I recently read Barbara Johnson's book title "Where Does A Mother Go To Resign"? In it she describes a tradition in her family where they celebrate the first day of every month with a special treat, sometimes cards to loved ones, a fun activity, etc...she says that doing this helps her to remain grateful for God's blessings in her life and also it is a way to put down the burdens she has gone through that month and not drag that baggage along with her. A fresh start, every month. I like that. So, Happy New Month Everyone! What will you do to celebrate a new month today? Who will you reach out to? What burden will you let go and let God handle?
This past Saturday, I was at the very first ever Ambit Energy simulcast and the keynote speaker was Todd Smith who is a very successful entrepreneur and the author of the book "Little Things Matter". He said that the most important thing we need to have to be successful at anything is.....drum roll, please...... DISCIPLINE. He stressed consistent discipline. Striving to be excellent in doing the little things that matter will help us improve in all areas of our lives, especially in our relationships, both personal and professional.
Here are six ways to create discipline in our lives:
1) Make a commitment to be more disciplined.
2) Focus on goals - review dreams, Make A Vision Board!
3) Do the things that you know are necessary, but do not want to do FIRST.
4) Figure out what your little things that matter most are and strive for excellence in those areas.
5) Make decisions in advance. For example, for myself working part-time at home I could decide how many
business related calls I will make each day. If I am dieting, what will I eat or not eat and how many servings.
The Youth in our church are counseled to make the decision regarding church standards BEFORE they are in a situation where they are tested.
6) Get an accountability partner. This step is SOOO important! I am in a weight loss program right now and also doing a 21 day Daniel Fast some very ill friends. I post my weight and progress on the fridge where my husband can see it. He is trying to lose weight also, so my success becomes his success as it inspires him to continue. This all helps me to not cheat and to keep to my commitments.
Other choice tidbits from Todd Smith's talk were:
* Ask - who do I need to become to achieve my goals?
* As our value to others grows, so do our relationships and in the business world that can also mean financial
success as well. In our personal life, it means more fulfilling relationships.
* Step up every part of my life. Look for the little things I am doing or am not doing that are impeding my
progress.
And if you are struggling to come up with just what are the little things that matter, we just had a wonderful General Conference talk by Elder Uchtdorf, "Of Things That Matter Most". http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/of-things-that-matter-most?lang=eng
On This First Day of Februrary, I am nowhere near attaining perfection in any area of my life, yet I do see progress. I have been applying what I learned on Saturday and have been doing at least one thing I would rather not do before I do something I would rather be doing. It is amazing how much you can get done when you do that! My most troubling areas are exercise, cleaning up the dishes, making business calls, and planning a menu so that I am not always standing in the kitchen at 3;45 wondering what I am going to feed my family for dinner. One thing that I am going to incorporate into my life again is something I learned from the FlyLady website: having a weekly anti-procrastination day where I do at least one thing I have procrastinated beyond the acceptable time limit. Like the ironing.
Well, this is enough for now, because those dishes are going to get up and walk out in protest if I do not go do them immediately. I wish you all well with whatever your endeavors are.
God Bless,
Sonia
No comments:
Post a Comment