Just a reminder

With everything that is happening in the world lately, this can be hard. I'm the first to admit that. Lately, it's been more difficult to stay positive and hopeful. How can we get ourselves together when the world is doing it's best to keep the individual from reaching their full potential? Can you truly become so positive-focused that you are immune to the outside world? More questions than answers...

Time is a four letter word

Time is a four letter word and is usually preceded by other four letter words, such as, "shit" or "damn", and then followed by, "I have no..." Working a full time job, attending to a toddler, running errands (for you and other family members), doing laundry, cleaning, sleeping, and ocassionally taking a shower can really suck up your time. But, what about all the other things we talked about here in order to create a positive life and create change? It seems that when you're pressed for time and you have other people in your life that require your attention, doing anything that smells of self-indulgence seems like a luxury.

So, firstly, I guess I'll have to actually believe (not only in theory) that doing whatever it is that will lead me closer to my goals is not a luxury, it's a necessity. Of course, that may require a certain level of understanding from the people I have in my life, which brings me to my next point.

Even if I can't find myself in the perfect mood or environment (or in the best of circumstances), I still need to work through it. So, there isn't any money for outside assistance or guidance (a yoga class, a massage, a class, a gym, a dietician, a cleaner, etc.). That just means that the process might take a little longer for me. So what? When I get home from work, and everyone is still awake, I can't do anything. Okay then, I'll just have to wait for when my daughter is asleep. It's not much, but that's all I've got and the point is to use whatever I have - even if what I have is very little time.

In the office where I work there is never total peace and quiet. I have learned to block out all the noise and the distractions in order to do my job. Right when I'm in a writing flow, the phone almost always rings, but I still need to continue where I left off. That's a skill I learned to develop, and it can be applied to almost anything. Life is unpredictable, and not everything can go as planned or how we wish it to be. When things disrupt whatever precious time we have, it's easy to just throw your hands in the air, and have a little whine. Go ahead, have a good whine, and then move on.

Managing time must become a habit. Setting a schedule may seem extreme, but it actually helps to set specific times for specific tasks. Like, everyone, even me, can fit in a 10 minute workout like this one I found on Fitsugar.com, 3-4 times a week. Skipping rope, alternating between high and low intensity for 10 minutes, has also been found to burn more fat and calories than a steady 30 minute workout. The same goes for meditation. Here is a 3 minute meditation by Deepak Chopra. 3 minutes! I can do that. Oprah also provides a guide for a simple, but effective 3 minute meditation session. Yes, I'll be mentioning Oprah a lot. Consider yourself warned.

Routine is the friend my parents warned me about. Trouble.

Yeah, something like that.

Change is not easy. Breaking habits and patterns is not easy. Yet, they must be broken. Break those and you break the bonds that hold you to all the things that keep you back. Deep, no? Yeah, but saying it is easy. Doing is the hard part.

I love routine. Routine is my homie, but she gets me into a lot of trouble. In routine lie those dumb-ass patterns. Now, time and time again, personal development experts, and even prominent business leaders such as Ray Dalio, founder and CEO of Bridgewater Associates (the world's largest hedge fund), former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, and Russell Simmons, just to name a few, reference at least 2 of the 4 fundamentals that will lead anyone towards personal success.

1. Exercise

2. Diet

3. Meditation

4. Discipline

And, guess what. They're free! Would I like to have a personal trainer? A dietician? A private chef? A guru that will guide me through yoga and meditation? Hell, yeah! But guess what, I can't. And in the end, don't I know what I should and shouldn't eat? Do I really need a dietician for that? Unless you have some issue that requires a specialist's attention, then common sense is enough of a guide. Also, you can actually have your own trainer on your laptop. Big names such as Tracy Anderson and Jillian Michaels have free workout videos on the Internet. The same goes for meditation tutorials that are easy enough for the beginner. If you're like me, and you feel too "practical" for meditation, then Gabby Bernstein (sign up!) is perfect for you.

Now, discipline is a tricky one. That is the one thing I lack and the one thing that will make all the above possible. Because without discipline, I will not find the motivation or the time that is needed to keep on the path I've laid out for myself. Ugh, just saying the word makes me tired.
D i s c i p zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...jdfhkjdlihahil Sorry, my head just hit the keyboard.

So, there's my list. Now, you can hold me to it!

The one about distractions

And the list I promised was never delivered. You know why? Distractions. These sneaky culprits can throw you off your path faster than any fear or failure. Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, TV, eating, cleaning... distractions are endless and they provide you only with a false sense of "doing". Nothing of worth comes from distractions. They are time killers, tiny vacuums that suck potential. Now, sometimes distractions can be healty, but when they become greater in frequency than actions, then it's time to shake, shake, shake it off, lift the fog that they create and see them for what they really are.

You know what's the biggest distraction of them all? Perfection. Finding the perfect time, the perfect words, the perfect mood, the perfect talent, etc. This usually leads to putting everything off until tomorrow (if you're lucky), but the reality is nothing will ever be perfect.

One of my favorite newsletters come from Mastin Kipp over at The Daily Love, and he sums it up nicely here (Be warned. There will be many more references to the TDL.)

Personally, my biggest distractors are Pinterest, cleaning, perfectionism, and personal development newsletters. See what just happened there? Yes, personal development newsletters, because even "positive" distractions can have a negative impact. Time and time again I find myself reading my beloved newsletters instead of doing any actual work towards reaching my goals. So now, I have to make that to-do list I promised AND create a specific timeline that will kick distraction ass!

Now, let's do this!

Start small, but start now.

FORGET THE BIG PICTURE

A while ago, I spoke to a friend of mine who lives and works in New York City. Our two hour Skype session was devoted to my anxieties regarding moving my family to the United States. Where would we go, what would I do? I spoke on and on about all the things I wanted to achieve, my dreams, the kind of work I wanted to find, etc. In essence, I was painting the big picture of my life. "Small strokes", she said to me. "You're concentrating on the big grand strokes. Start looking at the details of how you envision your life. When you wake up in the morning, what do you see? What do you do? What is your environment like? Where do go? Fine-tune the details of how you want your everyday life to look like. That will help you with the answers you're looking for." BAM! Or, "A-ha!", as Oprah would say.

See, that's the thing with life-changing plans. They are so darn BIG! It's no wonder so many people are frightened and paralyzed by them. I mean, who wants to Spring clean their house in one day? Falling in to a Pinterest stupor seems like a much better alternative. Sometimes we need to take it one step at a time. Take that one little step that will lead to the next, and the next, and the next. Forget about what may or may not happen. Just start. Start by making a list! Lists are awesome. They have a purpose and make you feel productive, but don't require any real action the moment you're writing them. All you have to do is put pen to paper. Easy. So, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make a list with the basics. Not with the big to-do's, but the small ones. The ones that can change my life for the better right NOW. What are the things that I need to take care of in the present so I can accomplish all I want in the future? Coming soon...

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