Is it too cold? Use Cybernetics

by Carlin Day:

Is it too cold in your house? who is in control of the thermostat? If it is you, change the thermostat. The simple thing about a thermostat is that it will keep your house at the temperature it is set at. It will guide or govern the temperature using a principle called Cybernetics

Definition of Cybernetics:

: the science of communication and control theory that is concerned especially with the comparative study of automatic control systems (such as the nervous system and brain and mechanical-electrical communication systems)

Cybernetics comes from a Greek word meaning – to steer- The word comes from a famous mathematician Norbert Weiner. Norbert Weiner used the term while working with automated missile guidance during World War II. He was working with how missile systems worked together with a network of information. A missile with guidance needs to react with factors from the outside to make changes on the inside.

How Cybernetics is Used

One of the simple uses of Cybernetics is a thermostat. One thermostat that most of us use is a heating and air thermostat. Changing the thermostat allows it to react with the current temperature and keep it at the desired temperature all on auto pilot. No matter whate changes happen at the house, the thermostat will react to its current conditions

Kid leaves front door open – dog gets out, lets outside air in

Fridge door left open – minimal affect on home temperature(adults seem to get angry – kids not so much)

112 degrees – Air conditioner runs a lot!

Elevating Value

Now that Cybernetics is the answer to changing the temperature, how do you use it to elevate value? The way cybernetics will elevate your value is buy using it in your own mind. If you can practice discipline of thinking, you can set your own temperature. The mind is your control center. It is currently working off all the temperatures that have been set from the beginning of your life until today.

Examples of current Cybernetic controls:

Your weight – if you identify as fat, you are not becoming thin and in shape

Your Finances – People who do not see themselves as a millionaire rarely become multimillionaires or billionaires

Attitude – The choice to be positive or negative.

A Better Self Image

Examples of your weight, finance/career, attitude are just the beginning. This is actually a total representation of your spiritual and physical self image. Your self image is the thermostat that controls your current “temperature”. Jim Rohn has a great quote about change. He said. “When you change, everything will change”. This idea is key to elevating value. If you will set your controls and live by them, you will be using Cybernetics instead of letting your current Cybernetics control you. If your told cold, change the thermostat.

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Definition of Cybernetics

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cybernetics

Great Piece on Cybernetics

https://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/mediatheory/keywords/cybernetics/

Great Video on Cybernetics

Search Youtube video on Cybernetics and Self image by Bob Proctor

December 25, 2018August 18, 2020

A Recipe for Value

by Carlin Day

This time of year, there are lots of recipes being used. All kinds of holiday foods are being cooked, exchanged, and enjoyed. The foods all have something interesting in common. Is it that they are delicious? Is it that holiday foods are unhealthy? Is it that they have a mysterious way of vanishing in the night when everyone is sleeping?(this is at least what happens at my house) While all these things are true, the commonality that I want to focus on, is the fact that they were all made with a recipe.

A recipe is the starting point. If you have a recipe, you have the plan of how to make your desired dish. The next step is acquiring all the necessary ingredients and putting them together according to the recipe. If the process is followed, you will end up with your desired result.

You may point out that a lot of great food is made without a recipe. This is true, but it is because the cook has mastered the dish and now knows the recipe by heart. Once the recipe has been mastered, the only reason you would need it again is to go back for direction if you forget something, or if you need to give the recipe to someone else because they asked for help. “This is delicious, can I have the recipe?”

The Value Recipe would look the same. If you are going to work on elevating value in 2019, you will need a way to get and give more value than you did in 2018, you will need a recipe. This would be something you write down and follow so that in 52 weeks, you will have a completed recipe. After a whole year, you will only need to reference your recipe if you need direction or forgot something. You also will need it when someone sees the improvement you have made and asks “What is different about you?” You will then need to share your recipe.

