Adapted from: Sinope, “Everything is Awful and I’m Not Okay: Questions to Ask Before Giving Up.”
Life can feel impossible sometimes. There’s never enough time to get all of the homework done, break-ups happen, the relationship with your parents might be rocky, and friendships go through conflict. Sometimes things can get so overwhelming that you might want to crawl into your bed and never leave the safety of your covers. Or maybe your thoughts are more serious, and you’ve considered ending your life to escape your situation. No matter what you are going through, just know that you can get through this. Here are 20 questions to ask yourself if you are feeling hopeless, helpless, or just down in the dumps.
Did you take a shower today?If you have not bathed yourself in the past 24 hours, go do it right now.
Have you eaten anything healthy in the past few hours? Candy bars and soda don’t cut it. Go eat something that can give your body healthy energy, like a banana, a handful of nuts, or a piece of cheese.
Have you had any water to drink in the past hour? Being dehydrated can make anyone feel terrible. Go drink some water.
Did you get enough sleep last night? If not, take a nap. Go to bed an hour or two earlier tonight. Sleep is critically important for good mental health, so make sure you are getting enough on a daily basis.
Have you gone on a walk in the past 24 hours?Not just a walk to the bathroom or fridge, but a walk that lasts around 30 minutes. If going outside is not an option for you, walk around the mall or a large store.
Is it daytime, and are you dressed?Take off your pajamas and get cleaned up. Wear something that you really like, such as a dress, nice shirt, or your favorite pair of shoes. Put on make-up. Shave.
Is it nighttime, and you can’t sleep? Go get your pajamas on. Fill your bed up with blankets, pillows, or stuffed animals. Put all electronics away, and then lay down with your eyes closed for 15 minutes. It might help to turn on a noise machine, fan, or an hour long YouTube video with the sound of rain falling.
Do you feel unproductive? Think of a small thing you can do today (i.e. make your bed, respond to an email, fold a load of clean laundry, do a homework assignment). Set a timer for how long you think it should take, then see if you can beat your guess. The timer will keep you motivated and make the task slightly more fun.
Any recent medication changes?If you’ve been put on (or taken off) of a medication, missed a dose, or have been switched to a generic brand, this can really throw your body and mind for a loop. Wait a few days and see if things improve, but if they do not, give your doctor a call and let them know.
Do you feel unattractive?Go back to question 6, then take a selfie. Be your own best friend and identify at least 2 things from the picture that you like about yourself.
Did you sing today or dance today?If not, turn on a song you know by heart, move to music, and sing at the top of your lungs.
Do you feel frozen by a major decision you have to make?Put your major decision on the backburner for a few hours and focus on the tasks you need to accomplish for the day. Give yourself permission not to think about the decision while you work on the things you need to get done. At the end of the day, jot down your thoughts about your decision. Repeat this process until things become clear to you. The right decision will come to you at the right time.
Have you hugged someone recently?If not, it’s time to go approach a friend, parent, sibling, or even your pet to get a hug. You may be surprised at how some basic physical contact can turn even the worst day around.
Have you given someone a compliment in the past 24 hours?If not, go do it. This could be on social media or in person. Look for a quality that you admire and then let them know.
Do your friends know what you’re going through?If not, call them right now and tell them. It’s important that you let other people know how you’re feeling.
Are you focused forward, or do you dwell on the past?Past events and things in this moment may be painful– but what about in a month, a year, 5 years? You never know what wonderful things may be around the corner for you. Allow yourself to hope and dream; set goals, and look at the road ahead instead of your rearview mirror.
When is the last time you’ve told your story?It’s important to write or talk about what you have been through. Write about your journey in a journal or via a blog.
Have you exhausted yourself lately- physically, socially, emotionally, or intellectually? Giving a lot of yourself to any activity can take a toll that might last for a few days. Think of yourself as a battery- you need time to recharge after you’ve used up your energy. Be gentle with yourself, and take time to recoup. Maybe that looks like watching a funny movie, spending time alone, or sleeping a few extra hours this week.
Have you waited a week?When life starts to get you down, it’s easy to feel like things have always been this way, even when that’s not true. Today, it’s important that you make a commitment to keep yourself going for a week, whatever it takes. If you are still feeling this way seven days from now, get help from someone you trust. You deserve to feel better and there is a lot of help out there for you. Never give up.
Have you talked to a counselor recently?If you do not have a counselor, give one of ours a call (for free!): 1-800-448-3000. If you have a counselor, make an appointment and talk about what’s going on in your life.
On particularly rough days when I’m sure I can’t possibly endure, I like to remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100%. And that’s pretty good.-
Sometimes you want to give up on whatever you’re working towards. It could be because you are frustrated and don’t know what to do next.
It could also be that you’re bored and looking for the next big thing. Here is what you need to know, these best books, when you want to quit list will light you on fire and help you to hang in there.
Success takes time. You spend years working below the surface with little recognition or proof that things are going to work out. The logical thing to do is to turn back and run towards safety.
The problem is that the most successful people are not reasonable. They lean into difficulty because they know that success is on the other side of it.
I created the best books for when you want to quit, based on books that have helped me to hang on to my dream throughout the years.
Arnold managed to take his life from nothing to something. To be able to move from Austria, become a bodybuilding champion, earn his first million from real estate, make movies, and still be able to become the governor of California is impressive.
He was not able to do this because he has something special in him that we don’t have. He was able to do this because he knew what he wanted before he got started. If there is any story that will story you to keep going and to use your disadvantages to your advantage, it’s this one.
#9 – Power of Broke
One of the biggest excuses people make for quitting or not trying is being broke. Entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor Daymond John breaks down how other successful people used being broke to successful.
The very thing that most people use as a weakness he and many others have used to create wealth and start movements. My favorite story in this book is of Under Armor founder Kevin Plank. After reading this, you will be ready to keep pushing forward no matter where you are.
#8 – The People’s Tycoon
Henry Ford went on to create the horseless carriage. He built the Ford Motor Company from the ground up and was known for paying his people well, while also selling a car that was affordable for everyone.
What many people don’t know is that he failed many times before starting Ford. He had tried for many years to get this horseless carriage idea off the ground but continued to fail. He had everyone reason to quit and ultimately stop working. He kept pushing and managed to build a massive company.
Love Does an exciting book. There is one story in particular in this story that stands out when it comes to not quitting. It’s so good that it’s worth reading the whole book for it. The author tells you how he goes on to become a lawyer after not getting into law school. It’s one of the best examples of persistence that I can remember.
#6 When I Stop Talking You’ll Know I’m Dead
Jerry Weintraub is a massive name in Hollywood, but he is also behind the scenes, so many people don’t know him. He has accomplished a lot in his life, and this book is all about how he has been able to sell his way to the top.
He tells story after story of being persistent. He was willing to call Elvis every day for an entire year for the opportunity to work with him. That is just one story of many of his over the top ability to not give up.
Grit does an excellent job breaking down some of the science behind success and what is required to be great at something. The author realizes that grit is a huge determining factor. Grit is a mix of passion and the ability to persevere.
Reading this book will inspire you to keep hanging on. When you realize that being great at anything means you have to survive difficult times, it makes it apparent that quitting will not solve your problems.
#4 – Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst The Rwandan Holocaust
Left to Tell is about the genocide that happened in Rwanda. Most of the world completely ignored what was happening. Over a million people were slaughtered because they were from a different tribe. It represents one of the most senseless killing sprees in human history.
The author tells her story of how she survived and managed to recover from the massacre. The story will bring you to the depths of sorrow but also bring you to hope that forgiveness is always out there. The way the author can move forward with her life is just astonishing.
The War of Art is the shortest book to read on this list. It reads in almost a poetic way. The author does an incredible job explaining what it takes to be creative and do your best work. He introduces the idea of resistance and how it tries to stop you from completing your mission.
It just takes reading a few pages of this book each day to realize that quitting is only resistance. When you want to leave, it’s often just this world is trying to throw you off your game, so you don’t create your masterpiece.
#2 – The Obstacle is The Way
The obstacle is the Way says it all in the title. We spend way too much time wishing that obstacles were not present. They feel as if the barrier never came, success would have been ours. What this book helps you to grip is the fact that the obstacle is the path.
There is no getting around obstacles. Accomplishment comes with them built-in. If you want an easy life, you don’t get to live an accomplished life, and in the long run, you will have even more obstacles to deal with. If you’re not an entrepreneur in any capacity, then this book could make the argument for #1 on the best albums when you want to quit the list.
#1 -Three Feet From Gold
Three Feet From Gold is a must-read for when looking for the best books for new entrepreneurs. It has one of the best collections of stories from people who had to endure a lot to succeed. Evader Holyfield, Truett Cathy, and many more entrepreneurs give their take and advice on what it takes to succeed.
As an entrepreneur, you will face many times will you want to quit. This is a book that you on to tight in those moments when you want to give up prematurely. Three Feet From Gold is an easy call for the best books for when you want to quit the list.
Most things aren’t impossible, most people just give up too soon.
The number one reason people don’t get what they want is because they give up too soon. That’s a true stat that I just made up, but I would venture to guess it’s not far off. You’ve probably given up on a lot of things before.
You didn’t get the first job you wanted – so you gave up.
The first business you started working on failed – so you gave up.
The first time you went out for a run, you puked – so you gave up.
The first time you sent in a writing piece, you got turned down – so you gave up.
It could be anything, but chances are whatever it is, it boiled down to this: you didn’t get what you wanted right away so you gave up.
You called it in. You packed it up and you headed home.
Perseverance, next to adaptability is the most important skill you can have. And it’s just that, a skill. Like any other skill in the world, you might be born with a more natural ability to persevere than others, but you can learn to stick with things and persevere if you want to. In fact, the one thing that sets people I know who succeed in the long run over the people who don’t is the ability to persevere, keep going and never give up.
The goal of this article is to get you to stop giving up!
Luckily, like everything, not giving up is a skill you can learn. Here are some strategies for never giving up to help you the next time you want to quit.
1. Go Workout
A long run can clear your mind in ways that few other things can. Same with a solid session of throwing around a lot of heavy weight. Get moving. Go do something different. Push yourself physically. The best way to get past imaginary limits is to make them as physical as possible and then physically smash them into pieces. When you do that it reminds you that the limits that seem so real in your mind, aren’t real at all. When you’re in the weight room, the iron never lies. It shows you exactly who you are and that with solid hard work you can overcome something you used to think was impossible to do.
The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs.
What can you do? You’re just a little tiny person on earth. Good thing people are capable of doing incredible things.
When it feels like you can’t do anything, it can be helpful to be reminded by others who have done amazing things despite the annoying hindrance of being merely human.
“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people who are no smarter than you.” – Steve Jobs
Go watch someone do something impossible. Then go do something impossible yourself. One person can change the world. Be that person.
Everyone needs a good pump up song. I don’t really listen to music much when I’m working out, but I do need the help to get out the door. Find something that works for you. When things start getting hard, pump up the music, put on your headphones and get after it.
Sometimes the real reason for quitting is a complete lack of belief that you can actually do the impossible. Show yourself you can actually do it. Go do something ridiculously hard and don’t tell anyone. Climb a mountain and tell no one. Remind yourself what you’re capable of. Then keep going.
This video from David Goggins is one of the most inspirational things I’ve ever seen. If you’ve never seen it, go watch it now (I’ll be here when you’re done)
David’s an ultra-marathoner and in the video he describes that throughout certain parts of the race you feel like giving up when you hit a wall. But the wall isn’t the problem – the problem is giving up. When you hit a wall, it’s not the end of the road, you have to keep going. Go parallel right, and parallel left until you find a door in the wall. Once you find that door, you can either give up or keep going. If you want to finish, you have to open that door. When you do, your mind resets and you break through the wall and you keep going.
Find the door, open it and keep going.
6. Be Honest With Yourself
Sometimes you need to lock yourself in a room, and scream at the top of your lungs.
THIS SUCKS!
Do that until you turn purple.
Got that out of your system? Good. Then get back to work.
Sometimes you have legitimate reasons for wanting to quit. Lots of times you’re simply making up excuses for when things get hard. Find someone who’d going to call you out when you start coming up with excuses. Someone that’s going to call you on your BS.
A lot of friends want to be encouraging and they do it in the nicest way possible, but unfortunately, nice isn’t always a good thing. Honest friends – people who tell you what you need to hear whether you like or not – are rare and while it’s nice to be coddled, sometimes you need to be called out.
Sit around. Put your head in your hands. Curl up in a ball. Cry. Feel bad for yourself. Do whatever you have to. Wallow and throw yourself a pity party. But (and this is important) give yourself a time limit for wallowing.
You can’t wallow forever. Give yourself a set time to wallow (preferably not over 24 hours) and then get back to it and do something.
You should have a really good reason. Otherwise, pause, take a break and figure it out.
Then keep going.
10. Just Quit
You don’t have to finish everything. If you’re doing the wrong thing, you should be quitting. But you need to quit the right things – not everything. If you quit everything, you either need to get better at choosing what to start or learn to adapt and perserve more.
It’s also good to note that quitting an activity, doesn’t mean quitting altogether and giving up. If you quit something, do it because you need to focus on something else or do something better. Don’t simply quit because it’s the easy thing to do. Quit because you’re quitting the right thing.
Whenever I do long distance races, there’s always a point where you want to stop. When that happens, I start counting trees. How it works is that while running, you pick out a tree 50 yards in front of you. You tell yourself to keep going until that tree. As soon as you hit that next tree, pick another tree out and keep going. Repeat as necessary.
12. Take Cold Showers
If you want to give up because you’re afraid to take the next step, take 30 days of cold shower therapy and get used to stepping into something you’re scared of and realize that it’s never as bad as your imagination makes it out to be.
