7 Reasons Why Setting New Goals Enriches Your Life

One thing I absolutely love about a new year, or a new day for that matter, is that it gives us a fresh start to set new goals and implement new plans to pursue and achieve. I have recently set some new goals that have been keeping me very busy, motivated, and excited. One of my many goals began about several months ago. I decided to get in better physically shape by exercising more and cutting back on sugar.  I began a kettle bells program, stuck with it, and now I am finally seeing the results I wanted.

Fitness has been just one of my goals. I have set others as well and I am amazed at how focused and motivated they keep  me. One thing I believe is that we must set goals for the things we love to do. Personally, my musical goals keep me interested, challenged, and provide a lot of fun and enjoyment in my life.  We all need a healthy balance of work and play. I encourage everyone to add pleasurable activities and goals to their lives as much as possible.

Setting new goals can be very exciting and rewarding. I was recently thinking about the many reasons I am thankful for new goals. Goal setting has many benefits! I came up with 7, but I am sure there are many more. Please feel free to add to the list.

1. Goals give us something to look forward to, anticipate, expect.
2. Goals require us to make plans that we can pursue and achieve.
3. Goals help to refine our focus and vision.
4. Goals can spark our dreams and hopes and help us move toward them.
5. Goals give us the opportunity to learn, grow, change and improve.
6. Goals keep us moving forward.
7. Goals keep us busy, occupied and productive.

Setting new goals is a great way to start the new year and it is something we can do every day. For specific steps, go to my article: 5 Steps to Goal Setting Successful.


Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life. ~Les Brown

If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else. ~Yogi Berra

Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives. ~Viktor Frankl

There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something. ~Henry Ford

Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind. ~Seneca

It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Copyright © 2012 Krystal Kuehn, New Day Family and Couples Counseling Center. All Rights Reserved.


Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC is a licensed professional counselor, author, teacher, and musician. She specializes in helping people live their best life now, reach their full potential, overcome barriers, heal from their past, and develop a lifestyle of health, happiness, and love. Krystal is the cofounder of NewDayCounseling.org, a relationship counseling, family counseling center, specializing in helping individuals, couples and families with professional counseling services for relationship problems, parenting issues, depression, anxiety as well a s substance abuse classes, anger management groups, and more. Krystal is also cofounder of StopSuicideSong.com NewSongProductions.com and Facebook.com/WordsOfInspiration.

Krystal is also author of The 10 Keys to Happy and Loving Relationships, Giving Thanks:


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Do You See The Clouds or Sunshine? It's Your Choice

"What a beautiful, sunny day,” I thought when I awoke this morning. “It’s going to be a good day!” I got out of bed with a new energy and a good attitude. Then I began to wonder, what is it about today that’s different from the past several days? Well, it was cloudy most every other morning until this morning. What a difference sunshine can make! Actually, as I pondered this, I came to realize that it is so much more than that. What it really comes down to is a choice. Notice that I had determined in my mind that it was going to be a good day. Every day and every hour, it is up to us to decide how we’re going to respond to situations, people, problems and plans.

External factors can have the power to influence us, lead us to feel pressured, or respond out of habit only in accordance to how much we allow them to. And that’s just it. How much will we allow them to? We have a free will. That leaves us with a responsibility to choose the good, true, just, and lovely if we want to enjoy our lives. Even the desire to break out of old, negative patterns requires us to make a choice. Ultimately, we are in control of our choices and attitudes.

Another key point that determined the good attitude I had for the day was the expression of my heartfelt gratitude as I enjoyed the beauty of the brightness from the sun. A heart of gratitude always improves our attitude. A grateful heart keeps our focus on the good in people, the possibilities, and the simple enjoyment and refreshing that can come from the things we so often take for granted.

Regardless of the weather or any other external factors, keeping our focus right will help us maintain a healthy attitude of hope and expectation of good things to come. The warmth of the sun, the brightness of its light, the shimmer of its beauty never changes. Clouds can block it but can’t take it away.

