Lisa Shamblen

Did you know there’s an art to setting effective business goals? It’s not enough to simply come up with a few goals, then work towards them. Instead, a great deal of planning and preparation needs to go into them.

This is because, there are actually a lot of mistakes you can make when setting and working towards your goals. The trouble is, if you do make these mistakes, it’s going to hamper your progress and potentially crush your motivation.

One mistake I learned was just because I've set business goals doesn’t mean that I won’t fail. It’s important to be prepared to learn from failure and to adjust your goals accordingly if needed. Let me stress that it's perfectly normal and common to encounter some kind of failure along the way.

In fact, failure is pretty much guaranteed at some point. It’s through your failures that you learn how to succeed.

I’ll show you 5 mistakes I made when setting my business goals. If you’re looking to increase your chances of success, you’ll want to check out this [blog post](https://www.lisashamblen.com/5-mistakes-to-avoid-when-setting-business-goals/)!

Today’s workplace can be a stressful place. There are more work demands than ever before. Technology keeps you in touch a little too much.

You can’t even enjoy a tuna sandwich without someone being able to call or text us.

What’s the worst that could happen?

Well, for one thing, the stress in the workplace can lead to more negative thinking. More negative thinking can limit your creativity and productivity, two important things for good performance on the job. Instead of finishing your tasks faster, you could fall into a low energy state and take twice as long. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be in that situation.

Do you have a method for resetting your mind and being more positive during a stressful time in the workplace? If not, I got you covered!

Imagine being able to snap yourself out of a negative, stress-induced mindset. Being clear of pessimistic thoughts enable you to be more present and enjoy the work that you are doing. And the best part? You can do something like this for less than two minutes. No joke!

**Step 1. Inhale and Exhale slowly**

While you are breathing slowly, *focus* on your breath. *Feel* the air filling in your lungs. *Feel* your diaphragm contracting as you slowly let the air out under control.

If you are crunched for time, doing this breathing exercise for at least 30 seconds can help you to feel more relaxed and less tense.

**Step 2. Acknowledge Where You are At**

Be honest with yourself and identify what your thoughts and feelings are right in the moment. For example, you could say:

“I feel stressed about this new deadline”

“I am exhausted from not sleeping last night”

“I feel irritated at the phone call I just had”

By doing this we are bringing the thought to your conscious mind. You are facing the uncomfortable in order to get comfortable.

**Step 3. Add some Positivity To Your Presence**

Now it is time to add some positivity. Ask yourself these three questions and answer them out loud.

- What is good about my current situation?
- What is good in my physical surroundings right now?
- What is a good event happening right now?

What we are doing here is getting present with where we are right now. While it is easy to find depressing and negative things around it, it is worth the effort of think about what is positive about our life, right now. Focus on the present and what is good in your life.

Give this 3-step process a try the next time you find yourself cluttered in thoughts, stressed about something that happened, and unable to break out. By taking a moment to breathe, acknowledge, and positively expand, we allow ourselves to shift our minds into a new way of seeing things.

If you try all or at least one of these steps, let me know how it goes! Did it help? Or did you not feel any different? I want to know!