Are you still with me? Please, hang in there as you build upon your habits and keep your commitment to yourself and others; don’t get frustrated or give up now. Your momentum is slowly building and soon it will be unstoppable.
A big part of achieving your goals is doing what others will not do. In essence, you must form habits that others don't like to do; you must have the mental stamina to develop the small, daily steps that will achieve your goals. It takes mental strength, but like all strength, you build it by repetitive use. Your mind is a powerful tool and can used to build your goals.
For your mind and body to perform at a higher level, you must let go of the old and replace it with the new. We must throw away things we no longer use, clear time in our schedules, let go of negative people. We can't do it all at once, but we can take the little steps every day to clean house. To move forward with your new goal, you must close up the loose ends of your past and replace them with the ideals of the future.
This week, start replacing and finishing up things that slow you down. Write down your list of things that aggregate you. This list can include, among many things: unpaid debts, promises not met, disorganized rooms, people that you need to forgive or forget, bad food choices, poor time management. The inventory is endless, but each one of us has a "list of aggravations." It is time to confront it, close it up, and then replace it with something better.
Moving toward your new goals is a lot easier when you are free of worries and concerns that cause resistance. As you build on your plan this week, actively work to replace or eliminate bad habits and thoughts. The momentum toward achievement will start moving faster and faster as we rid ourselves of the things that hold us back.
Press forward and continue to climb. Better things are coming your way.
“Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life. What is it you would let go of today?” — Mary Manin Morrissey
Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Fifty-two Week Challenge: Week 4, The Way You Think
One of our biggest challenges is to control our own thoughts. Have you ever listened to yourself think? Our thoughts often jump from idea to idea, much like a monkey in a cage. In fact, Buddhist refer to man's mind as "monkey mind" because most of us have unsettled, indecisive, uncontrolled thoughts most of the time.
Without control, your thoughts are often your own worst enemy. They can prevent you from starting or even sabotage the best of plans. They can actively work against the achievement of your dreams. They don't even require the help of other people. We often convince ourselves, before we even start, that we are a failure or don't have what it takes to accomplish a goal.
We believe the stories we tell ourselves, whether they be good or bad ones. When you think you can't do something, the mind conjures up reasons to support it. We build a great story of failure before we even try. But there is an alternative. We can tell ourselves good, powerful stories of success if we so decide. If we have been telling ourselves negative lies over time, like everything, it takes work to change for the better.
Whatever occupies our mind usually becomes our reality. To change our thoughts requires that we use our imagination. If you want improvement and achievement of your goals, your mind needs to focus on improvement and achievement, not destruction and failure. An idea that exclusively occupies your mind usually turns into reality.
So this week’s challenge is to focus on the good, and the pure, and what you want to accomplish. Learn to replace the negative stories with positive, uplifting ones. It will take willpower and determination. Overcome the self-conflict and build a strong story of success for yourself. After all, as my dad has always told me, you are what you focus upon.
“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” ― Henry David Thoreau
Without control, your thoughts are often your own worst enemy. They can prevent you from starting or even sabotage the best of plans. They can actively work against the achievement of your dreams. They don't even require the help of other people. We often convince ourselves, before we even start, that we are a failure or don't have what it takes to accomplish a goal.
We believe the stories we tell ourselves, whether they be good or bad ones. When you think you can't do something, the mind conjures up reasons to support it. We build a great story of failure before we even try. But there is an alternative. We can tell ourselves good, powerful stories of success if we so decide. If we have been telling ourselves negative lies over time, like everything, it takes work to change for the better.
Whatever occupies our mind usually becomes our reality. To change our thoughts requires that we use our imagination. If you want improvement and achievement of your goals, your mind needs to focus on improvement and achievement, not destruction and failure. An idea that exclusively occupies your mind usually turns into reality.
So this week’s challenge is to focus on the good, and the pure, and what you want to accomplish. Learn to replace the negative stories with positive, uplifting ones. It will take willpower and determination. Overcome the self-conflict and build a strong story of success for yourself. After all, as my dad has always told me, you are what you focus upon.
“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” ― Henry David Thoreau
Monday, January 14, 2013
Fifty-two Week Challenge: Week 3
Habit: a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.
