Wednesday Opportunities, Booksale Final Day

 This morning I arose Early, between 5 and 6, ran in place on our living room rug, brewed some coffee...and wrote this article. With no immediate medical appointments ahead of me, I looked for some structure to today's schedule and found one item; our Friends of the Alachua County Library is holding its final day of the first (springtime) event for 2026. It's Wednesday, so patrons will encounter at that event a ten cents/book sale going on...maybe Melissa would like to go, too.  The location is on the 400 block of North Main Street,west side...I don't see us taking too long to transact our business there.  As for walk/run training, I'd like to get in some more today, either on the living room floor or in the back yard. Besides, there's always the Major League Baseball regular season and the channel we subscribe to. I would like to  hear some new self-help podcasts off YouTube and spend some relaxing time with Melissa and Peewee Daisy sitting on the shaded porch...That dog can get a little bit too hilarious. She reminds me of that funny, toothy dog named "Petey"out in the country on the Subaru Outback commercial. Some twenty-odd years ago we also had a miniature poodle, Taffy, who would "tooth up " like that, especially in hotels...

Early Morning, Rohn Podcast

 Another morning early arisen...let's see what this one brings.  I ran in place for 12 minutes after brewing coffee.  Then I listened to a Jim Rohn podcast about the value of tackling things alone.  Now he's talking about designing your own day in the early morning and honestly reviewing it during the evening.  Rohn is a stoic advocate of picking a small number of things to focus on and is pragmatic about it all.  Sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed by all his information...what do I filter out?  Rohn wants me to grow and not regress.  So what do I plan for today?  In the news there's that war...oh, well.  For me I want to continue being intellectually active and commit myself to a reasonable degree of home exercise, with plenty of allowance for rest and recovery.  Should I get in the white Camry and try starting it, carrying my license and some money?  Walk around the block once or the back yard?  I know, let me enjoy the day without getting carried away with eating.  Enjoy life and appreciate it...

Another Pleasant, Hopeful Early Morning at the "Base"

 Well, it's 6:36 am and I got myself up and out of bed, making some coffee and doing a little living room rug exercising.  It's not too cold outside, but the temps will rise later on.  For me, this is my base time and location.  Last night I already resumed taking the enhanced TMZ to fight off that tenacious gbm, and I already am at peace with extending my nighttime/morning fast without requesting donut shop stops.  I read the first 8 pages in Khan's Shadow fantasy book.  It's easy reading although the setting is brutal  and something I have difficulty  wrapping my propensity for imagination around all the negativity.  My internet research on the author and this series revealed that he hadn't grown much...if any...in stature over the past nine years.  I'll read some more today and mark the pages read.  Let me just keep Peewee from licking me today...she's such a  sweetie and I don't want her hurt!  I'm tired of watching those right-wing tv channels with their scare tactics, even if I tend to agree with their general political/social worldviews. I think I'll try out some of the foreign language stuff on that radio/[podcast channel.  Tomorrow morning another Parkrun is scheduled, and maybe Melissa and I will be ready to go for it, rain or not: just show up!. Yesterday Anita, Jim and I walked around 2nd and Charles, which is a thoroughly inadequate, disorganized used book store with few sitting opportunities and even fewer reading choices.  Maybe today we'll try out Book-a-Million or Barnes & Noble.  I've done ipf six minutes so far, and plan to go back to the bedroom in a few minutes after I try out some more. I'm still looking forward to trying out sitting on the front porch holding my Shaum's math book...

