Episode Description
In this episode of The Samantha Leith Podcast we take a look at how to plan an Extraordinary Year. From letting go of the previous year, to goal setting for achievement. Taken from episodes 10-13 of The Samantha Leith Show.
Show Notes
(singing).
Welcome to the Samantha Leith Show, with me, Samantha Leith. Now this month is all about planning your year, doing what you can to make it the best year we possibly can. Some things are going to sound familiar, and some things may be really new to you. But either way, I encourage you to tackle this planning with excitement! Because you never know what extraordinary things may happen.
We made it!
2022 here we are, well not quite but now what?
Chances are you’ve spent the last few months saying 2022 has to be better so let’s do our best to make that happen. Let’s face it the last couple of years have been a bit of a shit show for most people. For some they’ve been amazing years and for others full of tragedy. I’ve been in that middle ground where it hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been terrible.
Now it’s up to me and to you to work on what we can control and make 2022 the best year we possibly can. Now what on earth does what a feeling that song have to do with planning your year? If you listen to the lyrics take your passion make it happen pictures come alive you can dance right through your life. I think it’s kind of perfect the pictures in our minds are what help us to create the big plans and the teeny tiny goals. Besides if you google songs about planning your year there are really limited options.
PLANNING YOUR YEAR
For me planning my year begins in December and continues nearly till the end of January. When I finally feel like I’ve assembled all the pieces got my ducks in a row that kind of thing.
Planning your year is so much more than setting some lofty new year’s resolutions after to many champagnes. Do that and you’re likely to be one of those statistics that doesn’t achieve what that moment of wohooo I can do anything was. Success and failure rates over that first six months of those news resolutions well after one-week 75 percent of people are successful, two weeks 71 percent after one month the number drops and drops and drops. Till about 46 of people who actually make a resolution are successful in keeping it. And what do we set? we want to exercise, lose weight, get organized, learn a new skill or a hobby, live life to the fullest, save more money, spend less money, quit smoking, spend more time with family and friends, travel more, read more, all sounds pretty reasonable and exhausting.
So why if we set resolutions that seem blindingly obvious do most of us fail? have you heard that saying if you fail to plan you are planning to fail by Benjamin franklin? Well that’s the biggest reason. Which is why we’re going to tackle planning your 2022 like the extraordinary success I know you can and want it to be. Some other reasons we don’t measure up to the fireworks visions we have of ourselves are:
- things like not creating the daily habits to support us
- thinking too big, not actually wanting it
- trying to do it all alone
- not celebrating as we go
- and well giving up too soon
So, let’s work together to make sure that doesn’t happen to you and yes, I’m talking to myself here too.
REFLECTION
Let’s be honest 2021 was not a great year but I want you to reflect on it. I want you to think about how you showed up. Are you happy with what you did? could you have done something differently? Did you step outside of your comfort zone? Were you fully present with people? What could you have done better? What can you let go of that didn’t serve you in 2021? Is there something that’s you feel really really really holding you back? Reflect on it and then we want to let it go.
SETTING GOALS, THE RIGHT WAY
When most people set a resolution with their mates that they’re gonna smoke less, get back into their skinny jeans and have more money. They think they’re setting goals. Big problem *babom sound effect* they are not, a goal is so much more. How much less are you going to smoke? What size skinny jeans? How much is more money?
You see to achieve something you want you really need to get specific. That’s where setting smart goals comes in. So, what is SMART? Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant or Realistic, and Timely. The attainment of the goal is the destination, but the magic is what happens to you as a person while you’re working towards that goal. Who do you need to be? What do you need to do? How do you need to think? What do you need to feel in order to achieve something you really want? That’s special.
Way back long ago when we’re at school we start learning how to do this, but we don’t know what we’re really doing. Stick with me, our teacher said an assignment. Specific. We know what needs to happen for it to be deemed complete they know our age our skills our knowledge etc. and we can do it. It’s relevant to our education. There’s a clearly defined time. The only thing missing really is that we didn’t create it and that’s probably why some of us don’t do so well on those assignments.