The next time the clouds threaten to take your sunshine away, remember that it is shining just as bright as ever. You don’t have to wait for the clouds to lift to experience its warmth or to appreciate its beauty. Let it remind you that God’s mercies are new every morning. He doesn’t change like the weather or people or situations do. He is always there to brighten up even your darkest day. His light will help you to see that there is hope no matter what the situation. The warmth of His love will wrap around you and keep you safe in His care. You can rejoice and be glad for this is the day the Lord has made and He wants you to enjoy it!

Copyright 2006 Krystal Kuehn
Do You See The Clouds or Sunshine? It's Your Choice
Mirror Newspaper, Dec. 15, 2005, Vol. 2, Number 15
by Krystal Kuehn

Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self-starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don't waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail. ~Og Mandino

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.  ~Eleanor Roosevelt

This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind... let it be something good. ~Author Unknown

Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning. ~Ecclesiastes



Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC is a licensed professional counselor, author, teacher, and musician. She specializes in helping people live their best life now, reach their full potential, overcome barriers, heal from their past, and develop a lifestyle of health, happiness, and love. Krystal is the cofounder of NewDayCounseling.org, a relationship counseling, family counseling center, specializing in helping individuals, couples and families with professional counseling services for relationship problems, parenting issues, depression, anxiety as well a s substance abuse DUI classes, anger management groups, and more. Krystal is also cofounder of StopSuicideSong.com, BeHappy4Life.com , NewSongProductions.com as well as Facebook.com/WordsOfInspiration and several blogs.

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Making Peace with Your Past

The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself he becomes wise. ~Alden Nowlan

Are regrets, bad memories, or losses keeping you from enjoying each new day? Is the past keeping you from moving into the future with hope and anticipation?

I recently heard a man say that it was not until he made peace with his past that he truly began to live. It changed his life so drastically that everyone noticed there was something different about him. It was not until 20 years after losing his father that he began to grieve the loss for the first time. He finally allowed himself to face his past with all the anger and pain. There was so much that he missed out on. There were lost opportunities and things that would never be, so many regrets, poor choices, and bad experiences that would affect the rest of his life.

This man went through a process of acceptance and forgiveness. He felt the pain. He felt the anger. He mourned what was and could have been. And then, he released it. He made peace with his past, and he was ready to move on with his life. Suddenly, new opportunities before him became exciting. He began to fully appreciate what he had, the people in his life, and what he had become. He began to hope for a better and brighter future. He was ready to give more of himself to others. And he began to enjoy his life more and more.

For the first time since he could remember, he felt free—free of burdens from the past, free of unresolved pain, free of bitterness and self-pity. He was free indeed! He was free to enjoy his life, his family, and all that he had like never before. The past would no longer steal his joy and hope. It could not hold him back, and it was not going to keep him down any longer.

Is your past keeping you from fully enjoying your life? Sometimes we do not stop and think about it. Just like the man described above, we might have regrets, unresolved pain, sorrow, anger, or unforgiveness. These things keep us bound to the past. The past does not have to negatively influence our future. We can release it as we face it, deal with the emotions, come to accept what was and now is, and forgive our past.

Making peace with our past will lead us to experience healing, wholeness, and freedom to live our life with true joy. Every day is a new day to appreciate and enjoy. We do not have to allow our past to keep us from being truly happy today. Choose to be free and take the necessary steps to be free now. (We might want to have a professional counselor help us go through this process.)

Following are questions to reflect on and steps to take in making peace with our past:

1. Face your past. What are your regrets? What caused or still causes you pain? What are your losses? Have you grieved them?

2. Face your feelings. Does your past make you angry, sad, feel bad about yourself, bitter, damaged, cheated?

3. Forgive your past. Do you have any bitterness, hatred, or unforgiveness towards anyone (including yourself)? Why are you holding on to it? What would it take for you to release it and free yourself from its control in your life?

4. Accept your past. When we cannot change something, the healthiest thing we can do is accept it. Can you accept your past? What have you learned from it? How can it change you for the better?

