That's all I need to change my life?

I can almost hear the skeptics among you say, "Yeah, right. All I have to do is write down my goals and think positive thoughts and my life will become perfect. Do you really expect me to believe that?"

Of course not. It takes more than that to change your life. Of course you have to work towards your goal. I'm not a fairy godmother with a magic wand, you know. ;-)

Let's say your goal is to lose 15 kg and maintain your ideal weight. Obviously you have to start exercising. If you haven't done any exercise at all in the past 10 years, don't suddenly decide you want to jog 10 km a day. I promise you that you won't make it past the first week.

Think about what you would enjoy doing. Do you enjoy swimming? Do you like taking walks? Think of an activity you enjoy doing and start doing that as an exercise. Exercise 3 times a week. Block 40 minutes in your calender 3 times a week for exercising.

If your office is on the 10th floor, take the lift to the 7th floor and then walk up the stairs to your office.

Change the way you eat. May be you need to cut down on the chocolate and ice creams. Reduce your ice cream intake to only twice a month, say only on the second and fourth Friday of the month.

May be you need to eat more vegetables and fruits. Start stocking your fridge with fruits you like.

If your goal is to get promoted in the next 12 months, go talk to your boss and finds out what you need to do to qualify for that post. How many more customers do you need to bring in? How many projects do you need to complete? Once you know what's required, sit down and break it down into a few milestones and work on a schedule to achieve them.

And then, decide on 3 things you have to do each day to bring you closer to that goal. Make sure you do that 3 things everyday without fail.

No, I haven't forgotten the challenge I promised in my last posting. Here it is.... (drum roll). By now you know how to write specific, measurable goals. Now write a list of 101 goals you want to achieve before you die. It could be things you want to do, places you want to go, charities you want to support, etc. Make a list of 101 things you want to do before you die.

I have 18 on my list. 83 more to go. :-)