The beginning of July is a good time to reflect on where you are today and where you want to be.
One communication skill that gets you HUGE bang for your buck in this area is about being clear.
Like all my principles of effective communication, being clear ties back to these three areas:
What you think: take a few minutes to reflect on what you’ve accomplished this year.
Recognizing your accomplishments is a really important part of goal setting.
You probably come down hard on yourself for what you haven’t gotten to yet.
I get it. I do it and so does just about every other human.
We just tend to look to the negative, it’s in our nature.
So to get clear on where you want to go for the rest of the year, start by looking back, at the road behind you.
Once you’ve taken time to appreciate what you have done, then look forward.
What you say: summer is a great time to practice being clear with your words.
Kids are home, stacking dishes in the sink, not cleaning up after themselves, slacking off their household chores.
Practice being clear with this formula, “Please DO THIS by THIS TIME.”
So often we say the first part without the time frame.
“Please do the dishes” becomes a daily nag. Instead try, “Please do the dishes by noon.”
This works at work, too, especially with setting deadlines or expectations about what you’re committing to:
- I’ll do this by Thursday;
- Please do that by next Friday;
- I’d like to follow up with you in December about my next salary increase. Let’s get a meeting on the calendar now.
- I’d like to get your feedback on my performance when we finish this project so I can know more clearly where I should focus in the future.
- If you’re happy with my work, I’d be grateful for your recommendation on LinkedIn. Can I send you a brief write up that you can edit and send back to me by next Wednesday?
What you do: This is all about action to move forward.
To move forward, take some time to visualize your future. The rest of the year will fly by, whether you set goals or not.
Studies show that you’re more likely to get what you ask for.
Setting your intentions for the rest of the year is you asking for what you want.
The bottom line
Be kind to yourself.
This year, I set some big goals for my business. And then my mother in law passed away. That set us back a couple of months, so officially, Im way behind where I wanted to be.
But I took the time to handle that situation with the attention and presence that I needed to, to be there for my family when they needed me. that’s the most important thing to me, to be present.
I’ve also had a million health challenges this year, which have forced me to slow way down. So, yes, I too am behind where I wanted to be.
That won’t stop me from moving forward, my to do list in hand, checking things off one at a time!
And before you know it, there you are! Goals met!
Warmly,
Melissa
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