Questioning Your Way to Success

July 22, 2020 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Being a professional in the goal-setting field, I find it fascinating to witness some of the machinations we will go through to achieve our objectives.

There are countless apps designed to help one achieve goals, ranging from diet and exercise to being more organized, to simply uplifting one’s mood. For those less inclined to make change via an app, I’ve heard of some who journal, use to-do lists, or even pray and meditate on the desired outcomes. Of course, hiring a coach helps too. (Hint, hint…)

I am not judging any technique. If you’re dedicated to your goals and willing to do the work, however, you choose it, more power to you – especially in this ever-stressful world in which we find ourselves. That said, if you personally felt stuck and would like to make some changes; whether health-related, financial, or emotional, this four-question process is ridiculously easy to use and amazingly effective.

Question #1: Suppose I was successful; how would I know?

It seems silly to start here, but the reality is oft-times we fall short of our objectives because we’ve never defined the outcome clearly. We say “I want to feel better,” or “I want to get more fit.” Whereby those are lofty intentions, they’re not concrete enough to drive us to an endpoint. Sure, they might get us started, but we’ll often stall because we don’t know when we’ve arrived and the journey feels daunting and without end.

It’s more effective to state a goal such as “I will walk 30 minutes three times a week;” or “I will take time each day to write down five things for which I’m grateful.’

Being able to identify a clear change in behavior is essential to achieving goals.

Question #2: What has to happen for that objective to occur?

Obviously, if we were doing what we needed to do, we’d already be where we want to be. Since we’re not yet “there,” something must adjust. To that end, we have basically four options: start a new behavior; stop an existing behavior; do more of an already-existing behavior; or do less of an existing behavior.

Behavioral changes therefore might be, “put a 30-minute activity appointment in my calendar on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday;” or “reserve 10 minutes each morning to record those things for which I’m grateful.”

The trick here is not to line out an entire series of changes, but to define one simple, effective adjustment you can make to move forward.

Question #3: Can I do that?

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How to Make New Year’s Resolutions That Actually Benefit You

December 16, 2014 by Featured Author Leave a Comment

It’s That Time of Year.

This time of year, our thoughts turn to new beginnings in the New Year. If you are one of the about 50 percent of Americans who commit to a New Year’s resolution, you might be currently brainstorming for your very own self-improvement project.

However, if we successfully achieved every single New Year’s resolution, we wouldn’t need to make them every year, would we? We’d have the perfect outlook on life, maintain our ideal weight and have money saved in the bank.

Alas, only 8 percent of people surveyed by the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychology reported success in achieving their resolution. In fact, 24 percent of respondents say they are never successful with their resolutions and fail every year. It can be demoralizing to fail and those setbacks could persuade us to stop setting goals altogether.

Instead of abandoning self-reflection and self-improvement, why not evaluate the types of goals we set? Are they unattainable from the start? Are we unrealistic? Here are some tips to help make New Year’s resolutions that are beneficial and attainable. [Read more…]

Start Small and Go Big

November 17, 2014 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Start small. Do more or add more if you want to.

It’s always easier to add more and it’s much more empowering than it is to feel bad about taking on too much.

This applies on many levels.

For example, if you’re trying to lose weight, take less than you want. (You can always go back from more but can’t give back what you eat.)

If you’re starting an exercise program, commit to a smaller realistic amount rather than an unwieldy longer time. (You can always add more.)

If you’re cleaning your house, promise yourself you’ll do one room really well instead of the whole house and get overwhelmed. (You can always do more if you want.)

The Sober Life: How to Make and Keep Goals After Rehab

February 7, 2013 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

by Melissa Cammack

When you graduate from drug rehab, you are one step closer to living a sober life.

But as you are reintroduced into society, you must learn how to stay clean and pick up all of the pieces that have fallen apart because of your addiction. When you get clean and you start to see the world through sober eyes, it is very important to stay productive, and one of the most effective ways to stay productive is to set goals and stay focused on achieving these goals. As you start to accomplish your goals, you will become more confident that you can stay abstinent. The first step is making your goals, and the second step is to keep these goals.

Tips on Making Realistic Goals After Rehab

As a recovering addict, you know that you have to live life one day at a time. You should keep this simple rule in mind whenever you are making goals for yourself to live a sober and productive life. Writing down your goals is a great way to stay accountable and to assess whether or not any of the goals need to be updated in the future. After you achieve your first set of short-term goals, you can move on to setting a new set of short-term goals that will get you even further in your sober life. Here are some tips on creating goals for yourself that are possible to attain:

Work with your counselor in the rehab center before you leave the facility to come up with a post-rehab life plan. This plan will include goals you will set for yourself for the weeks and months following rehab and your counselor will help give you tips on how to stay on track.
Attend follow up counseling sessions after rehab to discuss what you are finding challenging now that you are living the sober life. You can discuss goals you have achieved, feel empowered, and set new goals that your counselor will hold you to.
Take time to meet new friends who also live a sober life. When you build new relationships or you take time to heal your relationships with your old friends, it will give you more power to get through challenges you will face in the future.

Rehab stresses that recovery is a life-long process. You need to understand before you venture out on your own and try to conquer the world. Make sure you have a support system, make a plan, and do everything in your power to stay accountable.

About the Author: This article was written on behalf of http://www.freedomdrugrehab.com/ by Melisa Cammack, so for those who are looking for more information on help with addiction, please visit their site today.

Thinking in the Gray Areas

October 1, 2012 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Think in the gray areas.

Limiting yourself to black and white ideas will inhibit you.

We tend to see things in “black and white” and change is not that way.

We use expressions like “I was good” or “I was bad.” “I was on my diet.” or “I was off my diet.” “I had a great day.” or “I had a lousy day.” “Life is great.” or “Life is lousy.”

In reality, most of the time, it’s somewhere between the two extremes. When we use a more realistic portrayal of how things are, it gives us the ability to appreciate what we like while still improving what we do not.

That is not something we can do when we only look at life as “either/or.”