Blog Archives
Resolutification!
Yes, that is not a “real” word but it is my word for resolving to
make resolutions that really stick!
As this comic amplifies, most of the time New Year’s resolutions turn out
to be a to-do list.
How can we stop this from happening? I am certainly not a resolutions
expert, whatever that means, but here are some tips that I find
effective and may work for you as well.
Distinguish between your long-term and short-term goals. You should
have both, but it is important to not overwhelm yourself into thinking that your
long term ones need to be completed in a short amount of time. That
is where burnout comes in and fizzles us out.
Make separate lists of those in your head or on paper.
Make a daily check-list. Whether it be on the refrigerator, the
bathroom mirror, or an application on your cell phone or computer,
lists will help you stay focused and tangibly see completed
accomplishments.
Don’t let missed days stop you forever! When you miss a day or two,
pick yourself up and get right back to it the next day. Once you do
something for at least 3 weeks consistently it becomes a habit. We
all know habits are hard to break, which can be a very awesome thing,
if they are good habits.
I hope this helps as you seek to improve and clean up your new year!
Best of wishes to you as you attempt to be a better you!
“There is no achievement without goals.”
Robert J. McKaine
“This one step – choosing a goal and sticking to it – changes everything.”
Scott Reed
“People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.”
Earl Nightingale
“You must have long term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures.”
Charles C. Noble
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”
Zig Ziglar
Zen is Addictive!
That’s Right! I am talking about Zendictive!
Master Art Zen has an awesome blog site that I love to follow!
His posts are stocked full of inspiring thoughts, poems, stories, tales, fables, quotes and tons of information.
If you wanna get your “thoughts on” for the day, then you should definitely subscribe to receive his awesome posts!
Here is one of my favorite posts from Zen: “Reflections of our Actions”
Thank you Zen, for touching our lives each day! (bows humbly to Zen)
The Mailbox
As part of an inspired writing exercise I wrote what this picture said to me.
Then I converted my thoughts to a poem. The last time I wrote a poem was in 1985 for an english class.
This is the first time I have written one just for me.
Rusted, worn edges
Splintered dry wood
Gun shot sides
Long have I stood
Faithfully serving
to shelter and protect
Your mail I carry
My heart you neglect
I will not deny
I will not forsake
I am your mailbox
Though I ache
“Loyalty and devotion lead to bravery. Bravery leads to the spirit of self-sacrifice. The spirit of self-sacrifice creates trust in the power of love.”
Morihei Ueshiba
(Mailbox picture is from Etsy.com)
Got Your “Awe” On?
What “Awes” you?
The sun setting over the ocean? The sounds, smells and sensations when you walk into “Best Buy”? Someone actually listening to what you are saying? Getting an “A” on a test? Winning a new car?
Maybe all of the above or none of them? Think about what makes YOU go, “Awe”.
Are you making any “Awes” in your life?
Have you had such a productive day at work that as you were driving home you just felt the “Awe” about yourself? Maybe the little league team you coach just won the area tournament and you were filled with “Awe”?
I am going to “Awe” myself if by November 7th I can say I have posted a blog every day for a month! I want to “Awe” myself by losing five pounds before Christmas. I also want to “Awe” myself by writing a poem!
My challenge to you today is to start making some “Awes” in your life!
You are capable of being Awesome!
So go! Get your “Awe” on, right after you read this short exerpt by Anthony De Mello!
A man found an eagle’s egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air.
Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat on his strong golden wings. The old eagle looked up in awe. “Who’s that?” he asked. “That’s the eagle, the king of the birds,” said his neighbour. “He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth – we’re chickens.” So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that’s what he thought he was.
You Won!
In all of your efforts to diligently seek out a successful life, do you reward yourself when you accomplish a goal?
Do you end up at the completion of a goal by saying that the goal is reward enough?
A big part of success is to take the time to reward yourself when you make an accomplishment.
You followed your healthy diet plan all week, so go out and have a nice meal of something you have been craving.
You did your workouts faithfully and gave it your best, so take Saturday off, and relax.
Whatever your goals are and whatever you are doing to make those happen, make sure to reward yourself!
“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”
Muhammad Ali
Go to the Ant!
“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:” (Proverbs 6:6).
As I was cutting the grass in my front yard today, I plowed over many large ant mounts. We are having quite an outbreak in our yard recently.
It seems, no matter how many times I spray them with poison, or run over their lofty colonies, they either rebuild the same one, or go make a new one.
They don’t stop and they don’t give up!
They do not stop and say, “Hey I am tired of building this same home over and over again.” “I don’t feel like making that long hike to those grains
of sugar.” They just do it.
How persistent are you about your work and the things that you need to do on a regular basis?
Do you say, “Why should I keep cleaning this bathroom? It’s only going to get dirty again the next time it is used.”
Well maybe you’re not that slack, but I am sure you can think of something in your life that you know you should do, that you are not persistently, or consistently, doing as much, or as often, as you should.
The next time you have the thought, “Why should I keep doing this over and over again?” think of those little ants out there just trudging along and be encouraged to keep on keeping on!
From Umm to Umph!
There is huge difference between wanting to do something and actually doing it. There are so many goals I have for myself. I want to improve in many aspects of my life. (time management, exercise, writing, and the list goes on!)
But once you have decided what your goals are and even gone a step further and written them down, how do you get to the part where you actually work toward them? I want to go from point A to point B but somehow I never leave A. What stops me? What stops you? How do we kick that roadblock out of the way?
Well my problem is where is that roadblock? If I knew what was keeping me from moving forward I would jump over, go around or push it to the side. What impedes progress? Is it laziness? Is it a lack of wanting it? What is it?
Frankly, I don’t know what it is, but instead of saying to myself “OK tomorrow I am going to do this!”
I am now going to say: “Right now is the time to go workout!” “Right this minute I will clean out that messy closet!” Not tomorrow, because tomorrow may never come!
What in your life do you need to go from “Ummm” to “Umph”? Let’s do this! Take that goal and start today, right now!
See ya! I’m going to start on my goals!
You need to be Committed!
Whenever I start a new project I am so excited about getting all the materials together for it. It is so fun to go out and buy all the items and equipment I need. In fact, sometimes that is the highlight and climax of the whole project.
Once all of my planning and purchases are made, too often my excitement is then gone and there I sit with all of my new tools of the trade, but not having the motivation or energy to go forth and complete my new endeavor. How messed up is that? But can you relate? I do this all the time over and over and especially with exercise equipment.
One of my recent “new projects” was the new Asylum workout DVDs and program kit by Shaun T.
I had completed the Insanity workout program and loved it so that when I saw the add for this one I was very excited. I immediately ordered it and looked forward to receiving it in the mail. I planned in my head how I was going to get up each morning and do my fun, new, exciting workout and how I was going to get in great shape and feel wonderful about my new, stronger, healthier, leaner body!
Well, the day arrived and UPS knocked on my door and handed me my fabulous workout kit that I had been so looking forward to receiving. I opened up the box and looked through all the pretty DVDs and the beautiful case they were in. I pulled out the training ladder and jump rope, and got those all set up and even put up the training calendar on my wall! I was going to get up the next morning and begin my new workout program.
That next morning, one thing led to another, and I never did get to my workout that day or for the next month!
Finally after about 2 months I tried it for the first time and it was tough, but a great workout. Unfortunately I did not have commitment I needed to stay consistent and I quickly fizzled out.
Have you ever had this happen with new exercise equipment or any new project?
As Shaun T says… “you need to be committed”
Catlas Crosses the Internet 