Tag Archives: Writing

My 2024 Goals

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Setting annual goals gives us DIRECTION for the year ahead.

Where we end up as a result of goal setting is UNKNOWN but wouldn’t you rather be going in the DIRECTION YOU SET instead of anywhere else?

Annual goal setting gives us PURPOSE & MEANING and the more we work on our goals, the more PURPOSE & MEANING we bring into our lives.

Using the template outlined in my blog post Setting Dream Driven Goals, I ask myself the following four questions for each area of my life to set my goals for 2024.

What are my DREAM DRIVEN GOALS?

WHY are these goals important to me?

HOW will I achieve these goals?

What METRICS will I use to measure progress?

All of my goals and everything I do align with the concepts of I Am Enough and Less is More.

Below are my 2024 Annual Goals for each area of my life,

1. SENSE OF SELF:

Before I dive into my goals in this area, I’ll explain what Sense of Self means to me.

This category combines my spirituality, personal development, personal strategy and my relationship with myself. This category is all about who I am, who I want to be and how I feel about myself & the world around me. This is also where I work on the concepts of self love, self worth, self esteem, self belief, self trust, self confidence, self assurance, self understanding, self respect, self awareness and self observation.

The success of this category determines the success in all other categories of my life and so it is the most important category of my life.

What are my Sense of Self Dream Driven Goals?

To prioritise, understand and learn more about myself to bring the best version of my truest, most authentic self to my life, my relationships & the world.
To learn more about, grow and stay grounded spiritually.
To utilise, improve and learn more about my personal strategy.

WHY are my Sense of Self goals important to me?

My Sense of Self has taken a bit of a battering over the past few years and so it’s pretty unstable at the moment. This means my entire life feels unstable – this is not a nice place to be and not somewhere I want to spend too much more time in!

My personal strategy keeps me on top of everything & ensures I get everything done with no stress, strain or pressure! The more visibility & understanding I have in my life, the more I can see what areas I want to improve and change.

When I don’t utilise my personal strategy I feel disorganised, overwhelmed, under pressure, stressed, less grounded, less happy & less fulfilled.

HOW will I achieve my Sense of Self goals?

Learn more about sprituality, psychology and concepts of self
Create my personal strategy for 2024 and carry out regular plans and reviews
Journal daily – daily journaling is a game changer in terms of self awareness
Spend sufficient time in solitude – I’m an introvert and so solitude is as important to me as oxygen is!

What METRICS will measure progress towards my Sense Self goals?

Progress in terms of ‘Sense of Self’ is difficult to measure, it’s almost intangible. It is however closely linked to my happiness, contentment and fulfillment of which all of the above add to immensely.

Currently I don’t have a measure for this category other than how joyful I feel every day and what I learn about myself.

2. RELATIONSHIPS:

What are my relationship Dream Driven Goals?

To nurture & improve my relationships & spend quality time with Mike, my family & friends This part of my life is really just about enjoying the company of those I love and who love me.

There is no greater gift!

My beloved Dad passed away last year. Learning to live with my Dad’s physical absence is something that I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to. I don’t even know how I’ll get used to life without him, it’s just so incomprehensible.

WHY are my relationship goals important to me?

My relationships with those I love are my greatest source of happiness and I want to ensure my relationships are given the time and focus that they deserve.

The work I do in the Sense of Self category will also support my relationships to ensure I bring the best version of my truest, most authentic self to my relationships

HOW will I achieve my relationship goals?

Navigate the journey of grief for my beloved Dad which brings me much sadness.
Spend precious time with Mike, my family and friends which brings me much joy.

What METRICS will measure progress towards my relationship goals?

There are no metrics in this category although I do ensure I capture the precious time I spend with those I love in photos and journaled memories.

3. HEALTH:

What are my health Dream Driven Goals?

Mental & Emotional Health: To nurture & improve my mental & emotional health to create mental & emotional stability and strength.

Physical Health: To nurture and improve my physical health to be the healthiest, fittest and strongest I can be.

WHY are my health important to me?

My health is the foundation on which everything else is built – without health, nothing else can thrive.

