Tag Archives: motivation

Making and Breaking Habits

According to brainpickings.org, it takes 21 days, at a minimum, to build a new habit. That’s 21 days of repeating the same action, at approximately the same time, and for something simple… like drinking a glass of water when you wake up each day. Another website suggests that it takes over two months – 66 days to be precise – before taking a certain action becomes “automatic”… in other words, a habit. Most other sites reporting on length of time for something to become a habit fall into that variation somewhere: between three weeks (at a BARE minimum for simple actions) to two months for more complex habits; or more difficult ones. Continue reading →

Motivation and…?

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…Age

Just recently, as many readers know, I’ve renewed my focus on my health. I am not participating in any type of fad diet, nor using any diet “program.” I’m not paying into CrossFit, Isometrix, Tone-ex, yada yada. I’m using that ancient and under-appreciated method that has been proven over millennia: I’m eating cleaner and exercising more.

The challenge I sometimes find is my motivation waning. As I considered that this morning, I realized that my maintaining motivation seems more difficult now than it did when I was… say… 19. Of course, there’s a major difference: I don’t have a Drill Sergeant yelling at me now. Continue reading →

Good and Bad Expiration Dates

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This morning I saw a quote that said, “Even bad days have an expiration date of 24 hours.” The editor in me wondered if a time limit was a date and then I realized I was missing the point. The point is that even bad days have a limit to them; they only last a maximum of 24 hours and then it’s a new day. But the thoughts made me think about two other things: the expiration dates we use for food and, far more importantly, our own expiration date. Continue reading →

Defining Deity

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I happen to belong to an organization that requires a “belief in deity” to apply for membership. Now very carefully read this: I didn’t say “a belief in God,” or any other specifically named deity, religious icon, etc. I said, it requires a belief in deity. I know people who have expressed a desire to join this organization but those same people say, “But I don’t believe in God.” What god? Whose god? God by what name? Do you not believe in any deity at all? Continue reading →

Solve Problems Like You’re Dancing In The Rain

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My family once owned a dog that we named ThunderStorm and just called Storm. He was a chocolate Labrador from a big family and, full grown, weighed about 100 pounds. The odd thing we discovered about him, from the earliest days we had him as a puppy, was that he loved to go out and play in the rain. I don’t mean those occasionally warm spring and summer showers… I mean thunder and lightning downpours that created puddles in minutes. He delighted in going out to play in those puddles. He’d splash and frolic and bury his face in them, shake off and do it again. We hated thunderstorms. They meant someone was going to have to put on a rain coat, hat and boots to leash the dog and take him out. Continue reading →

Six Characteristics of the Mentally Strong

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Have you ever noticed that some of your friends or family never seem quite as stressed or lacking in control of a given situation as others? Have you ever wondered why? What makes them so special? How come they never seem to sweat when something goes sideways? Here are a few reasons why they might be like that; things they might do that others don’t. Continue reading →

The 12 Best Life Hacks

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In today’s computer age, days where you can’t look around without seeing someone on their “smart” phone, and times of everyone being connected nearly full time, the word “hack” has come to take on a whole new meaning. It is essentially used to mean “something that makes your life easier or an easier and faster way of doing something.” I’ve seen some pretty cool hacks posted online but I often wonder how come nobody ever shares TRUE “life hacks:” hacks that actually make your life easier in the way(s) that count most. So… I had to. I considered it a challenge I couldn’t back away from. Continue reading →

What Qualifies Me?

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So, I received a private message on Facebook from a gentleman asking, “What qualifies you to give advice on life to anyone?” I had to think about this. It’s a good question. I found myself wondering if he has a point? What DOES qualify me to give advice on anything to anyone? For that matter, what qualifies me to teach anyone anything as well?

The answers become obvious after a while. Continue reading →

2018 New Year Resolutions

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Near the end of every calendar year… or in the first few days of a new year… huge numbers of people make resolutions with the goal of improving their life. Some of those resolutions are very specific and equally unrealistic. For example, after someone has been a cigarette smoker for years (if not decades), they decide that starting January 1^st of the New Year, they’re going to quit smoking… cold turkey. Now, they’ve decided to quit a dozen times before and they’ve stopped smoking for several days at a time, made themselves miserable, and then come up with a reason why they just HAVE to have a cigarette. My own father stopped smoking for a year after he had heart surgery and then someone offered him a cigarette at a bar and he thought, “One won’t hurt.” Another year later he had to go through the misery of quitting again. Continue reading →

Life’s Simplest Lessons

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Recently I saw an image through the wizardry of social media and, after having read through it, thought about just how true it was. The title was “Simple Formula for Living,” but that didn’t really describe the list of items included. As I read them, I felt they more described lessons to be followed for a prosperous and spiritually valuable life. I certainly don’t always follow each bit of guidance (because I’m human and therefore imperfect), but I see the value in each and strive to maintain my compliance to them. Let’s go through them and briefly discuss the value. Continue reading →