Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Grateful for Retirement

Tags

Blogging, Exercising, Grateful, Gratitude, Joy, Learning, Loving, Reading, Retirement, Service, Writing

When I was in the Army, particularly when I surpassed 10 years of service, I knew I was going to retire. It just didn’t make sense to leave the service and walk away from retirement. Boy, I’m glad I did.

I am grateful for the time I served, and if young enough, and faced with the same choices when I was younger, I’d do it all again. It was an adventure of a lifetime and it offered me the opportunity to do things I would have never had an opportunity to experience any other way.

I served in Europe for 6 years. I was in Berlin, Germany when the Berlin Wall came down. I was at the retirement ceremony for Checkpoint Charlie. I got to see Reagan give his famous “Tear down this wall” speech. So many memories.

Because of my service, my medical care is literally free for life. I had the opportunity to retire early and come home to help my folks. This has been a great thing. How many people get to celebrate their parent’s senior years? Not many. In fact, most people will never retire.

Honestly, I am not retired either. The key difference between my working life and my “retired” life is that I can do what I want. So, I am.

What do I love? I love reading. I love writing. I love exercise. I love serving. I love meeting new people and having impromptu conversations with people. I also love learning. So this is what I do every day.

What is something I discovered pretty quickly? I learned that I couldn’t just hang out and do nothing. Netflix is entertaining, but watching it all day every day—No thanks!

My military experience has bled into this retired life. I need structure. I don’t need a minute-by-minute schedule, but I need to do the same things daily. I do all the things I enjoy each day. I love blogging. I love working on my book projects. I love learning new things. All the things I do every day are an absolute joy. I hope all of you are in a position some day to do the same if you wish to.

So this is what I’m grateful for. My retirement and the new adventure I’ve embarked upon.

Have a great Thursday everybody!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Reading and Writing can Extend Your Life

Tags

Alzheimer's, Dementia, Entertainment, habits, journaling, Joy, Reading, Writing

Today’s Wisdom is provided by Kreuz (2019). His article (see reference below) provides the benefits of keeping a journal and reading fiction.

“Keeping a journal, for example, has been shown to substantially reduce the risk of developing various forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.” (Kreuz, 2019)

Journaling is personal. It can be a diary of sorts where you write about your day or it can be more specific like what you eat, your exercise routine, or even a catalogue of your thoughts, poems you like, or books you have read.

I do my gratitude journaling in the morning and keep a personal journal that I write in. My version of a journal is like a diary. It is a collection of ideas, things I think about, and a way to get things out of my head and onto paper.

The easiest way to start a journal is simply to buy one and set a time in the morning, afternoon, or evening when you write in it. Keep it handy. Over time, my journaling has evolved into a set session in the morning, followed by internal nudges that say “Hey, this is important or this is bothering you–write it down.”

Reading is also important. Kreuz (2019) states:

 

“Reading fiction, meanwhile, has been associated with a longer lifespan. A large-scale study conducted by the Yale University School of Public Health found that people who read books for at least 30 minutes a day lived, on average, nearly two years longer than non-readers. This effect persisted even after controlling for factors like gender, education and health. The researchers suggest that the imaginative work of constructing a fictional universe in our heads helps grease our cognitive wheels.”

The easiest way to start a reading habit is to set aside a time to read each day. I like to read in the afternoon and evening before I go to bed. It helps me sleep, and it does exactly what Kreuz (2019) explains–it works the brain because you have to create the worlds the author is depicting.

I read one chapter a day. If I have time, I read more than that, but the daily goal is one chapter. Everything after that is bonus reading. You can do the same. The key to reading consistently is to find books that really engage you. What genre do you enjoy? I’m a science fiction fan. I like stories about spaceships, aliens, clones, cyborgs, and the like. You may like mysteries, thrillers, or even romance. Find the genre you enjoy and stick with that for a bit. Once you begin reading and getting into a story, you’ll be hooked like I am.

Reading and writing are terrific ways to entertain yourself and keep that brain working. Try it out. A journaling and writing practice should take about an hour a day. Both will keep your mind working and keep your mind clear.

I hope all of you have a great Wednesday!

Until next time…

Dave

Reference

Kreuz, R. (2019). How reading and writing can help us live longer, healthier lives. Retrieved from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/reading-thirty-minutes-day-increase-life-expectancy

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Watch what you See and Listen To

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Influences, Inputs, Movies, Music, Negativity, Reading, Surroundings, The News

Sri Harold Klemp discusses how negativity in music and other inputs can pollute the body. It is wise council.

If you are not feeling well or seem to be in a bad mood, look around at your surroundings. Is there someone in your life that is exceedingly negative? Is the music you listen to filled with negativity? Are you watching a lot of violent shows or movies?

I love heavy metal when I work out. I love to watch a great action movie with lots of violence. I like politics and the news. One of the areas I began to notice that had a dramatic effect on my well-being was the news. Every time I would watch CNN, MSNBC, FOX news, or even catch Rush Limbaugh on the radio I would become very angry and stressed out. I decided to cut back on this stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I still scan the news. What I changed was getting too involved in the stories. When I did that, my life smoothed out a bit. I was less anxious and angry. I was more relaxed.

These are just examples. For some of you, none of these may have any effect on your overall outlook. This is individual. If you do get into a funk, start monitoring what you’re watching and listening to. Watch what you are reading. Many of the things you may be exposing yourself to may be harming you, without your knowledge. Experiment. Cut down on the sad or negative music you’re listening to. Watch movies that are uplifting instead of violent. If any of these changes, lighten your mood, you have solved the mystery.

I’m posting this early today, because I have some things to do tomorrow and wanted to get this posting out of the way in advance. If anything in this article helps you, leave a comment. I’d like to hear about what you learned.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Happy Labor Day!

Tags

Blogging, Exercise, Goal Achieved, Labor Day, Meditation, motivation, My Schedule, Reading, Writing

This week’s schedule:

Labor Day – Celebrate!

Tuesday – Saturday:

• Write section of book daily
• Read one chapter daily
• Work on Python Project in Codecademy daily
• Do one section of writing course daily
• Blog Daily
• Exercise at gym daily
• meditate daily

Goal Achieved – 48 Books read this year. YES!!! (I’ll be upping this to 60 next year and will continue reading one chapter a day or more in 2019)

It’s the little things you do daily that build to big things over time. The above schedule will help me achieve my physical, mental, spiritual, and social goals this year. Get ready to attack your schedule tomorrow!

For those of you who celebrate, Happy Labor Day!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Why?

Tags

Achievement, Exercise, Goals, Learning, Meditation, Reading, What is your "why"?, Writing

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Happy Monday!

My nephew is visiting, and it’s a great time. We are catching up on things that are happening in Arizona and enjoying his company. My Mom and Dad are thrilled he is here and enjoying the time with him.

This week I’ll be writing, exercising, meditating, programming, reading, and learning. I’ll also be doing some stuff with my nephew and getting ready for a religious retreat this weekend. It’ll be a great week!

I was pondering the reasons why I do what I do. I do the things I do because I enjoy them. I like to write because it helps me clarify my thinking, organize my thoughts, and express myself. I like to exercise because it provides a sense of accomplishment and I feel good after I’ve completed it. Exercise for me is a daily battle but one that I typically win. I try to exercise early in the day to get it done. It sets the tone for the rest of the day. Meditation is a no-brainer for me. The benefits of consistent meditation is just too good to miss out on. I enjoy the mental clarity that comes from meditating, along with the focus I am able to achieve. Learning and programming have always been passions of mine. I am currently working through a Python course and taking a writing course. Both are ways for me to improve myself and learn something that I can use for an income. Reading is always a joy. I enjoy reading because I learn from the authors I select and it is entertaining.

I like having a format to my day. I like waking up and looking at my to-do list, the bulk of which is recurring. There are always things that I need to do that pop up now and then but for the most part, my schedule is pretty consistent.

What is your why? Why are you pursuing what you are pursuing? Why do you have goals? Why do you want to achieve them? These are great questions to ask, particularly if you are finding that you’ve lost interest in what you are doing or need to alter what your game plan is for the day. I tend to do an inventory of these things a few times a year. Sometimes I get burned out on taking courses, so I’ll take a break from them. Sometimes I enjoy reading multiple books at once. Other times I enjoy one book. My exercise fluctuates from going to the gym every day to doing a home workout. My meditations use an app some days and do not use anything other days. I keep my days fresh by redoing my inventory of doing things once in a while. I never drop my goals, but I do change what goals I am focusing on, just to avoid monotony.

Most of my goals now are bucket list items. These are the things I want to accomplish before I leave this Earth. Writing a book or two, attaining and maintaining a certain weight, writing a mobile app and a computer app that I can sell are also bucket item lists. These are long-term goals. I have some short-term goals (yearly), like taking so many courses, reading so many books. I also have some indefinite goals or things that I pursue all the time that do not have a finish date or final state of being. Goals like weight loss, eating healthy, and maintaining my financials are ongoing, never-ending goals.

