Musings by John Weir

“It is the repetition of affirmations that leads to beliefs, and once those beliefs become deep convictions, things begin to happen”. – Claude M Bristol

This B-Alert system is a really helpful guide to your day. Give it a try.

B- is for Blueprint. Plan for the day. Either the night before or in the morning. The night before is more helpful as it is proven that your subconscious aids you to systematically work through your next day’s plan in your sleep. It’s really quick just do it for 10-15 minutes. Your plan should focus on your most important achievements, appointments, purpose and objectives as well as those daily things you need to get done. This really helps me because as I tick each one off I feel a bit accomplished and spurs me on to get the rest of my tasks done and it makes you feel like you are the one in control from the start.
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A- is for Action. The amount of action you put into your day will determine your score. Well-planned action! Luke: All right, I’ll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.

L- is for Learning. A well-planned day is taking time to expand your knowledge. Be curious. Develop the habit of reading something stimulating/ challenging or gives you the edge. It gives you that extra boost of positive energy. Watch documentaries, biographies or learning channels. Also learn from your everyday experiences. How did you overcome your last challenge? Learn from others. What do successful people do? Use other people’s experiences. Keep your eyes and ears open, ask questions. Don’t lose that curiosity about the world and ourselves we seem to be so passionate about when we’re young. Why is it assumed that we have learnt everything we need to when we leave school? We can constantly improve and develop.

E- is for Exercise. Even if it is just fitting in some Wii Fit in your every day or using the stairs instead of the lift or doing some sit ups on your bedroom floor. Exercise improves sleep, increases energy, relieves stress and anxiety, protects against injury, promotes good posture, aids digestion, enhances your self-image and makes you live longer! Eat well and don’t neglect that poor body of yours that is constantly working so hard to keep you going and never stops.

R- is for Relaxing. Relax! Make sure you fit some you time in your day, plan for it. Don’t feel bad about it. When you are well-rested and relaxed you are more productive, more creative,better focused and your energy is boosted. Even take a nap.

T- is for Thinking. Before you go to sleep, close your eyes and take a few snapshots of your day. How did you do? What did you do well? Are there any adjustments you could have made? Focus daily on the progress you have made. Be alert to shortcomings but don’t beat yourself up!! Find some things to be grateful for, I try to at least think of 10 and suddenly I remember so many more things to be thankful for and it really does make you feel good before you go to sleep and makes you realize how many good things happened in the day! Even if its just the fact you just got home safe, you had a nice meal, your family is well etc..

Write (Below) in your daily diary and just tick each off when you have done each. This really helps me and makes me that much more productive and balanced. Hope this helps.

B
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A
L
E
R
T

Thanks to Jack Canfield for the B-Alert concept.

I often use Mind Mapping to create goals for each area I use to categorize them. I write the goals and then decide on the time span for each one. I may wish to achieve some in less than 90 days, others may be longer term goals. I usually have more than 21 goals at this point so I pick the three most important from each category and these become my 90 day goals. I keep a note of the other goals, and these will usually become integrated into my weekly goal setting session.

If you want to know why I use mind mapping to help me create and achieve goals I will direct you to Chuck Frey who can explain it best. Here is a link to his excellent summary:

10 reasons why mind mapping software should be the foundation of your personal productivity system.

I use three different mind mapping programs, based on where I am at and what I am working on. The first is Xmind, and you can find it here. I have been using the free version for some time and find it very helpful. It is what I used to create the Hub Picture over at JohnWeir.me. Xmind is also what I use to open mind maps made with iThoughts.

iThoughts is a very easy to use app for the iPhone when I am on the go and need to see something visually. At close to $8 it still is a great bargain for the features and usability.

The most complete, and customizable program I use is Personal Brain. The website explains it best.

“It starts with a single Thought and grows more powerful as you use it. Think of it as a living mind map with unlimited space for everything you want, are learning or need to remember. Each idea can grow and evolve with all related Thoughts instead of being separated in folders or lists. Use PersonalBrain to manage specific projects or as an "everything in your life manager" to get the big picture on your ideas and find the right information in seconds.”

Personal Brain goes way beyond other mind mapping programs I have seen for a reasonable cost.

I encourage you to try Mind Mapping for yourself and see what you can do with it.

Currently I have 21 goals to achieve in 90 days, divided into seven categories:

• Financial; This covers how much I want to earn and how much I want to save. Also reducing debt and increasing contributions.
• Business; This concentrates on what I want to achieve with my business and where I want it to be when the 90 days are up. Goals for promotions, raises and important tasks.
• Spiritual; Goals in the area of my walk with God, my prayer life, Bible study and church meetings.
• Fun; It is easy to forget the fun side of life. I use this section to note fun things to do and how many days to take off work.
• Health; This makes sure I am thinking about exercise and healthy eating.
• Relationships; Includes family, friends and work relationships.
• Personal; This section contains my goals that don’t quite fit any one of the other areas.

On this day 10 years ago we had put an offer to buy our first home. We had been searching and looking for the right place and it was clearly God that picked out the house for us. It was not my first choice. Our first choice kept being blocked and it became clear after we moved that had we purchased that house we could never have been happy. It was across from a park that had lots of activity.

So we are waiting to hear and the news came on. So very devastating, and yes it did delay getting an answer on our attempted purchase.

Those two events will be forever tied together in my mind due to the combined circumstances.