Weekly Ramblings – Journaling

Tags

5-minute journal, Best Journal, Daily reflection

This week was a weird week for weather in Michigan. We initially had a lot of snow, but then the temperatures warmed, and it has been raining for two days. Some call it the “Lake effect”, but I think it’s just plain crazy.

So, this was another week of in-home exercise. For those of you who have already fallen “off the wagon” for exercise, since New Year’s, you may want to try this. Take anything you really enjoy. For me it’s playing video games, particularly Call of Duty. In between sessions, I work out. You could do the same. Let’s say you’re into Netflix, Amazon Video, or Hulu. Watch an episode and then do some exercises. Watch another episode and do some more exercises.

Typically, my in-home full body workout looks like this:

Kettlebell curls, triceps kickbacks or triceps extensions, kettlebell front raises, lateral raises and shoulder presses. For chest, I do pushups (wide, close, and elevated), for back I do kettlebell rows. For legs I do standing calf presses, wall sits and bodyweight squats. You could also do lunges, but due to some nerve damage in my left leg, they are a little too difficult for me.

This week I wanted to talk about journaling. I’ve discussed this before in previous articles but wanted to emphasize how terrific the practice is. I use the Best Journal for my planning and goal setting, the 5-minute planner (digital version), a dream journal, and a daily diary that I fill out at night. This may seem a little over the top, but it works for me.

Journaling allows me to “brain dump” and examine my upcoming week. It also forces me to make choices. What are my goals for the next 90 days? The Best Journal has you set up three goals with intermittent steps every 90 days. It really works for me. The 5-minute journal allows me to write down some daily affirmations, express gratitude and has a great little quote and weekly challenge that I find fun. My daily reflections are in a plain white paper journal from Amazon for about 6 bucks. I date each page and write about anything that happened for the day. I developed this habit after going through my late grandmother’s journals. She listed down everything in her journal, from poetry she wrote herself to some of the bad things that happened to her and how she dealt with it.

I also do what is called a 15x exercise where I write down all the things I want to focus on. You could say I want to be: Healthy, wealthy, grateful, loved, and content. This could be your list. I use different ones, but the key is writing down each thing you want to become down 15 times. I have just started this, so I’ll keep you posted on how it works out.

Exercise and journaling are two of my cornerstone habits. They keep my body healthy and my mind clear. I hope each of you is having a terrific 2018. I look forward to hearing from you.

Until next week!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – A Goal Driven Life.

Tags

Divine Spirit, Executing, Goals, Goals are yours, Goals require choices and focus, Goals stretch us, Planning

Today’s Quote:

“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” – Bill Copeland

Goals are critical to our lives because they focus us on certain things that we want. I can’t imagine living a life without pursuing something. Without a goal life just goes on and passes you by. Why would anyone want to live like this?

We dream, we put a plan in place to achieve that dream, we succeed, and we stretch again to a new dream. Goal setting, planning, and striving to achieve our goals is one of the greatest things we can do with our time.

Goals are personal. They’re yours. Don’t let others create goals for you. You won’t be motivated to complete someone else’s goals. You will only be committed and driven to perform the goals you set for yourself. These goals will drive you daily to achieve them.

I read something today that clarified something for me. The concept is called connecting diamonds. Connecting diamonds is realizing that when we set a goal, we know what the achievement of the goal looks like. We also know where we are. This is a starting point. The challenges arise when we try to move from the first diamond to the last one.

I’m a firm believer in Divine Spirit and the ability it has to step in and help us. Divine spirit is what helps us move from the beginning of a goal and help us get to the end state. Keep looking for the divine spirit in your life. It provides insights about where you should go, what you should do, and what steps to take as you progress toward your goals. If you pay attention, you’ll begin to see all of the opportunities and information placed at your feet. The challenge most of us have with this concept is that sometimes the directions we are nudged to take don’t make any sense. Why should they? Have faith, follow these nudges and see where they take you. I think you’ll be surprised.

After you recognize divine spirit working in your life, you’ll begin depending on it, because it will become a reality for you. After a while you will see divine spirit’s hand in more facets of your life, this opening of awareness will only support more improvement in every facet of your life. So, dream. Set Goals. Plan. Put in the effort to move your plan along. While you’re doing the work, keep an eye out for anything that comes to you out of the blue.

I recently had to give a public talk. I asked some pointed questions about my topic and let them go for a day or so. By the end of that week, while I was going through all of the material I gathered, I had so much information to sort through that I had more than three times the information needed to give my 15-minute speech. It was a great success. I prepared, I sought out information, and allowed the divine spirit to help me. This really works. Keep your eyes open and wait for the miracles of divine spirit to work for you in your life.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – Anne Sweeney – Defining Success

Tags

Anne Sweeney, Defining Success, Setting Goals, tracking progress, Weekly Review

Today’s quote:

“Defining success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” – Anne Sweeney

One of the insights I gained from reading this quote is the importance of setting goals that we are truly motivated to achieve. These goals are not someone else’s goals, but ours alone. These are the kind of goals that really motivate me to accomplish them.