Take a few moments to understand why you have the goals you have. Are you making progress? Are you driven to attain them? If you find yourself resisting goals you want to achieve, try to understand what is driving you to achieve that goal? Maybe your why isn’t strong enough. Maybe you’ve lost interest. That’s ok. Move on to something else and put that goal on hold for a bit. It doesn’t mean you’ve quit, it just means you want to focus on goals you are really driven to achieve in this moment. You can always return to it later.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. Have a great Monday and a great week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – You Don’t Need Motivation to do What You Love

Tags

Commitment, Dedication, Exercising, Focus, Learning, Meditating, motivation, passion, Reading, Writing

Image by rawpixel from Pixabay

Happy Monday!

What do you have planned this week? I had a great conversation with my wife yesterday. She just placed 2nd and 5th in two different bodybuilding categories at a competition in Las Vegas. I asked her what she did to get into the shape she got into for the competition. Here’s a bit.

Two workout sessions each day in the final 8 weeks. She does 1 hour of cardio (treadmill) followed by 45 minutes in the Sauna. She eats only chicken, rice, oatmeal (dry), protein shake, and egg whites. In the last 4 days, prior to the competition, she ate only chicken with ¼ cup of rice in the evening. Her weight training sessions are an hour to an hour and a half after a long day of work (she’s a special education teacher). She eats about 1.5 lbs of chicken each day. The only thing she can drink is water. No coffee, no tea, no soda, no protein shakes, nothing.

Sounds tough right? Not if you are driven, dedicated, and motivated and love what you are doing. My wife loves exercise and lifting and competing. To her this is not that big of a deal. She inspires me.

The picture above is in Las Vegas this last Saturday. So proud of my wife!!!

So what do you want to do, but can’t seem to get yourself to do? Take a measure of your motivation. Do you really want to do this? Is there something else you would rather do? Find something that really motivates you. Maybe your drives lead you to writing a book, starting a business, learning a new language, traveling, or something else. Find that thing. Find the thing you can dedicate your time to without breaking yourself against your own willpower.

We all need to exercise and eat right. These are a given, but we don’t need to put ourselves into a situation like my wife does. She does it because she loves it. Find that thing that you need to put a little effort into, but is really effortless. We all have that one or two things that we are excited about.

Here are the things I enjoy every day. I love exercising, reading, writing, meditating, and learning. I also love video games, movies, and music. I exercise every day. I read every day. I write every day. I meditate every day (twice), and I love learning (I’m learning computer programming via Codecademy). Initially, I had to figure out how to get all these things into my day. Once I figured out how to get all of these things into my day, I moved to tracking them by putting them on a to-do list that repeats indefinitely. I used Google tasks for this process. Google tasks is available in your Gmail account, can be displayed to the right of Google calendar, and is an app you can download to your phone. Since most of my work is on my computer, I keep track of what I’ve done and what I haven’t done on my computer using the task list in Google Calendar.

Start small, especially if you are trying something new. When I built my reading habit, it was literally reading just a few pages each day. Now I’m up to a chapter a day. I read a few pages in my Bible and then I read a chapter.

What about scheduling you ask? Well, that depends on your life. I’m retired so my schedule is a little more dynamic. I tend to just tackle what I need to in no specific order. My exercise routine used to be first thing in the morning, but that’s tough when either my Mom or I have to be home to take care of my Dad. He has “episodes” where he literally passes out and someone must be here every day with him to make sure we are around to revive him if this happens. So, I have to work around my Mom’s errands and such so one of us can be with Dad. No problem. I can exercise with my exercise bands, I can use one of my exercise apps. The rest is all at my computer, so not a big deal.

You may be working, so you’ll have to look at what you want to do daily and physically schedule this stuff in on your calendar at specific times. Find out what you are truly passionate about and get to work.

Here’s my plan for the upcoming week:

• Read 1 chapter daily
• Write one section in my book daily
• Read my Bible daily
• Exercise – Cardio and Weights, Bands, or Calisthenics daily
• Meditate 2x daily
• Complete one lesson on Codecademy daily

I hope each of you has a great week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Persistence

Tags

Exercise, Insomnia, Learning, My week, Persistence, Reading, Spiritual Work, Writing

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas A. Edison

Hello, folks! Happy Monday!