LETTING GO
Then what I want you to do is if you write it down burn it get rid of that crap and then on the flip side if there was something amazing that happened in 2021 celebrate every second of that with a friend it’ll be fabulous have a great time but whether you’re looking at the positive or the negative let it go.
10 STEP FORMULA
Here’s a really simple 10 step formula to set a goal.
- Work out what the goal is, be very detailed. If your goal is to own a new car, what’s the make? What extras do you want? Color, is it manual? is it auto? All the kitten caboodle.
- Get a taste of your goal. I’m all for doing this before you get further along in the process. So, using the car example I’d go for a test drive in your gold car take a picture of you with it while you’re there sitting in the car. Do you still want it after the drive?
- You want to work out what steps are needed to reach your goal. Staying with a car idea, will you need to save money? will you need to arrange finance?
- Then we’re going to write a smart goal. So smart goals been detailed for a gazillion years and we just went over it. And we want to go, it’s Specific you’ll own XYZ car, Measurable you’ll need to save a thousand dollars a month every month for 10 months, Achievable you have saved ten thousand dollars in ten months for that car deposit, Realistic are you willing and able to save the money uh-oh, and Timely on the first of the twelfth 2022 you’ll be parking XYZ car in your garage.
- Then I want you to turn that goal into a powerful statement. It’s the 1st of December 2022 and I’m so proud and grateful for what I’ve been able to achieve. I felt like a princess driving in my new XYZ car into the garage this morning. Now I can get anywhere I want in the style I like to travel. I’ve got a DVD player in the back so the kids aren’t annoying me with “are we there yet”. I no longer have to rely on public transport when john has the car, who’s John? So now I have so much extra time to do what I want when I want. How does that sound?
- Then I want you to surround yourself with a goal. Keep a picture of the goal in your diary, on the fridge, the bathroom mirror, everywhere. And keep copies of that statement visible everywhere as well. For this goal (car goal example) I’d also get copies of the car brochures if you can get them to give you one. And then stick a miniature version of the car in your handbag that’s a cool trick.
- And keep a goal tracker handy, for each goal it’ll be different. For a savings goal you’d have an *expensive expenditure sheet that’s hard to say. And I want you to review it weekly but we’re going to get to more of that later.
- Then I want you to get a goal friend. In this case it might be great to have a friend that’s a savings pal doesn’t actually have to be a person. That goal friend could actually be the direct debit taking money out of your savings account and putting it into a better account for you that you can’t access when you want to buy shoes. How good would that friend be for you? So, if it’s a fitness friend maybe they check in with you to keep you on track you need them.
- Then I want you to stay in tune with your goal. Some people set and forget and see what happens. I’m more of a keep experiencing your goal so you keep the fire in your belly. Tell the guy at the car yard what you’re trying to do and see if he’ll let you sit in the car once a week. There’s nothing like that smell of a brand-new car to keep wanting it. If it’s a slinky black dress, go into a shop and try it on every single week.
- Then I want you to celebrate your goal. I’d do this in little steps and then have a massive celebration. So, staying with the car celebrate every thousand bucks with a small treat. Maybe buy yourself a coffee if you’ve given it up to save the money. And then when you get to the end you need a big celebration, because reaching a goal is a big thing that many people don’t fully appreciate. I’d probably give my car a new name, pop a bottle of champagne in it. And when I drove into my driveway for the first time crack it open, but don’t crack it open on the bonnet of your car like you do on a boat that would be bad.
WHAT DOES 2022 LOOK LIKE
What exactly does your 2022 look like? Have you even thought about it? First things first, we need to accept that there are some things we cannot control. In my vision for 2022, I had a trip to the Maldives. Now, I paid for this trip in 2020, and I technically have until September to take it. Is it going to happen? I have no idea, and no control over my ability to travel internationally. I can control my thoughts about it. And if I decide to refund it or try and get it extended, which is what I’m going to do. So now it’s gone, and I feel no drama about it at all.
