#1 Choose A Goal
Determine your vision and work backwards in planning. This
is the quickest way to understand what it will take to achieve the
level you desire by looking at the effort needed to put forth.
Goals are not big grand plans reserved only for business owners
and corporations. They are for everyone at every age.
Goals can be as small as “I need to go to the bank today, so when
and how” to “We need a business plan for 2007.” Goal
attainment can be a fun journey if you structure it correctly.
All goals are not grueling where you feel like a prisoner trying
to escape from jail.
“Don’t make life a past time by being past by.”
– Sandra Larkin
“What the mind concentrates on regularly, the body will
put in motion to achieve.”
-Sandra Larkin
#2 Choose To Use Wisdom
There are solutions for every problem in your life regardless of
the degree and intensity. Obviously, bigger problems require
more creative thinking to solve. The key is to use your
internal and external resources or discover new ones through
friends and family. What does that mean? Your friends
and family know people you don’t know who can help you. When
your dishwasher breaks and floods your kitchen, it’s not the end
of the world. Someone in your inner circle knows a qualified
plumber that can get you back on track quickly. You may have
lost something material in the process (dishwasher or flooring),
but calmly worked to create a fixable solution. We need to
stop looking at the all or nothing life…. "When one thing is bad,
everything is bad" method of thinking.
“Are you missing a limb? Are you in jail?
Have you committed a serious crime? If not, we can usually
fix it.” – Sandra Larkin
#3 Choose How You Will Spend Your Time
Three kinds of people in this world: people who make things
happen, people who watch things happen, and people who get to the
end of their life and say “What happened?” Which one are
you? Do we move through these people in our lives and see
them in ourselves? Yes. That’s the good news.
The bad news is we have a choice on which to become each day.
A content life is one whose time has been invested in those things
that are important. Invest your time wisely.
“Time is fleeting, but using it to impact other people’s lives is
a most excellent place to be.” - Sandra Larkin
#4 Choose Your Battles
A
small voice whispers to us “the war is on” when we get angry
enough to go into battle with another person. This is not an
attractive place to be at any moment but we all have been there.
Excellent people choose their battles and plan to lose a few to
win the war. War games distract us from what is important and
leads to a life of frustration. You need to step back and
analyze “is this worth it” and “what will the outcome be if I
win.” You may win battles time and time again but lose your
integrity, character and respect from people who are important to
you.
“Too many battles will create a life of isolation and
negativity where only people who battle are attracted to you.”
– Sandra Larkin