Take Back That Data Center They're Trying to Build Outside My Door

 In 1987 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers came out with a wonderful, rocking singles hit titled Jammin' Me.  It's still my favorite of his, and I dig the sometimes cutting and always funny lyrics.  That last line about country clubs I just changed to reflect the billings insult that these new AI centers, which consume way too much electricity while often added to customers' bills without their permission, are a blight upon our community.  AI has done very little for me, and I don't see substantial improvement in it for the next two or three years, assuming that God is willing and I'm surviving well.  This morning I got up early and have already performed 20 minutes of floor c-v exercise, including 15 of running-in-place.  I'm still imagining plopping my day's homework on the dining room table to do alongside my nice instant coffee.  I'm determined to enjoy a good day today, practicing avoidance of schteool along with its myriad hassles.  i'd like to check out local bookstores while the Dawg's at Scenthound for foreign language books and change my voter registration to Republican, giving me more real choices during the approaching primaries in this 2026 off-year election.  Looks like i'm going to follow in the footsteps of fellow conservative old geezer voters in faithfully going to the polls! Trump delivered his State of the Union address yesterday evening.  The opposition response was personal and largely condemnatory, with obscenities against Trump freely flying about.  Don't know how that's going to transfer to voting attendance in November.  But get ready for yet another tired old local protest rally in a few weeks..."democracy in action" my ass when folks simply won't vote and then they complain later!   We're looking forward again to today to see Anita and Jim, and some real dining room table foreign language study looks like it is reallygoing to happen...maybe I can use Wikipeida articles in different languages like Russian, German, Spanish and even Chinese. Still, Chatgpt looks good for the moment.  Now time to listen to my TV music, languages and self-improvement podcasts. Oh, it seems like I slept well last night. I am not showing my exercise minutes on the blog,, preferring to write the figures in pen on the inside of a puzzle book...I've done 20 total combined ipf and rock-running minutes so far with some more planned to come.  Y'all have a wonderful day, too...

Rob Dial Argues Against Comparing Oneself to Others

On his Mindset Mentor podcast today, personal development coach Rob Dial discussed how people tend to compare themselves...usually unfavorably...to others.  He says we're naturally wired into doing this assessing the relative social positions of ourselves against others, but it's not a good way to live out the day.  Folks like to scroll Facebook and other social media, but they tend to see what others post...which is usually the peak-best of what they are and do...and take it in as how they ordinarily live their lives.  I've seen this with the Canadian brothers' YouTube running channel, in which the two come off sounding awfully elitist about their chosen sport and tend to put down others that they don't see measuring up.  Well, it doesn't ruin my day to watch them, so let it be if that's how they want to present themselves...I'm still feeling fine.  My problem with others is in ordinary public conversation when they...usually it's men...go about, with false modesty, bragging about their own accomplishments and social standing.  I guess their expectation is for me to immediately defer to them as my superiors, but my reaction is usually one of aversion, wanting to put distance between them and me. This Parkrun experience I have habituated myself to partake of weekly is an example of the leaders openly stressing that it is NOT a competition...and then running in it like it IS. Rob Dial says that the only person you should be comparing yourself to is you, and whether or not you're improving over that past version of yourself.  That's how I see Parkruns and other races: how am I getting through the race and does my finishing time meet with the standards I set in past performances?  That's how I get myself looking forward each week to going down there and giving it another go.  For example, this coming Saturday morning I plan to try out the West End Community Parkrun for the third time, running it this time and seeing if I can't beat my initial finishing time there.  In the final analysis, whether I succeed in that is secondary to the main thing, which is showing up in the first place.  In any event, I'm sure there will be some annoying people who will try to make it all a personal contest between us...I say let them do that if that's how they want to limit themselves...

Podcaster's 8 Ways to Alleviate Stress and Anxiety

I usually check in on a daily basis whenever personal development podcaster Rob Dial posts a new episode on his Mindset Mentor show. Sometimes it's a bit wrenching to sit through a whole twenty-odd minutes when he's pondering aloud through the day's topic...maybe other listeners prefer those types of programs. My preference is when Dial picks his topic and then goes down a list of ways to effectively deal with it.  Today's show was like that, with Dial enumerating ways to handle stress and anxiety...he came up with eight:

1) Breathing exercises to lower blood pressure and alleviate stress

2) Focus on gratitude

3) Go for a walk

4) Write it all out, journaling

5) Get blood levels checked for possible imbalances

6) Watch ten minutes of comedy...laughter is a big stress-reducer

7) Ingest less caffeine...even better, eliminate it

8) Start listening to slower, more ambient music.  

I already do much of what Dial suggested...sometimes a different way from his specifications.  My breathing exercises diverge a bit from his, but he's right on target with most of his points. As for the blood testing, good luck with Medicare paying for that if you're like me.  I admire Rob Dial not only for his obvious sincerity in doing what he does for people's greater good: he promotes a healthy, positive outlook on living.  If there's any single one of the above eight suggestions he made that stands out in importance to me, it's #2: Be grateful.  I think too many of us, myself included, tend to look on the negative side of things instead of reflecting on the blessings we enjoy in our lives. Gratitude helps, especially in those areas we think are unduly stressful...

