Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Motivation is Coupled to Your Mood

Tags

anxiety, depression, Exercise, Fall, Holidays, Monday, Mood, motivation, Sister, Sun Lights, Winter

This time of year it gets dark and stays dark. We have a lot of dark, rainy days in the fall, or dark snowy days. It’s just that time of year for Michiganders. Many people in my neck of the woods suffer from an ailment (I do not know the name), where the dark impacts their moods. My sister is one of them.

She and I are the exact opposite when it comes to this time of year. It is my favorite time. For her it is absolute torment. One solution she came up with was getting herself a light that she sits in for about an hour before doing anything else. It was the trick.

Do you have any fall challenges? Do the darker months impact you? You may want to look into a light like my sister did. Perhaps you have other challenges with the fall and winter months. Maybe you do not like to be cooped up. Learn some winter sports like cross-country skiing, hiking, or even just walking. There are a lot of things to do if you look for them.

Motivation and mood are tied to one another. It is hard to be motivated if you are pissed off or depressed. Find the root cause of these things; get some help if you need it. It is really hard to be motivated if you don’t feel well, or are suffering from depression.

Another thing you may look into is exercise. Exercise for me is like going to a psychologist. I just feel so good when I go to the gym, get in some exercise, and sweat a little. It is something about the body moving, the endorphins that are released when we exert ourselves, and the boost to the self esteem that comes when you do something that is hard to do.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. Enjoy the changing colors of the leaves, the snow that will come soon, if it is not here already where you live, and the great food and family time that accompanies this time of year. It’s great to be alive, isn’t it?

Have a great Monday, folks.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Flexibility

Tags

Contingency planning, Flexibility, motivation, Planning, Plans, Projects, reality

I read a lot of blogs. I do not comment on all of them, but I read quite a bit. One common thread I have read about, particularly with people who are dealing with tragedy, addiction, or other challenges, is their ability to be flexible and adjust to whatever comes. This is this week’s theme–flexibility.

How many times do you get blindsided by something in one or more of your projects? All the time, right? Someone drops the ball on this particular task, some order you placed for supplies is late, one of your key team members gets sick. The list goes on and on.

We had a saying in the Army. “No plan survives reality.” This is a quote that rings of truth every time I look back at any project I participated in. Nothing survives reality. So, it is important to plan. What we should take into account are risks to our plan that we need to account for and plan for. The Army called these contingency plans. When this thing happens, we will do this. When this thing happens we will do this. See?

So, when you are tackling all your projects this week, take a look at past projects and where the problems arose. You’ll likely see a pattern. Once you know the patterns of problems that tend to arise when you begin a project, you’ll be better prepared to handle them. Flexibility comes into play when something happens you did NOT plan for.

Flexibility allows you to sidestep a problem or deal with it, without it breaking you in half. There’s a story I read (author unknown) that discusses trees and how the ones that survive are the most flexible. They bend with the wind. The more rigid a tree is, the more likely it is to get snapped in half when the winds come. So take this metaphor and apply it to your life. The more flexible you are, the more likely you are to survive the storms of life.

Well, that’s it for today, folks.

Have a great Monday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Motivation: Inside and Outside

Tags

changing circumstances, delegation, Extrinsic Motivation, Intrinsic Motivation, Monday, motivation, outsourcing

I do not know if I have ever written about these two types of motivation, but I was prompted to write about them again by my muse, so here goes. The two types of motivation are labeled intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is the internal drive to get something done. Extrinsic motivation is an outside influence to achieve something.

When we are intrinsically motivated, we are motivated by ourselves. Blogging is a good example. We blog for some internal reason, be it highlighting a hobby we have, telling our story, or sharing the news we find interesting in today’s paper. Others highlight their businesses, like their books, their travel businesses, or any number of professions. This is an example of intrinsic motivation. Now, some who blog do out of necessity. They need people to know about their businesses, so these folks may be motivated extrinsically. The business motivates them, not themselves.

I like to think about these two types of motivation because they are a great measuring stick for what we do. I also do not think the things we do fall into one or either camp entirely. In other words, I think every task we complete has both types of motivations intertwined within them. We feel an inward pressure to do something, but also an external one.

Let’s look at your profession. There are certain internal drivers that get you to work every day. Perhaps it is the people you work with or the type of work you do. If you truly enjoy your work and your colleagues, this is intrinsic. Yet, there are also external factors that impact our need to go to work. We have financial responsibilities, a need to support ourselves, and an employer who expects certain things from us. I hope this illustrates my point–we are driven by both forms of motivation simultaneously, not one or the other.

