by Catherine Graham

Created on: April 29, 2009   Last Updated: May 02, 2009

As a life coach to many, I believe it is the job of the life coach to enable each of the clients we have with tools so they can have ongoing success, with or with out the coach.

There are a few different tools I like to go over with my clients as we finish off our last session, and today I'll share them with you.

1. When you have a goal, an idea, a desire, write down every single way you can possibly get there. For example, if you want to write a book, write down what your book will be about, how long it will take you to write it, what will have to be done (research, interviews, writing, booking an agent, etc.) in order for the book to be done, how long you would like the book to be, character, settings, etc. By doing this, you are able to see what needs to get done first, and can then prioritize everything that you want to do.

2. When you have a goal, an idea or a desire, write down every single reason that you can't do it, shouldn't do, won't do it, etc. Basically, every excuse that you can come up with, write it down. So often, people have so many fears that they never let themselves live. This is evident when it comes to achieving any amount of success in one's life, as we hold onto these fears, and let them stop us.

For many years, I had a fear of success and a fear of failure. I used these fears to hold me back from going to school, or getting a job that wasn't a waitressing job. I would come up with excuses to cover up these fears (my children needed me, I liked the work, I was too old to change now, etc.) By recognizing what our excuses are and what our fears are, we can counteract ourselves and change our own ways of thinking. When you write your excuses, come up with two reasons why your excuse isn't viable.

3. When you have a goal, idea or a desire, make sure you use the S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting Method. S.M.A.R.T Goal Setting simply means S- Specific - Be specific about the goal that you have. M - Measurable. - Is your goal measurable? A - Achievable - Is it achievable? R - Realistic - Is your goal Realistic? T - Timed - What is your time limit?

For example, Judy wants to lose 20lbs by December, 2009. When looking over the S.M.A.R.T Goal Setting Method, we can see that Judy is on the right track. Judy stated that she wants to lose 20lbs by December, 2009, which is a specific amount of weight, with a specific set date. Judy's desire to lose 20lbs is measurable. When December comes, she will be able to see if she lost the 20lbs or not. It is quite obvious

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