Something I would like to start this year on my blog is to post some monthly thoughts/topics for me and hopefully you to reflect upon each month. If I ever get to a point of having more ideas than needed for one post then maybe I can make it bi-monthly, but for now it will appear once a month.
To kickstart the year off right I am come up with some things that I plan on using throughout the month to keep me going.
We all know January is a start to a new year. Many people talk about resolutions, but resolutions are just wishful thinking. You need to create goals. Goals allow you to put together an action plan to accomplish something specific. I have blogged so much about goals in my GETTING IT DONE! series and you can read more by searching the tag GETTING IT DONE!
This month I want you to think more than just yourself. Think worldly. How can you actions affect others? In order to think big picture sometimes we have to reflect on ourselves. I start each morning making a goal or two to accomplish each day, give thanks for things that are good, and say a few prayers for those that need a little extra something. I think this is a great month to reflect on how our actions, behaviors, emotions, word choice, etc. affect everyone around you. Thinking big picture we are starting a new lap around a star. That is big picture. We forget we are just a small item on a big planet that simply spins around and around a star.
This is the time to welcome surprises. We cannot predict the future so there is no need to try or worry about the future. Just take care of the “right now” or present to get yourself in a situation where the future will take care of itself. A great quote from Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal says, “You never know when something begins or where it’s going to take you.”
As you start to think big picture reflect on the past year. Ask yourself what worked well for you last year and begin to brew those thoughts and actions in a nice cup of coffee. Take each thought and action, imagine them as a coffee bean, grind them all together, and sip that delicious cup of coffee to celebrate the things that work. Take that cup of coffee to this year and continue to refill your life with those coffee beans, enjoy the flavor, and when you run empty, fill another grinder with new beans that work this year.
When you start a new goal or new year it is like smelling coffee brewing in the coffee pot. You have put in the foundation to allow the smell to take affect. You have not yet sipped the coffee as that is your action plan to get to that point to actually reap the benefits of a nice cup of coffee(goal). Create plan, outline your actions, and make yourself meet those goals.
Another thing to do in the month of January is to decrease/release something in your life and increase something else. For me, I have decreasing the bad food and drink that don’t serve me well and increasing my training to better overall wellness. Not easy my friend, but I know I will reap the rewards down the road when it becomes habit.
Self control and discipline are the two main focal points that you should really focus on this month as you start your new action plan for your goals. Hold yourself accountable. Move your thoughts from DESIRE to ACTION. Realize that you cannot do it alone. Bring in others to help you out. Find sources of inspiration. Find someone to help you on your journey to achieving your goal. Recruit others to take on the same goal. Remember that self control and discipline apply to all aspects of life and not just your goals. You have self control and discipline. Think about how many times you apply these actions in your daily life. We are all capable of great things. Believe it.
Don’t forget that as you work hard to achieve your new goals and habits that you leave room to be kind to yourself. Take a moment and ask yourself what are some ways to be kind for yourself. Carve that time in your schedule to be kind. Being kind to ourselves allows us to be kind to others.
Lastly, as you get things off to a great start this month of January never lose sights of where you want to be. Have a vision. Constantly visualize yourself accomplishing your goal. Perception is everything. An Indian saying states, “A cat is a lion in a jungle of small bushes.”
Don’t compare yourself to others. Rather compare yourself to where you were. As I look back to where I was two years ago when I started running I could barely run 30 minutes. Now I am so much more. I cannot compare myself to others. I remind myself of this every single time I am in the pool and I struggle. One day I will swim more efficiently than the others around me. One day at a time.
GETTING IT DONE! in January is in full effect.
I appreciate any thoughts, ideas, questions, comments.
Leave a Reply