I found this quote and felt it was exactly in alignment with what I wanted to talk about today–persistence. Persistence is what gets you through anything. It helps you when you doubt what you are doing. It helps when the obstacles to your progress pile up. It is supported by faith. The faith that you do have what it takes to succeed. We all have this capability. We just have to stick with what we are doing to get to where we want to go.

I try to keep my life simple. Read daily, write daily, learn daily, exercise daily, and spiritual exercises daily. This is it. Where I have fallen down this year is in the exercise arena. I go, then I don’t go, I start this program and then I stop this program. Today, I’m revamping my exercise routine and starting again. Exercise is important to me and once in a while I’ll lose track of that key point. I’m not into exercising for aesthetic purposes. I don’t care about posting an infinite amount of selfies showing off this or that. For me, it is just about feeling good, sleeping well, and taking care of myself.

For a few weeks, I was going through some horrific insomnia. I couldn’t sleep. One of the primary causes for this insomnia was my lack of consistent exercise. You see, I have always been hyperactive. If I don’t get rid of some energy doing yard work, exercise, and some actual brain work every day, I am not tired at all when I go to bed. I just lay there tossing and turning. I realize some folks suffer a form of insomnia because of worry. I do not fall into this category. My life is pretty calm, without too much drama. I feel for you if you cannot sleep because of excessive worry. This is a horrible place to be.

Ok. This week, we’ll be hitting it hard in the gym (check my workouts on my Workout Routine posts). I’ll be doing some work on my book, continue to post here, and work through an NLP course I signed up for on Udemy. I’ve also got my daily yard work to do, pending the weather. I hope each of you has a terrific week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – It’s Great to Learn New Things

Tags

Coursera, family, God, Learning, Life, Reading, Udemy, Writing

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Today I am grateful for the ability to read, write, and learn. Think about some people on the planet that are illiterate or have suffered from a traumatic brain injury or a learning disability that precludes them from learning the same way you and I learn. My wife is a special education teacher, and she works with these kids every day.

I am grateful for my interest in learning new things. I truly enjoy learning something I didn’t know yesterday. I enjoy taking a trip with an author and walking through the mental libraries they have created in their books. “Look here”, they say. “Look there. This is really important.” I am also grateful for the free repositories of books online and my local library. So many books to read and so little time.

Online learning is also a terrific thing. Think about it. You can learn a great deal by reading other people’s blogs, reading books, and attending classes and webinars, most of which are absolutely free. Why learn you ask? It adds to you. It provides you with skills that you can continue to earn a living with. It gives you a wide berth of experiences through other’s eyes that you may not have the ability to do on your own.

I recently read a book about finding out what you love to do. Think about how many people are in jobs they hate. Can you imagine going to a job that stressed you out and made you unhappy? We all have to make a living one way or another. People who are trapped in a job they hate is a really bad place to be in. Yet, many do not take advantage of the learning opportunities that are available to them. I am grateful that I am not one of these people.

I am always looking to improve. I want to improve my physical body; I want to improve my spiritual practice; I want to improve my skill set, and I want to build my knowledge. I am grateful I have that drive to do these things, day in and day out. Recently, I started listening to albums on Spotify, starting with various jazz artists. I also enjoy the classics, but wanted to start with Jazz. I listened to albums by Miles Davis and Bill Brubeck. Wow! What a treat. I am going to listen to Dizzy Gillespie next. It will be a nice treat. When I listen I put in my earphones, close my eyes, and picture myself in some speakeasy, listening and watching the band and the people there. It is terrific how music takes you places when it is really good.

I hope each of you can find things in your lives you are grateful for. It is a great feeling to sit back and think about all the things that contribute to your life and how nice it is to have them. Gratitude for God, for family, for your life, with all of its difficulties, and the rich experiences each of our lives contain, if we only look and appreciate them. Life is too short to be pissed off or afraid all the time. Take some time each day to express your gratitude for even the smallest thing. It will change the way you engage with the world and interestingly, when you have cultivated the gratitude habit, the world will give you more things to be grateful for.

Life is grand.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Learning with the Written Word

Tags

Amazon KIndle, Christina DesMarais, Confucius, Freebooksy, Goodreads, Inc.com, Nook, Reading, Scribd

“You cannot open a book without learning something.” – Confucius

Image by Eli Digital Creative from Pixabay 

Do you have a reading habit? I read voraciously every day. I read to learn new things, explore different historical periods, and analyze why an author did this or that to get his or her point across. I can’t imagine a day without reading. I truly enjoy it.

