There is a lot of information on social media about SMART goals; a concept that was introduced by George T. Doran in 1981. A goal written SMART-ly clearly and specifically states what you intend to achieve and by when. This approach creates focus and enables you to track how you are progressing towards what you want to achieve.
 
Interestingly, a whopping 97% of people do not have goals and do not have a plan in place to successfully achieve their goals. This goes a long way to explain why so many people feel that they are stuck in a rut and not making headway in their lives.
 
The acronym SMART, explained in the table below, is used to check that you described your goal in sufficient detail and specifies how you can track your progress towards successfully achieving your goal:

​Most importantly, a goal is written in present tense. It is one of the ways to focus your mind on achieving the goal. When you are satisfied that your goal is written as a SMART goal, make sure that you visualize it and put it in a place where you will see it every day. This is another way to focus your mind on the goal.
 
Here is a practical example using my avatar Pat:
 
To achieve general good health and improve her energy levels, Pat decides to increase her fitness by doing some form of exercise 3 times a week for at least the next 6 months, working up to a duration of thirty minutes.
 
She describes her goal, visualizing her future achievement making sure to write it in the present tense and include all aspects of a SMART goal (at the time of writing her goal it is January 2025)
 
It is 1 July 2025, I walk or cycle for 30 minutes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
 
Pat checks her goal against the SMART criteria and is satisfied that she has articulated a SMART goal! She is also happy that it is to the point and simple.

Pat writes out her goal in bright colours on a big piece of paper and pins it to the door of her fridge. She is also considering making an image of the goal to use as her screen saver on her cell phone. Talk about focusing the mind!
 
Creating a SMART goal is the first step to successfully attain what you want in your life. You can create goals to improve any area of your life. Pat chose to improve her health. You might want to improve a relationship, progress in your career, increase your wealth or just deliberately go about including some fun and adventure into your life. Start today by writing your own SMART goal – follow it up with a good plan to take you from today to your goal end day – and then do it!

I love great questions.
This week I realized how great a question “what do you need?” is -
I wasn’t really listening to the conversation between two colleagues until I heard Iqbal ask Janet: “What do you need?” There was a moment’s silence after which Janet succinctly described what she needed and Iqbal replied with constructive advice on how to approach the situation that they were discussing.
My reflection has been on the subtle difference between asking “How can I help you?” and “What do you need?”. The second question moves the responsibility from me trying to figure out how I can make your situation better, to requiring you to be specific about what help is required. It removes the interpretation in my own mind of the situation to clarity for all parties about what is needed. From this, you are likely to find the answer for yourself or the discussion can move on to possible suggestions of how the need can be met. It ends up being a great engagement simply because of a great question.  
“What do you need?” can be an empowering, inquisitive question in the mix of all the other self-talk that goes on in your mind. It can be a split second of interrupting your thinking and getting clarity in your own mind. This enables you to share clearly with others what you need, not only helping you to articulate yourself clearly but also helping other understand you. Clearly, a win-win situation!
Try out the question. Ask yourself. Ask other people. I think it will positively change the way you engage with others.

For a couple of months now, I have been thinking about writing an eBook. After doing some research and reading advice about just getting in there any getting it done, I did just that. The short book is self-published on Amazon Kindle!

Finding Purpose in Process shares a unique way for you to
          do a personal stock take ie make your rainbow,
          decide where to take control of your life and
        put a plan in place to take successful action.

Use the techniques explained in the book to create your rainbow, your goals and your plan. Understand how to prevent regression and make sustainable change.

​Amazon.com: Finding Purpose in Process: Just 3 steps to your pot of gold eBook : Naudé, Penelope: Kindle Store

Looking for someone that will “complete you” must be the biggest illusion that has ever been sold!
 
To think that we can become whole, complete and fulfilled because of someone else is a recipe for a relationship or friendship to end, most of the time in disaster.
 
Let me explain: according to my friend Google, around 80% of people are growing up and becoming adults who subconsciously live day by day constrained by the belief that life happens to you. This leads to most people living out purpose-less “you should” kind of lives, giving away control of their circumstances and subconsciously living with weaknesses and limitations that they aren’t even aware of. Why? Because that’s just how things are.
 
If I may liken such people to a jigsaw puzzle piece – they have ‘extensions’ and ‘holes’ on all sides of them. The natural tendency is to fill the holes (what we are lacking) and capitalize on the extensions (talents or excesses) by finding someone whose needs can be filled by what we can give ie. our ‘extensions’ but in turn has ‘extensions’ that complements our lack. Quite truly, they say that opposites attract. Voila, you get a completed puzzle!

