Getting down with what gets in your way

It’s that time of year again (a new year) and I find myself thinking about what has to get done … and what happens along the way. 

 From the first conversation that I have with a prospective client, we’re talking about goals, desired outcomes, unfulfilled promise.  And it generally boils down to the same thing: what gets in the way of doing what we think we want to do so we can accomplish what we think we want?  

More simply, put in “coach speak”:  what prevents us from fulfilling our intentions? And more importantly, what can we do about it?

Now, like all good business people, I write a set of business goals at the beginning of each new year so I have something to work towards.   Actually – that statement isn’t completely true.  The reality is that some years  I’ve done this.  But there have been those years in which I haven’t gotten beyond thinking about my goals.  Some thing or other seems to get in my way.  And I can honestly tell you that those years haven’t been as successful.

I know I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again –  it’s not that the stuff we chronic illnesser’s  deal with is any different from what healthy people face.  The thing is that illness shakes up your priorities.  What was in the background tends to come to the foreground and vice versa.

So, if you’re wondering, “Yuck.  How depressing.  What can I do?”  I’ve got 3 resources to help you overcome the “stuff” that gets in your way:

1. A favorite blogger of mine, Pam Slim (escape from cubicle nation), posted on Martha Beckwith’s site.  The post is called, Death to Procrastination: Use the 4 day win to get your goals moving. Based on the Beckwith’s book, Death to Procrastination: End your diet war and achieve thinner peace, this is a good example of how most good ideas can be applied wherever. After reading this I decided that my “4 day win” is to write my 2008 goals.   What are yours?

2. The Post Office Food shopping Blues: Stephanie Callahan’s blog, Productive and Organized – Finding Your Way, talks about Saving Time with Your Postal Needs. I’d call it “Saving your energy with your postal needs.” The stamps.com website is a real find. It might cost a little more but think what it saves in energy.  In Save Time: Grocery Shopping Can be Breeze, she talks about online food shopping. I’ve shopped this way  for years. Food shopping and the lines — just too tiring!

3. Gotta’ getta’ job:   irelaunch.com is a website for those who are already on a career break and are looking for strategy and advice for resuming a career. Here again, the book it’s based on, Back on the Career Track: A guide for stay at home moms who want to return to work is misleading. The tips are much more generic and can be massaged to apply to us chronic illness’ers.   Let’s find those jobs!

Did you find these sites useful?  Do you know of others?   Share!   Meanwhile, I have to go work on my 4 day win.