Over the past few years, my entire perspective on my health has changed. It is no longer about being healthy because I enjoy eating well, exercising and fitting into my clothes. Health is now about longevity and having fitness, strength & mobility to enjoy that longevity.

Dr Lisa Misconi says ‘Your health in mid life is the biggest determining factor of your health in later life’. This is why it is so important to be the healthiest, fittest and strongest I have ever been!

I feel more grounded, happy, joyful, less anxious, less overwhelmed, less stressed and more at peace with myself, life & everything when I feel fit and healthy.

HOW will I achieve my health goals?

I make the same health goals every year and have learned that progress is not linear. Some years I am at my healthiest, fittest and strongest and some years I am not.

What matters is not so much linear progress, but what I learn about my health and the continuous work I put in to improve it.

1. Mental & Emotional Health:

To understand and prioritise what supports my mental health. For me, mental health is the most important element of overall health as without mental health, nothing else will function optimally.

To understand and prioritise what supports my emotional life. I’m an Enneagram 4 and so pretty much live on my emotions! Managing my emotions needs to be a daily practise to stay sane!

2. Physical Health:

Continuously work on my physical health to be the healthiest, fittest and strongest I can be. I do this through embedding healthy habits for nutrition, exercise, sleep, relaxation etc. Here I schedule and monitor results of health check ups – optician, dentist, bloods etc.

What METRICS will measure progress towards my health goals?

Health metrics of BMI, weight, nutrition, exercise, sleep etc
Health checks completed and progress on same

4. FINANCE:

What are my finance Dream Driven Goals?

I only have one Financial Dream Driven Goal – to achieve and enjoy Financial Freedom.

Financial Freedom is defined as ‘having sufficient income, savings or investments to live comfortably for life and meet all one’s obligations without relying on a salary’.

I have learned a huge amount about Financial Freedom from Tony Robbin’s excellent book Money – Master the Game. Tony says Financial Freedom is ‘a long-term plan to build the life of your dreams. Tony also says ‘success is doing what you want to do, when you want, where you want, with whom you want, as much as you want, that’s also financial freedom’.

Both of these definitions sit well with me and sum up my dreams for Financial Freedom!

WHY are my finance goals important to me?

For me, financial freedom isn’t about having a certain amount of money or buying material things. Financial freedom is more about using my financial situation to have the freedom to enjoy all other areas of life as much as possible.

I want the freedom to give as much time as I want to other area of my life
I want the freedom to work for joy and not for the necessity of money
I want the freedom to contribute to the world however I want to

HOW will I achieve my finance goals?

I use the word ‘abundantly’ throughout my 2024 financial goals as I believe that reaching financial goals has as much to do with a growth and abundance mindset as it has to do with money.

To abundantly spend and enjoy spending

To enjoy and monitor my spending.

I’m not great at sticking to a budget but what I am very good at is monitoring spend in great detail. This ensures I know exactly how much I spend and can adjust my habits accordingly.

To abundantly increase my financial value

To increase my financial value – my financial value is my total savings, investments and pensions.

I find financial value is a better metric than earnings as while you could be staying on the same earnings, your financial value could be increasing depending on your savings, investments and pensions.

In stark contrast your earnings could be increasing but if you are not saving and investing, your financial value could be decreasing.

This year I have one very large financial project and many smaller projects that will all increase my financial value and move me a few steps closer to financial freedom.

To continue with my break from earning money

This is something I never thought I’d say – take a break from earning money! Actually this will be my 3rd year in a row earning less money.

This reduction in earnings has resulted in abundance of another type. I have abundance in terms of time which brings me more joy than any amount of money ever could. With this time, I plan to learn more about finance and build the foundation for my business..

These learnings and business foundation will in time support me to earn more.

To abundantly learn more about finance

To learn more about personal finance and continue to embed a growth and abundance mindset in terms of finance. I haven’t read many books on finance but the books I have read have made a huge impact on me.and my financial decisions.

Below are books I highly recommend to learn more about personal finance.

Money – Master the Game by Tony Robbins – I highly recommend this excellent book’. I didn’t understand all of it but it’s worth reading for chapter 8 which is all about financial freedom. According to Tony, it’s not as difficult to achieve as you may think. I listened to this on audible as I found it easier to understand as some chapters I had to listen to a few times.

