Motivation Today

Thursday Jan 1st 2004 Just do one thing consistently over a long period of time

New's year day, at last! I've read a lot about New Year's resolutions over the past few days.

The following advice from Rob Parnell who teaches a writing course impressed me and I am sure the words need not just apply to writing.

"New Year's resolutions were made to be broken! Much better to choose just one important goal for the year (like writing a novel???) and doing just one thing towards that goal every day.

We tend to overestimate what we can achieve in the short term but completely underestimate what can be done with consistent action over the long term.

You can create miracles - if you just keep writing!

Saturday January 3rd 2004 The power of a clear definition

"Success is the completion of anything intended"

Today I came across this simple but powerful definition in some writing of Darel Rutherford.

"Success is the completion of anything intended".

In other words success is finishing what you planned to do. This shines a light on failure and success.

Make a plan and follow it and you will have succeeded. Make a plan and do not follow it and you will have failed. This gives a criteria for judging every day of our lives. We can say at the end of the day "I have failed" or "I have succeeded."

This may seem very obvious but it is amazing that only 85% of the human race end up doing what they intended.

Sunday 4th January 2004 Action

Today I intended to walk the long walk through Petts Wood. Eventually I did the short walk.

My reason: I had just recovered from my second dose of 'flu and did not want to get so tired that I succumbed to a third bout of 'flu. However, I still felt a bit of a failure as I had not completed my original intention (see Sat 3rd Jan 2004)

Later in the evening I came across another great saying in Michael Masterson's ezine 'Early to rise.'

"Action is the key to success, and failure to act is the reason most people will never achieve the kind of success they dream about"

At least I had taken some action towards completing my intention. Better than nothing!

Monday 5th June 2004 Act while you are healthy

I stayed up to 2.30 a.m. last night as I found myself completing a boring task that I had finally got round to after weeks of delay. If I had stopped half way I might not have got round to it again for some time.

I took the short walk again as I am still feeling groggy after two bouts of 'flu. I have taken health too much for granted in the past and realise the need to achieve as much as possible when I am feeling healthy and energetic.

This evening, after taking my martial arts class, I watched some of the BBC soap Merseybeat. A policewoman decides to shop her brother to the police so that he will be quickly cured of law breaking. Her colleague comments that he will hate her if she betrays him to the police. She replies "I will hate myself if I don't"

Most of us, including myself, are more worried about upsetting other people than about upsetting ourselves. We want to be liked even if it means that we end up disliking ourselves.

Tuesday 6th January 2004 Advice from Elvis

This morning on BBC breakfast news Donna Presley Early, a cousin of Elvis Presley, was interviewed. Presley would have been 69 this year if he had lived.

Donna's best memory of Elvis was when she was 18 and she spoke to him one on one. He asked her about her plans for the future and told her she could achieve anything she wanted so long as

you have faith in God
and have faith in yourself
and work hard
and never let anyone tell you, you can't do something.

Wednesday 7th January 2004 Why did the dog attack you?

Today, I took the short route. Near the warden's house, I met Darren, the forest ranger, who had discussed dog defence with me recently. I mentioned the experience of one of my students who had raised his newspaper in the air (as if about to strike) and had raised his foot (as if about to kick) when he saw a mongrel running aggressively at him. The dog turned and ran.

Darren had a friend who had been told by his aikido teacher to ask "Why did the dog attack you?" One possible implication is that if a dog attacks you, it is your fault. Maybe you were not at one with the universe and all living things? Maybe there is something in this.

My mother used to show unconditional love to an Alsatian who would bark at you as you approached it. I would walk away nervously! My mother on the other hand would walk fearlessly up to it and was allowed by the alsatian to stroke and pat it without any further show of aggression!

However, the idea that the victim is at fault for being bitten reminds me of the lady who said that her dog had only bitten me because I did not have a dog of my own. I was glad to hear that the Aikido instructor had offered some practical advice as well. He suggested that, rather than punch the dog (which might or might not work), one should kick the dog in its chest. This, he said, would be very effective.

Later I met R and the conversation got round to Samurai swords. I mentioned that I had one in my cupboard. R, however, had two! There is always someone who can go one better than you!

Friday 9th January 2004 Having a burglar alarm pays off

Today, E, the burglar alarm expert, came round to finish repairing the alarm that I had ripped off the wall in an earlier episode of this log. I asked him how many people had been burgled over Christmas. One house had been burgled on Christmas day. The owner had then installed an alarm.

None of the houses with burglar alarms had been burgled.

Saturday 10th January 2004 Mind that wall

Today I visited my step brother in Eltham and parked in his drive which is up a slope in a road with many cars parked close to each other. On the way out I scraped my car against his wall. To my surprise the whole wall moved. A little more care would have avoided all this.

While I was in Eltham I visited my building society. The young woman behind the counter was new, nervous and slow. She wanted proof of my identity even though I had just handed her my building society book. She looked at it again with a worried frown as if she suspected me of fraud and took ages to complete my transaction. I had already queued there for almost half an hour.

