Where To Have A Reserve . . . And How

“Build a superreserve in every area: have more than enough.” ~ Thomas Leonard

Out Of Gas

I was on my way to work and decided to stop at a nearby store to fill my car’s gas tank. As I was waiting for the tank to fill, I noticed a woman who was trying to fill a gas can but was obviously having trouble understanding how to use the pump. I walked over and offered to help.

As I filled the can, she told me that she had run out of gas a short way from the gas station. A policeman had given her a ride to the store. She said she had a pre-op appointment with her doctor that morning. She had spent the night with her mother because it was closer to the doctor’s office.

Now, she was in danger of missing this important meeting with her doctor because she had run out of gas. As she told me her story, I thought to myself, “Here is a person who needs to keep a reserve.”

Continue reading “Where To Have A Reserve . . . And How”

How To Have Willpower When You Need It

“It’s not that you don’t know what to do, but rather that you don’t have the discipline to make yourself do what you should do, whether you feel like it or not.” ~ Brian Tracy

Your Chances For Parole May Vary

Pretend for a moment that you are a prisoner about to appear before a judge to request parole. (It’s a stretch I know, but use your imagination.) When would you want to go before the judge? First thing in the morning? Right before lunch? Middle of the afternoon? Last case of the day? Continue reading “How To Have Willpower When You Need It”

What To Do Before Breakfast

 

“There’s something magical about repeating the same positive habits every single day.” ~ SJ Scott

The “Magic Hours”

What do you do before breakfast? Hyrum Smith calls the early morning hours the “magic hours”, a block of uninterrupted time when you can concentrate on things beyond the normal urgency and routine of the day. Brian Tracy refers to this time as the Golden Hours — the first hours of the day which set the tone for the rest of the day. Continue reading “What To Do Before Breakfast”

Move!

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” ~ Jim Rohn

Choose to be active.

Researchers tell us that there are certain actions we can take to increase feelings of happiness and well-being. One way you can increase positive affect is to take care of your body by engaging in physical activity. Continue reading “Move!”

Small Simple Daily Disciplines

Small, simple daily disciplines practiced each day become habits while also building up your willpower. That ‘s a huge benefit in a tiny package!

Self-regulation (or willpower) is one of the most important strengths to develop. [Miller 91] In fact, developing other strengths often depends on our practicing them when we don’t really want to. In other words, by using willpower. Continue reading “Small Simple Daily Disciplines”

Have It All

Having “enough to get by” is not a reserve nor is it enough.

“Why waste your precious energy going after things you aren’t going to want when you get them? Exactly! When I promised that you would attract everything you’ve always wanted, I meant it. But now you don’t want it.” ~ Talane Miedaner, Coach Yourself To Success

“You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?” ~ Steven Wright

You can have anything you want, if you really want it. A key to living the Excelerated life is to have enough – enough time, enough money, enough resources, enough love – enough. If you don’t have a reserve of resources in all areas of your life, you spend your time scrambling to get your basic needs met. Continue reading “Have It All”

Why I Wear A Uniform

Wearing a uniform is not about doing with less — it’s doing with more . . . more time, more money, more willpower, more peace of mind.

“A [person] is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Months ago, I adopted a uniform – a specific dress code or set of clothes that I wear each day. Of course, I’m not the first person to do this. One of the most famous uniform wearers is the late Steve Jobs, who was always seen in a black turtle neck, jeans and sneakers. (As a matter of fact, one of my friends began joking about my “Steve Jobs look”.) And there are a number of other people, famous and not so well-known, who have chosen their own personal uniform — Mark Zuckerburg, Albert Einstein, Johnny Cash to name a few. Continue reading “Why I Wear A Uniform”

Ten Daily Habits

“Give those you love the gift of taking excellent care of yourself.”

As you begin the new year, it’s a good time to reassess how well you are caring for your most important asset . . . you.  Excelerated self care — taking excellent care of yourself — isn’t selfishness but selfulness . . . filling yourself up from the inside. You can’t give what you don’t have. You must care for yourself if you are to be able to care for others. Continue reading “Ten Daily Habits”

Do The Thing You Have To Do

“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not.” ~ Thomas Henry Huxley, Collected Essays of Thomas Henry Huxley

The need for willpower

Has this ever happened to you? You set a goal to lose weight and decide you need to eat a healthier diet. So you pass up the doughnuts at work, eat a salad for lunch, snack on almonds or raw veggies in the afternoon . . . then at home, after work, you find yourself sitting on the 2nd shelf of the refrigerator, eating everything in sight. Or you decide to start an exercise program and to go to the gym directly after work every day. You load your gym bag in the car with every intention of going to the gym after work. But at the end of the day, you are so tired you drive straight home – past the gym – and collapse in a heap in front of the TV. What happened? Where did your willpower go? Continue reading “Do The Thing You Have To Do”

Enough

 

“Clutter isn’t just the stuff in your closet. It’s anything that gets between you and the life that you want to be living.” ~ Peter Walsh

“Waste lies not in the number of possessions but in the failure to enjoy them.” ~ Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, Your Money or Your Life

Do you have “enough”? This is a two-sided question. If you don’t have a reserve of resources in all areas of your life, you spend your time scrambling to get your basic needs met. On the other hand, if you keep amassing resources beyond your reserves, you end up giving most of your time and life source to accumulating. Continue reading “Enough”