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MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMGoal setting is simply the process of identifying something you want to accomplish andestablishing measurable objectives or smaller goals and timeframes to help you getthere. When you learn how to set goals properly, you can use the same process toachieve anything you set your mind to! And, the more you do it, the easier it gets!Identify Your Main GoalUse these prompts to help you better understand your own goal and how to break itdown to make it more achievable.What is your goal?Make Sure Your Goal Matters (to you)This seems obvious, but oftentimes we set goals not for ourselves, but to please others.Ensure that the goal you are setting is valuable to you and you'll be guaranteed a levelof intrinsic motivation that you can only get from a goal that matters to you.To make sure that your goal is motivating, write down why it's valuable and importantto you. Ask yourself, "If I were to share my goal with others, what would I tell them toconvince them it was a worthwhile goal?" You can use this motivating value statementto help you if you start to doubt yourself or lose confidence in your ability to actuallymake the goal happen.Write down 3 reasons why this goal is valuable to you:1.2.3.10

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMMake Sure It Is Something You Really WantMany people feel that they understand how to set goals, but may struggle to actuallyachieve whatever it was they were after. One reason could be that their goals weren'tcompelling enough--they didn't want it enough.You’re much more likely to commit to something that excites you, so your goal shouldreflect this mindset. You have to want to MAKE IT HAPPEN!Imagine yourself accomplishing your goal. How would you feel?Picture yourself 10 or 20 years older and looking back. Would you feel regret if youdidn't achieve your goal?11

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMYou Will Hit Obstacles, So Plan for ThemUnderstand that after you set your goal, it likely will not be smooth sailing; it rarely everis. You will be met with challenges, setbacks, and blockers that get in your way.If you expect them to come, you'll be much better equipped to deal with them in apositive and progressive way. If you're not prepared, they may succeed in totallyknocking you off course and preventing you from reaching your goal. So, it's importantto prepare yourself mentally to face upcoming obstacles, and visualize ahead of time away to overcome them.Certainly there will be obstacles you could not envision or plan for, and these will haveto be dealt with as they come about.The most important thing is to be mentally prepared that you will hit obstacles on theway, and that you can overcome them and stay on course, no matter how difficult itmay seem at times.Write down all the potential obstacles you think you will encounter over the nextseveral weeks:What will you do to overcome these potential barriers?12

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMVisualize Your FutureOne of the most powerful techniques you can implement when setting goals isvisualization. To get a sense of what your life will look like when you reach your goals(and to get you excited to start right now!), ask yourself these questions and answerthem honestly as if you've already achieved your goal.What would your life look like in 1 year if you achieve your goal and keep themomentum going?What other positive impacts will reaching your goal have on your life?What would your life look like in 5 years if you achieve your goal and keep themomentum going?13

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMExercise #2: Challenge Your ThoughtPatternsTo create the positive loops --- you need to transform how you feel about the actionsyou're undertaking--in other words, get rid of the negative thinking! You can transformhow you feel about something by changing the way you think about it.When you’re stuck, stifled, or unmotivated, often the thoughts that run through yourhead are negative, thus your outlook likely becomes pessimistic. But, if you cantransform those thoughts into more positive ones, then you’re already well on your wayto talking yourself out of that rut, which allows you to move forward.Of course, positive thinking doesn’t mean ignoring all the bad or unpleasant feelingsaltogether. It just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive andproductive way–instead of taking everything as a victim to negative circumstances, yousee it as an opportunity to learn and grow. To become more optimistic, andopportunistic, we have to take control of our thought patterns.Thought patterns are all about the inner dialogue we have with ourselves. Here aresome examples:Goal: To make a career change from sales to the artsNegative thought pattern: I’m too old to go back to school---- leads to puttingoff research into getting a new degree in something that interests me---- leadsto me wasting over 5 years of my life staying in my “comfort zone” in acubicle---- leads to me getting burned out by work and resenting that I don’tenjoy my jobGoal: To run a 5KNegative thought pattern: I’ve never been fit, and have never run before, sogetting in good physical shape is not an option--- leads to avoidance loop ofwatching television and then going to sleep right after coming home from14

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMwork--- leads to feeling regretful of how I spend my time and even furtheravoidance of exerciseGoal: To increase my income by 5%Negative thought pattern: I’m not good enough to ask for a promotion or even araise---- leads to feelings of helplessness ---- leads to ambivalence aboutincreasing income, and not taking action towards career progressionThese thought patterns often lead to our loops, or routines. So, if you change yourthought patterns, you'll change your actions, and change your loops!The way to do this is simply by getting started. First, you have to recognize yournegative thinking patterns. Next you have to challenge them and change your thoughtpatterns into positive thought patterns. Then you apply the new thought pattern andrepeat it until you associate new, positive, feelings with the action.Here's a good example:Janet has always wanted to get in shape. Many of her friends are into running, whichthey claim is a fast and easy way to get daily exercise. Janet is skeptical, because theone time Janet tried running in high school, she hated it. Janet has always been underthe impression that running is a tortuous exercise regimen that she would never derivepleasure from.However, Janet recognizes that these thoughts may be preventing her from reachingher goal of getting in shape, and her negative mindset on running was holding her back.Her friend, Sarah, who is in excellent shape, explained that she also used to dreadrunning--until she really started doing it. After she started, she simply couldn't stopbecause the benefits far outweighed any negative feelings she previously had.Janet decided to challenge her own negative thoughts and MAKE IT HAPPEN. Shecommitted to running three times per week for just 30 minutes, pausing to walkwhenever needed.And, once she began, guess what happened? It wasn't nearly as bad as she imagined!She actually quite enjoyed it and found that giving herself permission to walk asneeded, made it far less daunting of a task.15

