Murrieta, CA, June 9, 2011—Brian Osher, Founder & CEO of GAIN Life Global LLC and Productive Balance LLC, has officially announced the launch of Productive Balance—a groundbreaking productivity tool developed to enhance the traditional to-do list for individuals, business professionals, and those challenged with ADD / ADHD.
Productive Balance is the creation of Brian Osher, successful life coach and entrepreneur with a passion for excellence. Designed as a membership-based application aimed to increase productivity and measure results, Productive Balance is based on a core value system you assign to daily, weekly, monthly, annual or uniquely customizable time frames to meet your needs. People of all ages can create points-based sessions with tasks linked to key areas of life including family, relationships, parenting, fitness, personal growth, work, and recreation—all geared to help you live a richer, fuller life with more free time on your hands to have fun! The points system is powered by functionality that rewards the user with the ability to compare points earned to points possible.

Another value-added feature of Productive Balance is the concept of accountability and working with a sponsor, who can be assigned per session, to keep you on track with your goals. Productive Balance defines a sponsor as an ‘accountability partner,’ one who champions another along the journey of effective goal-setting.

The initial idea behind Productive Balance goes back to Brian’s own personal struggles and frustrations with finding a simple way to get more of the right things done on a consistent basis. “The true concept of Productive Balance began to soar when I identified key areas in my life and called them my personal core values. By doing this, it became very clear to me where I was devoting the most and least attention. After several months of using Productive Balance,” Brian revealed, “I noticed that I was starting to get more things done than ever before. When I introduced Productive Balance to a few of my coaching clients, they loved it! From this point on, it was clear to me that there was a public need for a productivity system like this. There was no question in my mind—I had to develop it.”

New users are invited to sign up for a FREE, 14-day trial. Offered at three affordable price points, Productive Balance offers users a content-rich set of features including detailed reporting and time-saving templates to catapult your productivity and measure results.

I recently (finally) watched the George Clooney movie “Up in the Air”. As always, Clooney did an outstanding job of selling the strength of his character to his audience. In this film, Clooney plays the part of Ryan Bingham, a constantly traveling corporate downsizer and part-time motivational speaker. There are many life lessons that can be taken from this film, but the one that most grabbed my attention stemmed from Bigham’s motivational keynote speech entitled “What’s In Your Backpack?”

Although the message of this speech is centered on the philosophy of ridding your life of commitments and possessions, my take away from it was more general. Rather than focusing on the possessions and commitments (I think we all need both to some degree), I believe that we should look at reducing / removing all of the other burdens that are weighing us down.

In the movie, the backpack represents the load of “stuff” that we are carrying. The heavier the load on our back, the slower we move forward. I think that principal is so true. So ask yourself, what kind of “stuff” are you carrying in your backpack? Are you carrying a financial mess, a relationship crisis, a career change, an addiction, a car that needs repair, a phone call that needs to be made, a promise that needs to be kept, or even a never ending battle with low self-esteem? This list could go on and on. I believe that we all have our own backpack full of things that are weighing us down.

The question is how long are you going to carry this life-hindering pack? How long have you already carried it?

Take a good look inside of your personal backpack. What’s in there? What are the things that are causing you to slow down? If you look closely, you’ll not only see some pretty big items, but mixed in with those big items, you’ll probably also find a whole bunch of little tiny weights. These tiny weights don’t seem like much on their own, but when you put them all together, the pounds really begin to add up.

Here’s the point… In order to start really moving forward in your life, you need to begin removing some of this weight off of your shoulders. Take a minute and imagine how different and how much better it would feel to walk with a lighter load on your back. It’s kind of refreshing and energizing, isn’t it? How much faster and further could you walk with a lighter load?

So, now that we know we’re carrying too much weight on our shoulders, what do we do about it? Follow these steps and see if your ability to make significant progress in your life improves.

Six Steps to Reducing Your Weight

Step 1: Identify all of the different weights that you are carrying on your shoulders.
Make a list of all of the things in your life that are causing you frustration, stress, or concern. List big things and small things. (If you feel like you have too many items on your list, narrow that list down to ten items.
A good way to determine what belongs on this list is to think about the things that cross your mind on a regular basis that ultimately cause you to think negatively.

Step 2: Order your list from heaviest item to lightest item.
Which items on your list are weighing you down the most? The least? Assign a number to each item – 10 being the heaviest, 1 being the lightest.

