Compassion

To continue our goal on thinking and modeling and finding those in our lives with great character – today we will focus on another trait it seems to me exemplifies good character – and that is compassion –

A compassionate person is one who feels for others, who makes decisions after thinking of what it will mean to others. Compassion means: sympathy for the suffering of others, often including a desire to help – who do you know that is compassionate and how have they shown this quality or trait?

In building good habits this month – modeling excellence charater – can you show deeper compassion in your dealings with others today?

You create your day by the way you think! Make it magnificent!

A loop – and like it!

Philosophy and mindset around habits and systems – how we think – determines how you behave and the results we get – it’s a loop – and endless loop. Thinking about how you’re thinking seems funny and yet – we usually don’t do it enough –

How do we think about our systems and habits? Like a wonderful helpmate or a hindrance to fun? When I danced for a living and prior to that as I was a dance student for years and years – we went to the bar to do our warm up regardless of our level – doing the habitual things that support you – gives you the strength, gives you power – and it can be a fun ritual if you put it in your mind that way –
To be the most beautiful dancer, you must spend wonderful time at the bar – the same goes for sports, music – anything of value, takes a systemized approach.

Quote for you from George Bernard Shaw “Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.”

Be clear windows today – because you can and are!

You create your day by the way you think! Make it magnificent!

Daily focus for long term results

For Habits & Systems we’ve discussed how important setting up your next day is. Knowing what is also a priority for your next day is an added habit – besides the regular stuff we do each day, get kids off to school, drive to work etc. – what thinking or actions will further your goals?

Here are a few to think about incorporating into your day:
1. Saving a dollar – or $5 or $10 – if you have a purchase or vacation goal – can you put a dollar in a jar – you’ll have 365 dollars in a year’s time – a nice getaway weekend or something new for you to wear or your home.
2. Reading a page a day or 10 minutes a day – especially on something you want to learn or master –
3. Filling 1 to 10 papers a day – think how organized you’ll be!
4. Calling one new prospect- or calling to check in on a current client – if you did that each day how many people would you touch a year? How would that impact your business?

These habits make a big difference in how you think and what you accomplish – many times we think we need to make big sweeping changes in our habits when we can accomplish so much with a bit of night time planning and prioritizing!

You create your day by the way you think! Make it magnificent!

Plan the Night Before

Daily planning is a good habit – some people plan the night before – this I’ve found is a very good habit and research indicates that when we think about our next day before going to bed our subconscious mind helps us while we sleep so that the next day is better even than we considered.

So how do you plan the next day?
What items need to be addressed? Is it simply looking over your calendar? Yes, that’s one part. When I check my next day I know how to structure my morning – from the 5:15 call forward, do I have a coaching call? What needs to be written and sent? Is it a travel day etc. These things help me to get my mind right.

This week is about philosophy and mindset and it’s a good idea to get your mind set the night before –
1. Look at your calendar – is your day set the way you want it?
2. What do you need to have ready so you’re not in a rush or behind in the morning?
3. What are the top 6 things you want and need to do?
4. How can you incorporate a small task tomorrow that moves you towards you larger goal?

You create your day by the way you think! Make it magnificent!

An apple a day

Habits and Systems that support you: Yesterday I shared about a habit that doesn’t support me – eating everything on my plate – the rest of this week it’s all on the positive life-enriching habits – the reason I begin with a poor or bad habit – is because it seems like sometimes we are overwhelmed with all the stuff we need to add to our lives –

New good habits, like eating an apple a day –before we can be successful with that habit, maybe we need to shed some of the ones preventing us from the good ones.

Since we are on eating again – let’s discuss some good eating habits:
1. An apple a day is excellent – I even heard of a diet plan that was completely focused on apples. In this plan you ate 3 apples a day – first because they are good for you – second if you do that you are to full to eat anything else.

2. Water – drinking half your weight in ounces a day – flushes you, hydrates you etc. and all that’s good!

You create your day by the way you think! Make it magnificent!

Monday Mindfullness

This month is about habits – habits that work to support you – we all may have habits that don’t support us – me, eating everything on my plate – that’s one I am aware of, dislike, don’t believe in and alter sometimes. However when I’m not thinking about it, when I’m engaged in conversation, or not practicing “mindful” eating I will finish off everything on my plate and feel satisfied I did it!

When I fall into this habit it produces some good feelings: Like I’m a good little girl because that’s the message that loops in my brain somewhere unawares – in the subconscious – I’m uncertain if my mother said it to me as often as I’ve said it to me – however somewhere in my past in a very open moment it was suggested that I should eat everything on my plate if I wanted to be good, if I wanted to please, if I wanted to help those starving people in china (or wherever)

The reason I am harping on this (another of my mother’s expressions) is because it’s somehow a part of my mindset – or that philosophy was given to me and I adopted it. So the message it this: What mindsets/philosophies/beliefs/habits do you have that do not serve you?

