The previous blog post Brand New Year outlined a number of steps for anyone who desires to change some aspect of their life–incorporating a self assessment, re-scanning your environment, organizing your thoughts into the columns Purpose Practice Passion. 

Now you will notice it’s taken until September to enter this post and that reflects my work reality of gridlock, flu outbreak, day-to-day operations, and managing any myriad of projects, incidents, strategic planning processes, budget items, and the top tasks; payroll, scheduling,  well you get the idea.

Now Human beings management–coaching, debriefing, teaching, and prn discipline is definitely in the top 10.  Managing escalations whether staff related, patient care focused, and/or family members who are key to any patient’s status are not daily but certainly require time, effort, and stamina.

Now it’s not all work I have played golf fairly regularly, invested in lessons, had a vacation to recharge my physical and mental batteries. My backyard is a source for chores and a place to relax and watch the flowers grow (daresay also the rapid and lush growth of weeds).

So if you are a Type A you likely forged on your own to build goals, launched your plan, strived for utter perfection, and some have had success and others found their plan this week with dust on it.  If you have dear reader waited, my apologies for the delay you need to retrieve your document of thoughts……

Now you may have a few thoughts or many, the key is to choose one item/task/aspect of life and focus on this in a mindful way.  Yes it does mean using a format like SMART, specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time based (you can use other terms i.e. significant, stretching, meaningful, motivational, achievable, action-oriented, tangible, trackable).

Specific W’s

What do you want to accomplish?   Why is this important to you?  Who will be included? Where will it happen? Which resources are needed and identify limits.  Money is a resource if hiring a personal trainer.  The more details you include builds within you a vision of just what you plan to change.

Measurable H’s

How will you know you are succeeding? How many steps are needed?  How will I track my progress?

Achievable

It’s good to stretch yourself but beware of the desire to be perfect, none of us are and we need to be ready and kind to ourselves when lapses occur.  Being realistic indeed honest with yourself is key to transforming your life, constraints are a reality creativity can be tapped to overcome them.

Realistic

As a word it fits in with achievable, so the real questions include; is this goal relevant to you, does it fit your values, is the timing right, do you have the skill, readiness, drive, indeed passion to make it happen?  Remember you have to retain ownership of your goal, you cannot assign your Purpose, Practice, Passion to someone else to do for you.  Change, real and sustained is what you provide in say sweat equity.  For example weight loss it’s you that has to move your body, change your diet, commit to a time and invest resources.

Time-based

This goal, the start of many successful ones, need a target date for you to review your progress–to celebrate a milestone, specific timelines and targets keep your goal from being lost.  Everyday tasks, chores, demands, traffic, family and friends can overwhelm you so keep your priority in sight.  It may be a week, a month, keep it to three months max to review your progress.  Be kind to yourself it’s not a race but an evolution.  Time is time, it’s interesting our species lived a long time without measuring minutes, seconds, even hours, try living without a clock–gives one a sense of more time.

Namaste

Categories: Uncategorized

Paula M

Registered Nurse Storyteller, Healer, Scribe, Transformational Leader