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill – this bestselling book was on my bookshelf for years before I finally read it last year and I look forward to reading it again this year. It’s the type of book that you can read over and over again as you go deeper and deeper into it’s wisdom. A must read for anyone serious about financial freedom!

Mindset by Carol Dwecke – If you want to learn more about a growth mindset I highly recommend you read Carol Dwecke’s book Mindset. This book teaches the difference between having a growth mindset and a fixed mindset and the consequences of both. I truly believe that having a growth mindset is the first step to reaching financial goals.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad – This is a very easy read as the lessons it teaches are told through a brilliant story. The financial teachings are easy to understand and jargon free which is how I like to learn about finance. I found many similarities between this book and Mindset in terms of the importance of a growth and abundance mindset when it comes to finance.

What METRICS will measure progress towards my finance goals?

Progress in large and mini projects
Monitor total spend which is detailed, capital and business spend
Monitor total financial value which is profit, property & pensions (minus debt)
Monitor total earnings and income
Document and action financial learnings

5. WORK:

I currently spend the least time in this category which is ironic as for 25 years it is where I spent the most time! Even though I now spend the least time here, it is the area of my life that is changing the most.

Having left my day job in October 2021, I am currently in between working for others and working for myself.

My only focus at the moment in terms of work is on writing, writing and more writing!

What are my work Dream Driven Goals?

To be a writer and build my own business
To practice and teach Lean philosophy
To continuously learn and improve my skills
To enjoy every minute of this process

WHY are my work goals important to me?

My favourite thing to do is write.
My second favourite thing to do is read which helps me be a better writer.
I have always wanted to work for myself and have total freedom over my work, my time, my finances and my creativity.
My business will be a channel to achieving financial freedom. While I’m not focused on earning money from my business at the moment I will be building the foundation on which money can be earned in the future.

HOW will I achieve my work goals?

Create more time to read and write
Write weekly emails consistently – you can sign up for my weekly email here
Write new blog posts and learn more about writing and blogging
Write and share social media posts consistently

What METRICS will measure progress towards my work goals?

Progress in creating more time to read and write
Consistency in sending weekly emails and posting on social media
Consistency in writing and publishing new blog posts
Learnings and improvement in my skills

6. EXPERIENCES/FUN:

What are my Dream Driven Goals?

To have enjoyable experiences, have fun, smile, laugh out loud & not take life too seriously!

WHY are my Dream Driven Goals important to me?

Because it makes me feel good!

HOW will I achieve my Dream Driven Goals?

Spend time with loved ones who make me smile, laugh and bring me so much joy
Plan experiences that bring me joy and make me feel alive
Be more aware of everyday activities that bring me joy and do more of them
Be more aware of everyday activities that don’t bring me joy and do less of them

What METRICS will measure progress towards my Dream Driven goals?

There are no metrics in this category although I do ensure I capture fun times in photos and journaled memories.

7. ENVIRONMENT:

What are my Dream Driven Goals?

To improve and enjoy my environment which is our home on a personal level. Remove everything that doesn’t serve me and only keep what brings me joy.

WHY are my Dream Driven Goals important to me?

Because it makes me feel good and I enjoy looking after & improving our living space.

HOW will I achieve my Dream Driven Goals?

Carry out Marie Kondo’s decluttering in our home. Marie’s overarching teaching is to remove anything from our homes that doesn’t SPARK JOY! Marie’s book ‘The Magic Art of Tidying Up’ is a must for anyone who wants more space in their home and life!

Decorate our home with the support of an interior designer. This has been on my goals for 2 years and I haven’t got to it yet – maybe this year!

What METRICS will measure progress towards my Dream Driven goals?

Progress in Marie Kondo’s decluttering on our home.
Progress in decorating our home with the support of an interior designer

8. CONTRIBUTION

What are my Dream Driven Goals?

To contribute to the world financially and also with my time & skills.

WHY are my Dream Driven Goals important to me?

I want to give back because the world has given and continues to give me so much

HOW will I achieve my Dream Driven Goals?

