Goal Setting - the importance of dreams

This moment was six months ago but it still gives me goosebumps and an enormous smile thinking about it today.

Working with this young lady is a joy, she is a strong independant woman and has spent many years in her wheelchair with vivid memories of a childhood with full use of her body.

As 2018 was drawing to its end we began a process of imagining her future using tools from various disciplines including art therapy and Intentional Creativity, she came up with a clear image of the future she wanted and it included radiant health and walking, there was also dancing and diving into a pool and strolling at the beach- this lady knows what is good.

Over the next few months we addressed many of her little mini goals, the steps we had envisioned. She was working out at the gym consistantly twice a week with Jo- an excellent personal trainer, we worked with Jo to come up with plans to maximise her determination and opportunities in the other weekdays and added physiotherapy and hyrdrotherapy and home workouts.

Always a health conscious eater tweaking her diet and setting nutrition goals with a dietician were another important step towards her goal, as was regular appointments with her excercise physiololgist to keep an eye on her development and identify the areas she needed to focus on. Incidental excercise was also an opportunity we took when possible bringing intention and focus to everyday activities like transferring from her wheelchair or maybe adding in a yoga session or some vigorous drumming and singing.

As with all of us life throws us some curve balls and we can fall a bit of track, but those goals are still with her- she is resetting regularly, still working out and connecting with the team of people she has built around her to support her, steadily working day by day to take that sunset stroll at the beach and head out to see a good band and have a dance. Living and learning everyday about so many more things than just the goals we set so long ago.

Having a goal or a mission in life establishes a clearly defined and thought-out direction we need to make, which will lead us to eventually achieve our longer-term wellness goals. Having a clear direction allows us to focus on the smaller steps it will take to ultimately achieve success.

Goal setting can be overwhelming , especially when we feel that we have many goals, many conflicting conditions and large end-goals to achieve. With creative goal setting tools, and guidance, clients are able to prioritize their energies with their new focus and after setting their objectives and goals, it’s easier to develop a better sense of personal satisfaction and a better sense of confidence and self-efficacy.

Sometimes, consistently achieving goals is a challenge. Helping clients to see that the path to success doesn’t always look like a clear, linear line, can help them identify the underlying barriers to change. Not completing a goal can feel like a failure, but in truth, these setbacks are a part of long-term success. Working through the setbacks, and creating new goals to help address these underlying issues, will allow clients to break down their barriers to change and create sustainable change.

Time management is a hard tool to come by these days; we all struggle with it at moments. Goal setting is an extremely useful tool to prioritise these changes. It gives us a step-by-step action on what we are supposed to be doing. Tailoring goals to each client helps them successfully achieve them in a timely fashion, and will help to minimize any feelings of discouragement. Most things in life that are worthwhile take a lot of time and effort to conquer.

Goals help us all in one form or another to slow down and figure out why we are performing certain actions. Slowing down is important for the brain to connect your actions and goals. When we don’t see improvement right away, we can become discouraged. Instead of thinking of a minor setback as “bad,” it’s education and an opportunity for future improvement and therefore “good.” I can help clients sift through these overwhelming thoughts and find a better strategy towards change.

At one point or another, everyone wants to have a mission in life; to feel like they have a purpose. I can work with you to help create this sense of long lasting purpose in your life. Goal setting will give you a desire to make healthier changes with greater success.