Start With The Result In Mind

We're a couple of days in to the New Year and for us in the northern hemisphere the days will again start to get longer, it is a time of change and this is why so many people choose to take stock and look at their lives.


I would encourage people not only to look at what they would like to change but also take time to reflect on what is good in your life, look at what you are more than happy to keep as is.


With that in mind now turn your thoughts to what areas of your life you'd like to tweek. At this time of year there are probably, what, 3 main areas people look at - weight, smoking and fitness. Keeping in mind the title of this blog what area of your life would you like to improve or have help improving?


By looking in to the future at how you will be once you achieved your aim you get a taste for how this change for the better affects you. For this blog I'm going to use giving up smoking as my example but the techniques can be applied to many areas of your life. 


But first let me ask you a few questions. (Writing down your answers would be a good idea here as this will help your motivation at a much deeper level.)

1. What will happen if you give up smoking?
2. What won't happen if you give up smoking?
3. What will happen if you don't give up smoking?
4. What won't happen if you don't give up smoking?
5. Where, when or with whom will giving up smoking affect me? 

The idea of these questions is to check in with yourself and your immediate circles of influence to ensure that you can achieve your aims.


So you are ready now to achieve your aim aren't you?


Good now I'm asking you to imagine yourself a month in the future.

You've been smoke-free for a month now, notice what's different? What do you see, hear, feel, taste and smell. Look at what has improved and bring all those good feelings and changes back in to the here and now.


How does that feel? This is how good you will feel after one month. 


Repeat this step at least 5 times - really get in to the positive changes and bring them back in to the present and here's a good tip - if you find it difficult to imagine this just fake it - because with repetition after a while your brain won't know the difference!




Now take the first step towards the new you.