Tag Archives: goals

Igniting Passion

Igniting passion is a very valuable skill to have. To be able to tap into this essence that seems to live in the ether but still very valid and so thick it’s almost tangible.

Regular monotony in a daily thought pattern to inspired passion

There’s a pattern to this though, there’s some secrets to regularly igniting this inspired passion to have it become more and more prominent as days go by.

How, you may ask? How do we take our regular monotony, our tedious schedule of daily life and turn it into a passionate and inspired life? The answer is simple: modify and carefully select your daily thought patterns.

Kim Anami calls it following your bliss. Seth Godin talks about the process. The truth is, it’s continual thought patters that are as dynamic as the changing weather seasons but just as reliably there.

I refer to this as awareness and commitment and intention. The Art of Manliness calls this concentration training. What do you call this?

The skill you need is simple: intention. Know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Know why you say what you’re saying. Know where it is that you want to get to, and how you plan to get there so that you can identify when you’re not following those plans to get there and you can re-map your path back onto that path.

Everybody has their own strategy to mapping this. Creating a personal mission statement, defining effective goals, slowing down, check lists… Perhaps you have some tips for me?

Accomplishment

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It feels good to do. Just do. To put in a good days of work getting further towards that plan. To itemize and destroy that list of hurtles getting on ones way.

As a human coming into adulthood and maturity, I am starting to realize that there is a difference between a) planning, deliberating, conceptualizing, developing, & shipping and b) thinking, talking, reading, believing, and getting distracted.

I understand how easy it is to get sidetracked with seeing what other people are up to on our favorite social networks – and the motivation they’re sharing with me. I understand how easy it is to find a good movie on and just feel comfortable with it. I understand how easy it is to get immersed in a good bit of fiction -or- non, and feel like it’s at least better than watching television.

But nothing feels like my own personal or collaborative accomplishment does.

True accomplishment, the kind of accomplishment where pride is found.

True accomplishment doesn’t necessarily come hand in hand with success, unless you consider success learning; when you’re pushing yourself to do things, to work, to deliver, you most certainly are going to take home a few lessons learned at the end of the day.

This is where pride is found. This is where contentment is found. This is where belief in oneself is found.

This thought came to me today as I sat here after designing and soldering a new circuit board prototype together. I have been deliberating and thinking and talking about it for so long, always finding excuses like not being able to afford to buy the parts (which is another mind hurdle I’ll leave for another discussion), or that I didn’t have my equipment here to do the work…

Though these may each be valid and hindering me from doing what I must do – budget considering – I want to point out that actually getting down to business, real business and executing… that’s the stuff that feels right and good and is usually just a different angle or viewpoint on the task. I’ve learned that this is the stuff that makes me believe believe in myself, this accomplishment.

Accomplishment. Yes, today I have truly and really taken one step closer to my dreams.

Thinking about this deeper, I think this might be where shoppers get the feeling of accomplishment. Something physical to show for a days work – funny as that may sound to some of us. I think this is also the euphoric bliss one gets after a bout of meditation or yoga. Not only is it a spiritual nurturing, but one comes out feeling like something meaningful and soul building was accomplished.

Whether you find that motivation to accomplish or not is your choice. It takes effort and patience and there are most certainly going to be things that get done and prove to be lessons learned, not successfully completed tasks.

In the end however, the only way I’ve ever found this feeling of satisfaction with myself, with accomplishment, is to actually get out there and do it, to have that moment in time afterwards where I sit and reflect upon what I’ve just done and tell myself: “I’m here, now I know.”

Stimulation Leads to Action, Right?

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Over stimulation exists. Stimulation, inspiration, information, communication, research…

If there is anything for certain, stimulus is a resource we have a plethora of, given the state of information sharing we find ourselves in, but are we lacking in motivation? Perhaps motivation is the wrong word here. Motivation could be included in the stimulus.

After motivation comes Action.

Action. Action is from you. The onus is on you. You can not ignore or hide action, it is there looking you right back in the face saying, “hello, nice day isn’t it? Keep going.”

Action is the result of motivation. The plan gets written, the goals get set, the action gets set in motion and momentum builds.

