We are at the end of the first full week of the new year. How are those goals coming? Have you fallen victim to the millions of distractions in the world? Before you realize it, they can have you sleeping on your goals and dreams! What can you do about that? Don’t worry, we have a simple solution in mind.
When you fall asleep at night, how domanage to get back up and get back at it? You set an alarm! That is precisely what you should do to stick to your goals. I don’t care if it is to eat healthier, exercise more or spend time meditating. This little tip will work for them all.
Pick a time you can rely on. Set an alarm on your phone. If you have the option, add a few words of encouragement or reminder of your goals. Here is the key. Then take at least one action. Eat a healthy meal or snack. Food prep. Do 20 squats or meditate for 5 minutes. If you start making this a daily habit it will increase your chances for success! An easy way to do this is to simply set an alarm to remind you. Just remember to always take an action. It will provide you with momentum and you will be halfway to success!
Many of us, dare I say most, do not like having their picture taken. When I look at my picture, it usually resembles some kind of mutant from a B-movie. It doesn’t help the case that the lady in my life, whom I am usually lucky enough to be standing by, is one of those fortunate souls that looks amazing no matter what.
If we put our egos and vanity aside, we must ask ourselves what the purpose of pictures is even for. It is usually to capture a moment or a memory. Sadly, lately Margie and I seem to be attending quite a few funerals. One of the things you see at most of them is picture boards featuring memories of the deceased. When you see people looking at them, it is one of the few moments people are smiling. For a brief moment they are taken back to a moment they shared with the person they are now missing so much.
Wouldn’t it be a shame if there were few, or none, of these memories available? Sure we may be caught making a silly face, or scratching our butt, but that is what makes life amusing. Having those memories will serve as little treasuresof joy when the pain of loss seems unbearable.
This year, feel free to capture as many memories as you can. Even little videos where you have the sound of someone’s voice. Make your appearance in them, even if you think you look like you came from a B-movie set or are scratching your backside. It would be a shame to be left with no memories and then it’s too late.
Who doesn’t love giving a great gift? I know I do. Seeing the joy on the face of others when they open a gift you have carefully thought of and selected is a better feeling than any gift you could receive. At least that’s how I feel. I’m sure many of you would agree.
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to give a gift like that every time you see someone? To see someone’s face light up with joy everytime the two of you connect? There is such a gift. It does require careful thoughts and actions daily, but as you can see, the rewards are priceless.
The gift we are talking about us becoming the best version of yourself. This may seem counterintuitive, but if you think about it is not. Of course the ultimate beneficiary of self-improvement is… well..yourself. Still, think of how nice it is to spend time with someone who is at peace, filled with joy and has their life reasonably together.
This is not to say that you should fake being happy all of the time. We all have struggles and sometimes sharing them with a friend helps a great deal and makes our friend feel like the valuable person they are in our life. Showing up with peace in our hearts, an attitude of gratitude and excitement about the future can brighten anyone’s day.
The more you learn about improving your own life, the better you can be of service to those you care about. Learning to be a better listener? Think of who that benefits. How about developingthe ability to give genuine and uplifting compliments? You know that will certainly encourage your friends and family. One of the best things I have learned is to stay calm in the face of challenges. You not only inspire others, but can be in a better position to see solutions their panicking mind may not be able to.
This year, let us all work on becoming the best version of ourselves. Not only will we improve, but so will our relationships with those we care about. Just remember that self-improvement is a life-long journey. You can take a daily step right here at secret2anamazinglife.com!
This is one of those quotes that really call us out. We can have all the resolutions and grand goals we can think of, but if we don’t change the small things we do daily, nothing will change. It can be hard to change a habit that you are used to. I get that. One thing that may help is having a handy quote to say to yourself.
Saying “New year or another year?” When you are tempted not to follow through on a new discipline can have you stop and think. Margie found a quote we say to each other now, “Don’t put it down, put it away.” Taking a few seconds to put something back can save you from a feeling of overwhelm when you have a room full of stuff to put away later.
Have you come across a quote like this that you can use as a mantra to help you stick to your goals? I recall hearing one of my favorite fitness people I follow online, Greg Plitt (R.I.P) remind us that our names are attached to our actions. If you drop a piece of trash on the ground you pick it up because that represents who you are. Excellence is not a one time event. It is what we do everyday.
This year it is important to set boundaries. It is important to set goals and resolutions to make clear what we are going after. It is just as important to set boundaries to let others know what we will not tolerate. This is not meant to be antagonist, but to teachothers how they should treat you.
Setting boundaries can be difficult at first. This is especially true for people you have let trample your boundaries in the past. In the long term it will actually reduce stress in your life. Quite a bit actually! It will also improve the quality of your relationshipswith others. When they respect you and your boundaries, you will enjoy spending more time with them. In addition, it sets the relationship up for growth that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.
Therefore, it would both serve you, and the relationship you share with this person, to make your boundaries clear and to stick by them. Remember, it may be uncomfortable in the short-term, but it will ultimately serve you long-term.