In contrast, my visit to have a new battery put into my watch was a real pleasure. The young man at the counter cheerfully took my watch and had the batteries inserted within seconds. He corrected the time without asking. The service was cheerful, effective and quick.

Sunday Jan 11th 2004 Stay awake

This morning an expert was discussing the reality show which ended yesterday on Channel 4 TV. Three women and seven men had started an endurance test 8 days before. They were to be allowed only one hour of sleep a day for over a week.

They were tested during this time so that some were eliminated for failing the test and some just asked to be allowed to go home and sleep.

Those who survived managed to stay awake because they believed they could. This was the view of the expert. Someone had emailed or texted in suggesting that a good way to keep awake was to wrap your feet in bananas. The expert said any method would work if you believed it would.

The competitors tried all sorts of ways to keep awake. Some kept moving; some talked to themselves when they felt really sleepy. Others told their team mates when they were feeling down and ready to give up and were helped by the social contact. Most had frequent showers and/or dunked their heads in cold water. Some prayed. Most realised that they had to keep themselves mentally active as well as physically active.

They were much more likely to have an illegal sleep (over 10 seconds with their eyes closed) when they were bored. Every night they had a lesson. Some of these were riveting and helped them stay awake. A New Zealand Maori walked in and talked for about 2 minutes in Maori. He then performed an awesome Maori Haka using a weapon made of wood. His audience of sleep deprived men and the one woman left were riveted and given a great experience of learning the Haka which would help them stay awake for hours. The Maori's manner also made the experience a pleasant one. He was smiling, patient and helpful.

Earlier in the week a SAS man had put the group through their paces by demanding that they do exactly what he said in complete silence for an hour. This kept the group awake but aroused some resentment and probably did not get as much effort and cooperation as the Maori.

The final test of the sleep survival took place yesterday. The three survivors Jonathan, Chris and Claire had to get into a comfortable bed in the dark. The person who stayed awake longest would win. Jonathan and Chris both fell asleep after half an hour. Claire kept awake for two hours and was the final winner. She had won the sleep off!

Claire explained that in the final test she had kept singing ('Light my fire') and had played blinking games - blinking one eye and then the next. Throughout the endurance week she had used a variety of methods. She had tried to conserve her energy unlike some of the other contestants who were jumping around to keep awake. She could be seen stretching and performing yoga type stretches - a great way of energising yourself.

Claire had also invented a muscle spasm method of keeping awake. If you stretch out the toes of one foot, you cause a muscle spasm which keeps you awake and invigorated. You can then use your other foot to create another spasm. Chris also used this method and believed that inflicting pain on himself would keep him awake. You avoid leg spasms if you can. Chris kept himself awake during an hour long boring lecture by laughing in different ways throughout.

Claire had kept tense so that, if she relaxed, she would realise she was in danger of falling asleep. She thought about what the prize money - £100,000 - would do for her family. Claire plans to be a police woman (not the best paid job in the world) so the money should help her to improve her own life style as well.

One expert said that they had two sources of motivation - the money and climbing their own private Everest. There were some very proud individuals in the competition. As the last three saw the deadline in site and weren't sure who would win, they became individuals rather than a team and started misinterpreting body language so that they began to dislike their competitors. Claire and Chris were especially suspicious of Jonathan who was a psychiatrist. Claire wanted to make him think that she was more tired than she was so that he would not try as hard.

"No matter what, I will win it." These were the words of Claire earlier in the week. She loved to win competitions. "I'm going to win it for the girls" "I'm definitely here to win" These thoughts were running through the mind of Claire throughout the week. They are obviously the thoughts of a winner.

Claire believed that the mind was more important than the body. You must believe you can win and be determined to win. Jonathan also believed in a positive mental attitude towards winning and in imagining yourself winning and in putting everything into winning. Chris, too, believed in believing: "I haven't come this far to lose" A few hours before the end he believed his confidence had come back and his arrogance was irritating the others. "I'm just unstoppable basically."

Eventually, Claire's belief and phsyical stamina proved to be the strongest.

Monday January 12th 2004 Friendly awareness

Today was a very rainy and cold day but I managed a short walk at about 4 p.m. just as the sun was setting. A dog was staring excitedly into the sky looking at a squirrel which had escaped into a tree. Eventually it came over to me and licked my hand but it would not let me pat it on the head as it was clearly still suspicious of my intentions.

I feel quite pleased with today's activities as I actually started the day by focusing on the important tasks of the day like writing some possible info products rather than doing the less important tasks first - like reading email.

Tuesday January 13th A book in every room

I visited PC World today and managed to accidentally buy a second copy of a book I already had i.e. Dreamweaver MX 2004 for Dummies. I do this often because I seldom actually read the books I buy. I must be one of the dummies referred to in the title.

However, I could put one copy of the book near my computer and the second copy in another room like the lavatory or wash room. I will then be more likely to read the book.

I could of course give the book to someone who will be likely to use it.

Click here to join our mailing list and to receive for free several ebooks including the recent ebook called "Achieve Your Goals Now!"

site design and hosting by abisti web design

Walking in Petts Wood and The Hawkswood Estate Page 9