Stimulation can only get you so far, the rest is up to you.

Do you have a trick? I’d love to hear what you do to get yourself out of a spiral of inspiration.

To Plan and To Re-Plan

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It feels good to write it down on paper, to create that list, to plan, to strategize, to brainstorm, to set those goals.

And more, it feels good to have an understanding and a direction to move forward with, to be able to communicate it with your coworkers, partners, directors, or employees. To be able to work towards goals with the understanding that the goals have been set because they are milestones in achieving the planned success.

It really does feel good to cross those things off, and to look back evaluating how the strategy has been followed, if any of the goals have been met, if the brainstorming was used.

To the point, it feels good to use this information to move forward, to make changes, to tweak the strategy.

I like feeling good, do you?

Don’t Say You Don’t Have Enough Time

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You have exactly the same number of hours a day as Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Helen Keller, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.

I just read this on a website that, in spite the few spelling corrections I made, I have quoted word for word.

Time is something we cannot control. Time is just a scale that has been conveniently used to organize schedules for our industrial world. But time becomes irrelevant when life is at hand, save for the simple fact that at the end of a stretch of time our human existences will expire.

I know very well the feeling of setting time related goals for myself and getting anxious and angry that I haven’t completed them, which overwhelms me and then pushes me to abandon the goal entirely.

Step away from a time frame. Set goals but let them be quests, not burdens.

So, you want to write a book? Then write it, whenever and however you can. Scrap paper, the back of envelopes, a computer at the public library, or your girlfriends second computer. When it’s out, it’s out. That is the time for it to be completed, and not a moment too early or late.

Or, perhaps you enjoy the daunting feeling of looking at a days to-do list and the impossibility of it all?

Personal Mission Statement

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Creating a personal mission statement is probably the most effective long term focus machine you can build for yourself that directs you towards success and growth. It allows for you to stay focused, and remind yourself periodically (when you’re most in need) on what you want to stay focused on.

So, to start I brainstorm what it is that I want to accomplish, what are my goals. Take a moment to read about how to set effective goals, but this process of writing the mission statement will also focus your goals allowing you to then find more ‘WOW’ goals. This is critical to keeping yourself motivated and directed towards them.

After you have written down your goals, break them down into sub goals, either point form or get right to sentences about how you’re going to achieve these goals. Think about what specific activities you have to focus on in order to achieve them, like lift weights for 20 minutes a day, read a book for 30 min before bed every night, etc. This way you have a specific goal that doesn’t leave much up for interpretation.

I also like to keep my mission statement tidy. I organize it like a formal report, with a table of contents, and headings, even including a title page, although the content is very personal and not necessarily formal. I like to keep it in a way that it will not be boring for me to read. I will even insert some funny jokes or slang so next time I read it I will be in a good mood.

I find that referring to this personal mission statement on a at least quarterly basis is extremely beneficial for myself. It helps remind me of what I’m focused on, and it also helps me to see what I was aimed at then, and how it has changed now. I am never afraid of editing the document. I may see spelling or grammar, but I will also see things that have changed, and I alter them in the mission statement.

I keep remembering a quote from Gandhi, where he says: “If there is an instance where I have been strongly for a certain topic, and later I learn that the knowledge that I was basing my stance on wasn’t in fact true, or has become more learned, then I will be the first to admit I was wrong, and immediately change my position on the subject.” This is just common sense to me!

Do you have another way that you use to help you stay focused on your goals? I’d love to hear about them.

Creativity vs. Definition

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All around us we have balancing acts of yin/yang, qi, or the natural way of things that are essential to our own sanity, as well as progress towards our goals. I have written about this before, but I just read an article entitled “How To Thing Creatively” by Tony Schwartz that really emphasized a few areas I feel are very important, which I wish to discuss here today.

The article went into a discussion over how to fuel the creative process, and monitor it’s progress to ensure that it is being propelled in the right direction, which we can all admit is necessary.

