An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in.
A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.
-Bill Vaughan
What Small Thing Can You Do?
The small steps you take create big results.
It’s official – Happy New Year! Wow, another year under our belts. Some got up on the 1st and got going right away; others are still unwinding from the holidays and will get going with new energy this week. Yet that energy doesn’t last too long before we fall back on our normal routines.
Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self assessment and repentance
that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility.
Breaking them is part of the cycle.
-Eric Zorn
As good as our intentions are life throws a lot of demands at us, distracting us from our goals. The short list: job, bills, family, kids, cleaning, shopping, laundry, sleeping, studying, and hey, how about some fun? That’s just a start. With all these demands, how are you going to incorporate the changes you want?
Believe it or not, you can. Use these ten ideas to get started:
o Exercise even just ten minutes a day
o Eat smaller portions
o Drink more water
o Avoid spending on credit
o Save ten percent of what you earn
o Organize daily for a few minutes
o Clean every day for ten minutes
o Write a daily To Do List
o Turn off that TV
o Pay attention to your relationships
You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing
that we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down.
-Mary Pickford
It doesn’t matter what you did last year; if you got off to a good start; if your list of what you want and need to change is big. What matters is that you decide to start taking small daily actions. What matters is that you don’t get overwhelmed. The daily accomplishments you achieve will add up and give you the results you want over time.
“How do you eat an elephant?”
“One bite at a time!”
What bite size thing can you incorporate into your life right now to start eating away at your goals? Start small; stay consistent. You’ll be amazed at how naturally changes unfold this year.
Here’s something else you can do. Share one idea. Your idea might motivate someone else.
Cheers!
Devlyn Steele
comments
says:
Last week I started to log certain things that are important to me. Did I exercise today? Did I clean or organize something? Did I talk to another person face to face today? Etc.
I began I major To Do list last month, and that worked for me too. Today I added a short Do it Today section to the Daily Log. Only a couple of items from the big To Do list, so I wouldn't feel overwhelmed by the list as a whole.
says: My Idea: Share the positive energy by greeting your partner first thing in the morning (and other household members) with a smile and a greeting "Good Morning Sweetie" or Sunshine, or Handsome, or by their name, etc. Remember it's the energy in the inflection that counts. It will make you both feel good!
says:
Hi Devlyn.
May only the best happen for you now and into the future.I find writting this to some one I don't even know rather a first and novel..
In the process of life I have found that the day I made my mind up to do something and as long as I moved in that direction every day doors started to open and the right people would be there and the money would come as I was moving forward, assistance was there at the right time and it seemed as if the world knew I was comming and I believed in what I was trying to do.When looking for something that I wanted I would think on it, how it should be and then proceeding taking nothing less than I had in my mind then out of the blue something would urge me to turn left or call someone and there it would be as if by magic The world was allowing me great expieriences . The wonderful people I met and befriended and most of them today are still my cherrished friends.
When I fell or stumbled or at times lose I started to think I was a loser and I would wonder in the darkness for some time. these were the dark days. Then one day I read "there is only "winning and learning there was no losing" (Blew me away)however not enough to change my state and I tried reading my way out of my hole ,refered to proffessionals even hypnotists but no luck there. l seemed to have pulled on a handbrake(I'm a loser) and I wasn't about to release it for fear that I would do it again(fail again) I was searching for a way forward with my handbrake firmly in my hand leaving skid marks every where I went for all to see.In the searching there was this obscure saying on a wall it said ,"the two most powerful words a man could say were "I DID" and from a seminar "The only failure was the failure to participate"
My illusion was shattered with a very nasty accident.While recovering in the hospital I detirmined to get up and beat my condition and be part of life
And during the healing I found my self saying I can't do this or that and being reactive instead of being proactive I knew then that if I didn't change nothing else would except for more of the same
I have now after 2years found something I want to do and am now starting to use the same principals and using the same language and self talk I had before with a little trepidation but little by little the handbrake is becoming redundant and I'm beginning to feel free for the first time in a long time what a good feeling.
I might say that my wife has always been a believer in me I have dragged her through swamps' dry gullies and through barbed wire fences and over some fearsome terrain and she still hangs on after 32 years.I once asked her why does she stay she could have a better man and a better life. Her answer ..every day with you has been a wonderful exiting ride and I would not trade that life for anything ,any way I thought we we're in this for the long haul rich poor or as it comes What a Rock She is
Thanks for allowing me to share
as in this sharing it has helped me see things Iv'e not beng doing and aired to me(like a discovery) the things that I will be doing.
My ride so far has been quite exiting and although there is no content as to the things I have done or will be doing I can ensure you that my ride is about to get even more exiting.." What would happen if I could" is a good starting question for any one
My jouney started out at 16 "with the fear of staying home far outweighing the fear of the unknown 35 cents and a hich hike to the bigsmoke"
Thanks Robert
says:
I miss my friends so much. I am going to make it a point to call 1 on my "friends list" each week. My closest friends who live in my area have agreed that we need to schedule a time together to share photos, our stories, and our goals at least once a quarter. No more excuses or letting time slip away into another year before spending quality time together. We are in charge of our relationships and we manage them with enthusiasm and care.
Veronica
says: "BEEE YOURSELF" said the Genie (as a bee) in Disney's Aladdin movie, encouraging the young prince that didn't know how to act and get what he wanted. Let's STOP and listen to our inner voice!
says:
Getting rid of half of my TV time throughout the week has already given me so much more time for working out and making better meals for myself. Its also helps the writers strike is going on right now and will be continuing for a while.
Definitely get more active, enroll in classes, take initiative to know your community and its members better. Do the same for you kids! I work on behalf of New York Kids Club in Manhattan/Brooklyn Heights, NYC and we are encouraging new year resolutions ourselves. Sign your kids up kickboxing, cooking courses, wall climbing to keep their winter blues at bay. Its a great way to meet other kids and parents too. Find something like this in your area.
http://www.nykidsclub.com
says:
says:
Call a friend, and go for coffee or meet on your lunch hour from work. If I find myself unable to pick up the phone, I send an email, and set a time and place. Time spent with a friend is easily the best pick-me-up there is!