January 2nd, 2024 ~ another clean sheet of paper upon which to write, live, sing, breathe, laugh, walk (stretch)...

There are so many great ideas out there!

My real estate colleague/team lead and I say this all the time - so many great ideas for our business. But it takes time to choose, time to implement and time to consistently follow-through.

I'm going back to full-on WFPB SOS-free eating on January 4th - that is the day that I'm returning from "holiday" mostly full-time to "normal" mostly full-time. 

We had a super fun and heart-filling "Totally Casual Come 'n Go, Eat, Drink & Relax AFTER the holidays Open House Bonfire Afternoon PARTY" on 12/30/2023. We, and when I say 'we' I mean himself mostly - made delicious split pea & ham soup, Haggis (a la "American"), mashed potatoes, sausage rolls and a new offering this year - fried Haggis "bites." I made vegan chili (Krocks in the Kitchen "Brian's Super Tasty Vegan Chili [plant-based, oil-free]" that I adapted to my taste), and I bought "the goodie plate" from my catering friend and Pampered Chef consultant. The goodie plate included delicious peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, fudge & chocolate-covered peanut clusters... YUMMY! I also ordered some Blueberry Cream Cheese bread, and for New Years Day - green corn tamales. Alta, your food is delicious! Thank You! The link is to her FB page.

And after having delicious Crispy Peanut Butter covered Chocolate balls at a friend's for Festivus, he made me my own batch... which I did not share and will finish before the 4th of January!

But I came on here to say that there are lots of great ideas out there to get our thoughts flowing about what kind of year we want to create for ourselves. What our intentions are. Not new year resolutions, as such, but more of a focus for creating... more habit building.

It is important for me to remember that I have to actually carve time - make space - to meditate and pray on these concepts and ideas. What do I really want? What is my purpose and am I pursuing that?

I love this quote ~

"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." ~ Pablo Picasso.

 

Here's just a few that I put in a word document to reflect upon:

 

From Mel Robbins Podcast

“Howto Make 2024 the Best Year: 6 Questions to Ask Yourself” 12/21/2023

1. What are the highlights of your year?

2. What are the harder aspects of the past year for you?

3. What did you learn about yourself over the past 12 months?

4. What are the things you want to stop doing and not bring into the next year?

5. What do you want to continue doing in the next year?

6. What do you want to start doing for real in the coming year? What really matters to you?

 

Robin Sharma (email)
You’ve been graced with 12 pristine months, fresh and available for you to shape into your highest destiny.

1. Who must I become to make 2024 legendary meaningful?

2. What one breathtaking new project will I bring into the world this new year?

3. What [and who] must I let go of from last year to make 2024 wow myself better than I have been in the past?

4. What major daily habit will I install to make the next twelve months my best yet?

5. What gifts and talents within me must I salute and cherish more often? [Self-respect is a giant performance multiplier].

 

Jan Carley –
https://creativecoachinggroup.com

I recommended that you all do a "daily control project" - like maybe 15 min. to clean a cupboard or fold your laundry - something that would make you feel a satisfied sense of "completion" at the end.

 

Ben Nemtin

Here are three things I learned from my conversation with the wise Dr. Gilovich:

1. You get more out of life when you invest in experiences instead of things. At the end of our life, all we really have are the memories from the experiences we have collected. Too often we are tricked into thinking that we need more stuff to make us happy, but Dr. Gilovich's research is proving that experiences bring us the most fulfilment.

I asked him what kind of experiences make us the happiest? He said, “Spending money on other people makes you happier than spending money on yourself.” Consider this as you write your new year’s list. Think about experiences you can plan with loved ones or solo experiences. And don't forget that the age-old saying is not just lip service. It truly is better to give than to receive.

2. We are most fulfilled when we are taking action. In other words, being passive makes us unhappy. When we are moving toward a goal (even if we don’t reach the goal) we are most fulfilled. Remember this and take all the momentum of this new year and funnel it into taking steps towards your goal. By doing so, you will start to feel inspired, and your spirits will begin to lift. 

