Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday

Tags

journaling, Meditation, minimalism, Positivity, Reading, rituals, Writing

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” – Charles R. Swindoll
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/charles_r_swindoll_388332?src=t_motivational

As I prepare to attack the week ahead, I wanted to discuss how our attitude or reaction to our personal reality can affect our lives in good or bad ways. We can all recall good times and bad times in our lives, right? Who decides what is good or bad? We do.

If I were to take a survey of the people you work with, what would they say about their job? Odds are there will be some that love the job they do and the service they provide. Others will dread going to the job and if offered, leave at the earliest opportunity. The employee’s attitude colors their day. People that expect the bad will get exactly what they want. People that expect the goodwill also get exactly what they want. The trite expression about the glass-half-full or half-empty applies.

Each of us has a lens we use to observe our world. This lens is colored by our experiences, the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful. This lens can also be our paradigm. This is the internal map or neural pattern we use to identify common objects. It is also the map we use to assess our current situation.

Some, like the late Dr. Stephen Covey, believe we each have the power to alter or change our internal map. We can rewrite the script. Others believe that we can change our state of consciousness. The theory is if you can alter or rewrite your internal scripting you will naturally change your outlook.

I did this several years ago. My life was wrought with troubles. I was in a lot of debt, my marriage was failing, and I wasn’t performing that well at work. I started to think about why I always lost when others would win. I started to give credence to the statement that I could, in fact, rewrite my script.

I began journaling. I began dedicating time to meditation, exercise and eating right. I began to control what I let into my mind and what I protected my mind from. I began getting serious about my spirituality, reading my Bible (The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad), doing my daily spiritual exercises, and studying all I could.

I came across books like “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity”, by David Allen, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, by Dr. Stephen Covey, and learning more about nutrition, mindfulness, and minimalism. I began reading lots of articles about habits that bring about happiness and well-being.

Slowly my mindset changed. I realized that the bulk of the things I was doing was for someone else. My goals were about what I was supposed to do rather than what I wanted to do. In other words, I found the “why” behind my goals. At that moment, I began to alter my thinking. I began to realize that I could win if I changed how I approached life.

I began to look at my habits. I began to look at what I did each day. I began to look at what I was bringing into my world. I used to like watching horror movies. I used to like listening to death metal. I used to like eating a lot of garbage. I also had a lot of negative thoughts going through my mind, filled with worry, anger, and paranoia. One of the key things that caused me to change some of my habits was Masaru Emoto (see http://www.masaru-emoto.net/english/water-crystal.html) who has done some wonderful experiments learning the effect different things have on the formation of water crystals. Visit this website to see what I saw. The learning: What you think, what you hear, what you read, what you see affects your internal structure (70% water). Change the inputs of ugly, vulgar, lust, etc. to good, peace, love, happiness, etc., and you can alter yourself dramatically.

Besides adapting new habits, I also created rituals that house these habits into chunks of activity. I wrote down all the things I learned that I wanted in my life. I wanted to read daily, exercise daily, eat well daily, write daily, and learn new things daily. I also wanted to bring beauty, peace, and tranquility in my life. So, I began simply. I read a page a day, I did one push-up a day, I ate one healthy meal a day, I wrote a few sentences each day, and I try to read an article, watch an educational documentary, or read a blog posting.

I take life one day at a time. I focus on what I’m doing and do not allow myself to be distracted by the “noise” that tries to envelop each of us. I remain focused on my goals and do my best to edge ever closer to the finish line.

My attitude: Life is good, it will continue to get better. I will improve a little bit each day in all areas of my life. I will continue to evolve, learn, and grow.

I extend my well-wishes to each of you on your own personal journeys to greater understanding and happiness.

Until next time…

Dave

 

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Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday

Tags

Exercise, Gratitude, Learning, Mindfulness, minimalism, Reading, solitude

“Be who you are, not who the world wants you to be.”
– Unknown

Hello, Readers!

