“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow’s a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt. There are some things in life we all love to do and then there are those tasks that require much more effort. You know those tasks that you try to ignore as long as possible, as you simply do not have the time or energy for them? We all have some of THOSE TASKS that is certain. The tidying of my clothes closet was one of them. I had been avoiding organizing it for months, as let’s face it, the tidying up of a cluttered closet, can be a very daunting task. Just looking at it drained my energy, yet how liberating it felt to put it in order and send a few bags of clothes off to the local thrift store. It was a long and tedious task, but such a great feeling when it was finally done. As a teacher early in my career, I used to have a very messy, cluttered desk. I could never find anything and I felt like I was a terrible example to the students. I have since changed my ways and now pride myself in keeping a very orderly desktop. It is my belief that it is not fair to get after kids to tidy their desks, if mine is an absolute disaster, so I am glad I have improved in this area. It is quite humorous when we do desk cleanouts in my classroom I must say. I do them on a regular basis to help keep the students organized and it is funny because of what they find! The one who never has a pencil suddenly has six, or the missing notebook that couldn’t be found anywhere suddenly makes an appearance, or the permission form that they swear they never got, is there in all its glory. Certain kids dread this task more than others because their desks are more untidy, yet all of them have such grins of satisfaction on their faces when their desks are tidy. It is priceless to witness as they are so proud to show me their neat and tidy work space, and you can tell they “get it,” that the tidy desk option is so much more appealing than the messy one! I have worked with so many people in the past in my social work career who had a “when I - then I " mentality. This is explained with examples such as “when I find more time, I will start exercising,” or “when my life gets a little less stressful, I will try to make time for positive changes.” The problem is that if you wait for the perfect opportunity, it will never come. An example of this is a young mom who repeatedly kept telling me that she “really wanted to get her family out to church,” but she had every excuse under the sun. “It is our only family day, and the kids are too young for the service and we don’t have proper church clothes…” You know how it goes and I did totally understand her concerns. I explained to her however, that we had a program for every age group and that church attire is more casual these days. No matter what I said though, she just explained that when they were older, she would bring them. Well I bet you can guess what happened? Sadly that day has never come and her kids have really gone through some incredibly hard times. Her and her husband are great people and parents, but she shared with me later in life that she had so many regrets in this area. She confided that she wished she would have committed to regular church attendance when the kids were younger, as she knew it would have greatly benefited them and then they would be in the faithful routine of coming. Sometimes hindsight is 20/20 as they say, yet it is never too late to start something new. My mom always wanted to learn to play piano, but never learned as a child. She took piano lessons at age 40 and was so thrilled to be able to sit down at the piano and play church hymns and her favourite songs as she had always imagined. I always respected her so much for this. She decided one day that she was not going to put it off another day, but she was going to learn to play piano NOW. Procrastination is a problem for many people. The bigger issue is as we choose to put off things for “another” day, the dreaded tasks just pile up and before we know it, what was once a molehill, is now a mountain. In addition, the “another” day never seems to present itself. This then leaves us feeling more discouraged, so it becomes a vicious circle. Many addictions are like that and what was once a little habit, now holds people captive without them realizing. Change is a process and it begins with little steps. Hopes, dreams, recovery steps, and new pursuits can become reality when we decide not to embrace the “when I - then I,” mantra but rather the anthem of "why not today? " What’s been on the back burner in your life? Could it be Bible reading, exercising, eating better, more time for self care, looking for a good church, or spending more time with friends? There is no time like the present to start looking at it again. The Bible says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. The cool thing is when we decide to make positive changes in our lives not only is God our greatest cheerleader, but he also promises to be right beside us giving us increased strength to do so. I have had times where I have made sincere commitments to make positive change in some area of my life and then it seems life steps in and derails me. Despite my best intentions, I can feel like I