The best solution so far

The Egyptian philosopher Ptolemy theorized that the Earth was the stationary center of the Universe. About 1400 years later, Nicolaus Copernicus displaced this theory with his theory that the Earth actually moved around the Sun. This was a better solution in explaining how the heavenly bodies moved.

The theory was not well received. In fact, 90 years after Copernicus released his theory in De revolutionibus orbium coelestium , Galileo Galilei was convicted of grave suspicion of heresy for "following the position of Copernicus, which is contrary to the true sense and authority of Holy Scripture,"^[21] and was placed under house arrest for the rest of his life.

People have a hard time accepting different ways of seeing the universe. It is hard to change from one way of thinking to another. Stephen R. Covey calls this a paradigm shift. I, however, am starting to embrace new ways of thinking.

The more I learn different ways of looking at the world, the more I realize that my way of thinking is flawed. For example, I used to believe there was a job out there I would love so much it wouldn't even seem like work and I wouldn't be happy working until I found that job.

I now believe that I can choose to be happy at my present job and I am proving that this way of thinking is a better solution. I still believe there is a job which I can naturally be happy doing and I'm still searching for it, but this dream job is no longer the only way I can be happy.

Asking the question "Is this the best solution I've found so far to address this problem?" is quickly becoming my new habit of choice. I ask myself this question in regards to my health habits, my money habits, when dealing with other people in my relationships, when meditating on my religious beliefs and so on.

I am now constantly trying to improve the process by challenging my current ways of thinking and doing things. I have a weight loss program that is working very well. I recently watched a show called I can make you thin featuring Paul McKenna. I found that my system of weight loss utilizes very similar techniques as his system. I didn't find much reason to adopt anything he suggests but at least I viewed his suggestions with an open mind. I currently don't have any "issues" with my system, it is the best solution I have found so far.

I am also very happy with my financial plan and the way I live my life with balance using the 8 habits that Stephen Covey has taught in his many books. I am confident I have very good systems in place to help me live a live of health, wealth and happiness.

But I'm still looking to improve them.

The Ultimate Habit

The Ultimate Habit is to create new positive habits or break old negative habits every 30 days. Today I will be showing you some of my system for achieving all my goals. I will warn you, however, that this system is a work-in-progress and I don't consider it done by any means.

I wanted a master system that would force me to do all the things I needed to do on a daily basis to achieve all my goals and keep me from quitting. I use what I have called a Weekly Habit Worksheet. Here is an illustration of one similar to the one I use:

As you can see I list all of my daily tasks in the order they will happen and I have check boxes under the day(s) they should happen. Every line item is a habit that I want to perform on a regular basis.

They are not always daily habits. For example I only trim my nails, beard, ears and nose once a week. Ears and Nose? Yeah, I'm getting old.

Just about every item has been forgotten at one time or another before using the Habit Worksheet. Some weren't being done at all, like the trimming of the ears and nose. (Eewww!)

Now I remember to do everything on every day and it keeps me focused on doing the mundane little things that just make life a little better as well as the monumental goals I have set for myself. After viewing it you may ask how it keeps me working on really big goals. It really doesn't list out things a person might be trying to accomplish like building wealth, increasing education or losing weight. The Habit Worksheet is only one document in a complete system. Other documents I use include:

A goals list which is viewed when I Review OneNote Goals (W, M, Q). W=Weekly, M=Monthly and Q=Quarterly in case you were wondering. OneNote is a Microsoft product that is really cool! Click the link to check it out. All of the documents I list here are in OneNote and get reviewed when I do this one habit.

A Planning Calendar which shows upcoming appointments, birthdays, and events.

My weight management plan which is super simple and working very well. I'll blog on this later.

My vehicle maintenance plan. I also have habits to check mileage on our vehicles every Saturday. I can then schedule routine maintenance when needed. I have a separate entry for my wife's Jeep because she leaves early for work on Saturday mornings so I check the mileage before she leaves the house.

I have an ideas list. I review this when I do the Review cell phone recordings habit. My cell phone has a voice recorder and I'm constantly recording an idea when it pops into my head. I place these ideas into my ideas list. I have a one hour commute and am often thinking of new blog posts when I'm not listening to an audiobook.

My financial plan which is really Dave Ramsey's financial plan. I do have some tips and stuff that I list to help squeeze out every dollar while doing my six baby steps of the Total Money Makeover. I am now constantly challenging our budget and habits to see how I can speed up my makeover. I'll blog some of these things in a later post.

So I have processes and plans in place to

1. Be my ideal weight (and stay there for good this time!)
   
2. Be safe, debt-free and then mega-rich
3. Be a great father, husband, relative, in-law, friend and employee (and eventually business owner/employer)
4. Be generous and help others
   
5. Hopefully go to Heaven when it's all over

If life is worth living then it's worth living with Excellence. Whether you live it with excellence is entirely up to you. Have a great day!