Happy New Year? Happy New DAY!

As this blog article is being put together it is December 29, 2017, on a Friday. Monday will be the start of another year - January 1, 2018.  Let me be the first to wish you a "Happy New Year!"

Well, I may not be the first but it's still pretty early as far as that stuff goes, right? 

Before I get going let me mention that there is a podcast and "video-cast" (vlog?) that goes along with this article that is also available. Just check out and click on the links at the end of the article. 

We recently discussed the importance of "back-tracking" to find out where we got "off track" if we find that we have not reached our goals as we had planned. Hopefully, this will help as we get ready to head into the new year. 

Yet, millions of people will - once again - make their "New Year's Resolutions" without putting much thought into it and then "fall off the wagon" within about a month, maybe two, into the new year. Yes, January 1st marks the start of a new calendar year but, beyond that, it is just another day that basically begins and ends the same way as all other days. 

I'm not trying to downplay the significance of the passing of one year and the beginning of another but, at the same time, I do think that too much emphasis is put on that thought. 

How do you avoid the regret and disappointment at the end of one year and the unbridled (and often "void of reality") plans that people make at the start of another? 

Stop focusing on the year ahead and start focusing on what you actually know that you have before you - TODAY. And, honestly, we don't even know that we have that so, to get even more specific, the next HOUR. 

You remember this phrase, don't you? "As long as there is breath, there is hope!"

Do not despair with the burden of what has not been accomplished over the past year. Understand that, by taking it one day at a time, it is much more manageable to work with that smaller time frame rather than the foreboding YEAR-LONG time period.

Determine that, each day (TODAY), you will do all that you can to make improvement, to move forward in your goals and life and to do all that you can to encourage others. Today! One day at a time. And then, at the end of the day, check to see if you "stayed the course".

It's a lot easier to track your movements in the course of a day as compared to trying to look back over a year (or maybe even two) to try to figure out where you "got off track."

It's also a lot easier to make those corrections and adjustments with this smaller time period.

So, YES, make those goals and plans and start making your move TODAY toward the fulfillment of those goals and plans. Just be sure to do a daily check up along the way and make the necessary adjustments NOW instead of later. 

Make sense? Feel free to share your comments with me. You can do so here but I would prefer to hear from you on the Facebook fan page (link below). 

Happy New Year? Sure. 

Happy New DAY! Even better.

Until next time, whatever you do, always be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

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Another Year Passed...One Day At A Time

"Another Day Passed..."

Here we are again... the end of another year and the time that so many start looking back and examining the year gone by.

The other day I posted the following on my F.Y.U. fan page on Facebook - ‎"Think about this: Waiting until January 1st to make resolutions for the new year is like waiting until you run out of gas to begin looking for a gas station." - Mike Spillman

That kind of hits me right in the gut like many of you. Why? Because I have done the same thing many times before.

Isn't it time for a change in the way that many of us approach this?

Too many people look back over the past year with remorse and regret due to feeling like they have not accomplished all that they had originally planned. You know, back at the start of this very year that is coming to a close. Those "New Year's Resolutions".

The main title points out something that we might want to really focus on - this year has passed ONE DAY AT A TIME!

Hey, listen, I understand - I really do. I've made so many major plans and have set goals that I have STILL yet to reach and I have beat myself up about those many times before.

But, here's the deal: that hasn't helped me in any way that I can see so WHY keep doing the same thing?

INSTEAD of waiting until the end of the year to look back and determine whether it was "successful" based on whatever measuring stick we have decided to use - WHY NOT look back at the end of EACH and EVERY day to gauge our progress?

Hey, here's another simple comparison that we can make that many of us ALSO can relate to: KEEPING AN EYE ON OUR WEIGHT.

The time to see how you've done on your weight goals is NOT at the end of a 12 month period BUT in shorter increments - sometimes DAILY or even WEEKLY. At the very most - MONTHLY.

