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Category Archives: Reach Your Goals

Goal Posts: Do Your Goals Measure Up to be Achievable

Reach Your GoalsDecember 12, 2018
Goal Post Measure Up

This week, as we continue the Goal Posts series, we are going to look at how your goals can measure up to be achievable in 2019. For a general overview of what SMART GOALS are, check out this post that I wrote a year ago.SMART goals are written based on criteria using the pneumonic acronym SMART which stands for the following:S=SpecificM=MeasurableA=AchievableR=RelevantT=TimeHow does your goal measure up? How will you know that you’ve reached your goal? Your goal can measure up several different ways. Find a way in which to track your progress that is relevant to you.Baby StepsIf your goal is big enough to involve several steps, break it down.Visual RemindersSome people like graphs that they can pin in a prominent place, such as above their desk, on their laptop screen, or on their bathroom mirror.You can also use some effective low-tech ways to encourage you to keep going. I know a woman who has a weight loss goal. She got a large vase and filled it with 5o small stones, each representing a pound she needed to lose. Each week, she weighed herself and removed a stone for each pound she had shed. When the vase is empty, she’ll fill Read more…

Goal Posts: Get Specific as You Plan #IWSG

Blogging, Reach Your GoalsDecember 5, 2018

It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. I encourage you to check out their website and even sign up for the IWSG Newsletter. This month, I won’t be answering the optional #IWSG question of the month. But I encourage you to check out some of the answers the other fabulous insecure writers have written. Instead, I will be continuing my Goal Post series. Each week we will be one step closer to having a clear plan for achieving your goals in 2019. This week, that step is for you to get specific.For a general overview of what SMART GOALS are, check out this post that I wrote a year ago. SMART goals are written based on criteria using the pneumonic acronym SMART which stands for the following:S=SpecificM=MeasurableA=AchievableR=RelevantT=TimeIn order to get specific, ask yourself:Exactly what do you want to accomplish?Why is it important?What’s it going to take to get it done?Let’s look at an example of a career goalExactly what do you want to accomplish?I need to put together my 2019 content plan for both heatherericksonauthor.com and facingcancerwithgrace.com.  I want to have a detailed content plan for January-June and Read more…

Goal Posts: Planning Your Year

Reach Your GoalsNovember 28, 2018
Goal Posts Planning Your Year

As we approach the end of 2018, you may be asking where the year went. Did you set goals for 2018? If you didn’t, why not? If you did set goals, did you reach them? In this series of “Goal Posts,” I will be breaking down the process of setting SMART Goals. For a general overview of what SMART GOALS are, check out this post that I wrote a year ago. We are going to dive deep into the process of planning your year as we close out 2018 and begin 2019. We will make it more manageable by tackling one step each week. Today, we’re going to brainstorm the “what” and the “why” of your goals.Last week’s “Goal Post…”…looked at what’s working in your life, specifically in the areas of relationships, career & finance, as well as your personal goals. As you looked for the blessings you have in these areas of your life, you probably saw some things you would like to improve, as well. That will be your starting point for planning your year. World-renowned copywriter and communications strategist, Ray Edwards, asks the question.“What do I most want to be thankful for a year from now?”[1]Take a Read more…

Goal Posts: Consider Your Blessings

Reach Your GoalsNovember 21, 2018
Blessings

Now that we are well into November and Thanksgiving is right around the corner, I want to focus on gratitude and goals. We are going to start by looking at the things we already have that make our lives better. Sometimes we earn the things we are grateful for. Other times, we don’t seem to deserve them at all. Either way, it’s important that we recognize them and take stock of the blessings in your life. This exercise will lay the foundation for goal setting. We are going to focus on 3 areas of your life: relationships, career/finances, and who you are, as a personBlessings in Your RelationshipsBlessings of FamilyPerhaps the thing most people value most is their family members. Families come in all shapes and sizes. Who you choose to include in your family circle goes far beyond blood relatives. Family fluctuates throughout your life. Marriages, adoptions, foster children, and births add to the number of people in your life. Friends can become as close as any blood relative. Death and divorce pull families apart, but memories remain. Even through the veil of painful separations such as these, we often have grown. Who in your life are you thankful Read more…

Authenticity & Judgements We Make

Authenticity, Reach Your GoalsOctober 17, 2018
Judgments we Make

This month I’ve been looking at authenticity and what makes being authentic so scary for most people. Last week we talked about why the fear of rejection can make authenticity so elusive. This week we will focus on the judgments we make and those that are made about us. Once we have a deeper understanding of the judgments we make, every day, we can take control over that part of our psyche and overcome it, leading to a more authentic life and more authentic writing.We all do itEven though it’s not politically correct to make snap judgments about people based on very little information, we do it every day—in fact, multiple times a day. In many ways, it is a survival instinct of sorts. We have to be able to quickly sort through people and situations that are “safe” and those that aren’t.Imagine you get into an elevator at 10 PM after a long day of (shopping, work, hanging out with friends, you name it). There is a guy who has a really angry look on his face, like he’s on his way to confront the guy who knocked over his Harley. There’s also a 5-foot tall woman in a Read more…

