Treat your New Year’s resolutions like SMART goals for successful change in your life!

The idea of New Year’s resolutions is an excellent one. Unfortunately, the application and follow through are often disappointing and even depressing for many who don’t achieve their goals.

SMART Goals to the rescue

Setting goals is more than just stating an ideal scenario that you would like to see happen in your life. It’s a commitment to improving yourself, to changing your life to reflect how you really want it to be. How your life plays out is a reflection of you. Your world is a mirror of your inner thoughts, dreams and desires, but also your wounds, filters and fears. Real change requires real follow through on effective action, which take conscious planning. As with all commitments, there is a degree of effort involved, but even before the action stage there is a planning stage and this is where SMART Goals play a key role in setting you up for success.

Start with SMART Goals and expect success

SMART Goals are simply goals that are:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Attainable

• Realistic

• Timely

Specific goals include details like amounts: “I will lose 20 pounds”.

Measurable goals are easy to see the results in action. “The scale shows that I lost 5 pounds last month”.

Attainable goals are possible. Losing 100 pounds in four months and becoming a super model is not an attainable goal. Losing 5 pounds per month for 20 minths is possible.

Realistic goals are similar to attainable goals in that they are possible to achieve and they should also fit in with your lifestyle, time and energy and other resources that may be required to complete the goal. “I will consult my doctor and hire a Holistic Health Counselor or Life Coach to ensure my health and success while I lose 100 pounds.

Timely goals have a stated time-frame, a beginning and end date. “I will lose 45 pounds in the next 12 months.”

A few more tips for achieving your dreams

Internalizing your SMART Goals into your psyche by journaling about your experiences during the process can be cathartic. Keeping track of your progress keeps you in touch with your accomplishments and encourages you to continue.

Surround yourself with supportive people and ask for help. People love to help others be successful.

Make a pact with a friend to join you on the journey. This is great support if they have a very specific or even just similar goals as you can both meet or check-in regularly to participate and report on the actions required and the results. Exercising with a support partner at the gym or walking together will keep you on track and motivated.

Make a schedule of actions and stick to it.

Setting SMART Goals is an investment in you.

*I would love to hear of your successes and pitfalls and how you made Smart Goals work for you. Feel free to leave a comment. www.NeogenIsisLifeCoaching.com

Pick up your spirits, do something different.

You don’t have to be an experienced rider to go on a trail ride with an experienced trail boss.

The cookbook will be released in three formats; free ebooklet, full ebook and print. Each one will include full credits for each accepted submission with your “by” line; your full name and a link to your blog or website as well as a full listing in the index if you submit a full meal plan with recipes and at least 1 picture.

You may also post the free ebooklet on your blog or website as a freebie to attract visitors and clients.

Here’s what I’m looking for:

1. Healthy recipes in the following categories
a. Omnivarian (eats everything)
b. Pescetarian (eats fish/seafood, but no other meat)
c. Vegan (does not eat any animal products: no meat, no dairy, no honey etc.)
d. Vegetarian (does not eat meat or fish/seafood)

2. Images: If you have images of the final product and/or the process, the likelihood of being chosen increases exponentially!

3. Meals – if you have a combination of several recipes that make a complete meal in a distinguishable category, such as, but not limited to: Summer brunch, Easy Party, Quick & Easy Dinner, Italian, American, South of the Boarder…etc.

To submit: Via email – attache images

Recipe format:
• Times New Roman: size 12 font
• tsp = teaspoon
• TBLS = Tablespoon
• cup = cup
•Use fraction measurements: 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 etc.

IMAGES – DIGITAL
• MUST be your original pictures of the actual recipe (you must own/have rights to the image)

•image format:  .png  or .psd  or  .jpg
•300 pixels
• 8×11 inches maximum – 4×4 minimum (may be any size configuration 4×6, 5×7 etc)
• Color

If your recipes are selected, you will be notified via email.