What easy steps of action can you take? 

1. Write your list in a journal (I recommend The Bucket List Journal).
    
2. Pick one goal that commands your attention and commit to doing three things in the next 48 hrs that will move you closer to that goal (even if they are tiny steps).
    
3. Ask a friend or family member to be your accountability buddy and keep you on track.

3. The headwinds vs tailwinds asymmetry. If you have ever cycled into a headwind, you are keenly aware that you are in a headwind. However, when you turn around and suddenly have a tailwind, you notice that tailwind for a few minutes and then you don’t notice the wind at your back. The same is true in your life. When you move through your days, you must pay attention to the barriers, but you don’t have to pay attention to the things pushing you along. Therefore, it’s much easier to feel resentful towards the barriers than be grateful for the things going your way (because those things are oftentimes invisible).
 
We know past research has proved that when you are grateful, your life is enriched. The key here, Dr. Gilovich said, is to have an active gratitude practice. Consider keeping a gratitude diary as you move into 2024. It’s very simple, at the end of each day, write three things you’re grateful for and three things you appreciate about yourself. I do this, and it really is so effective. 

Happy New Year, friends. Here's to pursuing our passions, our talents and our people that bring us JOY. Peace, Health, Love, Compassion, Kindness & Grace to us all in 2024 ♥ And Harmony ♫ ♪, of course!

Other "55" Posts... and the sunrise

After I finished my last post, I thought it would be a great idea to blog about other "55" lists...

So coming soon ~

55 Reasons to be Grateful

55 Bucket List Items

55 Bible Verses to Meditate/Memorize

55 Goals for the next 12 months

And here's this morning's sunrise ♥

This one is looking east...

This one is looking west...

Courage.

I've been on a weekend kick of watching videos and reading blogs of people who have chosen to become RV "Full Timers" or "nomads." There's a couple favorites I enjoy, but my favorite is Robin of Creativity RV.

...

Back in June I was asked the question, "what do you want your life to look like in a year?" 

I'll say again, while this is not a new question... it has been the first time that I've thought of my answer(s) almost every day. 

I've also been trying to figure out what I really want. 

I've been incredibly blessed in my life. I'm grateful for all that I've been given. But when given much, much is expected, and I'm afraid I've not lived up to my potential, and am disappointed in myself.

I heard on either an Amy Porterfield or a Marie Forleo podcast the other day about the 10-year Question... which is this: Will I regret NOT having done something/tried something in 10 years? Will I kick myself for having ignored the voice inside asking to try something.

I want to be able to be financially independent while traveling around the United States. 

I want to see every state, and while I wouldn't mind sharing some of the adventure with a good friend, I mainly want to do it myself as a self-confidence building, personal growth challenge.

To simplify my life by decreasing the unessential ~ “It is not daily increase but daily decrease, hack away the unessential." ~ Bruce Lee

Goals. I am creative. I have skills and talents to offer... I am a natural teacher, but I've not ventured into YouTube or even just videos here in blogland. I can write. 

I love learning. Learning about people and our tendencies, habits, the reasons behind why we do things is fascinating to me. I love learning about natural health, food as medicine and healthy eating.

What can I teach that would be worth a $9.95 eCourse or eBook? I come back to singing, but that is usually something taught one-on-one in person. Using learning to sing as one of the pathways to personal growth and development is real, and is something I am passionate about.

Life is short, that is a lesson that keeps showing up every day. 

What will it take for me to have the courage? Will I ever "feel ready?" 

Just start, right?

 

 

A Slow Start

Penelope Trunk
I like her blog. A lot.

Amazing 2015
Great, as usual, post from Zen Habits.

It has been a slow start to 2015.

I'm finding a new passion in Vintage Trailers - obtaining one, re-doing it myself, then traveling around in it and making money teaching craft classes to senior citizens in the variety of residences they live in (mobile home retirement communities to assisted living care facilities); singing and performing at the same locations, and having some kind of online business that pays me.

