The Balanced Living Journal

Practical information for busy women from Women's Success Coach Catherine Bruns. Visit me also at www.coachbalance.com

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

3 Reasons Why You Don't Achieve Your Goals

You've set a goal, maybe a New Year's resolution and it is now months later and the goal has fallen by the wayside, or completely off the radar.

How often have you said to yourself 'I'm gonna do this' only to find yourself quickly abandoning the idea, feeling stuck, or worse yet in the pit of guilt because you just can't get this goal off the ground.

I'm here to tell you that despite what your inner voice may be telling you (down, bad voice, down!) there is nothing wrong with you. There are 3 good reasons why you are not victorious in your accomplishment of some of your goals.

First - it may be the wrong goal. Are you setting goals based on what you think you should do, or someone else's expectation? If so, those goals feel like you're pushing boulders up the mountain.

Second - you may not have the information. You've got a great goal, but you just don't know how to get there.

Third - personal barriers are in your way. There's nothing like a little fear, overwhelm or disorganization to block your progress.

Read more about these 3 goal killers and what to do about them so you can get yourself moving forward and feelin' proud!

Thursday, March 16, 2006

6 Tips for a Successful Life

Michael Crom - Gannett News Service, recently wrote '6 job tips for young, new workers' that was published in my local paper the Honolulu Advertiser.

When I read these tips I saw that they were not just for the young, and not just for the workplace. These tips are great practices for all of us if we want to be successful in our life.

  1. Have a positive attitude - who wants to be around or do business with a whiney complainer? The glass really is always half full and the more that you focus on what is working, the more things will work.
  2. Dress appropriately - image is important in our culture. Sure, it would be great if people only formed their opinions based on your stunning personality and super smarts, but that is not the fact. Ensure that your image suits your profession, your age, and the message that want to get across.
  3. If you don't know ask - how do you know something unless you ask? Put your ego aside in order to get something done correctly, which will often save you both money, time and often, pride.
  4. Own up to your mistakes - I call this personal responsibility. When you take responsibility for your errors, then you are claiming your power, since the only person you have control over is you. When you blame others, you are only giving away your own power.
  5. Listen - you have two ears and one mouth and should use them in that proportion. It is a basic human need to be heard and understood, so you will become sought after as a friend and business associate if you are a good listener.
  6. Project confidence and competence - if you don't know what this means, look around you and find someone who you think projects these qualities. Notice what they are doing - standing up straight, answering questions directly, stating their opinion clearly - and begin to try it on for size.

Perhaps you are already a pro at these essential life practices. But maybe you are not so good at one or more. Find a role model for yourself - someone you know in life or even a celebrity or well known person. As you develop your own way, it is helpful to think of that person and what he or she would say, or how they might act in order to get some idea of how to begin to walk through your own life differently.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

The Million Dollar Question - Are You Enough?


If you feel like you are enough - just you, all by yourself - then you probably don't have any struggle saying no when you mean it, eating only the food you desire when you're hungry, keeping only supportive and positive people in your life, not abusing drugs or alcohol, ensuring that you take very good care of yourself, and buying only those things which you need and desire and can easily afford.

Oprah has begun America's Debt Diet, which is focusing on 3 families and how they have spent themselves into debtor's prison and are risking the annihilation of their families. What is so amazing about these three families is that America gets to clearly see themselves in each person's struggle.

Dr. Robin Good, Oprah's psychological sidekick (who is absolutely fantastic), dug into these couples' emotional pain this last week to see what is fueling the emotional fire that is so consuming for these people.

It all comes down to this - Are you enough? Deep down in the self that is just you, are you content and satisfied that you are just fine now and always.

When we don't feel enough all on our own, we continually look for the ways to soothe the pain that we feel - food, buying things, drugs, bad relationships, sex, you name it.

The fact is that YOU came into this world as enough. You got taught, or made up stories as life went on that you are not.

Good news is, you really are enough, but you may have to get through some of the pain in order to feel the fullness of the real you.

Oprah wisely says that we must live life consciously - understand that there is a consequence, an effect for any action we choose, and so make our choices accepting the consequence that will follow. In my words, this is personal responsibility and personal power - stop giving it away.

Are you the one who always says yes when you mean no? Do you take care of everyone around you and neglect your own self care? Do you allow people to treat you disrespectfully? Do you blame others for things that don't go well in your life?

I really encourage anyone who is answering yes to those questions to find someone to help you determine what those bad habits are covering up, so that you can truly feel like you are enough.

Because you are!

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Resentments: Drinking Poison and Expecting the Other Person to Die

Resentments can feel oh so good, but they are killers. The only person that feels a resentment is YOU!

Listen to Nancy and I at our fantastic podcast Coaching A Go Go to learn how to push the delete button on your resentments.