13. Forget About It
You got rejected, turned down or met some other minor setback? Forget about it. Literally just forget about it. Move on to something else instead and put that out of your mind.
In my mind sometimes, I think things were really, really easy, because looking back on things I tend to forget all the hard parts. I look at whatever I did and think “well that wasn’t so hard.”
Of course it’s wasn’t now that you’re done with it!
But there were a ton of times along the way that things were difficult, but I just put them out of my head. It turns out, I have a very short term memory of all the times I’ve screwed up, failed, and been rejected. It’s not that they didn’t happen – it’s just that I didn’t let them stop me. I put them out of my mind and kept going, with whatever added wisdom I picked up from that experience.
For example: When I first started writing online, I sent a bunch of samples to a few blogs that I thought were great, only to get rejected time after time after time. I’d spend a week on an article only to get a “no thanks” back from a blog I thought was amazing. So I quit, packed up my laptop ran to my room, cried for a few months and never wrote another thing again, right?
Well, actually I just made my own site and started writing. And I still wasn’t any good. I was bad when I started (really bad), but I’ve gotten less and less bad as time goes on. As I’ve improved I realize those sites that I thought were amazing, weren’t that amazing after all. They were good, and they were right (the pieces I sent them weren’t great) but they weren’t blogging Gods and their judgment of wherever I was at the time, didn’t mean I couldn’t improve and get better. I still get rejected all the time, but I just keep going.
If you’re facing a setback, rejection, or failure, sometimes it’s easy to turn on your short term memory and continue anyways.
Rethink the lens you’re looking at your life through. Instead of worrying about the struggle you’re in the midst of, remind yourself you’re a character in a story. Characters experience conflict and the conflict you’re going through is part of what’s going to make your story so great in the end.
Your current circumstances are not final outcomes.
Your circumstances define the conflict, but not the final result. The harder the struggle, the greater the story. The more triumphant it is in the end when you overcome the conflict you find yourself immersed in.
When other people give up, you keep going and remember that there’s more to the story than what you’re experiencing right now.
15. Keep Your Head Up.
The crap you’re going to seems so immense because you’re focused directly on it – looking directly into and analyzing every piece of crap that flies your way. When you raise your head up, you look beyond the mess you’re stuck in right now and see the bigger picture and sometimes that’s all you need. Keeping your head up allows you to see the simple solution to the problem that you used to think was ridiculously complex.
16. Realize You Get To Do This
You get the opportunity to do this. To be able to change your life, try something impossible and actually do it. There are people all over the world that don’t get the opportunities you do.
It’s sounds ridiculous, but there are people throughout the world that would kill to deal with the pain and agony of starting their own business, being healthy enough to run a marathon or the freedom to choose what job they want to spend their life doing.
Realizing that most of the world doesn’t get the opportunities you do, lets you take advantage of the ones you have rather than complaining about how difficult they may seem.
17. Make Quitting Not An Option
Just decide that you’re not going to quit. This is so effective, and so simple, but hardly anyone does it. Just decide you’re not going to quit.
No matter what. Period. End of Story.
If you get punched in the face. Keep going. If you go bankrupt. Suck it back up and keep going. If you get laughed at, mocked or pushed down. Just get back up. Get back at it and keep going. Be relentless.
Fall down seven times. Get up eight. – Japanese Proverb
Decide that quitting is not an option and, no matter how many times you fail, it won’t be an option.
Change and control go hand in hand. Some changes fall easily into your scope of control, whereas others remain just outside it. You can’t control the weather no matter how much you wish that sunny January morning was actually sparkling snow. But there are other times when it doesn’t feel like you have control over a situation when you really do — and your personal financial health (and money mindset) is certainly one of them. People often fixate on the money aspects they can’t control, like the market or returns, instead of focusing on what they can control like savings, spending, investing, goal-setting, and more.
When it comes to personal finance, whether or not you feel in control has everything to do with perspective. Your financial perspective is also known as your money mindset. What is a money mindset and do you have the power to change it? Let’s find out.
Similar to a money script, a money mindset is the unique attitude, perspective, and narrative you weave using your thoughts, actions, and beliefs toward money. Your money mindset extends beyond the bounds of your personal life and enters into your general feelings toward finances.
Your money mindset informs the way you manage, save, spend, and invest your money. When you better understand your perspective toward your money, you begin to see where your financial habits come from. A money mindset influences your thoughts and actions, which can have both positive and negative consequences.
Someone with a healthy money mindset likely feels confident, secure, knowledgeable, and energized about their financial life. Someone with a negative money mindset might feel anxious, guarded, or uncomfortable about their financial situation. Not sure where you fall? Ask yourself some questions to help shed light on your money mindset:
How does your financial situation make you feel?
Are you comfortable talking with your spouse, parents, friends, etc. about money matters?
Do you like your financial habits?
Are you secure in your financial future?
Do you often compare your financial situation to others?
Are you confident you can achieve your financial goals?
These questions help reveal how you view money. It illustrates how you see your debt, whether you make healthy financial choices, how confident you are in your financial future, and so much more.
How is Your Money Mindset Formed?
Your money mindset is formed from your distinct lived experiences. Everyone has a different story and relationship with money because everyone has had different experiences with it throughout their lives. Someone who worked during high school and college might have a different perspective on saving than someone whose first job was well into their 20s.
Along with your personal experiences, your mindset is also formed by how money impacted the people closest to you.
Was money a taboo topic in your house?
Were your parents or loved ones constantly stressed about money?
Did your family prioritize charitable giving?
Was financial literacy a core topic of conversation in your house?
All of these past experiences likely influence your attitude and approach toward money today. Someone who grew up in an environment where money was a sore spot might not like managing their finances (or might always worry about having enough money to support themselves and their family).
Your attitudes and perspectives are shaped by the people around you, and those closest to you tend to profoundly influence your thoughts and beliefs. As the saying goes, you are who you spend time with,
Why Care About Your Money Mindset?
As noted earlier, your money mindset is directly connected to your current financial habits. It affects how you approach money, the way you view and use debt, how you think about your future, and how you view the financial habits of others.
When you know how you approach money, you’ll be more equipped to make intentional decisions that push you in a positive direction. After reflecting on this concept, you may realize you lean on your credit cards too often for purchases you don’t need and that don’t further your goals. You may also discover your propensity for giving comes from a long line of generous role models.
Your money mindset also reveals both your positive and negative traits regarding financial management. This concept isn’t inherently intuitive. It’s critical to spend some time thinking through these questions and being honest with yourself about your attitude toward your money.
The best thing about a money mindset? Like perspectives, they can shift. Here’s a few ways you can change your mindset to improve your financial outlook.
5 Steps to Change Your Money Mindset for the Better.
Personal finance fluctuates and changes, which always leaves room for improvement. Remember, your money mindset is something you can control. Here are some ways you can evolve and make progress:
Too often, a negative mindset leads people to give up on their financial goals. It’s important to approach your money from a place of openness, curiosity, and excitement. Believing that you can reach your goals and find success is the first step. Once you have that foundation, you’ll be able to construct habits that support those beliefs.
This doesn’t mean your entire financial road will be paved with rainbows and sunshine, but it does mean you’ll allow yourself to find success. How can you shift this perspective? Spend some time setting new financial goals. Your goals are the foundation of your financial plan. Once you have your goals, set some key milestones to celebrate as you work toward them.
Starting from a positive headspace will help you make choices that are aligned with those productive thoughts.
2. Picture Your Future Self
Sometimes it’s crucial to flip this tough interview question back on yourself. Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 20, even 30 years? Where have you grown? What have you accomplished? What do you want for your future self? Picturing your future can be a telling exercise as it can reveal if you’re on the right path to attaining it.
Maybe starting your own business is a critical milestone in your life. You might suddenly realize you haven’t started saving for this venture or really thought about the type of business for you. Fill in those missing pieces so you can set yourself up and bring that future vision to life.
You might also try picturing your dream retirement. Where are you living? How are you spending your time? Are you fulfilled? When you can see your future self, you can find the motivation you need to get there. Maybe this year commit to maxing out your retirement accounts or increasing the contributions to your other investments.
3. Give Freely and Generously
Your comfort level with giving back to causes, organizations, and people you care about says a lot about your money mindset. In general, those who intentionally make space for giving feel more confident, secure, and fulfilled with their money.
Every person will have a different capacity for giving, but when you feel comfortable giving away some of your money, you’ll move from a space of scarcity to one of abundance.
A scarcity mindset is a dangerous narrative, one that leaves you constantly chasing the idea of “enough”. Abundance, on the other hand, is about setting yourself up for financial success and structuring your money in a way that brings meaning and fulfillment.
4. Immerse Yourself in Knowledge
One of the best ways to combat negative habits is to learn healthier ones. Financial management isn’t simply intuitive, it’s something you need to work toward and spend time with to get right.
Take some time to read books, blogs, and articles. These resources can broaden your perspective and help you improve the areas where you’re struggling.
Talk with family and friends about the questions you have. They might be able to share their wisdom or perhaps just open a line of conversation.
Seek out a professional. A financial advisor can help address your money mindset and give you practical tools to improve it.
Knowledge is power and making the most of the resources available to you will help you shift your perspective.
5. Know Where You Are and Where You Want to Be
To change something, you need to understand two elements:
Where you are.
Where you want to be.
Let’s use investing as an example. When you know you veer into a scarcity mindset when the topic of investing comes up, you can use the tools and resources around you to overcome those feelings. If you want to reach your financial goals, odds are you’ll have to embrace investing.
To embrace the role investing plays in your finances, do some research on what investing means to you. Understand your risk tolerance, set goals, and work with someone you trust. All of these elements will help you build a positive and fulfilling mindset.
Your money mindset powers your thoughts, attitudes, and perspectives toward your finances. Remember, you can control how you view, approach, and manage your money. By understanding your current money mindset, you’ll be able to create positive habits that help you accomplish your goals.
The decisions we make play a vital role in our lives. In many ways, they shape our future. Yet, most people aren’t really conscious of just how impactful many of their decisions actually are.
They go through life without paying much attention to their thoughts or actions. Of course, we can not control everything that happens to us; but we can still make decisions that align with our life’s goals.
That said, you may feel very uncertain about how to make decisions that will steer your career, health, financial situation and relationships in the direction you want. If this rings true for you, then you may want to improve your decision-making process. Here are some effective tips to make better decisions!
It is difficult to make a good decision if you are not clear about what the issue really is! Clearly outlining the issue will help you focus on what you are really deciding on, while excluding unrelated aspects.
Start with a simple statement like: “What I need to decide is ….,” and also ask yourself why the decision is necessary or advantageous, and what is motivating you. Doing this will help you realize the effect your decision will have. Maybe you are considering buying a new car.
Are you willing and able to make the necessary payments?
Understanding the important issues involved can help you make better decisions.
2 — Take Control Of Your Emotions
What you are feeling about an issue can affect your decisions. It is therefore, important that you recognize what you are feeling, and deal with your emotions. Fear or uncertainty can lead you to avoid risk, and this can also affect other areas of your life.
If you are anxious about signing a loan agreement, for example, you might also shy away from other, less risky decisions — like: whether you should actually ask for that raise you might deserve. If however, you are an excitable person, you may be entirely too optimistic about your prospects.
You might take big risks — no matter how small the chances of success — if the profit is big enough. Gambling is a typical example of such behavior. So consider whether you are feeling depressed, excited, fearful, or maybe overly optimistic. Really think about how these feelings might be affecting your decision-making process.
People like to think that they are making informed decisions. And why not?
It certainly makes sense! Yet many get stuck constantly gathering information in order to be as certain as possible about any particular decision. This can lead to putting off the decision indefinitely.
At any point, take stock of the information you have, and decide what information is most useful toward making a decision. It’s helpful to differentiate what information is essential and what is not. If you catch yourself agonizing over a decision, clear your mind of it for a while. Do anything to get your mind off it. This will give your brain a chance to refocus on the essentials.
4 — Don’t Rely On Other People’s Opinions
If you ask others what YOU should do, you will most likely get conflicting opinions, and this can make it even more difficult for you to decide what is best — for you. Other people, after all, will analyze an issue based on their own values. And the more outside opinions you gather, the more confused and uncertain you will feel. There are exceptions of course. It is perfectly OK to talk with people who will be affected by your decision. It’s important to take them into account before you make a decision.
5 — Make Decisions Compatible With Your Values
Decisions that are in alignment with your core values will also motivate you to make them work. Any time you make an important choice that is NOT in line with your personal priorities or deeply felt principles, you will not be convinced of the rightness of your decision.
However, before you can do this, you need to really think about what your core principles and values are. Getting a clear idea of what is really important to you is vital! Write down those values that you feel most deeply about. Once you’ve done that, you can judge whether your decisions align with them or not.
If you are too personally involved, any decision can be difficult to make. So, try to view the issue from a third person perspective.
Imagine that it is someone else’s decision. This will enable you to see issues more dispassionately. Let’s say for example, you are considering whether you should quit your job and begin another career. Pretend that you are advising someone else as to what decision he or she should make.
By stepping back and looking at the issue from a more disinterested perspective, you will be able to analyze the situation without feeling directly involved — and therefore, be able to make a more sober assessment of the possible results of any decision. Using this technique will also help you keep your emotions in check.
7 — Weigh Both Risks And Rewards
Every decision promises a desired outcome, but also comes with potential risk. When you are considering a decision, make a list of potential outcomes, both positive and negative.
You should also consider how other people may be affected. For every decision there are pros and cons. Although almost no decision you make will be without risk, make sure your decision promises results where the positive effects exceed the negative. Let’s say, that you are considering buying a new house. The pros of such a purchase could be that you will have more space, live in a better neighborhood and can take advantage of low mortgage rates. The cons could include an increase in monthly expenditures.
