Five Ways To Have a Gold Medal Lifestyle

7/21/2024

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich

"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.

Photo by cottonbro studio

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.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

Envison your end goal

If 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.

Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash

Speak and think positively

Phrase 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."

Photo by Susan G. Komen 3-Day on Unsplash

Surround yourself with positive people

They 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.

Photo by Andres Ayrton

Get a success partner

Find 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.

Tags: Olympics, medals, podium, Summer Olympics 2024, Paris Olympics 2024, gold medal lifestyle

Author

Dana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, blogger, author, and speaker. Dana desires to "love God and love people" whole heartedly. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much needed encouragement. Dana 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.

4 Comments

Dancing Feet

4/28/2024

2 Comments

Photo by Los Muertos Crew

“Dance like nobody’s watching. Love like you never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening. Live like its heaven on earth.” Mark Twain

I am not a dancer. For those who know me well, this confession clearly does not come as a shock to you. When it comes to dancing, I definitely have two left feet, but oh how I admire people who are gifted in this area.

I used to love to watch Michael Jackson and the creative and unbelievable routines he would make up in his incredible music videos. Some people are just born with it, and he certainly was one of them.

In my classroom I like to tease my students and do my “happy dance” when they really accomplish something special. I am sure I look foolish, but they enjoy this crazy routine. I guess I am creating a funny memory for them to recall if nothing else.

Several years ago, I had a little girl in my class that I called "Little Miss Sunshine." She lit up the room every day with her infectious grin and zest for life. No matter how difficult the work may have been at times, her positive spirit and determination carried her through. I remember specifically when she found something in math challenging and then had that “a-ha” moment when it all came together, she would literally dance around my desk and room. She could not contain her excitement that she “got” it, and her reaction was priceless.

Photo by sarah Richardson

Sometimes we have such a joyful experience that our happiness works its way right down to our toes. When you have those experiences, cherish them because for some of us they may be too few and far between.

I remember driving along with my two kids one day when they were little, listening to Veggie Tales and Shannon saying, “Look Mom! My beet (feet) are dancing!” She was just so happy, even her tiny feet were showing it. Very cute.

Sometimes I think we need to remind ourselves of all we have in life. All of us have reasons to dance, yet sometimes we forget what they are. We get so bogged down with the day-to-day pressures of life and familiar struggles, our once "dancing feet" are all too soon dragging on the floor.

There is a YouTube sensational who calls himself Kid President. His goal in a nutshell is to “make the world awesome,” and he wants us to join him in that venture! I love to watch his videos. You can see what he is all about here. He also makes it his mission to give the world “a reason to dance!”

This little guy can clearly get his groove on, yet I came to find out that he suffers from brittle bone disease and his great desire to dance puts him at great risk of personal injury. This touched my heart as it spoke to me about being positive and joyful even in tremendous adversity. He has dancing feet despite a severe and serious illness.

Happiness is a choice. We can choose to walk through life like a sad sack with our chins on the ground, or we can choose to be joyful even if there is not much to be joyful about. This is not always easy I know. My husband and I have experienced the loss of three babies, through miscarriage. This was a very difficult thing to walk through, and my heart goes out to anyone who has experienced this type of loss.

After my last miscarriage, I experienced a very powerful dream that involved dancing, square dancing as a matter of fact. In my dream, my grandpa who had passed away several years before, came to me. I had been told prior to his arrival in my dream that he was being sent specifically to cheer me up, but I had to let him come and go as he pleased.

My grandpa and I were extremely close, and he was an incredible and hilarious man who could make anyone laugh. I was ecstatic at the opportunity to see him again, if even in a dream for one last time.

In the dream he chatted with me about my sadness, and he said he had come to cheer me up by doing a little square dancing together. We danced. We laughed. We chatted and all too soon it was over, and he had to go. I felt better though. My feet had danced with grandpa, and I felt refreshed and hopeful. I consider this dream a gift and I will always cherish it. I found dancing feet amid extreme sorrow and great loss.

Photo by Felix Rostig on Unsplash

It is so easy to look at what is going wrong in our lives. We can get caught up in the negativity that often surrounds us, but I encourage you not to do that. See the good in things. See the good in people. Gravitate towards people who bring you up. Look for those people who set your feet to dancing. They are the people who bring out the best in you like my grandpa did.

I heard a quote that said, “Choose to be with people who celebrate you, not tolerate you!” This is a very good thought to ponder and so very true. Some people just give off positive vibes and warmth. They make you feel like you matter and are very important. Those are the people we need when we are down and in need of a good dose of encouragement.

The Bible talks about that God turns our mourning to dancing. He gives us beautiful exchanges mentioned in scripture such as beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Sounds like a great trade off to me!

