Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday

Tags

Consistency, Exercise, Learning, motivation, Patience, perseverence, Persistence, Skills, spirituality

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” Walter Elliot

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/walter_elliot_190719?src=t_motivational

Want to learn a secret? Here’s a secret that will change your life.

You will accomplish whatever you set out to do if you do not quit trying to accomplish it.

I don’t care if you are trying to lose weight, stop smoking, read more, write more, learn more. Say you want to learn a new language. Learning a new language is hard. Quitting a bad habit is hard. Learning how to do something you’ve never done before is hard.

Learn incrementally and continuously. Take a little bit of new information, study it, read it, do something with it in little bite-size chunks on a daily basis and before you know it you’ll own that new knowledge. You’ll build the skill. The challenge with this type of learning is consistency. You have to keep doing it over and over and over and never stop. You must really want the new knowledge or skill.

If you keep pushing forward, keep digging in consistently, keep pushing the envelope, you’ll see some dramatic results over time. Stick with it and you’ll achieve your goal over time. It’s really that simple.

Here’s what I’m up to this week:

• I’m leading a Book discussion class on Past lives, dreams, and Soul travel today at a local library
• I’m still sick but doing some home workouts to get back into my routine of daily exercise
• I’ve read 2 books of the 48 I am goaled for and currently reading 5 books simultaneously. Each month I’m tackling 4 books—one fiction book, one history book, one book on philosophy, and one on self-help. Currently I’m reading book 2 of the 2136 series, book on Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, Unit 731 – Japanese biological warfare unit in WWII, and The One Thing.
• I’m finalizing the initial rough draft of my technical recruiting book.
• I am working through a basic JavaScript programming course on Codecademy.
• I just wrapped up a course on WWII that was offered for free by Hillsdale College (hillsdale.edu).
• I’m watching a course offered by Dr. Jordan Peterson on Personality and transformation on YouTube. He currently teaches at the University of Toronto. All his courses are available on his YouTube channel. The current lecture series is composed of 20 lectures spanning between an hour and two hours each. It is time-consuming but interesting.
• I’m starting to brainstorm my own YouTube channel. I am still thinking about what I would like to do with this. This is probably something I’ll investigate next year but will begin putting together a plan for this by the end of this year.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. I hope all of you are keep pushing forward with your goals.

Have a great week!

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday

Tags

Accepting Reality, Complaining, Epictetus, Gratitude, Lessons, Patience, Stephen Covey

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” – Epictetus

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/wisdom

Do you have trouble with complaining?

I used to, until I read a book by Stephen Covey, called “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. In that book he discusses the fruitlessness of worrying or complaining about things that are out of our control. People complain about the weather, taxes, or any number of things that just happen and are out of their control.

There are lots of things we can do to mitigate challenges in our lives. We can take care of our health to avoid costly medical bills. We can manage our money, so we don’t miss payments and can plan for retirement. We can improve our skill set, so we are always viable in this fast-paced society.

Complaining about things that occur in our lives is really a waste of time. Things happen. One of my colleagues told me something a while back that was truly eye-opening. He said, “Remember, things happen for us, not to us.” What a great way to look at all the things that occur in our lives that just happen.

There are a few things I have come to believe in my life. First, everything is in its rightful place in the worlds of God. God is perfect. God doesn’t mess things up. There is a reason for everything. What is the reason? We are here to learn how to be better spiritually. Subsequently, what the human consciousness deems evil, bad, or unfortunate means nothing at the God-level.

Second, there is a lesson to be learned in every problem we face. If you agree with our purpose of existence—to learn, then each problem or situation we are placed in is an experience. These experiences are designed to teach us. They teach us what to do, what not to do, and how to be a more loving being. A being that knows how to give love and receive love.

Finally, everything happens for a reason. Many times, we don’t see the reason behind something that happens outside of us that affects our life. Maybe you needed to meet someone. Maybe you needed to go to a certain place. Maybe you needed an example of what not to do. The possibilities are endless and, in most cases, are a little bit outside our level of consciousness so that we “stretch” a little.