Step 3: ‘Commit’ to removing the weight of one item on your list.
Which item is the heaviest item on your list? Are you willing and able to commit to improving your life in that one area? If your answer is “no”, then choose the next heaviest item. Keep going down your list until you decide on one that you will 100% commit to removing from your backpack.

Step 4: Plan and take action immediately!
Get started at removing this weight from your life right away. Figure out what you need to do (set a plan) and then immediately take one action step to get started.

Step 5: Stay focused and keep moving forward.
Don’t forget that you committed to removing this weight from your life. Once you’ve committed yourself to something, stick with it until it’s done! When you get stuck, visualize how much lighter your load will be and how much more freely you will be able to move forward.

Step 6: Repeat the process.
Choose the next heaviest item on your list and then commit to removing that weight from your shoulders. Keep going until you have removed all of the items on your list. Once your list is complete, write another list.

Although it may not be realistic to have a completely empty backpack, it is very possible to have control of and manage the weight that you carry around. I encourage you to always try and recognize that you do have certain things in your life that are weighing you down, but you should also recognize that you do have the power and the ability to lighten that load. If you desire to walk further, walk lighter!

About the Author:

Brian Osher is a certified Life Coach and motivational blogger, specializing in personal productivity, life balance, and limitless transition. He is a natural motivator and has a passion for helping others make meaningful strides in their lives. Brian is a Christian, devoted husband, and the proud daddy of two and is living in Southern California. His motivational blog, “Gaining Ground” offers Life Coaching tips, tools, and techniques, as well as a healthy dose of purposeful motivation that will help you to move forward in your life.

To learn more about Brian, or to sign-up for a free (no obligation) coaching session, and to find out how he can help you grow in any desired area of your life, please visit http://www.gainlifecoaching.com or e-mail him at brian@gainlifecoaching.com.

I recently read an article about a guy who actually lifted a car off of a six year old little girl who was trapped underneath. (You can read the article here.) We’ve all read or heard different stories of people using their super-human strength to do incredible and unlikely things in the face of an emergency. I don’t know about you, but I love those kinds of stories. Why? Because not only do those stories inspire me, and you know by now that I’m an “inspiration junkie”, but also because they serve as a reminder to me that anything is possible when we have strong enough reasons to accomplish a goal, whatever that goal might be.

Although lifting a car off of a child might be an extreme example, it does prove without question that we are physically and mentally capable of doing so much more than we think we are. So, what’s the difference? Why don’t we just walk around lifting cars all day long? Again, I say it’s because our reasons for lifting the car just aren’t strong enough.

Or… What if your boss told you that if you tripled your sales this month that he would send you and your entire family on a trip around the world? Would you find a way to triple your sales? Uh, yeah!

So, although it’s not likely that you’ll be faced with either of these scenarios, it is very likely that you have your own goals that you’re trying to achieve, or that you have your own weights that you are trying to lift off of your life. If you’ve been trying to lift these weights and they just won’t budge, or if you’re trying to reach a goal without success, I would suggest that you try again, but this time take a good look at your reasons for wanting to succeed. Before trying to accomplish anything significant, always ask yourself the following questions:

1. Why is reaching this goal so important to me?
I encourage you to dig really deep here. Get down to the “real” reasons that reaching the goal is so important. Link the emotions / feelings behind the desire to your objective.
Write these reasons down and keep them in front of you!

2. How will I benefit from reaching this goal? (Associate the pleasure)
Dream here! Write down ALL of the good things that will come into your life once this goal has been reached. Visualize these great things in your future.
Write these reasons down and keep them in front of you!

3. What are the consequences for not reaching this goal? (Associate the pain)
What do you stand to lose by not reaching this goal? What would be the most terrible consequence?
Write these consequences down and keep them in front of you!

Lastly, take a look back at a few of the big accomplishments in your life. I would be willing to bet that if you thought about it, you would be able to identify the reasons that you had for achieving your goal, and I’d bet that those reasons were pretty important. Understand this. You have the ability to accomplish anything that you set your mind on. Just really focus on identifying those reasons and find a way to keep them in front of you. If you do that, you will find a way to accomplish your goal!

About the Author:

Brian Osher is a certified Life Coach and motivational blogger, specializing in personal productivity, life balance, and limitless transition. He is a natural motivator and has a passion for helping others make meaningful strides in their lives. Brian is a Christian, devoted husband, and the proud daddy of two and is living in Southern California. His motivational blog, “Gaining Ground” offers Life Coaching tips, tools, and techniques, as well as a healthy dose of purposeful motivation that will help you to move forward in your life.

To learn more about Brian, or to sign-up for a free (no obligation) coaching session, and to find out how he can help you grow in any desired area of your life, please visit http://www.gainlifecoaching.com or e-mail him at brian@gainlifecoaching.com.

“Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.” – Will Rogers
Have you ever been sitting at your desk and just staring at your computer screen, but doing nothing? Don’t worry; I think that happens to all of us at one time or another. One of the reasons that this happens to us is a result of what I call “Paralyzed Productivity”. Paralyzed Productivity is when you want to be productive, and when you’re ready to be productive, but you just can’t seem to move forward. So, why does this happen to us?

One of the most common causes of Paralyzed Productivity stems from a feeling of being overwhelmed. For example, sometimes we have so many things on our plate, we just can’t decide what to take a bite out of first. So, instead of working on something, we’ll work on nothing. Or, we’ll work on something that is totally different than what we should be working on. Sound familiar?

So, how do we overcome being paralyzed and instead become productive? There are two approaches that you can take. If you’re feeling like you don’t really want to be productive, but you know that you need to be, then I recommend just getting started with something / ANYTHING. Check out my recent article “Need a Productivity Boost? Start With the Little Things First.” The concept here is that a little action will lead to more action, which will lead to even more action. Just getting started is the key.

However, if you find yourself really wanting to work, but just not knowing where to start, then I suggest following these six simple steps:

1. Write down a SHORT list of a few items that you know that you MUST get done today.
• I suggest limiting this list to only three or four key items. You can always add to your list later.

2. Assign a priority to each of your items.
• (1 = Most important, 2 = Next most important, etc)

3. Set a specific and reasonable time limit to accomplish the first (most important) item on your list.
• Racing against the clock will increase your sense of urgency.

4. Remove all potential distractions so that you have complete focus on your task.
• This step is so important that I’ve written a separate article just on this topic. Check out “Struggling With Productivity? Remove the Distractions”.

5. Get started! Go to work and don’t stop until your first task has been completed.

6. Continue working on your next most important task.
• Go back to steps 3-5 and keep going!

Remember, the most important key to being productive is always to just get started. Again, action will lead to more action, which will lead to more action! Give these six steps for increasing your productivity a try and see if it doesn’t make a difference in the outcome of your day. You can do it!

About the Author:

Brian Osher is a certified Life Coach and motivational blogger, specializing in personal productivity, life balance, and limitless transition. He is a natural motivator and has a passion for helping others make meaningful strides in their lives. Brian is a Christian, devoted husband, and the proud daddy of two and is living in Southern California. His motivational blog, “Gaining Ground” offers Life Coach tips, tools, and techniques, as well as a healthy dose of purposeful motivation that will help you to move forward in your life.

To learn more about Brian, or to sign-up for a free (no obligation) coaching session, and to find out how he can help you grow in any desired area of your life, please visit http://www.gainlifecoaching.com or e-mail him at brian@gainlifecoaching.com.

Today’s blog post is a punishment of sorts for myself. I believe that this morning I set a new personal record, maybe even a new world record. I actually hit my snooze button for ninety minutes before getting out of bed! Yes, I confess! This is not normal for me and I am not typically a snoozer, but today it got me! Granted, my alarm went off at 4:15 in the morning for my daily date with the gym, but that’s no excuse. My mind had the greatest intentions in the world to get up, but apparently my sleepy body was in total disagreement. I guess this morning it was body over mind and the battle to get to the gym was lost. Needless to say, I’m not thrilled with the outcome, so I figured I’d write a quick post and take some action to help prevent this from happening again in the future. Uggh…

My issue isn’t so much that I overslept, apparently I needed that. It’s more the fact that I had a goal and a plan, but I didn’t take the necessary action to reach my goal. So, when this happens to me I try to ask myself the following questions: What went wrong? And, How do I prevent it in the future? In today’s case, these questions are easy to answer. What went wrong? I didn’t get enough sleep and it was too easy to hit and re-hit and re-re-hit, etc my snooze button.