This week’s edition of Wisdom Wednesday addresses a few items related to the most important person in your life—YOU. I’m a bit of a hermit, spending a lot of time in my study reading, writing, and interacting on social media.

I enjoy interacting with people in public, like the gym where I workout or the coffee shops I frequent from time-to-time. I like people, but my focus is on my writing, reading, exercise, learning, and spiritual pursuits. I have learned over the last few years, since my retirement, that so many people are controlled by the society that surrounds us. In the U.S. we work harder and longer than most in other countries, we spend more money on stress-reducing drugs than any other country, and our population is less happy than other countries. This is a bleak outlook, right?

We Americans are the largest consumers on the planet. We chase after the glowing bobbles in the malls, we strive for bigger homes, newer cars, boats, new clothes, plastic surgery and all the rest. Why do we do this? Well, part of it is related to the advertising and marketing practices present every day in our lives. Wherever Americans go, we are bombarded with an advertisement. Advertisement on the web, social media, the radio, television, even our mobile phones. We buy things we don’t need, eat the wrong foods, use alcohol, tobacco, and drugs (prescribed and unprescribed). We take vacations and do so much that we return home more exhausted than before we left. All this purchasing causes us to borrow money in the form of credit cards, signature loans, shopping cards, and the like. This, in turn, drives us to work harder and continue to work to pay off all of these “nice” things, and before we know it we become slaves to the very things we thought we wanted. In the end, we’re still unhappy, we’re exhausted, we’re addicted to things we don’t want to be and we are overweight.

How do we turn this around?

Disconnect

It’s awesome to be connected to the world. It’s fun to have access to our books, music, friends, movies, and the rest on our phones. It’s terrific to be able to watch movies on our computers and interact with our friends on social media.

I’m not proposing that we shut all this down forever but taking some time away from our devices and our technology can be a much-needed relief and put us in a position to just relax and enjoy the moment.

Minimize

If you haven’t looked at Minimalism, you might want to take a look. Minimalists propose only owning what they need and owning only the bare minimum required for survival. The claim is that the less you own, the less you have to take care of, the less money you’ll spend for just more “stuff”.

You can start with your closet. Really look. If you own clothes that you haven’t worn in the last year, donate them. The same applies to the other things you possess. I’ve done this myself and it is quite liberating.

Meditate and Practice Mindfulness

Taking the time to live in the moment is a relaxing and joyous act. Mindfulness is nothing more than paying attention. Enjoying your meals, enjoying the quiet, enjoying the experiences you have, enjoying the people you are with, are just some aspects. Really savor everything. You’ll be amazed how relaxing, centering, and fulfilling the act of mindfulness is.

If you have trouble with this mindset, you should try meditation. Meditation in its simplest form is nothing more than paying attention to your breath. Focus on breathing in and breathing out. This one act performed for just 10 minutes a day will garner some amazing benefits, along with training your mind to be more focused on the task at hand.

Gratitude

Realizing that what you have is all you need is liberating and calming. It also provides a sense of contentment that you may have not felt in a long time. Purposely express your gratitude each morning for a few minutes. You can say what you are grateful for or write these things down in a journal. By putting your attention on being grateful for the blessings in your life, you’ll be less likely to continue chasing after that next “thing”.

Exercise

There are numerous benefits to exercise. Whether you lift weights, do Yoga, run, swim, or just take a walk, the benefits of exercise are huge. You can start by doing something as simple as stretching out in the morning and knocking out a few push-ups or taking a walk in the morning or evening.

Eating Right

Nutrition is the cornerstone of health. Take some time to learn about nutrition. Try focusing on eating whole foods (not in boxes or packaging) and cooking your own meals. You’ll find that you’ll spend less, the food tastes better, and your body will thank you for it.

Sleep

Go to bed on time and avoid the electronics too close to bedtime. They will disrupt your sleep. Come up with a ritual composed of hygiene (hot shower), a little reading, meditation, or a nice cup of herbal tea. Your sleep is critical to your performance and health.

