We are already more than halfway through the first month of 2024. If you have lost momentum trying to stay consistent with your goals, this episode is for you as we explore opportunities for resetting ourselves due to the many obstacles, setbacks, and potential challenges that exist ahead. Breaking down the overwhelming items into easy, manageable tasks can make short work of the mundane standing in your way and regaining the positive momentum.

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Intro/Outro By: Michael Dugan, Podcast Host: Voice4Chefs

Welcome to the podcast where relationships, confidence, and

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determination all converge into

an amazing, heartfelt experience.

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This is Speaking From The Heart.

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Joshua: Welcome back to episode number

79 of Speaking From The Heart, and

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have you lost momentum yet because

of the new year, and the new you

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that you are trying to work on?

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I know.

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It's always going to happen inevitably.

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As a matter of fact, many studies have

shown that most people quit within the

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first few weeks, let alone the first month

of the new year, every time that they set

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themselves New Year's resolutions, and

now that we're more than already halfway

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through the first month of 2024, and soon

approaching February for that matter,

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I'm sure that you're asking yourself

the question of, will I ever get back

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on track with what I intended to do?

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We all have setbacks, and there are

all things that we need to be able to

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try to gain more momentum, especially

as we enter the next several months,

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but all is not lost, and I hope that

today's episode will speak to you about

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the importance of breaking down those

big, hairy, audacious goals that you

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have set for yourself for the new year,

and be able to get back on track for

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the things that really count the most.

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Now, I know that before we entered the

new year, we had a lot of episodes that

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talked about getting ready, being able

to prepare for what's ahead, and I highly

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encourage that you go back and listen to

some of those episodes, because not only

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will that remind you of happier times;

the Christmas season, perhaps, or even

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the expectation, or the feeling that

you had for the new year, but it will

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help you to re-engage and get into the

mindset that you need to have in order to

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accomplish what you want to set out to do.

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It's not easy to get back after all

the obstacles, the setbacks, and even

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the challenges that might've existed

previously, because they might be still

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floating around, and might be holding

you back from even accomplishing some

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of the things that you want to do

right now, so let's look at, today,

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some of the things that you might have

on your plate and being able to break

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it down into more manageable tasks.

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Some of the things I even talk about

with my clients even relate to what

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we're going to accomplish now, and

it's really about breaking things

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down into small manageable tasks.

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Many times when people set goals, they

don't break down the minor details as to

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what actual steps need to be accomplished

in order to achieve those opportunities.

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It could be as simple as even

setting aside time on your calendar

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to be able to do such goals.

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I know that for many of us, we might

rely on our calendar to not only provide

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that time in which we need to have,

but even just being able to say that

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this is the dedicated amount of time

that I'm going to be utilizing for this

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goal can make such a big difference.

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Authors do that all the time, especially

when they have to block out time for

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writing the chapters that they have

in their book, especially if they

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are pressed to get the book done.

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Another way in which you can look at this

is: How can we work on the things that we

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have by ensuring that not only our time

management is on par, but how can we use

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that to our advantage, especially when

we have the tasks that we need to do?

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Many corporations, use

what's called a Gantt chart.

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Now, if you've ever used a Gantt

chart, you're very much familiar

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with the time blocks that happen,

and I chuckle to myself because I

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work with them consistently with my

full time job, and I often have to

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look at the time factors that are

involved with each task within the

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overall processes that need to be done.

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Not only does it involve other people,

but it also involves other resources

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that need to be blocked off so that it is

accomplished within a certain time frame.

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For you, think of each goal as a

big project that you're working on.

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Sure, some of them might not require

months on end to accomplish, but,

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think of your time as being broken

down, whether it's in weeks, days,

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hours, maybe even minutes, of being

able to do the certain things that you

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need to accomplish on a day to day.

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Oftentimes, people don't know how to block

out that time that is really important to

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be able to work on those factors in order

to accomplish that bigger, overarching

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goal that they wish to achieve.

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When you set your expectations too high,

that is the reason why most people don't

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know how to get back on track, even

falling flat on their goals that they've

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set for the new year, so my best advice

to you, if you haven't done it already,

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is to break down in smaller manageable

tasks, what you can do within the time

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frames that you have available to you.

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Now, even with that said, I know

that many of you are still asking

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yourself of how to actually block

that time off when you don't even

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know how much to really block off.

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It's simple: not only are you making

sure that you spend the time that is

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needed on the things that you need to

accomplish with each of those tasks,

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but even if you estimate and you are

able to project what that time is,

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you can always go back and modify it.

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Now, don't be the person that always

modifies it because then you're not

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doing what you're supposed to be doing.

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You should be really working on then a

bigger role model in your life which might

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be even a coach, like myself for that

matter, but to do it yourself means you

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have to have consistent discipline, time

and time again, of the things that you

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need to be able to do on a daily basis.

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Each day is unique in itself.