You may also consider what effect it might have on your overall financial situation.
What are the worst things that can happen as a result of your decision?
What are the clear advantages?
Also, what can happen if you don’t make any decision at all?
Be aware that making no decision, is a decision in itself!
8 — Avoid Typical Pitfalls
The way you think and choose can negatively affect the quality of your decisions. Even after you’ve outlined the issue; get useful information; and consider the pros and cons — you can still make a bad decision! It is important for you to detect your typical tendencies and pre-conceived ideas that can affect the way you make decisions. It is often everything but easy to make changes.
Yet a decision that takes you out of your comfort zone and represents a new direction is usually the best. Don’t make a decision just because you’re comfortable with it. We often seek information that merely confirms what we already want to do. This phenomenon is called “confirmation bias”. Gather information — no matter how disturbing it may seem, and really look at all aspects of the decision you are facing.
9 — Create An Action Plan
Simply deciding on something is not enough. You should formulate the steps you need to take, in order to realize your decision. Your action plan should also have a timeline for each step, as well as how you will integrate other people who are affected by your decision.
For example, if you decide to go on vacation, that may require you to take care of a number of things. You need to inform your employer well in advance and make sure that your tasks are covered in your absence. You should probably check your available finances and perhaps save some money. You should also plan your actual trip, book accommodations — and set a schedule for getting all of this done.
Don’t procrastinate or reconsider your decision. You’ve decided, so get going! Dedicate yourself to making your decision work. If you are hesitant because you are unsure of your decision or are considering various options or changes, then your decision has not accomplished anything.
DECIDE, then DO. Making a decision can be very difficult. Because you want to get it right, you may spend an endless amount of time considering just what you should do. If however, you do not follow through, you will not enjoy the rewards that your decision can bring you. If you wait too long thinking about whether to apply for that new job, for instance, someone else may fill out the application and get the job. You will miss out!
11 — Have A Backup Plan
You won’t make the best decision every time. Nobody does. Sometimes, a lack of time or information may force you to make hasty or uninformed decisions. Having said that, you probably consider a number of options when making a decision. So, if your decision does not work out as you hoped, you may have the chance to “do it over” and try out another option, or just start the decision-making process anew.
12 — Assess Your Decisions
People often neglect to think about their past decisions. However, analyzing and evaluating past decisions can help you make better ones in the future. When you examine your decisions, you will be able to identify which ones went well, which ones did not — and most importantly — why.
This will help you when you consider your next decision. Ask yourself questions like:
Was I satisfied with the result of my decision?
Could I have done something differently or better?
What can I learn from it?
Learning how to make better decisions can significantly improve how you live your life. If your decision-making process is efficient, you will be able to make faster decisions and feel much more confident about them. You will save time and spare yourself a lot of agony.
As you can see from these tips, you CAN actually become a better decision-maker. Even applying just a few of these steps will lead to better decisions! So, what’s YOUR decision-making process like?
Are you impulsive?
Do you think things through?
Do you procrastinate a lot?
I really wanna know! Share your thoughts and comments below!
By Bryan Robinson, Ph.D. Psychotherapist in Private Practice and Author of 40 books.
Are you so afraid of failing that you’re willing to avoid any possibility of defeat? If so, you have already failed. Failure and success are flipsides of the same coin—twins, not enemies. You can’t have a right without a left, a back without a front, or a top without a bottom. Studies show that people recover quicker from automobile wrecks than psychological defeats. Smack down moments are unavoidable, and success is built on them. Avoidance of failure turns into avoidance of success. It might be a bitter pill to swallow, but to attain what you want you must be willing to accept what you don’t want.
Bummer, right? Not really. This frees you to get up and dust yourself off one more time than you fall and keep on going. Once you start to accept failure as an essential steppingstone to success, you can give yourself permission to stick your neck out and make the mistakes necessary to get where you want to go.
After a letdown, the key is to harness the strength in the places where you feel broken and bounce back higher than you fall. You build a backbone of steel by making sure after each failure that you try again, and if you fail again, make sure you fail better than the time before. Failure offers you an opportunity to grow and learn from your shortcomings. Failure is a frame of mind. You don’t actually fail until you choose to put that label on yourself. When you call yourself a failure, you start to feel, think, and behave like one. If you’re like most people, you won’t succeed at everything the first time, and every unsuccessful attempt isn’t a failure as long as you continue to try. If you want to succeed, think of failure as your teacher—your personal trainer—constantly raising the exercise bar so you can learn from your mistakes.
You want to change in order to succeed, right? But if you’re like many people, you set out in the wrong direction, unwittingly returning to your crappy old habits and behave in ways that take you down the opposite path of defeat. If you want to get closer to success, avoid the following 10 habits, so even if you do fail, you can fail better on each attempt, bounce higher, and stay on track:
1. Don’t have a plan.
You can fail if you don’t know what you want. And if you don’t know where you’re going, you never get there.
Develop a game plan so you know where you’re going and when you get there. If you have a definite goal that you’re setting out to achieve, a purpose that you’re trying to fill, you’re more likely to succeed.
2. Set unreasonable standards.
You can sabotage your success by setting unreachable deadlines that are humanly impossible to achieve. They’re called deadlines for a reason. You can kill yourself trying to make them, and if you’re dead you can’t succeed.
Set realistic lifelines that can give you more time, slow you down, and make you more productive and effective. When you set lifelines instead of deadlines, you’re less likely to hear that whooshing sound as deadlines go by or feel that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach for falling short. Work smarter and less. You’ll get more done, have fewer health problems, and live longer.
People-pleasing and procrastination are two ways to play it safe and avoid taking risks. If you don’t try, you can’t fail. If you’re a people-pleaser, you avoid being judged and whittle yourself down to a stub. Procrastination provides you freedom from failure, too, in the short term, even though it derails your success in the long run.
Success happens outside of your comfort zone. Studies show that you have a greater chance of success if you stick your neck out. Be a creative risk taker, step into the unfamiliar and unpredictable, and stretch beyond customary bounds. Accept failure with open arms, learn from it, and take the perspective that failure happens for you, not to you.
4. Maintain a negative outlook.
Step back from challenges and stack your positivity deck. Focus on solutions instead of problems, look at the upside of a downside situation, and pinpoint an opportunity in every difficulty. Remember the personal resources you have at your disposal to overcome roadblocks. Look for gains in your loses and beginnings in your endings. Optimism rubs off, so hang out with positive people who lift you up. Studies show that optimists scale the success ladder faster and higher than pessimists.
5. Beat yourself up.
Coming down hard on yourself when you forget or make a mistake reduces your chances of rebounding. Extinguish your blame thrower, put down your gavel, and chill your faultfinder. Studies show that you’re more likely to achieve success through a healthy dose of self-compassion. After a setback, be kind to yourself. Talk yourself off the ledge, and give yourself pep talks, atta-girls or atta-boys, and positive affirmations. Give yourself a thumbs-up every time you reach a milestone or important accomplishment.
6. Take setbacks personally.
When things don’t work out to suit you, do you say you’re jinxed, or blame it on Murphy’s Law (if something can go wrong, it certainly will)? When you personalize everyday random events into a negative life pattern, you lose your power and make yourself a victim of defeat.
If you want to empower yourself, make a U-turn when things are headed in a negative direction. Shift your perspective to see that life doesn’t have a personal vendetta against you. Focus on what you can do: “How can I make this situation work to my advantage?” or “Can I find something positive in this negative situation?” or “What can I manage or overcome in this instance?” Progression (success) and regression (failure) go together like a hand and glove. Falling back is part of moving forward. Success isn’t an upward straight line; it’s a zigzag back and forward until you reach your goals.
7. Ignore your physical and mental health.
Many ambitious people consider stress and burnout as the price to pay for success and a badge of honor for the sacrifice. But studies show the opposite to be true.
Amped-up self-care is the cornerstone for success: ample sleep, good nutrition, and regular exercise. Take time out of the daily grind to quiet your mind, meditate, take a power nap, or spend time in nature. Idle moments of mindfulness without imperatives—nothing to rush to, fix, or accomplish—actually contribute to your mental and physical health: greater productivity, better memory, stronger immune system, fewer health problems, greater happiness, and longer life. Doing nothing provides a period for important decisions to incubate and cultivates clarity and creativity to make your goals a reality.
Collaboration with others and learning from them is essential for success. It’s important to have a mind of your own and march to your own drum, but don’t be a know-it-all. Listen to those with tried and true experience who have gone before you. Reach out to others who have already accomplished what you’re working toward and understand what you’re going through. They might give you wise advice that will change your perspective and fuel your efforts to your goals.
9. Bolster your perfectionism.
In its clutches, perfectionism tightens you in a stranglehold, injects its rigidity into your bloodstream, and chokes the flow of spontaneous and flexible ideas. Perfection’s iron-fisted grip can cause you to set unrealistic goals, try too hard, and then avoid the impossible target you set for yourself. When you tell yourself nothing you do is good enough and shackle yourself to accept nothing short of perfect, you increase your chances of defeat. There’s no such thing as perfection. Your human condition is characterized by imperfection, so give yourself permission to be an imperfect human, to make mistakes, or to forget. Learn from your mistakes and be a master of self-correction. The paradox is that letting go of perfectionism, instead of slowing you down, propels you along the path to success.
Explore the possibilities and much more!
10. Label yourself a loser.
Your biggest obstacle to success lies between your own two eyes. When you call yourself a failure, you identify with the very habit that limits you. You give tacit approval to fail and accept the label as you. This gives you unspoken permission to act as a person worthy of the label “loser,” and you repeat the habit of falling short in most things you do.
Labels are for jars and cans, not for you. Think of failure as a part of you, not as you. Stepping back and observing this part with an impartial eye lessens the self-judgment and keeps you from clobbering yourself. Refer to your failure in the third person and befriend it by talking to it so it doesn’t dominate your decision-making. Studies show that this strategy helps you to separate from the failure, for it to relax, and for the ambitious you to take charge of the task. When you practice this approach, you notice a heightened ability to scale the obstacles to success that the label throws in your way.
Have you ever met someone who thrives through adversity, and who transforms their pain into opportunities for growth? In her book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth describes these types of people as possessing grit. From her research, she has found that grit is what separates those who are successful from those who fail.
“Grit is sticking with your future, day in and day out, and not just for the week, not just for the month, but years.”
The problem that a lot of people face is that they seek the shortcut to success. They want to work less while still achieving more. Unfortunately, that’s not how success works.
If you want to achieve your goals, you have to be willing to do anything and everything. I believe that the most meaningful goals require an insane amount of hard work, determination, discipline, commitment, and sacrifice. But get real with yourself — are you ready to go all-in? How bad do you want to succeed?
Why Is Grit Important?
Nothing of value in life comes easily. Success is never a coincidence.
Research indicates that the ability to be gritty — to stick with things that are important to you and bounce back from failure — is an essential component of success.[1]
You can have all the talent in the world, but you will never achieve your goals without effort. This is why grit is the foundation of success.
The good news is that grit can be developed and mastered over time. However, you first need to adopt a growth mindset. Unfortunately, many people have a fixed mindset.
They are conditioned to believe that their intelligence cannot improve. While a fixed mindset is based in “I can” or “I can’t,” a growth mindset celebrates the journey from “I can’t” to “I can.”[2]
Do you see your intelligence as fixed, or do you believe that you can grow and change?
Below are the characteristics of grit. Reflect upon the ones that you resonate with the most and still need to strengthen.
Explore the possibilities and much more!
Passion
Where there is passion, there is always a purpose. Passionate people know themselves inside and out. They have a clear understanding of their values, beliefs, and needs.
More importantly, they live in alignment with their truth and inspire others to do the same. Living with passion is about paying attention to and following what makes you come alive inside.
Not everyone will understand your path in life, and that’s okay. True grit is being able to tune out others’ judgments and stay in your lane.
Perseverance
I’ve never met a strong person who had an easy-breezy past. Persevering, despite all odds, is about learning how to sit with your darkness and soften into the discomfort.
The only difference between those who succeed versus those who fail is their willingness to persevere and continue failing forward. It’s knowing that your desire to achieve your dreams burns brighter than any obstacle.
Learn how to embrace discomfort and use pain as a tool to grow and become more. Celebrate yourself every step of the way and don’t stop until you’re insanely proud of the person you’ve become.
Gritty people are resilient, in the sense that they thrive through adversity. They reframe every challenge as an opportunity and do the work to become the master of their emotions.
Research reveals that resilience is a test of how tough you are. Instead, it has everything to do with your willingness to keep trying after others have given up.[3]
Resilient people are conscious enough to know when it is time to surrender to the rollercoaster ride of life. Their ability to soften into what is can make room for what will be.
It was like any other day in my life. I got on my motorcycle and rode off. Because I was just going up the road, I decided not to wear my helmet. Little did I know that this sudden decision would change my entire life.
I was supposed to be back home in 15 minutes, but that didn’t happen. Five minutes into riding my bike, I had an accident. I hit my head on the pavement, suffered a traumatic brain injury, and was rushed to the hospital to undergo surgery.
I remember the moment like it was yesterday. This experience left me with PTSD, post-concussion syndrome, chronic pain, and anxiety.
However, it also gave me a second chance to recreate my life and develop unshakeable mental strength and grit.
It’s been three years since my accident. I’m not the same person that I used to be. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. I chose to transform my pain into power. To this day, I continue to pull upon my grit. It has become my superpower.
Let me be clear: I’m not special. I was just willing to do what was challenging for many. Giving up was never an option. How I have responded to my knockdowns has determined my success in life.