am on the hamster wheel, going nowhere fast. I have made a commitment to exercise more regularly, eat better and read my Bible more often. I am happy to say I am doing much better in my eating and Bible reading, but my exercising definitely needs to improve. Reflecting on that however, I have not been feeling well, but have still gone for walks and even tried pickle ball this week with my friends for the first time. That is a huge WIN in my books. Change takes time. I am choosing to be patient with myself, and you should too. The bottom line is we all can have some big, legit reasons or excuses to put us off track, but looking at the big picture is key. I have learned that if today was not the best than all is not lost, as I know I can turn it around tomorrow or another day. All too often we can let one bad day, spiral out of control and take us away from our goals. Don’t allow that to happen as every morning, with every sunrise, we get a fresh, new start. I would love to hear what area of your life you are working on right now in the comments. It is very exciting to think of where you can end up when you make a decision that today is the day that I begin putting positive steps into action in my life. Don’t let seeds of doubt or discouragement creep in. You can do it! Why not today? Today feels like a great day for positive change don’t you agree? I am cheering for you all the way. Until next time, ~ Dana Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Little Lesson Learned: Don’t put off for tomorrow what you could do today. There is no better time than the present. One of my favourite groups, Rascal Flatts who I had the pleasure of seeing in concert, has a perfect song to encourage us in our positive changes called "Feels Like Today." Enjoy! Tags: procrastination, goal setting, self improvement, start today, growth mindset
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"No one is you and that is your superpower." ~ Unknown It is something I will always remember. In she came proud as a peacock, in clunky high heeled shoes way too big for her tiny little feet clickety clacking across the tiled classroom floor. Grinning from ear to ear, she eagerly announced “Mrs. R. I have brought you a birthday present today, and I want everyone here to know I spent TONS of money on it!” I couldn’t help but smile as the first thing that caught my eye was the beat-up Christmas bag was filled with a purple balloon already blown up. Underneath were other interesting treasures that included a McDonald’s Happy Meal toy, a plastic flower, and some shiny bracelets of various sizes. She could hardly contain her excitement, and it was clearly evident. Her kind gesture really touched me. She was beaming as I thanked her repeatedly for her thoughtfulness, and her classmates watched with interest. Later, that morning as others scurried off to recess, she curiously lingered behind looking quite sheepish. She then proceeded to ask if she could speak to me “privately.” As we chatted, a confession poured out like water overflowing from a tiny cup. Teary eyed she shared, “I must be honest with you. I didn’t spend a ton of money on your gift I, well I…. found all this stuff in my room and I am so sorry. I just wanted so badly to give you something.” Our eyes met and hearts connected. I really felt for her. Her generosity reflected truly the best she had. I thanked her for her honesty and assured her that I found her gift very meaningful. It was truly the best she had and was given with such love. It was so obvious she gave her best, and had even dressed up for the occasion to show up as her best self for someone she dearly loved. Next I recall another little boy I had in Room 21 one year. Whenever he was faced with a challenge in class, he was known to always say “I will try my best.” He clearly lived up to that motto, as no matter what came his way at school, following that premise, day after day he consistently gave his all. In doing that, he was very successful. He clearly gave his best day after day, and the results came. Giving our best and being our best means different things for different people. The smallest gesture can have the greatest impact, especially when we know that there has been a sacrifice involved. Recently we celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Day. There is a great book by Emily Pearson called Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed that I love to read to my class. In the book the "extraordinary deed" that Mary did was placing a bowl of fresh blueberries on her neighbour's porch. Not very extraordinary, but it was the best Mary had and she wanted to bless her neighbour. The extraordinary part of the story is this loving gesture then launched a chain of events where her neighbour made blueberry muffins for her friends and then they did kind deeds for their friends. It went on and on. The little deed launched a momentous chain of kindness that created a very positive impact on so many in the end. It truly showed how the smallest deed can have a very big impact at times. Sometimes it is more than we could even imagine. Being our best selves can start by simply being kind to others. People may wonder: how do we keep striving for personal growth day after