Cherish the Moments

My grandma just turned 86 last week, and it makes me think about how my grandma and grandpa won't always be here. My grandma may act like she's 40, but, like everyone, she's getting older every year. I don't like to think about that cause I'm REALLY close to them, but I can't change reality. As much as I want them to, no one lives forever. They are really the greatest grandparents ever. My grandpa will be 86 next month.

I took my grandma out for her birthday yesterday. She is very special to me and I cherish every moment we have together. I value all of the small (and big) moments we share more and more every day.

Grandma loves playing games, especially a game called aggrevation. I look forward to playing aggrevation with her and my grandpa. It's a small thing, but it will be moments like these that I will remember when they are gone.

Grandpa Goofing Around

I asked my grandparents to write something to say to my niece, Violette, for a photo book I'm making her. I'm puting a DVD in the book with videos of my grandparents (Violette's Great-Grandparents), her parents, her grandparents and others. It will be something Violette can look back on forever. I want my niece to be able to remember her awesome great-grandparent's forever.

The day my grandparent's leave this world will be VERY hard on me, but I will always remember the times we have had together. I wanna make as many memories as I can with them while I can. I am definitely taking lots of pictures so I can look back on these moments forever.

I appoligize for the lack of pictures on this blog. I was having a lot of problems with blogger when I was trying to upload the pictures.



Where do you want to be?

I’ve never been the type to do the whole “New Year’s Resolution” thing, but this year I’ve decided to make my resolutions list. I have several things I’d like to accomplish this year. I’m excited to set some goals and achieve them!

So, what are the advantages of writing New Year’s resolutions? Some advantages are:

1)      Motivation: It’s a good way to motivate yourself and keep yourself on track to achieving your goals.

2)    Purpose: The sense of purpose is very important in accomplishing goals. Thus, people are much more motivated to achieve each of their goals if they have a reason to achieve those goals.

3)     Focus: Writing out goals helps you better focus on the elements that create success.

4)    Confidence: People have more confidence when they are noticeably making progress on their goals.

5)     Sense of Achievement: When we achieve something, it makes us feel good about ourselves.

Now that we’ve established why goal setting is important, you might be asking “how do I set goals?” The answer? You have to be SMART.

  

  Specific

  Measurable

    Achievable/Attainable
    Realistic
    Timely




SPECIFIC - A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:

*Who:      Who is involved?

  *What:     What do I want to accomplish?
  *Where:    Identify a location.
  *When:     Establish a time frame.
  *Which:    Identify requirements and constraints.
  *Why:      Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

EXAMPLE:  A general goal would be, “Lose Weight.” But a specific goal would say, “Eat lean meat, fruits, and vegetables, and workout 4 days a week.”

MEASURABLE - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the achievement of each goal you set.

To determine if your goal is measurable, ask yourself questions like…

   ~ How much?

    ~ How many?
    ~ How will I know when it is accomplished?

ACHIEVABLE – When you identify goals that are important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them happen. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them.

REALISTIC - To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective in which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic. Just be sure that every goal represents substantial progress.

TIMELY – A goal should have a time frame in which it will be achieved. When there’s no time frame set, there’s no sense of urgency. For example, if you want to learn how to surf, when do you want to learn by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you establish a timeframe, “by July 1, 2012”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.

It's a good idea to post your goals somewhere that you will see it everyday. This helps keep your goals on your mind and motivates you to follow through with your goals.

Now that you know how to write successful goals, it’s time to get started! Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 30 years from now? What do you have to do to get there? 


 

“For changes to be of any true value, they've got to be lasting and consistent. Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. When people ask me what really changed my life eight years ago, I tell them that absolutely the most important thin was changing what I demanded of myself. I wrote down all the things I would no longer accept in my life, all the things I would no longer tolerate, and all the things that I aspired to becoming.”

                                                                                                                                                ~ Anthony Robbins
 

“If you don't set a baseline standard for what you'll accept in life, you'll find it's easy to slip into behaviors and attitudes or a quality of life that's far below what you deserve.”

                                                                                                                                                     ~ Anthony Robbins