The obstacles that I faced along my healing journey (and still do to this day) had given me a strength that I never knew I had. Pain can be a gift if you are willing to find its meaning behind all the mess.
When you have the courage to use your pain as motivational strength, you will realize that there is nothing you cannot overcome.
Grit is like a muscle that you train and flex at the gym. You need to do the same thing with your mind. Let’s explore what you can do to build mental toughness every day.
1. Practice, Practice, Practice
The fastest way to master anything is to practice and repeat it. To persevere, you have to be willing to step outside of your comfort zone and try new things. This is how you flex your grit muscle.
At the end of the day, grit comes down to what habits you engage in daily. It’s about doing the things you know you’re supposed to do on a more consistent basis that will contribute to your success.[4]
The more that you invest in your personal growth, the more skilled you will become. In turn, you can keep doing the things that you excel at.
2. Connect With Your Purpose
Gritty people live on purpose.
After studying 16,000 people, Duckworth found that “grittier people are dramatically more motivated than others to seek a meaningful, other-centered life.”[5]
The next time that you encounter an obstacle that tries to take you off course, reconnect with your why. It will be the one thing that motivates you to keep moving forward, even when you feel like throwing in the towel.
3. Don’t Give Up
When things get difficult, do you give up easily or use your low moments to push yourself forward and become stronger?
Gritty people look a challenge dead in the eye and give it a wink. They don’t quit until they win.
The only failure in life is quitting. Life is supposed to be messy. You’re supposed to fail. It’s a core part of the human experience. All that matters is how you respond to failure.
It’s okay if you fall seven times, as long as you make sure that you stand up on the eighth time. If you can master the art of never giving up, there is no limit to what you can achieve in life.
Patience isn’t something you would typically find listed as a positive trait on a resume, but there is no doubt that patient people tend to be more pleasant to be around, both in the workplace and in day-to-day life.
It’s also a skill that almost everyone could improve upon.
Whether you have been accused of being impatient, or you don’t need anyone to tell you patience is not a strong skill of yours, the good news is you can make improvements and become a more patient person.
Here’s a quick introduction to the benefits of patience, and no fewer than 22 ways to boost your proficiency in this area.
Patience is a virtue, but what does that mean exactly?
There are myriad benefits of being a patient person, both at work and in your private life. It generally means you:
Are perceived as a more relaxed, friendly person
Are better able to focus on goals
Can make more rational decisions
Are less prone to angry outbursts
Can learn new things (rather than giving up out of impatience)
Have stronger mental health, due to less stress
This single, often-overlooked skill offers numerous advantages, and fortunately, it is not something you have to be born with. Anyone can work to become more patient—all it takes is a few smart strategies like these:
1. Practice Being Patient
It might sound simple, but practicing patience truly is a legitimate way to improve your patience. After all, how do you improve your skills in playing the piano? Or making the perfect poached egg? Practice, practice, practice.
Everyday life will no doubt provide you with ample opportunities to practice your patience, but if you would prefer to have more focus and control when practicing, try a few of these things:
Read a difficult novel, such as War and Peace
Complete a large jigsaw puzzle, or a book of Sudoku
Commit to cooking meals from scratch
Take public transport to work
Ban yourself from looking at your phone while waiting for appointments
Offer to babysit for a friend or family member
All of these tasks require patience—-they force you to wait and push you to remove expectations, which are keys to becoming more patient.
2. Focus On Why You Are Impatient
Focusing on the reason behind your impatience can help you shine a spotlight on your impatience.
Do you detest waiting in line at the grocery store because you’re hungry and want to get home to eat? Or because you’re running late for an event?
Inspect the real reasons why why you’re feeling impatient. When you acknowledge those reasons, you may be better placed to take control over those feelings and stop stressing about them.
3. Remind Yourself That You Are Merely Uncomfortable
Life is the longest thing any of us will do, but sometimes, mere minutes can feel like they stretch an eternity.
When you are in these situations—like being put on hold or stuck in traffic—it can feel extremely uncomfortable. You are waiting with little to no control over the situation.
However, try to remember you are simply uncomfortable. These situations are not impossible, or life-threatening, so even though it may not be enjoyable, it is certainly bearable. Learning to recognize and accept discomfort may make it easier to cope with.
4. Distract Yourself
Many situations that demand patience simply require you to wait, such as a long plane ride or a lengthy line at a restaurant.
In these scenarios, there’s nothing you can do to speed things up, but you can fill that time productively – so distract yourself.
Listen to a podcast, type out a quick email you’ve been meaning to write, beat the next level on Candy Crush, or complete your daily minutes on DuoLingo to learn a new language. There are always ways to fill time that don’t include simply fuming over the situation and feeling angry or negative.
If the lightbulb in your bathroom blows one morning, it’s probably going to be little more than a minor inconvenience in your day. If it blows for the fourth time in a month, you’d have to be a saint not to lose your patience.
Most of us have common triggers that set off feelings of impatience, and they often come from recurring events. This could be anything from noisy neighbors every night to kids not tidying away their shoes after school.
Recognizing these triggers can help you manage your impatient responses. You can either find ways to alleviate or avoid them (perhaps with a call to your local council, or rewards for tidy children), or learn to accept that they will continue to occur and that you being impatient won’t help in the slightest.
Explore the possibilities and much more!
6. Practice Empathy
In many cases, the reason for your impatience is another person, and in most cases, a little empathy can go a long way.
For example, imagine you’re stuck behind an elderly gentleman or woman in line at the grocery store, fuming as you watch them slowly count out their cash and coins.
This is your time to take a moment to remember to be empathetic rather than impatient. Even if they are making you run late, think of them as your own elderly relatives, your own loved ones.
Reminding yourself that the “cause” of your impatience is only human, and that they’re likely doing the best they can, may help you feel considerably more patient in the moment.
7. Practice Meditation And Mindfulness
Meditation and mindfulness are useful tools for dealing with practically any negative emotion, and they are especially effective for impatience.
Mindfulness is considered to be a mental skill in which proponents pay attention to the present moment, allowing them to feel aware of thoughts and feelings, and be grateful for the small things. Meditation is a chance to simply breathe, feel the body relax, and focus on nothing more than the next breath, which can help ‘reset’ thinking and move the focus away from negative emotions.
These two practices together can offer a powerful antidote to the stress of impatience, and various studies have even documented their positive effects on lowering blood pressure, decreasing anxiety and stress, and improving blood circulation.
They say there’s an app for everything these days, so naturally, there’s software that can help you improve your patience, de-stress, and improve mindfulness.
Smiling Mind – A mindfulness app that lets you track your mood
Personal Zen – A science-based app created to reduce stress and anxiety
Calm Build Patience – An app that delays your text reply time to reduce rash messages
Happify – An app to build resilience and improve mental health
Even though some of these apps are not designed purely for patience building, they are all focused on mental health in some form, which can affect your propensity for impatience.
Sometimes simply acknowledging a bad habit can help reduce it. Consider how people use “swear jars” to stop themselves from swearing. You can apply this same sort of method to your impatience.
Use the notepad app in your phone or a physical diary to write down every instance when your impatience bubbled over.
You will quickly be able to identify common trends and triggers, as well as see how much time you are wasting on being impatient. You may also be able to look back on a situation with more objectivity now that you have calmed down, and realise that your impatience was unfounded, which might better prepare you to deal with a similar situation in future.
10. Retrain Or Teach Those Who Make You Impatient
In some cases, your impatience will stem from someone else’s incompetence, mistakes, or failure to follow procedure. This generally occurs at work, although impatience can also stem from partners, friends, children or companies you employ for services.
In these cases, the problem could be solved by you spending some time retraining or teaching those involved.
Whether it is someone at work who makes regular repeated mistakes, or a housekeeping company that cleans your house incorrectly each week, these are issues you can improve with training.
For example, if you are feeling impatient because your assistant at work keeps sending emails riddled with typos, you can sit down with them to improve the situation. You could talk through the more common or embarrassing misspellings, or help them install a better spellchecker.
It will take a time investment now, but should remove the cause behind your impatience in future.
11. Give Yourself A Break
Give yourself a time out – literally.
Go outside for 10 minutes, take a quick walk around the block, or simply walk away from the cause of your impatience.
This quick break can help you to clear your head and approach the issue with problem-solving logic rather than unhelpful impatience.
12. Accept What You Cannot Change
Many situations in life require patience, and often there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.
Perhaps you’re waiting to hear back from the bank, or you’re waiting to recover from an injury so you can get out and exercise again. These things simply take time, and stressing about it doesn’t help the situation — or you.
Acknowledge these moments, and strive to accept them. Overanalyzing and overthinking them will only stress you out further, but if you accept that you can’t change the situation, you’ll be free to let your mind wander to more positive places.
Consider employing a mantra in these scenarios, something like, “This is out of my control, so I’m going to do my best not to let it stress me out.” Sometimes saying things out loud can help you effectively internalize them.
13. Focus On The Bigger Picture
Will the cause of your impatience matter in five years’ time? Will it even matter in five hours?
Often, the reason behind why you might be feeling impatient is not the end of the world, and by reminding yourself that it doesn’t interfere with the bigger picture, you may be able to let it go more easily.
If something small or insignificant is driving you batty, try to place it in the context of the bigger picture. For example, if you’re frustrated that you were overcharged for a milkshake at the drive through, consider whether the extra dollar or two will actually impact your financial wellbeing. If the answer is no, then do your best to focus on the sweet treat and not the surprise expense.
14. Remember The Goal
Slightly different from “thinking of the bigger picture,” remembering the goal is a way to move through impatience by keeping a specific reason in mind.
For example, waiting out a toddler’s tantrum is never easy, but the reason you’re doing it might be to teach them that screaming doesn’t result in them getting what they want. Or perhaps you are putting up with a difficult situation at work, knowing that your perseverance will put you in good stead for a promotion.
No matter the exact situation, if you have a specific reason for putting yourself through discomfort, maintain laser focus on that reason instead of wallowing in the discomfort itself.
15. Find Healthy Ways To Alleviate Your Impatience
Finding a healthy outlet for negative emotions is a useful skill for anyone, and for any unwanted feelings.
Some find an outlet through various forms of exercise, such as running or yoga, while others turn to creative outlets like scrapbooking or writing, and others again enjoy productive activities such as cooking or gardening.
Find outlets for your frustrations, and turn to them whenever you feel overwhelmed.
16. Look To Others
Look around you – how are other people dealing with the same difficult situation?
There are many times when you’re not suffering through trying situations by yourself, and by being surrounded by others, you have two options for dealing with it.
In the first, you can learn from other people. Watch how they deal with it and emulate their calm response to improve your own patience.
In the second, you can be the one leading by example. Even if you’re feeling ready to scream internally, an audience can help you to rein in your annoyance and put on a face of stoicism and practicality.
17. Remember That You Won’t Become A Patience Guru Overnight
This sound a bit ironic, but be patient with your patience.
A man who attempts a marathon with zero training will unsurprisingly not make it far. It takes regular training to become adept in any skill, and learning to become more patient is no different.
Know that you will make mistakes, become impatient, and struggle. Know that one week of trying strategies to make you more patient won’t magically transform you. It takes time to form a habit, and the only way to achieve your goal is to simply keep trying.
18. Allow Yourself To Be Impatient – Sometimes
There are some events in life that are too onerous, too frustrating, and too disappointing to merely take a deep breath and move on. In these rare moments, you can allow yourself to be impatient.
Telling yourself that you’ll never again feel impatient is akin to telling yourself you’ll never eat another French fry. And just like a strict diet, the occasional indulgence can be key to letting these impulses out of your system.
As long as you aren’t hurting someone, venting your frustration to a friend, finding a pillow to punch, or going somewhere isolated to let out a releasing scream can help you get over the impatience faster, even if you are giving into it somewhat.
It may help you be patient the rest of the time, knowing that you can save your impatience for moments that truly warrant it.
19. Focus On The Small Wins
Certain processes take a long time, and it can feel like you’re making zero progression despite your efforts.
However, even in these cases, there are likely still small – even microscopic – successes along the way. Focus on these small wins to remind yourself that progress is being made, even if it is at a snail’s pace.
A good example is buying a home. This process begins with visiting seemingly endless open homes, talking to countless real estate agents, comparing mortgage options, looking at the pros and cons of various suburbs, and that’s just the beginning. It’s a process that takes patience, but with every decision made and every piece of paper signed brings you one step closer to the final goal. Celebrate those small moments as individual steps that lead you to the top.
20. Destress In Other Areas
As often as not, losing patience is a symptom. You may be overtired, stressed, or otherwise feeling down, which creates an atmosphere in which the slightest grievance can feel like the most cumbersome hurdle.
Instead of putting your focus on maintaining your cool in tough situations, move your energies towards de-stressing in other areas.
This could mean:
Taking on less work
Delegating more tasks
Taking time off for yourself
Prioritizing sleep
Booking a holiday
Whatever method you find to reduce your everyday stress, you may find it easier to improve your patience by cutting away the underlying reason why you’re feeling so impatient in the first place.
21. Pride Yourself In Your Patience
When you consider patience to be a skill – just like baking or piano playing – you can allow yourself to take pride in it.
When you pride in your patience, you will start to see yourself as someone who is adept at patience. In this case, it could be a “fake it till you make it” experience – seeing yourself as patient can help you become truly patient, faster.
In a tense moment, this self reminder can help you hold onto your composure, and exude nothing but patience.
22. Ask Others For Help
Finally, if it’s not a situation that you can improve, you may be able to ask others for their help instead.
For example, perhaps you are struggling through writing a report at work when other team members are not contributing their share. Before you quickly lose patience with everyone, talk to upper management about the issue, and ask for help in ensuring your team members play their roles.
