Master Your Time

Your Challenge Today:

Master your time….

By Bernadette Kathryn, LMT, IHLC

Time equals life;

therefore, waste your time and waste your life,

or master your time and master your life.

– Alan Lakein

Mastering your time and setting long-term goals has many health benefits!

• Your life will be much more exciting, and you will be adding value to your 100 project. Can you imagine playing golf without a cup at the end of the hole? It would be boring, right? Not to mention frustrating, no reward. Furthermore, your life would be monotonous if you didn’t have something fun and exciting to tackle. Goals make your life stimulating which inspires us to be healthy, active and vivacious.

• When you have a clear road-map of smart goals, you can make decisions more easily. Just because you know where you are going, it is much easier to tell whether something is worth doing or not. You have clarity when making decisions, and this also helps to know when to use the polite “NO thank you for thinking of me,  I am going to have to pass on that opportunity.”

• You can achieve something great, a life-long desire such as playing an instrument, completing a Ph.D., building your dream home. Making something great, special and spectacular takes time and energy. Getting up to speed and building momentum may take years of effort and commitment. Without long-term goals to keep your strengths aligned your time may feel fragmented and without purpose. It is a sense of purpose of achieving something more significant than ourselves which provides the spiritual satisfaction that feeds our soul and warms our heart.

Setting Long-term Goals

Now that we have discussed some of the body, mind and spirit benefits of long-term goals, let’s look at a few guidelines to master your time and success:

• Realize that goal setting and working long-term is a process. Setting goals – especially long-term ones – takes time and careful consideration. It’s not something you can accomplish in one day; it’s your blueprint, take your time. There is no need to rush, and it’s best to stay flexible with your plan ~ it will likely change as you learn and grow.

• Match the goals with your strengths, talents, and ambitions. It’s vital that you match your goals with your powers and your unique abilities. Your goals must be within your sphere of competence, interest and burning desire. Taking an aptitude test can help you find your strengths, innate talents, and hidden abilities.

• Set audacious, adventurous and courageous goals. Live big, think big and shoot for the moon. Your life is too precious to settle for anything less than your burning desire. Make your goals realistic and challenging. Go out on a limb, pull something out of the closet, off that shelf and go for it! Go big with your long-term goals – it is recommended to have short-term, one year, three year, five year and 10-year goals ~ What would you like to accomplish in 10 years?

• Have a strong “why” connecting your goal to your values. You have to overcome obstacles in the pursuit of your goals; this is part of the journey, education, and process. That’s why you must have a strong “why.” Have a mission you believe in; it will sustain you through difficult times and guide you when making decisions.

• Start with a draft, remember your goal is the blueprint for your vision. It does not need to be perfect because you will be adjusting the plan as you learn, but you need to start with something. Set some goals to begin your journey and find something in the intersection between your strengths, passions, and aspirations. Use a pencil with a good eraser and remember it’s a work in progress, just like you!

• Adjust your plan as you learn, grow and develop. Your goals may seem blurry in the beginning, but as you keep moving toward your desired outcome – they will become sharper and sharper. Your clarity will improve as you master your time and the goal-setting process. A practice I find useful is to write down all of the ideas and inspirations I get along the way. That helps me to clarify my direction, refine my goals and process.