When selecting something I want to pursue I try to select a goal that will really help me improve—that will have a definite impact on my ability to be better physically, spiritually, mentally, and socially. I always gravitate toward those goals that will have the greatest impact on improving my life.

If you’ve read previous postings I tend to attack 4 goals every 13 weeks. Most of the build on previous goals because I am pursuing improvement in areas that hold the possibility of continuous improvement. You can always improve yourself physically, you can always improve what you know, you can always strive for more spiritual success, and you can always do something to improve the relationships with your coworkers, family, and friends.

When you select a goal, do a self-analysis. Where are your strengths? If you could change one thing, what would that one thing be about yourself? Again, try to minimize the goals you are focusing on or you’ll be too scattered. I’ve found 3-4 goals every 13 weeks is optimal, but this may be too much or too little. These are your goals. Try pursuing a certain number of them and see how you finish at the end of 13 weeks.

Tracking our goals is important. Since most of my goals are habitual in nature, I track them daily and then review my progress at the end of the week. Whatever you measure will keep you focused on where you are at along the goal completion continuum. If you slip up during a week, no problem. Look at what may have happened and adjust. If you hit your daily and weekly goals, then continue on your current “glide path”. Easy, right?

Well, that’s it for today!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – Amelia Earhart – Taking Action

Tags

Amelia Earhart, compelling, Evaluate your goals, motivation, Paying the price

Happy Saturday!

Today’s quote:

“The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart

This is a great quote about getting to whatever it is we want to do. I find that the most simple aspects of life are difficult because of the price these simple things require of us. Saving money means we spend less than we earn. Losing weight is nothing more than lowering our intake of food. If you really think about it, any of us have the ability to accomplish whatever we want. Yet, so many fail over and over and over.

Doing something is better than doing nothing when it comes to pursuing our goals. Today I don’t really feel like going to the gym. It doesn’t matter how I feel. I’m going to the gym. That’s it. I am willing to pay the price to improve my health.

Intermittent fasting is also challenging because it requires that we not eat during a 16-hour window. I started my fast last night at 8 pm and will not be able to eat for another 30 minutes. I want to lose weight, so I am pursuing the strategies that I believe will work.

The key to paying the price for anything we want in life is about knowing your “why”. If your “why” is compelling to you, you will have no problem paying the price for what you want. If your “why” is not compelling to you, you will not be willing to pay the price to achieve whatever your goal is.

How do you find your “why”? My “why” has always been about being my best self. I want to lose weight, I want to continue to learn, I want to create content that people will enjoy reading. I want to be fulfilled. These are mine.

If you are having difficulty pursuing a goal, take a step back and think about why you are pursuing a goal. Is your “why” compelling enough to pay the price your goal requires of you? If it isn’t, maybe you should put that goal on hold. In my experience, you’ll just waste your time pursuing something that really isn’t what you want.

Have a great Saturday everyone!

I’m heading to the gym in about 20 minutes to knock out my leg day workout.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – Lou Holtz

Tags

Daily Actions, Focus, Goal Setting, Lou Holtz, motivation

Today’s Quote:

“If you’re bored with life – you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things – you don’t have enough goals. ” – Lou Holtz

One of my goals is to continue to improve my body through exercise, proper supplementation, diet, and sleep. I am driven by this goal. The first thing I do each day is drinking my pre-workout, looking at my workout routine for the day, and heading to the gym, without fail. This is what Lou Holtz is talking about.

I try to keep myself balanced by only working on three goals at a time. Too many goals spread me out too much and I lose the necessary focus. I also try to keep my daily priority tasks to three things as well and complete them without fail.

If you’ve read some of my other postings, I tend to focus on four areas: Mental, Physical, Social, and Spiritual. These areas keep me focused on what is most important to me and helps me continue to improve each of these areas one step at a time.

One thing I measure is my interest level in a particular goal. Sometimes I need to shift my priorities. If I feel like I’m pulling teeth to do something, I put a hold on that goal and replace it with something else. This way, I focus on the things I really want to do at the moment and stick with them for around 12-13 weeks. I measure my progress weekly and continually measure my interest level. I don’t erase the goal mind you but put it on hold.

Life is too short to force myself to do things I just don’t want to do. Enjoy your life. Set goals you want to achieve and have no issue working on daily. You’ll find you are more productive and you’ll also enjoy your day more.

Well, that’s it for today folks.