Intentional is my word for 2015.

Not exactly sure what this means for me, intentional... but it has something to do with creating an intentional life without extra 'stuff' - sort of like minimalism, but not really. "Will it fit in my tiny house?" is still a strong motivator for me to get rid of excess stuff, however.

Currently I'm a Realtor - started the process in June last year, and well... the jury is still out. I'm certainly not passionate about it, and yet there are aspects of it I enjoy.  I've learned a lot - and will be taking a Negotiation course, which I believe will be helpful regardless of what I end up doing.

Bible Thought for the day:
"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." ~ Proverbs 19:21

It reminds me that taking it all to God - praying, meditating, sending it out to the universe - whichever phrase resonates with you - that is what I think I mean by intentional. Giving more thought and energy behind positive outcomes, and always being thankful for the situation I am in.

Busy Busy!

Long time no post....

First ~ a sunrise

The sunrise this morning was at 7:14am ~ it was not a spectacular one, as there was a few mornings ago... but I want to make it a goal of mine to be sure I'm up and outside (if it isn't raining) a few minutes before the sunrise and take a picture, and post it somewhere (here, Facebook, Google+ or Twitter). It is difficult for me to be an early riser, but I am better than I was a few years ago.

I'm reading on my Kindle "The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM)" by Hal Elrod. Before reading this book, I have already read a number of articles along the vein of "what successful people do that most of us don't" from LifeHack or similar all say the same thing - get up early and Pray/Meditate, Exercise, Focus on your Goals, Review your day ahead, etc... I like "Miracle Morning" because it digs a little deeper (not much) into the nuts and bolts of HOW (though there is a lot [a LOT] of 'this is why you will love this book...' and 'when you do the things I'm going to tell you about, you will love...' which drives me crazy. I've bought the book, stop selling it to me!).

One quote I love from the book: "How you do anything is how you do everything."

In my thought process, this is similar to one of  Gretchin Rubin's Secrets of Adulthood (from the Happiness Project): "What you do EVERY DAY matters more than what you do ONCE IN A WHILE."

How I do what I do today matters... because I will either build on it tomorrow, or have to lay the foundation again.  For me, getting up at 5AM means going to sleep before 11PM. My stomach hurts when I don't get enough sleep, and I am so busy doing singing stuff I can't afford to get sick, and without enough sleep, historically I get sick. So, saying "no" to watching the second newer Star Trek (which we started watching at 9:50pm) is where my self-discipline has to kick in.

That being said, one of the strategies is to affirm to myself, before going to sleep, that the amount of sleep I'm going to have is going to be perfect, that I'll have exactly the amount of sleep I need and will feel rested and energized in the morning. When I plant that thought in my brain before going to sleep (instead of counting on my fingers how much sleep I should get, and lamenting that it is never enough, and berating myself for my lack of self-discipline), I do wake up with a kickier step.

I woke up at 5:25 this morning, I didn't snooze - and got up and came in to organize calendars and write goals, do some things on my 'To Do' list. My Real Estate mentor and I have purchased "Passion Planners" and I've been looking at that a little... it is exactly the kind of planner I've been looking for and I'm incredibly excited about it!

So my point... I haven't really applied myself to working the Real Estate business. My floating along time has come to an end, I have some tools I need to use, and we've started an Accountability Group, which - for tomorrow I'm supposed to have my goals written down. So many goals, so little time, right?! Work-related goals. My Why to motivate me toward Real Estate is Independence and Flexibility. Both things are necessary for me to do what I love which is sing.

Singing/Performing is my passion. Why am I not pursuing it?

Restart - Part II - The Sequel

Today is it.  I took pictures... downloaded the C25K app and am feeling ready.

When I was saving the photos to the file, I saw that last year, on July 29 I took pictures for a restart... to juice.  I've gained 18 pounds since last July... which, considering how many pounds I've gained back *in total* - I feel not so bad about.