What can I do to prevent this in the future? Well, that’s an interesting question. Obviously, I can try to get more sleep. But realistically, that’s not always going to happen. For me, I don’t consider not enough sleep a good enough reason to miss the gym. I think the more important thing for me to figure out is how I can prevent myself from hitting the snooze button over and over. The first thing that came to mind was to move my alarm clock to the other side of the room. That way, I’ll have to actually get out of bed to shut it off. (I’ll be moving my clock tonight.) But, check this out… I remember hearing an advertisement or a story (not sure which) on the radio a while back for a funky alarm clock that apparently goes nuts when you hit the snooze more than once. I did some research this morning and I found it. It’s called “Clocky”. It’s funny, this clock is on wheels and if you hit the snooze button more than once, it actually rolls off of the nightstand and runs around your room while making all kinds of annoying noises. It forces you to get out of bed, track it down (probably under your bed or something), and then figure out how to turn it off. Haha – that’s quite a visual! I’m not sure that I need to go to the “Clocky” extreme, but some of you might.

So, to wrap it all up, what’s my point from a coach’s perspective? I think there are two points here. First, if you fall victim to the snooze trap, and as a result miss out on following through with your action plans, do something to remove the snooze option, or at least make it more difficult to use. But, the more important message here is that when you encounter any kind of obstacle that prevents you from reaching your goals, take action to fix it! Do something to prevent those obstacles from getting in your way in the first place. As always, quickly learn from your mistakes and prevent them from happening in the future.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel better now!

—

About the Author:

Brian Osher is a certified Life Coach and motivational blogger, specializing in personal productivity, life balance, and limitless transition. He is a natural motivator and has a passion for helping others make meaningful strides in their lives. Brian is a Christian, devoted husband, and the proud daddy of two and is living in Southern California. His motivational blog, “Gaining Ground” offers Life Coach tips, tools, and techniques, as well as a healthy dose of purposeful motivation that will help you to move forward in your life.

To learn more about Brian, or to sign-up for a free (no obligation) coaching session, and to find out how he can help you grow in any desired area of your life, please visit http://www.gainlifecoaching.com or e-mail him at brian@gainlifecoaching.com.

Do you ever wonder why some people are so much more productive than other people? Do you struggle with your ability to get enough done? Do you have to-do lists that just remain to-do lists instead of becoming already done lists? Are you constantly in search of the magic secret of how to get things done?

For many of us, the answer to all of these questions is YES! Personally speaking, I had struggled with my own productivity battles for many years. I spent countless hours searching for the best and most effective productivity tools and techniques. Of all of the tips and information that I dug up, there were two things that I decided to focus on and see if it would make a significant difference in my results.

The first thing that I knew that I had to do was to COMMIT to becoming a more productive person. This is the most important step in any goal that you aim to achieve or in any lifestyle change that you want to make. Before anything else, you have to make a firm decision to make that change and commit to it at all costs. If you can truly do that, then half of the battle is already won. Always ask yourself if this goal is worth achieving or if this lifestyle change is worth making. If the answer is yes – commit to it!

The second thing that I decided to commit to doing was to remove all potential distractions when it was time to work and get things done. This alone has made a greater impact on my productivity that anything else that I’ve tried. By removing the distractions during my work time, I am now able to stay focused and as a result, get much more done in a shorter period of time. Here’s how I did it:

Tips for Removing and Managing Distractions-

1. Identify the little things that keep you from focusing on your work-I wrote out an honest list of everything that would potentially distract me while I was working. For me, those things included: Incoming emails, texts, instant messages, phone calls, random web searches, kid interruptions, and even playing my guitar.

2. Create a checklist of your typical distractions and keep that list in your work area-Keeping this list in front of you will serve as a reminder that you need to stay focused. Review your list each time you sit down to work and take the necessary actions to prevent those distractions before they come up. In my case, I would close my email, instant messenger, internet, turn off my phone, etc. By doing this, I was making a conscious decision to avoid the distractions. Eventually, taking these action steps became a habit and it is now just the way that I work, without even thinking about it.

3. Schedule your work times as well as your break times-This is a key component to staying focused. Schedule both work shifts and distraction breaks into your day. Depending on what I am working on, I will typically schedule myself for hour-long shifts. I will commit to “focused” work for about fifty minutes at a time, and then I’ll take a ten to fifteen minute break before starting again. During that break time, I will do things like check email, answer texts, etc. The key here is to put a time limit on your breaks and put off the non-urgent things that come up until after I’ve finished working for the day.