Losing patience rarely happens in a vacuum, and since other people are therefore almost always involved, there will almost always be an opportunity to reach out.
When It Doesn’t Pay To Be Patient
Despite all of the ways you can become more patient, you must also keep in the back of your mind the idea that you don’t always have to be patient. In some cases, putting on a stoic face is more damaging than confronting an issue head on.
Perhaps your boss is prevaricating on giving you a pay rise you were promised, or perhaps a partner is treating you poorly and expecting you to be nothing but patient with them.
In such scenarios, remember your self worth, and don’t put patience before your own wellbeing.
Overall, patience is every bit of a virtue as the saying goes, and then some. Teaching yourself how to be more patient can pay off for your wellbeing, your work, and your relationships, and perhaps then you can add this hugely beneficial skill to your resume after all.
Persistence is the ability to continue to get up no matter how many times you’ve been knocked down. It requires will power, flexibility, strength of character, determination and a desire to succeed at all costs.
If there was one common denominator that could be applied to successful people, it would be persistence.
The value of persistence lies in maintaining your goal while re-positioning yourself to get there without continually hitting your head against a brick wall.
So, what can you do to maintain persistence?
Explore the possibilities and much more!
Here are 8 tips to help you persist and achieve your goals:
1. Maintain your Vision
Decide what you want out of life, and then work with a vision for the future. Keep your goal firmly planted in the front of your mind so that every action step you take will lead you closer to achieving what you want.Explore the possibilities and much more!
2. View Setbacks as Life Lessons
Nobody achieves their goals with one straight shot at the target. Understand there will be setbacks, failures and mistakes but don’t let a negative or sideways step move you off the path.
Mistakes are merely “life lessons” so view each backward or sideways step as an opportunity to learn.
3. Act with Courage
Don’t allow fear of failure to stop you. As human beings, we all fail from time to time. It’s the winners who get back up and start again. Act with courage and determination to achieve the things you want in life.
4. No doesn’t mean “No”
There will always be those who will try to discourage and dishearten you. There will also be those who say “No”.
“No” isn’t a personal affront. Nor does it mean “Stop”. “No” may simply mean “this doesn’t suit me right now” or “I’d rather do it a different way”.
If you hit a brick wall of “No’s”, simply back-track and find a new and brighter path to travel to reach your destination.
5. Exert Control over your Actions
Make a conscious decision to make every step count. Keep your vision clear in your mind at all times so that your actions become a part of the process to get you where you want to go.
6. Think Creatively
Often we become so fixed on the goal, we forget that other options exist. Be prepared for the fact that not only will the road to achieving your goals take a number of unexpected turns, the goal posts may shift too. Allow yourself to stay flexible and understand that what you originally envisioned may alter to become a fresher, more realistic outcome.
7. Believe in Yourself
Have faith in the fact you will achieve your goal, no matter what circumstances or situations arise. When times get tough – and they usually will – keep your focus clear and don’t get bogged down in “I can’t” or “I won’t”.
8. Pick a Support Team
You don’t have to do it alone. Gather a team of family and friends who you know you can count on to offer your support and guidance when the going gets tough. There is nothing like a friendly pat on the back to keep you going when you feel you’ve given as much as you have to give.
Have you been thinking about improving your productivity at work? Do you have an important project that you would like to give it your best shot? Are you wondering about how you can achieve your life goals and make that dream come true? Do you have a morning routine? Having powerful morning habits that are engraved in your system and have become part of who you are is not only exciting but something worth pursuing. All you need is for you to audit yourself and take note of the habits that work for you. What areas of your life could use more stability? Yes, it is not going to be easy! Some days will be easy, and others will be hard for you to set yourself up right. You may be ill or lose a loved one or you maybe you are just not in ‘the mood.’ Some of these things may break you and weigh you down. But does it have to be this way? Rather than allowing the ups and downs of life distract you from achieving your God-given purpose, why not take it as an opportunity for you to learn, pivot and give it a new perspective.
Having morning habits that you can stick to is the first step to developing grit and self-respect. In this book, you will learn the benefits of 7 golden morning habits that will help you win the day. While you have your breakfast, think about the things that you would like to accomplish in the day. With a morning ritual, you have the magic to ease you into the day. You will be happier, more productive and have the confidence you need to address tough challenges that come your way. What will set you up for this? A winning morning ritual is what you need.
“Win the morning; win the day.”
Tim Ferriss Did you know that having a good morning routine sets the tone for the entire day? The truth is, there are more bad days than the good ones. There are days when we dialed into every little detail, and on most days, we simply react to other people’s demands, feeling messed up and not in control! In spite of the fact that having a good morning routine can be magical, the truth is that there is more to it than meets the eye! It is the science that you can incorporate into your life to reap extraordinary levels of productivity. The question however is “is there one right way to have to win the day?” Well, if you can achieve one good thing in the morning, it is as good as you have won the day and there is a high chance that you will enjoy the rest of the day. Ask any productive person, and they will tell you that they have a morning routine that defines what they achieve during the day and hence, accounts for their success and productivity in whatever they do. One thing that you have to understand is that morning are the most predictable parts of the day. But it only takes discipline and having a routine to reap the productivity that comes with it. All you have to do is tweak a few things here and there by adding on habits you would want to work on gradually to make a routine. For instance, if you want to start working out, simply add it into your routine. When you feel down, you can write a few sentences about your thoughts and emotions. The whole point is to make that part of your lifestyle and have full control of your life. This is because, when you start your day with some routine and develop it into a habit, you will realize that you will gradually be adding positive thinking into your life. What better way to build your life than having positivity? So, what are you waiting for? Come with me and let’s learn the seven golden habits that will help you win your day. What are the benefits of having a morning routine?
According to several health experts, influencers and business owners around the globe, being successful is an indicator that you have a structured start to your day. If you review all the interviews on the Tim Ferris show, you will realize that almost 90% of the highly impactful members of the society have a morning routine. In other words, they have habits that they have cultivated over time and made it part of their lifestyle. You may be thinking ‘so what if you have a morning routine or habits?’ Well, there are so many benefits that you stand to enjoy when you have morning habits, and the good news is that if you do not have one, you can easily build one for your mornings. Core Benefits Include:
Self-discipline Self-discipline is perhaps one of the most important benefits you get by just having a morning routine and habits. In fact, according to so many philosophers, there is evidence that shows that having that discipline of getting up every morning at the same time is a good foundation to kickstarting a good day. It carries over into the rest of the days in the week, and then months and years. When you enforce an act of discipline at the start of the day, you will simply draw that discipline into various parts of your life. These include your mental focus, health, work, family and diet among others.
Time The discipline of a morning habit and getting up early every day is one of the most practical aspects of extra time. In today’s culture, time is considered the most valuable asset. If you don’t believe me, look at the success that new time-saving technology like Uber, Amazon Prime, and Alexa’s voice has. The truth is, having that extra hour to your routine in the morning can be channeled into doing something productive. You can use that extra time to do something important to you that you normally overlook. Limits Procrastination I don’t know about you, but to me, there is nothing worse than being rushed in the morning. But I bet this is pretty familiar to you too, right? Ever wondered why you feel rushed? Probably because you pressed the snooze button over and over until you are late? Maybe, you spent too much time trying to make breakfast or put together your takeaway lunch? What you wake up to is realizing that you did not allocate adequate time for these activities, possibly because you allowed something else eats into their time. Not having a morning routine simply throws you off the internal clock. This often happens when you do not have a definitive waking time. This is because you are constantly snoozing when the clock goes off. When you choose to hit the snooze button, you are procrastinating tasks even before you get out of bed. This also applies when you procrastinate your urgent tasks to the next. You have to realize how toxic this can be to you. It does not only induce stress but most importantly, it serves as a barrier to attaining your goals and reaching your productivity limit. Therefore, it is important that you start creating reliable habits that are centered around your wake time so that you set the tone for your day, hence eliminate procrastination.
Helps lower anxiety Over the last couple of months, I have been trying hard to expand my productivity limits so that it caters well to my evolving workload. To my surprise, waking up early boosts my productivity tenfold throughout the day. In fact, on the days when I get up as planned, I have ample time to ease into the day without necessarily rushing. Stress is directly associated with increased levels of cortisol. This may lead to weight gain, anxiety, and several other health risks. If you have always been in a rush in the morning, try doing things differently tomorrow. Simply get up earlier than usual and take your time to get ready. Then stroll out the door and get to work. This goes a long way in lowering the chances of being anxious and developing stress in the morning. It’s much easier to dive into our to-do list without pressure. The act of checking off several tasks in the morning and creates the momentum that will help you push through the day. Trust me, it is the small wins that matter and pushes you to win big throughout the day. We are constantly seeking for ways to maximize our potential and seizing new opportunities for growth each day. However, we must learn to adapt to changes that occur in everyday life so that we can eliminate the feeling of being overwhelmed, something that can strip us of continued productivity.
It gets rid of major decision-making Regardless of how this sounds, the truth is that this is something very important. When you do not have a morning routine, you will not manage your time well, and this simply means that when there are important decisions to be made, you will spend most of the time agonizing over everything. This is something that can cause decision fatigue because of mental exhaustion. You keep asking yourself conflicting questions that eventually flood your brain with unknowns. You do not need this in the morning, as it can be a huge detriment to the rest of the day. It attracts feelings of being overwhelmed and hence inhibiting your productivity. When you establish stable morning habits that you do not have to think twice about, your morning becomes much simpler creating room for your brain to make informed decisions that will get you winning the entire day.
Mental toughness Unfortunately, the society we live in today is too soft and fragile. This is because people try to find the easiest way out of every situation, most of which cause us to crumble. What you need for growth and development is a challenging setting. Yes, taking that easy way out can be rewarding in the short-term, but have you stopped to ask yourself what this means in the longrun? It is true that waking up early each day may not be fun, but when you force yourself through this discipline and mental toughness, you are adequately ready for any challenge that life throws at you. The truth is, you will be standing when everyone else is not! The 7-morning habits of winning the day It is important for you to bear in mind that morning habits will set you up for wins throughout the day. In other words, having a ritual that you stick to you no matter what becomes engraved in your system. This produces small wins that will ensure that you are steered in the right direction for the rest of the day. They create the positive momentum. When morning habits are a lifestyle to you, you enjoy a path that is free of friction and strain. You start your day knowing that you are already a winner. For you to transform your life, you must first be willing to accept that habits can be replaced and that you have the power and responsibility to make a change to yours today. Start by thoughtfully designing your day so that you lay a strong foundation for a productive day. Here are some of the habits that you set you winning the day for a very long time. Habit 1: Beat the snooze button Getting up is something that you struggle with at first, but all it takes to stop hitting the snooze button is tuning your mind to winning every day. There is a strong temptation and desire to hit the snooze button so that you can catch a few more wings in the morning. However, the good news is you can break that habit. Each time your alarm goes off, tell yourself you are a winner by getting up and a loser if you snooze. Trust me; no one wants to carry the feeling of being a loser throughout the day. It worked for me, and it can work for you as well. You can start experimenting with other tactics as well to discover what works best for you. Even though there is no single bulletproof solution to overcoming snoozing, you can counter the temptation of hitting the snooze button by simply experimenting different techniques. You may have tried countless methods with no success. Rather than beating yourself over spilled milk, cross off all failed methods and move on to the next attempt. You will eventually find one that works for you and when you do, stick to it. Habit 2: Get up early As you try hard to overcome the temptation of a snooze, it is important that you have a purpose to get up early. Understand that morning are times when you are fresh, have the energy and are away from external distractions of the world. During this time, there are not a lot of things competing for your undivided attention. When you wake up earlier, you are at an advantage. However, if your wake-up time is 7 am, trying to wake up 5am instead can be extremely challenging. If you want to get up earlier than usual, try and do this gradually. Understand that it is a process and your whole body has to be ready for it. You can try with 30 minutes earlier than normal, then progressively increase to an hour, an hour-and-half until you eventually hit your target. Just remember to be realistic in every step that you take and make it count. Make your bed The first thing that most people do when they get up is making the bed. This is something quite simple and quick. This is something that I consider a second win to my morning routine. It simply adds a burst of achievement and productivity to your morning. Why is this step an important part of your waking up? Well, the truth is, when you organize the environment you are in, you are stimulating your mind to be organized too. It is a simple step that adds clarity and calm in you, ensuring that you can stay sharp throughout the day. Habit 3: Sweat it and immerse a positive state of mind Fitness is a big part of a successful person’s life. Engaging in simple mourning cardio, push-ups, jog or sit-ups can help you kickstart your day in style. Irrespective of what your fitness goals may be, working out as part of a morning routine is an excellent way to turn on your metabolism and brain. You will feel motivated, happy and full of energy that will steer you towards conquering the rest of the day and all activities that come with it. After turning on your mind through physical exercise, it is important that you allow your mind to immerse in a positive thought process. Sit on a floor mat with your feet crossed. Close your eyes and think about the things that will bring positivity to your day. Do you want to be grateful, excited, focused, and inspired? Try and answer these questions in your mind. What are the things that you are grateful for today? What inspires you? What excites you? Allowing your mind to tap into positive thoughts allows you to rid yourself of sadness and anxiety. In other words, you are training your mind to look forward to the best that the day has to offer. You will realize that, gradually, you will begin transforming into an enthusiastic optimist. By focusing on your top priorities each day, you allow yourself to make the most of your efforts and expertise on reaping tangible results. Disconnect from the world It is very important that you disconnect from the world around you. The best way to achieve this is by allowing yourself to reconnect with nature. You can take a walk around your garden for around 30 minutes. This is indeed one way in which you can exercise mindfulness. During the walk, try to collect your thoughts