Posts Categorized: The Counselor Is In

Many of us watched as the Winter Olympics played out on our TV screens. Whether it was figure skating, snowboarding or other team sports, the competitors had spent many, many hours of practice and training to reach their level of competence. Time and money and effort were sacrificed every day for many years. You practiced…

Goals are both liberating and demanding. We are required to use discipline and restraint to stay on course. Even when we have made a very detailed plan on how to reach our destination and have explored and made provisions for potential obstacles, we can run into unexpected setbacks that require adjustments or even a major…

Northern Washington is not only a beautiful place to live, but it offers unlimited opportunities to sail. When we moved here, my husband and I joined a local yacht club whose members enjoyed boating and cruising together. While knowledgeable about sailing, we wanted to be part of a larger group of seasoned boaters who had…

To have goals that are successful, you not only have to define exactly what you want, but you also need to know how you will get there. When my husband and I decided to explore the San Juan Islands in our sailboat, we first needed to determine where we wanted to go and when. But…

You have made a list of the goals you want to complete. Pick one that you are ready to work on. Now ask yourself: What will be different when my goal is completed. Get a firm picture in your mind of how your life will be improved when you complete your goal. Goals need to be…

You have taken your wish list and eliminated the items that are not important enough to make them into goals. You can go back to them later if you want. The ones remaining are important and you are now ready to turn them into goals and plans of action. You have chosen to take charge…

Focus on where you want to go – not just what feels good in the moment. We tend to live our lives doing what feels good in the moment but spend little time thinking about our future.  We tell ourselves that we will get serious later in life, when we have more time, or are less tired….

If you do not know what you want, your goals will not be well defined. Unless they have a desired outcome, they will remain just a general direction – not a goal. Your goal should state: this is what I hope to do – this is what I want to accomplish. Write it down as…

Unless we start making committed goals we will simply move along with the current of life without directing where we want to go – kind of like a piece of wood that floats down the river. While we may make some specific goals, too often we simply float along the river of life without the defined goals needed…

January starts a new year and we think of it as a way to make some better lifestyles habits as well. So we make a list of resolutions and promise ourselves we will accomplish them. However, unless we turn resolutions and good intentions into goals,  they remain simply resolutions and good intentions. Goals are more than…