IN Change

Achieving goals is about making lasting change, not just change for the short term. Swimmer and motivation coach Shelley Taylor-Smith reveals a few tips on how to make 2012 your best yet.

Shelley Taylor-Smith has a simple motto: Get Up, Get Over It & Get On With It. In 10 words the seven-time Women’s World Marathon Swimming Champion, author and founder of Champion Mindset Consulting has encapsulated a valuable life lesson.

“I believe we are all here to succeed, in whatever way you define that,” she says. “I don’t believe our role is to be miserable and fail. It’s our birthright to succeed and you have to be prepared to do what it takes.”
Shelley works with passionate and energetic individuals and teams to help them develop the mental skills and strategies to be the best they can be, while maintaining a healthy balance in their sporting, professional and personal lives.

Using more than three decades of experience as an athlete, coach, writer and consultant she helps people at all levels and from all walks of life overcome performance and lifestyle issues to discover the mental toughness needed to stay on top of their game while successfully navigating daily obstacles.

Shelley says in order to make your goals for 2012 successful, start with a passionate purpose.

“First though, close off 2011,” Shelley says. “It’s usually emotion that wears us down so you need to recognise what you didn’t start and what you started and didn’t finish. Consider the lessons learnt there and decide whether those are still your goals. By drawing a line in the sand it gives you permission to let go and move on.

“It’s really important to note what you started and stopped, what you feel you failed at and what you achieved. If you are going to carry it forward consider doing it differently for a different result.”
She says being unrealistic is what causes plenty of people to fall early in the year, so start with goals you can achieve and which fit in your life before working up from there. Most people bite off more than they can chew when starting a drastic change of life in a short period of time.

However most people – the stats say close to 95% - fail because they don’t usually resolve to do what it takes day by day, lack knowledge (having a plan of action) and/or lack motivation (a list of benefits you will feel).
So what can people do to help them stick it out? The Passion Pyramid (below) is what Shelley uses to explain how your purpose and mission must anchor your plans and be the fire which motivates you.

If those two things are not strong enough, when you hit a bump, it will be hard to get over or you’ll just abandon your plans.

Find solid answers to these crucial questions: What are my reasons for wanting to do X? What are the benefits to me? These will guide you and provide the inspiration to take the steps to get to the goal. This also adds a positive spin rather than thinking you have been penalised.

Consider the power of your own self talk and the difference between the statement “I am not going to eat junk food anymore” versus “I am going to eat healthier food”. One is more like a prison and the other offers possibilities.

“People start off well-intentioned saying ‘this year I am going to achieve X’ but the To Do list becomes never ending. As a result you jam more in; more goals and more expectations in your life without having let go of anything. The end result is no space for ‘you’ and an overwhelming feeling that you can’t get there. Living by your To Do list means you can cross a lot off but not actually achieve anything.”

There have been times in everyone’s lives when they’ve won. While you might have forgotten what it’s like to win, think of a time in the past when you have and use that positive emotion to fuel your current goals.

“Make sure you stay flexible though. These are your goals and you are in control. Maybe you think you can achieve something in six months and then find it will take longer. Accept that, adapt to the change and stay focused on the end prize – your reason why and your benefits.”

For more tips and tools to champion your life visit www.championmindset.com.au