I have been supporting 4 main charities that mean a lot to me for many years. All of these charity direct debits are currently on hold as I’m not working but I contribute financially to charities with once off payments.

Contribute to the world with my time & my skills – this means different things at different times

That’s it, my 2024 goals.

Whatever your goals are, I wish you success, love, health and happiness as you live your best life every day.

If you want to follow my journey, you can sign up to my weekly newsletter by downloading my free ebook ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ below.

Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

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The 9Rs to Eliminate Overwhelm

Image Credit: Madhuri Gupta

The English Oxford dictionary describes overwhelm as the following

Give too much of something to; inundate – ‘they were overwhelmed by farewell messages’
Have a strong emotional effect on – ‘I was overwhelmed with guilt’
Be too strong for; overpower – ‘the Stilton doesn’t overwhelm the flavour of the trout’

Overwhelm to me is more of a feeling, a feeling of having taken on too much, of having too much to do, of not having space or time to organise, focus, and move forward.

My head feels fuzzy, murky, unclear and even the thoughts of facing another item on my ‘to do list’ makes me feel tired.

This is a familiar feeling to me and happens every now and again, not often enough to be a huge issue but often enough that I like to put a system in place to deal with it.

I am very mindful to watch out for and recognise overwhelm as it arrives and deal with it before it affects my physical, mental & emotional health.

These days when I start to feel overwhelmed, I take immediate action to stop it!.

Here are the 9R’s I use to manage and move forward from overwhelm of which should be priority in our lives at all times and not just when we start to feel overwhelmed or stressed,

1. Rest

Overwhelm and stress (if it has gone that far) is a signal to your mind and body that you need to slow down. One way of slowing down is to get more rest – rest more during your day, take regular breaks from work and keep these breaks device free. If you are taking breaks but using your phone to scroll social media/listen to podcasts/listen to or read books your mind isn’t really getting a break.

Your mind needs a total break from devices to switch off and recharge.

Not only is rest important, it’s quality rest with no electronic devices!!

Another way to slow down is to get more quality hours sleep. Research has shown that we don’t function optimally without sufficient sleep.

Sufficient sleep is a different number for everyone – I have always needed 8 hours sleep to function and I fully feel the effects when I don’t get those 8 hours. By adding ‘adequate sleep’ as a priority to your ‘to do list’ your physical, mental and emotional health will benefit.

2. Relax

How many hours in your day do you spend relaxing, really relaxing – away from social media and all electronics?

It’s so important to relax, – to stop going, to stop moving, to stop thinking and just breathe!

Whatever you do for relaxation, whether it’s reading, listening to music/podcasts, watching tv, meditating or just being – it is so important to schedule this into each and every day.

This will not only keep your mind and body healthy, it will also keep you sane! I’m a big fan of relaxing as I know how it supports me to get more done but I don’t relax as much as I would like to or need to. It’s something I definitely need to find more time for and not only when I feel overwhelmed.

3. Reconnect

Reconnecting with yourself and whoever/whatever you may have lost contact with that gives you joy will help you slow down and focus on the priorities in life and not just what makes it to the ‘to do list’.

This reconnection can be with people such as family, friends, colleagues, team mates or it can be with whatever or whomever you have a spiritual or religious connection with – God, Buddha, Allah, Source, Universe – whatever works for you.

For me, my connection with my boyfriend Mike, my family and my friends is essential for my happiness and well being. There is no easier way to enjoy yourself, slow down and take your mind off your ‘to do list’ than spending quality time (minus electronics!) with the people you love.

My connection to myself and my spiritual growth is the cornerstone on which everything else is built and is absolutely essential for my happiness and well being.

4. Replenish

Replenish your Mind, Body and Soul with what it needs – good food, regular exercise, time in nature, creative hobbies, sports, silence, crowds, prayer – whatever works for you.

Fill your surroundings with good thoughts and kind deeds, this will not only benefit you but those whom you spend time with.

Above all make sure the person you are kindest to is yourself.

For me, the following are the basics required to replenish my Mind, Body and Soul – quality time with Mike, family & friends, reading, writing, solitude, meditating, journaling and exercising.