Discussing a Recent, Worthy Rob Dial Podcast Episode

This article isn't really for you folks out there in the worldwide web for your enlightenment, but if you get something from it then that's okay, too.  No, I just wanted to have a ready source at my own hands for the following material I picked up from a recent Rob Dial Mindset Mentor podcast.  He put it out last Friday, and the title was "7 Mindset Habits That Changed My Life".  Here they are:

1 Take radical responsibility...nobody is coming to rescue me...stop blaming others

2 Practice daily gratitude...even when life sucks

3 Reframe fear as a compass...pay attention to where it points, usually to discomfort zones where growth opportunities lie

4 Learn to trust intuition...the "whisper" in the mind over the "scream"

5 Act before I feel ready...ready, fire, aim...take action and then adjust through the mess

6 Speak to myself the way I speak to someone I love...the Desiderata says "Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself"

7 Let go of perfectionism...perfectionism is "fear in a fancy outfit"..."done" is better than "perfect"

Of course, Mr. Dial explains each of these in greater depth.  And my own "whispered" inner voice tells me that each of his points are very well-taken...

Five Stages in Personal Change, According to Podcaster

On one of his recent Mindset Mentor podcasts, personal development coach Rob Dial repeated a show I've heard before, but have felt to be one of his more significant and applicable topics: what makes people quit their goals.  I guess at this time a little more than a week after many people have started out with their New Year's resolutions, a large portion of them are having second thoughts about them...if not giving up altogether.  Citing Don Kelly and Daryl Connor, who first presented their Emotional Cycle of Change in 1979, Dial lays out the five stages in goal development:

1 Uninformed Optimism-great enthusiasm and misplaced confidence

2 Informed Pessimism-dawning awareness of the goal's difficulties

3 The Valley of Despair-discouragement and a feeling of futility  

  (Connor and Kelly have the 3rd stage as "Hopeful Realism"-also a bottoming out but with more optimism)

4 Informed Optimism-understanding that the goal is attainable with the means to attain it

5 Completion-the lack of ability has been replaced by incorporation into habit, becoming part of identity

I can look back into my past and see how I encountered the above different stages for various projects I've pursued. And since I've set about to structure some of my retirement with new projects, I know I will have to meet each stage as it comes.  Rob Dial suggests that, at that beginning stage, I spend some time and effort to ascertain exactly what it is that I want to achieve and why...this can be of supreme importance in not giving up when stages two and three come into play.  Dial's "Valley of Despair" makes more sense to me than Kelly and Connor's "Hopeful Realism"... then again you could just add the latter to the former and make it six stages instead of five. For me, personal projects are like adventures leading to other adventures...a lot of fun but also a lot of hard work, with failures along the way to be seen as outcomes I can learn from...

Podcaster Suggests Some Solutions for Common Anxiety

A couple of days ago Rob Dial, on his Mindset Mentor personal development podcast, discussed a technique of dealing with common, run-of-the-mill anxiety sometimes experienced over the course of the day.  You know, the kind of blah-feeling you get, getting tense but without knowing why.  Dial suggests going through the acronym HALT to try to filter out what may be going on.  HALT stands for hungry, angry, lonely, and tired.  He suggests that the cause for feeling out of sorts may well be simply one of these four, and often it's just a matter of dealing with them and moving on. And I suppose he's right...up to a point.  If I find I haven't eaten for a while, then sure, maybe getting some food down could help.  On the other hand, folks can also find themselves in a constant state of stress-producing hunger just by constantly eating and keeping their insulin levels high. To "hunger" I might add "thirst", and for the kind of drink (like water) that hydrates. Likewise anger can be unquenchable as well...along with addressing one's own anger it might be a good idea to check up on one's own tendency to anger, and whether or not there's a bad habit here to deal with.  Regarding "lonely", for generally extroverted people I imagine that's true, but being introverted I find the opposite applies, that being around others too much can bring me some anxiety.  Finally, being tired can definitely weigh down on one's life, and getting enough quality sleep cannot be underestimated...as well as taking strategic rest breaks throughout the day if possible.  So yes, I like the HALT method of stopping to see if I am anxious because of the above reasons, but at the same time I think it all needs to be tailored to each individual...

