"They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." -Edgar Allan Poe Metaphors are great in visualizing your goals. They take you to your imagination and away from the "how." The how can often be a goal killer.
Take a moment to imagine planting a garden and the garden is your life! Visualize a circular garden divided into wedges, giving each wedge a theme. Here are nine possible themes:
Look over the garden from a broad perspective. You notice there are numerous perennials that come back year after year. Stop to analyze if some of these blooms seem to be withering. They may have lost their ability to grow from being overly processed in the same soil. Maybe it is time to dig them up, put them in the recycle bin, and sow some new seeds and plants. Other perennials are newer and worth keeping. From this place of observation, give each wedge a number code from 0-10. The lower number zero is assigned to plants not doing so well. A 10 is for those plants that have reached full bloom. Example:
Spring Landscape - Time to Plant New Seedlings to Harvest in the Fall (6 months):
Relationship: 5 - if single/divorced/not interested at this time/living with partner/married/dating
Career/Vocation: 3 - so, so, but not satisfied
Self-care: 2 - time to start to exercise & eat better
Money: 4 - tight squeeze
Friends: 7 - friends are supportive
You get the idea! Continue to fill in the rest to get the big picture of your garden. This is a great metaphor to examine the landscape of your life. Plus spring is the perfect time to think about planting new ideas to harvest in the fall.
Questions Hold the Answers to Landscape
Picture it is six months later, time to harvest your goals. You see a beautiful garden, full of new blooms and promises for even more. You evaluate from where you started several months ago to now. For example, compare the above numbers with the numbers below. It might look like this:
Fall Landscape - Time to Harvest - 6 months after planting in Spring:
Relationship w/wo partner: 7 - happier - having more fun
Career/Vocation: 7 - on target with career objectives - enjoying vocation
Self-care: 5- looking good! feeling better!
Money: 6 - pressure off and re-investing
Friends: 9 - are supportive, fun to be with
Questions Hold the Answers to Harvesting Your Desires
Tips: Sow the Seedlings of Your Desires
"Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly." - Langston Hughes
Copyright 2008 - Theresa-Maria Napa, CPCC
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