day when life is just plain hard at times? I have some helpful suggestions to share with you. Limit screen timeWe need to make a commitment to strive to give our best to each other. One way we can do this is by limiting our screen time. Almost everyone has cell phones these days, but life goes on beyond the tiny screen. I am trying to be more mindful of this and more emotionally present for my family and friends. Facebook and Instagram can’t hold a candle to honest and meaningful conversation with those you love, trust me. Giving others our undivided attention and quality time is certainly indicative of being our best selves. Accept your limitationsAs we strive to be the best we can be, it means accepting our limitations and learning to be content with what life brings our way. It is easy to get discouraged when things aren’t going according to schedule, or things are not going as we planned. During those times, we must remind ourselves that doing our best each day, and striving to be our best self is all anyone can ask of us. It is our responsibility to keep pressing on, knowing that life brings ups and downs, but we can overcome them one day at a time. Share encouragementTo work towards being our best, involves offering others hope and encouragement and sharing our insights on the life lessons we have learned. Helping others brings out the best in all of us, as it helps us shift our focus to someone else. We grow and change in a positive way, when we help others. Learn from mistakesHaving a goal of being the best versions of ourselves means we must learn from our mistakes. I once had a boss who would always say “You made a mistake. Great! Let’s celebrate it! There is so much to be learned here!” I have never forgotten that perspective and do believe it does make sense and has helped me through some tough times. Becoming our best self is a process and does not happen overnight. Take care of yourselfBeing our best means taking time for proper self-care. We are useless if we are used up. Working ourselves to the point of exhaustion will never get us to where we want to go. Rest, book a massage or pedicure. Read, watch movies, exercise or catch up with friends. Do what feeds your soul. It feels great to indulge a bit and recharge our batteries. We have people depending on us which includes family, and friends and in my case, even a sweet group of little people at work. Offering others our best self is impossible if we are empty. So fill your cup, whatever that looks for you. Invite God’s strength into your lifeFinally, striving to be our best self each day means realizing that we do not have to do it alone. We can choose to have God empower us to reach our true potentials each day. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. The Bible also talks about that when we are weak, He is strong. That is so reassuring to know that we can choose to include God in our daily lives, and He will work to truly bring out the best in us for others. Giving our best, striving to be the best we can be daily is not always easy, but one day at a time it truly can be done. We are only human, and we will all have ups and downs, but knowing that each new day that comes brings us a fresh start is very reassuring. Keep on doing your best each day. As they say, life is a marathon, not a sprint. We are all works in progress. I believe in you! Until next time, Dana Philippians 4:13 ~ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Little Lesson Learned: Becoming our best self is a process. You are allowed to be a masterpiece and work in progress simultaneously. Remember that.
Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana, revised edition, First edition, © 2015 entitled: Giving Our Best (Dana Romualdi) Dana Romualdi, the copyright holder reserves all rights to the content on the blog and website Little Lessons Learned by Dana, including the right to reproduce, distribute, and display the content. No content or photographs may be reproduced or modified. Blogs may be shared on social media platforms in their entirety only with full credit given to the owner. Any photographs used by other photographers are used with permission and are also protected. All Rights Reserved. Tags: self improvement, growth mindset, work in progress, best self, self improvement tipsSo the new year is already in full swing and resolutions have been made. I figure at this point people are either rocking their resolutions or have completely fallen off the wagon. Why is that you may wonder? My opinion is those who fail have very good intentions, yet they often do not have an effective plan in place. They say if you "fail to plan, you plan to fail." I have been on a year long journey of profound change in many life areas and have learn some very successful strategies from some of the best authors, coaches, mentors and motivators. I have studied the ways of the successful and have decided to model their best practices in my own life. Success leaves clues as they say and it is so very true. Implementing these changes daily has put me in a much better place than I was a year ago that is certain. With pleasure I share these five life changing tips that will transform your life for the better if you choose to implement them.