4. Get Others On Board-I discovered that it makes a big difference when those around you understand and respect your dedicated work time. If those people who might normally distract you understand the importance of not bothering you while you’re working, they will tend to leave you alone. This is an essential step, whether you work at home or in an office. In my case, my family knows that if my office door is shut, that I am not available for anything less than an emergency. They understand and respect my commitment to being productive and they know that I’ll be on a short break soon enough, at which point they can have my attention. Tip: If have a hard time convincing others to let you work, try making a bold “Do Not Disturb” sign and put it on your door or on your desk. They’ll get the hint!

5. Keep Practicing!
Becoming productive is a skill. All skills require practice and repetition in order to excel at them. Stay with it at all costs. If you find yourself slipping and easily becoming distracted, re-focus on your commitment and your strategy and get back to work. Eventually, it will become easier and easier to stay focused.

What strategies do you use to stay focused on your work? What do you do when you notice that you’re focusing more on your distractions than on the tasks that matter most? What has worked for you? What hasn’t worked for you? As always, I encourage you to share your thoughts with me and with our readers. Your input might just help somebody else to move forward in their life. We’re all in this together!

We all have peaks and valleys in our life. We all experience times when we feel great about ourselves, and then other times when we feel like nothing is going right. I’m not sure about you, but no matter how hard I try to stay positive, there are still plenty of times when my mind is consumed with negative thoughts and feelings. I’m not alone here, am I?

In my experience, there are a few keys to surviving the “I’ve got the blues” emotions. I think that the first and most important tip for handling these emotions is to force yourself to recognize that although you may be feeling down in this moment, that these are only temporary feelings and that they WILL pass. Remind yourself that you’ve been down before, but that every time you’ve been down, you’ve managed to get back up. Again, these feelings will pass! Another key in managing your down emotions is to understand and remember that you do have the ability to control your feelings and to turn them around any time that you want to. If you can remember these two things (recognize that your feelings are temporary and understand that you are in control), you are already well on your way to feeling better.

When you’re feeling down, try using some of these tips to turn your spirits around and get yourself back on track:

• Be grateful for what you DO have-We all have so many things in our lives that we can be grateful for regardless of where we are in our lives today. From the air that we breathe, to the health of our family, to the food on our table, there are so many things that we all have to be grateful for. If you truly take the time to recognize all of the blessings that you do have in your life, it will become nearly impossible to remain feeling down.

• Recognize your individual greatness-Although you may not be thinking about these things at the moment, there are plenty of areas of your life that make you great! Force yourself to take the time to think about what these things are for you. Are you a great leader? Are you a great parent or friend? Are you an inspiration for others? It’s important to remember that none of us are perfect human beings. We all have things that we excel at and we all have things that we struggle with. Your ability to recognize and focus on your individual greatness is an essential component in strengthening your emotional health.

• Find a fan-When I’m feeling down and the positive self-talk isn’t boosting me as quickly as I would like, I force myself to reach out and find somebody who is more than willing to help give me the lift that I need. One of things that I am most grateful for in my life is that I have several people that are able to fill the “fan” role for me. For starters, I have my wife. She is my biggest fan – always! All that I have to do is hint that I’m in an emotional valley and she’ll be right there to lift me up. It works every time! Who do you have in your life that can fill the fan role for you? Maybe it’s your spouse, or child, or a friend, or even your coach? Find that person, reach out to them and let them know you need a lift, and then accept their support. It works!

• Take action-One of the most reliable tools that we can use to turn our emotions from sour to sweet is to simply get ourselves moving. Most likely, the cause of your blues has to do with something in your life that you can control. Determine what it is that is most driving you down and commit yourself to taking some kind immediate action to move you forward in that area. Action always creates motivation. Motivation creates more action.

These are just a few of the tools that I use to help pick me when I’m dragging in the dirt. What works for you? What tips and tricks do you use to turn your emotions around? Leave a comment below and help somebody else move forward in their life!

Other related articles: The Power of Self-Talk, What To Do When Your Life Is A Mess

“Praise is like sunlight to the human spirit: we cannot flower and grow without it.” – Jess Lair

Giving a simple word of encouragement to somebody is one of the easiest and most effective things that we can do to help others move forward. Think about the times when you have been in pursuit of your own goal, or even just walking through life minding your own business, and somebody pays you an unexpected compliment or recognizes an effort that you’ve been making. Without an exception, hearing something like this lifts our spirits and raises our self-esteem. Receiving this type of positive feedback not only makes us feel good instantly, but it also motivates us to continue pushing forward.