What about you? Is there something that hasn’t happened over the last couple of years that you’re struggling to let go of? I’d look at that, and I’d just let it go. If you can. Let’s make 2022, the year of things that don’t feel like a struggle, which brings me to my word of 2022, but more on that later. I want you to sit down and describe your ideal life for this year. Get comfy, grab a beverage of choice, and immerse yourself in the process. You can also download a worksheet, bit of a hint, to help you with the process. Get as creative as possible. Live it now.
What are you doing? Who are you with? What have you achieved? Write with love for who you are in the present tense, and being as descriptive as you can be. Grab a thesaurus and go. Write in full of meaning and inspiration to you that the words flow so it shines a light on who you want to become this year. Talk about your strengths, your passions, how you want to feel your skills, your values, people, and well, anything that comes to mind because don’t censor as you write this, but write so it challenges you to achieve your dreams.
WRITE ABOUT IT
At the start of every year, I write a letter to myself, and I encourage you to do the same. Grab pen, paper, and write about what you want to achieve this year and how you’re going to feel about it. Write it with love. Put it away, so don’t open until December the 31st. And then on that day, hopefully, if you’ve done everything that you wanted to do this year when you open it, the boost of the energy, and excitement, and confidence you get from reading that letter will be amazing.
WORD FOR THE YEAR
Have you ever said a word for the year? You’re probably going to laugh, and it really doesn’t bother me. My word for 2021 was obsession. Not in a stalker way, but in the 100%, I am going to be doing whatever I’m doing way. I was so into it, that a friend found me a bottle Calvin Klein Obsession, and I’ve worn it, even now as we’re filming in December 2021, every single day. So how do you pick yours? Sometimes it can be so fricking obvious, we don’t even need to think about it. Other times, we need to let it percolate until it becomes clear.
So we worked on your vision for the year. Were there any common themes or words? Jot them down. And yes, you can download a worksheet to help you with the process. Next, list out some things that you really want to focus on. Again, what’s common in that list?
Now that you’ve got these lists, what are the feeling words or the words that make you feel something? For example, nature might have come up a few times, and that makes you feel peaceful. Money may have been a common theme, and that makes you feel abundant. Once you’ve got a list of three to five feeling words, this is where it gets really tough for Gemini like me, you need to commit to one only, people. There you go. That’s the hint, commit. What is the word that feels like it would motivate you, would make you feel committed to those less than spectacular moments in your year?
My word for 2022 is ease. I feel like the last few years have been pushing a three-legged goat up a mountain, singing high on a hill is a lonely goatherd, lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo in high heels, wearing a tight latex frog. I want to work with ease, sleep with ease, achieve with ease, love with ease, stay connected with ease. You get the point. Once you’ve come up with your word. I want you to surround yourself with it. Probably not as far as having it tattooed somewhere, but close, pictures, word clouds, objects, screen savers, perfume, anything that you can to remind you of what you are trying to feel in 2022.
BUCKET LIST
As you’re going through all these processes, it’s quite fun to have a bucket list. We’ve all heard of a bucket list for when you kick the bucket. Well, how about a bucket list for the year? Just randomly think of some crazy things that would be fricking awesome to achieve because you never know. Whack them up on your vision board, and maybe include them in your thoughts for the year.
GOALS FOR THE YEAR
The let’s get into the needy gritty, creating your goals for the year. So we did the 10-step method for creating goals, check. Vision for the year? Check. Word for the year? Check. Now we go for goal as I like to say. To do this, I want you to look at your wheel of life. Now, here’s mine, family and friends, romance and sex, business and career, physical environment, health and fitness, finances, contribution, and personal growth. The eight spokes in my wheel. Now, some wheels have fun, creativity, leadership, and more, so do what feels right for you. You can have a Google if you like. Then I want you to make a list of three to five things in each area that you’d like to achieve. Great. You did it. Our work is done. Can’t wait to see what you do. Okay. I’m joking. There’s a wee bit more work to do.