5. Make peace with your past and be free. When your past no longer controls your life—your peace, your hope, attitude, relationships, ability to love others, give and share of yourself, dream, believe, and trust once again, then you are free!

It is my hope that this has helped you in making peace with your past, and in looking forward to better days ahead!


Krystal


God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.



Copyright © 2007 Krystal Kuehn. All Rights Reserved
Making Peace with Your Past written by Krystal Kuehn,




Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC is a psychotherapist, author, teacher and musician. She is the cofounder of New Day Counseling Services, a family and couples counseling center and BeHappy4Life.com, an award-winning, self-help and personal growth site where you can find hundreds of free resources, insights and inspiration.




New Day Family Marriage Counseling provides professional counseling services for the entire family. We help parents, children, teens, families, individuals and couples. We offer couples therapy / marriage counseling, children therapy, teenage counseling, anxiety counseling, depression counseling, divorce counseling, grief counseing, porn addiction counseling. We also offer groups for anger counseling. Go to NewDayCounseling.org today for more information or call us at 248-649-8050. We are here to help, and we look forward to hearing from you.



Self-Esteem Group for Teen Girls (ages 13-17)
Teen girls learn to feel empowered, gain self-awareness, develop positive coping, and improve daily problem-solving skills. Through G.I.R.L.S. (Girls in Real Life Situations) counseling curriculum, group discussion, and fun activities, girls will learn more about themselves and be better equipped to handle Real Life Situations. Call 248-649-8050 today to register. For more information, click here.

Love and Logic Parenting Classes help you with the most important job there is! You can learn practical tools & techniques for effective discipline, better communication, appropriate boundaries, healthy decision-making, & respectful adult-child relationships. Workshops are available at New Day Counseling in Troy. For more information or to register online go to: Love and Logic Parenting Class or call 248-649-8050.

Put an end to anger problems & regain control over your life today. Anger management classes help for personal, court, and business. For more info go to newdaycounseling.org or call to register today.





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Anticipating a New Day, a Better Day

Finish each day and be done with it.

You have done what you could.

Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can.

Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely...

~Ralph Waldo Emerson



Some days are just difficult.  We run into problems that are not easily resolved or managed.  We make mistakes and wish we could start over.  We do our best and it does not seem to help very much.   

What else can we do? If there is one thing we can control it is our attitude and perspective.  We can choose to stay hopeful, do what we can to make things better, and accept what is out of our control.

Even at the end of a difficult day, it seems we can always find plenty to be thankful for. And we can choose to let go of the day's frustrations, forgive ourselves and others, and anticipate a new and better day tomorrow.   




New Day Family Counseling provides professional counseling services for the entire family. We help parents, children, teens, families, individuals and couples. We offer couples therapy / marriage counseling, child therapy, teenage counseling, anxiety counseling, depression counseling, divorce counseling, grief counseing, porn addiction counseling. We also offer groups for anger counseling. Go to NewDayCounseling.org today for more information or call us at 248-649-8050. We are here to help, and we look forward to hearing from you.


Self-Esteem Group for Teen Girls (ages 13-17)
Teen girls learn to feel empowered, gain self-awareness, develop positive coping, and improve daily problem-solving skills. Through G.I.R.L.S. (Girls in Real Life Situations) counseling curriculum, group discussion, and fun activities, girls will learn more about themselves and be better equipped to handle Real Life Situations. Call 248-649-8050 today to register. For more information, click here.


Love & Logic Parenting Classes help you with the most important job there is! You can learn practical tools & techniques for effective discipline, better communication, appropriate boundaries, healthy decision-making, & respectful adult-child relationships. Workshops are available at New Day Counseling in Troy. For more information or to register online go to: Love and Logic Parenting Classess or call 248-649-8050.


Put an end to anger problems & regain control over your life today. Anger management classes help for personal, court, and business. For more info go to newdaycounseling.org or call to register today.




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It's a New Day to Live as I Will

This is the beginning of a New Day.

God has given me this day to use as I will.

I can waste it or use it for good.

