This Time I Mean It

Getting Past What Holds You Back with Baby Boomer Weight Loss Expert Scott 'Q' Marcus

  • Home
  • Change Habits
    • 21 Day Habit Change.com
  • Blog
    • Newspaper Column
    • Motivational Monday
  • Work With Scott
    • Meet Scott
    • Scott’s Powerful Fun Style
    • For Meeting Planners
    • Speaking Topics
    • What Conference Attendees Say
    • Book Scott to Speak
  • Shop
  • Meet Scott
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us
    • Sign up for the FREE ezine
You are here: Home / Archives for setting goals

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?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Excuses, goals, Motivation, Newspaper Column, planning Tagged With: achieving your goals, asking questions, attaining your goals, goals, making change, realistic goals, setting goals, specific and measurable goals

Is Your Financial Resolution Already Off-Track? Refocus on Your Financial Goals

January 31, 2014 by Featured Author Leave a Comment

So you made a New Year’s resolution involving finances, and it’s already fallen to the wayside.

expired-resolutionsWe get it. Maybe you resolved to reduce your credit card debt, save for a home or build an emergency fund, or even something as simple as create and stick to a budget. You must live and breathe that commitment each and every day if you are to achieve it, but relax—it’s not that hard. Below are some helpful hints to help you keep your 2014 financial resolution:

Take Pen to Paper

Write down your goal. Insure that it meets the following criteria:

  • The goal must be specific. What action will you take? “I will deposit $200 from each paycheck into my retirement account” as opposed to “I will save more this year.”
  • Make sure it’s measurable. You must be able to measure whether or not you are on track.
  • The goal must be achievable. Do your homework and ascertain if your goal is financially achievable.
  • Make it realistic. If your job requires you to drive all over town to meet with clients, you don’t have any control over whether you can spend less on gas, so don’t make that your goal.
  • It should be timely. Your goal must be stated in a way that holds you accountable to a time table. For example, “I will deposit $50 a month” as opposed to “I will save more.”

Now that you’ve set your goal, stay on track.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: goals, Guest Author, planning, resolutions Tagged With: brand new year, creativity, financial planning, new year, new year's resolutions, setting goals, smart goals, success

Unleashing Your Positive Side

May 30, 2013 by Featured Author Leave a Comment

success joy happinessYour attitude can make all the difference.  The actual act of thinking positively or negatively requires the same amount of energy. Of course the end results are very different.  A negative attitude will lead you into negative situations.  Most of the time you’ll suppress your full potential and follow down a path of failure.  Finding the positive in any situation can lift your spirits and set you on a better pathway to achieving what you want out of life.

It takes a lot of work to maintain a positive attitude. Proper planning and preparation will set you on the path to achieving the goal of living positively.  Follow these tips to learn how to unleash your positive side so that you improve relationships with friends and family, and impact coworkers and others around you.

Personal Assessment

The very first step is to take a self assessment.  Before you can proceed with any changes you should review your own disposition and current situation.  Take a long hard look and be honest with yourself.  This will not be easy, but it can be done.  You can’t change anything until you identify the areas that need the most emphasis.  Make a list and note down the negative aspects of your life.  Think about your attitude, how you live and your relationships.

Setting Goals

[Read more…]

Filed Under: goals, Gratitude, Guest Author, Motivation, Power of Attitude Tagged With: affirmation, affirmations, attitude, friends and family, personal assessment, personal development, positive attitude, self assessment, setting goals, specific and measurable goals

Setting and Achieving Resolutions

January 10, 2012 by Featured Author Leave a Comment

A few years ago, I set close to 30 resolutions for the new year.

I know I included a few silly items like “buy more cute socks,” but most of the items were new endeavors that I never crossed off my list. They included fairly typical, year-end mandates about exercising more, making radical changes to my wardrobe, and changing my physical appearance through diet. Though a rush of adrenaline and desire to foster change made my listmaking easy, following through was considerably more difficult.

It’s easy to say resolutions don’t work and leave it at that, but the simple truth is that I got distracted by fantasies of my “New Me!” results and didn’t consider the effort and expense required by the massive changes I was taking on. Case in point, my list included buying new living room furniture… without taking into account my budget or the fact that someone was still going to have to pay the rent and utilities while I languished on a new sofa. A much smaller step, such as ‘shop Goodwill for a secondhand ottoman; purchase by February 28’ would have likely resulted in the acquisition of furniture at a pace and financial output I could handle.

When setting goals, it’s best to be realistic.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Change, goals, Guest Author, Holidays, resolutions Tagged With: change, guest author, massive changes, radical change, radical changes, resolutions, resolutions that stick, setting goals, speaking, why

Search the Site

Search Products

Blog Categories

Recent Posts

  • Scared of my Shadow
  • You are not who you think you were
  • Who are you? Are you sure?
  • Exasperating – the verb
  • Change your thinking, change your life.

Book An Appointment With Scott

Get a free coaching call by following this link. No obligation.

Contact Us Today

Scott "Q" Marcus
707 834.4090
scottq@thistimeimeanit.com
======
Join Scott's mailing list at http://eepurl.com/LsSIX

Product Categories

  • Accessories
  • Books
  • Coaching Programs
  • DVDs and CDs
  • Instant Downloads
  • Kindle Books
  • Seminars
  • Shirts
  • Site Advertising
  • subscription
  • Uncategorized

Book An Appointment

Recent Posts

  • Scared of my Shadow
  • You are not who you think you were
  • Who are you? Are you sure?
  • Exasperating – the verb
  • Change your thinking, change your life.

This Time I Mean It Copyright © 2023 · All rights reserved · Log in