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At the start of every New Year, there is usually a lot of talk about setting self-improvement and individual growth goals.
What does self-improvement and individual growth truly mean? Does it have to mean the same thing to different people?
Stephen Covey advises us to set realistic personal goals that will directly influence us in body, heart, mind, and spirit.
If trying to tackle the entire 12 months of 2011 at one time seems too overwhelming, we can split the calendar into quarters and infuse Covey’s advice when setting our goals.
Taking that approach may lead our 2011 self-improvement goal setting to look something like this:
Body –
January, February, March
Develop a healthy living plan that will include daily physical exercise and healthy dietary habits that are the right fit for our individual personalities, schedules, and lifestyles.
Taking care of our bodies and keeping them well nourished and well maintained can help us live longer and more enjoyable lives.
We can start implementing this healthy living plan in the first quarter of the New Year, and keep it going throughout 2011 and even beyond that.
Heart –
April, May, June
Heart disease and strokes are strong forces and silent killers that command our attention. Stress-loaded lives filled with unhealthy dietary and/or life choices can lead to high blood pressure, which is another silent killer, and oftentimes a precursor to the development of an unhealthy heart.
Eating the right foods, staying positive despite what may go on around us, and making the decision to love people even when they may be tough to love, as well as making the decision to keep ourselves lovable to others; can actually help us sustain healthy hearts during expanded lifetimes.
We can implement a plan to overpower the three silent killers by being selective about what we allow to “live in our hearts,” and consistently working on ourselves to remove any bodily toxins that may have sneaked in if we temporarily get distracted by outside sources.
Mind –
July, August, September
“A mind is a terrible thing to waste” is the timeless signature tag line of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).
Having a determined focus to be lifelong learners instead of projecting the image of someone who believes he or she knows everything there is to know, and has been there and done that; will keep our mental muscles strong, healthy, and vibrant.
We can implement a plan to sign up for courses, learn new trades or skills, or enroll in university programs to obtain higher education degrees.
This plan may not only keep our minds sharper for longer periods, but it has the real potential to make us more marketable in the job market.
Spirit –
October, November, December
Some people believe this area of goal setting goes first, and is the one that sets the foundation for the other three areas because it works on us each day – from the inside out.
Whatever the theological framework, goal setting in this area may involve us including inspirational study, music, and messages in our lives each week.
Some of us may achieve this goal by including regular and consistent prayer and bible study in our daily or weekly dietary intake.
Being in the company of others where proactive and positive discussions about fulfilling lifetime dreams take place, and where plans of action for reaching individual goals are developed, may help us pursue more realistic and balanced goals.
However we decide to map out 2011, keeping Covey’s advice in mind may help us take one big goal of self-improvement and focus on sub-goals for realistic and relevant growth and development for our bodies, hearts, minds, and spirits. Happy Goal Setting and Happy New Year!
Sharon M. Biggs, M.A., is a wife, mother, and 21st Century educational leader & school district administrator who serves as Co-Chair & President of Lifeline Foundation, Inc. This 24-year educator is also Founder, Editor, and Chief Writer of LifelineExtensions.blog. View other published works at http://www.examiner.com/. Contact Sharon directly for more information: smbiggs@mylifelinefoundation.org. "Children are the globe's most precious commodity." (Terence H. Biggs, Jr. ~ 2009)