What I do today is important, because

I am exchanging a day of my life for it.

When tomorrow comes,

this day will be gone forever,

leaving in its place something

that I have traded for it.

I want it to be gain, not loss;

good not evil; success not failure;

in order that I shall not regret

the price I paid for it.

~unknown

New Day Family Marriage Counseling provides professional counseling services for the entire family. We help parents, children, teens, families, individuals and couples. We offer couples therapy / marriage counseling, children therapy, teenage counseling, anxiety counseling, depression counseling, divorce counseling, grief counseing, porn addiction counseling. We also offer groups for anger counseling. Go to NewDayCounseling.org today for more information or call us at 248-649-8050. We are here to help, and we look forward to hearing from you.


Self-Esteem Group for Teen Girls (ages 13-17)
Teen girls learn to feel empowered, gain self-awareness, develop positive coping, and improve daily problem-solving skills. Through G.I.R.L.S. (Girls in Real Life Situations) counseling curriculum, group discussion, and fun activities, girls will learn more about themselves and be better equipped to handle Real Life Situations. Call 248-649-8050 today to register.  For more information, click here.

Love & Logic Parenting Classes help you with the most important job there is! You can learn practical tools & techniques for effective discipline, better communication, appropriate boundaries, healthy decision-making, & respectful adult-child relationships. Workshops are available at New Day Counseling in Troy. For more information or to register online go to: Love and Logic Parenting Class or call 248-649-8050.

Put an end to anger problems & regain control over your life today.  Anger management classes help for personal, court, and business.  For more info go to newdaycounseling.org or call to register today.








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New Beginnings After Divorce

No one gets married thinking they will get divorced some day. Most people have goals and dreams of being together forever, raising a family, and sharing life for better or for worse. They plan on being a team, growing together, and supporting one another. But somewhere along the line, they hit bumps in the road. They come up against walls, floods, and storms. Their marriage is put to the test. They are challenged to work together on successfully making it through problems and restoring their relationship. But this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes one partner abandons the relationship and will not return. Or, there is abuse that destroys all love and respect. Whatever the reason, divorce happens.

Divorce is not an easy option. Rather, it is a very difficult and painful one. Sometimes it seems to be the best option or the healthiest one. Divorce changes lives forever. Its pain is deep and its loss is great. To get through it is a grieving process. There are emotions of anger, guilt, worry, and denial that are normal and part of the healing process. Accepting these feelings and talking to someone who cares and understands can help in making a healthy adjustment. It takes time to adjust to the many changes that you will face. You may have to adjust to changes in your housing, family finances, holidays and celebrations, and family traditions to name just a few.

Although divorce marks the end of a marriage, it is the beginning of a new life for you. The consequences and challenges can be faced with courage, hope, and peace. Divorce counseling can help you through the healing process. Divorce counseling can provide the support and guidance you need to make a healthy adjustment during this difficult time. You can enter this new phase of life with confidence. It does not have to destroy you. You can be free of guilt, fear, and shame. You can dream new dreams. You can embrace life and truly live and love again. You can be whole and happy. You can learn and become better. You can rise up in strength and see your best days ahead of you.


He who spends time regretting the past loses the present and risks the future. ~ Quevedo

Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way. Stay away from what might have been, and look at what can be. ~ Marsha Petrie Sue






Copyright © 2009 Krystal Kuehn. New Day Family Couples Counseling.  All Rights Reserved






Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC is a psychotherapist, author, teacher & musician. She is the cofounder of New Day Counseling, a family therapy center providers of divorce counseling and parenting classes, BeHappy4Life.com, an award-winning, self-help and inspirational site where you can find hundreds of free resources, insights & words of inspiration to change your life, and Baby-Poems.com where you can find beautiful baby poems, baby quotes, cute sayings & baby videos that will touch your heart & increase your joy & gratitude for the children you love & enjoy! Krystal is also author of The 10 Keys to Happy and Loving Relationships and several other blogs: Give Thanks Journal, Baby Poems blog & Words of Inspiration blog.
 
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