Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Completing your yearly goals

Tags

Consistency, December!, End of Year Eval, Holiday Season, motivation, Serving Others, Setting New Goals, Weekly Schedule

Well, we are in the last month of the year. It went by quickly didn’t it?

This is the month to grind it out before we hit the holiday weeks. When the holiday week hits, the family will be coming, you’ll be doing last-minute holiday shopping, and it will preclude anything you want to finish. So dig in now, at the early part of the month and knock down any of the goals you have left. It’s not too late.

Between Christmas and New Year’s is the perfect time to take a tally of what you set out to do this year, where you missed the mark, and plan accordingly for the new year. There are a few goals I missed, not due to a lack of effort, but they reached a little too far. This year, I’ll use that data and set more realistic goals that I can achieve by the end of next year. They’ll still stretch me, but won’t be so far off in the distance that it will be impossible to accomplish.

One of the greatest learnings I have discovered this year is consistently showing up. I started the year with a goal of reading 48 books, at last count, I am at 60+ for the year and still going. I also finished the rough draft of my non-fiction book on technical recruiting and began work on my fiction story. These would not have been possible, had I not done something every day to move the needle forward.

What goals did you set? Did you accomplish them? Did you fall short like I did? If you fell short, how will you goal yourself in that area next year? I’m really curious to hear from others on this topic. Feel free to respond in the comments below. Ok, here’s my weekly schedule!

This week:

• Work on Story Beats for my Fiction book daily
• Exercise daily (see my workout routine for the week of Dec 1, 2019)
• Read 1 hour daily
• Meditate daily
• Complete 1 session for each of the 5 classes I’m taking daily
• Clear the circles on my Apple Watch Daily
• Hang out at my local coffee shops or a restaurant daily
• Read my Bible Daily
• Do a random act of kindness while I’m out running errands daily
• Help my wife with her Master’s Degree work daily
• Have some fun daily (Netflix, Xbox, NFL Football, or Disney+) daily
• Log my food in MyFitnessPal daily

Well, that’s it for now, folks! I hope each of you are looking forward to the holidays like I am. I realize there are some in my audience who dread the holidays and my heart goes out to you. You know what I’ve found? When you’re down, volunteer. Go to an animal shelter, an orphanage, hospice, or some other charitable organization and pitch in. It’s a great time to do this, and it is also a way to focus on something else. I have always found that giving and serving others is a great way to cheer up.

Have a great Monday, all!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – Funny Quote

Tags

family, Friends, Gratitude, Holiday Season, Johnny Carson, Recharging, reflection, Resetting

All, I’ve decided to move my Ted Talks and Funny Quotes to Sunday. It’s a good day to have a giggle and enjoy a nice video that I’ve hand-picked over a nice cup of coffee or tea, with some of your favorite music playing in the background.

Here’s today’s funny quote:

“Mail your packages early so the post office can lose them in time for Christmas.” – Johnny Carson

I’m old enough to remember the late Johnny Carson, one of America’s iconic late night talk show hosts. Johnny was a nightly companion when I was growing up because Mom and Dad loved watching him. His humor was always terrific and he had some of the most interesting people as guests.

Today’s talk show hosts just don’t hold a light to this guy. I wish all of you, regardless of your faith, a terrific holiday season, filled with joy, love, and companionship. This time of year is truly my favorite because I missed so many of these while I served in the US Army. Now, I really take the time to enjoy myself, my family and friends and relish every moment.

I can only hope that you find peace, companionship, and have some time to really enjoy your holiday season. I use this time to reflect, recharge, and prepare for another great year.

If you are one of my followers, Thank you so much for taking the time to follow my blog. I just started it this year and have learned a great deal from your blogs and find new and exciting content here every day.

Happy Holidays to all of you!

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Workout Diary

Tags

family, Friends, Holiday Season, Self-Knowledge, Time off

Hey all!

I’ve made what I call a “Command Decision”.

We have had so many interruptions the last few weeks with unannounced friends and family coming in for the holidays, that it has been tough keeping some form of schedule for the gym and my exercise.

So, we’re going to take a few weeks off to enjoy the holidays, eat some stuff I probably shouldn’t, and spend some quality time with the family, friends, and visitors that show up on our doorstep.

I’ll be picking up my workout diary again in January 2018. Yeah, I know, one of my goals was to get down to 15% bodyfat, but there are just too many temptations around the holidays and I don’t want to deny myself all of the great things that are a part of the holiday season.

I’ll be starting this part of my blog again after the New Year!

Happy Holidays to everyone. I hope your holiday season is as nice as mine will be.

Keep following and reading my other postings on daily quotes, ted talks, and anything else I come up with.

See you again in January where we kick off another terrific year of health and fitness.

Dave