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— The Mindbloom Team

Do you want more out of life, but don’t have enough time?

Read pages 11-14 of the bestseller book First Things First READ HERE.  Please tell me what you think at inspired@mindbloom.com!

- Chris Hewett, Founder of Mindbloom

Believe it or not the act of planning and taking action steps is easy. No really, it is!! The hard work is saying that we want something to happen in our lives and then not doing anything about it day after day after day! That is what really drains our energy and keeps us from achieving our goals and manifesting our intentions.

I once heard someone describe it this way: “If something is hard, you probably haven’t started yet! ” And they were right! We usually complain the most about the actions we have yet to take. Once we shift our perception of the situation or task at hand and begin to take action, it usually starts to seem less difficult or daunting.

The key is just to start: take action! And then, sustain the momentum by taking small steps every day.

Nike got it right with their classic campaign tagline of “Just Do It”.

Recommended Mindbloom Action: Once you’ve entered your action steps into Mindbloom, you’ll be able to track your progress against those actions. Have fun checking off your accomplishments. You might even want to add a “happy face” as a way of patting yourself on the back for a job well done! And remember, baby steps!

Happy Blooming!

- Coach Susan

About The Inspired Mindblog…

Mindbloom’s own certified coach, Susan MacCaul Siegmund (Coach Susan) as well as other guest bloggers, share with you tips, suggestions, thoughts and inspiration for making your 2010 New Year’s Resolutions stick!

Got a goal that you want to achieve or an intention you want to manifest? If so, you’ll want to have a game plan for the actions you’ll take that will help to make that goal or intention a reality. Don’t worry, you don’t need to know all of the action steps up front, you just need to figure out a good starting place by identifying one or two small actions that you’ll commit to taking starting on Day 1. That will get you started moving forward.

There are 3 keys to effectively choosing actions:

1) Break It Down: The key is to identify simple action steps that you will be motivated to take. You want to set yourself up for success by choosing easily achievable actions that will help you to build momentum. Setting regular, near-term actions leads to improved outcomes, greater confidence and more satisfaction with life. You do this by breaking down goals and intentions into small, actionable, baby steps. Ensure that your steps are specific, realistic, achievable and sustainable. You don’t have to know all the steps up front, you just need to start with one or two.

For example: Let’s say your goal is to “Move into a sunny new home!” You might be inclined to state one of your action steps as: “Pack the house.” But that would likely feel overwhelming and leave you with of a feeling of “where do I begin.” Instead you’ll want to break that into a series of smaller, more easily achievable action steps such as “Pack the office” or “Pack the bedroom.” That feels a lot less overwhelming, right? I recommend taking it a step further by breaking those simple action steps down into smaller, more achievable baby steps, such as “Pack the filing cabinet,” “Pack the desk contents,” and “Pack the office closet.” Now you’ve got a game plan for packing the house that is broken down into more easily ahievable action steps.

Consider asking yourself: “What baby steps do I want to take to make this goal a reality?”

2) Be Clear on the “For The Sake of What“: It is just as important to get clear on the “for the sake of what” with regards to your actions as it is when you are defining your priority areas, goals and intentions. Bottom line, you’ll be inspired to take action if you are clear on your motivations for those actions. Remember, we don’t want our actions to be disempowering “shoulds.” We’ll be more empowered when we get clear on the “for the sake of what” with regards to our chosen actions.

For example: If your action is to “eat more nutritious meals three times a day,” you’ll want to get at the source of your motivation. Is it because you “want to live a more healthy lifestyle,” or is it because you “want more energy to play with your kids,” or is it because you “are committed to preventing diabetes?” The key is to know why you are taking this action.

Consider asking yourself: “What is my motivation for making this change or for manifesting this intention in my life?”

3) Take External and Internal Action Steps: We tend to think of actions as steps we take in the external world (e.g. “I workout,” “I eat healthy,”  ”I pack the desk drawer,” or “I pack the office,” etc.). These external action steps are vitally important to the achievement of our goals or manifestation of our intentions. However, it is also critically important that we take some internal action steps. Internal action steps help us to shift our perceptions, beliefs and behaviors and create the optimum conditions for our goals and intentions to occur.

For example: If you are looking for romance to enter your life, you’ll likely want to take the external steps that will get you out there meeting new people  (e.g. “sign up for an online dating service,” or “let friends know that you are seeking a new relationship.”) In addition, you might want to take on an internal action step to shift a disempowering perception or belief you might be holding (e.g. believing the falsehood that “it is impossible for a single woman over the age of 40 to find love”) to an empowering belief (e.g. “It is possible for me to find love at any age.”)

Consider asking yourself: “What can I do within myself (internally) to support my intention and move me forward toward my goal?” AND “What action can I take in the world (externally) to support my intention and move me forward toward my goal?”