If you try to achieve three to five things in all eight areas, you’ll be very busy, overwhelmed, probably fall down in a heap, and give up, which is not what I want for you. Again, there’s a worksheet that you can grab to help you with this. It’s simple maths. I believe you’re going to achieve three to five bigger goals this year, and three to five smaller goals each quarter. So let’s divide and conquer.
When you look at your list, what are the things that will take all year? What’s it achievable in the next 90 days? What will take a wee bit more effort? Write numbers next to each thing on your list. For example, paint the house, two, three, quarter two, priority three. Speak conversational French, probably going to take the whole year, and it’s probably priority number three. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed by something already, get rid of it. You’d be amazed how clear you will feel leaving them behind.
So once you’ve got the list, create the goals. And remember to create that powerful statement for each one, one that’ll drive you. Make it as succinct as possible because you’re going to be writing that baby a lots. I’ll give you a bonus tip. Now’s where you also want to rewrite any of those longer term, big, hairy, augacious goals out as well. And I said, augacious, not audacious, but that’s okay.
FIVE BY FIVE GOAL METHOD
Let’s talk about the five by five goal method. I touched on this method during the daily success formula month, however, repetition is a good thing, so let’s go over it again for each goal you have, we want you to work out what you need to do to achieve it. And I know this can seem like a really laborious process, but it’s worth it. There’s a fine line between doing too much detail and a not enough actual work. Yep. I’ve been so guilty of that, but we can’t achieve something if we don’t know what we need to do to achieve it for each goal.
Yep. There’s a worksheet. I want you to work out the five things you need to do to achieve it. Let’s do an example. Self-publishing. Your 20,000 word book by the 30th of June, 2022, 20,000 words, 62 days to the 30th of April with no weekend or public holidays is 322.58 words a day. Number two, find an editor to work with. Number three, set tasks for your team to create the online pages to sell it. Four, set up the order to arrange for the printing. And number five, turn photo shoot to get the assets you need. Huh? I’m exhausted just doing that. If you look at that exhaustingly fast example, only one task is actually needed every day. The rests, the one offs. See how that then makes it so much easier to plan your year? It’s like magic. Now your turn. I want you to do that for each goal.
Some goals may have more than five steps needed, and that’s okay. Chunk it into five where you can and some might overflow might be needed, especially in the longer term goals. Once you’ve done that for all of your goals, you’ll be able to create a list that clearly shows what you need to do each quarter each week, sometimes even each day. Most people have steps at crossover between goals. Dropping weight, for example, will often create a to-do that involves exercising, which can involve spending more time with family and friends. Win win.
PLANNING YOUR 2022
A couple of months ago we talked about the daily success formula and one of the exercises I asked you all to do or encouraged you to do was create your perfect day and I want you to go back and look at that again.
What does that look like from the moment you get up to the moment you go to bed because knowing that is really important in this process of planning your 2022. So remind yourself, what’s your perfect day. I know what mine is.
Are you ready to have some fun and get creative? I am. There are so many methods for planning and so many tools you can use. I like a combination of analog and digital. So let’s look at my massive new year planner. That’s where it all takes shape for me. The things we want to mark out first are holidays, birthdays, big dates like that concert you got tickets for, regular commitments, blog posts, reels, these videos, et cetera. Self care, time off, anything you can. Now add dates that you have committed to for your goals. Remember have fun. I use stickers, washi tape, numbers, anything I can get my hands on.
And up the top, have your word for the year plastered if you can. If you’ve got a business, your plan will probably look a little bit different to someone who’s in a corporate role. You may both have training or education as a goal for example, but it may be the difference between something you’re doing online or during work hours or going away for a weekend seminar.
For me, I know each day there’s something that has to be released in my business. Then there’s launches and events. Remember I’m doing it all with ease. If you’re going to go digital, make sure you use different colors for the different areas of your life and set alerts and reminders right now as you do this. For a paper planner, you may want to do like countdowns to something big, 12 days to the city to surf. I did 2Ks, I did 3Ks, there’s my target, there’s my target. You can also set a date for a measurable part of your goal. Now go have fun.