Personally, when I’m working on any project, large or big, I follow a very clear cycle. I first read the definition of the problem, then spend some time being creative to find a solution to the problem that I have previously defined. After I’ve brainstormed and have been creative as much as I can before running head first into a wall, I look back to the problem statement, and see if I have let my mind solve the problem in a way in which the problem statement doesn’t allow.

Typically, at each iteration of this cycle, my mind re-focuses its plan in my head, and redefines the problem for me so that I can attack the problem again each time with a renewed idea of what I now need to solve. I find this is analogous to first opening up the biggest box (initial problem) only to find another smaller box inside. After I spend some time deciding how to open this second box, and find a solution, I again run into another box, smaller, that I need to open, which I then spend some time thinking about how to open, and opening, and then redefine my problem (box) and do the process all over again.

Perhaps this is my background that dictates that I keep redefining the problem down further and further but this article really stressed at how important it is to allow your mind to alternate between the left and right sides of thinking to allow the creative process to be utilized to its fullest.

The article identified 4 key steps to the process.

Saturation: This involves getting all of the facts, from historical studies, to one’s own knowledge, to complete definition of the problem. You must know what you’re trying to solve very intimately. To bring forth some examples, if you’re trying to build a bridge, one would gather information from bridges built previously, as well as information about materials to be used, traffic patterns, etc. If you were to make a painting, you would learn the colours you’re going to use, or the subject you are capturing, or even the brush strokes from the masters. This is a left brain process.
Incubation: This stage is the brainstorming part of the solution. This is where you step away from the facts, take a walk to a park bench and sit and think about how you are going to approach the solution. This is analogous to getting the answer to the problem while in the washroom. Many people find that when they get to this stage, doing something calming, like painting, running, or meditating is very helpful. This is shifting the process to the right brain.
Illumination: This is somewhat similar to the incubation stage, but this is the point where you get the solution identified. This is when, as you’re sitting on the park bench you suddenly hit upon that solution and it excites you so much that you leave the delicious sandwich you were eating on the park bench, run all the way back to your desk to write down the solution you just found. This, for me, is the most exciting part of the process. This is still using the right brain.
Verification: The final stage comes when you have pounded out that illumination you had, and solved it to the best of your knowledge, and are now testing the solution. This stage then takes the solution you had, runs it through the loops, and spits back at you what needs to be changed, which starts the whole process again from the start. This is using the left brain again.

This whole process repeats itself as many times as needed, entirely project specific. Most painters will not scrap their entire painting and start again after their verification has failed, as some computer programmers will do if their verification will fail.

I find for myself, at least 4 or 5 loops through this process is necessary to get to the solution that makes me feel happy, but if one were to spend more time in the saturation stage, they might not have to iterate the process as much as I find myself doing. Once again, this is entirely situational dependent, and a very individual decision to make.

I hope this helps you with your next project, I’d love to hear about it!

Thought Process

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You are here to feed your body and mind with good information. You are an active learner, and you are trying to achieve all that you can achieve while you are here in this world.

The trick is to make yourself absolutely believe in this, without a shadow of a doubt.

It may seem a little excessive, but it’s not. You are going to be a better person for trying and succeeding with your goals. We may not all have the same goals in mind when we start off on this path to wellness, but there are certain things that we can all do the same that are simply beneficial to every and anyone who tries them.

Make Yourself Goals I like to use a whiteboard to write down my short and long term goals, but a piece of paper will work too. I usually compile this into a personal mission statement.

Start off very broad, with key elements you would like to focus on like health, eating, exercise, and mind. Then from these pick a few things that you feel you can do to achieve them.

For example, for exercise I would write down go hiking one day a week, get at least 3 days of working out a week.

For eating I would write, make 2 new recipes from my new cook book, don’t eat one fast food product, and have a blend every morning.

Having these easy tasks laid out will make it a lot easier to achieve and stay focused on your path.

Constantly re-evaluate what you wrote down. It really feels good to cross off things that you’ve done on the list, or increase health activities to greater number.

For example after getting on track with my exercise routine, I may change my goals to: lift weights for 45 minutes 3 times a week, do one hike a week that lasts over an hour, go for a 30 minute walk 2 times a week.

