Preparation

“A winning effort begins with preparation.” ~~Joe Gibbs ~~

A little preparation goes a long way! I had an odd expectation last night. I expected to be stressed. I expected not to sleep well. I expected that I would lay in bed and not be able to stop thinking about how much work I had to do today, about how far behind I was, about what I *should* have done over the weekend… I am happy to say that I was WRONG! And I believe this is why:

I planned out my week on Friday. I made a list of everything (and I mean everything) I have to do this week. Personal, work, holiday-related, you name it, I wrote it down. On paper, it just didn’t seem so bad!

I got a lot of my “honey-do” list completed on Saturday. My husband jumped in, and we just got so much accomplished. So, cross off some of that personal stuff, and some of that holiday-related stuff… Nice! And then I RELAXED yesterday. I mentally prepared for this week. A little rest, a little E.F.T. (Thanks Stephanie Dalfonzo!), a little meditation, a lot of visualization…

I slept quite well, and I woke up this morning ready to attack my day! I will accomplish all I set out to do. I am not stressed out. I can get it all done, and it’s not nearly as overwhelming as I expected that it would be. The tools work! A little preparation, both mental and physical, really does go a long way!

Motivation (and Congratulations!)

“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” ~~Oliver Wendell Holmes~~

This post is really about how quickly things can change. I originally wrote about a friend’s day, but due to her “big announcement” not yet being public, I removed the original post by request.

Let’s suffice to say that you should never give up! No matter how your day starts, there is a great chance that it will get better. And, if it doesn’t, there is always tomorrow! It doesn’t matter how bleak things look, I do believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel… and that the tunnel simply leads to another. Keep moving in the right direction, enjoy the journey, and maintain your momentum. Life is good, and even when it feels like it’s not, getting through the day sure beats the alternative!

Congratulations again my friend. You know who you are!

Goals

“If you have a goal in life that takes a lot of energy, that requires a lot of work, that incurs a great deal of interest and that is a challenge to you, you will always look forward to waking up to see what the new day brings.” ~~Susan Polis Schultz~~

And when you keep that goal in mind while remaining flexible in your plan to achieve that goal, the new day can bring so many different things…and you never know what you’re going to get! (Remember that box of chocolates???)

I attended a phenomenal networking event last night. I met some amazing people. I had no idea what to expect when I walked in the door, but I am so thrilled that I attended! I had several fantastic conversations, and I will discuss some of them in the days to come I’m sure, but one really struck me. I was speaking with Lawrence Eisner, ESQ (www.LBEisner.com) about how different people make sense of the chaos in the world. It was fascinating. Some people organize things by geography, remembering occurrences by where they took place. Other people may relate everything to music or art. The premise was that *innately* something helps you put order around what could otherwise be chaotic; that you are born with a way to cope. I had never really thought about it, and actually had a hard time identifying how I make sense of my world. Larry got it! I am a connector! I always have been. I put people together. I remember things by who they happened with. I discuss people by talking about who they know. I introduce people to other people and help make lasting friendships and partnerships. It is second nature to me. And, it’s showing up now! I gravitated to social media tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, because they allow me to continue to be the social connector, but now on a larger scale. And I still group people together by who they know or associate with. That may seem like an obvious thing to do, especially on Twitter, but it didn’t seem so obvious at our table last night. My goals on Twitter were vastly different from others’ goals. I am on Twitter with the sole intention of connecting and engaging. I am on Facebook with the primary goal of keeping the people in my world motivated. I am on LinkedIn, and teach people how to use LinkedIn so they can build their networks and get more people to know about them. I’m all about connecting, and it all makes sense to me. More importantly, it’s helped me make some sense of my journey!

How do you make sense of your world? I think once you figure that out, your path to achieving your goal will become much more clear! It did for me!

Focus (and a string of affirmations)

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” ~~Buddha~~

I am focused and efficient! I have what it takes to get what I want. I have the capacity and the knowledge to achieve success as I define it. I achieve my goals and accomplish all I set out to do. I am happy, healthy, wealthy and successful. I give all I can. I am surrounded by love and friendship. I focus on the positive.

What are your thoughts today?

Goals

“The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.” ~~Elbert Hubbard~~

Prioritizing your short term goals can be a challenge this time of year. I, personally, am finding it difficult to get everything that I want to do, done. I say things like, “There just aren’t enough hours in the day!” when what I really mean is that I’d rather spend time decompressing in the evening than I would doing a little extra work. Yes, this may be both true and necessary all of the time, but I find it especially true and frankly, critical, this time of year. I have daycare commitments (PTO, class mom), holiday commitments (we celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas in this house), philanthropic commitments, networking commitments… and then there are competing work demands themselves. The holidays seem to be the time when everything happens all at once and people come out of the woodwork. You know they’re all important, and you know they will all help you achieve at least one of your goals in some way, and this time of year you get an overwhelming desire to be helpful to others…but how do you decide what to say “yes” to when you can’t do it all?

Here’s what I’ve come up with. If you know where you’re going it’s much easier to know how to get there. Write everything down; your goals, your commitments, some scheduled family time, events or parties, any deadlines (including getting the shopping or cooking or prep work done), and anything else that you feel you just “have to” do. Then, make a plan. Once it’s all on paper it’s easier to see what the “musts” are, and you can make them a “priority one.” Rank the rest and you will have a plan you can live with! See which tasks align best with your goals and make sure you do those first. And don’t forget about the procrastination tip: Do the one thing you want to do least early on and just get it out of the way. With a slight attitude adjustment, you may even enjoy doing it! Stay calm, add in some time to relax, and make sure you take care of yourself. You will be no good to anyone if you aren’t healthy, alert and calm.

This time of year can get you down… take some action now to prevent the stress, and enjoy!