5. Remove Clutter

Clutter can be physical, emotional or digital.

Physical clutter is stuff in our physical spaces that no longer serves us. Physical clutter also takes up space in our minds, a messy space is a messy mind. Start clearing physical clutter away and your mind will start to feel clearer.

Emotional clutter is all sorts of negative energy, thoughts and beliefs. These are not beneficial to our physical, mental & emotional well being and they do not serve us. Evaluating and replacing these negative energies with positive energies will remove what feels like physical weights from our shoulders.

Digital clutter seems to build up almost without us knowing. Photos on our phones, digital downloads, scanned documents, space consuming e-mails. If you work online, the amount of digital clutter is almost never ending. Digital clutter can also be scrolling time, time spend mindlessly scrolling and clicking through links online – this creates digital clutter in our brains!!

Removing all types of clutter will create the space to allow whatever you want in your life to manifest!

6. Reading

Reading is an excellent way of tuning out of this busy world into other worlds of whatever interests you.

Reading is for me one of the most relaxing things I can do. I love nothing more than sitting down with a great book, soaking up the wisdom and learning as I relax!

I also love listening to audiobooks while out and about, it’s a very efficient way of getting through books – most audiobooks are narrated by the author which is an added bonus!!

7. Writing

I know writing starts with W but phonetically it starts with R!

I love writing just as much as I love reading and also find it very relaxing.

Writing helps me gather my thoughts and clear my mind. I love all sorts of writing, writing in my journal, writing blog posts and writing e-books. You can download my first e-book ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ at the end of this blog post.

I often say, if I could read and write for a living that would be my perfect job!

I updated this blog post to include the next 2 Rs as my great friend Tony Mc suggested them, thanks Tony!

8. Rush – no need to rush!

My friend Tony says ‘try not to rush, everyone is in a big rush today’.

This is so true, I find the speed at which we live our lives has increased.

Add our connection to social media and the online world where everything is instant & immediate and this makes for lives lived at a dizzying speed.

We all know that the busier we are the faster time seems to go, we also know that we can’t slow down time, the speed at which it passes is set.

We may not be able to slow down time, but what we can do is slow ourselves down – stop rushing from one thing to another, stop racing to and from activities, stop taking on too much, stop filling our calendars with things to do, stop filling our minds with things to process!

Being ‘crazy busy’ is not good for your Mind, Body or Soul. What is good for and what nurtures your Mind, Body and Soul is being more mindful, more intentional and more present, all can be achieved by slowing down.

Even reading the words mindful, intentional, present will slow down a bit.

9. Rewind & Reflect

My friend Tony says ‘rewind and take a step back’ of which I also totally agree.

If we continuously move forward without rewinding, taking a step back and reflecting on our experiences we are missing out on so much learning. We are our own greatest teachers yet we must invest the time to rewind, step back and reflect to bring our inner teachings into our lives.

I am a huge fan of reflection.

The wisdom gained from reflecting on your own experiences can be found nowhere else and is well worth the time it takes.

That’s it, the 9Rs to eliminate overwhelm.

I hope you are using some of these to eliminate overwhelm and avoid stress in your life.

What do you do to deal with overwhelm?

Do you use any of the 9Rs?

Can you suggest anything else to eliminate overwhelm?

Want to read more about Positive Change?

Download your free e-book ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ below

Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

x x

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My Top 5 Blog Posts of 2017

It’s hard to be believe I have been blogging for over 5 years! My first blog ‘The Photographer’s Guide To Travel’ was born in August 2012 at the ‘Book Passage’ bookstore, Corte Madera (slightly north of San Francisco) at the Travel Writer’s and Photographer’s Conference.

Back then I wasn’t exactly sure what a blog was, the purpose of a blog or how to manage a blog. 5 years later and I’m not sure if I’m any the wiser! You would think I would know a good bit about blogging by now however every year I find blogging and writing in general a steeper learning curve than the year before. With everything I learn I find there is even more to learn just around the corner. Maybe this is what draws me to blogging/writing, the insatiable, ever steep and never ending learning that is an integral part of the writing and sharing process.

