Smart Women Have 203 Days Left

I live in a community that’s a lot like Mayberry. It’s a community that has a focus on family. It’s the biggest reason my husband Greg and I decided to move to Pacific Palisades. Everywhere you go there are children involved in some sort of activity: soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, music, art, drama, playing at the park. The baseball league, in particular, is quite popular. They have a well thought out program in place with an Opening Day celebration, an organized season, and Closing Ceremonies to honor the players. Our family attended the closing ceremonies last weekend and this got me thinking about how Smart Women could learn a lot from the local Pacific Palisades Baseball Association.

As I look at my calendar, you still have 203 days left to realize your Big Ideas, dreams, and goals you set for yourself at the beginning of 2009. Or maybe you weren’t in a goal setting “mode” at the beginning of the year due to the economic downturn. It doesn’t really matter where you were then. That was then. This is now. All that matters is that you stop and think about what might be important for you to accomplish in the next 203 days. Here are a few ideas that I took away from our local baseball association that could be helpful to you:

Let Today Be Your Opening Day – do you have a Big Idea, dream, or goal that you would like to take action on? Great! Let today be your opening day— declare that you will get yourself in motion to make it happen. Come together with your “nutritious” friends who champion you and tell them about your Big Idea. Ask for their support. Open a bottle of wine or another favorite drink and toast the opening day for your goals to be realized. Take some time to sit down and write out your goal. Next, create a basic idea of what you need to do first in order to accomplish your goals. Who can help you? What resources do you need to make it happen?

Practice, Practice, Practice – During the baseball season, each team had regular practice every week to improve their performance with batting, pitching, fielding—all the skills necessary to play the game. When you set out to accomplish your goal, you will need to practice as well. For example, if your goal is to get in better physical shape, you’ll need to set a schedule for which days you will exercise and what exercise you will do. If you are starting a new business, you will need to decide what form of marketing would work best to grow your business and put those into place daily, weekly, and monthly.

Surround Yourself With Like-Minded People – One of the great benefits for our family during the season was being in a community with people who love the game of baseball. It was great for Jack to be with a group of boys who loved the game. If Jack was told at the beginning of the season that he should come down to the park every Saturday to play some baseball and that was it, he would never have formed the relationships with the boys or improved his skills. You, too, will need a group of like-minded people around you to achieve your goals. We all need a support system of people who are on the same path. If you have a fitness goal, find others who have the same goal. In my Women’s Success Circle, this is a big part of each woman’s success. Having that Circle of women involved in their journey is immensely helpful.

Create an End of Year Celebration – one of the questions that I ask women who I am fortunate to work with is: “What will you be celebrating on December 31, 2009?” It’s a question that invites you to look ahead to what you want in your life and then create a plan to make the choices and decisions to make it happen. A celebration is a time to acknowledge your success and achievements.

Today is June 11. You have 203 days left to make it happen. Thoughts determine what you want. Actions determine what you get.

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Copyright 2009 Joy Chudacoff

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