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For me I know that every Monday,

I have to go in the office.

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I have to put that time aside and not

being able to really work as much on the

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business as I really want to, but I know

that for the rest of the week, even though

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I have to work, there is still some time

during lunch, before I start my day, and

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even after my day, in which I can cram in

as much as I possibly can to be able to

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help my coaching business thrive, so it's

about not only utilizing that time wisely,

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but knowing that I have it ahead of time.

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will allow me to block off chunks that

are needed for administrative things,

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maybe for something with my books that

I have to take care of, my bookkeeper

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or accountant, maybe even working with

my marketing person to ensure that I'm

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continuing to advocate and advertise

Your Speaking Voice LLC, but that

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allows me to have the time to work

creatively, whether it's working on the

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podcast, or working on new projects,

or clients for that matter, that are

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coming through my office, or even online.

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If I know what my daily flow

is, I can start to interwork

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those different aspects.

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And I know that might seem simpler to

some people, but for a large amount of us,

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especially those that are neurodivergent,

that can be quite a challenge.

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As a matter of fact, I have a few

clients that are neurodivergent in

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nature that they require that structure.

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They need to know exactly what they

need to do to lay out their days, and

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we give them the tools here at Your

Speaking Voice to help them provide

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that opportunity for themselves, but

even with time being considered, you

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have to think about what are the other

things that might get in the way.

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Well, there might have been family.

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There might have been

unexpected occurrences.

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I know for myself, I was very sick at

the beginning of the year, which, I

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often have joked to other people that

I can only go up from here as a result,

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but it did set me back a little bit on

terms of the momentum and the patience

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that I had with really doing a lot of

things, including even recording podcast

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episodes for that matter, but even with

that being a factor in which I couldn't

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do a lot of things that I wanted to do,

I adjusted my schedule so that I could

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make up some ground, knowing that I

have to make a little bit of sacrifice,

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and sacrifice sometimes is the biggest

challenge for many of us to be able to

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create that new momentum that we have.

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Now, it's been proven through science

and many other studies that it takes

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a few days to at least start to create

that habit, but to have a sustaining

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habit, you have to do it for a few weeks.

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You have to properly train your brain in

order to learn and create those systemic

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exercises of muscle memory, being able

to do that routine, and build it into

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your repertoire so that you're able to

create whatever you're trying to create,

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so don't be ashamed or discouraged

if it doesn't work the first time.

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Failure is always okay.

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We have had plenty of guests on this show

that have even talked about the concept

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of failure and how many times they have,

how many times they had to get back on

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the horse and just keep on trying, but

even with those things considered, talking

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about time, and knowing that failure is

going to happen, might not just be enough.

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What is the magic pill, you might

be asking, that you need to swallow,

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that you might be hearing from me,

your podcast host, to be able to

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help you get to that next level?

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Well, there isn't one exact magic formula,

and the reason for even saying that is

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because all of our goals are different.

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Say that you're trying to go to the

gym in a more consistent manner.

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I totally understand that you really

want to work on your physical health,

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but depending on what your schedule

is, whether you can actually drive to

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the gym, whether you can accommodate

with your family, whether you can

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accommodate with the relationships

that you're forming, whether you have

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a deadline for work, there are many

different factors that we might need

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to look at from a coaching perspective

to help you make sure that you stay on

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track and keep yourself accountable.

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However, on the other side of it, most

people that are looking to be fit, and

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are already doing that routine and just

are looking to enhance their structure

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a little bit better than they already

are, means that you have to just look

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at what you already have existing and

making minor tweaks here and there.

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Not one person is cut from the same

cookie cutter, and that is something

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that is so very important in order to

make sure that you keep that positive

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momentum going, especially if you have

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It isn't just about the things that

you are trying to accomplish, but it's

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really about understanding that you might

be stuck in the mundane, that things

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that are often easy for others to do

might not be as easy for you, so here's

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my pat on the back to make sure that

you get back up and keep on running.

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It's okay to know that you might not

always succeed, and that effort, where

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it might be easier for others, requires

a lot more energy for other people

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to put in to be able to accomplish

what they're setting out to do.

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It's just as simple as

putting it in this context.

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I know that my gifts are not in music

and in the arts, because I certainly

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cannot sing or play an instrument,

although I really would love to

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play an instrument, particularly the

guitar one day, but I know that I also

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can't draw accurately or coherently.

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I can draw a mean stick figure of myself,

and possibly of you, but that's about

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the extent of how far I'm able to go.

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It's because I know that I haven't

been gifted in those practices.

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Those things, which everybody is able and

capable of being taught, means that I had

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chosen at a young age to not be involved

with any of those types of activities.

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I do not find any sort of satisfaction

unless I'm able to work from an adult

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coloring book, and color in between the

lines, which even sometimes for me, I have

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a hard time coloring within those lines

because I see gray, not just black and

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white, but I know that for many of us,

it's not just as simple as putting it all

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together and being able to push forward.