Takeaway:

In 2019 Make sure you are using a recipe to accomplish something. I use a 52 week calendar and focus on doing one or two things per week that will make 2019 better than 2018. One important thing is to finish the calendar before you complete it. You can get the calendar I use by clicking below

Elevating Value 52 week Calendar Download

Thanks for visiting,

November 23, 2018August 18, 2020

Better Self Discipline = More Success

by Carlin Day

It is almost time to end 2018. Have you accomplished what you wanted to get done in 2018? If not, there is still some time left. If you have to get the whole goal done. There may not be enough time to get it finished. – Do it anyway –

Start Small

One thing I have learned, is that starting small is the best step to finish a task. If you will get started and keep at it without quitting, you can accomplish a sizable task. Here is an example. If you could keep up with plan A, it will change your life if you are currently using plan B.

After one year of following plan A, you will have done 520 pushups plus the extra you did. You will have walked 208 blocks plus the extra you walked because you realized four blocks was not that far. This is an example of the cruise ship example

For the last two years, I have followed a workout schedule and it has changed my whole life. It may sound crazy, but completing a task that you set yourself and no one has forced you to do, will affect every area of your life.

Better Self Discipline = More Success

Time to start thinking of what you would like to do and trying to break it down into small steps.

Actions Steps:

Begin thinking about 2019, it will be here in one month
Make a Plan better than No Plan
Contact me if you are thinking about a workout plan. I currently work out one day a week and am looking to form a group.

October 21, 2018August 18, 2020

Win a Free Cruise!

Win a free Cruise!

by Carlin Day

Have you ever got the call about a free cruise? You’ve won a free cruise! What a great day! I have never met someone who actually won a free cruise, but yet the calls go out everyday announcing to people that they have been selected to win.

You have not won a free cruise. Although it is sad, I do have something better to offer than a free cruise. How about a better life? Did you know we can all make our lives better. The way we can do this is by improving ourselves and the lives of others. It can be done by elevating value.

Something that has changed my life over the last couple of years is the thinking of how you change the course of a big ship. A cruise ship would be a good example of a big ship. If you are going to change course, it must be done slowly. A turn will take time and eventually you will have changed course.

If you think of your life as a giant ship, the ship is made up of all the habits you have formed over all the years of your life. If you are to make changes, they will be slow. If you make changes slowly and with a planned course of action, you actually can make changes. The key is starting to turn and making sure you have the discipline to start the small changes. Following small changes will eventually turn into big changes. Here is a quote about making changes.

“The secret to Momentum in life can be found in the word Momentum….you create it Moment by Moment…”
-– Doug Firebaugh

If you want to change anything about your life, you can do it. Make a plan for where you would like to be in 5 years. Slowly, start making the changes that will get you where you want to be. At first, the changes will not be noticeable. After a period of self discipline success, the changes start to accumulate, and eventually expand exponentially. If you were going to change your life, here are some obvious but powerful areas to start.

Health – better eating, better activity
Spiritual – increase prayer, increase reading, increase activity
Money – improve money habits, improve financial literacy, talk to professionals
Time – Improve time management. Do you know how much time you have in a day? Answer

This list does not require money. It requires self discipline. As the quote says, “moment by moment”, the changes can be made. No one wins a free cruise, but if you understand how to change, you can get your life on the course you desire.

Questions:

Has anyone won a free cruise?

If you had to give a speech or performance two weeks from now, what area of your life would work on the most?

Is there a better way to make a plan than on paper or journal?

Carlin can be contacted at carlin@elevatingvalue.com

September 20, 2018

Three Reasons to Journal Daily

photo by Taylor Loewen

Three Reasons to Journal Daily
written by: Ben Haenning

It’s Saturday morning, I’m up early, and the first thing I do when I sit down with my coffee is pull out my journal. I begin to write. Creating change is difficult, and building a routine to journal daily is tough and takes energy, but it’s worth every minute invested.

Background on my journaling habits

I wasn’t always someone who journaled. I think traditionally, it was because the fact that I never was taught the benefits, and the people around me didn’t do it either. It wasn’t until I started to research successful people and found out that they journal daily. I think I always had a negative viewpoint of journaling – it was corny, it was a waste of time, etc. The reality was that when I dedicated time to learning about journaling and its benefits, it was a no brainer to make a change.