You’ve probably heard of a vision board, well do one, they’re amazing. Grab some magazines, some papers, some books, grab some photos online, use the Google and go for it. You might want to put it on a diary like I do, you might have a board you stick it up on, you might actually just print something out. You could stick it in a photo book. And another way, I used to carry one of those little photo envelopes with pictures of what I wanted to achieve in the year. Whatever you do, make it yours and yours alone and who knows, if you do things right, in a couple of years, you’ll come back and you’ll have achieved all of them.
COMBAT PLAN
Okay, we’ve got to create a combat plan for any potential obstacles. And it does several wonderful things. It dissipates fear of what if, it gives you the feeling that you’ll be able to handle anything that happens on the way to achieving your goals and to boost your self confidence and it reprograms your subconscious mind to hunt for solutions. Of course, you’re not going to be able to foresee every obstacle, but if you’ve been diligent about creating your short term plans and your goals, you’ll know what to expect. You’ll know what you have to do and you’ll have some idea of some challenges you’ll face. It’s helpful here if you go back to your plans and try and spot potential hazards. Number one, will you maybe need extra cash at some point? How will you get it? Start planning ways to generate more income, save money, obtain a loan, et cetera.
And you’ll have the peace of mind knowing that you won’t have to be scrambling for money at some critical time. Maybe you’ll need more skills or knowledge, how will you get them? And how will you have enough time to acquire them before you really need them? If you need to sign up for classes, do it. If you need to contact someone and become apprentice to them, do it. Maybe you need a mentor? Skills and knowledge are ever evolving and there’s something to be said for fake it til make it, but if you can find ways to avoid reinventing the wheel and making silly mistakes, because you haven’t learned something, your journey will be so much easier.
Number three, will you need to have help of a certain personal organization? As I mentioned before, there’s nothing like a good mentor to help you get along. People love to share their knowledge and expertise. Network, find the right people. They’ll appear as if on cue if your why and your desire is strong. Number four, common one, will you encounter resistance in your family or with other important people in your life? Chances are, not everyone is going to get your goals. They may try to talk you out of your foolishness or encourage you to do something more sensible. They may be well meaning, but if you realize that they’re projecting their own limitations onto you, then you’ll have the strength to keep going no matter what anyone says.
You may have to come up with some creative and thoughtful ways to get them on board and support you, or at least leave you the hell alone and let you do your thing. It helps to present them with a plan sometimes. It helps to produce results and let actions speak for themselves. Just be ready for resistance and negativity and don’t let anyone’s idea of what is right for you, stop you. Number five, will you actually have the time to do this? It’s a really big reason why people give up their goals. If you’re struggling with enough time, then take a one week inventory of what you do. Where do you spend your time? Take note, minute by minute of a week of your normal life. Don’t adjust anything, just monitor. I can almost guarantee that your spot activities are the massive time suckers. TV’s obvious, but you’ll be able to squeeze out an extra hour or more nearly every day simplifying your life and making time for what’s important for you.
I hope you can see how you can be proactive and do everything you can to actually prevent the problems before they arise. Try and prevent as many possible problems as you can and worst case, if they do come up, you’ll be ready. You won’t panic because you’ll have some ideas on how to solve them or at least get around them. Have fun with this creative problem solving, don’t get swallowed up and fearful negativity. But look at it as a fun game, after all, these problems are only potential problems in your mind. Your bank might actually cheerfully give you a low interest loan based on your solid business plan, your relatives might love the idea of a seaside BNB if they get to come and stay with you on their holiday, and you never know, Sydney property prices may actually drop.
Welcome to The Samantha Leith Show, with me, Samantha Leith. Now, this month is all about planning your year, doing what you can to make it the best year we possibly can. Some things are going to sound familiar and some things may be really new to you. But either way, I encourage you to tackle this planning with excitement, because you never know what extraordinary things may happen.