This is the week to uncover the good and poor habits, give them a good going over and decide what to do with them. For me, it’s going to be a conscious habit (note I did not say effort – paying attention to my use of words since they are so powerful) to leave something on my plate – to have a bit for next time, to know it will not be wasted, it will be used, however it will be to my greatest good –
First step to shifting mindset: be aware
Next step: Conscious decision to take new action

You create your day by the way you think! Make it magnificent!

An extra hour is ideal!

One of the main reasons I set up doing the 5-5-5 calls – getting up 5 days a week at 5 (4:30 really) is because I wanted the accountability. And because I’m responsible for these calls – it’s become easy to do (Now! At first this system and new schedule was difficult) – of course it was a choice and truthfully, I questioned this choice often the first year in the first months.

And each year – this being the third year – I ask myself “Do I want to be responsible and accountable to do these 4:30 wake ups? Sometimes it’s a challenge, I’m tired, my hubby shows his displeasure with the alarm – and yet – the value I gain from my routine and the discipline is worth more than the sometimes unpleasant sound of that alarm.

I will sleep in later in my life – when there isn’t so much to see and do and be and experience. And it’s also my choice to sleep and catch up on sleep any time I want. This year my theme is “Exploration” and with that focus, every moment is an adventure. I’ll be accountable because the benefits outweigh the mostly small irritation of an early alarm.

What about you? What are you accountable for that enhances your life? What will make your journey better? It’s a good thing to ask.

“Commit to taking total responsibility for everything that happens to you. This one change in thinking has the power to launch you to the world-class level faster than any other single idea.” ~Steve Siebold

You create your day by the way you think. Go make it magnificent!

Accountability and Responsibility

In this week on accountability – it was interesting to me that I didn’t find a lot of quotes on accountability… especially in the quote book I like the best “The Forbes book of Business Quotations” – it only has quotes for responsibility – so was accountability not an issue when this book was compiled which was only 1997? Seems odd –

So I looked up accountability on line for quotes – what have others written about this topic – in Quoteland.com there were only 6 quotes with the word accountability in them – and most were not really about accountability – however this one was interesting:

From Ross Perot, “There is no accountability in the public school system – except for coaches. You know what happens to a losing coach. You fire him. A losing teacher can go on losing for 30 years and then go to glory.” Interesting thinking I guess – and it seems Perot has a different agenda then mere accountability…

More along the lines of our thread is one from Steven Covey, “Accountability breeds response-ability.”

So how can we improve our accountability? Being aware and taking responsibility for each choice we make.

You create your day by the way you think. Go make it magnificent!

You are a raindrop

Accountability is the theme this week and we’ve learned it’s about responsibility for what we agree to – it’s also about our actions and how they combine with others – what are we doing that enhances our world, our family, our community?

I love this quote from an anonymous person, “No individual raindrop ever considers itself responsible for the flood.” What a truism that is!

What can we do in our own life that will contribute to the flood of our family and community? Can we be happier, more loving and patient? Is that something we are responsible or accountable for?

Today as we go into our life, living and interacting with our families, co-workers and others we come into contact with – what kind of raindrop can you be in this flood of life? One that adds clarity to the world I hope – be accountable, responsible – especially for your own choices.

You create your day by the way you think. Make it magnificent!

Accountbility – choices

Yesterday we spoke about integrity and how it walks hand in hand with accountability – and so I reinforce this notion – if each person was aware and clear about what they promised, would understand that each choice they make holds inherent responsibilities and that it begins with the root of who you/we are – then the accountability question would be dusty from lack of use.

However – being human – gloriously imperfect and fallible – we bite off more than we can chew, take more than we need and agree to things because the idea of it is interesting or intriguing before we fully comprehend that we are responsible for this choice.

Take a pet for instance – many small animals – bunnies and chicks etc. are adopted in the spring because they are so cute – they impact our heart – we want this little being in our lives –

And even when that voice of reason – from our parents to begin with, maybe a spouse or our inner self saying, “Do you really want to care for this creature the rest of its life? – Do you think you will clean its cage, play with it and be so enthralled in a year – a month even? Do you know how this pet will smell and behave as it grows older and do you want to deal with that?”

So today – think about what you are agreeing to do from a long view perspective (taking care of something the rest of its life… how old will you be then? Note: I was reading an article about a woman whose daughter wants a pug dog, the woman writing the article doesn’t like them. As she did research on the dog she noted the life span, of 8-10 years I think, and this author noted that if they got this dog for her daughter, before the end of its life the daughter would be going to college and then the dog (she dislikes) would be hers as it was old and needed additional care. Great way to think and this is opposite from the way most of us live.

You create your day by the way you think – think long term sometimes and make it magnificent!