It may be a long time since you have tried those dancing feet. They are available for you to use despite your set of hardships or challenges. They may be wobbly, and your steps may be clumsy, but choosing to be joyful not because of your circumstances, but despite them like the people I mentioned, will really carry you very far if you will consider this possibility.

Oh yeah, and one more thing… Don’t worry about what you look like because I think the foolish prize went to me long ago, so you will be just fine, trust me.

Until next time,
Dana

Psalms 30:11 ~ You turned my mourning to dancing...

Little Lesson Learned: Everyone has a reason to dance. Don't forget to find yours.

Author

Dana 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 writing, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books.

Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana, 2nd edition, 2014 first edition
(Dana Romualdi)
Dana Romualdi, the copyright holder reserves all rights to the content on the blog and website Little Lessons Learned by Dana, including the right to reproduce, distribute, and display the content. No content or photographs may be reproduced or modified. Blogs may be shared on social media platforms in their entirety only with full credit given to the owner. Any photographs used by other photographers are used with permission and are also protected. All Rights Reserved.

Tags: dancing, dancing feet, happy dance, joy, mourning to joy, emotional healing

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Joy in the Camp: Part 2 of the Joy Series

2/3/2024

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“Joy: the kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.” ~ David Steindl – Rast Check out part one in this series:
Where Joy Lives here! where-joy-lives.html

Photo by Count Chris on Unsplash

Joy. A small word but a HUGE need for all of us. Joy truly looks different for everyone, but it is something we honestly can’t live without. Several years ago, I was employed by the Salvation Army as the coordinator of their addictions program. Many people would come to us discouraged and downtrodden, burdened with poverty, heartaches and addiction struggles. Our team would do our best to send a little joy their way, giving them help in a tangible way. Whether it was in the form of a warm meal, a listening ear, a referral to a next step program or some much needed food to fill their pantry, we did our best to meet their needs. I recall at that time, despite my quest to lift others’ spirits, I was going through a very hard time of my own. My spirits were at an all-time low. My husband and I, were desperate to start a family, yet had so far only experienced roadblocks and heartbreaks in that department. I remember so vividly when we FINALLY confirmed that our son Tyler was on the way, I could hardly contain my excitement. I had confided my heart’s desire to my amazing boss. He was such a compassionate and godly man and reminded me so much of my dad. He agreed to pray for us daily that our miracle would come. When the day finally came, I raced into his office with my incredible news to share. Teary eyed and speechless, he grabbed a set of old, well-used Salvation Army bells on his desk and started shaking them with unbridled enthusiasm. He then proudly said “Forgive me but, when I don’t know what to say and my heart is so, so full, I just have to let the joy bells ring.” It was such a cute memory and such a special moment between the two of us.

A Joyful Camp

My mom decided to start a mentorship program for young girls several years ago, and sometimes Tyler was invited on special occasions as well as you can see in this picture. The group was for a select handpicked bunch of girls who were very special to her, including my daughter, my little cousins, and daughters of very special friends who felt like family. She affectionally named this group, yes, you guessed it the “Joy Belles.” The goals of this noteworthy little group were two-fold: to offer mentorship and spiritual guidance in a fun atmosphere and to help the girls impact our local community in a positive way. Under my mom’s direction, the girls went many places and completed little meaningful projects together like participating in such things as community and beach cleanups. My mom went out of her way to make these events fun and purposeful, and the Joy Belles so looked forward to these memorable times every few months.

One very memorable Joy Belle event was what my mom creatively named “Camp I – Wanna – Jump – For- Joy.” It was to be the mother of all Joy Belle events, as my mom had pulled out all the stops. This time she had planned an entire weekend of fun, food and fellowship. Step by step, mom’s home and backyard had been lovingly transformed into a summer camp setting, complete with crafts, a tuck shop, cool games, tents, swimming and special activities. Mom enlisted my help with this one, and truth be told, I was thrilled to oblige. I adored my Mom and would do anything for her! Many tents were borrowed to make the event a success, and the girls were giddy with excitement and anticipation. Well, all was well, that is until sleep time. Mom and I couldn’t stop laughing when all the little girls, due to let's say three bugs, some odd noises, and a sprinkling of homesickness refused to sleep in any of the tents. Hello Plan B! We hunkered down sleepover style in our sleeping bags, enjoyed some great pizza and popcorn and giggled until our stomachs ached. Not quite as we had planned, but a great time, nonetheless. Incidentally at Mom's funeral it was very precious to see so many Joy Belles return and pay tribute to the woman they loved so much and had brought them so much joy.

The Joy Belles Today (I love these girls so much!)

Plan B

Life is often like what those little girls experienced in their tents that night. We have such high expectations. We feel our lives are going to go a certain way. We are excited. We are pumped and BOOM, life happens, and nothing is as we thought. Like the Joy Belles we abandon our tents and run for cover, feeling like our joy is lost. But wait! This is not how the story ends! In these times of disappointment, do not lose heart. Joy can still be found in Plan B. Keep an open mind and believe that implementing Plan B in your life can be a wonderful thing. Plan B sometimes even ends up being the best plan of all. It is the one you didn’t really see coming, but surprisingly, just what you needed all the while.

