Small, incremental changes can improve your life - Restitutions PART 3

Back in school I knew guy who literally ran off an joined the circus. He didn't have to run far. We lived in Central Florida and were only a couple of hours drive from the home of the Greatest Show on Earth and their world famous Clown College.

When I caught up with him a few years later he was following the elephants with a wheel barrow and shovel. I asked him if ever thought about getting a 'real job'. He said, "What? And give up show business!"

Seriously, sometime the fear of change can immobilize even the bravest among us. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Since New Years day I've been writing about making RESTITUTIONS instead of resolutions. And together we have been wrestling with the idea that there are some things we owe to ourselves that can be accomplished through small, incremental changes.

If you haven't yet read the first two installments, I strongly encourage you to go back and check them out right now:

How to make a New Year's RESTITUTION

Restitutions Realized - Making Good in the New Year - Part 2

So far we have:

• taken a quick look in the rear view mirror
• made a list of 3 things we feel need to be RESTORED in our lives
• Read the list out loud to ourselves
• Shared the list with another human being / potential accountability partner

Congratulations! You have already made some serious progress towards positive change that can lead to the life of your dreams.

Now that we have our road maps, it's time to 'hit the road'. We are ready to begin making small, incremental changes to our daily lives.

Pick one of the items from your list. Don't over think it, just grab one.

Take a blank piece of paper, or open a new Word document, and write this item on the top of the page.

Spend no more than 3 minutes writing down every roadblock you can think of that has kept you from accomplishing this, or has deterred you from trying. We need a complete brain dump here. Right it all down. You will NOT be sharing this with anyone, so let it all come out on the page.

Go ahead, do it now. I'll wait.

This is me waiting.

Okay, all done?

Great!

 Here is what I came up with when I did this exercise:

Submit three short stories for publication and / or writing contests

Roadblocks:

• Only have two half written stories
• My third story idea isn't 'flushed out' yet
• Have not been making enough time to write
• Not sure who to submit to
• feel overwhelmed by amount of contests and publications
• havn't made time for proper research
• need to read the publications or past winner of contests to better understand expectations
• Fighting doubts about the quality of my writing, my ideas, and my execution of story lines
• Will anyone read it
• I'll get rejected
• I won't get a response at all

Okay, I think you get the idea.

Let it all out. Then, when you are done with your list, remember no more than 3 minutes, I want you to put it way. That's right, put it away in a safe, private place and let it sit there. Just for a day or two. Let it simmer.

Besides, we've made some real progress. Time for a break.

So, go read a book, take a walk, or what ever it is you do when you do what you do.  



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But either way, don't forget,......... 'dream big, act swiftly....' - b2

How to make a New Years' RESTITUTION.....

No, it's not a mis-print.

I'm not making a list of resolutions this year.

I'm going to make New Year's RESTITUTIONS.

restitution: an act of restoring or a condition of being restored: as

• a : a restoration of something to its rightful owner
• b : a making good of or giving an equivalent for some injury

This act of restoring, or 'making good', is typically viewed as something you do for another person. As any parent, guardian, care-giver, or employer knows; in order to take care of someone else, first you must take proper care of yourself. Therefore, in order to better live out my God given purpose of serving others as father, husband, disciple, and citizen I will be very intentional about making personal RESTITUTIONS in 2013.

Do YOU have any unfinished business that needs to be addressed?

Unlike resolutions (the act of resolving or analyzing your condition) RESTITUTIONS are not about becoming something that you are not, or in many cases pretending that you are for a few weeks. RESTITUTIONS  are about returning to center, revitalizing your dreams, and finishing what you started. So if you are among the throngs headed for the gym in January only to end up in the couch by Valentines Day, I encourage you to consider joining me on a journey of incremental life improvement.

First, we must take a quick look in the rear view mirror. Not to dwell or second guess, but to glean some wisdom from our previous travels. This step is very important for two reasons:

1. It helps us realize and appreciate the progress we have already made.
2. It provides the building blocks for our RESTITUTION PLAN.

Two years ago today (January 1, 2011) I was putting together what was to become my first list of New Year RESTITUTIONS. I had recently quit smoking and actually managed to lose twenty pounds in the process by making small, incremental, changes in my daily life that snowballed over time into easy to maintain healthy habits. Taking the momentum that I was feeling from these small wins I decided that if strategically placed more small, incremental, changes into a twelve month calendar I could achieve a higher success rate and feel less overwhelmed then if I tried to move mountains all at once.

To give you a clear idea of just how simple a RESTITUTION PLAN can be, let's take a glance back at my first attempt. It was just a list of simple tweaks that I wanted to make in order to slowly change my life for the better.

• Find and use the farthest parking space from a building entrance.
• Use stairs and avoid escalators and elevators whenever possible.
• Train myself to do 1 'real' push up

That's it. No unrealistic goals, no failed promises. Just small, incremental, changes to daily life which can, over time, develop into healthy habits and help you realize your dreams.

Parking out in far out nether reaches of grocery store civilization helped me realize that there many opportunities to do more walking and that, yes, I really do have the time get a little more exercise.

Using the stairs doesn't sound like much until you realize that I traveled on an average of three out of four weeks last year. In fact, just lugging my suitcase and computer bag up and down stairwells at airports and parking garages has provided a serious uptick in the amount of cardio I get in in any given week.

The last one, a single solitary push up, was perhaps my first real challenge. Just a few years prior I had torn my rotator cuff trying to show my four year old son how to use the monkey bars at the playground. Each time I was released from physical therapy I would inevitably stop doing my prescribed exercises at home and re-injure my shoulder. The result of this repeated cycle was a domino effect of strained and atrophied muscles across in my arms, neck, back and all across my core. Only after breaking the cycle with small, incremental, changes was I able to work my way up to doing five modified push ups (on your knees, formally known as 'girl' push ups). In 2011 my long term goal was to build up my overall strength to where I could effectively do just one real push up.

Today, so far, I have done three sets of thirty real push ups and since it is almost 3:00 PM I need to wrap up this blog post in time for my next set.

In order for us to put together an achievable and actionable RESTITUTION PLAN, I need to give you a little homework assignment (come on, you've come this far. don't flake out now!). Remember, it's all about small, incremental, changes. So, we'll keep it simple:

• TAKE A QUICK LOOK IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR
• what unfinished business is causing you pain or regret
• what goals or tasks have previously seemed too great and overwhelming
• don't dwell too long, or beat yourself up. once you get a little momentum this process really starts to get fun. I promise!
• simply jot down 2-3 things that need restoration in your life, that need to be made good
• SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES FROM THIS BLOG - Click HERE
• your email will not be used for any other purpose or shared with anyone
• my posts and updates will remind you of your goals and provide both of us with accountable partnership
• CELEBRATE THE PROGRESS YOU HAVE ALREADY MADE
• just by reading this post you have proven to both of us that you have a sincere desire to live up to your God given purpose.
• so go take a walk, read a book, or fall asleep on the couch watching football, you deserve it.

'dream big, act swiftly...' - b2

email me at b2publishing@gmail.com

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