Quote of the Week...from Eleanor Roosevelt

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.               ---Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's wife and the nation's First Lady throughout his twelve-year presidency that began with the Great Depression and took us through World World II, was a powerful speaker and activist, noted for her championing of marginalized peoples.  Rob Dial, in today's podcast, gave her above quote that dovetailed nicely with his assertion that others...especially those with toxic personalities...can only hurt you with their words if you sense their truthfulness for yourself and internalize them.  How such triggers are processed...between the time they are heard and your response...can determine the quality of your life as psychologist Victor Frankl once emphasized.  I tend to agree, not that my own reactions to such negative experiences have demonstrated this for much of my life.  I can remember numerous instances of encountering toxic people and allowing their barbs to cut me.  Yet at the same time I didn't necessarily feel inferior as a result but rather grew to hate those committing the offenses.  As Max Ehrmann in his prose poem Desiderata once wrote, "Avoid loud and aggressive people, they are vexatious to the spirit".  Yet Dial regards toxic jerks and their insulting bullcrap as a gift to aid in people's personal development...oh, please, I bet you were one of them, dude. By the way, "bully" can be substituted for "toxic person"...

Podcaster Discusses Self-Disclpline

I've probably written here before about self-discipline and some steps that podcaster Rob Dial recommends to instill it.  His steps are pretty straightforward: one, finish what you started, not letting stuff linger afterwards to accumulate.  Two, plan ahead...making the actual execution of the task as easy and convenient as possible.  Three, design your environment...also making the required activity as effective, without obstacles and unnecessary distractions or interruptions, Four, focus on progress and not perfection...you're not trying to be the champ, but even a champion like Masters golf tournament winner Scottie Scheffler had his share of bogeys over the course of the 72 holes this past weekend.  And five, reward yourself for sticking with the program...taking strategic breaks is a positive step.  I've heard all this before but Dial reviewed it this morning and, at least for my own sake, thought it worthy of repeating.  With discipline, Rob Dial isn't talking for high achievers alone, but also for anyone who wants to raise the level of their living and invest in a better personal future...

Podcaster Discusses ADHD

On today's Mindset Mentor podcast, personal development coach Rob Dial discusses ADHD, or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.  His position is that it isn't necessarily a disorder, but rather a different way some people's minds are constructed, more appropriately and neutrally referred to as a trait instead of a disorder  He says that it is typified by three characteristics: inattention, distractibility, and hyperactivity.  For each, Dial suggests a positive side.  With inattention, typified by drifting away from what isn't interesting, there is often hyperfocus on what does attract interest. And with this arises an enhanced ability to creatively solve problems.  With distractibility, Dial replaces the negative connotation with the more positive presence of higher curiosity, once again contributing to problem solving with a greater propensity to think outside the box.  And finally, with regard to hyperactivity, our host refers to it as an ample supply of energy, perhaps directed in a way that others might not like.  In concluding, Rob Dial urges people either diagnosed with ADHD, or who strongly feel this within themselves, to be more physically active, take on new challenges, and embrace and accept the ADHD.  I was interested in this episode because a few years ago I took an online test to see if I had ADHD...if you scored 15 or higher out of a possible 20 you were advised to "run to a doctor"...I scored 17, and it explained much of what I have experienced throughout both my childhood and adult life, especially concerning how I handled school.  I for one do not feel that kids so diagnosed (or adults for that matter) should be drugged to alleviate the so-called "symptoms" of this so-called "disorder"...