Keeping Joy In Your Camp

Photo by Fernando Andrade on Unsplash

So how do you keep joy in your camp when things go astray? First, focus on what you do have rather than what you don’t. Make a gratitude list and list things big and small that make you feel blessed each day. There really is so much we often take for granted. Make sure you embrace flexibility and have a good attitude. Find joy in the little things and take the time to really enjoy them.

During the pandemic on Pizza Days and other food days my students had to eat in shifts in the classroom, in an effort to minimize large groups without masks. This left at least half the class masked at any given time. One Pizza Day a little girl was sobbing when I returned after lunch. She had been so excited that it was Pizza Day, so I just didn’t quite understand. She explained in tears. “I got my pizza, but I didn’t get to enjoy it!” I completely got what she was saying as she felt pressured by the time restraints and eating in shifts rule. Her statement resonated with me in a different way, however. She had still gotten her heart’s desire but had not really enjoyed it. There's a life lesson here for sure. That often happens to us. Sometimes circumstances are to blame, but sometimes it is us who are the problem. Maybe our attitude needs to change, or we just need to slow down and really live in the moment for once. Finding gratitude every day keeps a steady supply of joy streaming. Every day when we wake up we should have joy to be blessed with the gift of a new day, as many are not that fortunate.

Well, that is it for now my friend. I wish you "joy in your camp to the fullest!"

Until next time,
Dana

Romans 13:15 NIV
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Little Lesson Learned: Joy can be found in the most unexpected places. Don’t forget that.

P.S. : One more thing as well, always enjoy the pizza!! :)

Copyright © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana
(Dana Romualdi)
Dana Romualdi, the copyright holder reserves all rights to the content on the blog and website Little Lessons Learned by Dana, including the right to reproduce, distribute, and display the content. No content or photographs may be reproduced or modified. Blogs may be shared on social media platforms in their entirety only with full credit given to the owner. Any photographs used by other photographers are used with permission and are also protected. All Rights Reserved.

Tags: life lessons, joy, happiness, self improvement, spiritual guidance, growth mindset, encouragement, Christian blog, life advice, Christian blogger, spiritual growth, grief and loss, grief counseling, bereavement help, life skills

Author

Dana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, social worker, blogger, author, motivational speaker and recording artist. 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.

Feel free to reach out to Dana
at: [email protected]

The joys of my life: Tyler and Shannon, now 25 and 28.

Click here for Where Joy Lives Part One in the Joy Series

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Five Ways To Have a Gold Medal Lifestyle

Determine your "why"

Envison your end goal

Speak and think positively

Surround yourself with positive people

Get a success partner

Tags: Olympics, medals, podium, Summer Olympics 2024, Paris Olympics 2024, gold medal lifestyle

Author

Dancing Feet

Author

Want to read more from Dana?

Tags: dancing, dancing feet, happy dance, joy, mourning to joy, emotional healing

Joy in the Camp: Part 2 of the Joy Series

“Joy: the kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.” ~ David Steindl – Rast Check out part one in this series:
Where Joy Lives here! where-joy-lives.html

A Joyful Camp

The Joy Belles Today (I love these girls so much!)

Plan B

Keeping Joy In Your Camp

Tags: life lessons, joy, happiness, self improvement, spiritual guidance, growth mindset, encouragement, Christian blog, life advice, Christian blogger, spiritual growth, grief and loss, grief counseling, bereavement help, life skills

Author

Categories

Archives

Five Ways To Have a Gold Medal Lifestyle

Determine your "why"

Envison your end goal

Speak and think positively

Surround yourself with positive people

Get a success partner

Tags: Olympics, medals, podium, Summer Olympics 2024, Paris Olympics 2024, gold medal lifestyle

Author

Dancing Feet

Author

Want to read more from Dana?

Tags: dancing, dancing feet, happy dance, joy, mourning to joy, emotional healing

Joy in the Camp: Part 2 of the Joy Series

“Joy: the kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.” ~ David Steindl – Rast Check out part one in this series: ​Where Joy Lives here! where-joy-lives.html

A Joyful Camp

The Joy Belles Today (I love these girls so much!)

Plan B

Keeping Joy In Your Camp

Tags: life lessons, joy, happiness, self improvement, spiritual guidance, growth mindset, encouragement, Christian blog, life advice, Christian blogger, spiritual growth, grief and loss, grief counseling, bereavement help, life skills

Author

Categories

Archives

“Joy: the kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.” ~ David Steindl – Rast Check out part one in this series:
Where Joy Lives here! where-joy-lives.html