Hey, YOU know what happens if we don't, right? That weight will sneak up on us and - what - surprise us? Now, you know that you have to admit that this scenario is a bit funny. Seriously, WHY should we be surprised?

Do you realize that only two pounds a month will add 24 pounds to our weight? Hey, let's get really depressing while we're at it and lay that out over a 5-year period that will add on an extra 120 pounds!

WHAT?

So, you see, the time to check our progress on ANY goal/endeavor is NOT at the end of a year but each and every day, weekly or - at most - monthly BEFORE things get away from us.

Think about that as we come to the end of another calendar year.

Don't fret over the past year but decide now to approach this differently than we have before and let's see what happens.

Here's to your health, happiness and success in the coming year!

And, in the mean time...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

That "In-Between" Week

That "In-Between" Week

It starts right after Halloween. You know what I'm talking about, right? The music. The decorations in the stores. The shelves already displaying items for the upcoming Christmas shopping season.

Honestly, that drives me NUTS! It's not even Thanksgiving yet and Christmas has already started taking over. Oh, I understand that it's all driven by the almighty dollar and that merchants have to get a "head start" on everything these days so that they can make their big money (hopefully) during this Christmas season. But the fact that I understand it doesn't mean that I have to like it!

Thanksgiving comes and goes and we are all reminded of our blessings and of all the things for which we have to be thankful. And then - (INSERT OMINOUS MUSIC HERE) - it's "BLACK FRIDAY" and the mad dash to the Christmas shopping season has begun for many!

The music is everywhere, the stores are all brightly decorated, all of the favorite Christmas shows are coming on the television and, yes, I begin to get excited about Christmas and all of the memories from Christmas past come flooding over me once again. I LOVE IT!

Some radio stations begin to have 24 hour a day Christmas music for about a week leading up to Christmas and then "BAM!"...it's December 26th, the music has stopped, the commercials are all gone and it's all done. Such a large build up and then it's gone.

This is why so many people struggle with Christmas - especially the "let down" that comes once it's over. Families go back to their own homes and many are now left alone in an empty house once again.

But, hey, New Year's is just around the corner! The hope and promise of a chance to start all over with a "clean slate" can sometimes help bring some excitement back into a life even after the joy of Christmas has passed.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Maybe you had to go back to work the day after Christmas. Perhaps you took your vacation during this time so that you could be with your kids while they were out of school.

What happens during this week "IN-BETWEEN CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR'S"?

Stuffing ourselves on left overs? Sitting mindlessly in front of the television watching football bowl games that mean nothing except to those involved? Shopping those "AFTER Christmas" sales?

Many take this time to look over the past year as a new one approaches. And, upon doing so, many are saddened that, once again, they failed to achieve what they had set out to achieve almost one year ago at the beginning of 2010.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

My guess is that most of us - if not ALL of us - have some regrets about things that we failed to accomplish during the past year.

So what?

I mean, think about it - what are you going to do about it now? I mean, it's a bit late to lose 50 pounds during this last week after Christmas, right?

But...don't miss this...it's NOT too late to correct our mindsets and it's still NOT too late to RESOLVE to stop "wishing" and start "acting" in this coming year!

It's actually NOT too late to determine that, once and for all, you ARE going to start that new business! Why not take steps TODAY (why wait until January 2nd?) to actually move closer to making that happen? It' s NOT too late!

Yes, take inventory of your life. As I have said before, "LEARN from the past but don't LIVE in the past!"

There's nothing you can do about what you failed to accomplish. But there is a LOT you can do to make sure that you are not sitting in the same exact spot come the end of 2011!

I'm excited! I have begun taking steps to PUT INTO ACTION some things that I have been talking about and "planning" for several years now!

It's time to stop talking and it's time to start MOVING forward in 2011!

So, what will YOU do during this "in-between" time?

Don't waste it - use it to prepare yourself for a productive 2011.

You can do it! I'll help any way that I can, but it's still ultimately up to you!

As always...remember (and this applies to everything that we just talked about) to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike