Motivate Me

To do lists and half completed tasks

Elle — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:48:24 +0000

I have quite a few projects that have been sitting around half - finished for some time. Part of the reason is simple - I start things when I have the time...but rather under-estimate the actual time I'm going to need to complete them. So I put them down - things get added to my daily job / task list and these "would be nice to have / do" projects get left behind.

I have the usual list of excuses - I work full time, I run MotivateMe! in my spare time, and am geting ready to launch a range of new training products "Ready to Change" - which means there is a lot of development work to be done. I also have two beautiful teenage kids I need to spend more time with, a house to keep clean and maintain and a garden that is being re-modelled....and find time to exercise and sleep occassionally.

So, how do you cope when all of a sudden you are faced with the possibility that your mother and sister are coming out for a visit and you're running out of time?

Well I have tried to enlist the help of some people to assist me with things like hole drilling for curtain tracks - but they've got as many excuses as I have....so may have to enlist the professional help of a handy "man" - but in the mean time I am tackling one major project area per "spare" evening and weekend.

Last weekend for instance I moved two trees, filled the bin with more garden waste from the re-modelling / dead tree removal process we started a few months back .... and finished a dress I was sewing. Medieaval style - red velvet. For those of you who know me well - will say "RED" but - you ALWAYS wear black ....

As I write this - dinner is cooking...and when I press send on tonight's edition of the daily dose shall clean the kitchen and wash the dishes. And then I shall carry on ripping my CD collection onto the computer (backup purposes) and then I am going to start on the sorting out the spare room.

You see - you can achieve many things if you have a clear idea of what it is you want to do and achieve. And you can multi-task at least some of them.

But first you need to know what you want to achieve...and more importantly - why.

So, an action item for you - take a quick walk through your house and see what projects you have started but failed to complete. Then you need to determine whether you still want to work on the item - and why....the why is important. If it is busy work - then what are you not doing when you are doing what you have decided to do....Everyone, and I do mean everyone can pick up the pace and completion rate of jobs, tasks and to do lists, by not determining the why you want to achieve these things. Get more determined, you can get more done.

Tap into the law of attraction

Elle — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:23:00 +0000

Visualisation is one of the key concepts about manifesting things into your life - that an ACTION of course. I was sent a link to a short video and a chance to download some mind movies - http://MindMovies.com/vid1/?10397 - lets see if it works !! :-)

Focus on your own personal development

Elle — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:25:00 +0000

Are you guilty of doing the same things in the same way every day? Are they good things? As in - are these "things" allowing you to achieve your goals and dreams or are they just "things" you do without consciously thinking about them? Yes I mean your habitual behaviour.

I have been focussing on entirely the wrong things of late. I know what. Yet I find I cannot switch my mind away from them very easily. Unfortunately because they are the "wrong" things, I have been unable to devote any thinking or doing time to the right things. I have to admit I am working on me just as much as you are working on you. But I have identified my behaviours, my thought processes are being pulled back in line and I am now beginning to focus on what matters most to me.

Of course everyone will have a different sphere of focus. But for me - it is making a better life for myself and my children. I need to lead by example and normally do - but I too can be guilty of wasting time. So, if my time is precious - would I be happy with today's performace so far or could I do better? I know I've been sick - real flu that has knocked me for six - as opposed to a cold that people say is the flu (if you know what i mean) - but feel like I am spinning my wheels. And the reason is - because my focus was on the wrong things.

If you've ever tried to meditate you will know how hard it can be to focus on a simple thing to clear your mind and allow it to stay clear, focussing on your goals can be the same thing. Hard if your mind keeps wandering off onto unimportant matters. So, one way to ensure your mind stays focused is - to get excited about your goals. If they don't inspire you to think about them - you are not going to do the work you should on them. The other thing to do is to think about what your life would be like when you have achieved that particular goal item, or in my case - series of goal items.

I want to move house. I know where I want to go and what the house will look like and contain....and I know what i need to do in order to get there...so I am working backwards, but living my new life forwards. What do I do each day in my new life...and is that better than my current life. You bet it is. But I am not just "day dreaming" because I know that in order to get to that point - I need to think big and work harder.... so please excuse me, but I need to get back to my work.

Speak soon

Elle

Fitness can't be bottled and saved for a rainy day

Elle — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:11:22 +0000

As you know I've been suffering with the flu and associated infections - ear, throat and chest. I even had to have a test for whooping cough - but that appears to be negative (the doc said they would call otherwise). I'm now through the anti-biotics and the steroids (to clear up the chesty cough) thankfully - but as you can imagine I've really not had the energy or inclination to do any kind of exercise for several weeks now.

This is all very well but I was relatively fit. Dance classes, cardio, lots of walking and so on ... to nothing. And as a consequence I've lost any kind of fitness I had gained. It's amazing how fast it leaves you, especially given the length of time it takes to get fit in the first place. So I have to start again from scratch (or so it seems). I decided to do some gardening yesterday. The sun was shining, nice breeze to keep things cool but not cold and a garden that seems to grow weeds without impunity.

Today I am sore. My quads especially, that and my lower back. So I know that if I can get sore from doing not very much on the gardening front, I will hurt when I decide to exercise properly. I am not looking forward to the after effects if today is anything to go by. But I also know that if I don't my immune system will suffer as a result and I will be more susceptible to the next round of colds and flu doing the rounds that marks winter. But I also know I should remember that thing about balance. I need to find it.

Speak soon xoxo

Inspirational reflections

Elle — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:28:45 +0000

Over the years as this website has developed and people like you have found the site, I have been amazed and awed by the simple fact you have joined me. Some of you have joined out of desperation and some from the hope that I can inspire you to do more, be more and yes achieve more. Thank you for having the faith in me to do just that.

In recent times - in fact this week, 2 readers of the daily dose of motivational medicine have been inspired to give up jobs they don't like in order to follow their dreams. Both have credited this newsletter and this site as having helped them to clarify their thinking and to take the plunge and do it. My hat goes off to both of you as you allow your dreams and your goals to fulfil you.

And that's what it is if you think about it. If your dreams don't inspire you. If you can't "see" yourself achieving them - at whatever cost, you won't put in the time or the energy to achieve them. I know - been there and done that many times, and no doubt I will go down that path again.

At the moment i am recuperating from a bout of flu and infections, ear, throat and chest. For the first time in months I am having to rest and its giving me time to think and reflect. What am I doing? What am I doing that is right and is working well for me, and what is not working well for me. It is also giving me some serious writing time. Or will do from today onwards, I've not had the energy to put fingers to keyboard or pen to paper in about a week. Must be sick.

Down time. A time to think and reflect. A time to get out the old journals and re-read the history of your lives. Because it is the patterns of behaviour over time that will eventually inspire you to break those habits. Believe me when I say - some of things I was talking about 2 years ago are still rearing their heads today....and believe me this is not a good thing. But it is there in black and white and I can no longer hide behind busy work. My soul laid bare in black and white.

So my friends, what will it take for you to make massive change? What have you tried to fix and have failed at many times? Where are your repeated patterns of behaviour? And are you willing to admit that perhaps it is time to do something about them? Or are you going to continue to hide behind "stuff" and busy work?

Speak again soon

Elle

Winter ills

Elle — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:17:36 +0000

I can't remember the last time I had the flu, so cannot honestly say this is what I have now - I just know I feel shocking and wonder when it is all going to come back to "normal".

But what is "normal"?

Everyone has a different version of what that word means. To me though being "normal" means:

Having energy to sit for more than a few minutes at a time, not to mention exercise.

Not sneezing and coughing like I've got whooping cough
Being able to eat and keep it down
Being able to write - my brain hurts at the moment
Being able to go to work
etc.etc.

Oh well, time to take some more tablets

Speak soon

Elle

Re-reading life's great stories

Elle — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:58:18 +0000

Every night I've been adding things to my inventory of "things" I value. I'm in the middle of cataloguing my book collection. Well once a librarian always a librarian. But what I have found happening is this - I'm rediscovering things I had read a long time ago and had forgotten about. Yes these items were on the shelves. but I had "forgotten" them. I no longer saw them - they were just a blur.

I've spent a good proportion of my life - reading, thinking and now sharing what I have discovered written in dusty tomes that form part of my life. And I am at once amazed at how many books I have amassed and read, but how much we miss. There is so much to read, to discover, to explore - other people's journey's, thoughts and things that inspire them, that there isn't any time left over to sit and say "I'm bored".