Have you noticed how many people make New Year's resolutions and fail to follow through with them? By this time of year, merely three weeks into the new one, most people have already abandoned their new goals. Many have never even started.
Why is that? The easy answer is because it is hard. It is hard to break old ways of doing things and start new ones. And if you try to break old ways of doing things, you can simply fall back into past practices. It is just plain comfortable to continue doing things the old way. But change often involves discomfort; growth, however, requires it.
So this week, we need to be a little uncomfortable; we need to try something new to move forward. The uncomfortable feeling won't last for long if we build upon it. How do we do that? We make it a habit.
We have plenty of habits, some good, some bad. We are looking to replace the bad ones with new ones that will move us in the direction of our dreams. So take a minute now and think of your yearly goals. Are all of your habits moving you toward achievement of those dreams? Does watching TV for three to four hours a day move you toward being more physically fit? Does eating dessert after lunch and dinner help you lose weight? Or, does surfing the web over and over help you write that book?
We must start breaking bad habits and replacing them with good ones this week. Take small steps. Cut your dessert in half this week and try to cut it again next week. Start walking or jogging; a small distance at first, and increase the distance a small amount weekly. Don't check your e-mails as often; instead, write a few paragraphs. Look at you monthly benchmarks from last week and develop new weekly habits to achieve them.
It is the little things that are done consistently over time that will yield big results. New habits take time to become the normal. Before long, you will be new person with a new way of doing things. It just takes a little perseverance. Start now.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -Aristotle
Have you noticed how many people make New Year's resolutions and fail to follow through with them? By this time of year, merely three weeks into the new one, most people have already abandoned their new goals. Many have never even started.
Why is that? The easy answer is because it is hard. It is hard to break old ways of doing things and start new ones. And if you try to break old ways of doing things, you can simply fall back into past practices. It is just plain comfortable to continue doing things the old way. But change often involves discomfort; growth, however, requires it.
So this week, we need to be a little uncomfortable; we need to try something new to move forward. The uncomfortable feeling won't last for long if we build upon it. How do we do that? We make it a habit.
We have plenty of habits, some good, some bad. We are looking to replace the bad ones with new ones that will move us in the direction of our dreams. So take a minute now and think of your yearly goals. Are all of your habits moving you toward achievement of those dreams? Does watching TV for three to four hours a day move you toward being more physically fit? Does eating dessert after lunch and dinner help you lose weight? Or, does surfing the web over and over help you write that book?
We must start breaking bad habits and replacing them with good ones this week. Take small steps. Cut your dessert in half this week and try to cut it again next week. Start walking or jogging; a small distance at first, and increase the distance a small amount weekly. Don't check your e-mails as often; instead, write a few paragraphs. Look at you monthly benchmarks from last week and develop new weekly habits to achieve them.
It is the little things that are done consistently over time that will yield big results. New habits take time to become the normal. Before long, you will be new person with a new way of doing things. It just takes a little perseverance. Start now.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -Aristotle
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Fifty-Two Week Challenge: Week 2
Hopefully you now have a few goals and a system to hold yourself accountable. But merely having the goals and a system will not achieve your desires. We need to break the goal down into achievable steps.
The easiest way is by purchasing a yearly calendar (I like Moleskine). Write you goals down at the end of the year; then, break them down into twelve achievable, small steps and place each one in prior months. Sounds simple, but it takes some time and thought. No big goal can be reached in a single bound, but it takes baby steps to get there; but, we have time on our side.
Each baby step is a benchmark. We simply need to meet our monthly benchmarks to achieve our big end-of-year goal. Consistency and discipline will turn our little steps into dreams come true. I have seen it with my own life time and again; from law school while working full time to finishing four full Ironman events, I have employed this method. You must be willing to do the little things daily, weekly, and monthly to achieve your end results.
Change the way you think; don't expect miracles, hitting the jackpot, or others coming to the rescue will change your lot in life. It is up to each of us to make our lives better, and, the lives of others in the process. What we do day in and day out makes all the difference. Make what you do with your health, business, personal life, and finances count for the better. Don't leave them to chance; break your goals down and start today. You will not be sorry at the end of the year.
