Six spokes to a flourishing life

Six spokes to a flourishing life

Posted on by Matthew Laker

Six spokes to strengthen to a flourishing life.

To many of us go through life unexamined. We fail to see the habits we have and ways of thinking we have that have led us to where we are. As one senior lady shared with me over coffee,

“we are a result of our choices and have to take responsibility for that.“  

We have a choice to who we are going to listen to.  

We have a choice about how we are going to respond to our thoughts.

We have a choice to the habits we choose to form in our life.

As a follower of Jesus, I also believe because we forget God, and not listen to who he says we are, we stay stuck.  

As I look at people’s lives, there are about six areas that we need to work on to help, engage, enter and experience a flourishing life.

These six (maybe seven) areas overlap and are intertwined. 

They are 

Relationships – First there is our family(biological and adopted), Second is close friends or community, Third is working relationships, those we encounter in different parts of life. 

Mental – So much of our life is determined in this area. How we think affects more then we know in our life. 

Financial – This is the resources and money of our life.  

Spiritual – This one may be a challenge for some, but I carry a world view that holds this as a component of our life.  

Career – We need to work and work is good for us. This area looks at our occupation and calling. 

Personal and Physical – This is about physical health and what gives you energy in life. 

Sometimes I have thought of each of these areas as a spoke on a bike wheel. If one of those spokes becomes weak the tire begins to fall apart.  

For most of us, we can not make significant changes in all the areas at once. However, you can make small winnable habits. You want to change your life; it is one habit at a time. 

Over the next 90 days, what is one spoke you need to focus on and one habit to move you in a healthy direction?  

Slothness and productivity

Slothness and productivity

Posted on by Matthew Laker

In all of us are personal landmines that can hurt our productivity. The sooner we can face them, the quicker we can grow in life.  

One such area of challenges for some is Sloth. The idea comes from the enneagram understanding of personality.  

This idea is not so much a physical thing, as sleepiness to one’s owns priorities or needs. There is an avoidance of pain often connected to it, which lowers one’s risk-taking in one’s life. There can be a struggle to make decisions, and usually, one sits on the fence about things instead of commitment. In one’s experience, they can be either fully on or fully off in life. 

How this could work out in your productivity is 

  • Ignoring your energy levels
  • Fumbling to find the next task to accomplish 
  • Focusing on the wrong things. 
  • Procrastinate.  
  • I am only focusing on the areas I like at the expense of things I do not. 

How to overcome this inner struggle in the area of productivity

  1. Identify it – naming it can start to give us power over it. We need to recognize it and understand why? A Few Questions to ask

Am I trying to be perfect?

What am I afraid of, and is it true?

What is the mental script you are replaying in your mind? Does it lead to life or death?  

Who can help me?

2. Remove distractions in your life

3. Break your tasks or goals down into smaller steps. Quick wins can help gain momentum. Find quick wins for yourself in life. Start small things and build them up. 

4. Can you delegate tasks to someone or else?  

5.  Consider creating an ideal workweek timesheet. In my life, it has helped me to stay focused. Yes, it may never work out full each week. But as I plan tasks and meetings, I work to develop rhythms and consistencies.  

Having daily and weekly rhythms can, in time, help create wins to help keep you focused. What does your daily and weekly rhythms look like?

A Plan For A Personal 90-Day Goal Review

A Plan For A Personal 90-Day Goal Review

Posted on by Matthew Laker

90-day goal-setting is one of the great tools that have helped me in my life. It is not too long to procrastinate, though that is still possible. It is also short, so I have to get going at it. 90-day goals have helped me reach my yearly goals.

Here is a 10 step plan to do your 90-day review time.

Pre-review time

  1. Schedule the time with a little margin on both ends
  2. Set the location?

During time

3. What are you most excited about from the last 90 days?

4. How did I recharge over the past 90 days?

5. Review my past 90 day goals

a)What were they?

b) How far did I get?

c)What is left to do?

6. What pivot should happen to my yearly goals? (if no annual goals skip ahead)

7. What are my next 90 day goals?

8. What are the action steps for each of those goals?

9. Calendar time – Schedule, book and review the calendar.

10. Go for a walk

What have you found helpful to you? What is your most significant obstacle in a 90-day goal review?

A habit to master your to-do list

Posted on by Matthew Laker

A habit to master your to-do list 

The problem with our to-do list is they get disorganized. We can look at all that needs to be done and feel overwhelmed. We can lose focus. We can start our week running, but end up doing a task or focusing on a project in the wrong order.  

I was listening to a talk by Zig Ziglar who said 

Each Sunday night, I take time to do two things. 

 First, in 2019, my wife and I started to meet Sunday afternoon or night, and we would review the week coming up. We take a look at what appointments are happening and when one of us is in or out. It allows us to be on the same page and know what to expect. It does not mean things do not change, but it gets us a game plan and gets us on the same page. 

Second, I pull away again just by myself to review my work week. I consider my projects and people I need to meet with that week.  I ask what is leftover from the last week and reorganize the to-do list for the coming week. I even take the time to schedule some of those tasks. For example, I have an office day that some tasks are better to do then. So I schedule them as an appointment.  

The reorganizing allows me to say ok these are my first things to do this week. 

Do you want to master your to-do list?

Take the time to do a weekly review. It does not have to belong. Try it this week. 

1)Schedule a time 

2) At the time set a timer for 15 min.  

3) Review the week and organize the to-do list. 

I have found the weekly review to be of great value in helping master my to-do list. 

Children, our Business and our Bad Habits

Children, our Business and our Bad Habits

Posted on by Matthew Laker

I was reading the book “Boundaries with Kids” by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. 

The book is about parenting. Most of us parents pick up these type of books because we want to fix something or prevent something. 

For me, it was more the first and to be a better parent. As a Dad, I feel pulled in many directions and wonder each new season how to do it.  

The book talks about helping your child learn boundaries and how this, in turn, develops them.  

As I read the book, one theme keeps coming up amongst all the pages. This theme was parenting first has more to do with you the parent then the child.  

The catch is if you struggle with boundaries, guess what, so do your kids. 

You want your kids to develop healthy habits and boundaries. It starts with you, the parent. 

This is both encouraging and disappointing as a parent.  

It means you have options. Parenting starts by working on your own heart and habits and building boundaries. 

When we think about those, we are leading and influencing. If we want your children or business to improve, it starts with “I.” How we react, how we live and do. We lead by example. 

Where have your kids become a reflection of your bad habits?

Where has your business become a reflection of your bad habits?