Personal Planning / Learning Lessons

"The most important things to know in life take a lifetime to learn. Our first lessons come early -- but we grasp only the surface. As we gain life experience we gain deeper understanding. All great truths are both simple and complex, easy to understand yet difficult to master. " - Mark Ford

What are you learning today? 

Opportunities lie all about us for learning each moment of every day. Knowledge is recognizing them and Wisdom is learning from them. 

Whether it's building a stronger body, a healthier one, mastering the art of fishing, painting, writing, or communicating, it all takes time. In today's society, where many things that use to take hours, days, weeks, and even months to come to fruition... much is completed within minutes, with a few clicks of a mouse, and so forth.

What needs to be realized is this, the things that matter most are the things that need day after day nurturing, awareness, observation, experimentation, patience, and perseverance. It takes years of managing emotions, reactions, and gaining an awareness of where you started and the markers of growth you've made along the way.

Personally, I recommend people either make and record these observations on their birthday each year, or at the start of each new year. For example, write down five areas you want to monitor your progress in, say: Health, fitness, communication, building a quality relationship, and a learning endeavor, such as learning a new language or something similar. 

Next, write down an ACTION you can take for each of these areas, for each of the 12 months. Next, a week before the new month commences, break down your monthly goal into one thing you can do towards it your monthly goal each week. For the really ambitious: Break those weekly goals into what you can DO each day to accomplish your desired outcome.

Do this year after year, and you cannot help but progress. The key here is determining the specific five areas that are most meaningful to you at the start. Be sure to put the time, energy, and thought into what areas mean the most to you.

Now you have a plan! You know when you go to the grocery store when you're hungry, and without a list, you end up buying all kinds of things you wouldn't have, and waste time walking up and down every aisle looking for food.

When you bring a specific list of items you can breeze in, go directly to find them, and be done shopping.

Same plan works for life. Create your list. Break it down into manageable actions to be taken. Look at your progress each year and you will be astounded at the lessons you've learned along the way, as well as, the abundance of personal growth!!!!

Happy planning!!!!

NORTHWEST NATURAL 2014

Finally, some pictures came in from the competition in Boise! I decided to step on stage after several years and give it a go and had a wonderful time! I placed 7th, not bad considering I'll be fifty this year. There was no breakdown as far as age categories went, all Figure Pro's. I had such a great time!!!

There was never a dull moment. I hopped into a taxi upon arrival, and discovered the driver spoke very little English, had no GPS, and when I showed him the hotel address, he shook his head indicating he had no idea where it was, and asked me to call and get directions!!! True story. LMBO!!!!!

I took another cab later to my polygraph test, only to discover I left my phone in the cab 20 minutes after I was dropped off. I passed the poly, and must have done a good job because the tester himself offered me his son's 13th birthday present to use (his birthday wasn't for another week), it was an iphone 5. Meanwhile, my cell cruised around Boise for a few hours... until the nice driver hand delivered it back to the hotel.

Fast forward another few hours, where I got my spray paint, I mean tan, lol, and am too embarrassed to tell you the condition in which I rode home. Chalk it all up to CRAZY!

I met some fantastic people. The most amazing tanning EVER was done by Sun Envy!! Never have I seen such a crew that was so on top of things! Dena (the owner), is truly a Rock Star! This woman has everything down to a fine art. I wouldn't use anyone else but Sun Envy. 

You'd think I'd spend most of my time socializing with competitors, but due to circumstances, I found myself spending more time with the cabby's, maid's, testers, and spray tanners. I'll tell you, there's an interesting and/or amazing story behind everyone you meet!

Thank you!!! to my family and friends, and for all their support!!! A huge shout out to Atomic Designs for a stunning suit!!!! The color was perfect, stone work so beautiful, intricate design, and the best of all perfect fit! No bikini bite!
Thanks M.J.! Wouldn't go anywhere else. :)

 

"We are what we repeatedly do." Aristotle

Such understanding, and this came from the 300 BC time frame. Man has advanced in many ways over the years, yet, in many ways still keeps the basics... complex.

So...... what is it you're repeatedly doing???

Seriously, stop what you're doing right now and write down the top five things you repeatedly do. I don't mean get dressed, comb my hair kind of things. I mean the things in your life that are NOT working in your favor. I mean the nitty gritty. Are you repeatedly hitting the snooze button and sleeping in, running late daily? Are you repeatedly having a 'cheat', because it's 'just a couple bites'? Are you silently bombarding yourself with negative self-talk? 

Now, what are five things you repeatedly do that's working in your favor? Exercising daily? Educating yourself? Eating healthy? Managing stress in a healthful way? Enjoying time with the people you love?

We are surely what we repeatedly do. We are also not what we eat, rather we are what we assimilate. I believe life is much the same way. Life is what we assimilate from our experiences. 

I'm quite certain if Aristotle where writing this, he'd simply say, "If what you're doing isn't working, change it." Yep, that simple. I challenge you to change whatever it is that's not working for you. Create something new and useful for yourself. Health!