together to focus on the best parts of the day that lays ahead of you. You can also do yoga or choose to sit silently in the room, whatever works for you. All you need to do is to create a routine around your time so that you can achieve a level of comfort that blends well into your lifestyle. Whatever you do, make sure that you are focusing on the present rather than the past. Habit 4: Write down your to-do list and goals you want to achieve today To begin the journey towards achieving your dreams, the first thing is for you to identify exciting goals that will push you forward. In fact, according to a study from University in California, people who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them than those who didn’t. When you write down your goals, you are in increasing the effectiveness of realizing them. Incorporating this as part of your morning routine is a sign that you are declaring your intentions for the day. It crystallizes your goals in your mind so that they are engraved deeper into your subconscious brain. It is a signal to your brain that achieving these goals is important to you. As a result, your brain will work hard towards achieving every goal by making sure that you treat every single project you handle during the day with the level of seriousness that will give you a win. In other words, your brain will push you towards realizing your dreams. Habit 5: Focus on each task at a time If you are handling a project, there are short-term and long-term goals. Each goal has some tasks/activities that you need to perform to realize that goal. Once you have this figured out in the previous step, you have to start focusing closer attention to each task. Pick one task at a time and focus on it. It could be a new project, a new business idea or something that you just have to work on. When you allow your mind to focus on one task at a time, you are simply brainstorming on ideas that might be brilliant in being productive and successful. It simply tells the mind that these tasks are a top priority and the result should be beneficial to scaling the business. If you are taking a leadership role, think of various ways in which you can lead your team to win every day. Habit 6: Visualize yourself living your dream life How do you envision your dream life will be like? Every morning, take a few minutes to see yourself living your dream. Allow your dreams to sink deep into your mind and engage it for a couple of minutes using all your senses. Have you been dreaming of a vacation in Paris? Watch yourself enjoying that vacation with your loved ones and doing all the things you have in your checklist. How do you feel walking the streets of Paris, shopping around, eating French food and sipping that glass of wine in one of the most beautiful cities in the world? What sound can you hear around you when taking that cup of cappuccino or Mocha in a café of your dream? Yes, it may be hard to achieve ambitious life goals. You will encounter plateaus and valleys during the journey that might cause you to want to settle for an ordinary lifestyle. But you can start tapping into your mind by seeing yourself living your ideal day and life. When you start seeing yourself living your dream, you will start feeling a new rush of strength and energy that will motivate and inspire you to keep going. It is only then that you will begin to have full clarity of the meaning and purpose of your goals in life. You will get a new perspective on how you can forge ahead and overcome the dark hours in your journey as you pursue your dreams with a lot of zeal. Habit 7: Work towards your dreams As part of a morning habit, it is important that you make progress towards accomplishing your biggest dreams before dive into the daily chores. Set aside at least 5 minutes to meditate on your dreams. As your dreams begin to grow, you can increase the amount of time that you spend working on them. Rather than giving up the first few hours of your morning to running errands, channel that to a project that excites you. It could be that you are working on a new book project. Spend a few hours writing something. Simply use that time when you are fresh to fuel your will power before other busy-nesses of the day runs the tank dry. Take advantage of the full willpower you have in the morning to bring out tangible results of that project that you value most. Remember that, if you channel your energy on activities that do not matter most in your life, you will find yourself going down a path that does not help you achieve your set goals and dreams. Ask yourself whether that project will lead you to the bigger picture. If it is a small part of the bigger picture, then you are guaranteed that your efforts will yield fruit and that each step you take draws you closer to your destination. When you eventually add the small wins together from the morning habits, you create a ripple of victories that will keep powering your days. It is these small wins that will give you more confidence and keep you equipped to handle every challenge that arises during the day. It really doesn’t matter what how difficult these challenges are. Because if you have strong beliefs and great habits, you can achieve anything! Conclusion You have to understand that your morning does not have to be rough. When you allow this to sink into your spirit, you will get up each morning with enthusiasm. You will position yourself to seize every opportunity that comes your way and putting your best to work for more productivity the entire day. Yes, it may be daunting to overhaul the whole routine at once, but you don’t have to. Start small and work your way up to becoming better each day — purpose to introduce new habits and practices gradually to make a more robust routine. Just remember, if you win the morning, you win the rest of your day. So, what is it going to be like for you this year? You are a champion, and all that matters is a win!
This five-minute guide to overcoming excuses will give you a short, but impactful and actionable guide to help ensure you do not let excuses stand in the way of achieving the goals you want to accomplish.
One of the biggest issues facing entrepreneurs and really anyone who works is distractions that can hinder your focus and ability to do the best work on your project. Distractions can lead to us losing focus on our projects and cause us to do other things that prevent us from completing our projects and other tasks within the set amount of time we expect to complete these projects or tasks.
We’ll then make excuses on why we didn’t complete our projects or tasks on time, such as “well, my friend called and needed someone to talk to,” or “I needed to take my son/daughter to practice,” or “I didn’t feel that great today and wasn’t focused.” Excuses such as these are commonplace among virtually everyone, especially entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs in particular can make excuses for why they don’t get something done because they have no real boss to answer to except themselves. Thus, if they don’t get something done on time, the “boss” can just excuse it because that entrepreneur is the boss.
Unfortunately, this can lead to a pattern of constantly being late with projects and tasks that you want to complete, leading to you not succeeding with your business or to the level of success you expected.
Therefore, you have to eliminate the distractions you can and overcome all distractions so that they don’t take away your focus and that you can get the tasks and projects you want done within the set amount of time you expect to get them done in order to experience the success you expect to achieve with your business. Making excuses due to distractions is only going to hinder and prevent your success, taking you longer to reach your goals and making you look unreliable to others, including peers in your industry, customers, and/or target markets.
For instance, if you announce that you’re going to launch a product on a specific date, but you wind up getting delayed due to distractions and making excuses, joint venture partners are going to look upon you as someone who is unreliable, making it less likely they’ll want to work with you in the future because their first impression of you is a negative one.
The same impression will also be shared by your customers, subscribers, and prospects because they were expecting your product to be launched on a certain date, and the fact that you delayed for a reason that was weak or for no explainable reason will make it look as if you really don’t care about them and living true to your word. As a result, they will likely not have such high anticipation for your future product launches.
Therefore, you are hurting yourself, your reputation, and your business’ profitability by getting distracted, making excuses because of those distractions, and delaying important tasks and/or projects needed to make your business profitable and increasing your positive reputation. Thus, it’s key to not let distractions stop you from getting done what needs to get done on time, regardless what the distraction is.
There are many distractions you can prevent from happening in the first place – social media, email, smartphones, etc. Many people use excuses to justify using these devices while they are working. They’ll say such things as, “Well, I need to monitor social media and email to answer customers’ questions,” “Well, I need to make sure that my spouse or children don’t have a problem and try to call or text me,” or “I need to do online research, so I can have my smartphone out.”
While these excuses may sound valid, there is a time and place to do such research and to answer customers’ questions on social media and email. As for hearing from your spouse and children, there are times and ways to monitor for any messages from them without it interfering with your work. Your work needs to be accomplished if you expect to advance your business and make it grow in profitability and reputation; it will NOT grow itself, and if you dilly-dally with less important things and skip doing the important tasks and projects that need to be done in a timely manner, your business will never grow and could even gain a negative reputation, making it even harder to attain long-term profitability.
Therefore, you need to prioritize the important tasks that need to be completed and not allow distractions of any type to deter you from completing those important tasks in a timely fashion. Keep in mind what is at stake in regards to your own credibility, reputation, and profitability if you don’t complete these tasks in a timely fashion.
Do what you can to stop distractions from occurring if possible. Do you really have to be on social media or email at times when you are working? The likely answer is “no,” so don’t be on them. If you need to monitor a call from your spouse or children on your smartphone, let your smartphone alert you to a call or text message that comes in, but don’t be gazing at the smartphone and browsing the Internet while waiting for that call.
Essentially, you have the power to control your work environment, as well as control the motivation you have for completing the tasks and projects that need to be completed. Ask yourself how badly you want your business to succeed? Do you really want it to succeed? Are you really willing to do whatever it takes to ensure it does succeed? If your answers are “yes” to these questions, then you know you cannot allow distractions of any type to stop you, and if you allow those to stop you from completing what must be done, then you are just making excuses and may not truly want to have your own successful business.
Even with distractions that you may not be able to control, don’t just throw in the towel and say, “Well, I cannot control this distraction, so I must give in to it and stop my work.” No- find a way to overcome it. All distractions can be overcome if you put some effort and ingenuity into it. The real question is, how badly do you want your business to succeed?
If there is too much noise in your work area, find a way to block out the noise or move your work area to another location if possible. Talk to the people creating the noise and see if you can come to an agreement to reduce or eliminate the noise. If you cannot accomplish a certain task within a specific amount of time, maybe you need to find someone who can do it better, such as consulting someone with more experience or hiring an outsourcer with more experience doing the task, while you concentrate your efforts and time on tasks that you are more skilled at.
The main point is that every dilemma or distraction CAN be overcome if you are willing to put some effort and ingenuity into it. Consider how badly you want your business to succeed, then find a way to make it happen.
Another common excuse is one that was referred to above: You don’t have the necessary skill set to accomplish a certain task within a reasonable time period. First, you need to believe in your own skill to accomplish tasks. Do your best to accomplish it in a reasonable time period. If you find that you cannot, then look for help. This can be in the form of YouTube videos online that show you how to accomplish a certain task, then following along to complete the task yourself.
If you can’t find help for the specific task you are trying to accomplish, look to online forums where you can ask a question and get an answer from someone with more experience than you in your field. If you still can’t find help to enable you to do a task yourself, then create an ad or post on an online forum or on an outsourcer website describing what you need done and asking someone to do it for you (for a price, of course).
The point is that virtually every problem or situation can be solved if you have the motivation and desire to do so. No, it’s not easy to achieve everything you need to do to have a successful business, but the ones that do are not stopped by a “bump in the road” or a distraction that pops up. Unfortunately, most would-be entrepreneurs allow those bumps in the road or distractions to defeat them, steer them off-course, and keep them from achieving their dreams of having their own successful business. This is a key reason why 95% of entrepreneurs fail with their businesses in the first year.
It’s not because they don’t have the skills to achieve their dreams; it’s because they fall into the trap of allowing distractions and excuses to prevent them from achieving their dreams. They fall for the idea that they are not talented enough or smart enough to have their own successful business. The reality is that the distractions and pitfalls of life will get in their way and create convenient excuses for them to stop doing the work they need to complete in order to have that successful business.
This even includes where they start doubting their own ability to get things done well in a timely fashion. They believe that they have to work at a much slower pace to accomplish necessary tasks at a high level, believing that they are not skilled or smart enough to do the work faster, when in fact, they are fully capable of doing the work at a high level faster. They fall into the trap of believing they are not skilled or smart enough to have their own business because they believe that only “special” people can have their own businesses.
Again, it all comes down to a strong mindset that separates the successful entrepreneurs from the would-be entrepreneurs. There are successful entrepreneurs who started from literally nothing, from not having virtually any money in their pocket to even having their own home. Yet, they make six-, seven, eight figure incomes online, just because they were willing to do what it takes to get to that level. They weren’t willing to allow distractions or excuses to stand in their way of their dreams. If these people can achieve that success, why can’t you? Chances are high that you probably have more than they did (you likely live in a home and have some money, right?) These successful entrepreneurs had virtually no money, no place to live, and/or no special degree or skills to achieve their dreams, so you have as much or more than they did. The only thing you may not have is the overwhelming desire to succeed, and that’s the missing element you must acquire.
This is what you must ask yourself and what you must use to drive yourself toward your goals of having your own business. “Am I determined to succeed no matter what?” “Am I determined to overcome any and all obstacles, any and all distractions that stand in my way?” Virtually EVERY obstacle and distraction can be overcome, but you have to have the mindset to achieve it. If you have the desire, you can learn the skills that are needed to build and maintain a profitable business. If you have the desire, you can find and/or hire the help needed to build and maintain a profitable business. If you have the desire, you can overcome the noise and other distractions an entrepreneur faces when he/she attempts to build and maintain an online business. It really comes down to desire and how badly you want it to determine if you will really build and maintain that thriving business or be part of the 95% entrepreneurs who fail within the first year of opening for business. So, the question is, “how badly do you want it?” “Will I do what it takes to achieve my dream of having my own business, no matter the distractions and excuses that stand in my way?” Only you can answer that.
Each and every one of us has probably found ourselves stuck at some point. Whether we are stuck in a dead end job, or stuck in a relationship that doesn’t serve us or contribute to our personal growth, it can come as a surprise to realize one day that we aren’t happy. When we aren’t happy, that is a huge red flag. It means that we are not serving our purpose. We are each born with special talents, passions, and interests that can help to move our lives in a plentiful direction, and sometimes even positively impact the world around us. When we aren’t being true to that purpose, we find ourselves unhappy and lacking in energy, just treating each new day as a monotonous drudging routine. If you’re tired of living your life feeling as if you are not serving your purpose and taking the steps necessary in creating the best version of yourself that you can possibly be, then look no further. The comprehensive “Mastering Your Destiny” ebook will give you all of the tools you need to go from looking out at the world with dread to looking forward to the potential of each new day. Let’s get started!
Why Bother Mastering Your Destiny?