Sometimes we complain because we are helpless. We are unhappy with our current situation. Keep the above three things in mind when you begin singing the “woe is me” song. Instead, take a moment to be grateful for the situation you are in. There is a lesson to be learned. I have found when I take a moment to express gratitude for my life, regardless of my circumstances, life gets easier, lighter, happier.

I hope you enjoy your weekend! It’s great to be back from Phoenix and get back to work on the things I enjoy doing, particularly writing these daily postings for you, my readers. I hope each of you finds some wisdom in these words and they help you. That is the primary purpose of my blog. I’m not here to make money. I’m not here to be an affiliate for any company. I just want to spread the knowledge and wisdom I’ve gained throughout my life with the hope that perhaps my words will help someone else.

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Truth is never hidden

Tags

answers, Golden-Tongued Wisdom, Listening, Patience, Truth, Waking Dream, Watching

The principles of Spirit are embedded in the literature and in the life of our culture. Truth is never hidden. It is always available for the Soul who wants to take the next step. —Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

I find that the answers I seek are always available. Some come as nudges from within, while others come in the form of a message on a radio, a conversation I overhear, a magazine article, website, or even a novel. In Eckankar, we call these insights the “Golden-Tongued Wisdom” or the “Waking Dream”.

Try this out for yourself. Ask a question (write it down or say it to yourself). Then wait. Sometimes the answer will come quickly, while other times it will take a while to come in. When you get the answer, test it, confirm it, really make sure you have what you were looking for. This “intuition” will be right more often than not.

I had to make a life-changing decision in December 2016. My Father has been struggling with Dementia for more than a few years and it has begun to get worse. In conjunction with my Dad’s illness, my personal situation was collapsing to the point that I had to make a move one way or the other. I decided to come home to help out my folks.

As I drove from Arizona to my home state of Michigan, I began doubting my decision. I was saying to myself, “Dave, what are you doing?” These doubts ran rampant over my mind as I trudged along the highways between my old home and my new. Since I could not quiet my mind, I decided to ask for a confirmation. I really wanted to know that I was making the right move.

On the highway, on the way home I looked to the right as I talked with my Dad and a billboard had a message on it that confirmed my decision. A day later as I was crossing the Michigan Ohio border I saw another billboard off to the left of me as I moved slowly during a traffic jam. This was the second confirmation. I would like to keep these messages private, but you get the point. I asked and received two confirmations in the form of billboard messages. Crazy? Maybe. But the solution that presented itself has been good for me and good for my family, particularly my Mom who was having more difficulty taking care of my Dad.

I have found in my personal life that these truths or answers are out there for the taking if we only take the time to formulate what we are looking for and being patient for the answer. They always come. The key to this whole process is being open to the source it comes from. It could come from anywhere and anything. Just listen and watch.

Well, we’re fast approaching Memorial Day! I hope all of you are having a great weekend so far!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – Be Patient

Tags

Asking Questions, Jean Racine, Patience, Receiving Answers

“There are no secrets that time does not reveal.” – Jean Racine

Have you ever had a question that no one could answer? You do some research, you go to close friends and family, and no one has an answer. At these moments, I just relax and go within. I just ask the question internally and then let it go.

What I find interesting about this technique is that the answers always come. It may take time, but they always come. I have had random people walk up to me and tell me something that applies to my question. I’m searching the Internet and I run across a phrase or a website with the answer. I’m driving down the road and see the answer on a billboard, hear it on a radio station, or any other number of sources.

It’s absolutely uncanny. But, it works. It has never failed me. The key to getting the answers to the questions we ask is to be openminded to the source that provides us the answer, regardless of the modality or location. The most important part of this process or technique is patience. Sometimes my answers come quickly. Other times it may be a few weeks or even a month.

Ask the question, be open to anyone and anything for your answer. Be patient. Your answer is coming.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quotes – Patience and the “Compounding Effect” of daily progress

Tags

Accomplishment, Compounding Effect, Instant Gratification Culture, Patience

Well folks, today I couldn’t find a quote that was worth your while. That happens from time to time because my quote sources just don’t give me what I’m looking for. That being said, I did want to provide a little chat on patience.

