My Bucket of Motivations

Not to be confused with a bucket list, a ‘bucket of motivations’ is a list of reasons why you want to accomplish a particular goal.  In past posts, I have written about goals not being end points but successful habits that help you continue on the journey of health, wealth and happiness.

The concept of a ‘bucket of motivations’ came to mind as I was at the gym, running on a treadmill.  The gym initially was a reason for me to get in shape, but has evolved to becoming so much more to me.  My bucket of motivations for going to the gym not only include looking and feeling good, but to also relieve stress and surround myself with people who are on a similar journey.  If I have had a stressful day at work, the gym will help me release some tension.  If I feel I need to get in shape, going to the gym will help me validate that I’m actually working on it instead of doing nothing.

I’m currently taking some courses towards my MBA through a distance education curriculum that requires some serious self-discipline.  My bucket of motivations for taking my MBA and studying hard includes learning more about business and furthering my career but also for being a positive role model to my kids and showing them that education is something we need to value.  I have a vision of being at my convocation ceremony with my daughters and wife in the audience cheering me on. 

Think of a bucket of motivations as a few key reasons why you should do anything positive and that you would need to pull from to motivate you to stay on track from your goals.  These motivations do not have to be related to one another aside from the fact that they are motivating you to achieve a particular goal/habit.    And as always, I would recommend the use of a journal to help uncover these motivations and to help keep them in mind while you work towards a healthier, wealthier and happier self!

Happy New Year, everyone!!

#bucketofmotivations

Gautam

Why I love to Journal

I was remembering a past career I once had as a journaling workshop coordinator.  My goal was to teach people in groups on how to journal and in my intro, I would always start of with 'Gratitude' as the group's first activity.  In debriefing the activity, the group would agree that they felt amazing after completing this simple exercise of writing everything they had to be grateful for, and doing so in ten minutes.   This is when I would enthusiastically say 'And guess what, everybody!?  YOU made yourself feel great!!!"  A simple journaling activity that can instantly change the way we feel- AWESOME!

The feeling of being drawn into the present moment and having the weight of burden lifted from your shoulders is what I experience regularly when I journal with my heart.   As mentioned in earlier posts, being completely honest with yourself is a requirement for effective journaling....and really being free in general.  However, we may not always have a venue/ear to vent or spill our problems to.  A journal provides a safe way for you to dump your troubles and if you are not comfortable having this out in the open, all you have to do is simply destroy the page you wrote on.  Leading to my other reason for enjoying journaling- it is a relatively inexpensive way to relieve stress.

I came across a fantastic blog post that is quite timely for the new year.  In reading this, I started asking myself questions such as 'What do I enjoy doing that makes me happy?', 'Who in my life can I spend my time with to help me grow and love?', 'What can I do to be in the present moment? ' and so on.  I highly recommend this read and would encourage you to converse with your thoughts in a journal on how you are going to make 2012 a successful and happy new year!

http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/12/18/30-things-to-start-doing-for-yourself/

And for any questions on journaling, please send an email to gautam4life@gmail.com .  And remember, be honest with yourself and speak from your heart.  :)

Journaling for a Successful New Year

We all define success differently especially for the different areas of our life whether it be family, career or our health.  No matter what your goals, a journal can act as a personal coach or cheer leader in helping you monitor your daily achievements towards the larger picture.  10 minutes is all you need.

Assuming you are like me and you journal at the end of your day, begin by writing down three things you liked about the day that was in contribution to your goals, one thing you would have done differently and affirm to yourself with a quote or a positive saying that will give you strength for the next day.

For any questions on journaling, please feel free to contact me at gautam4life@gmail.com

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."- Vincent van Gogh