A lot of people might wonder what is the point? Why try to get yourself all excited to be a great version of yourself and start acting like one of those annoying over-achievers you see on infomercials who are always trying to sell you something? Isn’t is just a big waste of time and energy, when we ultimately tend to stay stuck on the same track no matter what we try? Well, sure, someone who is stubbornly bound to that way of thinking will most certainly find it difficult to progress and move forward with self-improvement, but for those of us who are actually dedicated to the art of mastering our destiny, there is a lot in it for us! Life seems designed at times to bring us down and keep us oppressed. Even our own bodies seem out to get us at times; creating patterns in our neural pathways that make us hard-wired to accept defeat and stay stuck in bad habits. What many of us don’t seem to realize is that becoming the best version of yourself isn’t some simple task that can be accomplished overnight with the right mantra. It is a life-altering event that will alter the course of our future and make us rethink the past, providing us with all the insight we need into creating the life we’ve always imagined! But why should we try to take the effort out of our already hectic and demanding day to chart a course toward the stars, especially when it seems that no matter how hard we try to better ourselves, we come up short? Isn’t there some comfort in clinging to the chaos theory, and believing that we are floating about in life and will end up where we need to be without too much effort on our part? Sure, maybe for some that type of mindset can be helpful, but for others, it is a trap. When we allow ourselves to be swept away in a fate that we believe we have no hand in, we give away our power and allow the suffocating world of consequence to take the reins in forging our destiny. Why should we allow the consequences of other people’s choices to affect us so deeply when we could be making our own choices that will help us move toward the greatest possible good? By following the steps in the comprehensive “Mastering Your Destiny” ebook, you will be equipped with the tools you need to begin to pave the way toward forging your own destiny. It is time to stop letting other people’s choices and influence affect our ability to be happy. We can take our power back and become the best version of ourselves possible, and “Mastering Your Destiny” will show you how!
Identifying What Works and What Doesn’t
There are a lot of ways that we can start to take our power back into our own hands and begin to make our dreams a reality. However, that can’t happen unless we are able to examine the way we are approaching life with honesty and a healthy dose of reality. When we are able to see ourselves honestly and accept feedback from others without taking offense, that is when we truly begin to thrive. Mastering your destiny isn’t something that happens overnight. Actually, it can take weeks, months, and years of devoted practice and discipline before you begin to see results. But that is exactly what sets apart successful people from everybody else. They are willing to look at their life and dissect their long-term goals so that they know that every day they are working toward building their empire. The best way to begin following that same mindset is to do a little bit of selfexamination. If you aren’t sure what makes you tick, it is going to be a lot harder for you to get started and make significant progress. When we don’t know ourselves thoroughly it can get in our way and we may find that we sabotage our own efforts without even realizing it. Before you even consider taking the first step toward mastering your destiny, make sure that you understand what works for you and what doesn’t work for you. If you don’t identify the things about yourself that help you to stay motivated and the things that you find discouraging, you are never going to be able to make progress because you will not know yourself well enough to create any lasting change. To identify what works for you and what doesn’t, you are going to need to ask yourself a series of important questions. For example, what do you find most motivating? Who inspires you to achieve your goals? Are there inspirational quotes or songs that help you to stay motivated? What types of setbacks do you find the most demotivating? What do you usually do in the face of a setback? What could you do differently? Do you have a strong support network? Does it help you more to share your plans with others or keep them secret? How and where do you work the best, and under what conditions do you find yourself achieving the most favorable results? Being able to answer questions like these will provide you with an amazing opportunity to self-reflect and create an environment that will make it easier than ever before to master your destiny. If you don’t believe you can do it and you are getting in your own way all the time without even realizing it, then really, you are the only thing that is holding you back! The comprehensive “Mastering Your Destiny” ebook will help you to address these issues and surmount them so that you will be that much closer to becoming the person you have always wanted to be!
Chapter 3: How You Can Become the Master of Your Destiny, Starting Now!
Maybe you are in another school of thought entirely than those out there who think that moving forward in life is a waste of effort. Maybe instead, you believe that you have what it takes to get your plans off the ground and truly thrive. If this is the case, then “Mastering Your Destiny” is the book for you! The longer we wait to take the steps that need taken in order to improve our lives and become the perfect versions of ourselves, the less motivation we will have to follow through. The only way that we can truly become the masters of our own domain is by taking the steps that need taken now. Procrastinating never helped anybody. The only way to achieve a lofty goal is to have a plan of action, and to be willing to follow through on that plan. When we don’t, we are basically feeding ourselves to the wolves. Without discipline and a strong devotion to achieving our goals and dreams, then we are essentially wasting our own time! That is the least productive thing that we can be doing when what we should be focusing on is mastering our destiny! Starting now, make a promise to yourself that you are no longer going to make excuses to yourself about why it is that you can’t seem to make your plans work out in your own favor. Stop telling yourself that you are going to follow your dreams later, and take that first step toward actually realizing your full potential! Each and every one of us experience obstacles when it comes to being true to ourselves and our visions. Life wasn’t set up to cater to us and provide us with the time and resources that we need in order to make ourselves happy. Our happiness is in our own hands, and it is up to us to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to see to it that we achieve our potential. When we are allowing ourselves to be washed away in the chaos of every-day life, we are not doing what it takes to become the best versions of ourselves. Instead, we are bowing our heads and giving our power away to the circumstances that are beyond our control. But we all have control! All of us have a unique purpose in life, and talents and interests that make us who we are truly meant to be. The “Mastering Your Destiny” ebook is chock full of valuable knowledge and insight that will help you to turn those passions into actions. It will provide you with the tools and resources that you need to follow your dreams and become the person you were truly meant to be, starting now
All of us have got 24 hours a day to manage our activities. However, successful people are those who make use of these 24 hours effectively.
Prioritisation and self-discipline are the two main factors that you have to follow all through your life if you want to manage your time effectively.
In this report we are going to cover ten effective tips that will help you imbibe these two qualities in your everyday life so that you can improve your time management and your overall quality of life. When you manage your time well, you can be relieved of stress and tension. Bid goodbye to last-minute tensions, by following these easy but powerful tips.
Prioritizing Work The key to managing time better is to prioritize your work. It not only helps you to make use of your time productively but it also helps in improving your self-discipline.
In your lives (personal and professional), you will always face two types of activities – the important ones and the unimportant ones. The key is to identify the difference between the two and spend your time/energy in the right direction to achieve your goals. You have to make a list of “to-do” things on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, as per your requirement to identify the tasks that have to be completed urgently.
One of the best things that come out of this prioritisation activity is that you begin to say no to activities that aren’t important or worthy of your time. Learning to say “no” is a huge talent and most of the people fail in managing their time properly because they still haven’t learnt the technique of saying no, without sounding too rude. Dissection of time Reflecting on how you spend your time on a daily basis is a very important tip that you should follow to manage your time more effectively than ever.
How many hours are you spending at work? Which is your most and least productive time? How often do you take breaks? How many hours have you worked effectively in a day?
These are some of the questions that you should analyse to know if you have been spending your energies in the right direction. When you know how well (or how badly!) you have spent your day, it will give you an idea of time management. After all, what can be a better teacher than your own experiences? While we do say that there is no use crying over spilt milk, we also stress upon dissection of the time that you have spent already, because this is an important yardstick for you to measure your performance for the next day.
While dissecting, you may have found that you have wasted a lot of time on a Monday, in checking and clearing emails. So, you can correct this when you start work on the following day. Mail-clearing can be pushed to the bucket-list titled “not important”, and you may only read those emails that are related to your urgent/important deliverables for that day.
If you want to inculcate self-discipline in your lives, it is very important to exercise self-control over your likes and dislikes. If you want to manage your 24 hours effectively and make the most out of your day, you have to get rid of your temptation to wake up late.
If you have been getting up at 8 AM every day, you should try to build resolve for you to wake up at 6 AM the next day onwards. This way, you will get an additional 2 hours to spend on yourself. You can use this time to do some mental conditioning exercises such as yoga and meditation to keep yourself rejuvenated and efficient throughout the day.
Yes, it can be very difficult for you in the initial stages to resist all your temptations. Don’t be too harsh on yourself. For example, you may treat yourself to a cheat meal once or twice a week in the initial stages of losing weight before you go on to reduce it and completely avoid it later.
Do A SWOT Analysis Of Yourself
To manage your time effectively, you should do a detailed SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of yourself.
Knowing your capabilities and your limitations are very important for setting reasonable goals and meeting them within the expected deadlines.
This analysis will also help you identify the challenges that are in front of you. Yes, your life is going at a mad pace, indeed. Nevertheless, if you can derive a method to this madness, it will help you to manage your time effectively so that you can spend more time on activities that are important, productive and deserving.
Once you identify your areas of improvement, you should look for ways and means to improve that. For example, if you find that you aren’t able to focus well on your major goal, you should take the help of apps or tools that help you break down the main goal into smaller goals and also help you track your progress at regular intervals.
To plan your time effectively, you need to plan your activities properly. When you look at a big goal, it may seem daunting to you at first, but you will be surprised to note that the process gets simpler when you break down this big goal.
Write down a list of small sub-goals that you need to achieve and the timeline by when you need to achieve them. As you keep meeting these sub-goals one by one, you will eventually reach the big goal, without any hassles and by overcoming all the obstacles. Your major goal may be to lose about 20kgs in a year.
This may be quite intimidating for you. However, when you break down it to about 3kgs a month, one hour of physical exercises every day and a strict diet control at least four times a week, the goal looks more achievable for you, isn’t it? You always need to understand that life is never complicated; it is we who make it complex and unreasonable, at times.
Healthy And Structured Lifestyle
You need to maintain a proper structure in your life and follow the structure at all times, come what may if you want to perfect the art of time management.
Time can be managed well only by those who are self-disciplined and have an undying passion for chasing their dreams. You can manage your 24 hours effectively every single day, only when you are physically and mentally fit.
You should eat and sleep on time regularly to maintain a healthy style. You have to make sure that you eat a balanced diet so that your body gets the required energy to stay fresh and fit for a long time.
When your mind is fresh, you feel relaxed, and it helps you plan your work well. You need to indulge in one hour of physical activity every day as it not only helps you to tone up your physique but also helps you in mental relaxation.
In a nutshell, you need a structure in your haphazard lives and watch all your goals fall in place! Health is wealth, isn’t it? Therefore, take care of your health and lead a healthy lifestyle always, if you want to manage your time in a disciplined and effective way. Good and healthy food, regular physical activities and mental relaxation are the three main elements that you should maintain in your life always to achieve self-discipline.
Use Tools, Apps And Other Resources
To err is human, to forgive is divine! No, we are not talking about any divine intervention here! As human beings, we are all bound to make mistakes at some point in our lives while chalking out our goals and achieving them.
Since we are living in a technology-dominated era, it only makes sense to make maximum use of it. Today, there are several tools (supported on various mobile platforms), physical resources (such as planners, diaries, etc.) and websites that help you in framing goals and achieving them successfully, thanks to effective time management. They also keep track of your progress and intimate you of the same, so that you can know if you are lagging behind and make amends, when needed.
These resources also help you to set goals that are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound). These goals are in line with your requirements and they are quite feasible, so that you aren’t too overwhelmed by them. They are set with a reasonable time-frame in mind. These apps collect a lot of information from you before helping you decide these goals for you.
One of the best ways to manage time effectively is to keep the area around you clutter-free. When you are in a clean zone, you are encouraged to work hard and effectively. For example, when you are working on an important deliverable at office, the first step you have to do is to create folders in your mailbox and move irrelevant emails.
You should have only your project-related emails in your inbox so that you can refer to them easily. When you have to look for that one important email amidst 50-60 unnecessary emails, you end up wasting your valuable time.
What are the tasks required to be performed for the project on that particular day? Out of these, which ones are urgent? Should they be done by yourself or can it be delegated to your team members? These are some of the questions that you should ponder about before you start work.
All of these questions will not only give you a clean ambience to work in, but will also make you more disciplined than ever to approach a task with a lot of clarity in your minds.
Don’t Put Off Things
Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today, said Benjamin Franklin. The biggest enemy of effective time management is procrastination.
Instead of being too hard on yourself, analyse what makes you procrastinate something frequently. Is the goal too challenging or complex for you? Don’t you feel motivated enough to carry out the task that you had set your mind to do on that day? Are you too tired to finish off the activity for that day?
There could be many reasons on why you want to put off the task until later. You should first do a self-analysis to understand what tempts you to put off a task and then act on that particular reason so that you never procrastinate again in the future.
If the goal is too complex for you, you can follow one of the steps that we mentioned above – breakdown the big goal into smaller and easier sub-goals so that it becomes easier for you. If you don’t seem to have enough time to do all the tasks that you had thought of, on the same day, you may try to prioritize your tasks better so that you don’t spend your time and energy on tasks that don’t deserve them.
You may not always fulfil your goals the way you want. Most of the times, you may take a longer timeframe than planned to achieve a target that you had intended to achieve. During times like this, you should never lose heart. Failures are the stepping stones to success.
Learn from your mistakes, and more importantly, you should let bygones be bygones. Never carry any negative feelings from your past failures and never let them affect your present or your future. Draw inspiration from your efforts and aim to better your previous target, when you try again.
Remember, you are your only competition! When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Be that tough person and work towards your goals, single-mindedly, without any hangover of guilt, depression or frustration. Make a new start with a positive frame of mind, and we are sure these tips will take you closer to achieving your goals in life.
“A man who dares to waste on hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” ~Charles Darwin
“Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create that fact.” ~William James
Imagine yourself sitting on a park bench when a cute little girl walks up to you and demands that you explain everything she needs to know in life right there on the spot. If you choose not to dodge the responsibility by throwing a logic-stopping escape clause at her where would you begin explaining life?
I’ve relived that scenario in my head a million times, and I still question whether or not I have the right answer, but you have to draw a line in the sand at some point. So here’s what I decided the first thing a young person should know about life is.
