GOAL SETTING: Identify the one or two items you would like to look back in a year and say that you have accomplished. Remember that the bigger the goal, the more likely you are to achieve it. Examples might be: starting a business, improving your relationship with your partner, increasing your savings level, losing 10 lbs, running a marathon, changing jobs

MAKE IT CONCRETE: A goal without specificity, a vague direction, will lead you to precisely what you have defined - nothing specific, vague movement.
- When you have reached your goal, what will your wheel of life look like?
- Write down the specifics of the goal - who, what, how much, when, where.
- Identify and write down the benefits that you will gain by achieving the goal. Go beyond the first (easy) answer to something very tangible. For example, by increasing my savings to $10,000, I will be able to take my child out for ice cream once a week, reduce my overtime by 5 hours per week, spend more time with my partner, and sleep until 9 on Sundays.
- Create a dream map of what will surround you when you have achieved your goal - what type of vacations will you take, what will you live in, what 'toys' will surround you, what will your office look like, what kind of people will surround you?

MOVE INTO ACTION: Brainstorm a list of all of the steps - big and small - that you could take to reach your goal.

- Pick your first 3 steps, make them specific and give them a timeline.
- Identify the 1 or 2 steps that you can begin to take before 2006 even ends.
- Create a structure that will support you in achieving your goal - put it in your holiday notes to everyone you know, enlist your best friend in holding you accountable, create a calendar or checklist to post in front of you.
- Post your dream map where it will be most effective in supporting your change.
- Commit to taking a step (even a very small one) toward your goal every day for the next 21 days. By the end of day 21, you will have begun to develop a new habit.

How would it feel to start 2007 already on your way to your expat goals?

Coaching provides a strong support structures to achieving your goals. Your coach will assist you in recognizing your strengths, clarifying your goals, identifying opportunities to move forward, changing habits of thought and action that are holding you back, and holding you accountable to your commitments. With experience in corporate and human resources, having been on assignment, repatriated and now as a trailing spouse, I bring a broad perspective to the challenges and changes associated with expatriation. Visit my website to learn more.

Copyright 2006 Sherry L. Read, All Rights Reserved

Read Solutions Group provides coaching for successful professionals who find themselves stuck somehow, whether as a professional, expatriate, repatriate, or trailing spouse. Perhaps that expected promotion never materializes, perhaps boss relations are severely strained, and perhaps it is time to move on. You've tried everything you can think of; perhaps you should explore a coaching structure. Contact us at solutions@readsolutionsgroup.com for a complimentary 30-minute coaching tele-session that will help you move into action, or visit www.ReadSolutionsGroup.com to learn more about our services.