I ran into a friend this past weekend that I hadn’t seen in quite a while. She immediately noticed and complimented me on my weight loss and said that she could tell that I’ve been working out. That positive feedback totally elevated my spirits. Not so much because it made me feel good, but more so because somebody recognized my efforts and helped to validate that my hard work is making a difference. That one comment alone helped to motivate me to not only make it back to the gym, but it also inspired me to workout even harder. It made a big difference!

As a Life Coach, one of my biggest responsibilities is to ensure that I give constant and consistent positive feedback and encouragement to my clients. Why? Because not only do I know that it always makes a huge difference, but also because I know that most people don’t hear enough of this positive feedback and encouragement from others. In a way, that saddens me. Encouraging others is something that is so easy to do, it takes so little time and energy, and it makes such a big difference in other’s lives as well as our own.

So, what can you do to become a top-notch encourager of others? I suggest that you just start by committing yourself to lifting others whenever you can. Once you’ve done that, start paying attention to those around you. Actively look for people who are trying to make improvements of any kind in their lives and then find something nice, and most importantly, genuine to say to them to let you know that you’re recognizing and supporting their efforts. Then, notice the difference in their behavior – it’s likely that they’ll be on cloud nine! As an added bonus, you’ll build and strengthen your relationships along the way. Like always, I say “Go for it!”

Do you need an extra boost of positive feedback, encouragement, and motivation in your life? If so, you’re not alone. We all do! If you’re serious about moving forward, I encourage you to work with a Life Coach – that’s what we do, and we love to do it! Sign-up today for a free coaching session with me at www.gainlifecoaching.com and experience the positive difference and growth that we can make in your life by working together to achieve your goals.

I just read a mind blowing statistic. According to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Company, the average amount of time that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children is a mere thirty-nine minutes per week – or, less than six minutes per day! Six minutes per day? Really? Does this statistic surprise you? Do you and your family fall into this category? If so, you’re not alone.

Whether you fall into the six minutes per day category, or even somewhere else on the kid quality time scale, it’s likely that you have a desire to spend more time with your children. I think as parents, we all have the desire and intention of spending more quality time with our kids, but with life moving so quickly around us, those desires and intentions can easily be swept aside in favor of something else that seems to be more important at the time.

There are plenty of statistics out there to validate the difference that spending quality time with your family can make. Higher grades, lower divorce rate, lower teen pregnancy rate, lower alcohol, drug, and smoking usage, better health, and overall happiness are just a few of the proven benefits of spending more quality time with your family. This is one of those things that I think we all know, but still have a hard time committing to and sticking with.

So, what are some things that we can do to ensure that our families are getting the quality time that they deserve? Try incorporating a few of these family building strategies into your family life and see if they make a positive difference.

Tips for Increasing Your Family Quality Time

• Eat Dinner Together –
If you don’t regularly eat together as a family now, try making this a new family habit. I’ve heard it said that a family that eats together, stays together. If at all possible, “plan” family dinners for at least four nights per week. It isn’t the meal itself that is key, it’s the time that your family will actually be sitting down in the same spot at the same time that will make a difference. To engage conversation, our family likes to play a game called “Best and Worst”. We do a quick round robin at the table and each person talks about the best and worst part of their day. If there are things that you want to communicate / discuss with the family, this might be a good time to do it. I suggest keeping the dinner table a very positive and fun place for the family to hang out. Save the lectures for another time and place.

• Schedule Quality Time –
It’s funny, we will take the time to schedule things into our lives like appointments, workouts, phone calls, parties, etc., but we rarely take the time to schedule individual or group quality time with our family. By making quality time a priority and scheduling it into our busy weeks, we not only increase our chances of spending that time with our family, but we also send a message to our wife / husband and kids that spending time with them is important. I suggest that you make special individual dates with each member of your family, whether it be going to a ball game, going to the park, or something as simple as just grabbing a cup of coffee or an ice cream and having a nice talk.