I'm essentially 20 pounds away from the 338 that I started with at Medifast on January 4th, 2011.
I didn't weigh this morning - but a few days ago I weighed in at 319.  This last 9 pounds since the last time I weighed have stopped me from being able to sing a phrase without being out of breath. 

So I begin today.

So far:
hot water with 1/2 freshly squeezed lemon, stevia
a protein bar
water
Juice (2 glasses by 2:30pm): 1-1/4 green apple, 10 carrots, 1 long cucumber, the last few pieces of celery, the other half of the lemon, and a bunch of mixed super greens.  It makes about 2 mason jars full of juice.
I think I'll have himself's vegetable soup for dinner.

The Couch to 5K program is 8 weeks. I'll start that tomorrow (a Friday) and do it 3 days a week - Monday, Wednesday, Friday and start working out with the bands on other days.  I also want to put in the Tai Chi video and see how I do with that. Lofty Goals!

I like the 8 week thing.  I have a Sweet Adelines singing weekend coming up next weekend in cooler climates ~ which means higher altitudes... It would be great to juice the next 5 - 7 days and get these troublesome 9 lbs off!

Health... It is What is on the Front Burner

To bottom line it...
Without health ~ well, everything is just that much more difficult.

Here's to a new Weight Loss Journey.

Writing is More About Editing... Yes? Life is about that too.

I don't have a problem writing - it is the "know when to stop" thing that kinda gets in the way. Sticking to a particular theme for this blog has long since gone away - now that I've gained all my weight back (130 lbs), as I'm not focused on 'The One Thing' any longer, any subject is fair game.

Focus is not over-rated. At least not for me. Losing focus hasn't been an advantage.

"You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage - pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically ~ to say NO to other things. And the way to do that is to have a bigger YES burning inside." ~ Stephen Covey

Then I found this blog post about juggling your passions like pots on a stove (and goes as far as keeping other projects in Tupperware in the fridge...) and while I adore the thought that I can do that, I know that it doesn't work as well for me - I have been trying for a long time to do "everything at once" - for lack of better words - and end up feeling entirely too overwhelmed and quitting everything.

So... bringing it in to the title of this post ~ Editing is about choosing what is necessary to be communicated - what is essential within the framework of the project (essay, book, blog post...) that you want to say.  Liken this to life (not a new comparison, I'm sure) and the life you want to live; and minimalism (or, rather simplicity and living with less - a la Courtney Carver and this post which really spoke to me the other day...) Living Intentionally. Being More With Less. Hacking Away at the Unessential. This is my goal. And this road is long, emotionally taxing, simple to say and not-in-any-way easy. I'm spending so much energy on it, that other areas of my life truly suffer.

One thing at a time. A Burning Yes that over-rides all others... Kinda like the "secret to life is one thing" from the movie City Slickers, right...?
I printed out the Zen Things... which sits above my desk, but look at my desk:

The Dissonance between Zen Things & My Desk

It is still better than it has been before, and I give myself "Atta-Girl!"'s because I can actually USE it, but there are 5 things "to do" or "in process and undone" sitting on it.

#1 on the list: "Do one thing at a time" (um, can we say, fail?)

The one thing that should be overriding all of this is losing the excess weight and feeling healthy and fit(ish).  Eating Less of the bad stuff (reading "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes is a good start) so I can physically fit in my Tiny House with just the essential stuff...

My head hurts from thinking about it and going in circles. On the other hand, I do happen to have #8 down perfectly, on the Zen List, however (just in case this post is too depressing) ~ "Devote time to sitting."

I've failed at editing 'the perfect post' - and life is real... it is a real struggle (for me) in making daily choices of priorities. Keeping in mind my own "one thing." It seems to change daily. So many things are racing through my head right now, so I'll edit in as much as I won't go there publicly yet... maybe some journal thoughts first.

Finish the book. Take the Real Estate Test(s). Abstain from Flour, Sugar and Starch.

Okay, not the "Do One Thing At A Time" - but there are 4 burners on my stove, after all...