DISCIPLINE

Reaping a Multiple Reward by Jim Rohn

For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards. That's one of life's great arrangements. In fact, it's an extension of the Biblical law that says that if you sow well, you will reap well.

Here's a unique part of the Law of Sowing and Reaping. Not only does it suggest that we'll all reap what we've sown, it also suggests that we'll reap much more. Life is full of laws that both govern and explain behaviors, but this may well be the major law we need to understand: for every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards.

What a concept! If you render unique service, your reward will be multiplied. If you're fair and honest and patient with others, your reward will be multiplied. If you give more than you expect to receive, your reward is more than you expect. But remember: the key word here, as you might well imagine, is discipline.

Everything of value requires care, attention and discipline. Our thoughts require discipline. We must consistently determine our inner boundaries and our codes of conduct, or our thoughts will be confused. And if our thoughts are confused, we will become hopelessly lost in the maze of life. Confused thoughts produce confused results.

Remember the law: "For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards." Learn the discipline of writing a card or a letter to a friend. Learn the discipline of paying your bills on time, arriving to appointments on time, or using your time more effectively. Learn the discipline of paying attention, or paying your taxes or paying yourself. Learn the discipline of having regular meetings with your associates, or your spouse, or your child, or your parent. Learn the discipline of learning all you can learn, of teaching all you can teach, of reading all you can read.

For each discipline, multiple rewards. For each book, new knowledge. For each success, new ambition. For each challenge, new understanding. For each failure, new determination. Life is like that. Even the bad experiences of life provide their own special contribution. But a word of caution here for those who neglect the need for care and attention to life's disciplines: everything has its price. Everything affects everything else. Neglect discipline, and there will be a price to pay. All things of value can be taken for granted with the passing of time.

That's what we call the Law of Familiarity. Without the discipline of paying constant, daily attention, we take things for granted. Be serious. Life's not a practice session.

If you're often inclined to toss your clothes onto the chair rather than hanging them in the closet, be careful. It could suggest a lack of discipline. And remember, a lack of discipline in the small areas of life can cost you heavily in the more important areas of life. You cannot clean up your company until you learn the discipline of cleaning your own garage. You cannot be impatient with your children and be patient with your distributors or your employees. You cannot inspire others to sell more when that goal is inconsistent with your own conduct. You cannot admonish others to read good books when you don't have a library card.

Think about your life at this moment. What areas need attention right now? Perhaps you've had a disagreement with someone you love or someone who loves you, and your anger won't allow you to speak to that person. Wouldn't this be an ideal time to examine your need for a new discipline? Perhaps you're on the brink of giving up, or starting over, or starting out. And the only missing ingredient to your incredible success story in the future is a new and self-imposed discipline that will make you try harder and work more intensely than you ever thought you could.

The most valuable form of discipline is the one that you impose upon yourself. Don't wait for things to deteriorate so drastically that someone else must impose discipline in your life. Wouldn't that be tragic? How could you possibly explain the fact that someone else thought more of you than you thought of yourself? That they forced you to get up early and get out into the marketplace when you would have been content to let success go to someone else who cared more about themselves.

Your life, my life, the life of each one of us is going to serve as either a warning or an example. A warning of the consequences of neglect, self-pity, lack of direction and ambition... or an example of talent put to use, of discipline self-imposed, and of objectives clearly perceived and intensely pursued.

FROZEN BANANAS

This is a 'no brainer' for many of you, but I just had someone tell me the other day how hard it was to get the peel off their frozen banana, and cut it up to put into their blender.

Folks, be sure to first, peel your bananas, then slice them into one inch pieces, and put into a freezer bag. I find it most convenient to cut up 4-5 bunches of bananas at a time, and cut and store them in a gallon size freezer bag.

Tip: Wait until your bananas develop speckles on them before you cut them. Bananas are starchy until the speckles show up, making it harder on your system to both assimilate and digest. The speckles are a good indicator that the bananas natural enzymes have kicked in. They will be sweeter with speckles, and easier to assimilate and digest.

SABOTAGING SUCCESS

"A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning." - Billie Jean King

Odd name isn't it? So contradictory, yet people do it to themselves day in and day out, complaining along the way why they haven't been able to succeed with this, that, and the other thing.

Here's a few scenarios:

- A person wants to lose weight (body fat), ever so badly. They hire a qualified trainer, spare no expense in training wear, buy the best shoes on the market.... and then eat fast food 3-4 times a week, and have a few glasses of wine here and there.

- The student who complains how taxing school studies are, yet spends hours at a time playing their favorite games on the their smart phone, Facebooking, and watching their favorite nightly programs.

- The person who's always commenting how they wish they could do this, that or the other thing with themselves, or their life, but fail to take any directed action and know they don't take any initiative to change it. 

Do you ever stop to ask why people sabotage their own success? It's sure easy to look at someone else and determine why they aren't successful at such and such, isn't it? Obvious, you say. But what about yourself? Is it as obvious? Probably not, but deep down  I bet you have a feeling about what it is, it may even be knawing at you.... for years!

Today, I encourage all of us to take a reality check. Take inventory. Stop judging others and instead, apply that energy towards yourself, in a positive way. Stop sabotaging yourself! 