• Full Family Activities –
Try scheduling events or activities each week that the entire family can do and enjoy together. It can sometimes be a challenge to satisfy everyone’s interest, especially if you have little ones, but remember that the purpose here is to get everyone in the same place at the same time. In our house, my five year old son Kyle is addicted to the board game “Trouble”. Although this game is simple and doesn’t take much thought, it’s one game / activity that he can compete with his older sister and parents on an even playing field. So, we play LOTS of Trouble in our house! Other great full-family activities can be going on a Sunday drive and turning it into an exploration trip, seeing a movie together, playing an outdoors sport / game together, etc.

• Create Family Hobbies –
Another great idea for family building is to get involved in a new hobby that the whole family can participate in. What hobbies can you think of that your whole family would enjoy and look forward to doing every day, week, or month? Maybe become huge fanatics of a baseball team and go to regular games together? Maybe learn how to fly model airplanes? Treasure hunting? Puzzle building? Give it some thought and see what new hobbies that you can come up with for your family.

Do you already place a high value on creating and spending quality time with your family? If so, what works for you? If not, what are you willing to do now to make a positive change for the benefit of your family? I encourage you to leave some feedback in the comments section below to let others know what works for you and your family, or to let us know what you’re willing to commit to now.

GO FOR IT!

Brian
Brian@GainLifeCoaching.com

After the New Year, I decided to make yet another attempt at committing to going to the gym and getting my body in top-notch shape. I say “another attempt” because I’ve made this same commitment many, many times, but each time my hopes of a new magazine-like body fizzled out. Does this sound familiar to any of you? I think we’ve all been in this spot more times than we would like to admit, whether the goal be the gym, sticking to a budget, or whatever other goal that you might be trying to achieve over and over.

So, this time when I made the commitment to getting in shape, I knew that I had to do something differently to turn this set goal into a reached goal. As I was planning my goal, one of my favorite quotes came to mind. “Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” (Albert Einstein). As a Life Coach, I know and try to practice all of the keys to setting and reaching goals. I preach these keys to my clients all of the time, I read about them, I live and breathe them, but sometimes… I need a little extra help. This was one of those times!

For me, one of the most effective goal achieving tools is the tool of accountability. I know that when somebody is counting on me and when somebody is watching what I’m doing, I show up and follow through. So, I decided that in order to reach my fitness goals, once and for all, I needed some serious accountability. In the past, I’ve used my wife and various friends to hold me accountable, but that just wasn’t enough for me. So this time, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and do something that I wouldn’t normally do. So, what did I do? On my very first day back to the gym, I spotted a lady whom I’d “occasionally” seen at the gym and I had a good feeling that she was like me, only somewhat committed to attending regularly. I took a deep breath, walked up to her, and said, “Hi, I’m Brian. You’re my new accountability partner. How does that work for you?” To my delight, she was excited and on board. (Shout out to you Keisha!!)

Keisha and I began looking for each other every morning. We even decided to exchange phone numbers so that if one of us didn’t make it to the gym, the other one could send a text to check-in. I quickly discovered that using the tool of accountability with Keisha was a game-changer for me. Why? Because not only did I know that Keisha would be looking for me to hold me accountable, but I also knew that Keisha was counting on me to hold her accountable. I can’t even begin to tell you how many early 4:30 AM mornings I’ve forced myself out of bed for the sole reason that I knew my partner would be looking for me. After seeing how effective having an accountability partner was for me, I decided to turn it up a notch and get more partners (just to make sure). I’ve since introduced myself to four other people at the gym and asked for them to look for me every day, as well as engaging one of my best friends who now looks for a “Done!” text from me every morning. Result: I’m making it to the gym almost every single morning and my body is slowly but surely taking shape!

Here are several key points to take away from this article:

• If you’ve set the same goal over and over, don’t stop trying!

• If you’ve fallen short of reaching the same goal in the past, try something different. Step out of your comfort zone!

• Find other people who are striving to reach the same goal as you and partner with them for success. They need you in the same way you need them.

• Take action!

Are you struggling to reach your goals? If so, you might want to consider working with a professional accountability partner – a Life Coach. A good Life Coach will not only hold you accountable, but he or she will also strategize, brainstorm, and plan with you as well as offer unconditional support, inspiration, and motivation. E-mail me directly any time at Brian@GainLifeCoaching.com or visit my Blog at www.GainGroundToday.com and get signed-up for a free (no obligation) coaching session. I will show you how the process works and at the same time, help you to take a huge leap forward in your life in just thirty minutes. I encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone and GO FOR IT!!