…It’s the key to success (after you turn it into a reality). I’ve always dreamed of writing. I would go as far to say, I was born to write. Even though writing is a big dream of mine, I’m a girl of many passions and many BIG dreams. My issue with dreamers though, is that often times the dream is just that…a dream. When I began teaching 10 years ago, I was a part of a very strategic teaching organization that was hefty on goal setting and achieving. They didn’t just make us create goals, they made us create action plans to accompany them. At first, I thought, “wow this is so much work!”  Retrospectively, mapping out how to achieve the goals we set as teachers was brilliant! At the end of the school year we looked at data that either showed how we met or didn’t meet the goal. Having the action plan served as a key component to explain why we did or didn’t meet our goals.

Fast forward a few years, applying the same technique to my personal life seems like a good idea. Lately, I’ve started to write my dreams down with an accompanying action plan. I wish that someone would’ve taught me to apply action planning to my personal life years ago (maybe some of dreams would’ve come true a long time ago, lol). From here on out when I engage in goal setting, I will always include an action plan.

Don’t just Dream BIG. Put a plan of action into place and actually see your dreams come true.

EXAMPLE (not my actual goal):

Goal: Lose 20 pounds in 6 months

Action Plan:

1. Workout 5 days a week/minimum 30 minutes

2. Include cardio, strength training, and stretch training

3. Eat 6 meals a day (3 full, 3 snacks)

4. Go meatless at least 1 day a week

5. Go raw at least 1 day a week

6. No food after 7pm

7.  Follow a calorie planner

8. Record monthly progress

9. Take pride in the small steps 🙂