Victim No More

I've lost sight of my goals and my desires so many times. And far too often I blame the things that happen to me. Of course, those things do effect me. But they effect my mind, and that is the true ruling factor of my life.

I have been a victim of my mind my whole life. I've let it lead me away from the things I truly want. I've let it deviate my course, cut me down right when I begin to see the beauty of success, and I have no one to blame but myself.

Such strange creatures we are. A bag of chemicals and electrical impulses sharing space with this strange thing we call consciousness. And yet, our consciousness has such limited control over those chemicals and electrical impulses. They do what they were made to do, and sometimes that is much to our detriment. Consciously, we see what we want and do what we can to get it. But our minds, they are such fickle things. I often wonder: of what use is consciousness, if we do not even understand what we are trying to control?

But I digress. The point is, our own minds are usually our greatest enemy when it comes to the quests of the soul. I want to be and do so many things. But my mind and body keep getting in the way. Is there a way to bring these two things into balance? A way to synchronize what I want with what I have?

I'm determined to try. Dear readers, if you're still out there, reading this, I want you to know: I haven't given up. My vision of how to get where I want to be has changed quite a lot since I last posted here. Even some of the idea of WHAT I want has changed. But I'm still here, working away, trying to change, and make myself into a better person.

I'm only human, and that's something I'm going to have to come to terms with. But, somehow, my conscious mind is going to make this bag of chemicals and electrical impulses follow this quest to the end. It may be a twisted path, but I am determined to walk it.

Upgrade Ready

So I was at work today and I decided to splurge for the first time in a VERY long time on some beauty products. For some reason, I felt this need to experiment and play with a whole new look.

In other words, I bought a whole lot of new make-up.

That got me back to thinking about my life change again. I don't want a superficial change, like some new make-up to make me look better. I want a real change, like writing every day and running and eating healthier. The superficial can make everything look and maybe seem a little better, but it's just a trick.

It's like putting a new paint job on a broken down Pinto. You're still stuck on the side of the road wondering where all your money went.

I'm not returning the make-up, because I like a nice paint job, thank you very much. But I can't stop there. I need to get this life change back to the center of my life. No matter what is going wrong, this change has been an extraordinary source of strength for me, and I'm not ready to lose that.

And I like where I was going when my engine was running.

A Writer's Soul

I sometimes seem to forget why I'm making this change. And when I realized that today, it made me realize something else as well. I have spent so much of my time both on and off this blog talking about these changes I'm making that I've forgotten to mention the why of it all.

A serious oversight, to be sure.

Why am I doing all of this? Because I'm a writer. It isn't my occupation, it isn't my hobby. It isn't just my passion. It's my life, who and what I am. Writing has defined my entire existence. Not just the act of writing, putting words on the paper, but the act of creating. Creating worlds, characters, stories. I've done that since I was a very small child. And I can't imagine a life without it.

That's why I'm doing all of this work. That's why I'm here. I want to be an incredible author. I want people to read my work for generations. Not because I'm egotistical. I may want to be special (who doesn't?), but I've had this driving need to share my worlds and stories with people since before I understood what money and fame were. I need people to see what I see. I need to give them a glimpse into my mind.

I've struggled to share my world inside my head since I was a kid. And other people never seemed to get it quite to the degree I needed them to. At first, I wrote it off as impossible to communicate, but still I itched to share.

And then I decided to do something about it. I worked on my writing, trying to share once again.

It didn't work out that well.

My work was creative and vivid and incredible. But the writing just wasn't good enough to communicate what I wanted to communicate to other people. Nor had I learned how to create a complete story from the random ideas and worlds that were in my head.

In short, it sucked. But it had potential.

My writing has improved since then. Not enough, still, but I continue to get better all the time. I've learned to piece together stories from the pictures in my head. Stories other people can see and understand almost as well as I can.

It's the writing I need to improve. I'm good with words, but I'm not great. And I need to be great. That's the only way I'll be able to truly communicate my worlds. It's the only method I have to share it all.