My journaling habits today

When I started to journal a little over a year ago, I noticed a shift in my success. The more research I did, the more I realized “journaling” takes on many different forms. There are many things you can do that are considered journaling:

Writing your goals down daily
Planning out your day
Reflecting on lessons learned
Reflecting on wins
Writing about the best things that happened to you that day
Describing what you’re grateful for
Or… simply writing

The morning

My process every morning and every night is a combination of some of the above. In the morning I map out my entire day, hour-by-hour. I write my goals day everyday because I believe it’s important that your goals are always at the top of your mind. Then, I write down three things I need to do every day to make the day successful. Lastly, I reflect on what I’m grateful for.

It’s my firm belief that if I start the day off with the above habit, the day will be a success. My day is planned, I started it off on a positive note, and my goals are at the top of my mind. Here is my actual morning routine.

The evening

At night, the journal comes out again. I reflect on the day as a whole. Did I accomplish what I needed to? Did I have any lessons that I learned from the day? I write those down, every day. What were my wins for the day? And, lastly, I again reflect on what I’m grateful for.

I believe that if I finish my day out this way, I go to sleep with a good “close” on the day. I reflect on things that make me happy, and I put time and effort into what made the day good and bad.

Journaling takes time, but it has taken me to a level that I wasn’t at before. It takes dedication, but once you build the habit, it’s easy. It’s important to my planning mechanisms, and there are three specific reasons why I personally do it every day.

Three reasons to journal daily

After studying successful people – people in positions of power, leadership, authority, and success – I noticed that there were three reasons (sure, there are more, but these are the most important to me) on why they journal daily.

1. Goals stay top of mind

This is the most important. Grant Cardone suggests that everyone should write their goals down every morning. He even created a 10X daily planner that gives you the opportunity to do so. Why? If you start your day with writing your goals down, every decision you make will be tied to those goals. Every decision will drive towards the success of those goals.

If you start your day writing your goals down, you can plan your day around tactics and actions to achieve those goals. This was a game changer for me. When I started to understand my goals, get clarity around my goals, and plan my days around my goals, I started to see more success and goal achievement.

2. It starts the day on a positive note and gets your mind right

This is important – you need to start your day out positive. I have found that the more I journal in the morning, the more I accomplish what I need to, and the more I reflect on my life as a whole.

I stated earlier that I write down what I’m grateful for every morning. The folks at Best Self have this down to a science. In their journal, they have built it in to every days schedule. I suggest you check it out.

Reflecting on what makes me grateful, and starting the day off positive helps me get my mind right and straight in the morning.

3. Reflection and accountability

Lastly, and I may argue, most important, reflection and accountability. Let me explain.

Every night, I give myself the opportunity to reflect on the day. What went wrong? What did I learn? More importantly, what went right? Reflection time is critically important. If you don’t spend time on yourself and reflecting on what you did, you never learn from your actions. Dedicate time to reflect.

Secondly, it holds myself accountable. Every morning I write down three things to make the day a win. Did I complete those? And why did I, or why did I not? This certainly ties in to reflecting, but holding myself accountable places importance on my actions and my plans. Not only do I hold myself accountable daily, but I also hold myself accountable weekly and quarterly. These checkpoints allow me to adjust if needed, and continue to progress to my overall goals.

You get out what you put in

Whether you journal now, or if you’re looking to build it into your journaling habits, my advice is to just start. Doing some journal is better than none. And doing more is better than some. I firmly believe that a lot of my success is tied to the fact that I have clear goals, tactics to achieve those goals, and journal every day to create the map for the goals. You will get out of journaling what you put in to it.

Cheers – be great.

Ben Haenning is a coach on goal planning, setting, and achievement. Follow the concept of The Opportunity Cost of Time he ties in how your decision making and goal clarity have an impact on overall goal achievement. Ben offers individual, group, and corporate coaching on goals, planning, living a healthy lifestyle, vision mapping, and more. Find out more at https://benhaenning.com/

Three Reasons to Journal Daily written by: Ben Haenning