Archives for February 2013

Setting Goals

February 27, 2013 By

Goals are one of those things that seem easy in principle but hard to follow through with.  Goals are so subjective and at times very difficult to measure.  And if setting goals is something new it can become very daunting very quickly.  I have always been a goal setter, but I was never very good at following through.  Which as I found can be very discouraging.  The easiest way to put this into prospective is with the infamous “NEW YEARS RESOLUTION”.  Everyone has made one from one year to the next, but how many actually follow through with them.

What makes these resolutions so hard to stick to?  My answer is that most of these resolutions/goals are too ambiguous and open.  The big one is to get into shape, or lose weight.  So you go out  buy a gym membership, go a few times and then it is over.  Statistics show that 25% of New Year Resolutions made will be dropped within the first week, and almost 40% are dropped by the end of January.  I have to admit I am one of the not so successful resolution setters.  I had all the greatest intentions in the world, but it was too easy to find excuses, and not follow through.  The question is why IS it so easy to give up?

So doing what any level headed person would do…I turned to the internet for answers.  Funny enough all the information I found on setting and keeping goals is stuff that I ALREADY knew.   HUh?  Go figure.   If I just put forward a goal with the information I already know then I would be more successful…could it really be that easy?

So here is the plan that I will follow when I make my 3 goals for the next 6 weeks…

  • Write it down and have it somewhere you can see it on a regular basis.
  • Tell someone (others) of your goal, and ask them to remind you of the goal(s) on a regular basis
  • Make it real, make it tangible, make it achievable.
  • Give yourself milestones of measurement, and reflection to help keep you on the right path
  • Have a plan of action.  What steps are you going to take to achieve the goal(s).

As I formulate my 3 6 week goals, I will use these 5 tools as well and see if I have a better result.

 

Filed Under: Goals, Real Life

Writing for Writing

February 25, 2013 By

It has been a few weeks since I last sat down to write something for my blog.  I  think that is important to keep the brain working even if  there is difficulties in the way.  I find it so easy to not  come to the site and pretend that it was not one of the things that I said I would do for myself.  Why is  that?  As a mom of 2 busy kids and a wife of a business busy husband, why do I always seem  to let the stuff I want to do fall  through the cracks.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining (well not completely).  I have things fairly easy in that I don’t have to worry about a 9-5 job along with all the other stuff.  As an example, my husband hits me today with…”I hope it is okay for me to be away for the next 6 weeks…”  What am I going to say … He and his business are the main support of our lifestyle, and I know that if given the option he would stay, but really 6 weeks.  I have a complete appreciation for single parents.  But the question  then comes back to how do you stay on task, when you are being pulled in 10 different directions.

Here is my plan…

  1. Take things one thing at a time…there is no reason sweating small stuff.  I cannot change how things are, but I do have a say as to how I feel about them.
  2. Make time…. I  know it sounds silly, but I have started to schedule time to get things done  that I need done, or that I want to do. (like writing on my blog, working on My business, or just taking time for me).
  3. Keep perspective…. I have to remember that although it might feel like I am on my own, I am not…I have a wonderful support system, and I cannot be afraid to use them.
  4. Don’t get bogged down… If you need to take a break from something take it.  Fighting it is a waste of energy, and hard on ones psyche.  Once you start feeling defeated  it is so much harder to keep the focus.
  5. Remember you are Important… It is easy to get caught up in family life going on around you, that it is even easier to forget that you are important too.  Your interests, your hobbies and your business is important…make YOU matter.

Keeping this 5 step plan in mind, my promise to myself (since I am the only one who reads my blog  :)) is…

  1. make 3 goals and post them to the blog
  2. write at least 1 new post every week for the next 6 weeks. (if not more)
  3. take some time for me. (go to the gym, get hair done, or just dress in real clothes everyday), and
  4. to ask for help when I need it.

I  will keep things posted

Wish me Luck….

Filed Under: Goals, My Story Tagged With: ,

All about the Penny

February 6, 2013 By

As Canadians begin to learn to live without the penny, I thought that it would be a good time for some penny facts….

  • The penny was first minted by the Canadian Government in 1858.  It Weighed 4.54 grams, and comprised of 95% copper.  It had a mintage of approximately 421,000.

  • With Inflation a 1870 penny would be worth approximately 31 Cents today
  • Rarest Canadian Penny is the 1936 Dot Coin.  There are only 3 known specimens.  In January 2010 a 1936 coin sold for $400,000 dollars at auction.

Check your pennies….

  • The maple leaf image that we have known for so many years was first struck in 1937, with the iconic image being designed by G.E. Kruger Gray, and had remained  the same since with the only exception being that of the 1967 for the Centennial Celebrations

1937 Penny Canada’s Iconic Maple Leaf Image

Only Deviation from Iconic Maple Leaf Design

  • Queen Victoria (1858-1901), King Edward VII(1902-1910), King George V (1911-1936), King George VI (1937-1952), and Queen Elizabeth II (1953-2012) have all been the face of the penny.
  • 2006 was the highest mintage of the Canadian penny at over 1.2 billion Pennies struck.
  • Last penny was struck on May 4th 2012.  It weighed 2.35 grams (almost half the weight of the original penny), and comprised of 94% steel.  Only 4.5% was copper plating.  It cost approximately 1.6 cents to make the 1 cent coin.

  • Although it is no longer being produced, the penny remains a legal tender of Canada

What will you do with your pennies….

Filed Under: My Story, The Penny Tagged With:
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