"Excellence is the gradual result of always trying to do better." ~ Pat Riley The Summer Olympics will be starting soon and I for one will be watching with great excitement. I just watched the new Netflix documentary about Simone Biles entitled Rising. I highly recommend it. I am so proud of the progress she has made in her mental health journey. She has stepped back from the spotlight to focus on her healing and I can’t wait to see her in action at this year’s Olympics. I feel she is in such a better place in all aspects and it is wonderful to see her have another chance at Olympic gold, since having to step aside at the Tokyo Olympics. It is especially memorable to see the athletes achieve gold. I can only imagine how that must feel after years and years of training, to stand on the podium, see your flag raised and hear your national anthem played in your honour. Wow! I get goosebumps just thinking about it! It is the moment these athletes have dreamed of and to see it become a reality must be so satisfying and yet completely overwhelming all at once. That type of success does not come easily. It requires day after day, month after month, and year after year being faithful in tasks that at times may seem insignificant. Putting consistent effort forth each and every day however, has tremendous potential to compound itself into a powerful, positive force to be reckoned with. In the book The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, he talks about the truth that there is no real secret to being successful. He shares that success just naturally comes when people repeat positive and productive habits over and over. It makes complete sense. If you want to lose weight, you must eat healthy and exercise consistently. Having one good day and expecting the scale to move is ridiculous. Being consistent is the key. It sounds simple, yet life sometimes gets in the way even with our best intentions. So how can we go for the gold in our everyday lives and see profound, lasting change? Here are 5 tips to help you get to the top of your podium. Determine your "why"Your why is the core motivation and/or people behind your reasons for wanting to better your life. You need to clearly define why you want to make changes and who it will affect the most. When times get tough, a strong why will keep you going. A friend of mine was building a home business and her goal was to eventually quit her corporate job. She would get up early and stay up late working her other job in between. She was exhausted, but laser focused on her goals. Her why kept her going. She wanted to be more present in her kids' lives. She wanted to be at the bus stop every day for her kids when they became school age and staying focused on that kept her going even through the hardest times. She did eventually quit her corporate job and her home business is absolutely thriving due to her having a clearly defined why that kept her motivated. Envison your end goalIf your goal is to be 40 lbs thinner, envision yourself as such and imagine what that type of healthier life will provide you. If you wish to be more financially fit and are working towards that, picture yourself debt free and what that will look like for you and your family. If you are wishing to become pregnant, decorate the nursery and imagine rocking that precious baby in your loving arms. Create a dream board of all that you aspire to achieve. Put it out there and speak positively about what you hope to achieve. Visualization is a very power tool. Keep picturing the life you will have when you attain your goal, envision it and dream it into reality. Speak and think positivelyPhrase what you want to become as if you have already achieved it such as: "I am a healthy, fit calm and relaxed mom" or "I am a highly successful business woman with a large team under me." Speak in absolutes like "WHEN this happens not IF this happens. This shows belief in yourself and your abilities. Don't let negative thoughts or self doubt creep in. Be your best cheerleader, not your worst critic. By speaking positively and putting it "out there "with confidence, it is your way of being accountable and saying, "Mark my words everyone, I am making this happen in my life." Surround yourself with positive peopleThey say you become like the five people you hang around with the most. Choose those five people very carefully. Make sure they are upstanding people of substance who keep you moving towards your goals, not against them. Gravitate towards people who edify you and fill your cup so you feel doubly inspired to pursue your dreams when you are with them. Get a success partnerFind someone who is on a similar journey as you, with the same goals and partner up with them. Maybe you both want to start a home business or lose weight or save money. Work on it together and check in with each other often to see how each other is progressing. Share honestly how things are going even if you are struggling. These people will help you stay accountable too as you each day get a little closer to your goals. Remember that God is the greatest success partner and he wants to see you become all you can be. Call on him for strength, patience, and wisdom. Striving for a better life is a continuous process. We should all be striving to better ourselves in many areas as no one is ever too old to learn new things and all of us are truly works in progress. Life can get pretty comfortable, but nothing ever grows in a comfort zone. We need to want better things for our lives. I know I want better for my life each and every day. Don't lose heart. I believe in you. Keep being faithful. If you do, you will see results. It is the compound effect in action. Envision it with me. Take a deep breath. Close your eyes and see it. I see your flag being raised and I can hear the national anthem being played in your honour. Can't you see it and hear it too? Until next time ~ Dana Proverbs 16:3 ~ Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. Little Lesson Learned: Gold medal lifestyles are created by being faithful in the small, positive things each and every day. Copyright: © 2024, littlelessonslearnedbydana 2nd edition, first edition, 2016 Go For the Gold For more information on the book referenced in this blog please see: Hardy, D. (2011). The compound effect. Vanguard Press.