One thing I will say, however, is that the more intrinsically you are motivated, the easier a task is. You are doing something because YOU want to. Not because someone else is making you do it. When a task becomes overly extrinsic, you may have to take a look at what you are doing. I mean, who wants to be driven by someone else to do something? Perhaps it is your job. Maybe it’s time for a change. If it is a chore that you find distasteful, there’s always delegation. Can one of your kids do the job now? Can this be outsourced to an outside vendor or person who does this for a living. We have our next door neighbor’s boy do our lawn, rake our leaves, and snow blow our driveway. He likes the money we pay him, and we like not having to do the work anymore (It’s so nice to see someone else snow blowing your driveway when it is in the sub-zero range of temperatures.)

Today, take stock of what you do every day. If you have to be nagged or even nag yourself to get something done, is there someone else that can do that particular task? Something to consider.

I hope all of you have a terrific Monday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Augmenting Your Tasks with Music

Tags

Achievement, Getting Things Done, Heavy, Monday, motivation, Music, Setting Goals, Trance

There are a bunch of songs that I listen to over and over again and produce the same results–goosebumps. If you are ever down in the dumps or unmotivated to do what you need to do, listen to some music you know will pump you up. I find different kinds of music have different effects and I use them in different scenarios.

When I am reading and writing, I listen to instrumental, environmental, and electronic (focus-type) stuff. If something has any type of singing, words, etc., I cannot concentrate on anything. When I want to motivate myself, there are songs from Eminem, DeadMaus, Armin VanBuuren, and many others in the rap and techno genres. When I’m in the gym, it is heavy stuff like Arch Enemy, Slipknot, Disturbed, AC/DC, Metallica, Kataklysm, and the like. Anything heavy, with hard-charging lyrics, fast-paced guitar licks, and lots of double base stuff. The trance genre is also terrific if I’m going to do a bout of low-impact cardio, like treadmill, stepping, or rowing.

Music is my go to, when I need a boost. Obviously, coffee is another huge contender on Monday mornings to get myself moving, but music is by far the biggest influencer on my moods and augments what I am doing at the time.

I hope all of you are having a terrific Monday and will have a terrific week.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Affirmations

Tags

15x Exercise, Affirmations, Contentment, Detachment, Discrimination, Forgiveness, Humility, tolerance

Hello, Monday!

I hope each of you has a terrific day, today!

I hope all of you are primed for the week and everything works out the way you want it.

One of the things I have used for years and years are positive affirmations. It’s something I write in my journal every day. Affirmations can be about any topic you wish. I chose five virtues.

Here is my short affirmation I write down each day: I am discriminating, tolerant, forgiving, content, detached, and humble.

Discriminating means making good choices. Tolerance and forgiveness are about letting people be who they are without judgment, and if they hurt your or cause you problems, forgiving them, regardless. Contentment is being happy regardless of my physical, mental, social, or spiritual situation. I keep this quote in the back of my mind: “All is in its rightful place in the worlds of God.” – Sri Harold Klemp. This means that whatever happens, it is exactly what is supposed to happen. Be happy and content, regardless. Detachment is doing the best you can with, with what you have, from where you are, without forcing any outcome. I do the best I can and whatever happens, is exactly what should have happened. This also relates to ideas, habits, everything. We must be willing to accept the changes that come and know they are for our benefit. Humility is the last one. Being humble is avoiding the grandstanding, bragging, and other things that have one purpose–elevating the ego. The ego is something we all need to survive in this reality, but the goal should be to minimize this as much as possible. The ego will get you into trouble, if you let it get out of hand.

Well, that’s all I got for today. You can create daily affirmations too. One great exercise, that I also do is a thing called the 15X exercise. Take any one thing you want to be, and write it down 15 times each day. Start the sentence with “I am…”. Overtime, the affirmations take hold, because the mind latches onto things that are repeated to it. When you believe something, things come together to help you achieve that thing.

Have a great Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Moving Left

Tags

Conservative, Curiosity.com, Documentaries, Learning, left, Liberal, right, school

The weather is sticky today in Michigan. Dad had a hearing aid appointment, and Bella (our dog) and I are holding down the fort. Today, I’ve got some homework to do, my exercise routine, reading, taking a class, and all the rest. I’m in my last class for a Masters in Sociology. Why college, when I’m retired?

I love to learn. I don’t take student loans. I pay cash for my courses and materials. I also attend online, so I don’t have any commuting to do. It’s a good feeling to knock out a degree. I just enjoy reading broadly. When I left the Army I was pretty conservative (politically). Over time, however, I have moved more left. I have experienced a great deal in my life, and have opened my mind a great deal, particularly because of the assignments and reading in school.

Have I been indoctrinated, like so many conservatives would posit? No. When you read broadly, however, you take time to hear the arguments of the other side. Instead of being close-minded, like so many on the social media feeds, who are constantly bashing the other side, I have discovered that both sides of the political aisle have legitimate positions. Compromise, however, left our political discourse years ago. You just do not see it anymore. Maybe some of our elected officials should go back to school? (Ha)!