According to Inc.com contributor, Christina DesMarais, “reading fiction can help you be more open-minded and creative” and help you live longer. How much should you read? Well, it is really about what you prioritize during your day. It is possible to read 12 books a year, without too much work (that’s one book a month). I like to make a game out of it. If you haven’t seen this yet, Goodreads.com has a free reading challenge you can participate in every year. Just create a free account and click on reading challenge. You can select the number of books you want to read this year and it will keep track of that for you as long as you keep your list updated. Luckily, the Amazon Kindle helps you by linking directly to your Goodreads account. Click Goodreads if you’d like to check this out.

I read predominantly online because it is easier on my eyes. I also use a few services to get access to books. I have a library card for anything I want to get my hands on that is not available on the Amazon Kindle. I also use Scribd (which costs about $8/month). To get access to a lot of free books by Indie authors, I use a service called Freebooksy. Click Scribd to check out their services. Click Freebooksy to check out this amazing service. Scribd has saved me a lot of money by offering books I would normally have to pay for individually, because many of the books that were offered a year or so ago make their way to Scribd as a means of building a following beyond the initial hype associated with a book’s initial launch. Freebooksy will deliver a list of titles you can download for free. Scribd has a huge repository of books, magazines, audible books, and comic books for your use as part of your membership. There is a limit to how many books you can download, but I have not breached my limit yet. I’m not too big into audible books yet, but in the future when my eyes degrade enough, audible books may be another option I used to satisfy me.

If you are one of those people that have not fully embraced digital content, because you like the feel of a book in your hands or enjoy the smell of a new book you pick up at a bookstore, no problem. I would utilize your local library for those needs. I would challenge you to adapt to the digital world. You have so much more access to many books you will not find at your local library or that are available in print without a lot of cost. Many Indie authors will offer a Kindle-version of their book for free and charge a pretty penny for a hardcover or paperback version of their book. This is because Amazon will print on demand the books people order from them. One word of caution: Please read a few books by an Indie author in digital form first. I’ve run across some really great talent in the Indie space, but have also run across some really bad ones too. It’s better to find out that a book is bad in digital form that was bad vs. spending your hard-earned money on an untested author.

There are some other great resources for books that are out of print, rare, or really old. Check out these services if you’d like to find some real gems. The links are:

The HathiTrust Organization

The Gutenberg Project

The Literature Network

Authorama

All of these sites offer e-books that are compatible with the Kindle, Nook (Barnes & Noble), and most e-reader apps you may be using from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. The link I’m most familiar with is The Gutenberg Project. I’ve read quite a few books from this site and they were terrific.

Well, I hope this helps some of you who may have been looking for some resources to help you get started on your reading quest. I truly enjoy reading and learn something new every day. Sometimes, just getting that one new idea from a book can provide untold benefits that will help you with your business, your writing career, your blogging, or even learning a new skill. I can’t recommend starting a new reading habit enough.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – New Schedule and Exercise Routine

Tags

Bradley Whitford, Brainy Quote, Exercise, Goals, journaling, Learning, Reading, Writing

“Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen… yourself, right now, right down here on Earth.” Bradley Whitford Read more at: From Brainy Quote

Happy Monday, folks!

This week will be full of activity. I’m taking a course on Neuro Linguistic Programming and a course on Politics. I am working on my recruiting book. I am also doing a lot of reading. My exercise routine will involve a new 6-day split. Today, I got back into the gym.

My 6-day workout plan is: Monday (Chest, Triceps, and Abs and 20 minutes cardio), Tuesday (Back, Biceps, and Calves and 20 minutes cardio), Wednesday (Shoulders, forearms, 20 minutes cardio), Thursday (Quads, Abs, and 20 minutes cardio), Friday (Hamstrings, calves, 20 minutes cardio), Saturday (Chest, Back, Shoulders, and 20 minutes cardio). I typically do 3 sets of exercises per body part.

It felt good to get back in the gym after a 4-month respite. I also adjusted my schedule. I now start my day at 6 am. Then I tackle my day in 2-hour increments starting with journaling, then reading, then learning, and then writing. In the evening I get my relax time with Netflix, Hulu, and some game time on my XBOX.

What are your plans this week? What are you trying to accomplish? Where are you with your New Year’s resolutions? Today, is the day to get all of that back on track. We’re in the 2^nd Quarter and you have a lot of time left before the end of the year.

If you are interested, leave a comment about one of your goals you’re struggling with. I’d like to offer suggestions. Well, that’s it for today, folks! Have a great week!

Until next time…

Dave