As you've probably noticed, January, being the month of new beginnings, has been filled with articles to make you think both on a personal level and as a writer.
Today my guest is romance author, Saralee Etter. Saralee's topic is on goals.
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!” Goal-setting can be very difficult,
when that weak flesh gets in the way of our best intentions.
Our spirit, and
our emotions, are what keep us on track. It's hard to get ourselves to go for
our goals unless we've got the proper emotional drive to power us forward.
For 2015, let's
try to find ways to help the spirit give us a kick in the, er, fleshiest part,
using these five emotional principles:
Focus Feelings Desire Allowance Alignment
Focus.
What are the areas of life that you
focus upon most? Where do you direct a lot of your attention, excitement, and
feelings? What do you talk about the most? What articles do you read, what
shows do you watch – where does your energy go?
Now, think about this: What do you get in terms of your own
emotional feedback when you focus on these things? If you got what you wanted
from each area of focus, what would you have? What would you be excited about?
What are you worried might happen?
First step in goal
setting is to pick the top 3 to 5 major areas of focus. No more than five –
don't scatter your energies. These will be the goal areas.
Feelings. Feelings
are the core essence of what you want in your life. Everything you do,
everything you own, is there so that you can feel something – happy, excited, fulfilled, connected,
respected.
Now, think about this: What would your ideal life be like,
described as a feeling? How would you describe your current life? So are there
any differences between those two? What can you do to bring those two sets of feelings
into alignment with one another?
Your second
goal-setting step is to identify the compelling reason why you chose your areas
of focus.
Desire.
What things do you desire most? How do
the things you desire lead you closer to the feelings that you already
identified in the previous exercise? For instance, if you really want to
increase your income, what would be the emotional states you might expect to
experience if you had more income?
Now think about this: What are your biggest complaints about
your current life? Flip them around into positive desires. Make sure the
desires are things you want to bring into your life, not things you want to
avoid in your life. Recognize that you are worthy of good things in your life –
reinforce that idea by writing a list of things that complete the phrase: “I am
worthy of...”
The third step in
goal-setting is to describe what your desired emotional state is, and
specifically how the thing you desire will provide you with that goal.
Alignment. How can you get from here to there?
The popular saying is that one's reach should exceed one's grasp – but
sometimes people have a hard time believing that it's possible to actually have
the thing one desires most. In order to envision the reality of a goal, you need
to be in alignment with that goal. That is, you need to have a compass that
lets you know if you're going in the right direction toward reaching your
desired destination.
Now think about this: Can you find evidence in your own life
that you already have at least a part of your desire? If you can, expand on
that by showing another person what you do have, or sharing your resources in
some way. For instance, share some of your writing with another writer, or with
an encouraging reader. Explain or teach something you've learned to someone
else. Do you have any limiting beliefs that stand in your way? Think about how
your life would change if you found out tomorrow that your limiting belief
wasn't true.
The fourth step in
goal-setting is to get into alignment with your goal – take the next step, act
as if your goal is possible and move your mental energies and your beliefs
closer to your success!
Allowance. Don't stop the good stuff from rolling
in! Know that you are able to receive your goal. Don't push away your success,
or discount the possibility that the success you want is possible. Examine your
life and think about all the people to whom you give of yourself and your
resources. Do you let others give freely to you as well? Giving and receiving
must be a two-way street.
Think about this: Do you downplay or ignore compliments or
praise from others? Just say thanks! Don't try to deflect or explain away
someone's appreciation. Learn to receive the good things that others offer to
you. List ten things right now, big or small, for which you are thankful.
Here's to a
powerful and productive 2015!
If you are still in the mood for a sweetly romantic tale of Christmas during the English Regency, check out Her Very Major Christmas.
If you are still in the mood for a sweetly romantic tale of Christmas during the English Regency, check out Her Very Major Christmas.
Major Harry Joslin never
expected his cousin’s death to thrust him into the unwanted role of nobleman.
Still recovering from the emotional and physical injuries inflicted at
Waterloo, he’s not ready for the demands of a new position and his family’s
pressure for him to marry a debutante. His cousin’s widow is just another
complication.
But it’s the season of
miracles and two wounded hearts may find love blooming in the depths of a snowy
Christmas day.
BUY: AMAZON, ELLORA'S CAVE
Saralee Etter loves to read, and always knew that
writing was the only career for her. What could be better than to think up
stories all day long? As a constant day-dreamer, it seemed like the ideal
occupation.
Now Saralee is beginning to share the stories that she has been dreaming
about for so long. They’re mostly light-hearted and fun. As a devoted armchair time-traveler, she
finds writing stories set during the English Regency period is the perfect way
to enjoy history, romance, and delightful adventures all at once. Website, Facebook
BUY: AMAZON, ELLORA'S CAVE
Saralee Etter loves to read, and always knew that
writing was the only career for her. What could be better than to think up
stories all day long? As a constant day-dreamer, it seemed like the ideal
occupation.
Sadly, however, she couldn’t see a way to make a
living writing the romantic and exciting stories that filled her head. Instead,
she wrote other things: Newspaper articles, public relations releases, legal
briefs.