I believe many times people already know, not only what the issues are in their life that's sabotaging their success, but they also know the solutions. Stop procrastinating. 

Bring that dream to life. Make it a reality.

HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM YOUR TRAINING/WORKOUT

What sets Pro-Athletes apart from Amateurs?

The same things that matter when you want to get the most from your workout:

1. Attitude
2. Plan
3. Preparation 
4. Visualization
5. Environment
6. Meal Planning
7. Equipment
8. Attire
9. Mentor/Coaching
10. Head in the game/Focus/Perspective
11. Hydration
12. Supplementation

ATTITUDE 

Yes, attitude is first on the list for a reason, as your attitude will determine and be a reflection of each of the following nine areas. Poor attitude equals poor planning, equals poor preparation, equals poor visualization, equals... so on and so forth. A healthy, stellar attitude will bring you healthy, stellar preparation, plan, visualization, etc. 

There is ALWAYS room for improvement in one's attitude, but we mustn't wait for perfection in any given area or we will surely miss the mark. Start where you're at, with what you have, and give it your all.

What's your attitude on a scale of 1-10? What would your friends, co-workers, and spouse rate you?

PLAN

Successful athletes PLAN their training, PLAN their meal times, PLAN their rest time, and PLAN each and every activity that needs too be accomplished, in order to succeed. Do they PLAN to fail? Not generally, however, should the occasion arise, they view it with the perspective of learning a lesson, not necessarily failure.

PREPARATION

Elite athletes begin their preparation well before the hour of need. Location, coaches, training buddies, meals, music, packing and so forth are set in place days, even weeks in advance.

VISUALIZATION

Every athlete at the top will tell you they take and make time each day, or prior to their 'event', to visualize. They perform a mental rehearsal of what they need to accomplish and how they would like to accomplish it. Studies show visualization works. The mind/body connection are as though you're actually performing it physically when you're not.

ENVIRONMENT

Successful athletes try to maintain an environment that's supportive to their success. This includes friends and activities. Unfortunately, some athletes give way to social activities such as drinking, etc. You can see what happens to performance when activities of these type are not weeded out of their environment.

MEAL PLANNING

Athletes at the top of their game do not take meals as a per chance type of event. Of course, occasions arise that require flexibility, however, for the most part they know the fuel they put into their bodies will determine not only their performance, but also the quality of their sleep, recovery time, and endurance.

EQUIPMENT

Many people have the misconception that elite athletes train only at expensive gyms and so forth, not true. You'll find some of your best athlete's outdoors training at the beach, a park, in the mountains, and even their garage. The key is, they know how to utilize what's available to them. 

ATTIRE

You won't find top athletes wearing cut-offs and an oversize T-shirt when they're training. Top athletes wear clothing that wicks away moisture, conforms to the body and the activity they're engaged in, and change into new attire as the need arises.

MENTOR/COACHING

Every athlete needs a mentor and every athlete needs at least one coach. We all need someone to look up to, to inspire us, motivate us, and show us 'It CAN be done'. Top athletes are no different, they're just a little further up the totem pole and have worked their asses off to get there. All find they are now mentors and coaches themselves, while still in need of them themselves.

HEAD IN THE GAME/FOCUS/PERSPECTIVE

Great athletes don't happen by accident. They think about it all day long, they sleep on it at night, and they learn and talk about it all the time. They're focused, and as a result, are driven, determined, and relentless in their quest to succeed. They can change their perspective in a blink of an eye, and therefore, rebound quickly from mistakes and short lived perceived failures.

HYDRATION:
Proper hydration is crucial for both daily health and well-being as well as sports/training performance. To stay properly hydrated requires one has the necessary electrolytes to do the job. I'm not a fan of Gatorade and other sports drinks, but in a pinch they're better than nothing. When one is consuming a diet high in organic vegetables and a wide variety of vegetables, chances are great you're getting plenty of electrolytes. If you're planning a long run outdoors in the sun on a hot day though, I'd carry and use electrolyte package(s) with me and sipping on them throughout my run.

SUPPLEMENTATION:
As an athlete that's trained at an elite level for years I can speak of the importance of supplementation. If you are an elite athlete or training for more than the average person, I'd consult with a knowledgeable natural health doctor, sports medicine specialist, or start your studies on the human body because as an elite athlete you'll burn through fuel readily, and the excess demands placed upon the body will take a toll on all level (mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually), if one does not know which areas need the support via supplementation, but be aware and don't just start taking something because your neighbor did. Supplements are no joke and like many other goods sold, some are of pure quality and others are garbage.  


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BOTTOM LINE

What can we learn from these people? A lot! How bad do you think they want it? How bad do you think YOU want it? The proof is in the pudding , as they say. Your actions will always speak louder, and  more volumes, than your words.

Use these areas to set yourself apart, to be that which you desire to become, it matters not the area of life you're after. Apply yourself wisely, and expect success!

Set yourself apart and start with your Personalized Meal Plans and Customize Training Programs at: www.jillnix.com