AFFIRMATIONS
Affirmations are a common part of many successful people’s daily habits. And whilst you can Google and find affirmations for any area of your life, I really encourage you to write your own. They’re positive statements to describe your goals, new beliefs, passions, values, mission, feeling, businesses, house, et cetera, et cetera, as already having been achieved. Pretty much, if it’s something you’re aiming for, you can create an affirmation around it. They’re proven to help improve your confidence and your mindset, as well as helping you achieve the very thing you’re affirming.
Here are some examples of some general affirmations. “I’m committed to the daily habits that improve my physical, emotional and mental well-being.” “I constantly and passionately take action towards achieving my business and personal goals.” “I’m enjoying living in my beautiful beachfront villa on the coast of Maui,” or somewhere better. “I’m so happy and grateful now that I’m effortlessly depositing an extra thousand dollars per month in my bank account.” “I am confident and comfortable with myself and who I am.” “I give myself the care and attention that I deserve.” For a really specific goal-related one, though, it might look a little different. “I love the energy I have exercising every single day.” “I feel so inspired when I walk into my clean, clutter-free home.” “I treasure each night with my family.”
Some tips for writing them. Start with a statement like “I am”, or “I”, or use the present tense. We want to state everything in the positive. Be as brief as possible. Use words that make you feel something. Be specific and keep it about yourself and not others. Don’t worry about the how, just have fun and write them. Then get creative. Graphics, stick them everywhere. Write them out. Have them as phone alarm. Share them. Repeat them aloud at least once a day. In a mirror is even better.
As I said, it’s really important to see how you’re going throughout the year. So I like having printouts. You can go to something like Fiverr and get them made, tailored specifically to what you are doing. For example, a book a week. So, I’ve got 52 little books that I’ve got to mark off on a piece of paper. That’s the way I like to chart. You can do a simple Excel spreadsheet and tick them off that way, or you could do it electronically. But I do encourage you to have somewhere handy, where you can mark off every single thing you are going for.
Shikes. You’ve set a goal. You really wanted it. Now you think you have to let it go. It happens, and probably for a very good reason. Sometimes, it’s for reasons outside your control. You wanted to move house this year, but your son got accepted into a local school on a scholarship for tennis. So, you decide to stay. Okay, that’s really random. I don’t have a son and I don’t play tennis, but you get the idea. Maybe it’s in your control. You thought this was the year you were going to tick off mastering skiing. But after two weekends to the snow, you decided you really, really hate the cold, and no amount of groovy gear is going to make you want go back.
Let’s look at the hardest scenario. You wanted to start your own business this year full-time. It’s been a side hustle for a couple of years, but you wanted to take the plunge. Or you get what you think will be the last 90 days in corporate, and you get a job opportunity that takes your breath away. You’re confused, because you love your side hustle, and you thought you wanted it, but this job, it ticks so many boxes. What do you do? Well, ultimately, only you can decide. But it’s about what fits into your vision that you have for your life at that time. Some dreams aren’t meant to be, and some are. Whatever you decide, you need to let go of goals with grace, no guilt, no blame. Release it. It was a dream, and now it’s not. It doesn’t mean you failed. It’s not a sticker on your wall of shame.
One more for the road. What if you’re working hard towards your goal and not achieving at the rate you thought you would? Do you give up? No? Well, maybe? But, not before first looking into what’s really going on. Go back to the very beginning. Look at why you wanted the goal, and remember that exercise about obstacles. Did you foresee any of these issues? If in your gut, you still really want the goal, then you probably need to change the timeline or modify the actions that you’re taking to achieve the goal.
There’s a quote: “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can in 10 years.” It’s been thrown around in various forms as being said by many people, from Bill Gates to Tony Robbins, and I’m not 100% sure who it was, but you get the gist. You may simply need to move buying your dream home by the beach to a couple of years away and not let it go. We need to remember the goals are ours. It’s not a commitment to the world. If we need to change or let it go, it’s okay. Olympic athletes change goals because they get pregnant. Singers change release dates because they stopped working with the producer. The world won’t fall down around you, if it takes an extra six months to learn how to code, or to decide you hate cooking after all. Being kind to yourself is crucial in all of this, because it helps build that confidence muscle, which will in turn make it easier for you to achieve your goals.