Attachment

Father's Day, 2014
We just got back from a road trip to Oklahoma to see family there ~ and look at "The Farm" - which I'd been calling "The Property" and was corrected.  Technically, it is property (mostly pastureland) that my sister, brother and I will inherit, and at which current time there is no farming happening... so despite being told to call it 'The Farm' ~ I will continue to call it 'The Property.'

We had a great trip - road tested the new Town & Country Van (2013 Touring Edition), and took along Rascal... overnighted in Albuquerque, and spent 5 nights in Oklahoma City with my dad and step-mom, caught up with my sister and her kids, and generally had a real vacation... doing something totally different than our life here.

* * *

May was busy... new Van, quit American Red Cross, paid for Real Estate School (which begins tomorrow), emptied out the storage unit, so my room is crowded again...

* * *

I have 6 or 7 plastic bins and boxes full of pictures, negatives, journals, calendars etc... to scrapbook from the time I started collecting things about my life.  I've scrapbooked (in the traditional sense) since I knew what it was. I'm still not sure why, exactly - I would make a guess in the area of self-validation. To remember the life I've lived, and to be proud of what I've done (or not done, ha ha). To keep alive memories that may have been buried or forgotten, which I believe are worth remembering.

But my deal with myself is that if, by the end of 2014, these things are not properly scrapbooked, the bins emptied, and the journals read for the timeline and details to "tell the memory book story," then I will let it all go.

Visiting my dad's - he has bookshelves and his computer filled with pictures. Family. Genealogy-type things. It gives us a sense of where we fit in our family, I suppose...? Pride in the hard-working family stock I come from, that is for sure (and where is that in me?). Dad and I didn't have a chance to talk about his ultimate goal for the pictures... what he sees his finished (but what is really a work-in-progress project) product to look like.

I understand that I come by my love of history, family, pictures... very naturally, I see now.

The other thing I came away with from my trip was understanding something dad said about attachment.  He said something about 'being attached makes everything more difficult.' If we could detach ourselves from things (and people, even), then going through life would be much easier.

And this is all just stuff.  these bins of my life, my memories... And why do I want to spend time (precious time) putting my life into order? Who will I leave it for? I don't see anyone wanting my life's memories after I'm dead. And when I think about that, I become sad that I don't have children. Then I think about raising a child today and the political climate, the moral climate, etc... and I'm so relieved I don't have a child to protect.

And life is about now. Right? Remembering we are all connected, we are all part of the human story - regardless of any kind of religious belief or unbelief - we all share this earth, this space, this time. And I believe that building personal relationships that help each other now is more important than the past.

[Side Note: I tend to remember the negative, guilt-inducing, shameful, painful memories of my life, and the pictures/journals give me balance in restoring what delicate sense of self-esteem I have. This is a constant battle for me... keeping the good memories and the painful memories balanced... helping me stay afloat in the sea of depression that threatens to drown me, dragging me into a swirling whirlpool below the surface, where I lose the sunlight and all the colors that keep me optimistic and joyful.]

This turned out to be more post than I intended.

The bottom line: What do I want most to accomplish in this life?

Living in color * Health! * Garden (healing, eating, peaceful, life-force-giving) * Recognition for sharing the talents I've been given (Performance, Teaching) * Creativity * Relationships (spending time, giving time to people) * Building people up, assisting in bringing about Joy & Peace *

Eleanor Roosevelt

"Work is always the antidote to depression." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

I want to become an expert on this woman.

"Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art."

“The only advantage of not being too good a housekeeper is that your guests are so pleased to feel how very much better they are. ” (that one is for my mom...)

“Do the things that interest you and do them with all your heart. Don't be concerned about whether people are watching you or criticizing you. The chances are that they aren't paying any attention to you. It's your attention to yourself that is so stultifying. But you have to disregard yourself as completely as possible. If you fail the first time then you'll just have to try harder the second time. After all, there's no real reason why you should fail. Just stop thinking about yourself.” 

and my favorite...

“Today is the oldest you've ever been, and the youngest you'll ever be again.”