​And this is where the story can end …….. as long as the extensions and the holes always stay as they are, we can continue to live purpose-less yet happy lives completing each other. As long as nothing changes.
 
Thing is – we do change. Life happens and through experiences, moments of growth and reaching different levels of maturity, we change. An experience can have such an improving effect on us that where we are lacking is filled. Hmmm, now we no longer have a place for our puzzle partner to fill. This causes misalignment. It causes friction because there isn’t a perfect fit any more.
 
This is also where the story can end ……. we settle for not fitting any more, because of many good rationalizations we continue to live purpose-less yet frustrating lives going with the flow because that’s how it is.
 
Life certainly does not have to be like that. What if you were fulfilled as a complete, holistic person all on your own? What if you took control of your own life, trimmed down the excesses and filled up the lack – to become a perfect circle of self made you. Independent, in control, successful …. purposeful.
 
That’s about you – and yes, through life coaching it can certainly be done. Fill out the form on this website or get hold of me on info@urprofitable.co.za to find out how!
 
Where I am actually going with this is to wrap up my story about looking for someone to complete you – it’s nonsense. What is amazing though, is when you (leading a completely fulfilled purposeful life) find someone else (also leading a completely fulfilled purposeful life), the picture below visualizes the beauty of two whole people sharing their lives together. I don’t think we could wish for a better life!
 
What is pretty cool, is that ME all on my own is living out your best life, consciously taking control of your destiny and living with purpose. Sharing an US with someone as fulfilled as you are is a great bonus.  

You can only give away what you have.
 
Well, that certainly makes sense: how can you give something away when you don’t have it?
 
My thoughts today are not so much on what we have but on what we are giving away. And how, in what you give away, there is a big clue about what you have going on inside of you. Actually, it gives evidence of how you feel about yourself. What you give away is a reflection on you, not another person or a situation.
 
Think about how you respond to different situations and people as you go through the day…..
Do you tend to be impatient, frustrated and abrupt? Are you demanding and intolerant?
Or are you calm, responding with empathy and understanding, patient and accommodating of others? Of course, there are many variations between these two states of being.
 
Which of the two extremes would you prefer to be? Which of the two extremes would you link to a fulfilled, healthy (in mind and body), mature human being?  
 
If you find yourself feeling out of control, constantly stressed, feeling unwell and struggling in your interactions with people, consider investing in a Life Coach. Through Life Coaching, you will have the opportunity to examine you and what is stopping you from being the person you want to be. 

Litter, jumble, chaos, disorder, disarray, messy, untidy.
 
I am always shocked at the state of most people’s garages. In my mind, a garage should house vehicles, tools for DIY and gardening and possibly some miscellaneous items that one keeps because it will come in handy. AH-HA – those are them: the miscellaneous things that we just can’t let go off because we will use them some day. So, in they go. Above, next to or underneath the rest of the some-day stuff until eventually you can’t even remember all the some-day stuff that is in there. This means that you end up  acquiring a new item when you need it because you have completely forgotten that it is in the garage!
 
What a mess! Eventually it takes a good focused effort and a huge investment of time and discipline to sort out the some-day stuff because they start to take over the place. Actually, I have seen some garages that have their vehicles parked outside because there isn’t enough space due to CLUTTER!
 
You might be wondering what a Life Coaching post has to do with garage jumble! Well, noticing all these garages not being used for their primary purpose led me to compare the tangible clutter in our garages to the intangible clutter in our lives.
 
The main thought is about staying true to our purpose, consciously living a purpose-driven life! The gold to be found in knowing your purpose is that you also know what it is not. How lovely to have that focus! To be in a position to consciously decide if you want to deal with the consequences of doing something misaligned to your purpose or to stay blissfully inside that bit of heaven-on-earth where complete joy and fulfillment is found.
 
When you (as the garage) know that your purpose is to house vehicles and tools, you will also immediately know that anything else is a big no-no. If you decide to let everything else in, you will end up with your vehicles outside, everything else inside and you’ve lost your purpose.
 
And this is where I get to the Life Coaching – specifically Transformational Life Coaching. This is a well thought out series of modules that take you progressively through a process of unfolding self-awareness while teaching you tools and techniques for managing your (self-imposed) limitations. It takes a good focused effort, a time investment and discipline while you sort through the clutter. It results in uncovering your purpose and putting yourself in a position to continue on life’s journey knowing what it is and what it is not.
 