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMJanet now associates running with positive feelings, which makes it so much easier tokeep the loop going.She now runs at least 5 times per week and has incorporated other exercises into herweekly routine as well. After 1 month of committing to running, Janet has noted adrastic change in her energy levels, and she feels fitter then she has in years.It's because Janet has changed her thought patterns about running, which spawned anaction (actually running and experiencing the effects), and now she associates newfeelings with running--positive and energizing feelings. Janet now wants to runbecause it makes her feel good.Examining how mindset reacts to triggers is a critical component to challengingnegative thoughts. Once you master this, along with the knowledge of your loops, ANDthen take control of your loops. you’ll be well on your way to hitting your goal.Trigger -- Mindset -- ActionRemember, triggers are neutral, and we all experience triggers. It's how you think aboutthe trigger that causes different actions.For example, we'll use the same trigger for two different mindsets.Trigger: Stressful day at work Productive Action: Going for a walk to clear your head. Unproductive Action : Complaining for hours to your partner about the hard dayyou had while destroying a pint of ice cream.These are two different mindsets set off by the same trigger.As you can see, the first mindset did something for themselves that would benefit them,encourage creativity and mindfulness, and help them walk off the stress of the day,which promotes better blood flow, more energy, and relaxation.The second person has a negative mindset, where they wanted to drown their sorrowsin high calorie dessert while staying stagnant in the negativity of the day by replaying itto their partner.16

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMTo permanently break a loop in your life-- you have to change your mindset. One of thefirst steps to changing your mindset is to get out of your negative thinking traps.All negative thinking traps have two things in common.1. The thoughts are unrealistic.2. The thoughts are unhelpful.So, ask yourself: do your thoughts always fulfill these two criteria?If not, that's okay! We all fall into negative thinking traps time and again. They becomeproblematic when they STOP you from making a goal happen. And, the worst part ofall, is they tend to direct all of your focus and energy to your weaknesses, which is amajor motivation killer.If you keep telling yourself that you can't do something, or that you're too old to start, orthat you're not smart enough to make something happen, then you are using way toomuch of your energy on something that is both unrealistic and unhelpful.17

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMQuestions to Help You Challenge Your Negative ThoughtsIf you focus on these weaknesses and negative thoughts, you're making it very hard tosee your own strengths and potential.Though negative thinking traps may allow you to avoid your fears or remain in acomfortable position, such as preventing you from sending out that job application infear of rejection, it will also prevent you from reaching your full potential. Long term, thiswill lead to greater dissatisfaction and more regret if you didn't have these negativethoughts.So, if you shift your mindset to catch these negative thoughts and challenge them, youcan reap many amazing benefits.The best way to start is to ask yourself whether the thoughts you’re having arerealistic. So take a moment to assess how you think right now.Write down one negative thought about yourself that you seem to revisit:Is this thought a true depiction of the situation?Are your fears and negative approaches causing your negative thoughts to beexaggerated?18

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMDo you tend to be more optimistic or do you tend to adopt a more negative view?Do you approach most situations positively or negatively?Write down one negative thought that has prevented you from reaching your goal:Is this thought a true depiction of the situation? Why or why not?Are your fears and negative approaches causing your negative thoughts to beexaggerated?19

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMDo you tend to be more optimistic or do you tend to adopt a more negative view?Do you approach most situations positively or negatively?Write down one negative thought that has prevented you from reaching your goal:Is this thought truly realistic? Why or why not?Is this thought helpful? Why or why not?What positive thought could you replace it with?20

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMIf you’ve determined that you’ve got a negative approach to your thinking style,think about why that might be. Use these answers to help guide yourself to betterunderstand the WHY of your negative thinking.Do you tend to adopt negative thoughts in certain situations over others?Is there a particular event, situation, person or place that triggers negative thinking foryou?Would you support this negative thought if a close friend or loved one had it?Pretend you are talking to a good friend who is currently struggling with negativethoughts--but this friend is actually YOU. How would you step in and remind yourselfhow great you are?21

