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Tag Archives: Drive

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Some Goals Should Be Dropped

07 Monday Jun 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Achievement, Drive, Exercise, Goals, Hobbies, losing motivation, motivation, persistance, Resistance, someday-maybe list

I wanted to continue the conversation about your mid-year goal evaluation and assessment I discussed last week. One thing I forgot to mention is the importance of putting some goals aside. We start the year strong, really motivated to tackle all of our stuff, but suddenly, as life catches up, and our priorities change, some goals we set just aren’t right.

This is the time to do a little hedge trimming. What goal do you constantly struggle with? When I use the word struggle, I am talking about internal resistance. You want to do something, but you resist it by procrastinating, rushing through it, or just making a puny effort to get it done for the day. These are the goals you really want to take a look at. One goal, regardless of how you feel about it or resist it, should never be removed from your goal list–exercise. This is one exception to the rule of hedging your goals. The body has to move, work, and exercise. Our internal systems are stupid in a way, but also very efficient. This is the double-edged sword. If you do not work the body, it will react in kind, by reducing muscle, bone density, the whole gambit. When the body goes, so does the mind, and the mechanism you use to get anything done deteriorates.

The rest of your goals are open game. It makes no sense to pursue a goal, you ‘re not into anymore. Put in on a someday-maybe list. Then attack the rest of your goals with vigor. We all change. Our attitudes change, our tastes change, and yes, even our dreams change. Don’t punish yourself by pursuing a goal that you just aren’t into anymore. Get it off your goal list and attack the ones you are excited about.

Here’s an example: One of my goals this year was to draw. I started out on fire, watching YouTube videos, reading articles, and trying out my ideas on paper. Because I am a novice at this, I didn’t spend a bunch of money on expensive drawing paper or the pencils many artists use. I just grabbed the ole number 2 pencils and sketched inside one of my blank notebooks. Around April or so, I lost interest. I liked sketching, but just didn’t feel like doing it anymore. So, I put it on hold. It was my goal. Who cares? Why torture yourself?

The goals I love are related to my passions–reading, writing, learning, exercise, and video gaming. I love working on my laptop with a nice cup of coffee or another of my favorite beverages (Monster, anyone?). As long as it is caffeinated, I’m there.

I have one blogger friend who is passionate about crafts. She makes quilts, handbags, you name it. Another blogger friend is a true-blue author. I have other blogger friends who love to travel, collect stamps or coins, or even make models. My true hobby and love is video games. I can’t get enough of Call of Duty, running around a digital map, and playing the role of action-hero, blowing away the enemy with a growing list of weapons, ranging from a simple baseball bat to a 20mm Sniper rifle. It is such great fun. I also enjoy the Far Cry series, which is bringing out Far Cry 6 this year. It’ll be great fun. I particularly like cooperative playing games, because this is the way my brother (who is in Arizona), nephew, and I stay in touch. He loves video games as well.

Well, that’s enough for this week. The key take-away is to stop torturing yourself over goals you’ve lost the fire in your belly for, OTHER THAN EXERCISE. Exercise is critical to your long-term health and well-being.

Have a great week, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Outstanding Blogger Award

15 Monday Mar 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Adapt, assignments, Determination, Drive, Eat that Frog, Goals, Improvise, Monday blues, motivation, Outstanding Blogger Award, Overcome, tasks

  1. What has blogging added to your life? It has opened up a creative channel for my writing and allowed me to connect with people all across the globe, some of which are now friends.
  2. Share the link for one of your favorite blog posts that you have written. I have a lot of favorites, but this is one I liked writing: https://wordpress.com/post/gardner1015.wordpress.com/737.
  3. If you were stuck in the house for the entire weekend due to a snowstorm, what would you do with your time? I would read, write, learn, exercise, and play video games. Pretty much what I do now.
  4. What household chore do you most enjoy, and what do you least enjoy? I enjoy vacuuming. I think it’s because of the repetition and movement. I dislike dusting.
  5. What did you learn from surviving 2020? I learned you don’t need a lot of things cluttering up your life. Keep it simple. Stay busy, have a plan, and execute the plan. Adapt, adjust, improvise. Covid threw some of my goals in 2020 out the window, but I adapted to overcome what Covid threw at me.

tierneycreates recommended me for this award and I thank her for the opportunity to answer the above questions and highlight her blog. If you like crafts and quilting, she’s a great source of information.

