A Goal Setting Team

Kim C. Murphy, MS

Life Skills Resource Group

Ok, so Tuesday I put some handouts in the lobby about goal setting in the New Year. To my surprise, they were all gone by the next day.

Right now, it seems that the people of Orlando are ready to take a fresh look at where they’re at and where they’d like to be in the near future, especially if last year didn’t happen to be so great (or was underwhelming, to say the least). You’re probably thinking something like, “yeah, it’s easy to set goals, but hard to follow through.” Being somewhat of a procrastinator, I’m kind of thinking the same thing myself. The truth is that there’s no denying that setting goals helps you to get the most out of your life, but where to start?

Well, what if we go down this road together? Over the next week or so (I like to be flexible), I encourage all of you out there who read this blog to email a goal to [email protected] , attention: Kim (please only send goals that you’d want your mother to read). Your goal can be about any of the following categories: career, finances, education, family/relationships, health, recreation or public service. Make sure that your goal is one that you personally want to achieve, not something that everyone tells you that you should. Be precise and realistic in choosing your goal. For example, “My goal is to be able to consistently arrive at least 10 minutes early to all appointments by December 31st 2012,” is better than, “I’m going to stop being late all the time.” By the way, this is my goal (the former, not the latter).

Anyway, I will compile and post all of the submitted goals on our blog, anonymously, of course-unless you want to make up a fun nickname for me to use. Then each month I will email you a questionnaire that asks,
“Great progress, some progress, no progress, or ‘Why did I get myself into this?’” Email me back your answer and I will post your progress update as well. At the end of 12 months, we should all have reached our goals-together. Perhaps we can come up with a way to celebrate our success. I’d love to hear your ideas…

Patricia Gilliam, Science Fiction writer and blogger, has come up with 5 steps to help you follow through on your goals. They are as follows:

Step 1: Write your goals down-even if you already know what they are.

Step 2: Try to move forward in your goal each day-even if its minor progress.

Step 3: Take the time to look back on your progress.

Step 4: Remind yourself of the bigger “whys” behind what you are doing

Step 5: Celebrate your successes
To Contact: [email protected]
Phone:             321-352-2258

Cindy