Goal Setting

Setting Goals


When it comes to resolutions, the inherent problem lies within the name.

A resolution means to resolve to do something. It is a promise to yourself. Unfortunately, it does not include any plans or goals to make the change happen.

To accomplish success you need to pick out a set of goals and make plans to reach those goals, but how do you do this?

Start from the end and work backwards.  Determine what your life would be like if you achieved your goal and then look at what you would have had to do in order to get there. 

Before stating the goal, write the desired result then ask yourself what steps you need to take to attain it. Determine if money, supplies, or tools are necessary. Have in mind what particular action can be taken to accomplish the resolution.

Next think about how much time you can schedule each day or every week towards working at the goal and what would be reasonable to accomplish in those time slots - half an hour a day, an hour a day, 3 hours a week, etc..

Establish ways to make working at the goal simple. For instance, if it's to improve wellness, then establish an exercise area and mark time for it on a calendar.

If it is to eat better, write a shopping list and stock up on the foods that are necessary, get rid of any junk food in the house and find a number of healthy recipes to put in a convenient location.

Keep any needed supplies or tools that are necessary to accomplish your goal together and accessible.

Plan ways to get and stay motivated to stay on target. For instance, for a physical activity, find a partner or plan a reward (like seeing a movie) for each week goals are met.

You might also want to create and print a chart or check list to track your progress. The chart helps build in accountability.

Write or print out motivational mottos. These can be Scriptures, wise sayings, encouraging words, or cheers. Post them where you will be able to see them easily several times a day.

Ask someone to be an encourager. Let them know what your goal is and ask the person email notes of encouragement. This makes it more social and provides outside motivation.

You can list and post the benefits of your goal, e.g. “I will be able to fit into that beautiful new outfit in the store window.” This keeps you focused on the results.

After a few weeks take some time to evaluate your progress. Decide if the goals are realistic and if you are making progress. Determine whether or not you need to adjust your plans or your time frame.

Mark the calendar ahead for a set day of every month to review your progress. This can keep you motivated or even help you restart if the goal has been abandoned for a few weeks.

Dream big, but break the dream into achievable goals and take it one step at a time. Commit to following the goal and plans laid out, or reassess them and work out something more attainable.

Once you determine your goal, stick with it. Your plans may change, but your goal shouldn’t if it is a true goal.

To your goal setting success!!


Fran Watson

P.S. For more tips click here

The Bottom Line

FACE IT.....nobody owes you a living.

What you achieve or fail to achieve in your lifetime is directly related to what you do or fail to do.

No one chooses his or her parents or childhood, but you can choose your own direction.

NOTHING is carved in stone.  However if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got. 

You can change anything in your life if you want to badly enough.  Too many of us are hung up on what we don't have, can't have, or won't ever have.  We spend too much energy being down, when we could use that same energy - if not less of it - doing, or at least trying to do, some of the things we really want to do. - Terry McMillan, Writer

Time plays no favourites and will pass whether you act or not.  Every time you wake up and ask yourself, "What good things am I going to do today?" remember that when the sun goes down at sunset, it will take a part of your life with it.

Excuses are for losers.  Benjamin Franklin said that "He who is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else."  Those who take responsibility for their actions are the real winners in life.

Winners meet life's challenges head on, knowing there are no guarantees, and give it all they've got.

It's TIME to TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE.  BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

"You can truly be whatever you want to be...you only have to want it badly enought to succeed."  Lillian Vernon. 

Dare to dream....to take risks...  Never think it's too late or too early to begin.

As Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said:  "The Greatest POWER we have is the power of choice.  It's an actual fact that if you've been moping in unhappiness, you can choose to be joyous instead and, by effort, lift yourself into joy.  If you tend to be fearful, you can overcome that misery by choosing to have courage.  Even in darkest grief you have a choice.  The whole trend and quality of anyone's life is determined in the long run by the choices that are made."

So what do you choose to do today?

Fran Watson
www.franwatson.ca

Help Give a Gift of Water

This year I'm going to turn a year older. And, this time, I'm actually wiser.

I learned that 800 million people on this planet still don't have access to clean drinking water, and I'm doing something about it.

This year, for my birthday I'd like to raise money for charity: water. You can help me.

Please donate $65 for my 65th birthday, and help me bring clean water to people in need.

Go to my campaign to donate: http://mycharitywater.org/birthday65

What's really cool is that 100% of the money we raise will directly fund water project costs in the field, and charity: water will prove every single dollar. When the project we help fund is complete, they'll send us a digital completion report with GPS coordinates and photos of the community we helped.  Here's an example.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate turning 65 than by giving the gift of clean water to people in need.

Please join me. http://mycharitywater.org/birthday65

Thank you for your support!
Fran
P.S. Read this story from charity: water to learn how clean water changes lives.

Illusions of Limitations

This video was sent to me today. I wanted to share it with you.

May it touch your life.

Fran

Make Your Own Candles

How to make candles
by: Jennifer Hall

Making homemade candles can be a fun hobby, whether making them as gifts or for yourself to enjoy. Candle making usually requires some experimentation, but when you discover how to make those perfect candles, it’s well worth the effort.

There are a few basic supplies,easily obtained at a craft store, needed for making most candles:

wax
wicks
mold or containers
wax melter
candle making thermometer
fragrances
dyes
putty for molds

First decide on a wax you would like to start with, there are three different kinds to choose from: paraffin wax, soy wax, and beeswax. Paraffin wax is most commonly used in candles, this wax is found at most candle making stores. Soy wax is all natural, made from soybeans, and cleans up easily with soap and water. Beeswax is all natural too, and making beeswax candles is often easiest because you simply wrap a sheet of beeswax tightly around a wick then seal it with your thumb, which means no melting is required.