Well, folks. It’s Monday. What will you do this week? Are you on track with your goals? Do you have any high-pressure tasks that have to be done? How do you feel?

Mondays are all about mindset. It is resetting yourself from “me” time on the weekend, to “we” time at the office wherever that is. It’s about getting into work mode, pushing aside the dread we can sometimes get about going back to work, and attacking our projects, goals, and assignments with vigor.

I ease into my work week with a daily set of goals and tasks that never change, unless I change them. Writing a blog post like this is one of them. What types of tasks do you like doing? What ones do you dread? I start my day with whatever is the hardest. This habit is called “eating the frog”. Eating a frog is used to designate those tasks that are distasteful or cause us the most angst. By knocking out the stuff we don’t want to do, the rest of the day becomes a downhill slide when that task is completed. So today, grab the reins of that one thing you dread doing and GET THAT THING DONE. The rest of your day will be a piece of cake once it’s over.

Have a great Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Unbreakable

01 Monday Mar 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

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Tags

Dedication, Discipline, Drive, Games, Gaming Your Work, Motivation Monday, Techniques, Tenacity, Tools, Tricks

Today’s the day you stand up and tell the world, “Nothing you throw at me will break me.” I included this inspiring sound track from YouTube, titled “Unbreakable”, and hope you find it as inspiring as I did. It’s long (about 48 minutes), but worth it. Music has always been a great source of motivation and inspiration to me. I listen to different types of music to work on different things. When I am reading, I listen to quiet music. When I’m in the gym or working out, I listen to Rock. When I am just sitting in my chair with my eyes closed, I listen to classical or jazz.

If you’ve never used music to exercise, think, or knock out your daily tasks, give it a whirl. It really makes a huge difference.

My workout routine will involve full body with exercise bands this week. I’ll do this Monday-Friday. For cardio it’ll either be a walk around the block, my supine bicycle, or doing some stairs in my home.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Snow, Snow, and more Snow

01 Monday Feb 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

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Tags

consistent, determined, Disciplined, Drive, Excited, motivation, persistent, pumped up

If you are in the Northeast, you are getting pounded right now with snow. If you go to your local gym, be careful. These big snows always produce horrific driving conditions and I don’t want any of you getting in a fender bender trying to get into the gym. Maybe do some home exercise routines instead? If you’re headed to work, you’re going to be out anyway, but please be careful. Watch out for the other drivers, who may not know how to drive in the snow.

Alright folks! It’s Monday, and it’s time to get at it. Dig in and grind.

Do a little each day toward your goals, whether it’s reading, writing, exercise, or learning. A little each day will take you far–promise. It’s so easy to do, it is like your goals fulfill themselves.

This week, I’ll be busy with all the things I have planned. My exercise routine, particularly due to the snow we are getting, will be full body exercise band workouts. I’ll also hit our cycle in the den downstairs to get some cardio or I’ll do some stairs.

Have a great week, folks! Month 2 of 2021 is upon us! ATTACK!!!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Announcements

18 Monday Jan 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

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Tags

ambitious, Determination, Discipline, Drive, habit, motivation, Ritual, Routine, Routines, workout

Hi all! First, it’s Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday today! We in the U.S. declared it a national holiday a while back. This means I get an extra day off this week. That being said, here’s a few announcements:

  1. I’ll continue working through the spiritual laws on Saturday’s posting, but giving myself Saturday or Sunday to put it up.
  2. My workout this week will be the same as the last few weeks as I get this body back into condition after taking the bulk of December off. This week, I’ll be doing a full-body exercise band workout with 3 instead of 2 sets.
  3. I’ll be combining my workout routine and some other things I have scheduled for the week into one posting instead of two. So Motivation Monday will have a great quote, cool video, or something else I find that wakes me up in the morning and continue to pass those off, adding my workout routine and anything else I feel is appropriate for the beginning of the week.