HAVE VIRTUAL ADVISORY BOARD
Let’s face it, crap happens. We might have a hiccup. We might be bit indecisive about something. So, have an advisory board. My virtual advisory board includes, and I’ve said it before, Beyonce, Sara Blakely, myself, Jillian Michaels, the list goes on. And when I’m faced with the decision that I’m finding a little bit tough, I ask myself, what would [Dee Devontis 00:07:20] do in this situation? What would Nigella do with this leg of lamb? They might not know it, but they inspire us and they can actually help us to move forward. So, have fun. Create an advisory board and you never never know. One day, I might be sitting at a coffee shop with Nigella.
SET SOME TIME ASIDE
You need to set some time aside each week to look at how you’re going. It doesn’t matter if you do it, when you work on your diary and your to-dos, et cetera, or as part of your Sunday night wind down ritual. It simply needs to get done. I suggest weekly, and then a bigger check-in every month and every quarter. Some of the questions you need to ask yourself, and yes, there’s a worksheet. “Ah, what have I achieved? Did I miss any checkpoints? Is there anything I need to add or to let go of? What worked? What didn’t work? Where can I get some extra help? And, how do I feel about that goal?”
HAVE MINI CELEBRATIONS
Then I encourage you to have mini celebrations, your rewards for reaching milestones. There’s no reason to withhold celebrations until that big, final moment of celebration and achievement. Setting a goal and working towards it and achieving it are all equally important. They’re the steps on your journey. Imagine that your goal is like a hike to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. You know that the view from the summit will be amazing, but don’t forget that the steps to get there are as well. Would you not celebrate the milestones you reach along the way? The elevation markers, the mileage markers? Of course, you would. Would you not want to stop and enjoy how far you’ve come, and revel in the wonderful things you’ve experienced so far? Would you keep marching resolutely towards the summit, eyes down on the trail, and not stop in and soak the wonder of it all and be glad of how far you’ve come? Of, course not. We want to celebrate the moments, the moments are the jewels and the crown, the moments of overcoming, of reaching a little higher, of getting that one step closer. So reward yourself. Show yourself some appreciation for making the effort. Give yourself some loving and a treat.
But be careful. Remember when we talked about why you’re doing all this and your vision? The internal rewards are more important than the external ones. Okay? So avoid making those treats the big motivators. Really, the best way to celebrate is twofold. Write about it in your journal. Then you can read your success entries when you’re feeling a bit mmm, and give yourself that motivational kick up the butt. And second, celebrate with friends, the ones who support and believe in you. Your biggest motivators should be internal, the feeling of accomplishment, the boost in self confidence and so on. Treats are fine, of course, but don’t make them all chocolate and champagne. Don’t deny yourself, but don’t make them totally the carrot that’s getting you to push forward.
And when you celebrate, imagine me raising a glass and a toast to you. And don’t forget that really big celebration at the end of the year, when you pull out that envelope and read that letter that you wrote to yourself and you see what you did. You’re a extraordinary person, you.
Be sure to head on over to samanthaleith.com/, whatever way it goes, /freebies, and grab any of the worksheets I mentioned. And I’d really love it, if you’d click on that subscribe button and share this video. And remember, I believe you are extraordinary. You have got this.
Thank you for listening to this week’s episode of the Samantha Leith podcast. If you enjoy this episode and want to dive deeper into the world of personal development and what’s possible for you, then I would love to invite you to join the club. It’s my monthly membership design to guide and support you. For the tools and the coaching you need to be extraordinary. Head on over to samanthaleith.com/club for more information. I’d love to see you on the inside.
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Produced by Rebecca Saunders and Pyrmont Studios
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Feeling Good
Songwriters: Anthony Newley / Leslie Bricusse
© Tratore, Universal Music Publishing Group
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Produced by Samantha Leith / Michael Allen
Vocals by Samantha Leith