What’s the message of today’s posting? Read broadly and continue to educate yourself. You are not too old to learn new things. We are always learning new things anyway. Why not learn something specific? I try to learn something new each week. I like learning about other people, who I post about on my Wisdom Wednesday article. I like to watch documentaries. You just pick up so much stuff when you watch a good documentary. I really enjoy the documentaries on history. I would recommend curiosity.com for my documentaries. This is one terrific channel and it only costs $20 USD a year.

Well, that’s it for my Motivation Monday posting! I hope you have a terrific day!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – I’m back…

Tags

Brother, Evaluating, family, Fun, Good times, Laughter, Monday, motivation, Planning, Scheduling, Sister

I’m back, after a great week with my brother and his girlfriend, We all had a great time, and we all got to celebrate my Mother’s 78th birthday. My sister came down, so all of the siblings were here, along with the gal.

How do you get back on track, after a long vacation? For me, it’s my to-do app, set up with recurring tasks. All my daily to-dos are recurring, so my to-do list literally tells me what I need to do. It’s great!

While my brother was here, I was surprised with an early birthday gift (My birthday is in October). The birthday gift was a 2TB storage drive for my Xbox. After installing it, which took about a minute, I now have 1.7TB of storage remaining. What a treat! I’ve also started playing Call of Duty, Mobile. It is Call of Duty’s way of allowing folks to play their game, who cannot afford an XBOX. I have to say it is quite a good game. I play it on my iPad, and use an Apple-specific controller. It’s great fun. I’ve also decided, since I enjoy so many games, that I’ll stick with Call of Duty Mon-Friday, and then play some new games on the weekend.

Today, I’m knocking out the cobwebs and getting back on track. I recently received an inner prompting to take stock of my life, look at what I am doing every day, and make some adjustments. I get this prompting from time-to-time, and it is a great way to evaluate, consolidate, and reorganize. A friend of mine recently retired and asked for some advice. I told her, find a hobby, list out the things she has always wanted to do, but never had time, and put together a list of daily things she could do to start getting all these things moving. She asked, “Why?” I replied, “Because, binge watching Netflix will get old real quick.”

The point I’m making here is that when you have a lot of time, it is easy to waste it. Retirement does not mean you quit life. It means you enjoy it more fully. If you have recently retired, take a look at your life. What works? What doesn’t work? Then, make a list of all the things you want to focus on for the rest of your life. It could be writing a book, going back to school, learning a musical instrument, taking up drawing, creating a reading list, or even join a book club. The possibilities are endless, and you’ll have fun deciding what you want to do with yourself.

For me, my focus is on learning, reading, writing, spirituality, staying in shape, and gaming. Gaming is my hobby, so I don’t do any gaming, until I’ve knocked out my daily tasks. Life is not without some form of self-discipline. My exercise habits waned during the pandemic, so this is something I will be revisiting for sure. The older I get, the more quickly I get out of shape. Whew!

I’m also doing something different this year. My religious path, follows a different calendar than a traditional one. Our New Year starts on the 23rd of October each year. So, November will now be my January. So, plan on my yearly goals, aspirations, and plans in October instead of December. I’ll get this out to all of you, after I’ve done some thinking, planning, and scheduling.

Well, that’s it for now. We had a great time with family over the last week. It was so much fun, having family meals, playing board games, talking about our memories, and just laughing and laughing. Here’s to family.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Kickoff Activities

Tags

Activity, habits, Hobbies, Kickoff, Monday, Movitation, To-do List, Work

Each Monday, I get myself started with a kickoff activity. It is the one thing that gets me going on the rest of my tasks. My kickoff activity is journaling. Journaling while drinking a cup of coffee or anything caffeinated, is something that gets my creative juices flowing. When I was working, my kickoff activity would be going through my email and identifying priority emails to respond to, getting my call list out, and double-checking my calendar for activities and meetings for the day.

Kickoff activities are those that trigger other activities during the day. When I start journaling, I contemplate a lot of different things. This contemplation helps me organize myself for the day. Another kickoff activity is my to-do list. Mine is pretty much on autopilot, unless something comes up that is out of the ordinary. It may seem boring, but my day is the same. I have key items I like to accomplish each day. I focus on four key areas: Physical, Mental, Spiritual, and Social. Physical is eating right, getting enough sleep, hygiene, and exercise. Mental is reading, writing, and learning. Spiritual is reading spiritual things, meditating/contemplating, listening to good music, and journaling. Social is blogging, social media, staying in touch with friends and family, and getting out in the community. Although, I am more of a home body now because of COVID, I still try to interact with folks at the grocery store, gym, and anywhere else I go.

