Free Coaching: Timeline

The start of a new year can be a reflective time for many of us. If we have dreams and goals that we would like to achieve in future, it can be rather daunting.
 If our dreams are big and ambitious, we can worry that they may be difficult to achieve.
 If we start off with doubts, the chances of success are quite slim.
One way to help us develop more self-confidence, is to create a timeline of our life.
If you think about it, we have achieved a lot already.
When we were little, we worked our way through developmental milestones, learning to walk and talk. We didn't really think about how we might achieve these skills, we just got on with them.
 If we have disabilities that make it hard for us to do these things, we have managed to cope with life up to this point by overcoming some very difficult challenges. Knowing that we have been successful in the past can fill us with more confidence in our future abilities.

To create your own timeline, start by drawing a line:

*------------x-----------x--------x-------x-------*--------------x---------x---------------------------------*
I was born                                            today                                                            goal achieved

Start your line with the date when you were born and half way along the line record today's date.
Mark key achievements on the line.
Record things that you have achieved, that you are proud of.
You might include exams, sporting achievements, passing your driving test etc. These achievements don't have to relate to your goal. You are recording them to show yourself that you are capable of success. This makes you feel more confident and therefore more likely to achieve your current goal.
Once you get to today's date you can start to project into the future.
What is your goal that you would like to achieve?
Write it down.
What steps will you need to take to achieve that goal?
Write them down.
Realistically, when can you expect to achieve each step?
Mark these estimated dates on your timeline.
Here is a simple example below for a fictitious woman called Jenny who wanted to become a teacher. She made her resolution in 2010 and was able to identify her key successes to date as well as future steps that she would need to take to achieve her goal:

 Timeline:

DOB------Obtained GCSE's----A Levels-Today's date---University--PGCE------First teaching job

12/05/91            2007                     2009      01/01/2010     2011           2015          2016


You can make your timeline longer and add more detail.

Once you have a timeline that records your past achievements and future steps,

you can review your timeline regularly. You can make any adjustments and adaptations as you proceed.

Good luck.
I would love to hear from you if you have used a timeline like this or if you intend to try using one yourself now. Please comment below.