Podcaster Discusses How to Quell Anxiety

It's been a while since I wrote about one of Rob Dial's Mindset Mentor podcasts. It isn't because I stopped listening to them or had lost interest, but rather that he wisely repeats his core beliefs on personal development...and I've already covered the gist of them.  One topic that came up yesterday that I've discussed before is anxiety and how to best deal with it.  Dial presents a number of strategies for countering the awful feeling of being stressed out and beside oneself with worry...together they pose a powerful arsenal against this sometimes destructive element in people's lives.  At the start, he emphasizes that stress in itself is a human survival mechanism designed to energize the body and focus the mind in times of danger.  The problem is that, in our modern "civilized" daily walk, the body interprets as mortal danger mere pressures that get improperly filtered through the mind and emotions.  As he says, anxiety is a natural response to PERCEIVED threats to security.  So, absent of a real threat, how does one alleviate anxiety?  Some ideas from our podcaster:

 

--Deep diaphragmatic breathing, through the nose, exhale twice as long through the mouth, repeat a few times.

--"Cognitive restructuring": identify the negative thoughts fueling the anxiety and challenge those thoughts...are they rational?

--Exposure therapy: gradually introduce oneself to what is inducing anxiety.  Say, you have a speech upcoming: then in an "off" time go that place and rehearse your speech there.

--Lower caffeine, sugar and alcohol while getting plenty of sleep.

Another point Rod Dial has made a number of times on his show is that 85% of what folks worry about never comes to pass, and of the remaining 15%, about 80% of that isn't as bad as feared.  I'd like to add that pausing to intentionally feel hope and gratitude in the midst of the inner turmoil has usually done wonders for myself...positive self-talk is very important, especially during these times...

About This Blog and a Potential Podcast

This blog, begun in April of 2007, now has more than 5,540 posts and I'm not even remotely considering ending it...for me it's been a successful disciplined exercise and outlet for my writing.  Although I have intentionally striven to avoid excessively personal and dramatic articles, at times my passions regarding a particular subject can come out on the page...that's good since this never was to be a dry, technical manual.  This is a personal journal, designed to have one foot objectively planted in the world around me and the other in my own inner world over which subjectivity reigns supreme. It's the intersection of these two worlds that defines reality for me.  Personal opinions and sometimes emotional reactions to what I experience, either in my daily walk or from being exposed to media news sources, are things that I naturally expect to often differ from those of other people.  The problem I see nowadays is that the expected bedrock of factual information, where that first foot is supposed to securely stand, also differs vastly from one individual to another. People have deliberately chosen to believe alternate realities and, with the choices that they have with their information sources, can now completely surround themselves with only that which affirms their prejudices and biases and either condemns or ignores differing and possibly challenging conclusions that could be drawn from a more realistic presentation of the news.  So, this is the world I live in in the year 2023, and I don't see things improving on this front anytime in the near future.  As for my personal expression, I am thinking of establishing my own brief podcast, in the same vein as this blog to serve as a consistent periodic disciplined exercise, not in writing though, but rather in speaking.  Since my speaking ability has always lagged far behind that of my writing, this should pose a bit of a challenge to my fear of rejection.  As a precursor to me starting out on this venture, I have decided to "schedule" my daily solo drives to work and back as "carcasts" in which I verbally speak out on a predetermined topic (with myself as the entire audience), much in the same way I write.  I figure if I do this enough times to place myself in a kind of habitual speaking "groove", then some of the awkwardness involved in improvised speaking specifically for effective podcasting can be exercised away and I can grow into this new activity.  I also need to find a suitable outlet for podcasts...since Google has served me nicely with this blog, I think I'll start there. Do you have a podcast or blog, and have you ever considered doing one?   

Podcaster Talks about Personal Affirmations

Last Friday podcaster Rob Dial discussed on his show the subject of personal affirmations, an area that he admittedly has had his own doubts about in the past.  There are the people, mainly prominent in self-help and name-it-and-claim it faith-based circles, who think that fervently believing in something can somehow manifest it into reality.  You're welcome to believe that or not as pleases you, but I was relieved that Dial covered it in a different light.  He focused on how personally affirming a desired goal, even if yet unfulfilled, can rewire the brain on multiple levels in a way that facilitates its accomplished...sounds reasonable to me.  To this end, he simplified the process by suggesting we simply state to ourselves the goal, as specifically as possible, and phrase it as "I am ----ing ----" to place into our brains the notion that it is already successfully being implemented.  Okay, dude, so is that all?  Well, Dial refined his idea by adding, beyond the need to be specific, bringing in an emotional charge to heighten the perceived experience while both consistently repeating the affirmation and visualizing the fruits of the goal's fulfillment.  He suggested that the combination of all these elements within an affirmation can transform it to more resemble an incantation, something that can dramatically transform the mind in the desired direction.  Of course, the goal does need to be realistic as well. Also, having a time deadline in mind sounds advisable, giving the matter a stronger sense of priority.  I remember one night many years ago sitting in a local Waffle House when a group of slightly intoxicated customers came in, talkative and loud.  One woman in the party kept saying repeatedly "Life's a bitch, life's a bitch". I wonder how many of us unthinkingly repeat the negative stuff like that while ignoring the possibilities of talking to ourselves (and others) in a gentler and more encouraging manner.  Then again, like I wrote last Friday on this blog, life can indeed sometimes be a bitch...

