Posts tagged ‘goals’

Jun 10

Life Coach Lamisha Serf

moving the podcast – interview from January 7, 2014

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Episode 21. Lamisha talks to me about her journey to becoming a Life Coach, the ways we get in our own way when we’re pursuing our dream, and figuring out what our gifts are. And whatever your dream is, it’s possible to achieve it!

“When you take that teeny tiny step of faith…then you find a spark of inspiration that leads you to the next step. It really seems like magic, and it feels like magic when it happens that way, but it is so much fun. It makes the journey to wherever you’re going just incredible.”

0:00 ~ the professional advantage
3:50 ~ What is a Life Coach?
5:50 ~ Lamisha’s journey
12:35 ~ getting out of our own way
15:30 ~ the fear factor
17:40 ~ What if you don’t know your dream?
20:05 ~ How does life coaching work?
25:50 ~ small steps and goal setting for 2014
32:35 ~ It’s possible!!

Connect with Lamisha:
on her website Lifeoncedreamt.com
on Twitter @LifeOnceDreamt
on Facebook

Clicky Clicky!
5 Ways to Give Your “Resolutions” a Fighting Chance (Lamisha’s guest post on my blog)
My First Session with a Life Coach (from my blog)
Lamisha’s Story
Lamisha’s program

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Apr 27

4 Comments

Random Thoughts – on healthy eating

So I’ve been trying to eat healthier, with more vegetables and fruit in my diet.

I’m not much of a fruit person. They all look delicious, and then I don’t like them.

But I found out that I love mashed cauliflower. It’s so yummy.

On the other hand, I thought I really liked carrots a lot.

Turns out I like carrots when they’re smothered in mashed potatoes and gravy.

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How are you doing on your goals this year?

Jan 13

16 Comments

Resolutions!

Okay, so I’m doing resolutions again this year. A little late, haha, but that’s me all over. I did okay with my goals in 2012 – not as well as I’d like, but my failures were in those giant goals I set for myself that would require a radical overhaul of my 43-year-strong habits. Cause, you know, that’s not too much to ask of myself, right?

I spent a lot of last year beating myself up for those failures, and the rest of the time learning how to suck at something without hating myself for it. (If anything, I’d say that’s the real lesson I learned.) At the end of the year, I wrote a big long post about what I thought I’d learned. Basically, that for those major life change, long term goals, I really needed to plan out steps and smaller goals along the way. Which is not a wrong idea, in and of itself. You know, if I knew how to do small steps like a normal person with good sense and a modicum of patience.

So, naturally, at the beginning of 2013 I did the typical Michelle thing: I made the work of goal achieving harder and bigger than it already is. I mapped and planned and plotted and charted and listed. Same old thing; biting off more than I can chew and overwhelming myself before I even really get started. All my charty listy mappy plans were just too cumbersome and added more work to already difficult (for me) goals. My checklists fell by the wayside almost immediately, and I struggled all last year to get my act together goal-wise, not getting any further ahead than I had been at the beginning.

I did accomplish a lot in 2013, I really did. But I missed the simple resolution process that I’d started in 2012. I wanted to do many of those same goals again in 2013, but without the reminder and prod here on the blog, I let a lot of the smaller things, like visiting family and taking an outing each month, fall by the wayside. I missed doing those things, but they don’t come to me naturally. Without my resolution list, I simply forgot to aim or plan for them.

This year I’m going back to the 2012 method of setting and tracking my goals here. Some of those not-so-simple goals are back, but I’m working with a life coach to help me learn to set reasonable steps, or goals-within-a-goal. But I think the main thing she’s going to help me with is to slow down and not bite off such big chunks. Patience. And to enjoy this whole process, because it should be fun and inspirational and a kind thing I’m doing for myself.

So here are my 2014 goals:

healthy budget
healthy diet
exercise
spend time with family or friends I rarely see
go someplace different or go to an event each month
keep a daily thankful journal
Write at least 6 Queries for the blog this year
re-paint my kitchen and put up shelves
take a computer class
go to bed at the same time every night
get up early every morning

So that’s it, my 2014 resolutions. I’m excited to get started, or re-started, as the case may be! I hope 2014 is a great year for me and for you, too!!

