00:00  : you Welcome to Diary of a Dreamer, where resilience unlocks your potential. I’m Tasha Eizinger, and each week I’ll bring you powerful stories and practical insights from my own experiences and inspiring guests. Whether you’re facing challenges or chasing dreams, this podcast is your go-to for motivation, building confidence, and practical tips for transforming obstacles into opportunities. Be sure to check out my website, TashaEizinger.com. 

00:34  : Let’s dive into today’s episode and start turning your dreams into reality. This time of year is a great time to reflect. I like to do this even at the beginning of the school year because I have kids in school. And so I don’t really buy into the, oh, it’s the end of the year and next year’s a new year and like the whole hoopla of it, if you will. 

00:59  : But I do think it is important to take certain times throughout the year and reflect on what’s working in your life and what’s not. So you do it when it makes sense to you. But I do like doing it at the beginning of the school year. I think that’s a great time period because it is a shift in life and schedules. And then at the end of the actual calendar year, of course, in the spring and doing this, you know. 

01:26  : three, four times throughout the year at least, where it’s a very intentional time period of reflection and focusing on specific things. So I’m going to share a little bit of that with you today. You can take it or leave it as always. You can also dive deeper if this is stuff that you’re interested in. My mentor Chris Estes called it his Calibra Vacay, also known as a calibration vacation. He talks about it in the Apple Principle. Also, Darren Hardy, he’s the author of The Compound Effect.

 01:57  : Both of those books are great resources to learn how to be more intentional in your day-to-day life and how to set your day up for success and to keep growing. So the whole point of what I’m going to share today is not to berate yourself or make yourself feel bad about where you’re at right now. It’s to celebrate how far you’ve come and to figure out, like I said earlier, what’s working and what’s not. The goal is to live more intentionally so that our lives can be better. 

02:24  : I do know when I have done this stuff, my life is better. Now, I will say when I had a newborn, I was not doing a calibration vacation, okay? So depending on where you’re at in your life, I want you to be realistic with yourself, even if it’s just in the back of your mind as you’re processing, going on walks, or whatever it is that you’re doing. Everybody’s in a different place in their life, and I have done this slightly differently based on the season or phase of life that I’m in. 

02:51  : I am now back into a time period where I can be alone for hours at a time. Not very often, but I can do that for a couple hours at a time uninterrupted to focus. So some people like to actually go on a vacation. I know that that’s not feasible for a lot of people. Maybe it’s something where you go to a local hotel and schedule time just to do this, or I do it in my basement. 

03:20  : go over these key areas. So first of all, you need to get intentional. What is it that you’re wanting to reflect on? If you try to tell your brain, like, I want you to sort through everything over the last many months and figure out what’s working and what’s not, that can be really overwhelming. So my mentor, Chris, has buckets. He calls them faith, family, finance, fitness, food, fun, and philanthropy. 

03:45  : I have adjusted mine a little bit. Like I incorporate philanthropy into faith and finance. Food is also part of my fitness. I have also added friends to my family. So this is what my buckets sound like where I’m reflecting. Faith is one bucket. Family and friends is the second. Finance and philanthropy is another. Fitness and food is one. And then fun is one. And honestly, sometimes the fun one fits with family and friends and philanthropy or fitness. So it kind of, that’s a movable category, if you will. It’s a floating category. So I want you to give yourself a little time to dream about all of these buckets. And you can make your own. 

04:28  : I do like the simplicity of these buckets. Determine what it is that you ultimately want in each category. Family and friends, I want the people in my life to know that I love them and respect them when they are around me. I value relationships deeply. I want to create memorable experiences, of course, with my children, my husband, my mom, and some of my closest friends. It’s important that when I’m with these people that I’m really with them. I’m not scrolling on my phone. I’m not distracted. These relationships, my family and friends, those relationships matter a lot. So ultimately… 

05:12  : I want them to feel loved and respected when they are around me. And secondly, that there are memorable experiences being created. And these do not need to be these big, grandiose memories either. Oftentimes, it’s in the little moments of maybe being a good listener. That’s something that I keep working on. I work alone a lot. So sometimes when I’m around people, I just keep talking and don’t stop because I’m alone so much. 

05:38  : That at least during a workday, I can over talk. However, like I think of my grandma, she was one of the best listeners I’ve ever known. And I don’t remember all of these experiences that we have together. And we were together a decent amount, but I do remember that in particular. So just keep in mind, memorable experiences doesn’t have to be going on a crazy adventure. If you want that. 

06:03  : That could be part of your fun bucket too. And that’s okay. But sometimes we set the bar too high. So ultimately at the end of your life, what do you want to say when you look back on your life? You know, with finances, for example, I know that healthcare is very expensive and to live well health-wise is very expensive. 

06:25  : As I age, I want to make sure that there is money there to ensure that I get appropriate care and I’m not a burden on my family. That’s ultimately one of the things that I want financially. Take a little time. Maybe you’ve already done this and you can reevaluate, which is something that I do. So far, I’ve kept the same ultimate goals with very minor tweaks for so many years now that I feel like I have those narrowed down. And then, so you figured out like what you actually want to experience in them. What are your goals? 

06:54  : that are maybe short-term goals. Remember to keep them smart, right? Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. So we’re going to keep working with the family and friends example. Let’s say my goal is I will keep working on being a better listener. And I’m going to schedule time with family and friends. So those are specific. They’re measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound, which means I can track it and reflect upon it. So for example, maybe I have some people over for lunch and I make some food for those people at lunchtime and I scheduled it and I… 

07:36  : will think, okay, I want to make sure I practice being a good listener today and that I ask them specific questions to hear more about what’s going on in their lives. I will think about that in advance. Then afterwards, I can track it and say, did I actually do it? And sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t, right? We’re not perfect. And that’s just kind of a simple example. But I’m trying to make sure that you know your goals, your dreams, they matter to you than they matter. So don’t think that it has to be these 

08:06  : big goals, right? Oftentimes, it’s those little goals over time that turn into really a beautiful life and beautiful experiences. Another one, of course, would be finances. Maybe as you’ve looked through credit card statements or bank accounts, you’re realizing there’s a certain area where you’re overspending or could cut back. Or maybe you are in a different phase of life that you can cut back. That’s a smart goal. You can 

08:33  : put specific dollar amounts and track it, are you actually doing what you said you would do? Which takes me to the second area of focus, which is tracking things. Darren Hardy has a weekly rhythm register that you can use to track your areas of focus each week. It’s really just a simple chart, if you will, where on the left side, you have the area that you’re focusing on. Maybe it’s in the finance category and it’s a specific area where you’ve been overspending. You can 

09:01  : Write on the left-hand column what it is that you are focusing on. We’ll only spend X number of dollars with this company per month or per week. However, you can break it down. And then you do check marks every night. You look through Sunday through Saturday and you check it off. Either you did it or you didn’t. Tracking is important depending on where I’ve been in my life. Depends on how much I’m tracking and what I’m tracking. 

09:30  : Because I know in the whirlwind of little kids or newborns, that just wasn’t going to happen for me. And some people can still do it, and that is great. But I was not able to make that a priority, especially because of working from home and being a stay-at-home mom. I was trying to juggle what I could where I could, and everybody’s a little different. But tracking is important because you can see it if you’re doing it or you’re not. 

10:00  : And it becomes more logical instead of an emotional decision. Sometimes we think we’re not doing very well in a certain area. Maybe we’re being hard on ourselves. And we can look through these tracking sheets. Or as Darren Hardy calls it, the weekly rhythm register. You can flip through those pages. And you’re checking in every day. And this check-in, this tracking only takes like five minutes. Either you did or you didn’t. You give yourself a checkmark or you don’t. Or maybe if it’s a certain dollar amount, you write it in. 

10:28  : depending on what it is that you’re tracking. But you can flip through those pages and sometimes you’re pleasantly surprised that you’re actually doing a lot better than what you thought you were. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s making progress, it’s getting better, it’s making improvements. And then there’s some times where I have felt like, oh my goodness, I’ve been doing so much and I really think I’m making progress and maybe I am doing a lot. 

