovative ways of approaching problems or situations and you can look at things from a new perspective. But when you are stuck in a rut feeling like there's no way out of your situation whether it's mental, financial, emotional or physical it's hard to think outside the box because you're stuck inside of it!

I often hear people say things like: I'll never meet anyone again, I'll never get out of debt, who would want to hire me, I guess I'll be alone forever, who would want to marry me, why doesn't anything ever good happen to me? And on and on.

So, what is it that you think is missing for these people? What is the one thing that they can't see because they are lost in the darkness inside their own mind and their old ways of thinking? What if this darkness that occupies Mind Street was replaced with hope, belief and trust? Then would they have a different view of things?

When you open your vision beyond your own little inside world filled with fears, doom and gloom, woe-is-me, limited thinking you will begin to see what's beyond the inside of the box. And, when you allow yourself to open up to a new way of thinking or a new consciousness; what is outside of the box is a world filled with infinite possibilities.

Instead of being locked down by your thoughts, your thoughts will be the very thing that can set you free. It begins with trusting that life is working out the way it's supposed to on your unique journey.

Let's just pretend you have a barometer that can read your "trust level." It goes from 1 to 100. Now throughout the day you're going to check and see what your meter reads. If you trust in God/Your Higher Self/Allah/ or whatever and you truly believe that you are being guided; your trust level is high. But if you don't believe things will work out for you and you have no faith, where do you think your trust level will be? The best part is you can adjust your trust level by what you choose to believe in.

When you can learn to expand your vision to connect with a higher consciousness, this connection is the essence of who you are and who you are connected to. And it is through this connection that you raise your mind to a new level that is out of the box and you will be well on your way to experiencing life the way you were meant to.

Many people seek out this connection through meditation, and prayer which helps you become aware of who you really are. Too often what happens is we identify who we are with our human experience, our mind or ego, i.e. who we are, what we drive, where we live, what our story is, what is happening to us and all of the superficial stuff.

But when you become more "consciously aware" of who you really are which is your soul and you connect with your soul, i.e. a higher consciousness, you will look at things with new eyes, a new awareness. Begin to look at life through your spiritual eyes; it will stretch your faith and your vision so you can get rid of the old negative mind-sets that hold you back.

And when you understand this, you will have expanded your vision and how you look at life. It's worth the view!
 

Love Yourself And Build Your Self Esteem

It might seem that life is just a matter of dealing with what is thrown at you.  However, if you want to take control and create the life you want, the best place to start is to love yourself.  Psychologists have said for years that people who value themselves and have high levels of self-esteem are happier in general and have better coping skills than people with negative feelings toward themselves.

Affirmations Work Wonders

Affirmations are sayings you often tell yourself.  For many people stuck in negative thought patterns, affirmations seem trite and false, since they are more comfortable with the negative messages they tell themselves.  However, turning negative thought patterns into positive ones can make a huge difference in how you see yourself.

Affirmations are messages that are heard and understood by the subconscious.  The subconscious functions without a filter.  It does not differentiate between what is accurate and what is false.  Instead, it simply listens to what it is fed and integrates it into your thought process.

There are many ways to use affirmations to build your self-esteem.  You can start by writing up a list of affirmations for yourself that confirm the message you want your subconscious to absorb.  Here is a list of examples:

- I am a valuable person.

- I am a loving person.

- I love myself.

- I am generous.

The primary goal in writing affirmations is to help you identify the qualities in yourself that you value and ways you can build your self esteem.  If you have problems coming up with a few of these qualities, think of characteristics that you value in others.  One of the wonderful things about affirmations and the subconscious is that by telling yourself you have these qualities, you begin to exhibit them in your behaviors.  Remember, the subconscious does not have a filter and absorbs what it is repeatedly told regardless of the accuracy of the statement.

Using Affirmations

When you have your list of affirmations that you want to integrate into your subconscious, you can begin to use them.  Often, you will need to use affirmations for several weeks before you begin to feel a shift in your thoughts.  However, once you begin to see positive changes within yourself, you may decide that affirmations can help you in other areas of your life.

Affirmation Method #1 - Make an audio file of your affirmations and listen to it several times a   day.  The best audio files are ones you do yourself.  Hearing your own voice is more effective than listening to someone else's voice because your subconscious immediately recognizes your personal authority.  One of the best times to listen to your audio file is right before you go to sleep, when you are relaxed and you mind is receptive.

Affirmation Method #2 - Write your affirmations and place them where you can see them regularly.  You can write your affirmations on sticky-notes and place them around your bathroom mirror and repeat them to yourself as you go through your morning and nighttime routines.

Affirmations are a great way to increase your self-esteem.  The more often you repeat positive messages to yourself, the better you will feel about yourself.  You will find that you love yourself more and you will begin to behave and act in positive ways that reflect the loving messages that you are sending to yourself.  By using affirmations, you can take control of what you think and feel about yourself instead of being at the mercy of what others tell you