Another Great Reminder of the Need for Balance

 

Courtesy Rick Shanklin, NWS, Paducah, KY

A huge winter storm is ravaging parts of the Plains, Mississippi Valley and Ohio Valley. Inches of ice have left thousands without power and many towns paralyzed. You’ll continue to see stories in the national news about this storm for the next few days.

The reason for this massive storm is that the atmosphere is highly imbalanced. For instance, in Middle Tennessee on Tuesday of this week, one town had a mid-afternoon temperature of 71 while 35 miles away it was 37 degrees. That’s imbalance! In nature, the bigger the imbalance, the more chaotic the weather.  Hence, a winter storm that will go down in the record books.

The same is true for our lives. When we’re imbalanced, chaos naturally results. It’s just the way the world works. The easiest way to slip into this pattern is to not think about what you’re doing or why you’re doing it on a day-to-day basis. Instead, we just become zombies, doing the same thing as the day before. If you’re tired of living this way, you can change it.

1. If there was one thing you could cut out of your daily routine tomorrow, what would it be?
2. Write down what it is.
3. Underneath it, write down three steps you could take this week to begin elimating (or at least reducing) this from your daily schedule.
4. Do these three things.
5. Keep track of your progress and use it as motivation to keep moving forward.

 
This works amazingly well with lots of little items that take a lot of your time but don’t add much value to your life. The goal is to reduce the number of things that cause you stress which leaves you more time for the things that actually mean something to you. The more you do this, the more time you’ll find in your daily schedule.

So, what are you going to eliminate?

The Power of Your Thoughts…

A funny thing happened to me on my run yesterday.  I began thinking about some projects that lie ahead of me this year and I started to get excited.  I was planning strategies in my head to write down when I got back home when I noticed how fast I was running.  I normally keep a steady pace that isn’t too fast or too slow but yesterday was different. I had sped up without even realizing it.  I remember thinking to myself, “Why am I running so fast?” I thought about it for a moment and realized what had happened.  I’ve read about this process before but had never experienced it in such a tangible way.  Here are the three principles behind what happened in a nutshell:

1. What you think about affects you physically.
2. When you devise a plan for a goal and picture it happening, the more positive you feel about achieving that goal.
3. The more positive thoughts you have, the more energy it gives you.

Never underestimate the power of the mind’s affect on you physically.  Guard your mind and the thoughts in it.  Notice how much better you feel when you think positive thoughts rather than negative ones.  This goes hand-in-hand with my last post in which I pointed out what you think about most expands.  If you are always fearing something bad is going to happen, not only are you more likely to have a bad experience, you will react to those thoughts physically with more tention and fatigue.  Don’t fall into that trap.  Only 8% of our fears are real and legitimate.  That means we waste an incredible amount of time worrying and feeling bad physically because of it.  You can turn this around though.  Here’s how:  You can only think one thought at a time.  So, when you beging thinking fearful or negative thoughts, replace them with positive ones.  Plan for how you’re going to get over an obstacle that stands in your way and picture yourself overcoming it. You’ll feel better knowing that you’re going to get your problem solved and your body will respond by giving you more energy to get through it.  

With this in mind, how are you going to change your thinking to give you more energy?

Don’t Stop Now…

Now that we’re past the first week of the New Year, you’re going to begin facing challenges with your New Year’s resolutions. Why? Statistically, this is the time when people begin to quit. 98% end up failing to make their resolution goals reality. I want you to be in the two percent that do…

So, think about this…

1. 90% of failure is because of QUITTING – don’t quit! Remember all of the reasons you made your resolutions. Etch them in your mind. Write them down. Read them aloud. Use them as motivation to help you remember WHY you’re doing them. If you have a good enough reason, you can do almost anything…

2. If you haven’t started on your resolution yet because you’re procrastinating, start now! Don’t become a vicitim of the Law of Dimishing Intent. This law states that the longer you wait to do something, the less likely you are to do it at all. GO. START. TODAY!

While the rest of the world seemingly toils in misery these days, you can make 2009 the best you’ve ever had. Set your goals, write them down, get started now, follow your plan and remember why you’re doing them. You CAN do it…

Becoming the Person You Want to be…

What you think about and focus on most expands in your life. If you focus on the person you desire to become, you’ll become that person. If you think most about your negative habits, relationships and finances, they will all expand. This is why so many outcomes in our lives are self-fulfilling.

To stop this cycle, do these things:

1. Have a clear understanding of who and where you are  currently (but don’t make it worse than it really is).

2.  Begin focusing on the person you want to become. 

3.  Visualize how you would conduct your daily life if you were that person today.

4.  Write down the thoughts and actions which are limiting you from becoming that person. 

5.  Write down how you will change those thoughs and actions to overcome your limitations.  This becomes your plan of action.

5.  Work like crazy on your plan.  Get up every morning thinking and acting more like that person.  If you do, each day, you will be one step closer.

6.  Keep working on the plan each day until you are there.

7.  Enjoy the person you’ve become!

Follow these five steps without fail.  If you do, it will be hard to miss your target.  Don’t make it harder than it is.  If you can conceive in your mind how you want to be, you can achieve it.   My wish for you is for you to do well for youself in 2009!

Goals for 2009

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we hit it.”
-Michelangelo

Think about this each time you set a goal for 2009. May this year be everything you want it to be!