Goal Setting

5 Facts About Goal Setting These practical tips on goal setting can help make it easier to set and reach goals: Specific, realistic goals work best. When it comes to make a change, the people who succeed are those who set realistic, specific goals.

I'm going to recycle all my plastic bottles, soda cans and magazines

is a much more double goal than

I'm going to do more for the environment

and that makes it easier to stick with.

It takes time for a change to become an establised habit. It will probably take a couple of months before any changes - like getting up half an hour early to exercise - become a routine part of your life. That's because your brain needs time to get used to the idea that this new thing you're doing is part of your regular routine.

Repeating a goal makes it stick. Say your goal out loud each morning to remind yourself of what you want and what you're working for. (Writing it down works too) Every time you remind yourself of your goal, you're training your brain to make it happen.

Pleasing other people doesn't work. The key to making any change is to find the desire within yourself - you have to do it because you want it, not because a girlfriend, boyfriend, coach, parents, or someone else wants you to.

It will be harder to stay on track and motivated if you're doing something out of obligation to another person.

Roadblocks don't mean failure. Slip-ups are actually part of the learning process as you retrain your brain into a new way of thinking. It may take a few tries to reach a goal.

But that's OK - it's normal to mess up or give up a few times when trying to make a change. So remember that eveyone slips up and don't beat yourself up about it. Just remind yourself to get back on track.

Stress (3)

What can stress do to you if it goes on too long?

Our bodies send us messages that tell us that we're over-stressed. If we try to pretend to ourselves that stress isn't having an effect on us, we get into the stage where our bodies send us strong messages to stop. If we don't have some ways to deal with stress, we can become quite ill.

The message could be:

• Physical Exhaustion
• Physicall Illness
• Loss Of Self Confidence
• Depression
  
• Signs Of Stress

It's important to acknowledge the signs of stress for yourself, so that you can work out how to protect yourself and deal with what is cuasing the stress.

Some of the physical signs or feelings in your body might be:-

• Headaches
• Feeling Sick
• Sore Muscles
• Diarrhea or Constipation
• Indigestion
• Problems With Sleeping
• Losing Interest In Sex
• Being Unable To Concentrate
• Heart Beating Faster
• Skin Rashes
• Wanting To Binge On Comfort Food

Some of the feeling signs could be:-

• Nervousness
• Anxiety
• Sadness
• Aggression and Anger
• Tiredness
• Tension

Think about what is causing you stress and work out how to deal with it. Sometimes just writing down all the stuff that's worrying you can begin to make everything seem better. Once you know what it is, you can work out what to do about it. Keeping fit and getting enough sleep helps your body to work better and your mind to think more clearly.

Stress (2)

What causes stress?

We are all different and we have all learnt to respond differently to situations that make us feel angry or worried or overloaded - This means that some people will become highly stressed about things that might not worry other people like:

• exams
• arguments
• homework being harassed
• being left out of a group
• a new school
• being late
• girl friends / boy friends
• a new baby in the family
  
• moving house
• going to the dentist
• a job interview, or
• taking on a new responsibility

It's different for everyone, but like a family breakdown, a death of someone close, someone going to goal, too many responsibilities, or being a victim of violent crime. Crises like being around when there is a bushfire, cyclone or earthquake, or living through a drought (especially for country people) are very stressful for everyone.

Our coping skills are something we have learnt, usually from our parents. Because they are learnt, this means that we can all learn and take on new coping skills to increase our coping capcity and deal with stress better.

Stress (1)

Let's start with another topic related to not only work, but also our daily lives.

Another useful information that I got to share with you all. This time, I pluck the following information from Daily Express, 18th June 2008. I know everyone will face stress. But do we actually know what stress is. Read the following for more information.

Stress is the body's response to anything which could be dangerous. The body goes into 'fight or flight' mode, which means that you get an adrenalin rush, your heart beats faster, more blood rushes to your muscles and you are all set to fight or run away from whatever is threatening you.

This is good if you are facing a really dangerous situation or if you were a cave dweller in the olden days chasing the next meal but most of us don't have to deal with situations like these. Usually we have to deal with frightening things using our mind. But stress is still a normal part of our lives and our bodies still react to it in the same way.

to be continued ...