Recommended Mindbloom Activity: Consider adding 1 to 2 action steps for each goal on your tree. Then, identify the specific days you will commit to taking those action steps during the week ahead.

Happy Blooming!

- Coach Susan

About The Inspired Mindblog…

Mindbloom’s own certified coach, Susan MacCaul Siegmund (Coach Susan) as well as other guest bloggers, share with you tips, suggestions, thoughts and inspiration for making your 2010 New Year’s Resolutions stick!

Most of us go kicking and screaming into change because at the root of most of our changes are other peoples’ expectations, guilt, “shoulds” and demands. Living life based on the shoulds and expectations of others means we are NOT living our own life.

Make 2010 the year that you “stop shoulding on thyself!”

When our motivations are fueled by shoulds, we’ll find it hard to set clear priorities, goals and intentions let alone take action on them.  The key is to shift your motivation for making changes and setting intentions by tuning out the exterior “shoulds” and instead tuning into our own internal yearnings and desires.

Another great step: instead of using disempowering phrases like “I should,” “I have to,” or “I need to,”…try using empowering phrases like “I want to,” “I would love to,” “I can,” or “I am.”

Happy Blooming!

- Coach Susan

About The Inspired Mindblog…

Mindbloom’s own certified coach, Susan MacCaul Siegmund (Coach Susan) as well as other guest bloggers, share with you tips, suggestions, thoughts and inspiration for making your 2010 New Year’s Resolutions stick!

Now that you’ve identified your top three priorities, take a few moments to map them out and set an overarching goal, intention statement or affirmation for each focus area. What is it that you would like to accomplish or see change within each major priority area?

Goal Statements

Goal statements utilize more straight forward language and are quite often written in the future tense. (e.g. “I will get a new job in 2010.”) It is a common practice, especially in the business world, to write S.M.A.R.T goals. S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. (e.g. “I will network with 15 new contacts each month, increasing my total network by 180 people at the end of 2010.”)

Intention Statements

Intention statements are written to describe that which you want to have happen in your life or what you want to manifest. They can identify a path that you will follow until what you desire is fulfilled. Intention statements are written as if what you want to occur in your life is already happening. (e.g. “I am integrating all of my skills, talents and passion into an ideal  job role that is fulfilling and rewarding.”)

Affirmations

Affirmations are positive, affirming statements that can help to shift one’s attitude and perspective. They are usually written with more flowery, motivating and inspiring language. They are designed to inspire. (e.g. “My work is rewarding and fulfilling and I feel respected and appreciated by my colleagues and clients. It is invigorating to be making a difference in the lives of others.”)

Suggestions

Choose the format that most speaks to you. You can even use a combination of intention, goal and affirmation statements. (e.g. “In 2010, I will find a new career opportunity that will be rewarding and fulfilling and through which I will get to make a difference in the lives of others.”) This isn’t about being perfect, it is about choosing language and wording that will motivate and inspire you.

No matter which format you choose, it is important to write each statement in a positive manner. Avoid writing statements that say things like: “In 2010, I will get off unemployment.” This sort of statement would not be empowering because it is focused on the lack of employment or what is missing in your life. It would remind its reader of their lack of employment every time they read it. That would certainly not be motivating or inspiring.

Bottom line, just start writing and keep it positive and meaningful to you.

Recommended Mindbloom Exercise

Mindbloom is a great place to identify your intentions and goals. Try adding a new branch to your tree for each priority area you’ve identified. Then, type in a corresponding goal, intention statement or affirmation. Remember to keep it simple and positive. Also consider adding an image to each of your branches. You can either upload an image that inspires you or select an inspiring image from Mindbloom’s gallery. This is a great time to begin to personalize your tree and make it your own.

Happy Blooming!

- Coach Susan

About The Inspired Mindblog…

Mindbloom’s own certified coach, Susan MacCaul Siegmund (Coach Susan) as well as other guest bloggers, share with you tips, suggestions, thoughts and inspiration for making your 2010 New Year’s Resolutions stick!

One of the things that is important when you are looking at your life and your priorities, is to make sure you are also taking into account your own personal needs, growth and well-being. The Self Role is all about caring for your body, mind and spirit.

This is a critical role but often the most neglected role, especially for women who tend to put caring for and connecting with others before caring for self. It is vitally important to consider yourself a priority in your own life. Remember the adage: you’ve got to put your own oxygen mask on first before helping those around you.

So when you are thinking about your personal priorities, try to ensure that YOU are somewhere on your own priority list.

Happy Blooming!