Why Fear of Rejection Makes Authenticity so Elusive

Authenticity, Reach Your GoalsOctober 10, 2018
Fear of Rejection

As Halloween approaches, thoughts turn to the frightening things in life (and death). So this month we’ll be taking a look at one of the scariest things for many new (and some seasoned) writers: Authenticity. One of the reasons it can be difficult to be authentic in your writing is fear of rejection.Fear of Rejection and JudgementThe fear of rejection in person, on social media, and in writing, is something nearly everyone has experienced (to some extent). Cyberbullying is on the rise. “In fact, according to the anti-bullying website NoBullying.com, 52 percent of young people report being cyberbullied and over half of them don’t report it to their parents.” [1] If you want to learn more, check out my friend, Jacqui Murray’s recent post.Fear of Rejection and the Family PortraitBecause of this fear of rejection, we show the world only what we want them to see. We have become so adept at this that often we don’t even realize what we’re doing.Recently we had some family pictures taken and I posted one of them (my very favorite) on Facebook.Beautiful, isn’t it? But I wasn’t in it. I was uncomfortable with the world seeing how much weight I have gained in Read more…

Write like an Olympian in training, #IWSG

Reach Your Goals, WritingAugust 1, 2018

It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. I encourage you to check out their website and even sign up for the IWSG Newsletter. Today I’m going to explore how to approach your writing like an Olympian in training, as I answer the #IWSG question for August.What pitfalls would you warn other writers to avoid on their publication journey?I am not athletic by any stretch of the imagination. Believe it or not, I’ve never even watched the Olympic Games. But I do find the accomplishments of Olympians inspiring. We can certainly learn from them, what it means to try to be the best in their field. Since I’m not well-versed in Olympic culture, I did a lot of reading about how an Olympian trains. The advice can help us as writers.[1] I will take the highlights of how to train like an Olympian and share how to apply them to your writing.The first thing we need to establish is that this is a hard journey. Just as an athlete doesn’t decide a month before the games that they are going to compete as an Olympian, a writer can’t say Read more…

I’m in Australia this week!

Blogging, Guest Posts, Reach Your GoalsJuly 26, 2018

You may be wondering why I am posting on Thursday, this week, rather than Wednesday, as I usually do. It’s because this week I am in Australia (okay, not physically, but my heart is there)!Meet Sue LoncaricSue lives in Brisbane, Austrailia where she is a midlife blogger at Sizzling Toward 60 & Beyond. Sue has invited me to be a guest on her Over 50 & Thriving Series. Sue helps women over 50 embrace life with an ageless attitude. I met Sue this past April when I participated in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Her blog quickly became one of my favorites. She shares a positive outlook on aging that is refreshing in a culture that fears 50.I was so honored when Sue asked me to share my thoughts on what is vital to thriving beyond 50. So head on over to Sue’s blog to read my post on why it’s essential to keep dreams alive in order to thrive. What does that mean? How do you do this when life throws you a curve-ball?I’ll see you in Australia today!

Bullet Journal

A to Z Challenge 2018, Digital Minimalism, Get Creative!, Reach Your GoalsApril 2, 2018
Bullet Journal

I’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here at Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker, I will share ways to increase your creativity. I’ll also be doing the challenge at Facing Cancer with Grace, where I will share posts that focus on caregiving. I hope you’ll visit me at both sites. While you’re here, sign up for my email list. Today’s post is B is for Bullet Journal.Welcome my first video edition of Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker. You can also read more details in the traditional post, below the video. The Bullet Journal (BuJo for short) is an analog system for the digital age it was created by Ryder Carroll, a digital product designer living in Brooklyn, NY.UsesMost people who love the Bullet Journal system use it as a combination planner and journal. It’s the perfect way to keep track of your life and your goals in one place. I’ve found the Bullet Journal to be indispensable is in planning my content. I have 2 websites with different posting schedules—plus an email list. On top of that, I have my writing schedule. Finding the time to do these things isn’t half as difficult as finding the ideas to keep the Read more…

Accomplishing a Writing Goal #IWSG

Reach Your Goals, WritingMarch 7, 2018

It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. I encourage you to check out their website and even sign up for the IWSG Newsletter. Today I will reminisce about the day I published my first book and what I do after accomplishing a writing goal, as I answer this month’s IWSG Day question:March 7 question – How do you celebrate after accomplishing a writing goal?My entire life I dreamed of being a writer. Unfortunately, when it came time to decide what I would do with my life, I foolishly listened to the people who said it was an unrealistic goal.  I shouldn’t expect to make a living as a writer. Instead, I took less fulfilling, minimum wage jobs in restaurants, nursing homes, and then later as a seamstress. I did find fulfillment later, as a wife and a mother.Fast forward twenty-five years… I had things to say to the world; things that mattered. My husband discovered hard swollen lymph nodes above his left collarbone and our family’s life was turned upside down.  He had cancer. I began to write privately about life with cancer, how it affected our children, Read more…

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