I don’t have words strong enough to convey how unbelievably liberating it is when you consciously live a purpose-driven life. I can only recommend that you sign up for the Program and find out for yourself.

Setting a goal is not the same as making a resolution.

Making a resolution is about a decision to do, or not to do, something. Resolutions are often made on the spur
of the moment, in an emotional state, or under peer pressure, and have little to no assessment of the practical implications of the decision. This explains why a whopping 80% of new year’s resolutions are abandoned by February.
 
In setting a goal, there is also the intent to do, or not do, something. The process of setting a goal however requires logical, practical assessment of current state, desired state and what must be done to move from the one to the other.
 
A SMARTEST goal, a good plan and plain old discipline is the mix for achieving success.
 
Let’s look at how to define the goal first.
 
The following table describes the elements of a SMARTEST goal:

​It is key to have a clear picture of what life will be when you achieve you goal – when you write your goal, project yourself to the future date and write the goal in present tense.
 
For example my 2022 goal reads as follows: It is 1 April 2022 and I weigh 55 kilograms.
 
Is it a SMARTEST goal? I believe it is. 

​Next you need a plan.
 
During planning, you

• identify everything that must be done to take you from your current state to the time that you achieve your goal
• plot your list of things against a timeline between Today and Your Goal date.
  

​Below is an example. You will notice that the plan has a good amount of details and that every second milestone, also has how I will reward myself when I achieve that milestone.

​And now – you do it! Have a copy of your goal and your plan visible where you can see it every day. Focus on what you want one day at a time until you get there.

There is one important principle though, if you find that you are not achieving your goal – DO NOT change the goal, rather change the plan. 

​During the last challenging 4 weeks, I literally felt that I was slowly but surely sliding all the way down Maslow’s triangle – it was a very interesting experience for me. Given my knowledge of the impact of change on an individual as well as the human needs that must be fulfilled, I was acutely aware of closing down until I did not want to see or speak to people and was solely focused on getting through one day at a time.
 
I know also though, that focusing on the positive and deliberately looking for people and things to be grateful for, is critical in any challenging situation. Despite the challenges, I found much to be grateful for, to appreciate and to be positive about.
 
I did my rainbow assessment again with the view to taking stock and setting goals for the new year. From the attached photo, you can see what my rainbow looked like in February and what it looks like now! I am pleasantly satisfied with myself. Usually taking stock results in identifying areas of improvement but as you can see, it also gives evidence of progress which is good reason for celebration! There is no resting on one’s laurels though and I have new goals, am gathering new energy and looking forward with appreciation and gratitude. 

How did your New Year’s Resolutions unfold this year? Did you achieve your goals for 2021?
 
The numbers may vary but in general it is interesting that a relatively small percentage of people set goals and of those an even dismally small percentage actually achieve their goals.
 
If you are in this elite group of people, well done. If you aspire to be one of these focused, successful achievers, continue reading…..
 
3 Top Tips for achieving your goals

• Write down your goal following SMART principles – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound
• Put your goal in a place where you see it every day
• Now write down the steps you must follow to successfully achieve your goal, with clear milestones along the way
• Identify your support and lean on them for help when you are wavering

 
As we enter November, let’s already start planning what we want to achieve in 2022.
 
A Life Coach is the ideal partner for help in assessing your development areas, setting goals and achieving them. 

Money management basics
 
When it comes to finances, it is important not to compare yourself to others – that enviable brand new car, big house or social lifestyle may be sponsored by a deficit in the bank account and isn’t evidence of good money management at all!
 
When you want to get control over your financial state, you should start by creating a plan for monthly spending from actual expenses that you know of and estimated expenses that you anticipate. Download the basic budget example at the end of this article and use it to setup your own version – this can be on paper or in software such as Microsoft Excel.
  
As each month progresses, make a “copy” of your budget where you track actual income and expenses, cross check this against your bank account statements
 
After 3 months, review your 3 budgets (plans) against the 3 copies (actuals), you will find that:

• You are spending less than you receive – well done! Are you saving the surplus in your emergency fund?
• You are spending roughly the same as you receive – good going. Can you find a place to cut down or redirect spending to start an emergency fund?
• You are spending more than you receive – now, this is where some good reflection, maturity and responsibility is needed: you need to receive more or you need to spend less. Is there a way?

 
Obviously one would like to progress from the last scenario to the first in terms of improving your money management.
 
Personal development coaching can guide you in deciding on goals and working out a plan to achieve your goals so that you can take control of your financial situation.