Category: Goals

What Everyone Should Know to Improve Their Daily Reflection

Taking time to reflect on your day can be a daunting task until you make it a habit. From my experience many people fail to make it a habit because they don’t get value from the process immediately. It seems like work with no reward.

It is true that the value of this process grows over time. The more we practice, the more beneficial it becomes.

So how do you make it more valuable as quickly as possible? Here is one method I have recommended to others successfully in the past. I find this method helpful even after you have years of practice.

Reflect today on how you lived or failed to live according to your values. Have you grown your character or has your character lost some of it’s shine?

Take an inventory of what you value. This list may include things like honesty, trust, authenticity, empathy, and compassion. Did your actions today reflect these values?

How could your actions reveal these values in a stronger way? Were you a good example or a poor example?

When we reflect in this manner it takes us away from just an evaluation of how things went, to a reflection on how to continuously build our character! This can be a powerful change to help someone find the prize they were missing in their reflection process.

How to Increase Your Ability to Take the Best Actions

Over the last several weeks we explored a process for goal setting and goal achievement. One question remains.

How do you know if your actions are the best actions you could have taken?

You don’t. In fact, most actions are neither 100% correct or 100% incorrect. Our actions have differing levels of effectiveness. In most cases, there are better or worse actions that could have been taken.

This single reason makes a personal reflection process very important. The few minutes spent each day in reflection accumulate over a lifetime into a wealth of knowledge. We improve exponentially faster by evaluating our experiences, not just by having an experience.

There is no magic formula for reflection. Some people may need only five minutes in a quiet place to think about the events of the day. Other people may write their thoughts in a journal. It may be that using a calendar system to take notes throughout the day works best for some people.

Each of us must discover the best method, the best time, and the best place for reflection. But for all of us, it is most effective when we make it a daily habit. If you can build it into your normal routine, it will pay huge dividends. The benefit compounds over time.

If it is not one of your habits, there is no better time to start then today.

Goal Oriented or Growth Oriented? Which Are You?

Last week’s article was about a process to focus on only a few goals at one time. I received several emails from people asking how I could just ignore some of my goals. It is a good question.

I do have goals that have specific deadlines. These goals are usually shorter term goals, not big picture goals. Most of my big picture goals have less to do with when, and more to do with achievement.

I hope you have had the opportunity to experience big picture goals through thinking, reflection, and the exercise I wrote about a few weeks ago. If not, I encourage you to give it a try. Hopefully you will perceive some distinction between big goals, and other goals in our life.

John Maxwell captures this difference when he talks about goal setting. He says “when I stopped asking ‘when will I get it?’ and started asking ‘I wonder how far I can go ..?’, I changed my thinking from goal oriented to growth oriented”.

Growth is life long isn’t it… or at least I think it ought to be. Big goals also tend to be life long. They represent the journey we desire. I love to think big, set big goals, and then align my actions to continuously strive forward.

I hope this helps put frame of reference around my process, and boosts your enthusiasm for your own goals.

Establish the Habit of Achieving Goals

If you have followed my articles in the last few weeks, you may now have a big picture of your longer term goals. You might also be feeling a bit overwhelmed. The next step is developing focus.

If I split my attention between 30 goals, I end up with no progress. To be effective, I can only work on a few goals. Usually I target two to four goals at a time. For these selected goals, I add the following process to my day.

Daily reflection – Every day (Monday through Friday), for each goal, I write a sentence or two on activity and progress. This process only take a minute or two at the end of the day.

Weekly reflection – On Friday evening or Saturday morning, I spend a few minutes reflecting and writing notes on my progress over the last week. I answer the following questions:

– What worked?
– What didn’t work?
– What did I learn?
– What do I need to do next week?

Once completed, the goal is dropped from the daily and weekly review. I select another goal for concentration and continue.

This process is simple but effective. After using it for several weeks, it will become a habit. Once established it will help with focus, daily effort, and improved performance.

I hope this explanation answers your questions on selecting goals, and maintaining focus. Let’s keep striving for a great year!