And sharing my worlds is my reason for being. I've known it my entire life. That's why I'm doing all of this. Because I have to share my worlds with everyone, or I'll have failed to fulfill my purpose.

If you can't tell yet, I don't like to fail.

Daily Stats:

1. Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on my writing twice today.
2. Wrote in my journal, stayed on budget, and wrote a poem today.
3. Posted on my blog.
4. Made my bed.
5. Stayed on my diet today.
6. Fixed my lunch and cooked my breakfast.

To Draw A World

So today I started my seventh goal for this year: drawing something every day. And, let me tell you, this one is going to be interesting.

I've never been very good at drawing. Not since I was a very small child. People would look at my work and ask me what in the world was that with this truly horrified look on their faces. After the extensive rejection of and mockery for my work, I told myself I just didn't have a knack for drawing and quit. But I always looked on others that could draw with envy and longing.

I wanted to do that, too.

Well, here's my chance to try. Maybe I don't have a born gift, but according to Talent Is Overrated, no drawing gene has been found in the human genome as of yet, and it seems a little crazy to think there will be.

But my eye isn't very well-trained. And my thoughts keep getting in the way. But I can do this. I can learn how to draw. I just know I can.

I started tonight at learntodraw.com and I have to say, it's quite interesting. I think I might have a shot at this, after all. I just have to try my best, and I can only get better.

Here's hoping I can be something of an artist someday.

Daily Stats:

 

1. Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on my writing twice today.
2. Wrote in my journal, stayed on budget, and wrote a poem today.
3. Posted on my blog.
4. Made my bed and did a load of dishes.
5. Stayed on my diet.
6. Cooked chicken for lunch and breakfast and fixed my lunch for work.
7. Worked on drawing today.

Write It Down (And Then Do It)

Is there anything you want to accomplish with your life? With this year? With this week? Today? This minute?

Then stop what you're doing. Go on. Take your eyes off the computer screen and get a notebook out.

Done that? Now write down what you want to do with your time. Write down, in detail, a specific goal you want to accomplish. Finished yet? Then give yourself a time limit to accomplish that goal.

Having a day and time that you have to achieve that goal makes it suddenly much scarier, doesn't it? I've found both in my writing and in real life planning, everything becomes more real if you write it down and plan it out. And real is a heck of a lot more terrifying than fantasy.

But real is what you live. Real is possible. Fantasy is just a hazy wish you dream about before you go to sleep at night. If you ever want your life to become that dream, you're going to have to make it real.

Is that enough, however? Can you just give yourself a general goal and a deadline and voila, you're a success? Of course not!

You're going to have to plan. A lot.

Take that general goal and break it down into many, smaller goals. Once you've finished that, give yourself a mini-deadline for each of your small goals. Be conservative; it's better to have too much time allotted than not enough in this exercise.

Now look at your coming schedule. What time do you have available for this activity? How can you fit your goal pursuits into your daily life? Obviously you're going to have to give up something to make your goal happen. Because if you didn't have your time wasted on something else, you'd already have accomplished the goal by now.

So do an honest evaluation of your life. Is there something you could cut back on, just a bit, to fit your new activities in? Is there anything you can cut completely?

Write down any decisions you make about your decisions here, too. The human brain is a funny thing. Writing your goals and decisions down on paper has shown to make people more susceptible to implementing those changes.

Having said that, I don't want any of you to mistake my meaning. Once you write it down, you're still going to have to do it. You have to get up and walk away from the pen and paper and actually accomplish something if you want to succeed at your goals. But writing them down is an excellent strategy at changing the way you think about those changes. It takes something that seems like a fantasy and brings it into reality.

And no one knows how incredibly hard that is to do better than a writer.

Daily Stats:

 

1. Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on my writing twice today.
2. Wrote in my journal, stayed on budget, and wrote a poem today.
3. Posted on my blog.
4. Made my bed.
5. Stayed on diet (improved my vegetable and fruit eating!).
6. Cooked breakfast, fixed my lunch, and fixed myself dinner.

