It is rapidly approaching the New Year. It is just weeks away and it is time that many people begin to focus on their New Year’s resolutions.  So, I want to ask you one thing – how successful have you been in the past on achieving your New Year’s resolutions?

I have read in various documents that only a small percentage of people actually carry out their New Year’s resolutions beyond the first few weeks of the New Year.  I believe that lack of focus and a game plan are partially responsible.  The other part is a lack of a clear understanding of their purpose and passion, and not being specific on what goals or resolutions they want to achieve.  Let’s face it. If you set a goal to secure a new job in 2010, wouldn’t you want to know what job would be most suitable for you?

I want you to think about your goals, and what you envision your life to be like in the future.  What are your dreams?  We’re going to do a little exercise to determine what your big dreams and goals are, and use this exercise to help develop your goals for the future.  To do so, we’re going to focus on 4 separate areas in your life: business and career, finance, personal and wellness.

For each of the following questions, I want to you write down what your dream life would be like if you could live it right now.

Business and Career: What type of work will you be doing? Will you have a high-paying corporate job, or will you be working from home?  Will you be working part-time or full-time?

Finance: What will your finances look like? How much money will you be making per year? How much money will you have in savings? Will you have a nice nest egg for retirement?

Personal: What type of home will you own? Where will you live? What will you do for leisure activities? What will your family structure be like? What type of car will you have? Where will you go on vacation?

Wellness: How will you feel? How will you look? What foods will you eat? How will you exercise? What will you do to relax and enjoy life?

Now, I want you to think about what it is that is preventing you from achieving your dreams.  Is it money? Is it lack of focus? Is it procrastination? Is it lack of purpose? Is it negative self-talk? What is it that is standing in your way? If you remove those obstacles, will you be committed to achieving your goals in 2010?

Many of us just need a little “kick start” to get us going.  If that is the case for you, I invite you to take part in 2 free teleseminars that I’m offering next week:

On Tuesday, December 15th at 2pm Eastern, I’m offering: “Put Your Goals Into Powerdrive: 10 Keys to Achieving Success in 2010.”

On Thursday, December 17th at 3pm Eastern, I’m offering: “Got Stress? Get Relief Now! 6 Strategies for Peaceful Easy Living.”

Click on the Teleseminar name to register and find out more information.  I hope to “see” you there!

To Your Success,

Kay L. Fontana
“The Grandcoach”

While shopping for our grandson’s Halloween costume, I noticed the disarray in the store caused by the transition from Jack-O-Lanterns to Christmas trees.  Fall is here, Halloween is in a few days and the temperatures have dropped.  The holidays are just around the corner, which means there is an increase in stress: stress caused from travel, shopping, cold & flu season, financial woes and all the other joys of the holiday season.  These are compounded by all the other daily stresses you may have in your life at the moment.

Excessive stress can create anxiety that prohibits you from reaching your goals.  Stress can also cause some very common health-related problems including fatigue, insomnia, high blood pressure, cancer, stroke, heart attacks and other illnesses.  Unless you take control and learn how to manage the stress, it will lead to chronic illness and sudden death.

The 6 Steps of Stress RELIEF can help you gain control of what is causing you stress and help you achieve your goals, even during the holidays.

1. RELAX – The key to learning how to relax is that you have to make the conscious effort to do it.  Using specific relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing exercises or Yoga, can help you control anxiety and fear, feel more at ease and even help you sleep at night.

2. EXERCISE – Physical exercise is the good kind of stress that our bodies need, and has been proven to positively impact overall wellbeing.  However, it is important to remember to exercise your mind, as well. This could be in the form of reading or in the form of mental exercises such as puzzles and brain teasers or creative writing.

3. LIVE, LOVE and LAUGH – Live, enjoy life and focus on the positive aspects of your world.

Love your family, friends and those close to you.  Show gratitude and appreciation everyday for the little things they do.

Laugh and have fun. Watch a funny television show or rent a comedy movie.  Discover ways to laugh with your family.

4. INNER PEACE – Ways that you can find inner peace are through meditation, faith and spirituality.  These are more personal and include methods that really resonate with you, such as going to church or meditating at home.

5. ENVIRONMENT – This is so important to your well-being. If you have clutter around the house, papers needing to be filed, dishes in the sink or laundry to be folded, this can cause stress.   Your environment can cause illness as well. You may have dust, mold and mildew that you cannot see that can be creating significant health issues for you.  Make an effort to evaluate your environment and take corrective measures to make it healthy for you and your family.

6. FAMILY and FRIENDS, or other support systems – People who have support systems to help them through difficult times are much more likely to experience a reduction in their stress.  Family and friends can help find solutions to problems, but also act like a sounding board to vent frustrations and offer emotional and sometimes financial support when needed.  Getting a coach is an excellent way of establishing a collaborative relationship to help you develop effective strategies to gain control of your stress.

My challenge to you is to make a list of those strategies you are going to implement and put them into action.  By doing so, you are inviting gratitude, balance and tranquility into your life, even during the holiday season.

Warm regards,

Kay L. Fontana