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Jan 7

4 Comments

5 Ways to Give Your “Resolutions” a Fighting Chance

Today I present you with a guest post by Lamisha Serf!

Lamisha is a Life Coach who blogs at LifeOnceDreamt.com, and she’s also my first guest on season two of the podcast, which premiers tomorrow (listen here). And it’s totally awesome, because Lamisha had great advice and was really inspiring!

Today Lamisha offers us five great suggestions to make our 2014 goal setting more successful. Take it away, Lamisha…

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Here we are in a bright and shiny New Year and many of us are overflowing with tons of inspiration and motivation for making it the BEST year yet. We have big plans, amazing dreams, and we have resolved to make them happen in 2014. We have planned, schemed, and outlined exactly how to succeed only to find a few weeks into the New Year, things get difficult and our inspiration and “resolutions” fall by the wayside. Below are 5 ways to give your dreams and “resolutions” a fighting chance.

Set intentions instead of resolutions. Resolutions often feel so definite and leave little room for error. We are all human and are bound to have a cookie or skip a workout now and again. Instead of setting ‘resolutions’, consider setting an intention to eat more veggies or to get to the gym a few times a week. Simply changing the word you use can make your goal feel less rigid and can greatly improve your chances at succeeding.
Start small. Setting an intention for the New Year doesn’t have to be a big bold move. It can be as simple as trying a new veggie each month or to begin a walking regimen. Too often we think we need to hit the ground running with huge changes and giant leaps. Remember small steps add up to successful change.
Make it fun. When goals feel super serious, they can also feel quite restrictive. I guarantee you are less likely to make lasting change if you hate every single step of the way. Why not find a way to make it fun? If you want to get healthy, find a fun exercise class or a group of friends to join you. Want to write a book? Join a writing group or class to get your creative juices flowing.
Be kind to yourself. Remember that lasting change takes time. You are human and there are bound to be times when you slip up on your intentions, and when you do be gentle with yourself. Don’t judge or demean yourself if you miss a day at the gym or eat something that is less than healthy. Simply regroup, refocus, and revisit your intentions and begin again. You only fail when you quit trying.
Find support. A lot of times this comes in the form of friends and family members, but it can also come in the form of a coach or other professional. There is no shame in seeking a bit of help with your intentions. In fact, people who have accountability partners are more likely to succeed than those who do not. So find someone you mesh with and who will remind you of #4. You don’t need a drill sergeant to whip you into shape as much as you need someone to inspire you to keep going.

2014 is going to be an amazing year and this is only the beginning. Remember to have fun and be kind to yourself as you set your intentions for the New Year. You were meant to do great things and it all starts with a single step. Good luck and Happy New Year!

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Thank you so much, Lamisha!

I was so taken with Lamisha on the podcast that I booked a free Life Coaching session for myself. I’ll post about that on Thursday; it was really great. So great that I hired her to help me with some goals and improvements I want to make in 2014. She’s still offering free sessions for a little longer, if that’s something you think would be helpful for you:

If you find yourself wondering where to begin or you need a little support creating your easy, peazy plan for 2014, I would love to offer you a free coaching session to chat. If you are interested in seeing what life coaching can do for you, feel free to contact me at lamisha@lifeoncedreamt.com and include a little information about what you want to accomplish this year, and we can get you scheduled for your free 45-minute session.

Lamisha Serf is a life coach and dreamer extraordinaire that uses her Masters in Psychology to work with inspired souls who are ready to make their dreams a reality. With her unique, inspiration-driven coaching philosophy, she helps clients get out of their heads and follow their hearts to the incredible life they are meant to live. When she is not coaching or writing on her blog at lifeoncedreamt.com, she can be found with her nose in a good book or her head in the clouds dreaming of her next big adventure.