Anniversaries

Happy anniversary to me! Yay!

It amazes me to see how far I've already come. This day marked the 2-month anniversary of when I started this life change and the difference between now and then is simply incredible. Maybe not as far as I hope to get in the future.

But still amazing, regardless.

And my blog! My last blog, it was amazing if I remembered to update twice a week! And it died a natural death because of that. But this blog I've kept posting each day for 1 whole month!

I feel silly and a little giddy. Even though today was a terrible, grueling day at work and my body is terribly sore from yesterday's strains, I'm excited about it all. I feel as though there is no struggle I can't fight and win, no trouble I can't take on to get where I want to go.

My life has officially become what I want it to be. And I'm going to make it work, shape it all into the life of my dreams. I will succeed. I can feel it.

I'd like to take this chance to thank any and all of you out there who have been reading this and following me on this incredible journey. And a special thanks to Mark, for taking the time to encourage me along the way. Blogging each day would have been so much harder without you, Mark. At least I know someone is out there.

Thank you so much. It feels good to know I'm not alone.

Daily Stats:

 

1. Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on writing twice today.
2. Wrote in my journal, stayed on budget, and wrote a poem.
3. Posted on my blog.
4. Made my bed.
5. Stayed on my diet.
6. Made juice with my juicer and fixed my lunch for work.

All Diets Work (But We Don't)

I read about a study in a book I read not so long ago (Change Anything), and it said something about diets that has stuck with me ever since. In this study, scientists tested each diet against a control group to see if it really worked. And their study showed that almost all of the diets worked...for as long as the people stayed on them.

Problem is, few people ever do.

We all have seen this story for ourselves. Woman or man hates their body and decides to change it. They go on a diet and exercise regimen and lose pounds quickly. And they keep them off. For a little while.

And then they slip. They skip an exercise routine. They cheat on their diet. And the pounds start coming back. The more they gain back, the more they eat and the less they exercise. They've already lost; why keep fighting the battle? Their new body quickly deteriorates until they've gained more pounds than they originally lost!

Sometimes this cycle repeats itself over and over and over again, causing more health problems than the supposed diet was supposed to cure in the first place.

When I was a little girl, I decided I was never going to diet. I didn't believe in the stuff. Dieting made people unhappy and cranky, and I wanted to be happy, dang it! How in the world could skinny ever be worth unhappiness?

Well, I still feel that way. In fact, I think fad diets are evil and are causing more obesity in our nation than they are curing. But then, why is a diet in my life change plan?

Because I want to change my diet. Not go on a diet. I want to eat healthier, in a more sustainable manner. I want to feel good and accomplish my goals, not fit in a swimsuit better. Sure, that'd be a great side effect to a healthier diet and exercise regimen (what girl wouldn't want that), but that's not what this is about.

This is about being happy. This is about making my dreams come true.

And no where in my dreams is there room for debilitating illnesses and health problems that hold me back from doing things. I need my health more than anything if I want to get somewhere in this life change of mine. So, starting on 4/11, I will be beginning my own diet plan. It won't be a fad diet, nor will it be a starvation diet. This will be a complete dietary change for me. A lifestyle change.

It will be based off of the dietary research I am currently doing. Extensive reading into how the body and nutrition works is the only way I can see making this work how I want.

And this will work. Just watch me.

Daily Stats:

 

1. Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on my writing twice today.
2. Wrote in my journal, stayed on budget, and wrote a poem today.
3. Posted on my blog today.
4. Made my bed today.

Poisonous Fear

My mother was telling me today of how she has tried and failed to do what I'm doing now when she was my age. And she isn't the only one. My coworkers have been telling me how they've tried to reach their own goals as I am but have found that "something" always gets in the way and stops them.

I've decided that "something" is really only one thing: you.

You are your own worst enemy. You are the only thing standing between you and your dreams. You are the only obstacle in your path to greatness.