You will also notice that you will drop certain activities out of your list when you have changed your ideas of what works and what doesn’t work for you. Keep in mind that you always want to challenge yourself. When you reach your goals, you know that you have progressed.

Never be satisfied with the level your at though, continually be looking for newer and better ways to live a healthy life.

Thought process requires planning, attitude, and personal commitment to the goals. Like any skill, proper thought process requires learning, and effort for a extended period of time to stay focused on the decision, and goals, but in the end, rewards anybody who takes action in their own thoughts.

Passion

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Passion is what life is. No two people have exact same passions, but many people can have similar passions, which provides some sort of connection for us with other beings in this world; some sort of grounds to communicate on and relate.

The secret is to understand what your passions are, study them, learn from them and grow with them in a positive environment.

For myself, to find what my passion is, I need to really understand what my goals are, and what I am trying to do with my life. In reality, the goals and passions kind of sit hand in hand. When I start thinking about these things, my mind naturally flows into the areas of my most passion. Curiously, there are always ideas and thoughts that my passion digs up that are out of this world, while others are logical, standard, and perhaps even productive with any luck!

Without that main effort though, the initial thought: “What is it that I want to do? Where does my mind lead me when I think of tomorrow?” there is no chance at even understanding your true passion.

Passions aren’t just a girlfriend, or love, passion involves hobbies, quests, goals, and accomplishments often summed up in a personal mission statement. They involve anything that when thought about, all other troubles in the world seem to fade away. One believes that to just follow this journey along the passion quest to the end, the world will be complete and fulfilling.

Me? Yes, I truly believe this. An example for me is when I think about photography. Initially it started with a wanting a digital SLR (DSLR) camera, picking out which kind I wanted most, and then having to keep using my old point and shoot camera until I could gather up enough money to get my DSLR. Then it turned into going places to get spectacular photographs that would blow the doors off of National Geographic Magazine. After this, my passion soon turned to how to edit these photos, which format I should be capturing the images in (RAW, JPG, TIFF, etc.) and how to edit them. Learning Photoshop and testing out Paint Shop Pro and all the various builds of each of them was also involving, learning layers and levels and brightness and contrast all turned into one big giant passion soup, something which I enjoy immensely.

For me, it’s easy to identify a passion; it’s something that consumes all of my time. I naturally fall into searching out new ways to do what I’m passionate about, how to become successful; how to grow.

I firmly believe that to be inwardly happy; to be proud and supportive and attentive in every day of your life, one needs to pursue their passions. Once the passions have been categorized or identified then is when the real work starts with brainstorming ideas on how to actively grow and build and master that passion. This takes a lot of focus and positivity to stay aligned with your goals that come with it. One thing to definitely not be afraid of, is when you learn more about your passion, when you grow with your passion you may find that your goals tend to change slightly to align more effectively with your new path, or train of thoughts.

A quote I will leave you with from Gandhi is: “No matter what it is, I make judgment based on the best of my knowledge. If that knowledge shall change and my stance also changes as a result, I will be the first to admit my mistake, and proceed aligned with the new knowledge.”

Focus

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If a mission statement has been written, the goals are known.

Stay focused on your goals. You know what you want; you know where you want to be, keep this always in your mind.

At the end of the week, review the goals that you set down for yourself. Take some time then to think about what has got in your way to slow you down in reaching your goals.

Are you spending too much time socializing with friends?

Do you find that it’s always with certain people that you slip back into your old habits that you’re trying to rid yourself of?

Do you always tell yourself that your too tired today, and tomorrow you will start?

Do you spend too much time preparing everything, writing down your goals and never achieving them?

Think now about what you can do to correct these issues. Make easier goals that you’ll be able to achieve and cross off your list, feel that sense of accomplishment and make it worth your while to continually push yourself to the limits of what you feel you can achieve.

This is the essence of being an effective person. You need to continually impress yourself with new personal bests that make you feel proud and motivated to do more. Don’t let anything ruin your dream for you.

When you learn more about what you want, you can always change your focus to a slightly more directed area, but always keep motivated and pushing yourself to become better, learn more, and have as much fun as you can!