TODAY’S LAUGH: Last January, I set three major goals for 2007:
(1) To decrease my body mass by 25%.
(2) To increase my income by 50%.
(3) To be at least 150% more organized. (This may sound familiar… it’s the goal setting trifecta!)
How did I do, you ask? I missed each goal by–you guessed it–100%. HA!
How does this happen? Are you like me? Year after year, decade after decade we go through the same thing. Set the goal. Fail to reach it. Set a new goal. Fail to reach that one. How come?
Insanity, they say, is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Something’s gotta change!
TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: I’m changing my approach; I call it The 1%
Solution. Here’s how it works:
Today, I’ll exercise 1% more than I did yesterday. Yesterday my only exercise was beating around the bush and jumping to conclusions. Today I’ll take a five-minute walk. And then I’ll celebrate.
Today, I’ll be 1% more organized than I was yesterday. I’ll clean off a little space (one square foot maybe) on my desk, or take care of one little pile of papers. And then I’m going to congratulate myself and do a little happy dance.
Today, I’ll be 1% more attentive to increasing my income. I’ll take ONE career building action–a phone
call, a little market research, a little possibility thinking–I’ll do some small thing that will move me toward a better financial position. And then I’ll throw myself a little party. Woo-hoo!
Think about it: one percent a day, day by day, and after 90 days…well, you do the math!
I can’t do everything today, but today I can make a 1% shift in direction, away from the chronic “failure” of the past and toward the accomplishment of what I really want in life. And it’s the celebrating, dancing and whooping it up that I’m really looking forward to!
What 1% action can you take today toward a better tomorrow? How will you reward yourself for that step?
I’d love to hear your “1% Solution.” Add a comment here or use the “Contact Mary” link at left and I’ll email you “EIGHT WAYS TO MAKE 2008 GREAT!”
May you be blessed today and be a blessing to others!
My 1 percent solution yesterday was going out to get the mail before the mailman was due to arrive…and determining to walk up and down the highway until I heard the familiar crunch of gravel as the car slowed in front of my mailbox. And the mailman was really, really late!
Hey, I didn’t know I was excercising daily: beating around the bush and jumping to conclusions…I think I can do 1% better, that’s a whole lot easier than 100% better. So, I’ll start with spending 1% of my day on my personal health – I think that a quarter of an hour!
Great ideas! I can handle 15 minutes of anything…
And friend Jeanne offers this: “January is my month to NOT shop for groceries! Be creative! Use whatever you have in your freezer (or freezers) and pocket the change! Purge your pantry and cupboards and you will be amazed at the hoard of goodies!” I like the idea of “pocketing the change…”
And from Joanne comes this: “I read this somewhere. Take 5 pieces of paper that need to be filed…then stop. Bet you can’t. I will always get more done if I use the 5 piece rule. Another one is the 15 minute rule. I will clean the bathroom or any room for 15 minutes. I will always continue.” Great idea, especially as it applies to 5 pieces of dark chocolate, right Joanne?? Oh yeah…
At MOPS today we had a home organizer speak to us. She inspired me, but then I felt overwhelmed looking at all my junk to organize. BUT I can organize 1% more today than I did yesterday. I CAN do little pieces at a time… because that’s all my 1 and 3 year old really give me anyways!
Thanks for reminding me that I don’t have to do it all at once- or do it ALL for that matter! I love you!!
Love your blog thoughts, as always. Fun stuff and “reasonable†idea—that Laugh Lady’s 1% plan! I just typed in a witty reply to your blog, but made a mistake and lost it all. Bummer.
Oh, well, sounds like a little “Relief of Imperfeciton” for me today. So, I’m not attempting to remember all the “cutesy†stuff I wrote. Just send me your 2008 insights, will ya, Girl? THX.
Oops! I re-read the comments I just posted and I realize I’m having trouble spelling the title of my new book. (Hey, give me a break–typing comments on blogs is NEW to me!) Anyway, the word “Imperfection” is not spelled “Imperfeciton.” Just for the record the title of the book is–The Relief of Imperfection: For Women Who Try Too Hard to Make It Just Right. And I’ve made several “imperfectionistic” blunders today and I’m still standing and smiling. (Just for the record, in addition to these two, I forgot to get my husband’s boarding pass online as I promised I would. Now he’ll probably have to sit at the “back of the bus” on his flight from Phoenix to Little Rock! Double bummer.) It reminds of the Laugh Lady’s 1%. I can’t do everything just right, so I made a 1% shift in the right direction: I said, “I’m really sorry, Richard.” And since I’m not down on myself tonight, it is reason enough to join Mary in a Woo-Hoo! The 1% works!
Hummm–this is something even *I* could put into practice! However the occasional 3 hour walks in the woods would escalate to something my hubby would *not* likely approve!
Oh! And “The Relief of Imperfection: For Women Who Try Too Hard to Make It Just Right” “imperfection” should be a relief to *all* of us, *including* the author!!!
[Unless you did that on purpose to make the *rest* of us feel better!!! 
] And, that’s wjhat –ooooops!–what *editors* are for! (–Ending in a prep, !) Your sales are going up!!! 
{{{Gentle cyber hugs to all!!!}}}
I believe that if I answer 1% fewer emails at work and spend that 1% on projects that are due, it would be a better tomorrow!
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(I’m glad you answered mine, Rhonda, and you’re entered in the free book drawing! Thanks.