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You need to be able to find something

that will help you to stay on track.

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Now, if you went on Facebook or any

sort of social media platform that's

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tracking your searches and all kinds

of other things, I'm sure that you've

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been bombarded with New Year's goals

and New Year deals, and try this and

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you'll be ready in 30 days or less, but

those are all gimmicks, because if you

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really want to work on something that

really changes who you are, you will

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set aside the time, you will set aside

the resources, but more importantly,

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you will find a way, no matter

what, to make that habit come alive.

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It all boils down to this: even if we have

all the momentum in the world to keep on

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pushing forward, we have to understand

that there are a lot of challenges

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when it comes to just being able to

see what's at the end of the tunnel.

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What's at the end of

the tunnel can be scary.

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It could be very frightful, and I

know for many of us, change is very

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scary, which in later episodes, we'll

certainly talk about that concept of

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scariness and change, because I know

that it can be a very fearful subject.

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It's the very basis in which much of

my coaching work is done on, but if

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we're able to remove the obstacles,

the setbacks, the challenges that

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exist ahead, and we break it down

into smaller items like I've mentioned

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before, we can make short work of

those things that are mundane, and

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help ourselves to keep pushing forward.

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If there was anything that I could

ever recommend to somebody is if

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you don't have the affordability

to hire a coach, find somebody that

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will at least check in with you.

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Maybe they can help you understand

a lot more about what you are

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as a person, and maybe ask some

questions as to what have been some

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setbacks, especially when it comes to

developing this plan that you have.

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I know that you might feel a sense of

failure, especially as you have gone

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a few weeks now into setting your

goals, whether they are physical,

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whether they are mental, whether

they are social, regardless of what

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it is, start with the small things.

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If you're able to just check off some

of those small aspects that you really

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wanted to do, that can help to build that

momentum back up in you again, even if

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it's just as simple as writing that letter

to somebody that you've been putting

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off for so long, having that sense of

accomplishment by just sitting down for

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30 minutes and writing it, maybe up to an

hour of writing it, can make such a big

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difference in not just what you feel about

yourself, But what that other person will

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feel about you, so if you add the feelings

that you have, plus the part the person

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is that you're impacting, imagine how

much extra momentum you can create from

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just those types of relationship building

activities, and being able to simply

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check off a small item on your list.

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There are a variety of different

types of software, let alone

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productivity boards, that you can

write out on your own, available on

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the internet, along with other sort

of productivity activities in itself.

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You ever heard of a combi board?

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That could be one way in which you track

all your things, but even just doing the

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small things on that combi board, can make

such a big difference in the bigger scheme

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of things, but regardless of any board,

tracker, software, regardless of what

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it is, remember, you are okay to fail.

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I know that for many things that we've

talked about on this podcast, it's

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been about momentum, encouragement,

relationships, confidence, and

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determination, being able to become the

best versions of ourselves, but I know

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that we often forget about the fact that

there's a human element to this, that

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even putting this into practice can be so

tough for all of us to be able to achieve,

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but what if we start to break down those

small little things that we can achieve,

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and make them easily accessible for not

only ourselves, but for others as well?

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Imagine the amount of impact that we can

make by just a small little sacrifice, a

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small little task, maybe just changing the

type of food that we put in our bodies,

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even if it's just a one teaspoon less

of sugar in our coffee, or tea for that

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matter, can make such a big difference in

not just the way that we feel, not just

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in the way that we engage, but in the way

in which we have our momentum build up.

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We are based on momentum, and

moving forward is so important,

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especially in this day and age.

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I know that we're not getting any younger,

and I know that even as you're listening

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to this, you might be thinking of all

the insurmountable things that you have

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to do to get back on track with your New

Year's goals, but here I am, cheerleading

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you again, and making sure that you

accomplish them because I believe in

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you, and I've always have believed in

you, even when you listen to some of

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those past episodes in which I've told

you that I believe in you, because it

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isn't just about learning from others.

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It's not just about

saying what's on my mind.

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It's not just saying what is really

important to hear, especially on

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a particular day or occurrence.

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It's about realizing that you have

everything to gain, but also everything

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to lose, but even when you lose, you

still win, so dust yourself off, get

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ready to build that momentum, and

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Consider the last few

weeks as your trial period.

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Now is your time to not just make short

work of the mundane, but make sure that

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that positivity that I've given you keeps

on pushing forward, because I want to

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see you succeed in more ways than one.

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Thanks for listening to episode

number 79 of Speaking From the

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Heart, and I look forward to

hearing from your heart very soon.

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Outro: Thanks for listening.

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For more information about our podcast

and future shows, search for Speaking From

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The Heart to subscribe and be notified

wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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Visit us at www.yourspeakingvoice.biz

for more information about potential

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services that can help you create

the best version of yourself.

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See you next time.