Reading and Learning

Too many of us read too little and stop learning after leaving school. Reading opens us up to new horizons, new ways of thinking, and it allows us to explore the thoughts of authors in different times and nationalities.

Learning should be life-long. There is always something we can learn to improve our lives, our performance at work, and even pick up new skills that will contribute to our well-being far into the future.

Become Your Best Friend

So many of us depend on others for our happiness. So many people need someone else in their lives to be happy. Don’t get me wrong, we are social beings. We need contact with other people. It is wired into the human psyche to interact with our fellow beings. The real question, however, is this: Are you happy with you? Can you be happy without that guy or gal in your life? I would argue that the answer to this question is yes. You can be happy with you and enjoy the solitude that being alone delivers. I’m not proposing that you dump all your friends. I am proposing that you take some time to get to know yourself. Enjoy you.

Final thoughts…

All these tools are easy to implement but are not a panacea. Only you can determine what you need, what will work in your personal situation, and what acts you can take (even others not mentioned) that will improve your outlook and happiness.

If you are happy with your current situation, leave it alone. If not, take some time to look around a bit to find some suggestions offered online, in books, or even ideas you could get from one of your friends or confidants. You’ll be glad you did.

Until next time…

Dave

Weekly Ramblings – Rituals

Tags

minimalism, Prioritize, rituals, Simplify

Hi all!

Sorry, I’ve been away for a while. I took a trip to visit with my brother in Phoenix and got to hang out with my sister for a few days. When I’m with family I spend time with them and avoid online activities for the most part, including this blog, to really enjoy my time with my friends and family without distraction.

I’ve made a few adjustments to my life this year that have proven to be tremendous. I’d like to share these with you. The first change was my journaling practice. Toward the end of last year, I had a gratitude journal, a dream journal, the 5-minute journal, and the Bestself journal. Journaling is awesome, but all of these separate journals became too complex and started eating away at the benefit of journaling itself. So, when things get too complex I simplify. I now have one journal, a simple, 6-dollar journal by Amazon that I use for everything. I use it for my gratitude 3 (morning and evening) where I write down three things I’m grateful for. I do an affirmation exercise writing out what “I AM” fifteen times. I also locate and write down a meaningful quote each day.

The second change was the calendar system I was using. I used to use the Bestself calendar and Google calendar. Again, this was too complex, duplicating my efforts, and causing me to update two different calendars. The solution: Simplify. I now only use Google Calendar to track my important appointments and events that I will attend.

The third change was social media. I was predominantly on LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter. Well, a week ago, I discovered my Twitter account had been hacked. I decided to dump all of my social media to save myself time, lower my stress levels, and just simplify my life. I’ll tell you something. I don’t miss this at all. My phone is actually a phone again. When I spend time with someone I spend time with them. I am not constantly checking my phone for the next update on one of these huge “time bandits” to see if someone liked one of my postings. I may revive Facebook at some point, but for now, social media is gone and I’m not going back in the near future.

The fourth change was in my workout routines. I love the gym. I love to exercise. I love the feeling of satisfaction you get when you complete your workout routine. I adjusted my workout routine to a 7-day schedule and work one body part per day. Back, Chest, Legs, Shoulders, Arms and forearms, and abs and lower back. Day 7 is a day off with cardio only. Right now I only do the strength training for each body part, but will slowly integrate cardio into these workouts as I begin this routine in earnest. I normally workout in my home during the months of December and January because of the bad weather we get in Michigan and because I don’t like to deal with the big crowds in the gym at the first of the year. By late February early March, the New Year’s resolution crowds are gone and the gym is a great haven for health and stress relief.

The last change is my pursuit of publishing a book. I’m currently in a Master’s degree program pursuing a degree in Education, with an emphasis in Special Education. I’ve discovered that it is just too much work to work on a book and try to negotiate a Master’s degree simultaneously. The solution: Simplify. I will finish the degree, then pick up my book writing afterward.