Quote of the Week...from Rob Dial

The one thing I really want you to understand from this strategy or another strategy is I just want you to have SOME strategy to hitting your goals.   

     ---Rob Dial

Rob Dial is the host and creator of the Mindset Mentor podcast, available on YouTube and other sites and devoted to personal development.  The above quote is from this past Monday's program in which Dial presented an effective approach to tackling personal goals.  In this he employed the acronym SMART:

"S": be Specific, precise about how, why, what, etc. you are trying to accomplish. Keep getting clearer, ask yourself detailed questions about the goal in question.  And visualize the outcome in as much detail as possible, while writing it down.

"M": Measurable, quantifiable results that can track progress along the way, breaking big goals into smaller ones.

"A": Achievable...think big but also think reasonable. Some goals that may seem unachievable might be attainable by sacrificing another part of your life, such as money, time, and other activities.

"R": Relevant...does this goal align well with your life values and ambitions, and why is it significant? Such examining can lead to a prioritizing of goals.

"T": Time...set a time limit, or deadline, for the goal's fulfillment.  Doing so can help create a sense of urgency and keep it in the forefront of your mind.

I brought up this particular podcast not only because it was helpful (it was), but also because I wanted to point out that Rob Dial's program is loaded with all these kinds of shows listing...either with acronyms or not...steps and/or facets of doing well in some personal area of development.  I don't need all of them...just take a few here and there and flow with it.  Sometimes wisdom has at its core some simple principles, but "learning" it all can become cumbersome when probably the best thing is to distill the main points and apply them.  I think Rob Dial would agree with me on that point...

Podcaster Rob Dial Discusses Ways to Deal with Stress and Anxiety

On a recent Mindset Mentor podcast, personal development coach Rob Dial cited the Mayo Clinic's "Four A's" to deal with anxiety, expanding upon each of them.  As Dial says, stressful situations are a natural part of living and in today's time of accelerating information, the Internet and smartphones, it is only going to intensify.  Stress in itself isn't bad, but rather the anxiety it can produce.  How to get around it? Dial points to the Mayo Clinic's suggestions, explaining that you go through each "A" in order to meet the situation.  They are Avoid, Alter, Accept and Adapt.  First, if you can avoid unwelcome stressful situations, then by all means do so.  If that isn't possible, then try to alter the worst parts of the situation to make it more manageable.  If you still don't get relief, then try to accept what is going on, and ask yourself whether your resistance to it isn't contributing in large part to your anxiety while feeling forgiveness toward anyone playing a role in it.  Finally, if you're still experiencing anxiety-producing stress, then consider adapting by changing yourself and your attitude toward it all, asking yourself why it is causing such trouble and working to see it in a more positive light.  Dial also recommends starting a personal stress management journal, writing down about such situations you may encounter and your strategies and progress for dealing with them.  Concluding his show, he added that practicing mindfulness of your present physical surroundings can aid in interrupting the ongoing pattern of stress and allow you to refocus in a more positive way.  Ultimately, it's all a matter of breaking things down to more manageable habits of thinking and action.  I thought it was one of his better podcasts...