Because of things like fear and doubt, you give up when things get difficult, believing those ugly, little thoughts in the back of your mind. "You're not good enough." "You can't do this; you're fooling yourself." "You're going to look like an idiot." "You deserve the mediocre life you live."

I know. Because I am having those same thoughts.

I'm so afraid I'm going to fail. That I'm going to be stuck in this life I don't want to stay in. Sure, it's a good place to be for my temporary goals, but long-term? No way!

I'm afraid I can't get out. I'm afraid I'm not good enough. I'm afraid I'm going to look like an idiot. I'm afraid I'm going to be like my mom and my coworkers, advising some future dreamer that "something" is going to come between them and greatness.

If I let it, these doubts and fears will hold me back. They'll stop me from reaching my goals. From flying with my dreams.

I refuse to let it.

I will do this. I am good enough. I deserve to live my dreams. And I'm not an idiot.

And do you know why? Because when all is said and done, I'm more afraid of what I'll become if I don't do this than what might happen if I do. Success might not be certain in this life change of mine, but failure is sure if I don't even try to make it.

Fear can poison you or it can drive you to even greater heights. Regardless, you will be afraid. What you do with that fear all depends on you.

Daily Stats:

 

1. Exercised, stretched, and meditated twice today. Only worked on writing tonight, however.
2. Wrote in my journal, stayed on budget, and wrote a poem today.
3. Posted on my blog today.
4. Picked up in my room, made my bed, vacuumed living room, den, bedroom, hallway, and bathroom, cleaned bathroom sink, toilet, and mirror, and worked on laundry. 

Goal Book

I read on the Change Blog (a wonderfully informative blog for anyone who wants to change) that you should create a goal book outlining your plans to change. I nodded my head in agreement when I read it and used the notebook I had already been using to outline my goals, naming it my goal book.

And that was that. Or so I thought.

But the thought remained in my head. When I went to work, I continuously looked around for things that might help me on my goal, with no specific thoughts in mind. I just looked, thinking how each thing could be used to develop my goals and whether the benefits could offset the price.

And then I saw a zipper binder on sale for $3.50.

I immediately flashed back to my 8-year-old self. I used to carry around a zipper binder my mom bought me for school, dreaming about filling it with wondrous information that would make my dreams come true. I'd show it to other people and awe them with my incredible abilities. And I'd become something special, all from the power of that beautiful zipper binder.

Of course, that never happened. But it was a dream of mine, and since this new change is all about making my childhood dreams come true, I decided to use the money I had budgeted for my goal plans on a Goal Book.

As soon as I finished preparing the notebook, I felt like a giddy child again with my school binder. This notebook was going to make my dreams come true.

Which is childish nonsense, of course. I will make my dreams come true. But this binder and all it contains will help me get there. And that is certainly something to be excited about.

A Goal Book is a notebook where you plan your goals to a close degree and keep active track of your progress. Those that use such tools have been shown to stay on track towards their goals more often, bounce back from setbacks easier, and accomplish more overall. People who want to lose weight are encouraged to keep a notebook keeping track of their meal habits and their exercise regimen. Those who wish to get organized are encouraged to create lists of what they want to accomplish.

It's all related. So my Goal Book is here to help me stay on track towards my goals and I can honestly say it's already helping. In fact, it's amazing.

Do you like the idea of a Goal Book? Maybe you should make one for yourself. Who knows. Maybe it'll help you make your dreams come true.

Daily Stats:

1. Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on writing twice today.
2. Wrote in my journal, stayed on budget, and wrote a poem today.
3. Posted on my blog.
4. Made my bed, picked up in my room, did some dishes, and did laundry today.

 

Sick and Tired

I'm so sick and tired of feeling like crap. I'm so sick of my life and feelings being dependent on other people. I'm so sick of being the way I've been for so long.

I want to change. I want to be different.

And that's why I'm here. I might indulge in my need to encourage others to change, too. After all, I want everyone to feel as good as I'm feeling right now. But I hope everyone will always know that this blog is about one thing:

Change.