Seriously, I need to get my hands on autobiographies, biographies and other goodies to read. And memorize a couple of quotes!

Motivation: Regular Exercise, Eating Healthy, Decreasing the Clutter

"Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There's plenty of movement, but you never know if it's going to be forward, backwards, or sideways. "
Writer, H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Discipline.
Self-Control.

I want to feel like Julie Andrews feels about discipline:

Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/julie_andrews.html#pjlMrB5P4HzisT2r.99

"Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly."

The Bible has things to say on this too...
"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."  Hebrews 12:11 

I lose motivation so easily.
So I went in search of advice... I think sometimes sticking to the routine and simply not thinking about whether or not there is a choice is key for me.  "Just pull up your big girl pants and do it." often works for me to do something I don't feel like doing.

Ah, there is the problem.. "something I don't feel like doing." I need to embrace the concept of 'Do it whether I feel like it or not!'  I'm thankful for FlyLady's concept of 'You can do anything for 15 minutes." 15 minutes of washing dishes, 15 minutes of clearing a corner of my desk, 15 minutes folding and putting away laundry, 15 minutes of walking...

And finally, a great quote by Seth Godin:
"Discipline is obeying the rule you set when you were in a different mood than you are now."

Here's what I came across on a quick google search of 'how to stay motivated.'

Seven Steps to Staying Motivated

1. Set a goal and visualize it down to the most minute detail. See it, feel it, hear the sounds that accompany the end result (wind rushing through your hair, applause). Elite athletes visualize their performance ahead of time — right down to the smell of the sweat dripping down their face as they cross the finish line.

2. Make a list of the reasons you want to accomplish the goal. In our busy, distracting world, it’s easy to get blown off course. This is why you need to ground yourself in your goal. For extra “success insurance,” write your list with a pen. Studies show that when we write by hand and connect the letters manually, we engage the brain more actively in the process. Because typing is an automatic function that involves merely selecting letters, there’s less of a mental connection.

3. Break the goal down into smaller pieces and set intermediary targets — and rewards. I’ve called this “chunking” long before there was a Wikipedia to explain that there are eight variations of the concept. To me it’s the best non-pharmaceutical antidote to ADHD. Tony Robbins, arguably the foremost motivational speaker and personal development coach, says: “A major source of stress in our lives comes from the feeling that we have an impossible number of things to do. If you take on a project and try to do the whole thing all at once, you’re going to be overwhelmed.”

Enter chunking. My system involves chipping away at a project. Break it down into the smallest realistic steps and only do one at a time. Neuroscience tells us that each small success triggers the brain’s reward center, releasing feel-good chemical dopamine. This helps focus our concentration and inspires us to take another similar step. Try this with your bête noire, whether organizing your papers and bills or setting out to find a new job.


4. Have a strategy, but be prepared to change course. Let Thomas Edison inspire you in this department: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.” “The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

5. Get the help you need. It doesn’t necessarily take a village, but even if you could theoretically accomplish your objective alone, there’s inherent value in sharing your plan. It’s why people get married in front of witnesses. Announcing your intentions sends a strong message to the world and, more important, to your unconscious mind, which can sometimes sabotage our best efforts. Also, we often overestimate our abilities. The flip side is being highly selective about whom you tell and ask for help. It’s akin to the builder’s rule to always get “the right tool for the right job.”

6. Pre-determine how you will deal with flagging motivation. This is not defeatist thinking. On the contrary! It’s (almost) inevitable that at some point along the way, whether because of temporary setbacks or sheer exhaustion, you will need a little boost. When that happens, I think of what others have endured to reach their targets and to quash even the beginning of a pity party, I invoke the most hard-core endurance models I can think of: friends fighting serious diseases and Holocaust survivors.
Winston Churchill is particularly inspirational on this front. After London endured 57 consecutive bombings by the Germans during World War II (the Blitzkrieg), he was invited to address a group of students. In that speech, he uttered his immortal line “Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up.