We are “trained” to want everything instantly. Think about how easy it is to purchase things today. You go to Amazon or iTunes or some other shopping venue, click on something and it’s either automatically downloaded to your mobile device or it is shipped and at your home in a few days.

Obviously, this is an awesome aspect of our technological capability and one that is really convenient. The problem: We expect this same kind of ease and speed with everything. This is a difficult thing to deal with when you are pursuing a long-term goal like weight loss, writing a book, or earning a degree. These things all take a consistent effort over months and years to attain the final goal or product.

Think about the amount of time it took you to get the body you have. It took years. We don’t notice this because when you are satisfying your sweet tooth, the satisfaction we receive from eating these treats, overrides any sense we have about our health. Subsequently, we slowly but surely gain weight, get out of shape, and wake up one day when none of our clothes fit comfortably anymore.

How do we counter this aspect of our lives? Well, it’s hard. It’s hard because eating healthy takes adjustment. It’s hard because going to a gym and exercising takes adjustment. The key is to remember how long it took to get your body where it is today and realize it will take the same length of time to get back to where you were before you began gaining weight.

Patience is required when we pursue anything that requires a long-term commitment. Losing weight, learning a language, earning a degree, or even writing a book, requires consistent effort over time. What makes these types of commitments easier for me is the “compounding effect” that occurs when you stick with something. Reading a chapter a day yields 365 chapters a year. Exercising daily subtracts from our caloric intake. If you did 20 minutes of cardio every day and burned 100 calories, that’s 36,500 calories a year!

The next time you start losing motivation for doing something, go through this exercise. It will help you see the benefits of what you are doing and provide you the means to make one more step. This is a great way to really see what you are capable of accomplishing in a year.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – Michael Jordan

Tags

Michael Jordan, Patience, Persistence, Showing up, Working Hard

Today’s Quote:

“Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.” – Michael Jordan

This quote speaks to persistence and showing up. If you’ve ever read anything about Michael Jordan, you know he’s a hard worker. He practiced harder than anyone on the teams he played for. He demonstrated that showing up is better than giving up.

I draw inspiration from a lot of folks. One of my goals is to build a body that is muscular, lower my body fat percentage, and to be an example for other individuals over 50 years of age. It is a tough road. The body isn’t as responsive as it was when I was 20. I look at food and gain weight. I get frustrated easily, particularly when my transformation doesn’t happen overnight. Sound familiar?

We all live in a world that goes out of its way to get results now! We look for a magic pill, a bodybuilding supplement, some new technique in the gym, anything to get those instant results. The real truth: the people that look the way they do put in years of hard work, monitoring their food intake, their supplementation, and the work they were doing in the gym. They paid the price.

If anything, bodybuilding has taught me patience. Your body is the way it is because of years of bad habits. Eating junk food, drinking empty carbohydrates, sucking down soda, and consuming lots of salt, fat, and sugar.

The journey is worth it, however. I enjoy working out. I enjoy the discipline of eating within my macro allowances (proteins, carbs, and fats). Does everyday result in what I want? No. Like Michael Jordan, I am going to show up and work hard. I am not going to stop until I have achieved the body I want.

I wish each of you the best of luck on whatever your journey is.

Have a great Saturday!!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Abraham Lincoln, Discipline, Patience, Quote

Today’s Quote:

” Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” – Abraham Lincoln

So true folks. Whether you are trying to lose weight, learn a new language, earn a promotion, or whatever, the process does take hard work and sacrifice. So many folks are fooled by “get-rich quick” schemes or “lose weight now” scams.

These are hard things to do because they take a certain amount of discipline to do them. These things also take time.

One of the bodybuilders I worked out with in the Army (name withheld for his privacy) said, “Bodybuilding is a way of life. It is not a race, but a marathon–one that will last your entire life.” This is what I’m talking about. You can’t achieve meaningful change over night. It takes time.

Until next time…

Dave