——————————————————————
EXAMPLE FORMAT

Recipe Title: New Times Roman size 14 font, bold
                                         (1 spaces/returns)
Yield 4 servings (or 4 quarts, 4 dozen, 4 cups etc.)

                                          (2 spaces/returns)
Ingredients (bold)
                                          (1 spaces/returns)
1/2 cup water, chilled
2 eggs, large
1 1/4 cups flour, sifted
1 carrot, large, grated
1 onion, large
1 galic clove, minced
1 tsp ingredient
1TBLS ingredient
                                          (2 spaces/returns)
Instructions (bold)
                                          (1 spaces/returns)
Whip together water and eggs until frothy.
Slowly stir in water and egg mixture to flour
until firm, but slightly sticky.
Sauté carrot, onion and garlic until tender.
Add all ingredients into medium sized pot
of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes…

Stew should be thick and….

Refrigerate up to three days or freeze up to 3 months.
                                          (1 spaces/returns)
Tips:
Do ahead tips: } (optional information)
Goes well with:
——————————————————–

Why am I doing this? As a Holistic Health Counselor and Life Coach I try to inspire my clients to lead holistically healthy lives. I’m also a foodie, holistically trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC and have enjoyed many cooking classes with fabulous chefs in NYC, Oregon and Mexico. I believe having a personal and creative relationship with our food is a critical grounding point for a well-balanced life. I would also like to inspire and co-create something fun with others that we can all share.

To health!

Wendy L. Lilja, HHC, CLC
Neogenisis
Holistic Health & Wellness
wendy@neogenisis.com
www.NeogenIsisLifeCoaching.com
www.NeogenIsisLifeCoaching.wordpress.com

I have found that the number one issue that holds people back in all life areas; physical, personal, professional and spiritual is problem solving.

During ten years of life coaching I realized that the number one issue that holds people back in all life areas; physical, personal, professional and spiritual is problem solving. This is most often one of the first exercises I give to each of my new clients because if they don’t understand how to solve problems, then they really can’t move forward with a degree of success that will develop a lifetime of growth and empowerment.

1st of a 4 part series: Defining The Issue
2nd part: Defining Complex Issues
Defining The Issue
The activities of problem solving and decision-making are a part of the process of change. When we begin to make internal life changes, we will have many old and new issues we will want to consider resolving so we can move forward with a clean slate into our new Life Vision.
First, let’s replace the old “problem solving” adage with the more upbeat terms, “resolving” and “issues” to create a positive process called resolving issues, which will tickle our brains to think about “problems”differently because semantics matter.

Basic Guidelines to Resolving Issues
and Decision Making

Define the issue

This is often where people struggle. They react to what they think the problem is. Instead of seeking to understand more about why they believe there is an issue.
Defining the issue: (with input from others whom you respect)
Ask yourself and others, the following questions:

1. What is the difference between using the term “problem solving” and “resolving issues” and what impression does each leave you with or how do they feel to you?

Now choose an issue you have been dwelling on. Start with something relatively trivial.
1. What can I see or feel that causes me to think there’s an issue?

2. Where is this issue happening? (at work, home etc.)

3. How is it happening?

4. When is it happening?

5. With whom is it happening?
HINT: Avoid jumping to conclusions about, “Who is causing the problem“. When we’re stressed, blaming is often one of our first reactions. To be an effective issue resolver, manager, partner, friend and family member, you will need to address the issues instead of blaming people.

6. Why is the issue happening?

Life Coaching is not therapy or counseling. The focuses is on current issues and changes you would like to make in your life. It’s planning for the future and taking action now to achieve your goals, hopes, dreams and desires.

Much less emphasis is put on past issues. This frees your team to focus intensely on just the most important area the you are ready to work on each step of the way.

My areas of expertise include professional, personal, spiritual and wellness coaching with over ten years of study, professional work , growth and success in each area.

To learn more about Life Coaching please call, email or visit:

Coach Wendy L. Lilja, HHC, CLC
403.380.5222
www.neogenisislifecoaching.com
lifecoaching@neogenisis.com