How to Stick to a Plan and Reach Your Goal

27 Thursday Jun 2024

Posted by Darielle Brooklyn in Uncategorized

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achievement, dreams, goal, goals, How to, journal, journaling, plan, reality, self belief, social support, techniques, victory, visualizatiion

Each one of us has, at one time or another, felt super motivated about making a complete change in some aspect of our life. Sometimes we swear to start on Monday evening only to lose every ounce of interest by Wednesday afternoon.

The path that we must take to reach our goals may not always be easy or smooth, but as long as we continue down the path in the right direction, a goal is attainable. If you are struggling to reach a goal, here are some tips on how to actually increase your stamina and help you to do what it takes.

Firstly, remember to always make your goal attainable. Having an attainable goal is an important factor in how likely you will be to stick to a plan.

Visualize your goal. At that first moment when you decided to pursue your goal, you visualized it to the point that it almost felt real. An important factor in sticking to and reaching a goal is just that. Incorporate visualization as a daily practice. When you wake up in the morning visualize the process, even the struggle, and see the end result of how it would look once you attain your goal. When you picture yourself doing what it takes and reaching the ever-so-wonderful finish line, it will greatly help your dream become a reality. Visualize daily.

Write in a journal. Writing down your goal greatly increases your chances of sticking to a plan. Answer questions such as “When do I want to achieve this?” “How will I feel when I achieve it?” “How does my goal connect to who I am and my values?” Describe your goal very specifically. By writing in a journal, you can also measure your progress and record it. Write daily.

Always have an If-Then plan. This will allow you to plan for the unexpected and still stick to your plan. It will allow you to create a strategy and stick to what you need to do. You will have fewer excuses to quit and more options to continue.

Tell others about your goal and get them involved. Social support is a wonderful way to stick to your goal. When people in your life become aware of what you are looking to accomplish, why and when you want to accomplish it and how you will go about making it happen, it holds you accountable. When others give you feedback, keep you accountable and become your cheerleader, it’s likely that you will continue down the path to reach your goal. Tell others.

Plan the first step. There is an old Chinese proverb that says “A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.” Take that first step. Take that step even if it is something as simple as doing research and reading about what you need to do in order to reach your goal. From the first step, move to the second, the third and so on. Take that first step.

Always believe in yourself. You need to believe in yourself in order to stick to the plan. By believing in yourself, you increase your chances of reaching your goal. Believe in what you can achieve. Remember the saying “If you can believe it, the mind can achieve it.”

Working towards goals can be difficult. It can be frustrating. Regardless, moving forward is crucial. Sometimes what you thought would work doesn’t. It is then that you think of and incorporate something else that will continue you to move forward. If you find that you are struggling, that’s where social support helps. Ask those that know about your goal for some ideas. It may shed a different light and make you see things in a different way. Adjusting a goal is always an option, giving up is not.

Celebrate your victory. When you reach your goal, relish in it. Be proud of yourself and thank anyone who supported you along the way.

Be clear about what you want. Have a plan. Have support. Create goals that work for you to create the life that you want. Use these techniques and your dreams can soon be your reality.

My Passion for Singing

21 Friday Jun 2024

Posted by Darielle Brooklyn in Uncategorized

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1970's, courage, cover band, date night, dreams, fears, goals, Inspiration, karaoke, live music, Love, morris county, music, new jersey, passion, rock music, singing, wine

Everyone has that outlet in their life, something they do to replenish the energy of their soul. For some it can be gardening, biking, painting, etc…. for me, it’s singing.

At every single point in my chaotic and sometimes crazy path, music has always found its way into my world. I have listened to music from a very young age. I had a vast collection of 45’s and a decent collection of LP’s. I also always walked around with a radio. Two of my favorite artists to listen to when I was younger were Olivia Newton John and The Partridge Family but I loved pretty much everything on the radio back then. 70’s music was fabulous! Music was always there for me and has always been a factor in my life.

A passion for singing usually takes root in early childhood. For me that spark was ignited on the evening of November 4, 2022 at 9:43 p.m.

Weeks prior to that evening, my husband and I were in our kitchen having wine and playing cards, with the music blasting. I was singing along quietly to the music and my husband looked me in the eyes and said “One of these days, I’m going to get you a microphone.” I replied with something like “Yeah right! You’ll never hear me sing!”

Fast forward a couple of weeks ahead. It was a Friday night and my husband, my friend and I were having some wine at my home, again with the music blasting. A few drinks later, my husband brings out a karaoke machine and he was the first one to use it. He sang “Runaways” by The Killers. Now my husband is a drummer, not a singer and it wasn’t his best but he had a blast. We all did. I thought to myself “Wow, if he can do that sounding like he does, I can too!” Remember, I was a few drinks in. I got up and sang “Top of the World” by The Carpenters.

The rest of the evening we sang, laughed and had a great time and when I woke up the next morning, I watched the videos and the reel I posted on Facebook. I received so many nice comments on the reel that I immediately knew that I wanted to do it again the following weekend. So we did. Weekend after weekend we’d have wine, blast music and sing karaoke. I was absolutely loving it and decided to take this newfound passion to the next level.

On December 27, 2022, I had my first singing lesson. I was very nervous going and my son Joshua came with me for moral support. It was time. It was 4:00 and my vocal coach, Mike, came out to get me. It was all or nothing at this point. I could flee or I could face my fear and conquer it.

I followed him into this little room with a piano. I remember quite vividly asking him if the walls were soundproof and he told me they weren’t. My thoughts were racing. “How am I going to do this?” “I should just forget it.” “Should I run out of this room?” After talking for a few minutes and making me feel a little more relaxed, Mike played a single note on the piano and said “Ok, sing that.” Excuse me? What? Sing that? I looked at him like he had a unicorn horn sticking out of his forehead. You mean there’s no loud music to sing to? (And there is no wine involved?) How on earth will I do this?

With every ounce of passion deep within me and with every drop of courage I could find, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and sang that single, ever-so-important note. I did it! Next we worked on scales to find my range, which I must say was quite impressive. I thought to myself “This isn’t bad at all” and I left there feeling so damn proud of myself and I couldn’t wait for the following week’s lesson to do it again!

Well I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person. I bought all kinds of music equipment: speakers, a microphone, a mixer. I purchased an app to practice vocals with, where you remove the vocals from tracks. I recorded myself daily and practiced every single day. I purchased and surrounded myself with music decor. I even had things custom made. I made a beautiful music room for myself.

In May of 2023, I decided I wanted to start a cover band to play live music out in bars, clubs, festivals… wherever I could. After auditioning many musicians and dealing with so many disappointments, the vision and dream has become an amazing reality.

I am now a lead singer and my band’s name is Daze of Dari. I have the absolute greatest bandmates. We have become family and great friends. We rehearse at a rehearsal studio every week. Our setlist is full, unique and fun and we have played out a few times and have more gigs scheduled. We play mostly in Morris County, New Jersey but we don’t limit ourselves to any single area.

If you want to take anything away from this, it is this. Never, ever, ever give up on your dreams. I am living proof that perseverance and passion will take you wherever it is that you want to go!