And, in the spirit of that, I'd like to announce several of my intentions. Starting next week, I'm going to make it a goal to post 1 video blog entry per week, as well as post at least one top 10 reasons and one top 10 ways to do something on my own to do list. Why? Because I'm finding out that what I'm doing is incredibly important and freeing. And I want you to find that out, too.

This is my change. I want to do it to the best of my ability, and I want to take anyone and everyone I can along for the ride.

I hope you don't get car sick.

Daily Stats:

 

1. Exercise, stretched, meditated, and worked on writing twice today.
2. Wrote in my journal, didn't stay on budget today, and wrote my poem.
3.  Posted on blog.
4. Made bed.

The Weak Points

Some of you out there may have noticed something about every single one of my blog posts: I finish them with a listing of my daily stats of what I did to reach my goals that day. This is a way for me to stay accountable for my actions. No, I don't lie on those stats to impress anyone; that would be missing the whole point. This is my personal improvement exercise. To lie would only be cheating myself of any improvement I could reap from it.

If you have been reading, you might have noticed that I have a few consistent weak points. There are two of the four goals that I find the most difficult to implement in my life. And neither of them have come as a shock to me.

Budgeting and cleaning are not things I enjoy. I doubt many of you reading this enjoy them, either. But I'm trying to face them, head on, to improve my life.

I'm still quite weak at those goals, though. I don't always stay on budget, I don't plan my budget as in-depth as I really should, I don't clean as much as I need to, and I don't make major cleaning projects the priority on my days off work as I planned. These are my weak points. These are the areas of my change plan that need the most work.

Studies have shown that people who spend most of their time in practice working on their weak points, show more improvement overall than those who spend a more balanced time dedicated to everything. Why? Because focus really does make a difference. All those multi-tasking benefits we've heard of? All lies.

 My main focus of late has been on budgeting. Mostly because I believe if I can rein in my spending habits, I can eventually afford some of the more expensive goals I have planned for later. After I get that under some control, I'm going to tackle my cleaning and organizational habits.

So, if anyone out there is wondering why I'm not moving on to goals 5 and 6 yet, this is why. Until I've improved in the budgeting and cleaning spheres, adding new goals will be left on hold. That's just common sense.

Daily Stats:

 

1. Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on writing this morning. Too sick to exercise and stretch tonight (strep), so I only meditated and worked on my writing.
2. Wrote in journal, planned budget for my next 2 weeks, and wrote a poem.
3. Posted on blog.
4. Absolutely no cleaning done.

Debt Has Become My Prison

I'm 23 years old. And I already owe over $7,000 in credit card debt.

How did this happen? Because I made it happen. I overspent. I spent money I didn't have when I didn't even have a job with a salary high enough to pay for it at the end of the month. Why? Because I "needed" it.

And it's no happenstance that most of my debt has been acquired since I started working at Walmart. Working so hard and getting so little in return made me feel as though I "deserved" the things I bought on credit. More than that, I am constantly bombarded with things I "need" to have. I can personally attest that Walmart's marketing scheme works.

At least, it did on me. Every day. For an entire year.

Until I can't stand it anymore. I'm so far in debt, I can't spend a dollar of my money without worrying if I'll have enough to pay my credit card bills. And as my main credit card debt is to Walmart, I can literally say that I pay Walmart to work for them!

And that is just pathetic.

Not only am I slaving for the company, I'm PAYING them to do so??? That has got to be the very definition of insanity.

No more. I'm going to pay off my current credit card debt, and then that's it. No more spending money I don't have. It's cold hard cash, or it isn't viable.

If you feel as though debt is enslaving you, too, check out Dave Ramsey's site. The man knows his stuff. And maybe he can make you rethink how you use your money, too.

I know I won't ever look at it the same again.

Daily Stats:

 

1. Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on my writing twice today.
2. Wrote in journal, worked on my budget and stayed on budget, and finished my poem today.
3.  Posted on my blog.
4. Didn't clean anything at all today (except for the floors, bins, and merchandise at Walmart).

