To Stanford University in 2005; advice about staying on target. Well worth the 15 minutes.
The Valentine’s Day Meal: A Heart Healthy Alternative
Be forewarned; the following appears to be two divergent thoughts with seemingly nothing in common with the title of this column. However, plug on; all shall coalesce by the conclusion.
Thought one: The Internet is like an office – on a really, really, really huge scale; it is filled with marvelous facts that can be extremely important (or completely useless). The predicament is finding them – and determining into which category they fit.
Thought two: Writers, such as myself, are periodically (but thankfully not often) faced with the curse of “writer’s block,” a dreaded affliction which attacks creative sorts. Its symptoms include, but are not limited to: stress, inability to focus, lack of inspired thought, and a blank stare (usually at an empty page). I’ve experienced it a few times that made me feel as though I need to learn how to write a book again, but it never usually lasts such long periods. As deadline approaches – a rising sense of panic also wells up within one’s chest. Writer’s block also has a major side effect: the desire to consume uncontrollable amounts of sugary, snack-like substances.
Since such eating leads to guilt (and a protruding stomach), I have developed alternative, less-caloric methods to set free my Muse: an out of the ordinary technique involving internet search engines. (See, the topic is beginning to gel; aren’t you glad you stuck with me?) Instead of searching for subject matters, rather I pose questions.
For instance, it seemed apropos that this week, my message would involve a nod toward Valentine’s Day. Yet, my brain was a brick, solid, heavy, unmoving; nothing entered. So, I asked of the all-wise Google, “What healthy meal could I prepare on Valentine’s Day?” Forever obligingly (as I’m sure would be Yahoo), it provided me with 394,000 options in 0.13 seconds. Assuming three meals a day, and no duplication of recipes, it would take 359.81 years to try every meal listed. As much as I would love to be celebrating with my sweetheart in the year 2367, I find it unlikely; therefore I chose the first selection: Heart Healthy Dinner for Romance.
Video about Goal Setting
In a recent post, I discussed “Five Things to do to be Happier & More Successful Starting Now.” One of those was writing down your goals. (I have even provided a complimentary downloadable goal planner for you.)
Today, on my Facebook feed, my good friend, Scott Hammond of BecomeABetterFather.com posted this 90 second video tied to the same thing. The information is good and I always enjoy supporting my friends. Check it out. (He too has posted a goal planner; it’s probably not as good as mine, I’m sure it’s valuable! Just joking of course…)
🙂
5 Things You Can Do to be Happier & More Successful Starting NOW
Improving oneself is not difficult. It might be uncomfortable. It might be slow; but difficult? Not so much. Figure out what you want to change; figure out a way to do it, move in that direction, correct as necessary.
So why don’t most people change?
Our problem is we make it too complicated. Some of the reasons we do that include:
- We think simplicity means lack of drive
- We are setting ourselves up for failure to get people to leave us alone (read related post)
- We think it will get us there faster
In reality, the simpler we make it, the more likely we will achieve it. We have built our lives over years with patterns and habits to fill our days. It’s as if we have built a brick fortress around us. If we try and make too many changes, we have to knock out huge sections of the fortress; we won’t do that. If we can just rearrange a few bricks, we’re more likely to fit that in (read related post here).
So, with that in mind, I offer a very simple Five-Step Plan to make change now.
Using Goals as an Excuse to Avoid Achieving Them
Sometimes goals are used as an excuse to actually avoid changing.
At first blush that sounds counter intuitive, doesn’t it? We set up goals or resolutions in order to change and improve ourselves. But, after some discussion I’ve been having with a client, I realized that we set some goals up, as excuses to avoid making change. It might not be consciously or intentional, but even so, we’re doing it.
As an example, suppose we have family members who are on our backs about losing weight or quitting smoking. We might not want to (even though we know they’re right) or we might not be ready or we might not believe we can accomplish our goals. So, in order to avoid dealing with the hassle of our family, we throw our hands up over our head and say, “Fine! I’ll lose the weight!” Then, we set up such an unrealistic goal that it’s virtually impossible to accomplish it so after a short while we can quit. When people say, “What happened?” We can say, “I tried. What else can I do?” and hopefully get them off our back. (To read a humorous post about use of the word “trying,” follow this link.)
In an earlier post I wrote about a “composite client” who I felt was making goals that were so large, he was setting himself up for failure. He has repeated “tried” (there’s that word again) to lose weight but has never move very far along his path. To help him out, I asked him to be more specific in his goals and to make smaller steps. In an update to me, he said: