Make Monday Awesome

Have you ever had a week where something unexpected threw a massive wrench in your plans, vision and goals? That was last week for me. Something, completely out of my control, has sucked up most of my time, focus and energy and the worst part is that dealing with it is not getting me closer to my goals. So what should you do? I don’t know much, but I have been alive long enough to know that things are always going to get in the way. In fact, the bigger and better you get, the bigger and meaner the obstacles will become. There is a tendency to think that one day you’ll get ‘there’ and you won’t have to work as hard - the opposite is true - when you get ‘there’ you’ll have to work harder to keep going. This week I wanted to remind you to never lose focus of what it is you’re chasing, and always prioritize time to keep pursuing it. Does this mean becoming more organized and working harder? You bet! But it will be worth it. -Dr. K

As the holidays are approaching and the conversation moves to “Ari what do you want for Christmas?” I find myself torn a little bit. On one hand I want to be able to buy my children everything that I possible can for them. After all I love them, I want their lives to easy and filled with abundance. Then, on the other hand, I know what’s necessary for success in life. I know that I grew up in a family where the answer was always yes and I know how hard it was in life when I had to adapt to the fact that life tells you “no” a lot more often than yes. In fact when I look at my life right now, the biggest blessings I had were the times when I struggled to figure things out for myself. The real issue is not buying gifts or buying gifts, the issue is where do we as parents, or where do you believe we should be drawing the line? -Dr. K

The biggest leverage for me right now is to waste less time, increase my focus and get more work done with the time that I already have allotted to the tasks I do. I hope that made sense. I don’t believe there is anything magic about productivity, I believe it’s like everything else and the same principles that apply to being productive apply to weight loss, or strength gain etc. The biggest gap for me right now is using the time I have to the best of my ability, I doing that by leveraging the journal Rachelle bought me, I’m excited to let you know how it’s been going. -Dr. K

This past week was my 39th birthday and as with all birthdays I was in a reflective spirit. I was thinking about the last year and I asked myself “what was the one thing you did over the past year that has the biggest impact on your life?” It was a hard question to answer. First of all I don’t really recall my specific birthday from last year and second there are so many things that I’ve tried over the past year it was hard to get just one. However, after some thought the answer was reading and applying (that’s the key) David Hawkins book on ‘Letting Go.’ It’s help me find more joy and be at the most peace I’ve ever had before. Let me know what you think. -Dr. K

Getting Your Focus Back When It’s Gone With Dr. Kresimir Jug Have you ever had something happen that just completely busted your focus? What about those days where focusing your mind just felt impossible? I’ve been there, but I’ve had enough. After an incident that happened in my practice this past week I had enough of something, other than myself, taking control of my mental focus. I’m far from an expert at this, so I asked around, and I learned what people who are much better at focusing have been doing. This week’s episode is all about what I’ve learned from them and what I’ve been, successfully, applying. I believe this conversation will be of benefit to you Let me know how it goes. -Dr. K

Don’t be afraid of taking a step back in order to get what you really want in life. I say this, because I know it’s true, yet there are plenty of areas of my life where I still harbour a lot of fear that’s getting in the way of me getting to that next level. Don’t be afraid to try, especially if it doesn’t result in the way you thought it should be. If you’re happy and don’t care about ‘the next level’ then don’t change a thing, keep being happy and that’s awesome. But if you’re unhappy, then be ok with it going wrong, or not finding the correct formula right away. That’s advice that I needed to hear today, hope it helps. -Dr. K

It's not enough to know what you don't want. I don't want to depressed, I don't want to feel anxious, I don't want a crappy marriage, I don't want to be fat, etc. It's much better to be able to frame your goals and vision in the positive. I want great mental health, I want to love my body, I want an amazing marriage, etc. It might sound like it's semantics, but it's really not. For example if you're 'not depressed,' that's better than being depressed, but it doesn't eliminate anxiety, psychosis, mania and other negative mental states. However, if the goal or target is great mental health - then that assumes no depression, no anxiety, no mood swings, etc. I might sound like a little difference, but in my experience it's these little changes in the way we say it or want it that make the biggest difference. -Dr. K

Today is an important day for me. October the 17th, 2018 marks my 9th wedding anniversary. My wife is my top value and I’m thrilled and proud that I’m able to celebrate this occasion and the fact that we’ve been together for 18 years in total. It also go me thinking, since it hasn’t all been one smooth ride over 18 years, if I could go back and give myself the talk, what would I say? What have I learned over those years, and how could it be helpful. That’s what this episode is all about. -Dr. K

This week I have a simple yet powerful reminder: be kind to yourself. If you're trying to do anything in life failure is a natural part of that process. Yes it sucks, but it happens to everyone. Just wanted to send you some positive thoughts today and to remind you to be kind to yourself, no matter what. I guarantee being kind to yourself will bring you more long term success than you ever would imagine. -Dr. K

We love the intuitive person. We love someone who can just wow us with there ability to predict what's going to happen, or their 'way' of just knowing. Of course, we're all born with different talent levels (I believe you're more talented than you think) but ALL these people have one thing in common. They have worked their faces off. I think we put too much emphasis on the finished product and not enough on the work it takes to get there. It's easy to listen to your gut, when your guy knows all the answers because you've worked way harder then anyone else.

It’s the end of September and you know what that means? End of quarter 3 right? I bet that’s not what you were thinking, but it’s true. I want this to serve as a reminder that having a family meeting at the end of every quarter is a great idea. It’s not that the meeting itself is vital, it’s what’s discussed that is. Things like am I clear on what I want in life, am I presently working on those things to make them happen, where am I wasting time, what can do better and etc. To be clear you don’t necessarily need a meeting to ask yourself those questions and answer them. I have found though, that as I’m working through the day to day, I can get overly focused on the tasks and forget about where I’m going. This meeting serves as a great reminder. -Dr. K

“People who leave their phone off for the first hour of the day are 33% more productive” -Brendon Burchard I just recently heard this idea. I won’t lie, my first thought was ‘BS.’ I’m a typical Croat in the sense that I’m cynical about almost everything the first time I hear it. Thankfully I’ve learned that about myself and I’ve trained myself to try something new things even though I don’t initially believe them. After 2 weeks of doing, all I’m going to tell you is that I think 33% is a bit of an under estimate. Let me explain what I mean. -Dr. K

Where your focus goes, energy flows - Toni Robbins I've never really understood that quote until this past weekend. Rachelle and I went to the Archangel Summit in Toronto and it took a Hindu priest to frame this seemingly simple concept correctly in my mind for the first time. Let me explain what I mean -Dr. K

I've always loved September and back to school. It's almost like a mini 'new-year.' You're back on track, there is a new schedule, a new, consistent rhythm, and you're back on track with so many things. This week I wanted to send you a simple reminder to take some of the energy you have on meeting your goals and use that to create a strategy for staying on track, when the next stressor crashes into your life. Starting and stopping is a goal killer, and no, I'm not talking about taking time off, we all need that. I'm talking about taking extended periods of time off, starting again, then taking more time off. Figure out a way to make it as consistent as possible, I know it's hard, but it's your best chance. -Dr. K

There is nothing easy about achieving your goals in life, the potential for success and failure is always there. On today's podcast I want to bring up an idea that has been very helpful for me, stop doing the things that I suck at. Growing up I always believed that if you weren't good at something (had weaknesses) you have to try to strengthen those short comings and get better. This could be true, but it might not be depending on what you want to do. In this episode I explain more -Dr. K

I used to suppress and repress my fear because it was too painful to look at and because I thought that was the best way to overcome it. I'm slowing learning that 'pushing' negative emotions down deeper inside or away is a sure way to ensure that the negative emotions come back and haunt me in the future. In this episode I talk about how reviewing my snatch with Coach Lacey resulted in an exercise for developing a strategy to help me overcome my fears. I'm hoping this podcast can do the same for you. -Dr. K

Going to the gym used to be something that I tolerated. I knew it was good for me, I knew (and felt) the benefits, and because I wanted to be in integrity with every patient I told to train, I did it. I wasn't overly consistent and spend most of the time unmotivated. Over the past 2 years, things have changed. I've been witness to people I care about and people I take care of losing their physical ability. For some, bending over and even getting out of bed became a huge physical challenge. I started feeling grateful that I had a body that worked, and I started viewing training, not as chore that needed to be accomplished, but as a celebration to being able to move. It's made all the difference.

It might sound really weird but I'm starting to think that part of getting what you want, is to let go all the negative emotions surrounding what you want and just focus on the hard work and take joy in it. I don't believe there is anything amazing about being obsessed or lustful about your goals. But there is a lot of happiness to be had by working hard and enjoying that process along the way. -Dr. K

I can only speak for myself, I'm an expert at distracting myself. I'm always on my phone, listening to music, working on the next project, eating, etc. This week I had the opportunity to spend some time by myself since Rachelle and the kids went to visit Glamma. I've found that alone time and spending some time thinking about my thinking has made an amazing effect on me in a positive way. Since you get to choose how you respond to a situation, it's worthwhile, at least in my opinion, that you spend some time doing just that. -Dr. K

The health and happiness of my kids is very important to me. When they are sick or not feeling well it negatively impacts my week. That's why making your Monday's awesome involves making sure the kids are doing well. On this episode I discuss the foundations for proper self-esteem development in our kids. I believe we have it very backward in society and I don't believe that faking reality is ever a good idea especially to a kid that knows better. This could be considered a controversial episode, so I'd love to hear your thoughts. -Dr. K