ProMentor -- Fulfilment newsletter #28

	Fulfilment
Issue # 28: Measuring our Reality to Prepare for 2009	10 December 2008

Aside from the generous research proving this, it should be plain common sense that we are more likely to get what we want if we plan for it.

This is more than simply writing down a goal statement. We need an action plan and a matching will to achieve the goal. (I'm surprised at how few people actually write down their goals, let alone make any plans or milestones!)

As we speed towards 2009 and another round of New Year's resolutions, whether they're about weight loss, career development or business growth, I have 1 question for your reality check: do you know how your reality is measuring up against your goals?

An odd thing I've noticed about this type of question -- the reality check -- is that we often only think of assessing our progress against goals after we've started working towards the goal. Or worse still, around the goal's deadline.

Here's a little test that might prove my point: in answering the reality check question above, did you assess reality against your 2008 goals or your 2009 goals?

What we often forget is the importance of the reality check in goal-setting and goal-planning. When we set any goal, we need to take stock of where we are in relation to that goal. More common sense, sure, but if our focus in taking stock is only a gap analysis, then we're missing a big point, pun intended.

"Gap analysis" is deficit language and focuses on what we don't have. It is more useful to give attention to what we do have -- what is already in place to help bridge the gap -- then only to develop the plan for what to build, buy, borrow or steal to complete the bridge to the goal.

To help us set better goals for 2009, we welcome Tania Kapp's first article for Fulfilment as she offers insight from her coaching experience in Where did the time go?.

And when we're checking our reality, let's not be distracted by that little critic in our heads with the running commentary on everything that's "wrong" with us. Tame that demon and find peace with our inner and outer reality! Juliane Lemcke invites us to discover how in her book review of Soul without Shame by Byron Brown.

Until our January newsletter, my wish for you is a peaceful and rejuvenating transition into 2009.

In the press: Coaches Helping Coaches
Resources to Grow Your Practice

(press release published in COMENSA News, 1 Dec 2008)

The work of a coach and mentor is largely intangible to the client and intrinsic in the professional. If you're in the business of selling possibilities, you're probably familiar with this challenge, which can be compounded by any shortcoming in practice management ability. Find out how you can grow your practice by growing your practice management skills.

Where did the time go?

By Tania Kapp

All too soon we bid farewell to 2008 and reflect on the past year, our experiences and personal and work achievements. And then, of course, there are those resolutions that we made at the beginning of the year, those New Year's resolutions! Interesting that most New Year's resolutions are about weight loss, fitness or ending an unhealthy vice. Even more interesting is how these resolutions are seldom realised. Here are my quick tips for success when setting your resolutions for 2009.

Book review: "Soul without Shame"

Author: Byron Brown
By Juliane Lemcke

This book takes a look at our internal judges and how to liberate ourselves from them. It's the familiar voice we hear when looking into the mirror: "You're too fat, too old, too wrinkled!" This is the inner critic, the superego, that runs us down and sows self-doubt. Thus we are our own worst enemies: we think this is part of who we are and, unchecked, we think it is who we are.