One great way to interact socially is playing video games. The one I play a lot is Call of Duty. There is all kinds of interaction in this game because it is online and networked. Every simulated battle contains 11 other folks who I can interact with during the fight and afterwards. These folks could be local, or on the other side of the world. Since I play in the wee hours, it is likely that I will have Europeans, Asians, and other nationalities online, when most of the US is asleep.

What are you kickoff activities on Monday? What habitual action do you take to “kickoff” everything else?

Have a great Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – It’s All in the Preparation

Tags

Do Nothing Day, Hobby, iPad, Monday, motivation, Netflix, Saturday, Sunday

I’ve addressed this before in my Motivation Monday writings, but wanted to bring this up again. Sundays are labeled my “do nothing day”. On Sunday, I literally do what I want, without a schedule and where I purposely do not do anything listed on my to-do list. I wanted one day to truly be “lazy”, feel no pressure, and just enjoy the day, regardless of what I end up doing, guilt-free.

What does my “do nothing day” look like? Typically, it involves sleeping in. And when I say sleep in, I mean it. I normally do not get out of bed until 11 am or 12 pm. Sometimes I’ll get up briefly for my iPad, and get right back into that warm bed and watch some Netflix. It really depends on my mood, and what I feel like.

I don’t remember where I got this idea from, but it has worked miracles for me. When I get up Monday, I’m raring to go. I would also like to note that my preparation for Monday occurs on Friday and Saturday, where I take a look at my upcoming week and figure out what I am going to be doing. This alleviates any pressure on me to do anything on my “do nothing day.”

So get your calendar straight, look at the things you have on your schedules, and get your clothes prepped. Then when you hit Monday, you are hitting it running. I hope some of you take up a “do nothing day”. It may not be as “hard-core” as mine, because you have certain responsibilities you can’t avoid (pets, children, etc.), but it is a really worthwhile venture.

Your “do nothing day” doesn’t have to be on Sunday, either. You can set it for a day that is easier. Perhaps, Saturday?

Well, that’s all I got for Monday. Have a great week, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Goal Assessment

Tags

2021, Covid, Goals, Planning, reconsolidating, refocusing, reorganizing

Here we are again! It’s Monday!!

We are quickly approaching the last quarter of 2021. Can you believe it? Now is the time to begin looking at your goals for the year and figuring out where you are. Are there some goals that have slipped your mind? Are there goals that are on track? Take a look at your list of goals for the year (personal, work-related, etc.) and see where each one is. Then decide which ones you want to continue putting effort into, which ones you haven’t dedicated much time to, and those that are behind schedule.

Once you’ve done your quick evaluation, decide which ones you are going to keep, which ones you’ll put on hold, and which ones need more attention. Then get to it. There’s plenty of time left in the year, whether your goals are fitness related, work-related, relationship-related, whatever.

Goals are important guideposts for our lives. They help us decide what is important to us, and guide our day-to-day activities. Some of you may have only a few goals, while others have a laundry list. You are the only person who can decide what is important to you, so if you have some goals that just aren’t cutting it, cut them loose. Focus on those goals you really want to accomplish and let go of those goals that you either resist doing or just don’t have as much time as you thought you did when you created them at the end of 2020.

Setting goals is a very individual thing. Your goals may be totally different from mine. What you consider important, I may consider frivolous. You see? But goals are important. The number of goals, types of goals, and what you set as a goal are all yours. What I’ve discovered personally is that some goals are driven by the social consciousness. They are goals that are extrinsically motivating.

What I mean is we set a goal because of outside pressure, not because we really want to achieve them. These goals tend to be the first ones to fade as we engage in the work needed to accomplish them. It’s ok to let these go, if you feel resistance to them each time you begin to work toward them. Maybe it’s not the time. Maybe it isn’t as important as we thought they once were. Now, let me be clear. There are some goals that we may resist, but still need to focus on. Exercise is one example. Most people resist exercise because it is uncomfortable. Most people resist writing or reading or learning or whatever. Sometimes we need to discipline ourselves to accomplish the important goals. These should not be tossed away, but we should take the time to understand why we are resisting them and also why they are important to us.

Another aspect to consider is your current situation. If you live in a country or region that has experienced lockdowns because of COVID surges, this may also play a part into your decision making. You cannot control what your government wants to do. So, if one of your goals was to get out and about, but this is restricted, you may want to let that one go, until you are sure that your government will not impose lockdowns again.

Well, that’s enough for now. Take stock of your goal list and make any adjustments you need to make. Now is the time to get re-focused on what we want to do for the rest of the year. I wish you well in your endeavors.

Until next time…

Dave