Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Spring is Upon Us

Tags

Attitude, demotivators, dig in, motivation, Motivation Monday, Push Through, Resilience, weather

Weather can be a real demotivator. Do you know anyone that is impacted adversely by the weather. My Mother get’s migraines when it get’s stormy. My sister’s mood is impacted by the “dark” months during Michigan’s Winters, because of the heavy cloud cover we have most of the time. Weather can be a real drag if you are impacted this way.

How do you overcome it? Mom just deals with it. My sister has a sun lamp she uses to help her get more sun. It is interesting to learn how everyone learns to accept and deal with their ailments.

For me, weather was a demotivator in the military. Why? Because I lived in it. I had no ability to escape the elements, other than wear the issued gear we were provided with. But, that did not stop the freezing rain, snow storms, or the mud we dealt with. I turned my dislike of bad weather around psychologically, by digging in even more when the elements were against us. It also prompted me to buy a portable butane stove, sold by a military store. What a godsend. Hot coffee will always take away the chill.

Many authors I have read suggest we take our good weather with us. Despite the rain, the snow, or whatever else, we take our good mood with us. So make the best of your circumstances and dig in. The bad weather will pass and you’ll have accomplished a great deal in the meantime.

Have a great Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Checklists

Tags

Checklists, Eat the Frog, Games, motivation, Motivation Monday, Planning, Sam Levenson, tasks

Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.

Sam Levenson

Have you ever watched the clock? When I am doing this, I realize that I am experiencing resistance. I can’t wait for the thing I’m doing to end. If you catch this yourself, take a moment. Perhaps this task is something you really don’t want to do. If you are in a position to choose, I’d recommend putting that thing on hold for a while. There’s no sense in doing something you do not enjoy or are not motivated to continue.

If you are in a position where the task you are doing must be completed or is mandated by your employer, find some ways to make it tolerable. I used to make things into a game. Let’s say you have to make some uncomfortable calls. Eat the Frog and get it done. Eat the Frog is the phrase used to get the stuff done you really don’t want to do at the first of the day, so you can get on with your day and avoid procrastination. Let’s face it folks, regardless of what you decide to do with your day, there is always something about that task that isn’t so fun. Get that stuff done first!

I find for myself that having a list of things to do each day is the best way to avoid clock watching. Plan out your day, list out the tasks you need to do each day, and knock them out. One by one. Knock one down, then off to the next. If your day is sufficiently planned with all the activities you need to get done, you’ll be motivated to keep checking them off as you go and the faster your day will go (psychologically). The closer you get to the end of your list, the easier it becomes, and the entire process is really motivating, when you know that once you complete those tasks you are done for the day, to do whatever you want to do. Make sense? When I come to work in an “unplanned” state, nothing is written down and no checklist is in place, my day is absolute drudgery.

Planning, creating lists, and checking them off each day is a terrific way to get things done, avoid the clock watching addressed by Sam Levenson, and get your stuff done, so you can do what you want to.

Have a great week, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Unbreakable

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 – Week of Nov 9, 2020

Tags

Consistency, Dedication, Determination, Discipline, Do what you love, Focus, Motivation Monday

It’s the beginning of the week, and we’ve got to get moving!

Here’s my routine for the week:

Reading daily; Writing daily; Exercise Daily; Spiritual tasks daily; Learning daily; and Posting quotes/blogging daily.

One of my favorite tasks each day is programming. I am really enjoying Python. I’ve been at it for a year, and now I’m starting to feel some comfort with it. I’ve still got more to learn, but I’m getting there.

Have a great week, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Circle of Control

Tags

Consistency, Daily Rituals, Daily Tasks, Discipline, Mental, Motivation Monday, Persistence, Physical, Social, Spiritual

The late Stephen Covey wrote about the Circle of Control in his book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The Circle of Control is what you control entirely. It is your attitude, your belief system, your values, and your actions. The Circle of Control does not depend on anyone or anything else.

What a lot of people worry about is what is called the Circle of Concern. They are concerned about the weather, what another person will do, or what event might happen. Do they have control of any of these things? No. This is why the Circle of Concern if focused on will actually shrink the Circle of Control. Focus on what you can control and you will grow your Circle of Control. Take this little piece of advice into the upcoming week. You’ll be less stressed and more productive.

Here’s my week folks (All tasks listed below are daily tasks (Monday – Saturday):

Physical: (See Workout Routine)

Mental: Reading Star Carrier Series Book 3, Reading my Bible, Computer Science Path on Codecademy, and working on my book, The Forever Soldier.

Spiritual: Reading my Bible, Gratitude and Dream Journaling, Working through my Spiritual discourses, doing my spiritual exercises

Social: Post uplifting quotes and poems, Blogging, staying in contact with my friends and family

Have a great week, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Monday Motivation!

Tags

Mental improvement, Motivation Monday, Social activities, spirituality, workout

Well, folks. It’s the beginning of a new week. What do you have planned to accomplish this week? What habits are you trying to establish or maintain?

This week is the beginning of week three of Kris Gethin’ s Hardcore trainer. This week, I’ll be doing two 30-minute cardio sessions, combined with weight training Mon-Fri.

I also have some online classes I’m taking: Udemy course on nonfiction book writing, a Happiness course from Yale on Coursera, and a course on U.S. Presidents offered for free by Hillsdale College.

This week, I’m elevating the game on my exercise routine by documenting my meals, sleep, weight, supplements, and exercise routines. I’ve got a buddy of mine that I will email these to each day to keep myself accountable.

For my spiritual pursuits, I will do two sessions of meditation each day (once in the morning and once in the evening before bed), read my Bible daily, and read a chapter in a religious book each day.

How do you structure your week? What are you doing to improve physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially? Let me know in the comments area if you are comfortable with sharing.

Have a great week everybody!!

Until next time…

Dave