- Coach Susan

About The Inspired Mindblog…

Mindbloom’s own certified coach, Susan MacCaul Siegmund (Coach Susan) as well as other guest bloggers, share with you tips, suggestions, thoughts and inspiration for making your 2010 New Year’s Resolutions stick!

Another great way to think about narrowing your focus is to think in terms of balancing the roles you play in life. Throughout our adult years, women typically distribute their time across a combination of 7 primary roles: Self, Mother, Daughter, Couple, Friend, Work and Community. For men, roles typically include: Self, Father, Son, Couple, Friend, Work and Community.

The nature of our roles and the amount of time we devote to our roles changes and shifts as we go through life. We are not necessarily active in all 7 roles at all times. Different decades (e.g. 30′s, 40′s, 50′s, etc.) and personal priorities emphasize different roles.

When it comes to roles, we want to try to avoid having a “myopic role focus” in which we over invest most of our time, energy and our identity into one single role (e.g. Mother or Work roles). When we have a myopic role focus, we neglect our other roles by not developing or nurturing them.

So when it comes to identifying the priority areas in your life, you can think in terms of the roles you play. Start by asking yourself:

• “What are the most important roles in my life right now?”
• “What roles do I want to invest in at this point in my life?”
• “Are there any roles that I am neglecting?”
• “What roles are missing that I want in my life?”
• “Are there any roles that have recently been lost or redefined and if so, how do I want to redefine them now?”

Listen for the answers from within and you’ll get clues as to where you want to focus your attention and energy.

Happy Blooming!

- Coach Susan

About The Inspired Mindblog…

Mindbloom’s own certified coach, Susan MacCaul Siegmund (Coach Susan) as well as other guest bloggers, share with you tips, suggestions, thoughts and inspiration for making your 2010 New Year’s Resolutions stick!

After devoting a little time to the practice of envisioning…it’s time to start narrowing your focus by identifying the areas of your life that are a priority for you. These are not the areas of your life that others are telling you that you “should” focus on, but instead these are the areas of your life that YOU want to focus your attention and energy on in 2010.

So take a moment to think about the areas of your life that are important to you. For example, are you at a point in your life where you want to focus more on your relationships? Or is improving your health and well-being front and center for you? Or do you want to put energy into your career?

Take into consideration the key areas of life: Relationships, Career, Health, Money, Spirituality, Creativity, Lifestyle and Leisure. Which of these are calling to you at this point in time? Where do you want to see changes and/or sustain recent changes? What areas of your life do you want to grow or evolve at this point in your journey?

Keep things simple. Start out with one or two priority areas of focus. If you try to make changes in all areas of your life right off the bat, you will likely feel overwhelmed. So begin by identifying your priority areas. Then, get clear on the the time frame. Do you want this priority area to be a focus for you for the next 30 days, 90 days, the first half of 2010 or for the entire year? The conscious choice is yours to make. Choose wisely.

Happy Blooming!

- Coach Susan

About The Inspired Mindblog…

Mindbloom’s own certified coaches, Susan MacCaul Siegmund (Coach Susan) and Nicey Hilton (Coach Nicey) as well as other guest bloggers, share with you tips, suggestions, thoughts and inspiration for making your 2010 New Year’s Resolutions stick!

Not sure what you want your life vision to look like? Are you getting stuck on the particulars? Are you dwelling in doubt instead of possibilities?


Try this exercise…


If you had a magic wand…

• what would you wish for in your life?
• what changes would you want to see?
• how would you use it?

Now ask your self, what would my life be like if this change was in place? What would it feel like and look like?


Mindbloom Assignment


Try writing your life vision statement that will go in the “My Life” branch on the top of your Mindbloom tree. Or if you’ve already written it, take a look at it and see if you want to modify anything based on any new insights you might have had. The most important thing is that you write this life vision statement in a way that inspires you! Integrate your insights from the last several days of envisioning practice. Keep it simple. Your statement can be as short as a few key words or it can be a single sentence or it can be several sentences in length. The choice is yours. And you can edit your life vision in Mindbloom any time you want.


Life Vision Statement Examples:


This is my personal life vision statement in Mindbloom: “I am living my life consciously with a commitment to enjoy the journey. My marriage is well-tended to by both of us and we grow more in love every day. We are joyfully working together to make our new house a home. My work is fulfilling and rewarding and I truly enjoy collaborating with our team. I love being able to make a difference in the lives of others. I am focused on nurturing myself body, mind and spirit. I am spending quality time with family and friends. Our lives are full of abundance for which I am profoundly grateful.”


Someone might write a life vision statement that simply says: “Live life fully!”


While someone else might write a statement with keywords that resonate and inspire them such as: “Live, Laugh, Love, Celebrate!”


Now take a spin at writing your own life vision. What will your vision statement say?! Have fun!


Happy Blooming!