7. Continually check in with your reasons for carrying on. Despite his all-too-human flaws, Steve Jobs embodied this brilliantly. He once told an interviewer: “I think most people that are able to make a sustained contribution over time — rather than just a peak — are very internally driven. You have to be. Because, in the ebb and tide of people’s opinions and of fads, there are going to be times when you are criticized, and criticism’s very difficult. And so when you’re criticized, you learn to pull back a little and listen to your own drummer. And to some extent, that isolates you from the praise, if you eventually get it, too. The praise becomes a little less important to you and the criticism becomes a little less important to you, in the same measure. And you become more internally driven.”

See the Big Picture
There’s also a more meta, “Why are we here?” way to think about motivation. The great Jewish Rabbi Hillel (alive around the time of Jesus), famously said, “If not you, then who? If not now, when?” If you truly let those words sink in, it’s hard to be slacker.

From Forbes
* * *

** Don't let your goals run wild... When your sights are too ambitious, they can backfire, burn you out, and actually become demotivating, says Lisa Ordóñez, a professor of management and organizations at the Eller College of Management, at the University of Arizona, in Tucson. Instead of aiming unrealistically high (such as trying to save enough money for a down payment on a home in six months), set goals that are a stretch but not an overreach (come up with a doable savings plan for your budget).

...But work on them everyday. According to Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us ($27, amazon.com), taking small steps every day will not only help hold your interest in what you’re trying to achieve but will also ensure that you move slowly, but surely, toward your goal. So, for example, set up a down-payment-fund jar and dump your change into it every night. You’ll get a sense of accomplishment each day, to boot.

** Go public with it. Instead of keeping your intentions to yourself, make them known to many. “Other people can help reinforce your behavior,” says James Fowler, a political scientist who studies social networks at the University of California, San Diego. After all, it’s harder to abandon a dream when you know that people are tracking your progress. Take Stefanie Samarripa of Dallas, 25, who wanted to lose 20 pounds. She created a blog and told all her friends to read it. “I wanted something to hold me accountable,” she says. Samarripa weighs herself weekly and announces the result on Desperately Seeking Skinny (skinnystefsam.blogspot.com). During her first three weeks, she lost six pounds. “People read my updates and make comments, which helps me keep going,” she says.

** Make yourself a priority. Put your needs first, even when it feels utterly selfish. You will derail your progress if you sacrifice yourself for others in order to please them (such as eating a cupcake that a coworker baked even though you’re on a diet).

From Real Simple online article
* * *

Here are 5 steps to gain more clarity about why you want to change, and what you want in life:
 

Step 1:
Pull out a piece of paper and a pen.

 

Step 2:
Ask yourself the question, “What’s one area of my life that I’d like to change?” Write this answer on the top of the page.

 

Step 3:
Look at your answer. Now ask yourself, “But why is this important?” Write this new answer below your previous answer.

 

Step 4:
Repeat step 3 until you uncover the real reasons motivating you to change. Keep going deeper. You’ll know when you’ve gotten to the root cause of your pain.

 

Step 5:
Based on what you uncover, develop a clear vision of what you want in your life. Use this new awareness and motivation to help you remain committed to this new path.

 

Remember: Saying “I’m unhappy at work” or “I feel unfulfilled in my relationship” isn’t deep enough. Keep going!

We all face obstacles in our lives, but if we’re willing to do the tough work of asking ourselves “why?” these obstacles can truly become the gateways that lead to greater clarity and new beginnings. We can use this clarity to gain a deeper understanding of what we really want in life, and to motivate us to make lasting changes.

From Tiny Buddha

"Our character is basically a composite of habits. Because they are consistent, often unconcious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character." ~ Steven R. Covey

Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/julie_andrews.html#pjlMrB5P4HzisT2r.99"

Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/julie_andrews.html#pjlMrB5P4HzisT2r.99

Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/julie_andrews.html#pjlMrB5P4HzisT2r.99

Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/julie_andrews.html#pjlMrB5P4HzisT2r.99