For those of you in the U.S. enjoy the end of your long weekend.

Here’s a Wikipedia article on MLK for your reference, if you are interested in reading about him. Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Week of November 2, 2020.

02 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Consistency, Determination, Discipline, Drive, motivation, Resilience, Resistance, will

Alright! Here we are! It’s Monday and we are facing another week!

Here’s my schedule:

Writing daily (blog, journaling, research, school, and book)

Coding daily (Python Course, Udemy)

Reading daily (Books, nonfiction and fiction)

Socializing daily (Social media, phone calls, Video calls)

Exercising daily (See Workout Routine)

Spirituality daily (discourses, Bible, contemplation)

Entertainment daily (movie, gaming)

That’s all I got for now, folks. Have a great week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Week of October 26, 2020

26 Monday Oct 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Arthur Ashe, Dedication, Discipline, Do, Drive, Executing, motivation, Planning, Resilience, Start, Use

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Arthur Ashe

I used to use so many excuses. Why I couldn’t do this or that. Have you ever felt that? If so, use this quote for motivation.

Start where you are. We are all some place. Think about what you want to do this week. Think about how you will accomplish these things. Plan then out, get them on your calendar and execute. Just assume you’ll get them done. If something appears to be too complicated, plan it out, break it down. Maybe you only do one step this week. Next week, you’ll tackle the next step(s).

If you’re a creative and stuck, don’t worry. There are no rules surrounding creativity. Some days you’ll be on fire, other days, you’ll be thinking how to move forward. Just keep thinking and working as best you can. You’ll get there.

This week, I’ll be doing my homework, exercising, doing my spiritual exercises, doing some chores around the house, reading, writing, learning. I’ll do some socializing, now that Michigan is predominantly opened back up. The libraries and coffee shops are open again–Thank God!

Sometimes, when I feel like I’m in a rut, I’ll head out to the library or one of my local coffee shops and work there. This year was tough getting out, but now that things are opening again, I’ll be back at it on a weekly basis.

Mondays for some folks are absolute torture. This used to be the way I felt too, especially when I was still working. How did I turn that around? I began doing the same things every day of the week, other than my “Do Nothing Day.” When I did this, Monday was just another day.

Well, that’s all I got for this week, folks. I hope all of you have a terrific week! Get out there and get at it. You’re the only one that can.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – Week of October 12, 2020

12 Monday Oct 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Workout Routine

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Tags

Cardio, Dedication, Discipline, Drive, gym, Home, Weights, workout

Alright, folks. It’s time to move!

Here’s my exercise routine:

Monday-Saturday:

M – Full Body Weights

T – Cardio

W – Full Body Weights

Th – Cardio

F – Full Body Weights

Sa – Cardio

See you at the finish line!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Week of October 12, 2020.

12 Monday Oct 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Action, Ambition, Dedication, Discipline, Drive, Exercising, Learning, motivation, Reading, Writing

After a relaxing week off, I’m back at it.

Here’s my schedule for the week:

Writing/Blogging Daily

Exercise Daily

Spiritual Exercise/Reading Daily

Learning/Coding Daily

Reading Daily

I hope each of you has a great week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – Week of Sep 28, 2020.

28 Monday Sep 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Workout Routine

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Consistency, dig in, Discipline, Drive, Exercise, Keep going, Music, Push, videos, workout

One of the tricks I use to get pumped up for the gym is to watch a great motivational video or listen to some inspiring music. Attack the week, folks!

My routine this week:

Monday – Saturday:

20 minutes cardio

Upper Body (weights) Lower Body (weights) alternating every day.

Have a great week! Get at it, folks! You got this!

See you at the finish line!

Dave

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