Improvising Your Approach to Improvement

by Dr. John C. Maxwell

Our well-being and happiness are tied to the notion that our lives can improve. We hope for a better future for our company, our kids, and ourselves. We dream of a tomorrow that's better and brighter than today.
Here are a few improvements many of us desire to see:

We hope to lose weight and improve our fitness
We hope to earn more money and improve our financial standing
We hope to argue less with our spouse and improve our marriage

Over the next year, if we knew our health would deteriorate, our economic situation would worsen, and our closest relationships would unravel, then we'd be depressed. In fact, even if we knew our lives would stay the same, most of us would feel unsatisfied. We're always looking to improve the quality of our lives - it's human nature.
Unfortunately, many of us never go beyond hoping for improvements to actually making them. In this lesson, I'd like to share some insights to help you improvise your approach to improvement.

Develop Habits

The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda. Leaders who make successful improvements share a common denominator: they form habits of daily action that those who fail to improve never develop. As my friend Andy Stanley says, "Your direction determines your destination." The steps you make each day, for good or ill, eventually chart the path of your life.

Consider the analogy of saving for retirement. Financial advisers counsel us to invest for retirement early in our careers and consistently throughout life. If we do, we can quit working at 65 with a sizeable nest egg. However, if we neglect funding our 401(k) each month, then we end up with nothing. We may still "hope" to win the lottery and secure our financial future, but we've lost the ability to control our fate.

Befriend Discipline

We live in the ultimate quick-fix culture. Everyone wants to be thin, but few people eat healthy and exercise. Everyone wants financial stability, but many refuse to be bothered by a budget. Rather than trouble ourselves with discipline, we opt for diet fads or speculate in the stock market. When we don't see long-term improvements, we discard one fad in favor of another.
In life, there are two kinds of pain: the pain of self-discipline and the pain of regret. The pain of self-discipline involves sacrifice, sweat, and delayed gratification. Thankfully, the reward of improvement softens the pain of self-discipline and makes it worthwhile. The pain of regret begins as a missed opportunity and ends up as squandered talent and an unfulfilled life. Once the pain of regret sets in, there's nothing you can do other than wonder, "What if?"

Admit Mistakes

When trying to improve, we not only risk failure, we guarantee it. The good news is that mistakes generally teach us far more than success. There's no sense pretending we're perfect. Even the best of the best have moments of weakness. That's why it's important to be honest when we fall short, learn from the mistake, and move forward with the knowledge gained.

Measure Progress

You cannot manage what you cannot measure. Identify the areas in which improvement is essential to your success and find a way to track your progress. Keeping score holds you accountable and gives you a clear indicator of whether or not you're actually improving.
Change Continually

Continual change is essential for improvement. One of the great paradoxes of success is that the skills and qualities that get you to the top are seldom the ones that keep you there. The quest to improve forces us to abandon assumptions, embrace innovation, and seek new relationships. If we're complacent for too long, we'll fall behind the learning curve. Once this happens, it's a steep, uphill climb to get back to the top.
The desire for improvement has a degree of discontent in it. Personal growth requires apparently contradictory mindsets: humility to realize you have room to grow but also confidence that improvement is possible.

SUMMARY

Tips for Attaining Improvement
Develop Habits
Befriend Discipline
Admit Mistakes
Measure Progress
Change Continually

Happy Birthday to me!

July 7, 2008

Happy Birthday to me... Thank you for all who greeted me on my birthday. Thank you also for all your gifts! kahit loveless ako this year ok lang( actually hindi naman literally loveless wala lang bf hehe as if nagkaron na db?.. ) yung mga gusto na kuha ko namn ngyn.. hehehe I love my new Laptop! my new baby! wwaaaahhh at last i've got it! and i love it! :p

Thank you...