10:55  : But it’s a lot of the wrong things to make the progress that I really want to make. So I’m actually just spinning my wheels, expending energy that I really don’t have instead of focusing on the things that really do matter. This tracking is very helpful because a lot of us are living in kind of a whirlwind phase of life, at least parts of the year. And this helps us see what we’re doing and where. 

11:24  : and what we’re not doing and where. And then the reflection is part of the tracking as well, but I did put it in a third category. So reflecting, I like to ask myself, what did I do well today? What could I have done better? What did I learn? And what am I grateful for? This is part of the tracking. All of this, it takes like five minutes or less to reflect on, especially because you start training your brain to think about this stuff during the day. Just jot it down. 

11:48  : you know, in a notebook, on a piece of paper, you know, have it someplace where you’re actually writing it, not typing it, not putting it in the notepad on your phone. Listen, that’s better than nothing, but there’s something really special about writing it pen to paper. Here again, it’s what did I do well today? Give yourself a pat on the back, at least one thing that you did well, and make sure it’s not with sarcasm or, you know, like a backhanded compliment, that it really is something that if you were your best friend, 

12:18  : what would that person tell you? Or if you’re a best friend, you were observing them from the outside, what would you tell them? Like, you did this really well today. I’m proud of you. Sometimes we’re so hard on ourselves and we really do need to learn how to recognize what we’re doing well and acknowledge it because whatever we choose to focus on, we’re going to see more of it. So we want to see things that we’re doing well so that we keep doing it. What could I have done better? Just write down one thing here. Please, only one thing. 

12:44  : Because if you put too many things, then it’s you criticizing yourself or it’s going to be impossible to make those changes. You know, when it comes to the family and friends thing, sometimes I think, oh, I’ve got to remember to ask more questions, be more curious about them. Don’t talk about myself as much. What could I have done better? 

13:07  : I could have been a better listener. Or in the finance, maybe you had a bad day and you spent too much money and you realized, oh, I went over my budget. And maybe there’s a good reason, but it doesn’t matter what the reason is. You still went over it, right? And so then it’s, okay, what could I have done better? I could have maybe been more resourceful with my money. I could have thought about it more. Maybe I need to cancel the order. Or maybe the next month, 

13:36  : you have to cut back on that area of your budget. But if you notice that that becomes a monthly thing, then you’re no longer playing catch up, right? It’s just a whole different game. Okay. So one thing you could do better. What did I learn? I believe in learning every single day. We have got to learn something new. 

13:52  : every single day for the rest of our lives. There’s so much to learn and it can be something so simple. Maybe it’s a new word. Maybe it’s something that you learned about a friend or family member, something that you are intentionally learning. Maybe you’re on Duolingo and you’re learning a new language and you’ve been practicing and you’re on a great streak. Whatever it is, something that you have learned and then as much gratitude as you can think of. Make sure it’s sincere that you really feel if you’re in a hard. 

14:20  : time period right now where it’s really a struggle to be grateful. I feel you. I’ve definitely been there before and there have been times where the only thing I could think of was I can breathe okay or I’m grateful that I was able to eat today. 

14:43  : I have food. So it just came down to like the survival things, which we should be grateful for and not take it for granted. But if you do this practice enough where you’re writing down what you’re grateful for, you start finding gratitude in those little moments and how precious they are and how much we take them for granted. But the goal is eventually you can really feel it in your heart and you can write an abundance of things to be grateful for. 

15:11  : So wherever you’re at in your life, still write down something that you’re grateful for. So take some time to reflect and plan and track and reflect daily. You can do the calibration vacation check-in like quarterly. But really, I do encourage little things that you can think about every day. It doesn’t have to be all of your buckets. Start where you can start. 

15:39  : If you live more intentionally, life becomes less chaotic. And some of you might be disagreeing and that’s okay. I just know this to be true. It makes life better. It makes life a little bit easier. And life is too precious to let it pass us by. Thank you for tuning into this episode of Diary of a Dreamer. 

16:08  : Please check out my website, TashaEizinger.com.