Time Archives - Page 71 of 86

Have A Fabulous Day

Posted on May 29, 2021

I love great days. It’s brilliant when everything is firing on all cylinders and everything is feeling right. Have a fabulous day like I did and it will make you feel 10 years younger.

Clear the decks from all responsibilities and go enjoy. Be present and let the day unfold. Attack it with a lively and positive attitude. Let little things slide. Give every moment a smile. Do it even if you would rather flip it the bird. Life zips by as we zoom around the sun.

Take advantage of every moment you have. You will reach a moment in life when it will get quite difficult to do things. Even thinking or remembering could get difficult. So pick a day here and there and dedicate your life to it.

It does not have to be expensive or difficult. We went for a family walk / hike at Box Hill. It was a brilliant day out. We brought water and snacks. So a bit of petrol and a small car park fee were the only costs. Pretty awesome for five people to have a fabulous day.

Use a simple outing to create a great and lasting memory. Maybe book one of these days in every month. I’m looking into it now.

Progress Think About It Time

You Are Not Really Trying

Posted on May 26, 2021

It’s so easy to wish it were so. It feels good to think we are making the effort. We might even be ok with fooling ourselves. However, you are not really trying.

Take a look at your results. Review your actual progress in the last week. Have you made the progress you wanted? Have you made the progress you have written down in your formal plan? Did you write down your specific goals, milestones and plans to get there?

You need to start there before anything else. If you have not written down a goal, key milestones and a plan to get there, have you really put some decent effort in? Or are you on the hope plan? I will wait and see how it goes. Check back in 7 or 8 years and see if I am still playing the same game.

Or, have you repeated these same hopes, wishes, desires for the past 10 years and you are not where you really want to be? If you are not where you wanted to be, have a look at your process. Review your mindset. Ask people close to you for some honest feedback on what they are seeing that is stopping you.

Achieving good things doesn’t need to take long. You can make some serious progress in just two months, if you are seriously focused.

If you are not really trying, try harder.

Action Gratitude Reframe your thoughts Time

Undoing History

Posted on May 17, 2021

The desire to undo things done must be as old as civilisation itself. People say and do things they wish they could take back. Undoing history would be lovely in some respects. However, there is no giant red rewind button to facilitate this.

Wouldn’t it be nice if such and such had happened or hadn’t happened. The musings of those not wanting to accept the brutal facts of reality. Things are as they are today. They are like this precisely because billions of people did trillions of things and they can’t all be undone.

By constantly living in the hope of the past being different, we can drive ourself to madness.

It may give us some comfort to hope that we will be young again. Or even that wars will not have been fought and past transgressions never occurred. Spending time on trying to right the past uses up energy we could use to improve the present and the future.

Sure it would be better if certain things were a certain way today. Anyone whose family has had a difficult past would probably agree. However, it has happened a certain way and we must make the best of it now.

Rewriting history might make you feel better about the story but the results are in.

Undoing history is still not possible. Best to focus on what is.

Gratitude Health & Fitness Observe Time

The Calming Effect Of Clouds

Posted on May 11, 2021

Have you ever sat back and just watched the sky change? There is something therapeutic about it. The calming effect of clouds is one of natures truly simple pleasures.

Lie down on your back, on your deck, in your garden or at the local park. Get comfy on a blanket or nestled in the grass. Allow yourself some time to relax and enjoy it. Maybe 15 minutes or half an hour will work for you. In addition, bring your child or children.

Lie down with your heads near each others. A circle may be the best formation. This way you can speak to one another and all hear what is being said. Just try to not to get too chatty. Stay focused on the clouds and their ever-changing formations.

My favourite time to do this in the park is in the summer on a warm day with a little cloud and light breeze. The warm air is relaxing. The blue sky punctuated with the puffs of clouds being moved around by the gentle breeze is lovely.

If you have a glass ceiling in the house, this can be a great year round activity. It can be especially enjoyable on stormy days and windy days. If you haven’t done this for a while, do it today. You’ll get up feeling 10 years younger.

Enjoy the calming effect of clouds.

Observe Time

You Have My Attention

Posted on May 10, 2021

Possibly the most valuable thing in the modern world. People act up to get it and also pay vast sums for it. You have my attention now so what are going to do with it?

In person, you can lure my conscious thought by a touch. At a distance, it is usually audio or visual that attracts me to what you are up to.

Think about how much time, effort and money is spent on trying to bring you along. In addition, they want to keep you on the ride for a bit or get in your head and stay forever.

Sometimes it will be to try to help you with useful information or medical assistance. Other times it is to sell you toys, ideas and food. There really is an endless supply of reasons for which people will try to attract your mind to them.

However, you do not have to get involved. You can leave the room when a commercial is on, not answer the door when it’s knocked on or leave the phone unanswered when it is an unknown number. Although you may get caught out by a friend, family member or your work colleague. They may contact you and borrow some of your precious time. Make sure it is worth it.

You have my attention. Please treat it well.

Action Time

The Right Time Is Now

Posted on May 7, 2021

You’ve been holding back on something. You want to move forward but the timing doesn’t feel right. Well, the right time is now.

The lights may never be green at every intersection from here to your destination. You may have to slow down or stop once in a while. But another green light will appear and you will be able to continue on your way.

However, getting off your bottom, getting in the correct attire and getting in your car is the start of the journey. You can’t be part done until you start. And yes, you may not have all the information you think you need. Few people ever do. Perhaps you’ve waited too long if that is the case.

Make those phone calls and speak to the people you need to. Read what is critical and do what is required, but at least get going. 90% of life is just showing up. If you show up, they may pick you. If you are the only one there at the right time, you may be in luck.

And you never know what the right moment will be, so you best keep showing up. This reminds me of a time I was walking down a street in Sydney, Australia. A police officer stopped me and asked if I could join a police lineup. But that is another story…

The right time is now. Get out there.

Action Gratitude Observe Time

Life Changes Fast

Posted on May 3, 2021

A lottery win, new contract, new partner or a promotion can be wonderful. Especially if they were unexpected. Life changes fast. Sometimes it changes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I guess that is the reason for the marriage vows being written that way.

We all hope for the good kind of life changes. Although the other kind show up sometimes too. We need the resilience to deal with those.

Whether it is one of those Friday afternoon meetings which ends with your job gone or simply an unexpected injury, its rarely pleasant. We want to get through this pain point as quickly as possible and have everything running smoothly again. However, with most of these events, it does take some time, and work, to improve on the situation.

Amazingly though, life can turn on a dime and you can be moving forward again. I wish this for you. I hope your troubles are few and you manage them with personal strength. Hopefully you get more of the good changes and can let go of the other kind.

Moments are the creator of our destiny. Those moments will stay with you. They are usually easy to spot if you reflect a little.

Life changes fast. Roll with the punches.

Action Health & Fitness Reframe your thoughts Time

Learn To Hustle

Posted on May 2, 2021

It may not be cool to hustle. And most people do not do it. But those that do often reap the rewards. Learn to hustle and you will win the minds of many.

I am talking about moving quickly. I coach U14s rugby for London Scottish and I am constantly telling the boys the value of hustling. Get to the place you are supposed to be before people expect you to be there. You can rest later. Do not rest on your way.

I grew up being well aware of Pete Rose. He was an American baseball player. His nickname was “Charlie Hustle.” My Dad liked him because he hustled. And I liked him because he seemed to make things happen because he would hustle. I liked his energy. It was inspiring.

You can make a lot of exciting things happen if you hustle. Other teams’ players make more errors when you are pushing the boundaries.

The family watched a great movie earlier and it was called “Rudy”. It was based on a true story. Rudy learned to hustle and it took him a long way. It’s a very good movie. It shows what we can do if we have a dream and hustle to make that dream come true.

It’s unfortunate that the “I am too cool to run or make an effort” traps a lot of talented kids in mediocrity. The number of kids with real talent is amazing. Sure they may not be the number one player of all time. However, if they put the heart and hustle in, they could make the league. And who knows where from there.

Do you really want to succeed? Learn to hustle.

Action Reframe your thoughts Time

Clear The Debris

Posted on May 1, 2021

Papers pile up. Books and magazines go unread. Meetings become unnecessary. Occasionally we need to clear the debris in our lives.

Many things are started which never get finished. It’s good to remove it or get someone in to resolve it. If a cupboard door needs fixing, then fix it. Otherwise, get a friend, or a professional handy person, to come in and resolve it.

If dishes have piled up, get them sorted out. Newspapers and magazines used to find their way into piles in our house. Not anymore though.

I was the main debris-maker. I liked to sift through the readables and keep them around if I didn’t make it all the way through. In addition, I would keep some with dog eared corners to read later. Later rarely came so the piles got bigger.

I had to stop bringing things in the house. So I reduced the amount of ‘interesting articles’ I would read. I also began throwing out the paper in the recycling as I walked in the house. It couldn’t add to the piles if I didn’t bring it in the house.

Then I reduced the piles by reading or simply tossing the items into the recycling. It was therapeutic. Get rid of old clothes, half done projects, papers and piles and those ‘someday’ items. Focus down on just a few key things.

Clear the debris.

Action Progress Reframe your thoughts Time

Move Swiftly

Posted on April 26, 2021

A comfortable pace is exactly that – comfortable. Consider moving a little quicker. Become a little obsessive. Move swiftly like it’s the day before you are going on holiday for two weeks.

Add a little bit more pace to your step when you are walking. Speak a fraction of a speed more quickly. Come to the point of your comment a little quicker.

This means you might just get more done in your day. Or you might be on time for more events and appointments. It will also mean that you take up less time of others.

If you do not value your time, you are unlikely to value the time of others. Wasting your own time is one thing but wasting someone else’s time is not ideal.

I practice moving quicker by setting an alarm to ring when I should be done a piece of work. If I have some smaller admin items to complete, I set the timer and begin my ‘sprints’. I see if I can work quickly to get the item done in that time. Sometimes I can do it. Sometimes I can’t. But I keep trying and with that I build a habit of hustling through items.

Come on. Move swiftly.