*Yans for my Jansport bag

*Ate Cecil - for my White bag

*Amie for my nails (hehehe)

*Shirl for my hair clip (from colorstone pa yan oh ha first tym nagbgay ng gift hahaa)

*Jessmark for my laptop sleeves

*Lara for my vitamins and wallet

*To mom and my sis claudine for my cake, spag, and chicken (hehehe pinaghanda nila ako kahit late na ako nakauwi.. sowee)

*to my boss for my pizza and ice cream

*also to my company for the 10k (for my laptop hahaha)

*and of course to myself for my brand new Laptop wheeewwww at last i have na my own computer..

Hope to have many more birthdays to come and more gifts to come hehehe.. love you all! mwuah!

July 7, 2008 - 6:30pm - Chef de Angelo Robinson Galleria

Office

~jane~

Grabe talaga! super duper grabe monday morning!

grabe.. dahil late na ko nagising kanina umaga at para makaiwas malate ng sobra.. nag bus ako instead of fx.. (ayoko na magcab nawawala ako sa budget ehh). Siguro ngayon na lang ulit ako sumakay ng bus papasok ng office (since last 2 years ago..) at dahil napara ko na yung bus at huminto na sya sa harapan ko pinanindigan ko na ang pagsakay dun.. grabe kahit napalunok ako nung makita ko na sobra dami na nakatayo sa bus (meron na kasi ako trauma before nung pumapasok pa ako sa unionbank, bus ang means of transportation papuntang opisina.. kahit punuan no choice ka kundi sumakay dahil malelelate ka ng husto kung magiinarte pa sa paganatay ng maluwag na bus.. ayun naka tayo ako sa gitna ng bus puno ung bus nun at madami din nakatayo.. bigla ba namn prumeno ung driver ayun ayos lahat ng naka tayo kahit yung kundoktor ehh nasa sahig na.. para kaming mga domino nun tsk tsk.. kaya ayoko na sumakay ng bus na sobrang puno.. nakakatakot baka makita ko nanamn sarili ko sa sahig ng bus) Kanina grabe.. nakatayo ako mula sa amin hanggang greenhills.. sobrang pawis na ko.. kumusta namn katabi ko pawisan na din at pilit ko iniiwas na magdikit kami.. kumusta namn db bago paligo namn ako hehehe d namn ako maarte pero kung makakaiwas ka namn sa pawis ng iba ehh gawin mo db? sakit na nga ng paa ko dahil naka heels pa ako ngyn huhuhu.. grabe wala na talaga gentleman ngyn dami nakaupo na lalake pero kahit yung mga matatanda di man lang nila paupuin..hayyy how sad na talaga mga tao ngyn.. infairness na lng dun sa guy kanina d nya ko inunahan umupo dun sa nabakanteng upuan sa bus nung meron bumababa sa madison.. Thank you sir.. kahit papano gentleman pa din kayo.. haaayyy sana tularan kayo ng ibang lalake.. kasi namn yung iba kahit alam nila na uupo ka na makikipagunahan pa ehh (ang sama db) lagi ko yan nakikita sa pagsakay ng fx.. kumusta namn ang mga lalake nakikipagbalyahan na sa mga Gurlet db!?

Hay share ko lang.. hehehe :p

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

From the Book of Stephen R. Convey. Book for Personal Effectiveness.. Just want to share this to all..
Summary of the 7 habits for highly effective people

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Change Starts from within, and highly effective people make the decisions to improve their lives through the things that they can influence rather than by simply reacting to external forces.

Habit 2: Begin with the End of Mind

Develop a Principle - centered personal mission statement. Extend the mission statement in long - term goals based on Personal Principles.

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Spend time doing what fits into your personal mission, observing the proper balance between production and building production capacity. Identify the key roles that you take on in life, and make time for each of them.

Habit 4: Think win/win

Seek agreements and relationship that are mutually beneficial. In case where a "win/win" deal cannot be achieved, accept the fact that agreeing to make "no deal" may be the best alternative. In developing an organizational culture, be sure to reward win/win behavior among employees and avoid inadvertantly rewarding win/lose behavior.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be understood

First seek to understand the other person, and only then try to be understood (according to covey this is the most important principle of interpersonal relations. Effective listening is not simply echoing what the other person has said through the len's of one's own experience. Rather, putting oneself in the perspective of the other persons, listening empathically for both feeling and meaning.

