Sometimes, after a long period of burn out, we loose motivation. Often, we see that coming. However, other times, the lack of motivation feels like it comes out of no where. In either case, this feeling can be quite unsettling. Especially for those who are {read more}
At one point or another, the majority of people find themselves in a situation they wish they weren’t in. Usually, this happens after a series of small decisions that slowly took the person off course. Rarely are these situations purposeful or an all-of-a-sudden type moment. {read more}
Today’s post is a bit different than most. In brief, it is a reflection exercise. Most likely, this should be done individually or in discussion with a loved one. It may be helpful to have old journals, phone notes or pictures within reach.
Think back 5 years from today. For those reading on the day this is published, that would be Friday, April 8th, 2016. If it wasn’t for ‘on this day’ reminders from our social media platforms, would you remember what you were doing? Do you think back and realize how far you’ve come? How much of what you were doing around that time, has now become second nature? What characteristics of yourself were you only considering developing at that time and now have?
Funny enough, during this time I was on a social media ‘pause’. However, based on my google calendar, this weekend was the Atlantic City Beer and Wine Fest which I was considering attending. As it turns out, I did not attend as hoped. But instead, had a work trip to Nashville to prepare for. My entire life was in such a different place compared to current state. Memory tells me that I was wanting to have every second of every day packed with activities. In addition, I was in the process of finding a different place to live. Honestly, being on the move was a huge comfort at that time. Based on phone pictures, I had flown with work friends to do a leadership seminar with me. Ah, how some things change and other just keep getting better!
Okay, after that, potentially long walk down memory lane, it is time to realize how far you’ve come. And yes, believe me, I know there might be so much further to go, and that’s a good thing! (This blog would not exist if it wasn’t for the fact I want to improve and inspire others to improve every single day).
However, there is a time and a place to give yourself credit. And consider this permission to make that time NOW! That being said, as the northern hemisphere comes out of the winter season and transitions to the Spring season, there is no better time than NOW to give yourself the credit. Allow yourself the moment to truly consider your accomplishments, your growth, any elimination of bad habits and establishment of new ones! After all, when is the last time you gave yourself a round of applause?
Today is just that short and sweet. Realizing, that it my be emotional to go back to Spring of 2016 and remember all the things. In order to keep things simple, I’m purposely not adding additional stories or thoughts of my own.
Much love, xoxo
Rose & Bianca
That dreaded feeling Do you ever find yourself asking, “What should I do now?” Potentially this question flashes before you at an unexpected dead-end in the road, and others it comes a ‘real-life’ dead-end. Sometimes, long-time-coming or completely unexpected, this feeling isn’t normally a good {read more}
Situational lessons to carry forward If there is anything this pandemic is teaching us, it is that determination and perseverance alone aren’t enough. Largely, at the very least, the need to adapt and adjust without knowing what is around the corner is necessary. In addition, {read more}
Consistency and repetition equal results. Being consistent is just about the only thing that will actually produce sustainable results. Meaning, very rarely will a one-time action allow for a long term goals. Improving incrementally and applying the trial and error idea go hand in hand with the idea of being consistent. Another important ingredient is accountability which is a topic for another day.
For example, any time we go about learning something, we need to study and practice. If we are wanting to become more fit or flexible, the best results come with a regular routine. Even training a dog or horse requires repeated interactions.
All the intensity in the world cannot produce the same results as consistency over time. Think about a time when you didn’t study for an exam and last minute try to ‘cram’. Or maybe thinking running a race with pure willpower vs preparation would get you through. While this technique may have worked a handful of times, it may have also resulted in injury or a poor score on a large portion of a final exam.
“…inconsistent behavior leaves no choice but to operate out of intensity as the time necessary for consistency has long since passed…. From our faith, to our habits, to our health, consistency consistently makes intensity a fool.“
Quinn Rivera // Humbled Daily Co-founder, doctor in training and aspiring professional lover of life. (https://www.humbleddaily.com/)
Consistency and repetition are the fastest ways to actually get to a final result! This may seem counter intuitive at first. It may seem that doing something once and going all-in is the answer. But in most of life’s opportunities, going through the process of learning, applying, adjusting is the only way to truly achieve the real goal. Seeing real results provides more motivation to keep going, and thus progress is made. Not just progress toward your goal but also progress in the journey – soul progress. The closer to you get toward a goal, the more clarity comes to what you really want.
Soon I will be writing a post about, “What do you really want?”. The thought behind this is that, typically we truly are in search of a feeling, or the journey versus just the end result. Recently, I’ve been considering this more and more. It isn’t just the fact I want to be able to do a back walk over to do circus tricks. Or for that matter, see the world upside down. Instead, it is that I want to prove to myself that I have the self-discipline, love for my body and resourcefulness to do what needs to be done everyday to work toward this goal. If I just wanted to do one back walk over, I would probably just go to a trampoline park and do a back flip in the air.