In 2017 I wrote and published 24 blog posts which is more posts than I have published in any previous year. I am definitely getting more disciplined at writing, but still have a long way to go to my goal of writing and publishing a post every week!

Here are my 5 most viewed blog posts of 2017.

14 Steps To Create A Website

Thanks to Michael Hyatt’s amazing book ‘Platform’, I learned more about growing a social media presence this year than I have learned in the previous 5 years since launching my first blog. If you are a blogger, writer or business owner of any type and want to know more about growing your blog, readership and business through social media, I highly recommend this book. It’s easy to read and the wisdom shared is really easy to implement.

It is thanks to ‘Platform’ and the huge amount of resources that Michael Hyatt shares on his blog that I was able to design and create my own new website ‘The Art Of Positive Change’ earlier this year.

This blog post takes you through the 14 step process I used to design and create my website.

Continue reading….

Meeting Art and Understanding Lean

In 2013 I was humbled and immensely grateful to meet Art Byrne. Art, author of ‘The Lean Turnaround’ is a living legend in the world of Lean and is a wealth of knowledge and wisdom that he is more than happy to share. Art gave the keynote speech at the 2103 Lean Enterprise Academy Summit – the video is embedded in this post.

This video is a must see for anyone interested in or implementing Lean.

Art says it as it is and his no nonsense, deeply wise approach to Lean is what we need more of in the world.

Continue reading….

Awareness and Action

This was the first post in my 26 part blog series ‘The Art Of Positive Change’. This blog series introduces my audience to ‘Pinky’ the Positive Pig created by the brilliant cartoonist Andy Kefford and brought to life through my blog posts. The blog posts series features and A to Z of the elements required to bring change into your life and business and there is no better place to start than ‘Awareness’ that change is required and ‘Action’ to implement change.

Continue reading….

The Complete A-Z Of Effective Change

This is the Central Page for my 26 part blog series ‘The Art Of Positive Change’ containing links to all of the published posts in the series.

So far I have published posts on Awareness, Bravery, Confidence, Dedication, Energy, Faith, Gratitude, Honesty, Imagination and Journey – all of the blog posts can be read by clicking on the links/images on this Central Page.

Continue reading…..

Gratitude

Another blog post in my 26 part blog series ‘The Art Of Positive Change’. This is my 3rd post on the subject of Gratitude and I’m sure this will not be the last. Gratitude is the single most effective way of bringing peace and acceptance to a situation. Gratitude when expressed is a very powerful force.

2. RELATIONSHIPS:

3. HEALTH:

8. CONTRIBUTION

Image Credit: Madhuri Gupta

1. Rest

2. Relax

3. Reconnect

4. Replenish

5. Remove Clutter

6. Reading

7. Writing

8. Rush – no need to rush!

9. Rewind & Reflect

Want to read more about Positive Change?

Download your free e-book ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ below

It’s hard to be believe I have been blogging for over 5 years! My first blog ‘The Photographer’s Guide To Travel’ was born in August 2012 at the ‘Book Passage’ bookstore, Corte Madera (slightly north of San Francisco) at the Travel Writer’s and Photographer’s Conference.

In 2017 I wrote and published 24 blog posts which is more posts than I have published in any previous year. I am definitely getting more disciplined at writing, but still have a long way to go to my goal of writing and publishing a post every week!

Here are my 5 most viewed blog posts of 2017.

It is thanks to ‘Platform’ and the huge amount of resources that Michael Hyatt shares on his blog that I was able to design and create my own new website ‘The Art Of Positive Change’ earlier this year.

This blog post takes you through the 14 step process I used to design and create my website.

This video is a must see for anyone interested in or implementing Lean.

Art says it as it is and his no nonsense, deeply wise approach to Lean is what we need more of in the world.

This is the Central Page for my 26 part blog series ‘The Art Of Positive Change’ containing links to all of the published posts in the series.

So far I have published posts on Awareness, Bravery, Confidence, Dedication, Energy, Faith, Gratitude, Honesty, Imagination and Journey – all of the blog posts can be read by clicking on the links/images on this Central Page.

To each and every one of my readers, thank you for being here.

Without you, it’s just words on a computer screen!

Keeping it simple,

Siobhain

x x x