This quote from Alice In Wonderland applies as much to the real world as to the world of Wonderland. How many times throughout the day do you encounter someone and say to yourself “That person must be mad!“Usually it might be something a little more verbally intense, but in the same vein.
This is the interesting thing about this whole situation. You could really benefit by thinking of the real world as some kind of Wonderland! That grumpy coworker is just a character in the story. It may even help to imagine them looking the part. Challenges at the office turn into situations you have to overcome to get home. Just like Alice did when she was stuck in Wonderland!
This shift in the way you look at the world may not seem like such a big thing. It may even seem a little silly, but that’s the point. If you can go from stressed and angry to amused and silly, that is a win for you and your life! Imagine your life as some kind of fantastical fairytale world and all of the people in it characters. It will lessen the stress and increase the amusement.
This picture was taken during a nighttime walk with my mother at a local park. We walk here a lot during the day. Despite my best efforts against it, she will often walk alone at night. This evening, I joined her, and it was truly a much different experience than during the day. We were not able to see as far as we normally were. Things we could make out during the day appeared as black silhouettes.
You may think this would make it a lesser experience. Not so. Our senses of hearing were more developed and we noticed sounds we may miss during the day. The photo above is of the local water tower.During the day it is just a water tower, but at night it looked almost mystical. Something we could only appreciate at night.
This walk was a great reminder to get a shift in perspective on what you normally see. It can help you appreciate things you may miss. We walk this park countless times during the day, but the evening made it an entirely different experience. Have you ever had such an experience?
A few months ago I hired a personal trainer at my gym. About a month ago, she quit. Hopefully that is no reflection on me as a client. A new trainer, Mia, was assigned to me. Being very thorough, she sat down with me to better understand me and my fitness goals. One of the questions she asked was what my favorite piece of equipment was at the gym. After some deep reflection, I answered her honestly and said “The massage bed is great.”
After a chuckle between us, I answered with a few machines. Here is the lesson in this. The massage bed is great. Helps you relax and feel good. This is true of so many things in life. The help us feel comfortable. The other machines at the gym wear you out and can leave you sore for days. Just like challenges in life. Many things we do will be uncomfortable and could even hurt mentally, emotionally, or even physically long after the event is over.
Why even bother with any of that? Why not stick to only things that are easy and comfortable? In one word, growth. What kind of shape would I be in if the only machine I used at the gym was the massage bed?Sure I would be comfortable at the time, but when the time came to do anything physical, I would be no better off and may even be worse. Using the machines that cause momentary discomfort will allow our muscles to grow and be better in the future.
This is also the way it works in life. If we only stick to things that make us comfortable we will be no stronger of a person when challenges come. In fact, we may even be weaker. It is not fun to have that difficult conversation or make those tough decisions. It is easier to stay in bed than get up to go to work or clean the house. Still, it makes our life easier in the long term. Think of this next time you have to decide on your favorite discomfort.
I’m not sure how your New Year started, but I decided to set mine up for a great start. Margie and I are usually so busy it feels we only see each other in passing. To this end, I booked a hotel getaway for us. Just one night, but that way we could relax without a care and enjoy each other. There was a nice restaurant we went to. The server was quite friendly and helpful. We went back to the hotel to enjoy the swimming pool and hot tub.
Seems like a nice end to the evening. At roughly 11:30 pm, Margie was in the hot tub and I was swimming in the deep end of the cold pool. If you know anything about us, this is opposite of what you should expect. I saw a quarter at the bottom of the pool and dove down for it. As I move my arm to swim, I heard a terrible sound that can only be described asmeat being ripped off the bone. I knew exactly what it was. My shoulder had been ripped out of itssocket.
After what Margie called “blood-curdling scream”, i made it out of the pool. We went up to the room so I could dry off and change as I didn’t want to go in wet swim trunks. I also gave myself a shot of cologne so I wouldn’t offend. I’ll spare you the events of trip other than it was painful. Throughout this, however, I was given several great gifts.
The first was the paramedics in the ambulance. Cyrus was the man helping me. I knew they were away from their families that night and I really appreciated their efforts to assist me. You might be thinking, “that’s their job Neil.” You would be right, but without them, it wouldhave been a long trip to the hospital.
The nurses and doctor made sure to get me what I needed and knocked me out to put my shoulder back in place. My mother came in the wee hours of the morning to take us back to the hotel. Throughout that night, and the following morning at the breakfast buffet at the hotel, my beautiful lady was so helpful.
The point of this is that even though I was in some intense pain, and it rather ruined our calm getaway for the new year, there were so many gifts around me. The amazing medical staff, my mother and of course my beautiful lady who continues to be such a great help. In our darkest hours,it always helps to focus on the light. There will be weeks of rehab ahead and I’m going to do my best to show appreciation to those who are there for me!
Let me begin this by saying that I FIRMLY believe cauliflower cannot become pizza. In fact, I feel it is not good for much at all. Personal opinion part now over, let’s get on with the post.
Often you may think you are not cut out for your dreams. Perhaps you may think you just don’t fit in the role you are striving for.I think today’s technology where they make plasticout of plants, and a million other things, it should be evident that you can make anything out of yourself as well.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 