Link: http://www.gaian.com

Setting Goals

We can all set goals but the best type is high goals.

Transformational leaders have high expectations. They set lofty goals for themselves and push to be different. Though not necessarily drivers in style, they are always looking to a higher level of performance. Moreover, they challenge the status quo, both in themselves and in others.

This is a direct outgrowth of vision. Once the leader sees a new possibility, the next realization is that current types of activities will not achieve that possibility, and new thoughts and actions must prevail.

Transformational leaders and their goals

When we imagine the future, we only get clear about a very small fraction of what it will actually be like. Consequently, it can happen that people start trying to create a new future by constantly doing what they have always done.

A transformational leader supports people in aligning themselves with an indefinite picture of the future (although becoming more definite every day), in which they essentially rethink everything they are doing.

The best way to find disconnects is to put a real stretch on the system through active goal setting. Push those goals higher and aspire to reach them every day.

Except where otherwise noted, this content is
licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Link: http://www.gaian.com

Why Does Change Not Happen?

What happens if your action to realize your vision stalls? Why has it stalled?
There may be several reasons.

Structure-there is inherent structure that prevents a person from taking steps toward his or her vision. If there are no openings, we must create them, usually by removing structure that blocks the vision.

Skill-occasionally, the person lacks required skills to take the first steps. Interestingly, this is one of the least frequent situations and the easiest to resolve.

Opportunity-this is a very common reason for people not to take first steps toward a vision; they just don't have an opportunity. This is the case when their current state is vastly different from the vision. In these instances, the first steps are much more basic and are simply to create opportunities to live out the vision.

Physical environment-in these situations, there may be a vast number of behavioral anchors tied to physical environment. For this, think of an alcoholic bartender whose vision is to be sober.

Risk-sometimes the vision state or the steps required to get there are just too scary or the literal risk is just too high.

Reward-here is also the possibility that while the vision state carries its own reward, the interim states seem to have little or no reward.

Except where otherwise noted, this content is
licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Link: http://www.gaian.com

Personal Change

With your vision, in any move towards action there will be personal change.

It is common for people to feel that they can only practice the change after they have accomplished it. A great example of this is when adults learn new languages.

To be successful, people need to learn by rote. The popular adage "Fake it 'til you make it" really applies here. We take on what we can learn about the vision state and adopt that right away, and we anchor our ability to use that over and over.

Tips to make that personal change

There are many ways that we can accomplish this. One major success strategy is to model others who have taken the same journey. If we want to be a writer, we look at how other successful writers have led their lives.

We see how they have spent their time and the activities that they found important; then we see if we can build our own life to follow suit.

The key is to stay positive. This allows the actions to come from a place of integrity and keeps you in the activity long enough for your system to adapt to the change.

Except where otherwise noted, this content is
licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Link: http://www.gaian.com

How to Make Change Happen

Start immediately. The longer you delay the harder it is to affect change.

The most important thing to promoting change is to make immediate change. The tension you feel against a vision, left unsupported against the weight of the current state, can only weaken over time. This is one of the absolute facts of change.

Until you make your desired state more powerful, significant, and compelling than your current state, you will not achieve it.

You must begin immediately to reinforce and enhance the desired state, while reducing the strength of the current state. These changes will be both large and small. Regardless of the size, the most important aspect is that the changes need to be intentional.

The three immediate steps

We often talk about three areas of change when we begin planning our first steps-what we will start doing, stop doing, and keep doing.

Every change involves some of each. Some things in life will not change at all. The secret is to take those which don't change and turn them into positives.

If we have things that we do without fail, we can use those times and places to remind us of our desired state.

Except where otherwise noted, this content is
licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Link: http://www.gaian.com

Transformation is a long-term activity

For all the great benefits of transformational change, one of the best is its continuity. It doesn't have an end. Once you become involved with transformation you learn it is not a one-off activity.

Life is simply a series of choices through which we constantly attempt to achieve an ideal.

One of the first practices is to learn how to switch your internal state toward feeling happy and enthusiastic. You don't have to wait until all aspects of your vision are in place before you feel the benefits.

You must immediately take charge of any thoughts that take you down mental pathways that are not in line with your vision.

Tips to keep the transformation ticking over

Lean into the optimism of knowing you are successful and create scenarios of how you will live out this vision in all areas of your life.

In addition to changing our thinking and our internal language, you can change your external environment as well. You can look around to see how you are spending your time, with what sorts of things you are filling your life and thoughts, and change your environment to match your vision state.

Except where otherwise noted, this content is
licensed under a Creative Commons License.