Maintaining Goals After the New Year…

We are almost four months into the year, have you stuck with those New Year’s Resolutions?

If you’re like 92% of people, you probably haven’t.

But that doesn’t mean you have to give up. I help people every year stick with their resolutions and achieve them, and I know you can do the same.

If you’re feeling stuck or behind on your yearly goals, change the trajectory of your year with my top tips below.

Hold Yourself Accountable. One of the biggest mistakes I see clients make, is failing to hold themselves accountable.

I tell my clients to do three things to be accountable to themselves:

1. Document your progress. If you can’t tell how far you’ve come, you’re less likely to stick with your goal.
2. Find a buddy to hold you accountable. Sometimes you need that extra motivation from a friend or family member to check in and see how you’re doing. Get an accountability-buddy and check in once or twice a week to stay on track.
3. Schedule time to reflect on your goals. The most successful people make lists of what they want to accomplish and then review that list. It’s not enough to write it down in your journal and forget about it. Write it down, then read it each week to remind yourself you want it.

Sometimes, however, we need more than personal accountability. We need support from outside ourselves.

Get Professional Help. When you’re feeling truly stuck and can’t seem to make progress on goals you’ve had for decades, it’s probably time to seek professional help.

Two (of many) options available to you:

1. Hire a Life Coach who specializes in personal development. The coach can walk you through your goals and the reasons behind accomplishing what is important to you.
2. Hire a therapist to help you work through any depression or anxiety holding you back. I am happy to give you a referral to many wonderful therapists I work with.

Is a Therapist or a Life Coach Better for Me?

This one is trickier. A life coach will offer you guidance on how to create a solid plan that pushes you towards success, shows you how to maintain a work/life balance, and helps you clarify your goals to ensure they are indeed what you want.
A therapist, on the other hand, focuses more on your internal world. They will work with you to heal past traumas, work with you through any depression or anxiety that might be holding you back.

Ultimately your decision to hire one over the other depends on what your goals are.

Reaching out for help might be the only thing holding you back.

Conquer Your Goals in 2018!The bottom line is this— YOU CAN accomplish your goals!
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“People with goals succeed because they know where they are going.”—Earl Nightingale


All my best,
Sari B.

Happy and healthy new year to everyone! At the beginning of the year, most everyone is making new years resolutions…again. We are going to lose weight. We are going to stop drinking. Stop…Do…Stop… Do… It is a cycle that tortures us year after year because we often fail.

I have been in practice as a Life Coach for the past 12 years. At the beginning of the year I am bombarded with phone calls from people seeking my services. It is usually about changing habits, reaching goals and/or help with depression (often from the holidays). So, this is where I want to tell you/share with you an interesting perspective describing the difference between coaching and therapy.

SHOULD I SEEK OUT A THERAPIST OR A LIFE COACH?

Naturally, the decision to seek out a therapist or a life coach is a very personal one. It might help to imagine yourself getting ready to climb a mountain. You could either hire an expert sherpa and guide for your expedition or a doctor.

Which should you choose?

If you are physically unwell, or would be in danger if you even attempted the climb, a sherpa and guide wouldn’t do you any good. You need to be at a baseline level of good health before you can make the climb at all, so if you’re not, you might need to see the doctor before trying something that challenging. However, if you’re healthy and just need someone to help you with climbing strategy, carrying the load of supplies and finding the best path, the sherpa and guide is the best bet.

In this example, the therapist is the doctor. He or she gets you well enough to take on major challenges in your life by exploring your mental and emotional well-being. The life coach is the sherpa and guide. He or she has an expert knowledge of your climb and can help you reach the summit.

A life coach would be able to offer guidance by:

• Clarifying and achieving personal and professional goals
• Creating business plans
• Working to improve communication skills
• Achieving financial independence and security
• Achieving a work/life balance
• Starting a new business or growing a current business

A therapist, on the other hand, focuses their conversation on ways to:
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• Recover from past traumas
• Explore why past relationships (business or personal) have been destructive
• Work through depression or anxiety that affect your ability to function at home or work
• Survive a divorce or loss of a loved one
Although life coaches and therapists occasionally help clients with similar problems, their work is not the same. In order to get the right kind of professional expertise, it is crucial to know which kind of guidance will serve you best. Life coaching isn’t simply a watered-down version of therapy. It is a dynamic discipline designed to help motivate and inspire people to achieve more than they believe is possible.

Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy 2018-

Sari B