Back to our originally schedule program regarding consistency. Take your goals list out, or make one fresh! After all, it is the start of the second quarter of 2021. All of my corporate and sales-y friends make give me a hard time over my observation of the quarters. But it’s just such a good way to keep track of the year going by.
Anyway! Remind yourself of your goals in one way or another, if you have been have a particularly hard time getting motivated, go back to your purpose for each of your goals or revisit and create news ones.
Take the time, if you haven’t already to research what others who have achieved similar goals have done to get there. For example, when I decided to start this blog, I researched what other successful bloggers were doing. Related to: how many times they were posting, how they grew their audience, their monetization methods and much more. Once I had a baseline idea of some of the things and put my own flavor to it, I wrote down the top 3 habits and actions that would produce results.
Once you have actions associated with each of your goals, go to your calendar and prioritize those actions. This might be as simple as, ‘call friends’ during this block of time to build better relationships. Or it could be as intense as making appointments with a language coach. Either way, put it in the calendar and remind yourself of why you truly want to get to the end goal.
One last thing I would like to mention here. Being consistent and following through with your prioritized actions is a time commitment. The better way to describe this use of time is an investment. You are choosing to take an action consistently over time, making small improvements each round which WILL produce results. If for some reason the time commitment feels burdensome or off, re-check your priorities and your purpose and ask yourself if the end goal is something you really want.
Today’s topic is more simple than most but the most important! THANK YOU. Thank you to those who are reading and following along. A special thank you to those who have texted, shown support and shared your own stories! And, I can’t forget those I’ve {read more}
Experience As much as sometimes we’d like to just read a book and automatically ‘know’, it typically takes some amount of trail and error. Trial and error comes with time and experience. Small failures become lessons learned. Improvements made in small increments typically stick longer {read more}
As the first three months of the year come to a close, it is a good time to reflect on daily habits. And determine if they are pointing you in the right direction toward your goals. Or if they are ever so slightly off track and taking you further from your goals and dreams.
Using your goals, identify the daily habits which would get you closer to your goals. For example, my top 4 goal areas for 2021 are:
In order to make progress within each of these areas, I have established daily habits that at the very least acknowledge each of these topics. At most, my daily habits create have established deliberate progress in each of these areas everyday.
Upon reflecting on the daily habits which apply to each of your goals, you will have to hold yourself accountable. One great tool is using Habit Trackers (examples below!). Another option is to find an accountability partner to either ask about your progress OR participate in your habits with you.
My ability to stay disciplined on my own is always in full effect, however sometimes it is nice to be able to tell another, ‘YES I MADE PROGRESS!’ If you are unlike me and don’t compete with yourself on a daily basis, there are also apps for your phone that can help with this. Apps that remind you it is time to check something off of your daily list! I have never used it, but I’ve heard that the Coach.ME app is a good one (https://www.coach.me/) and it has a free option.
Either way, using a digital or paper bullet journal or habit tracker is always a great way to measure yourself. They also allow for a way to look back and adjust daily habit lists to accommodate your new goals.
Throughout the past 5 or so years, using habit trackers has worked for me. Typically this tool includes a list of habits, the dates of the month and a spot to color in or tick mark off the habits which you’ve completed for that day. Below is an example and at the end of this post I’ve filled out my own for you to see.
While creating this blog post, I decided it was time to get a ‘real life’ habit tracker instead of doing it digitally or using a ruler to draw lines on a page. I ordered the one you see here, which you can also get on Amazon.
It didn’t come in time for me to put a cute picture on this post, but I am excited to start using it!
Celebrate the big wins, give yourself credit for every small win that got you there. Each day when I fill in my habit tracker, I simply thank myself for keeping the commitments to myself. Once the month has ended, I take stock of what I accomplished and the improvements that may be visible.
One great example is when I first was able to do the splits. This accomplishment was a direct result of stretching and doing yoga 5 times per week. I knew that the task of even doing 15 minutes of stretching each day was getting me closer and closer to that goal! Once I accomplished it, I gave myself the credit and continued on with my almost daily practice.
I would love to hear about your daily habits and how you track your progress! Either write below or connect with us on Instagram @brighteyedsmiles
WHAT DAY IS IT? Whoa! Today is NOT a Monday ;-p. Why are we posting on Sunday?! Two reasons:(1) This post is about meal prepping for the upcoming week and I want ya’ll to be able to participate (if you so choose).(2) I’d like to know {read more}