SETTING GOALS TO FIT YOUR LIFESTYLE

     In a society where competition has become a way of life, it's important that we get clear on what's really most valuable to us or we may fall into the pattern of following someone else's idea of success. This will never truly satisfy us for in essence, it's like following someone else's life plan. Instead we need to think for ourselves and then set goals that will make life most rewarding and fulfilling for us.
     People often set goals at the beginning of a new year as they reflect on the future and think of what they would like to achieve to make life more complete. Setting goals is a great idea as it gives our subconscious a plan to follow. But we must get conscious and allow our soul to develop the plan according to our own priorities and with a realistic approach. Whereas we don't want to limit ourselves, we also want to be reasonable. We have a tendency to jump from one extreme to the other and then we're disappointed in ourselves when we're not able to keep up.
For example, people often include some kind of exercise program in their list of resolutions. This is a good idea if we plan a program that is reasonable. But if we haven't exercised at all in the past and now we sign up to go to the gym for six days a week, this is unrealistic. We're more likely to be successful if we start out with a more reasonable schedule at first and then decide if we'd like to add more time. Our subconscious will be pleased with our ability to stay with our program and be motivated to either go even further or at least continue with our current schedule since it feels successful. Again, we must think for ourselves and not overdo or become compulsive.
     Sometimes we're not able to complete our goals because we're already doing too much and adding one more idea to our list is simply overwhelming. If this is the case, we must start by downsizing our lives, looking at what we're spending our time doing and making decisions on what we no longer need to pursue. You may meet with some resistance at first, thinking you "must" continue to do this or that, but if life has become too hard, it's time to make a change.
We need to ask ourselves if we're living the life we really want for ourselves and then think that through. Sometimes this process alone may be difficult for we've often decided to "settle for less", as if "This is just the way life is," and so we may have to push ourselves to daydream again to get started. If we're not satisfied with our present life, or even just need to change a few things to feel fulfilled, we need to set goals to create that life, one step at a time. We actually have the power to do this. But remember, this is a process, so rather than quitting your job because it's not what you really want to do for a living, think about what career would be most rewarding for you and then make a plan to follow that life path. Realize that it's time to welcome something better into your life, realize that you're worth the time and effort involved to make your plan come true, and then set goals to accomplish the next step.
     You'll want to monitor your progress along the way and praise and reward yourself for steps already achieved. Praise and acknowledgement play an important role in our ability to succeed at anything in life. We learn this at a very early age. Have you ever watched new parents encouraging a child's first steps? Even if the child only takes one tiny step, we clap and praise them and encourage them to do it again. The emphasis is never on falling down after that one step, but rather succeeding in even the tiniest way. The same applies to our lives as adults. Praising ourselves provides encouragement that will help keep our subconscious motivated to continue, even when some of our changes may be difficult. Don't wait for praise from outside sources, but rather provide it for yourself. If someone on the outside recognizes your progress as well and praises your accomplishment this is great. Just keep in mind although our main goal is to achieve our end result, we must also focus on every step along the way for each is important and necessary for us to actually complete our journey.
      If you find you're not making progress in accomplishing a goal, don't criticize yourself. This is self-defeating and doesn't do anything to help move forward. Instead take a look at what's getting in your way. Have you simply not allowed enough time in your schedule to find the energy to pursue this goal? Have you set a goal that you're really not interested in achieving and you need to re-evaluate? Or is the subconscious afraid of what life will be like if you actually do succeed? Sometimes even a change that will improve our lives can be threatening to that inner child unless we help it to see how much better life will be if we accomplish our goal. Visualizing our improved life can be helpful in reducing this kind of anxiety.
     Finally remember you deserve to have the best in life. We put time and effort into all kinds of other pursuits that are required of us, why not put the same kind of effort into pursuing something that will genuinely add to the quality of our life? We at Arche have been dedicated to bringing out the best in people, both spiritually and personally, and then enjoying the rewards of those efforts. So get your New Year off to a good start and join us for an upcoming program. We'll help you reveal the best version of yourself.
     Wishing you a fulfilling and rewarding New Year!

SANDY DALIEGE