Meet The Woman I Want To Be

I want to be a calm, happy, intelligent woman who writes. I want to feel good about myself and my life. I want to be happy with my vocation, happy with my hobbies, and happy with my choices. And I want to be healthy and motivated, able to do anything and everything I set my mind to.

And I want to become that person, that ideal, by the age of 30.

Here's a more detailed, vivid picture of who I want to be by the time I'm 30:

• A published writer.
• A healthy woman NOT on medication for diabetes, heart disease, etc.
• In a stable, enjoyable vocation.
• Taking regular classes in different subjects, just for the sake of learning.
• A seasoned traveler who's been to Africa, South America, India, and toured Europe.
• Living a green, self-sufficient lifestyle.
• Debt free.
• HAPPY!

I do not want to be any of these things when I'm 30 years old:

• Still working at Walmart.
• A procrastinator.
• A person with a list of nothing but unfinished projects.
• Still not green or self-sufficient.
• Knee deep in debt.
• Stuck in the same dead-end cycle of life.

 It's a tall order to fill in just 7 years. But I can do it, if I just take it one day, one step, at a time. Because that's who I want to be someday.

And I will be her. That transformation has already begun. If I never give up, never give in to self-doubt or immediate gratification, then that person is who I will be.

That's why I'm doing this. That's why I'm here.

Daily Stats:

1. Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on my writing twice today.
2. Wrote in my journal and stayed on budget.
3. Posted another post on my blog.
4. Picked up in room, did laundry, and did a load of dishes.

Meet The Woman I Am

I am 23 years old. Too young to be respected, and yet too old to be given allowances. But in respects to change, I feel like a small child who has finally been given the means of how to walk.

I've lived my life believing that I had no 'drive'. No motivation. I was a calm and good person, whatever that means, but I wasn't competitive and I didn't strive to reach goals for myself. If someone put a small goal in front of me, I reached it and then laid in wait, like a wind-up doll, doing nothing of any import until someone else decided to come along and give me another goal to attempt to strive for.

I have always believed that I could not set my own goals and achieve them. I've tried despite this from time to time, determined to change.

And then I would fail, reinforcing my belief that I couldn't do it for myself. I needed someone else to make me do it.

Schools, jobs, parents, all of them teach you this through the use of the carrot and the stick approach. If you do what they want, you're rewarded. If you deviate from that path, you're punished. In small regards, this is healthy. It's a normal means of controlling a society and also a strong motivator. Taken to extremes, however, it can be addicting and have a negative impact on your personal growth.

And this is what I've become.

I am 23 years old. I've still never done more than a first draft of a book, never learned a second language, never raised my own vegetables, never traveled to Europe or South America or Africa. And I'm afraid that those things won't change over the next 7 years.

Because they won't. Not if I don't change today.

Daily Stats:

1. Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on my writing twice today.
2. Wrote in my journal and successfully stayed on budget. Even made up for my spendthrift ways yesterday and the day before. :)
3. Posted on my blog.
4. Picked up in room a little and in den.

Change Anything

In my last post, I talked about focus. Well, this post is all about our means of directing your focus. The best part? The same methods used against you to alter your focus to immediate gratification may be used to direct your attention towards the ultimate goal you truly want to attain in your life.

I actually discovered them in the book entitled Change Anything, by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler.

According to this book, there are six sources of motivation (which I believe is more about focus than anything) and they are: personal motivation, personal ability, social motivation, social ability, structural motivation, and structural ability.

What do these mean? Well, I'll walk you through them one by one, and tell you how I'm using each one of these motivating factors in my life.

The first is personal motivation. You have to connect with the overall goal in your crucial moments (that is, when you're about to give into temptation) and focus on what you want for your future rather than what you want right now. I implement this motivating factor with abstract thinking. I keep my goal and ultimate desire (to be a healthy, happy, and successful writer someday) in the forefront of my mind as much as I possibly can. Then, it's easy to pull up to the front of my mind when I want to remember not to be tempted.

