Energy,Goals, and Hope

What do energy, goals, and hope have in common? Everything!

Our energy is derived from our goals in life. Well thought out and defined goals will provide the energy we need to get up and motivated each day. Goals provide excitement, which fuels our desire.

Our energy does not come from vitamins or energy drinks. It comes from our inner desire to improve our life and our circumstances.

This is where hope comes into play. Without hope we have little reason to be excited about our future. Hope provides a turbo charged boost to our energy level.

Think about a time in your past when you had little hope. How did you feel?

Now think about a time when you had hope. How did you feel then?

Infuse your life with goals and hope and watch your energy level increase!

Power Supply Syndrome

Have you noticed nearly everything we buy either includes or we can purchase a power supply for it? Cell phones, laptops, Ipad, Ipod, nooks, kindles, whatever. The idea is to keep the unit fully charged at all times.

We have an older laptop which worked while plugged in, but the battery would not charge. It wasn't used for travel so we never paid any attention to replacing the battery. Recently the laptop shut down and would not come back on. I took it to our IT guy and he used a different supply cord and it fired right up.

What is the point? There are times when we concentrate on our lack of energy or strength instead of focusing on the supply point of where our energy and strength actually originates. In the case of the laptop, it was an electrical cord. In the case of our life, it could be many sources which are not renewed daily.

And we wonder why we lack energy and focus! Where do you derive your strength from? Have you feed it lately?

Back In the Saddle

Since my last post on change, the craziest thing happened! We went through a significant change in our life. Thankfully it was for the better. It seems the more things stay the same the more they are actually changing.

I enrolled back in school and soon realized this was not bringing me closer to my goals. Higher education is vital, but increasing our debt level is not. Plus, it took away from my writing time which is more important at this time in my life. I'll resume school at a later date.

We also cancelled our vacation realizing once again our this was taking us away from our short term goals. Delayed gratification is tough at times, but worth it. When we reach our goals vacations will be plentiful.

Change is inevitable and should be embraced.

Change

What is real change? It is not trying something new, it is committing to be better by taking a new approach. You notice I said committing, not trying.

Too many times we say we are going to try to lose a few pounds, or try to pay off bills.

The subliminal message of try is,"it's okay not to succeed because we are only trying."

The subliminal message of committing,"I have to do this, there is no alternative."

Which do you think will yield the best results? Then make a commitment to something important and press forward. Make it public if you need an additional motivator.

Once you make the commitment the change becomes easier, not necessarily easy, but easier.

The Difference

There is a huge difference between people who reach their goals and those who don't. It may be subtle and hard to see. Many call it luck. Others have no clue what it is.

What is it?

The Mental Edge! Developing the proper thought process and sticking to it until the proper habits are formed. It works as follows:

Thoughts become feelings.
Feelings become Actions.
Actions become habits.
This progression is the same for positive and negative thoughts. Be careful what you put in!

It takes about 21 days to create or to break a habit. Start a new, positive thought process and keep it for 21 days. Watch your Mental Edge grow!

Focus

Focus is a high priority action step toward achieving a vision. When you take a picture with an unfocused lens you get a blurry picture. This holds true for our life as well. It is near impossible to reach a goal or create a vision when you lose focus.

How do you maintain focus? Create a daily action plan which lists your 10 most important activities and/ or attitudes. Write and speak these daily and you'll find your focus to be laser sharp at all times.

Are you on the right path?

Where we go in life depends upon our path. There are many paths to choose from. Are we taking the correct one? How do we know we are on the right path?

My wife and I enrolled in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University last night. We think we are headed down the right path, but how can we be sure?

The best way I know of to confirm direction is to seek wise counsel from those who have been successful in the specific area. If they confirm, move on to another area needing change. If they don't, and ask for mentoring.

Once you identify the mentor you'll need to develop, implement, and follow the plan of action they suggest.

Remember the definition of insanity; doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.

If you want to change your life, you must change your life. The first step is to confirm your path.