Saying that - I woke this morning feeling a little "down". I know why - one of the reasons is - I've stopped writing. This is not a good thing. I am on the brink of launching the next phase and need to be writing. Of course not having a computer for a week did not help matters ... so I lost my momentum and need to find it again and get going. The other reason is - a lack of exercise. I spent part of last night cleaning and dusting my bedroom, but it can hardly be classed as exercise. Monday nights are my exercise nights - usually without fail I walk / run 8k's....but last night was cold, wet and stormy and given that I am getting over an ear and throat infection didn't think it prudent to get chilled....so a lack of endorphins. But I was also hoping to connect with a friend last night - but circumstances prevented that from happening...so a real combination of reasons for my flat emotions this morning.

So what did I do? Well I came to motivateme - yes, when I need a boost, a kick in the pants or some plain old fashioned common sense, I come here and re-read some of the entries. It doesn't take long to get back into the right frame of mind to get going again.

Where do you go to find life's great stories?

Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture, dies

Elle — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:42:17 +0000

Randy Pausch, the computer science professor who rose to fame after giving a quirky last lecture about celebrating life in the face of his terminal cancer, died Friday. Randy had a lot to say about not wasting a minute, and to have fun doing it. If you haven't seen his "last lecture" - watch it here. Don't get to the end of your life regretting those things you didn't do.

The year so far, the years still to come

Elle — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:26:28 +0000

2008 promised so much. The book and training program I was writing was moving ahead at the end of last year. We'd planned a trip back to England to see the folks, and my dad who'd been sick. Then Christmas came and went in a flurry of things to plan and do, before we jumped on a plane and headed back to England. Not to spend time with my dad - in the physical sense, because the first thing we did when we landed was go to his funeral. Jet lag meant I could get through the reading I was to do without losing the plot....and then it was more planning, organising, road trips to my sisters on the south coast, taking Dad to the place he loved most. More travelling up and through stonehenge to London. People to see, places to visit and yes, lots of t-shirts to buy.

Then of course we lost my uncle, closely followed by my aunt. By which time we were back in Australia. Phone calls, letters, photo albums to create and send back....memories to cherish.

Then a good friend lost a brother - diabetes, and not much older than me. Time to rethink the health and fitness.

Another good friend lost a brother - road accident.

A torn forearm muscle, a dead external hard drive, lost data, a broken digital camera, a dead laptop....

Then the fire which gutted my neighbors house, a burnt child and the potential for the loss of our home - had the firies not been so quick thinking and acting.

Every one a poke in the eye. Every one a chance to ask - why me, to lay blame, to not take responsibility.

There are so many could have's, should have's in this world. Could have done this, should have done that. Every one a beat yourself up time.

Well - I have taken stock of the many lessons learned from the beginning of this year and have started to make some changes.

Backups and inventories.
Insurance

And then the things that matter.

Reconnecting with the people who matter. Letters, phone calls, hugs and kisses.

Thanking "the universe" for another chance to make a difference. Leaving a legacy behind - of people who have been touched by MotivateMe in some way and have gone on to make a difference to their lives and the people they know.

Because it is that kind of legacy that people will remember, rather than the things you accumulate. It will be the experiences, the people, the places, the times you spent wandering through the foothills of the Rockies you will remember when it is your time to go rather than the new plasma you bought and spent so much time watching.

Take stock of your year so far. The lessons you were given to learn. Then look at the year that is to come and ask, are you on the right track to where you want to be at the end of this year? Are you enjoying what you are doing? Is it what you want to do?

Take a deep breath and then make some adjustments.

Every day is a chance to evaluate. What does the score card look like for you so fr this year?

Gearing up for some down time

Elle — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:45:38 +0000

End of another working week, and its been a hectic one.

I went down with an ear, throat and chest infection and have had to pull in a visit to the doctors this week..."Get well soon" "I'll do my very best doctor".

I've exercised every day - my natural antidote to the infections, alongside medicine.

My computer re-build has taken me many late nights to get up and running again, and that's not counting my friends time in fixing some of the more obscure problems we encountered along the way.

Then of course there was the fun and games with my neighbors property, organising care packages for the children, and trying to pull in things like banking, shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing and writing as well.

So you can imagine how much am I looking forward to some down time tonight.

I've said it many times, but balance is essential. Keep everything in perspective, but do all that you can today and tomorrow will take care of itself.