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMStart using these strategies for all your negative thoughts. Don’t give your negativethoughts a free-pass.By doing this exercise, instead of pushing and prying your negative thoughts out, youare acknowledging and releasing them.And when they come back (which they will, out of habit), acknowledge that they are stillcoming and release them again. Look them square in the eye and tell them what theyneed to do – keep moving along. You don’t try to wrestle them out of your mind, yousimply let them go on their way.By letting go instead of pushing, your mind opens up and stays more relaxed. This alsokeeps your mind open to receive different thoughts. In fact, it may take a little while fora newer, more positive thought to take root, especially if you have a long-standing habitwith negative thinking. Have some patience as you gradually introduce your brain tomore positive thinking.22

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMExercise #3: Transform Your Top 3 LoopsWhat Are Loops?Everybody has loops--they essentially run our day to day. Loops are simply actions thatwe tend to repeat over and over again, without too much thought. Many times, theseloops become habits; and, they can be productive or destructive. Think about it.whether they are yearly traditions, monthly targets, or daily habits, they all are loopsthat we continue to repeat over and over again.Everyone lives within different loops. There are yearly loops like Christmas andThanksgiving. There are monthly and weekly loops, such as how we spend ourweekdays and weekends. And there are our daily loops, which are the ones thatinfluence us the most. As you can imagine, loops drive your life. They pretty much define99% of your decisions and actions.Consider a typical day. How many of your decisions or actions are completely new? Youcan probably count them on one hand. The other 99% of your actions are basically youon “autopilot”. Such as what time you wake up every morning, how you get dressed,the route you take to work each day, where you get your coffee, what you do afterdinner, etc.How many new conscious choices do you really make? The answer is: not many at all!Most are on default.Daily loops are the ones that can hold us back the most, because they becomeingrained into a sense of reality. And, once they become a habit, they can be quite hardto change--especially if we don't know they exist.Loops can help you make major progress in your life, or they can seriously hold youback from reaching your goals. It’s important that you make the distinction between thetwo types and upgrade the ones that hold you back.23

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMThe importance of loops goes beyond the idea of how you spend your time; it’s alsoimportant to pay attention to the mindsets behind the loops--in other words, whatcauses you to continue with destructive loops. By having a better understanding of yourown loops, you’ll be able to easily pinpoint where you need to improve to reach youroverall goal.2 Types of LoopsThe two types of loops are:1. Loops that make you improve2. Keep you stuck, or pull you downThe vast majority of our loops loops keep you stuck or pull you down. They keep you inan endless cycle of facing the same problem -- so you get the same solution -- anddo the same actions. over and over again.Your daily routines and habits, which create these loops, actually drive your life. So, to be successful, you don't need to change ALL of your loops, you simply needto upgrade the ones that hold you back. To do so, instill the 80/20 rule, and payattention to the 20% of your loops that drive 80% of your actions.Often one of the loops that falls into this category is not one that makes you goforward, One of the most pervasive and goal stopping loops you can find yourself stuckin is what we call the "Avoidance Loop".You're likely very familiar with this type of loop. It goes something like this:" I have to before I can start ."24

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMHow to Find Your Top LoopsUsually there are about 3 loops that really control most of your actions.So, the first step is to discover which ones exist overall, and focus on the top 3 that havethe most impact on your life. Here’s an example:Darren's Top 3 Loops Morning: Wake up, eat small breakfast, go for run, shower Day: Work from 10am-6pm Evening : Dinner with wife, then Netflix until bedAs you can see, two of these loops are positive--and help Darren improve; the last loophowever, is keeping Darren stuck. You see, Darren has wanted to change his career forabout 2 years now. However, he often makes excuses that he doesn't have enoughtime to take the online classes required to get him certified in a new profession. He hasfallen into an avoidance loop.His avoidance statement is what he keeps telling himself to prevent him from makingprogress. It goes a little like this:" I have to get a higher degree before I can start looking for a new career path."But what if Darren changed his Evening loop? What if instead of spending all eveningrelaxing, he dedicated 2 hours per night to getting certified for a new career online? Hewould, of course, have to start at the beginning: identifying exactly what he wanted todo, locating the requirements for the job, and taking necessary steps to achieve propercertification for his new choice of career. But if he started right now and kept makingprogress towards his goal of a new career--imagine the outcome!Over the course of just 6 months, he would have invested over 360 hours to launch anew career! Not to mention, he would have gained other valuable skills and knowledgewhile enrolled in the online program. perhaps new opportunities that he would havenever dreamed of would open up.25

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMQuestions to Help You Discover Your LoopsThere are many loops that we can find ourselves in that can hold us back from reachingour goals, and we may not even be aware of them!These could be: Getting stuck on past experiences in a negative way (are you in the habit ofcomplaining to others about your day. what could have been. what should be?) Watching Netflix for hours every night (this time could be used doing so muchmore!) Maintaining poor eating habits (this will affect your overall emotional well beingand energy levels) Putting off major projects that you have always wanted to complete (often wemake excuses to not start something be

MAKE IT HAPPEN SELF-GUIDED PROGRAM This first part of the workbook is the foundation of making your goal happen. You likely have a goal already, though it’s essential to make sure that it’s achievable, and there are a few key steps to determine this. If you don’t have any defi