Habit 6: Synergize

Through trustful communication, find ways to levergae individual differences to create a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. Through mutual trust and understanding, one often can solve conflicts and find a better solution than would have been obtained through either person's own solution.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Take time out from productions to build production capacity through personal renewal of the Physical, Mental, Social/Emotional, and Spiritual dimensions. Maintain a balance among these dimensions.

=)

weekend at subic

Hayyyy after a long week for the entrepbootcamp for kids.. I finally got my rest at subic.. i really enjoy my weekend.. treat ni tita mely for her birthday (April 14) and also advance celebration for yana's bday (april 24)

We went to subic April 19 (Saturday) meeting place robinson galleria 5am. Grabe I woke up 4.15am (super mabilisan lahat wala ng ayos ayos hehehe naiwan ko tuloy binili ko na spread) syempre puro pangaasar inabot ko sa kay yana dahil nakalimutan ko hehehe. Gen fetch me at 7-11 near altura.. i bought first 2 loaf bread at park and go and 3 1.5 pepsi grabe ang bigat db?) hehehehe syempre late kaming dalawa ni gen sa meeting place hinatid kami ni joms (her boyfriend). Asar talo tuloy kaming dalawa hehehe.. habang nasa byahe may karumal dumal na ngyari sa akin hahaha sobrang nakakahiya (sa atin na lng apat yun ahh wag kau maingay hahahaha) almost 3 hrs din ang travel time namin..

Day 2

We stayed at Subic greenhills home (formerly forest hills) ganda ng house okay na okay sa family or sa barkada. We ate our breakfast at around 9.30 am. stayed their for awhile change outfit syempre hehehe

We went first at J.E.S.T. Camp (its a tour around the compound) we went at tarantula land (actually i forgot the name of the place hehehe

after that sa birds house (once again its not the real name of the place hehehe)

We also try the airsoft gun it was so fun! I enjoy it buti na lng me and yana tried it nagsunuran din sila hehehe

The weight of the gun that is being use for the airsoft is the actual weight of the real gun (kaya mejo mabigat din)

after that we went at the top of the JEST Camp breath taking ang view ( a lil bit exaggerated hehehe)

at the butterfly house

After sa JEST camp.. we went to all hands beach (indi kami nagswimming dun ami kasi tao) so went to Camayan beach resort (Hindi din kami natuloy dun kasi meron daw friend si charmain sa Lighthouse hotel Free daw swimming) so went their to see the place.. but indi kasi pwede magswimming sa beach may oil spill daw. Ayaw namn namin sa pool kasi sabi ni yana sana daw nagantiplo na lng kami hehehehe (may point namn sya) hehehe

So at the end sa Ocean View Resort kami bumagsak near lang sa Lighthouse. we ate our lunch their (actually 3pm na un) after that swimming time na

Day 1

Subic Safari

We had so much fun sa Subic Safari para kaming mga bata hehehe.. kasi namn mga kakaibang animals din yung makikita sa loob ng zoo.. plus you have guide na lahat ng animals dun ay ineexplain nya kung saan galing.. infairness, tour guides at zoobic safari are all well-trained. They speak well in english at lahat ng questions mo about sa animals na nadun kaya nila sagutin hehehe.. Thanks to our guide "IAN" hehehe, I've learned a lot! See you next time sana dito sa manila naman hehehe (wishfull thinking lang naman malay na tin db??.. uhmm law of attraction hehehe)

Secret of Life

The Law of Attraction:

1. Ask
2. Believe
3. Recieve.

All of us has the power and the ability to achieve our own dreams . We just have to focused and believe that we could make it. Its just the power of Mind. Mind over Matter.

5 Steps Program for a better YOU!

Step 1 : Set your goals.
Step 2 : Start Today!
Step 3 : No Short Cuts!
Step 4: Find Someone that will Inspires you..
Step 5: Be happy

*Think positive, be optimistic, anything that we think, we will achive! just have faith and a bunch of hard work! :)