Amazing Action One: Develop a Growth Mindset Develop a positive, growth mindset. You will never change your life if you have a negative perception of yourself and the changes you want to make. You can be your own best friend or your own worst enemy. What does it matter if you have an army of people behind you, yet you yourself do not believe you can change? A growth mindset says: " I am not there YET but I am on my way. I CAN change, but it will take time." A fixed mindset says: "Nothing I will ever do will change my circumstances. I do not have what it takes to be successful, so therefore I will not even try. " The fixed mindset philosophy is very untrue, yet people believe it is true. This thinking therefore keeps people stuck in their old, destructive, unproductive habits. You have the power to say at any time this is not how your story is going to end. Choose to embrace change and look at it as an adventure, rather than an ordeal and you are already on your way. While you are on your journey also, don't compare yourself to others. Everyone has his or her own unique journey and it doesn't matter how fast you get there, but rather that you are headed in the right direction. Amazing Action Two: Own Your Morning My morning routine used to be a disaster. Hitting the snooze button every morning and putting off starting my morning as long as possible was commonplace. What I didn't realise was that by doing this every morning , unconsciously I was telling myself that the new day dawning was unsatisfying, and must be filled with dread and negativity. It also insinuated that surely nothing worthwhile would occur that day that would be worthy of me waking up to experience. As a natural consequence of sleeping in, I was then run ragged, running around super stressed with barely enough time to get out the door. They say you either own the morning or the morning owns you. I prefer to own my mornings these days. How I do that is I wake up two hours or more before I have to leave for work. The blessed quiet is so therapeutic. I know it won't last long, so I absolutely savour every minute. The first thing I do after hitting the button to make my coffee is not looking at Facebook, email or returning texts. This will not get me where I need to be. This is responding to others. I need to fill my own cup first. I cannot give what I don't have. I need some "me" time. So how do I do this? First of all I start with gratitude journaling. Every morning I write down five things I am grateful for. This daily habit helps me focus on all I have to be thankful for. Sometimes I write about big things like family or friends and sometimes it is the simple pleasures I highlight like a hot coffee, a warm bath or a good book. Focusing on my blessings puts me in a positive mind frame and starts my day in a very pleasant manner. Next I read my Bible and a personal development book of choice and spend some time connecting with my Heavenly Father in prayer. What a great way to begin each new day. I cannot even start to tell you how this has completely revolutionised my whole day. I cannot control how my day will unfold, but I can certainly control how it starts and realising that has been very liberating. Amazing Action Three: Start Eating Healthier My family has completely changed our eating habits this year. Gone are all the processed foods we used to eat. Gone are the frequent drive thru meals we used to grab. We now aim to eat clean most of the time by consuming as many whole foods as possible and limiting the amount of processed foods we eat. We barely eat out and actually prefer to eat at home. Can we have treats and cheats? Absolutely! It is all about balance these days and we try to live our lives by the 80/20 rule. It means we strive to eat healthy 80 percent of the time. Proper portion control has also been a very big part of our new regimen. Knowing what a portion looks like and how much of each food group to consume has been a real eye opener. I challenge you to start limiting your processed foods and start eating more whole foods this year. You will feel more satisfied, have more energy and experience many other great health benefits from a healthier, more wholesome diet. Amazing Action Four: Start and Stick to An Exercise Plan I am a Beachbody coach which is an online health and fitness coach. I am often asked in this role what is the best workout program? The answer is very simple actually. The best workout program for you is the one that YOU will do. If you enjoy working out at home like I do, then a Beachbody workout program would be perfect for you. If you enjoy the gym, spin classes, Zumba, running, biking or swimming then faithfully go that direction. The important thing is that you find what you enjoy and stick to it. Regular exercise has such important mental and physical health benefits. If you are trying to lose weight it is so essential too. Half an hour a day is a great way to start. If exercise is foreign to you, try starting with stretches or a walking schedule. They say the only bad workout is the one you didn't do and that is very true. Find what works for you and just get moving! Amazing Action Five: Find Supportive People to Motivate You and Keep You Accountable The group experience is so powerful. Oh how liberating it is to see that others too struggle, need support and need to have people with whom to share their success. I run monthly support groups on Facebook where we do just that. It has been such a key to my success as having others to which you are accountable is so vital for profound change. Before I started coaching and running groups I did an initial post about the fact that I was starting my health and fitness journey. I was terrified. I was nervous. I was so far from where I needed to be, but I knew I had to go public to prove to myself and others that I was all in and serious about changing my life. The outpouring of support was huge and I have never looked back. I continue to openly share my story and encourage others to do the same. Keeping quiet about the highs and lows of the journey can keep you stuck, unmotivated or uninspired. The power of "me too" is a very incredible tool for change. I encourage you to get plugged into a supportive network of people. Join a group or club. Get involved in an online community. Go public about your goals and have loving friends and family help you stay accountable. If you slip in your journey, learn from it. It is a stepping stone not a stumbling block if you view it as such. So here's to a new year and a whole new you. Change can be scary, yet so very exciting too. If you would like more info on how to implement these amazing changes, please feel free to contact me at dana.romualdi@gmail.com or on Facebook. (Dana Lear Romualdi) Good luck everyone. I am in your corner cheering you on! Until next time, Dana Ecclesiastes 3:1 ~ There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the Heavens. Little Lesson Learned: Changing your life is much easier if you have an effective plan. Copyright © 2017 littlelessonslearnedbydana |
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