The easiest way is by purchasing a yearly calendar (I like Moleskine). Write you goals down at the end of the year; then, break them down into twelve achievable, small steps and place each one in prior months. Sounds simple, but it takes some time and thought. No big goal can be reached in a single bound, but it takes baby steps to get there; but, we have time on our side.
Each baby step is a benchmark. We simply need to meet our monthly benchmarks to achieve our big end-of-year goal. Consistency and discipline will turn our little steps into dreams come true. I have seen it with my own life time and again; from law school while working full time to finishing four full Ironman events, I have employed this method. You must be willing to do the little things daily, weekly, and monthly to achieve your end results.
Change the way you think; don't expect miracles, hitting the jackpot, or others coming to the rescue will change your lot in life. It is up to each of us to make our lives better, and, the lives of others in the process. What we do day in and day out makes all the difference. Make what you do with your health, business, personal life, and finances count for the better. Don't leave them to chance; break your goals down and start today. You will not be sorry at the end of the year.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Fifty-two Week Challenge: Week 1
Over the next fifty-two weeks of the new year (2013), I am asking that you join me in a challenge. It is a challenge to be our best and attempt things we have always wanted. Each week, I will attempt to post a simple task; a task that will move us in the directions of our dreams and goals.
We can accomplish a lot in a year. The secret is movement and time. We must commit to goals and action. The goals will be defined by you; they will be personal and only you have to know what they are if you so choose. I will simply give guidelines to assist in achieving those goals. If we each take the time, we can improve our world in so many ways. I hope you join me in the challenge, and with each small step, move closer to the life you desire.
The first week is about motivation- what will it take to get and keep you moving toward your dreams. Whatever your dream, to lose weight, write a novel, start a business, you have to be motivated and accountable. This week we have to figure out how we can be held accountable. Some methods would involve hiring a coach, posting your written goals in a prominent place, keeping a daily journal, sharing your desires with like-minded people, or use an app to track your progress. The task this week is to devise a method of your own to hold yourself accountable for tracking movement toward your goal. Today simply choose one method you will use and start using it.
An example of one of my simple goals is saving $1,378 over the next fifty-two weeks to donate to a charity. I posted the chart I will use on FaceBook yesterday to accumulate that amount. To hold myself accountable, I have placed a large stein with my Alma Mater's seal on it on my dresser. I can't help but see it daily with the dollar bills in it. In addition, I was also publicly challenged by a FB friend- this challenge, and the sight of the mug, will keep me accountable to reach the monetary goal.
That's it for this week- simple and straightforward. But it is a step in a new direction. A direction that will yield big results with small steps. The important thing is to get started- and started now. Today is the day to make a change. "
Desire is the starting point of all achievement...the first step toward all riches." -Napoleon Hill
We can accomplish a lot in a year. The secret is movement and time. We must commit to goals and action. The goals will be defined by you; they will be personal and only you have to know what they are if you so choose. I will simply give guidelines to assist in achieving those goals. If we each take the time, we can improve our world in so many ways. I hope you join me in the challenge, and with each small step, move closer to the life you desire.
The first week is about motivation- what will it take to get and keep you moving toward your dreams. Whatever your dream, to lose weight, write a novel, start a business, you have to be motivated and accountable. This week we have to figure out how we can be held accountable. Some methods would involve hiring a coach, posting your written goals in a prominent place, keeping a daily journal, sharing your desires with like-minded people, or use an app to track your progress. The task this week is to devise a method of your own to hold yourself accountable for tracking movement toward your goal. Today simply choose one method you will use and start using it.
An example of one of my simple goals is saving $1,378 over the next fifty-two weeks to donate to a charity. I posted the chart I will use on FaceBook yesterday to accumulate that amount. To hold myself accountable, I have placed a large stein with my Alma Mater's seal on it on my dresser. I can't help but see it daily with the dollar bills in it. In addition, I was also publicly challenged by a FB friend- this challenge, and the sight of the mug, will keep me accountable to reach the monetary goal.
That's it for this week- simple and straightforward. But it is a step in a new direction. A direction that will yield big results with small steps. The important thing is to get started- and started now. Today is the day to make a change. "
Desire is the starting point of all achievement...the first step toward all riches." -Napoleon Hill
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