To begin, spread newspapers around the candle making area. First you melt your paraffin or soy wax and it must be double-boiled. Usually you place a large pot that is about half-filled with water on a burner over low-medium heat, place a melter in the water, then gradually place wax pieces into the melter. When the wax has melted, you can add coloring or fragrance as desired.

To make molded candles, cut the wick two inches taller than you want the candle to be, then thread it through the hole at the bottom of the mold, then plug the outside of the hole with putty. Place a pencil or similar item over the top of the mold and tie the top of the wick to it, centering the wick. If the mold is cardboard, plastic, or glass, heat the wax to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. If the mold is metal, then heat the wax to 190 degrees. You can use a candle or candy thermometer to measure this. When the right temperature is reached, lift the melter by the handle and slowly pour the wax into the mold. Let cool for twelve hours then refrigerate for twelve more hours, then your candle is ready to be removed.

To make votives and other small container candles, you can use pre-tabbed wicks by simply placing them in the center of the votive candle molds or containers, then pour the wax mixture over and let stand for twelve hours, refrigerating the votives.

This should give you a good start in this enjoyable hobby

Best wishes to you and your family this Christmas season

Fran

P.S. For more gift ideas, click here

Scrapbooking

Do you remember those days as a kid pasting newspaper clippings onto paper and bundling dozens of papers together with some fancy ribbon or a string? Do you also remember all of your hard work falling apart two months later?

Now there's a grown up way to save and preserve your treasures: Scrapbooking.

The concept behind scrapbooking hasn't changed since grade school. You can still place photographs, newspaper clippings, poems, and tickets into your scrapbook to display and preserve your memories.

However, scrapbooking techniques and tools have matured substantially since you were a kid. Scrapbooking albums have replaced the messy bundles of paper. These albums are generally bound or placed in a three-ring binder. In this way, your hard work won't fall apart. Furthermore, new specialized covers allow protection from the outside elements.

Paste is also a thing of the past. Specialized glue dots and two-sided tape makes mounting your treasures simple and mess free. Many of these products are so strong that you can now decorate your scrapbook pages with ribbons, feathers, flowers, or even metal charms.

Due to these new techniques and tools, the uses of scrapbooking have expanded drastically. Scrapbooking is still used to hold personal keepsakes and for gift giving. Why not make a special scrapbook for a member of your family. Perhaps A Book of Christmas Treasures?

Color coordination and contrast will highlight and accent your scrapbook. A well thought out color scheme can help define the theme of a page, attract attention to specific items, or detract away from mistakes. Poorly chosen color schemes, on the other hand, can cause your scrapbook page to look gaudy or mismatched.

Background colors can either be matched, coordinated, or contrasted with the colors in your photographs, mementos, or embellishments. Matching colors add to the continuity of the color scheme. Coordinated colors add depth to scrapbook pages. Contrasted colors focus the eye. In this way, color can be used to create the effect you desire.

The greatest thing about scrapbooking is that there are no rules. Creativity and imagination are your only limits. Now armed with a few helpful hints, ideas, and techniques...it's time to let your creativity and imagination take over.

A scrapbook is a great gift at any time of the year. Why not click here to Unleash Your Creativity with this book - 3 Steps To The Perfect Scrapbook.

May you find hours of enjoyment as you pursue your scrapbooking projects.

Fran

P.S. Need some titles and quotes? Click here

Twelve Days of Christmas

A Christmas History Lesson
by: Catherine Spelling

The Twelve Days of Christmas is one of the most famous Christmas carols ever written. It has been sung for a great many years, and is known the world over. To most it is a delightful hymn, but it was originally created with a very serious intent. In England between the years of 1558 and 1829, it was illegal to practice Catholicism in public or private. It was essentially a crime to be Catholic in England during those years.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!

The Twelve Days of Christmas was written to help preserve the traditions of the Catholic faith during the years that Catholicism was banned in England. The song is steeped in symbolism, and the fact that it is so well known throughout the world is a testament to the faith of the followers of the Catholic doctrine. The symbols contained in the song are as follows:

1st verse – "True Love" refers to God.
2nd verse – "2 Turtle Doves" refers to the Old and New Testaments.
3rd verse – "3 French Hens" refers to Faith, Hope, and Charity.
4th verse – "4 Calling Birds" refers to the Four Gospels or the Four Evangelists.
5th verse – "5 Golden Rings" refers to the first five Books of the Old Testament.
6th verse – "6 Geese-a-laying" refers to the six days of creation.
7th verse – "7 Swans-a-swimming" refers to the seven sacraments.
8th verse – "8 Maids-a-milking" refers to the eight beatitudes.
9th verse – "9 Ladies dancing" refers to the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit.
10th verse – "10 Lords-a-leaping" refers to the Ten Commandments.
11th verse – "11 Pipers piping" refers to the eleven faithful apostles.
12th verse – "12 Drummers drumming" refers to the twelve points of the Apostle’s creed.

I love this song. It is, by far, my favorite Christmas carol. I had no idea about the symbols contained in the song, until I googled the song lyrics one afternoon. I find it very interesting that a song we all know so well could contain so many hidden meanings. I would never have guessed that it was anything more than lovely Christmas carol. It’s always nice to learn something new, especially about the wonderful celebration of Christmas. I hope you learned something, too. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Fran

P.S. For more Christmas ideas and information, Click here