Now that you know all of the changes I’ve made, let’s take a look at my priorities this year. First, I always seek improvement in 4 areas of life. These areas are physical, intellectual, spiritual, and social.

Intellectual -I learn something new every day (I do this by my schooling and free courses I find online). Right now I’m taking a free course on the Constitution offered by Hillsdale College, located right here in my state of Michigan. I also read a lot of blog articles and other articles recommended by the app Pocket.

Physical – I eat right, get plenty of sleep, exercise daily, and use beneficial supplements, the primary one being a good multivitamin. I currently take Opti-men by ON (Optimal Nutrition). I have memberships at two gyms. Planet Fitness so I can go to the gym wherever I find myself; the second is Cutting Edge gym for my weight training.

Spiritual – I journal my dreams, my gratitude, and reflect on my day. I read my bible daily, and pray twice daily (am when I rise and pm before I go to bed). I try to contribute to others by doing a random act of kindness with no expectation of reward. (paying it forward at the drive-through, paying for someone’s groceries, being friendly to people, picking up a mess when I find it, or volunteer at a local food kitchen or something along these lines.

Social – When I spend time with friends and family, my phone is away or off. Since I dumped social media, my phone is rarely a distraction and I can really focus and pay attention to the people I am with. I’m still amazed at all of the people on their phones in a restaurant or other public place when they are with their loved ones. When people are gopping at their phones, it’s like their company isn’t even there. I also took note of all of the social media leaders out there who refuse to let their kids get on social media (big ah-ha for me). If the creators of all of these social media engines refuse to let their kids participate, how good is it for you and me?

So, simplification and minimalism are the watchwords for this year.

I hope some of these ideas help you. The key to all of this is simplicity. Look for the BIG things you can do daily that will contribute the most to you. Look for areas you are doing the same thing two or more times using different things, reexamine your social media, reexamine your priorities, and reset your schedule and rituals. You’ll find you’ll achieve more, you’ll feel better, and you will accomplish a lot more. Most importantly, the important people in your life will take a priority over your phone.

Take care of yourself.

Until next time…

Dave

 

Small Things

Tags

change, children, family, habits, memories, minimalism, pets

I use the Calm Meditation app each day to get centered. One of the features of the Calm app is the quote they provide you when you’re completed with the day’s meditation. Today, Calm provided a quote from Beau Taplin which states: “Whoever said that small things don’t matter has never seen a small match start a wildfire.” This statement really rang true to me this morning when I began posting it on my favorite social networking sites. I try to find meaningful posts to share with my network. It’s just my way of contributing to my connections.

But this quote really got me. Small things can have wide-ranging impact in our lives. Think about the value in making small changes in your routine. What if you added just 10 minutes of cardio exercise into your morning routine? That would build to over 3,650 minutes over the year. What if you wrote one page in your journal each day? Again, that would be 365 pages or one or two books worth of writing. These small things can offer so much value with minimal input. I recently read a few books. One was a book called Mini Habits; the other was a book called The Power of Less. Both of these books speak to the difficulty with change and how to make change easier by doing small things. Focusing on small things each day will soon turn into big changes and those big changes will bring great value to your life.

Think about the most precious moments in your life. Most of these things started from small things. Your wedding day may have its roots from a smile across a room. The day you walked the stage to receive your diploma and degree, resulted from each assignment you began and completed one small piece at a time. More importantly is the impact of small things on relationships. Smiling at your partner in the morning. Giving your child a hug on the way out the door or giving your pet some love in the morning when you wake up. People remember the small things you do for them out of love, not the things you buy for them. They remember the hugs, the kisses, the sticky note left on the refrigerator, or even the quick text you send telling them you are on your way home and you can’t wait to see them. It is these small things that build a long-term relationship.

Our lives are composed of an infinite amount of small moments, each building on each other in a progression of memories, visual snapshots, and audio recordings all captured by our minds. Some remain vivid, while others fade away. Small things matter. The small things we do for ourselves and especially those small things we do for others. Focus on the small things and the big things will follow.

Until next time…