"It is not
enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy
about?"
Henry David Thoreau
Everyone is busy. I get that. It is the major excuse I hear for
not achieving your goals. Remember those? Only ten days ago, you were pumped
and ready to hit the computer, the treadmill, or the produce section of the
grocery store.
Where did that inspiration disappear? It has been
ten days, and like the cloud of dust at the starting gate, it has vanished in
the wind.
This happens to me EVERY DAY. So what do I do?
First of all, I examine what I have accomplished
since my new burst of motivation, which began twenty days ago. ( I start my new year’s
resolutions the day after
Christmas.) I pretty much know what my goals will be by Dec 25th,
but between then and Jan 1st I may tweak them, making them more specific.
I believe part of my success comes about from constantly
tracking my progress. For example, my first resolution, Getting Fit and Staying Fit, I use
the app, S
Health App. According to the app, I am averaging 2400 steps per day. That’s
one mile a day.
No, that is NOT 10,000 steps, but I believe it is
more than the average. 2400 steps is 24%
of 10,000 steps. To be completely honest, I have absolutely no intension of
reaching 10,000 step. My goal is to keep moving, that’s all. So, ten days into my news year’s resolution. I
am a success.
MY MISTAKE is to focus on the days I don't walk. That, my friends, is the path to discouragement with a destination called, Giving Up, located in Nowhereville.
The other popular resolutions such as, Get
Organized, Enjoy Life To The Fullest and Spend More Time With Family are interlinked with one
another.
To sum this up, I look at only the positive aspects
of my activities. Here is what I have
accomplished in the past ten days.
1.
I have walked an average of one
mile per day.
2.
I have spent 5% of my time with family.
It is easy to shove family time aside for more urgent
responsibilities. Since I live alone, I organize Spending More Time With Family
into my schedule. Building, renewing, and strengthening family ties leads to enjoying
life to the fullest.
3.
Already this year, I have
satisfied my goal To Volunteer and To Help Others by conducting two seminars
from my series titled THE ROAD TO WRITING.
As Vice President of Programs for
The Diamond Valley Wrriters Guild in Hemet, California, I am proud to say I have assisted
the President, Lynne
Morgan Spreen to invent the this
organization that will inspire and motivate writers everywhere. Please join us at our inaugural, ribbon-cutting meeting at the Hemet Library on Saturday, January 23rd 9-11am. Check out the website to find more information about the speaker, Ray (Rusty) Strait.
4.Finally, Enjoying Life To The
Fullest, you may be surprised, is not always the easiest for me to do.
For someone who has already traveled over 600 miles
in her motorhome I am a workaholic. I make excuses to avoid experiencing new
places and doing new things. But, here is what I have accomplished so far.
The Palm Spring
Aerial Tramway in Palm Springs, California has been on my bucket list for a long time. I finished up my seminars
at the Western Area Family
Motor Coach Association Rally charged up on a high from the great feedback
of the attendees and decided to go for it.
By itself, the two and one half mile ride
straight up the side of the San Jacinto Mountain is breathtaking and just a bit
nerve rattling as the tramcar swings as it passes over each of the four towers.
. We passed through five eco systems from 2600 feet elevation, similar to the
Mexican Sonoran Desert, all the way up to an elevation of 8500 feet, which
supports an Alpine wilderness.
Over two feet of bright, pristine snow and
temperatures at 32 degrees, greeted me. What
a ride! What a landscape!
 |
| The Airdale |
Surviving my tram ride, and returning to the Indio Elks Lodge where I intended to spend the next few nights, I discovered The Kennel Club of Palm Springs was hosting the AKC All Breed Dog Show at the Empire Polo Grounds. Here is a small sampling of some very proud dogs.
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| The Afghan |
 |
| The Old English Sheepdog |
 |
| The Saluki |
 |
My favorite, The German Shepherd
|
I will hang out here at the Elks Lodge for a few days and then head just a few miles down the road to The Fantasy Springs Resort Casino to catch the performances of The Temptations and the Four Tops and Tony Bennett.
And finally, I will return to the Quartzite, Arizona where the population will have peaked while I have been gone from one thousand people to over a million.
Check out Judy Howard's Books on Amazon
By itself, the two and one half mile ride
straight up the side of the San Jacinto Mountain is breathtaking and just a bit
nerve rattling as the tramcar swings as it passes over each of the four towers.
. We passed through five eco systems from 2600 feet elevation, similar to the
Mexican Sonoran Desert, all the way up to an elevation of 8500 feet, which
supports an Alpine wilderness. 
I will hang out here at the Elks Lodge for a few days and then head just a few miles down the road to The Fantasy Springs Resort Casino to catch the performances of The Temptations and the Four Tops and Tony Bennett.