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"True love is when you know that no matter what happens, you will always choose each other." ~ Unknown My husband and I had the privilege of attending one of my best friend’s daughter’s wedding this weekend. There was lots of incredible food and engaging conversation, along with many lively musical numbers from the very talented family, and so many memorable moments. Some moments were heartwarming, some were very funny, some were very touching and some really gave you something to think about. We had a great time and were so happy to celebrate with the beautiful couple, Hannah and Sean. One moment that really stood out was something Sean, the groom, said in his speech to Hannah. It is how it made me think, "This one is a keeper." He shared that he had really expanded his interests and willingness to try new things since meeting Hannah. He went on to explain that even if he personally didn’t get super excited about the quaint new coffee shop an hour and half away, or the latest musical theater production in town, because Hannah did, he would join her and do those things “for her” with pleasure. This resonated with both my husband and I and we shared with Sean how much we appreciated him sharing that. This is exactly what true love does. This is such an important quality to have in a strong marriage. The ability to participate in experiences that are not necessarily your "cup of tea" with both a positive attitude and happy heart because your significant other loves those things, is absolutely love in action for your partner. Believe me this goes a long way in relationships. Relationships are all about give and take and I am so glad this newly married couple have already figured that out. It will sure set them up for success as the years unfold. I love the Disney movie, Enchanted. In the movie one of my favourite songs is That’s How You Know. In the song it speaks of all the little things someone will do for you when in love such as: write a little love note, dedicate a song to you, send flowers or take you out dancing. There are just certain things that show love in action and the key to a successful marriage is to keep on doing those things no matter how many anniversaries you have celebrated. Love in action was also so powerfully demonstrated by our Heavenly Father. In Romans 5:8 it says: But God proves his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God loved us all so much that even in our sinful state, he sent his only son to die on a lonely cross for us. It is hard to fathom why he would do that when we are so incredibly undeserving. He didn't see it that way. He saw us as so valuable and worthy of redemption. He did this so that we could be forgiven of our sins and enjoy Heaven as our home one day. If that is not love in action, I sure don’t know what is! We can follow his example to demonstrate love in action daily for those who are most important to us as well. Truth be told, it is not always easy to do this on our own. We are only human after all. Whether it is our romantic relationships, or with family members, colleagues, or other significant people in our lives, as people we are not always skilled in this area. We fall short all too often. With God’s love and acceptance fueling our tanks however, it empowers us to take our loving others to a whole new level, eqipping us to “love God and love people” in the most powerful way possible. Here's to love in action! Until next time, Dana Lamentations 3:22: The faithful love of the Lord never ends. His mercies never cease. Little Lesson Learned: When it comes to truly loving others, action really does speak louder than words. Love out loud today! © 2024, littlelessonslearnedbydana
Tags: marriage, weddings, love, God's love, love in action, actions speak louder than words“Don’t let the tall weeds cast a shadow on the beautiful flowers in your garden.” - Steve Maraboli, Life, The Truth, and Being Free The other day I went out to take on one of my most dreaded summer tasks: weeding. This is an activity I have always disliked as it is dirty, time consuming and very hard on my back. Do you feel sorry for me yet? Looking at the size of the overgrown weeds, I could not help but scold myself for not getting out there sooner. It is truly incredible how fast and resilient those nasty bad boys are. I honestly had weeded not long ago. Yet much to my dismay there was still this vast green forest of unwanted foliage staring at me, taunting me, up in my face needing my immediate attention. As I was feeling very sorry for myself, I started to think of life applications around weeds and weeding, and realized as much as I would like to think otherwise, we can actually learn a lot from these pesky plants. In our lives we need to do "weeding" on a regular basis. Taking a moral inventory of what should and should not be in our lives is extremely critical to our personal growth. When we get proactive and responsibly address these “weeds” we are putting ourselves in a much better position to become all that God has created us to be. Here are some “Weeds of Wisdom” to consider. "Weed of Wisdom #1" |
AuthorDana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, blogger, author, and speaker. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much-needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working in the classroom or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books. |
AuthorDana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, blogger, author, and speaker. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much-needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working in the classroom or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books. |
Tags: elementary teaching, denial, honesty, making changes, setting goals |
AuthorDana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, blogger, author, and speaker. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much-needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working in the classroom or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books. |
AuthorDana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, social worker, blogger, author, and speaker. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much-needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working in the classroom or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books. |
AuthorDana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, social worker, blogger, author, and speaker. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much-needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working in the classroom or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books. |
| AuthorDana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, social worker, blogger, author, and speaker. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much-needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working in the classroom or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books. |
Dana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, social worker, blogger, author, motivational speaker. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much-needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working in the classroom or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books.
AuthorDana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, social worker, blogger, author, motivational speaker. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much-needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working in the classroom or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books. |
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