How I like to set goals for the long run: Before I set off on this adventure of a life time I made some serious goals and lists of things that I needed to get done so that I could leave New Zealand and get out into the big, wide world of travelling and teaching yoga. When I was living in New Zealand I was working for a fabulous yoga and work out clothing company, the very well known lululemon athletica (originated in Vancouver, Canada) and the way this company runs things had a huge impact on the goals that I set and how I set them to be achievable but also in line with my dreams and wishes for the future. Some people don’t know where to start with goal setting so I thought I would write down my best tips that kept me on track. lululemon is a company that had huge impacts on me. The people I worked with at the Britomart store in Auckland were all very like minded; not only did we all love to take care of ourselves body, mind and soul but we also loved to set goals and were passionate about the things that we wrote down and put into our vision boards. So many people have dreams but choose not to bother with them because maybe they feel stuck in a job or place with no room to move. I have definitely been in this position and felt this way about jobs and particular settings in the past so please feel encouraged to start here if you are feeling the same: 1. Your vision should be powerful and filled with your passions, the things that bring out the best and most inspirational you. The first thing I learnt at lululemon was a meditation exercise. On my first day during my training I was asked to close my eyes as Briar talked me through some different questions to ask myself. One of the things that really stood out to me was that we were setting goals for 10 years into the future. Focused on envisioning where we wanted to be, who we wanted to be and when we wanted to be there with a no limitations or boundaries. Think about all of the things you have always wanted in your life, almost all of us have an unfulfilled dream or urge to do or try something but we often let fear stop us or get in the way. Trying and failing to succeed is far more worth your time and energy than giving up and failing to try in the first place. If you fail to try, you have already let yourself down. If you give it a good go and still fail, at least you will have insight about what you need and want to improve the next time you try it out. 2. No limitations, no boundaries. Use your imagination. After all, anything can happen in 10 years most especially if and when you put your mind to it. Your mind is the most incredible tool that can be used to help propel you into the directions of your dreams, make sure you use it wisely! When you create your vision of 10 years into the future try to imagine yourself 10 years ago, it’s likely you have come incredibly far from the place you were and if not it’s more likely that you have given yourself those limitations or maybe you have listened to the words of negative people who tell you that you can’t do or achieve something and believed them. I definitely understand that not all people have the same chance at life/wealth/healthcare etc. I have come from a place where I really didn’t have much. I moved 6 hours from home to Auckland city at 17 years old with $50NZ in my pocket but now I am living my dream, travelling the world and sharing the knowledge of yoga. 3. Write down your vision and turn it into a goal board. One of my favourite things about our store at Britomart was that we all proudly displayed our goals in the store where all guests could come and read them and see them if they liked. We had printed them out and had them beautifully framed and they each said so much about the driven and inspired people that we are. When you have done your meditation exercise and have a fresh image of your vision and lightbulbs sparking in that brain of yours, make sure to write down all of the bold and fantastic things you have come up with. Start with a brain storm and try to create a story of your vision being descriptive of the things you see, hear, smell, feel apor taste. From there choose the goals that really mean the most to you. We organised our goals in three categories: Career, health and personal. (If you want to you can download and print a worksheet from the lululemon website to save yourself from trying to write it up). There is also three different categories for these categories of goals: 10 year, 5 year and 1 year. We would always start with writing down the 10 year goals first, then the five year and then lastly the one year goals. If you start with your big hairy lemon over all picture, your mind breaks down shorter term goals and creates an image of how you are going to make it to the big one! 4. Print them out, look at them as often as possible – every day if you can. When goal setting it is important to remind yourself of where you see yourself. Keep your goals somewhere you will read and see them often. Beside the bed is a really great place or in a diary if you use one daily. Stay focused, good things take time. Accept where you are now in life, there is a reason you are where you are. 5. It’s ok if your plans and goals change – we are human and we are ever evolving. If you look at your goals and one or two of them don’t align with where you are headed anymore, replace it with one that does align with your current beliefs and dreams. Things are always changing around us, we are always changing and the world is always changing. Accept change as part of the journey, maybe things don’t always go to plan but they usually happen for a reason, maybe something bigger and better is on it’s way to you or maybe you were not supposed to walk that path. Either way, learn to accept change and try to go with the ever evolving flow of life. The less you try to fight with your reality, the more peace of mind and true freedom you are going to have. Take things day by day. 6. Surround yourself with like minded people who love you and support you in your vision. This really is one of the most important rules. Better yet, learn to love and support yourself - more challenging than it sounds for sure. There have definitely been some hard times on the road to getting where I am today but I am lucky to have an truly reliable, trustworthy and all around solid partner who is usually always there to back me up. It definitely helps to have someone to talk to when things are rough or just get to be too much especially when you know that person/people are not judging you and they have your wellbeing and your best interests at heart. It makes all the difference to have someone to confide in and talk to and trust is definitely the main basis of all relationships; friendships and otherwise. 7. Lastly, never give up on yourself. Cliché, but it’s so true and really the most important. The people who love you are not going to give up on your vision, they want to see you pull through until the end and win at life so try to be just as kind with yourself. We are often so hard and critical of ourselves when we would never think these kinds of thoughts of other people in our lives . Be gentle with yourself but at the same time learn to work hard for the things you love – but not too hard. Just the right amount! The goals I have ticked off from my vision and goal board so far: Go to a country I have never been to before Save over $20,000 to go toward overseas travel Get ‘Yoga teacher qualified’ for 200 hour training Practice yoga in at least 3 studios outside of New Zealand I'm still working on the rest but am super happy with my progress so far. I hope this helps at least one person to write down the goals they have been thinking about and start working toward the things they want. may your dreams come true!
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