As always, thank you for visiting and reading my postings. I wish you well in the pursuit of your goals and hope you have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Creating a Plan, Dr. Stephen Covey, Executing the Plan, Setting Goals, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Tony Robbins, Visualization

Today’s Quote:

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into visible.” – Tony Robbins

Dr. Stephen Covey discusses this concept in his book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He mentions that when we create something it goes through two separate processes. The first is the mental creation—that which we visualize in our minds. This could be a project completed, a new car we want, a mate we are interested in, or maybe a trip somewhere. To bring this mental creation into reality, as Tony Robbins suggests, we must then set goals, develop a plan to achieve those goals, and then execute the plan.

I’m currently working on a book. Right now, I am focused on completing the rough draft. I wrote out the chapter headings and literally writing each chapter as I go to get all the content I want in my book segregated and organized. I have until October. I measure myself daily against my goals and the daily step I take is writing 500 words. Once I hit the 500 words I’m done. Slowly but surely, I’ll finish the rough draft. Then I’ll set myself another goal to get this thing to a final draft and get it off to various publishers.

This is how you bring the invisible into the visible. Visualize, plan, execute. It’s just that simple.

See you tomorrow…

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Achievement, Goals, Planning, Procrastination

Today’s Quote:

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

Disney hits in on the head with this quote. This quote leads me in many directions, but I’ll stay on point to remain brief. Talking without doing or dreaming without planning are all great examples of procrastination. How many people talk about their New Year’s resolutions only to figure out about this time of year that they haven’t taken any action to achieve what they set out to?

Why does this happen? I think much of it is due to the societal pressure placed on people in general and their need to satisfy someone else. If they are overweight, maybe they commit to losing some pounds by dieting and exercise. At the gym I go to, I see this every January/February. Memberships skyrocket in December and early January as the “resolution” people show up. By March or April, they are all absent and the gym digresses to its previous population.

I think this happens because people bite off more they can chew (come into the gym too hard and fast and either injure themselves or outthink themselves and believe it is just too hard). I believe some of these people are really interested in losing the weight, but lose interest when it begins to get tough (body soreness, etc.). I also think some come to realize they just can’t give up drinking, smoking, or eating the high-sugar and high-processed foods they have come to enjoy.

If you are one of the folks this article describes, take a moment and really think through what happened. Are you setting goals that you are truly interested in achieving or are they someone else’s goals? What goals could you set next time that you are truly passionate about achieving?

Everyone has a passion. Everyone has an internal drive that says, “Hey, let’s do this!” The next time you set a goal, try a new approach.

1. Choose a goal that is truly something you want, not what your peers or family want for you.
2. Visualize what achieving your goal will feel like in advance.
3. Incorporate as many senses in your visualization.
4. Create a plan with achievable milestones.
5. Start Small and build on your momentum.
6. Share your goals with someone else.
7. Reward yourself each time you reach one of your milestones.
8. Write down what you will do or get for yourself when you accomplish the goal.

I am pursuing three goals for the next 13 weeks.

1. Read three books by October.
2. Increase my strength in the bench press, the squat, and the deadlift by 20% by October.
3. Finish the rough draft of my technical recruiting book by October.

I hope each of you has a terrific Sunday!!

See you tomorrow…

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Goals, passion, reflection, Yoda

Today’s Quote

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda

Most of you have probably seen this quote multiple times. It is quite popular. Regardless, I enjoy it and it really does apply to many things in my life.

Take any goal, whether it is exercising, writing, learning, meditating–anything. If you go into it with the statement “I’ll give it a try…” you’re already on the road to failure. My bet is you’re probably not as interested in this goals as you think. Really pay attention to your internals when you think about goal setting and achieving something. You really have to want it you know?

I don’t know where I read it, but Tim Ferris mentioned this in one of his online articles I found somewhere (sorry I didn’t keep it). He said that if he doesn’t feel like doing something, he doesn’t do it. This goes with goals and things we set for ourselves. Life is about change. If you are pursuing something passionately for a few months and then one day you wake up and the passion just isn’t there anymore, my belief is that it is not worth the trouble.

Really evaluate what you want in life. Once you set a goal, evaluate it. Is it something you are really committed to? Are you willing to give it everything you have? Do you really have a goal, right now, today, that is worth your time and effort? Sometimes we have to sit still and think about what we want. In the meantime, we carry on with our lives doing the things we have to (work, paying bills, taking care of our families, etc.). As long as you set aside some time for reflection, think about what you would like to do. Think about something you are interested in achieving. You see that during one of these reflection periods something will come along. Something that will be really exciting to you. This is the thing you go after.

Anyway, this is my thought on things. I hope you are having a great start to your week.

See you tomorrow…