I also make it more specific. I want to be a prolific, self-employed writer who doesn't have to rely on secular work to pay the bills. I want to be self-sufficient, always learning, and have finished my main project's books by the age of 30. Keeping this vision vivid gives me more to draw from when I'm tempted to stray.

The second is personal ability. This refers to the skills you need to tackle the task at hand. Chances are your life before now hasn't prepared you for the new life you wish to take on (mine certainly hasn't). So, you must learn new skills to pull from and use to reach your goal.

I'm learning all kinds of new skills to help me with my goals. Exercise, meditation, organization, budgeting. The list goes on and on. The important factor is that you learn them so that you have a bigger chance of success at whatever you're working towards.

The third is social motivation. We are who we hang out with. Our mothers told us this when we were kids, but we refused to believe her. But it's true! What you see as the norm (as in, who you associate with) is what you view as the desired goal for yourself. So, if you hang out with people who complain a lot, you'll find that you do, too.

You'll also find the reverse is true. If you're around positive, peppy people, you'll feel more positive and happy.

The fourth is social ability. This means that change is a difficult thing to do on one's own. Humans are social animals and we like to do things in a group. If you have support, encouragement, and guidance from those around you, you're far more likely to succeed.

I'm implementing the third and the fourth of these motivators by talking with my existing friends about my changes and starting this blog in hopes of meeting those with similar goals.

The fifth is structural motivation. If you link short-term rewards and punishments to your changes, you'll be far more likely to succeed. I implemented this by allowing myself to get that game I've been wanting only after I had kept to my routine for half a month. I also don't allow myself to eat out at a higher priced restaurant until I've managed to keep below budget the rest of the week.

The sixth and final motivator on the list is structural ability. This has more to do with your environment. What are the things in your life influencing you to do? If you have a tv at the center of your room with all the surrounding materials based upon it, you're not going to get much else but watching tv done. However, studies have shown that the closer your treadmill is to your television set, the more exercising you'll get done.

I implemented this motivator by organizing my room and, most importantly, straightening my desk so that my writing has plenty of space to be laid out there. It makes it much more inviting and tempting to sit down and get to work. I also cleared out my floor so that I had plenty of room to work out there.

If you'd like to see the scientific studies the researchers did that lead them to these conclusions, check out this book at amazon.com or your local library.

Daily Stats:

 

1. Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on my writing twice today.
2. Wrote in my journal and did NOT stay on budget again today.
3. Posted on my blog.
4.  Picked up in my room a little.

Just Fo...Ooo, Shiny Object!

Whatever your focus, that is your life.

If you focus on negative things, your life will be negative. You focus on positive things, your life will be positive. We've all heard this. But that's not specific enough to truly alter your thinking, is it?

Think about your day. Mine is constantly filled with temptations that alter my focus. I walk into work (at Walmart) with my focus pumped up to save money and not diverge from my budget. But then I see that chocolate cake, and my mouth starts to water and I imagine myself eating it. And voila, my focus has shifted from my budget and future savings to the immediate gratification of blowing that budget for that tasty cake.

9 times out of 10, I buy the cake.

Guess what my life has been filled with? Constant allowances and excuses as to why it's okay to give into the immediate gratification rather than struggle and strive for my overall goals and lifetime dreams.

But I don't want that anymore. I want to live my dreams. I want to achieve my goals. And I want to beat my own desires so that I can achieve those things. For my own good, of course.

In summary, if you keep your focus on the big picture (what you want for your life overall) you will live a life that perpetuates that ideal. But if you allow temptations to shift your focus to immediate gratification (the thing you want right now) and don't immediately force yourself back on track, well, you will live a life that is the exact opposite of that ideal.

How do you keep your focus? I've discussed how I'm doing it in previous posts, but we'll go even deeper in how focus works in my next post all about Change Anything, a book by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler.

Daily stats:

1. Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on my writing twice today.
2. Wrote in my journal and failed to keep my budget, but planned how to make up for that.
3. Created and posted a blog post.
4. Picked up in room and den (but not much).