Podcaster Lays Out Ideas for Focusing and Being More Productive

Personal development coach Rob Dial's latest Mindset Mentor podcast was about unlocking productivity and creating focus.  This is a recurring theme of his, and one that tends to attract my attention...so here goes.  He says that focus is saying yes for a set period of time to ONE thing while saying no to everything else.  In other words, eliminate distractions.  There's a lot of common sense distilled in Dial's message, which he breaks down to seven items: (1) remove your distractions, (2) prioritize your to-do list, (3) break down your large tasks into smaller tasks, (4) focus on your progress, (5) get enough sleep, (6) stay hydrated, and (7) take breaks.  I could do better with all of these...yet it's the first one, removing distractions, that is my most difficult.  There are two kinds of distractions as I see them, internally or externally imposed.  If I have the TV on in the background while I'm trying to study or write, then that's something I'm doing to myself.  If I'm around other people and haven't effectively communicated my own boundaries about my temporary need to be free of their interruptions, then that's on me as well.  Still, in those situations, distractions, however minor they may seem, can wreck concentration and focus and markedly set back progress.  Rob Dial is a big opponent of multi-tasking, which he claims greatly diminishes the value of any directed activity. I agree if they are similar in nature, but something like, say, running or walking while listening to an audiobook shouldn't cause any problem.  Better though, to focus on the one thing, as the Australian rock group INXS once sang about more than forty years ago...

Podcaster Lays Out Ways to "Hit Goals"

Personal development coach Rob Dial, on his Mindset Mentor podcast, often recycles the same messages, and the best presentations often appear on this blog. I know I'm repeating some stuff here, but the way I see it, if it ain't worth repeating, it's probably not worth stating in the first place!  This podcast had him listing and describing "Seven Steps to Hit Any Goal", as it is titled.  Now I'm usually not into setting goals as be-alls and end-alls, but rather as incremental steps, or milestones if you will, in my transforming into the person I want to become.  That having been said, let's check out these goals...

1-Fixate on exactly what it is that you want.

2-Determine exactly what you will give up to achieve the goal (Rob's favorite point).

3-Figure out a date (deadline) you're going to hit the goal by.

4-Create a plan to hit the goal and start immediately.

5-Write a clear and concise statement...condensing the first four points into a mission statement.

6-Take the statement from #5 and read it out loud to yourself at least twice a day.

7-Determine how you can make it easier on yourself.

Does a lot of this sound obvious to you? It did to me...duh, these are all good suggestions toward achieving a felt goal.  Yet the host left out the most important step: once you've figured out and done these seven steps, you still have to work diligently and patiently to attain your goal's fulfillment. Of course, that one is also obvious to most of us, I believe.  Rob Dial gives credit to self-help book author Napoleon Hill in his book Think and Grow Rich for most of his pointers. The fact that Hill was something of a con artist in his day doesn't mean he didn't have some good things to say...you just have to filter it out from all the other crap...  

Podcaster Spells Out Ten Mistakes Language Learners Make

Although I've only recently been listening to Steve Kaufmann's podcast, I have access to many he's done in the months before I heard of him.  Kaufmann is a polyglot...he speaks some 20 languages at last count...who founded a subscription-driven website, LingQ, that uses his techniques of language learning and offers it to others: I recently signed up and like it.  One of his earlier podcasts, from a couple of months ago, dealt with mistakes that language learners make.  Listed, they are:

(1) Expecting you can learn fast (don't have unrealistic expectations).

(2) Expecting to never forget words or grammar patterns you have learned (but learning is itself a process of forgetting and relearning).

(3) Trying to master the grammar rules in detail up front (nothing wrong in looking them up from time to time, though).

(4) Expecting the language to become clear too soon (patience, patience).

(5) Sticking with learning content that is too easy (good for review but need to challenge with more difficult material).

(6) Thinking you can get by with just a few words (once a native speaker starts to talk back to you then you'll realize you need to learn a lot more).

(7) Thinking you should speak well even if you don't speak often (it takes a lot of practice).

(8) Being afraid of making mistakes when you speak (Kaufmann just came back from Poland where he gave two interviews IN POLISH and laughed about all the mistakes he made).

(9) Speaking with only non-native speakers (non-native speakers tend to limit the range of their vocabulary).

(10) Dealing with the challenge from native speakers when they want to practice their English on you (either find some willing to speak in your target language or make an arrangement to alternate languages with those wanting to speak English).

Steve Kaufmann impressed me by his emphasis on the gradual assimilation of large amounts of words by reading and listening.  From time to time, I'll let you know how I'm doing on the LingQ site...