The amount of effort you put into anything you do depends on your motivation, and your motivation depends on understanding the importance of the goal you’re trying to accomplish. For example, if someone offered you $1 to run across the continent you wouldn’t do it. However, if someone offered you $1,000,000,000,000 dollars or told you they’d kill you and your whole family if you didn’t then you’d certainly do it. You wouldn’t even have to debate with yourself about it or work up the strength. Your motivation would be so strong there wouldn’t be a choice. There would only be one path in front of you.
Think about how that applies to life in general. If you don’t know why life is important or how important life is then you won’t have the proper motivation to take life as seriously as you should. Thus you won’t put the appropriate amount of effort into living. Instead your motivation and priorities will default to immediate, shortsighted, petty, and ultimately meaningless goals, and you’ll squander the short time you have here on such trivialities. However, if you truly, truly, truly understand the value of life you won’t have to debate with yourself or work up the strength to sacrifice the petty temptations of the world to pursue life’s highest purpose. Your motivation would be so strong there’d only be one choice, one path before you. So the first lesson you need to learn about life is how valuable it is and why.
In order to explain the value of life we need to start from the very beginning, which was about 14.7 billion years ago when all the matter and energy in the universe was compacted into an infinitely dense point in space called a singularity.
There’s a lot we don’t yet know about the singularity. We don’t know why it was there or how it got there. We don’t know whether it had existed forever or if it appeared out of nothing in a specific instant in time. For that matter we don’t know if time or space existed back then in the same way we experience it today. There are theories that it probably didn’t. All we’ve been able to reasonably deduce is that the singularity was there, and in an instant an unknown catalyst caused it (and possibly time and space) to expand to cosmic proportions. This event is commonly known as the Big Bang though the word “bang” may be a misnomer. “The Big Expansion” is often said to be more accurate.
During the early phase of the expansion all the matter in the universe was too hot and energized for atoms to hold themselves together much less bond with other atoms to form the 118 elements that make up all the matter we’ve found in the universe today, but the more the singularity expanded the more it thinned out, slowed down and cooled, which it did for 150 million to 1 billion years before the building blocks of the universe had cooled and dissipated enough energy that they were finally stable enough to bond together into elements.
The first celestial bodies to form were massive clouds of hydrogen gas, but within those clouds arose the conditions necessary to give birth to stars, and within those stars arose the conditions necessary to give birth to planets and black holes. As the universe became ever more diverse in composition it created more diverse conditions to produce more diverse elements. The continued expansion, cooling, and pooling of matter and energy in the universe resulted in a never ending redesigning of the physical universe that eventually created the conditions necessary for life to exist.
About 9.6 billion years after the Big Expansion, which would be 5.1 billion years ago, the Milky Way galaxy formed. About 5 billion years ago some of the remnants of a supernova within the Milky Way began to cool off and form into the planet, Earth. About 3.5 billion years ago life appeared on Earth. After that life evolved in complexity for about 2 billion, eight hundred fifty million years before simple, multi celled organisms appeared. Oddly, after that evolution seemed to speed up, because in about the same amount of time it took for life to evolve into multi celled organism those organisms went on to evolve into millions of elaborate species of plants, animals, fungus, bacteria, etc. including dinosaurs that towered up to 43 feet tall. Unfortunately for the dinosaurs, they all died off suddenly…possibly because of a combination of a giant meteor hitting the earth and other forms of natural selection.
About six hundred forty-nine million nine-hundred thousand years after the dinosaurs went extinct a small, furry mammal evolved into the first homo sapiens. After that, humans evolved for about 90,000 years before our cultural history began. From there it took us about 10,000 years to go from writing on clay tablets to surfing the internet.
Now, with all of that information in mind, go outside the city on a cloudless night and take some time to stare up at the night sky. Think about everything that’s happened in the past 14.7 billion years that led to you standing there staring back up towards your cosmic birth place.
If one particle had been missing during the first second of the Big Bang it could have shifted galaxies and you wouldn’t be here today. If one more or one less star between the big bang and where Earth is today had or hadn’t exploded or imploded you wouldn’t be here today. If the earth was only a few miles closer or farther away from the sun you wouldn’t be here today. If one more or one less asteroid had hit the earth you wouldn’t be here today. If one more or one less extinction level event hadn’t occurred you wouldn’t be here today. If there had been one more or one less rainfall you wouldn’t be here today. If one animal had or hadn’t eaten one of your countless ancestors you wouldn’t be here today. If one animal hadn’t eaten one of the predators trying to eat one of your countless ancestors you wouldn’t be here today. If any two of your ancestors hadn’t met and copulated on the day they did you wouldn’t be here today. Each of your (homo sapiens) female ancestors was born with between 200,000 and 400,000 potential eggs in her uterus though only several hundred of them matured into eggs (assuming she lived an average lifetime). Each of your male (homo sapiens) ancestors produced about 5 billion sperm in their lives (again, assuming they had an average lifespan). When you were conceived, there were between 40 to 600 million other sperm that could have gestated the egg your mother provided instead of the one that created you. Only one combination of sperm and eggs in each generation could have led to your creation. What are the odds that you’d be here today? For all practical purposes there’s a 1 in infinity chance. Imagine all the potential beings who would have gotten the chance to exist had things turned out differently. Imagine how they would scream in the darkness with jealousy that you received this coveted chance and they didn’t. Some people might call that destiny (though there’s no scientific evidence that destiny exists), but even it was a matter of pure chance that you, specifically, should be alive, it’s no accident that the universe or life exists. There was a reason The Big Expansion happened and life emerged on earth. We don’t know what that reason is, but everything happens as a result of cause and effect. If there was a cause there was a reason (even if that reason is purely scientific). If there was a reason there was a purpose. If there was a purpose then there is value in the life of any creature capable of fulfilling that purpose.
Unfortunately, you weren’t born with a price tag on your toe. So you can only deduce how valuable your life is, but there’s evidence of your value in how much work went into creating you. Remember, it didn’t take 9 months to create you. It took 14.7 billion years. The matter in your body today was present at the Big Expansion. It has traveled the length of the universe. Galaxies rose and fell around you in the great cosmic tidal wave that brought about the conditions necessary for you to be born. The matter in your body used to be in a star. It might have been part of a dinosaur. You might have been in the water drunk by your favorite historical figure. Spending your entire life on this familiar planet it’s easy to take yourself for granted while perceiving the beautiful nebulas and globular clusters in the sky as miraculous celestial bodies, but look at earth from their point of view. You’re a celestial body too. In fact, you’re even more amazing than the most beautiful astronomical phenomenon. The fact that you, a sentient being, aware of your own existence and capable of self-determination, arose from inanimate matter is as miraculous as The Big Expansion its self.
The contradictory nature of your existence raises some more penetrating questions. We don’t know why the universe exists at all, but we know that the physical universe is meticulously, mathematically, and consistently designed and behaves according to fixed, unwavering rules. Why and how is it that these rules exist? How is it that those rules allowed for the sublimation of living creatures whose bodies are meticulously, mathematically, and consistently designed? Why is heredity mathematically predictable? Chance isn’t predictable. So evolution must not be entirely the product of chance. If that’s true then what else could it be the product of? It’s been theorized that the universe could have been designed by some form of intelligence. There’s no conclusive evidence to back this theory up, but it’s not entirely without precedent. After all, we ourselves are intelligent beings who arose from inanimate matter. And in a universe where you can’t get something from nothing it would explain where our intelligence came from. Granted, that still leaves the issue of where the creator came from, which is no small question. Maybe the creator existed forever. Of course, if He did then maybe the universe existed forever as well, but if that were the case then the universe wouldn’t have needed a creator to create it since it was always there.
You can see where speculating about a creator will get you. So we won’t get any further into that for now other than to point out one implication that arises from the existence of a creator. If there was logical intent behind your creation then your life has an extra source of value. You’re valuable to the one who went through 14.7 billion years of deliberate, calculated work creating you. Regardless of whether or not your parents were the only intelligent beings responsible for bringing you to life there still aren’t words to fully describe how cosmically epic in scale your existence is. And yet for all the work and purpose that went into bringing you here you’ll only have a handful of decades to be a witness to your self and all of creation. In a universe where time appears to be infinite you’ll take a finite number of breaths. You’ll speak a finite number of words. You’ll see a finite number of blades of grass. You’ll meet a finite number of people. Every moment of your life that ticks by was the only chance in all of eternity for you to experience that moment. That makes every moment of your life (no matter how mundane it may seem) infinitely rare and thus infinitely valuable. That makes every moment of your life the best moment of your life.
Despite the infinite value of life, someday you’ll die. Why? What happens after we die? We don’t know. We make up explanations about death that make us feel better about it, but the truth of the matter is you don’t get to decide what happens after you die. What you believe doesn’t change or prove anything. The only thing believing in an after-death scenario proves is you’re too weak and afraid to admit your ignorance. You may think you’re doing yourself a favor by creating an explanation to hide from your fears behind, but ultimately all your self-serving fantasies really accomplish is misleading you in life. Simply putting off worrying about death until the last minute isn’t going to help you either because you won’t be able to make the most out of life until you work through the stages of grief over your own mortality. Only then will you be able to soberly accept that you’re going to die and get on with making the most of the time you have left in a logical, conscious way. In order to accomplish all of those things the wisest course of action is to just admit your ignorance and work within the parameters of the unknown.
The truth is we don’t know what happens after we die. If the simplest answer is the correct one then our consciousness simply turns off and we cease to exist. If that’s true then we need to ask ourselves, what effect does death have on the value of life? Does it render our lives meaningless? Does it matter what we do in life? Does it mean there are no consequences to our actions? These are all logical concerns, but the evidence points to the conclusion that our situation isn’t as grim as it might first appear. We’ve already established that we exist for an infinitely valuable reason, and what little time we have in life is infinitely valuable. Death doesn’t change that. The value of one moment isn’t effected by anything that happens (or doesn’t happen) afterwards. Furthermore, you don’t have to wait until after death to find consequences for our actions. You can call this “the rule of immediate karma.” The decisions you make and the actions you perform at any given moment shape your experiences immediately. If you fill your life with anger, hatred, pettiness, etc. then that’s what you’re going to experience in those fleeting, irreplaceable moments of your infinitely valuable existence. It doesn’t matter if you’re not punished for it later because you already suffered the consequences of an infinitely negative nature the moment you did it. On the other hand, logical, positive behavior rewards itself immediately in an infinitely valuable way. That’s what’s on the line. So given the infinitely rare chance to exist and be aware of your own existence…And given the epic scale of miraculous work that went into creating you…And given the fact that there is an infinitely valuable purpose for your existence…And given the possibility that you were created intentionally by an intelligent agent…And given the fleeting amount of time you have to fulfill your purpose in this universe…And given the fact that how you live your life has infinite consequences regardless of whether or not there’s an afterlife, the most important thing you can be doing with your life right now is asking yourself, “What’s the most important thing I can be doing with my life?
The majority of people who fail in their pursuits of an ambitious goal, fail due to a lack of this one key quality; persistence. Persistence is one of, if not the most important success quality a person can develop to increase their chances of finding the success they seek in life. It is for this reason, that we seek to provide you with some timeless insights that anyone can use to become a persistent person.
Our hope is that by sharing these handful of best-practices, you’ll be able to put them to use and gain an upper-hand against failure forever. So, if you’re looking to develop the persistence needed to reach those elusory big goals and dreams, then enjoy these simple ways to become a persistent person today. Let’s get to it!
One of the most important things you can do to level up your ability to persist in the face of failure, is to discover your why. What’s your why? You why is essentially your purpose. It is the driving force behind all that you do. It is the clarity of what you were put here on this earth to do.
Finding your ‘Why’ will energize your efforts and tighten your focus better than anyone way. Once you find your ‘Why, you will be able to motivate yourself to get to work on your goals much earlier, you’ll also find the energy to work longer, and stay committed to your efforts long after the enthusiasm for it wears off. So, if you want to develop your persistence quickly, there is no faster way that to zero-in on your ‘Why’.
Once you’ve discovered the driving force behind your goals and all your efforts, you’ll want to then create your plan. Creating your plan essentially means putting pen to paper to write out exactly what it is you want to achieve and by when. In short, creating your plan is best done by writing out your goals.
So, get yourself a journal or set up a word document and title it ‘Goals’. Then, proceed to write down exactly what it is you want, why you want it, when you want it by, and how you plan on achieving it. Yes, it is as simple as that. Of course, to really fortify your persistence with the going gets hard, make sure you revisit your plan often. Having your plan fresh in your mind is one of the best ways to keep you moving towards your goals when you come across any road bumps or distractions that would keep you from doing what must be done.
If you truly want to become a persistent person, it will do you good to disassociate from negative influences. Negative influences can be any person (i.e. family, friends, or professional), groups, or media platforms that minimizes your potential, or causes you to second-guess what is possible for you, or distracts you from taking the action you’ve committed to take to achieve your goals.
This step is one of the most difficult one for many people to execute ; however, it is a step that clearly demarcates that moment in a person’s life when they’ve become truly committed to reaching their goals. When your life becomes devoid of those influences that would encourage you to quit, get realistic, or cause you to doubt yourself, your ability to persist in the face of failure will increase exponentially.
4. Focus on The Positive
Persistence requires a can do attitude. And negative thinking in any form can subtly lead to stinking thinking, discouragement, and eventually less drive. Therefore it is critically important that you ensure your mind is positive most of the time. How do you keep it positive?
To keep your mind positive and strong against weak and negative thoughts, all you have to do deliberately control what it is you focus on. For example, when a negative news story pops up in you feed, ignore it. When a friend texts you a negative or mean joke, ignore it. And when you learn of some new maleficence that this person/company/government entity etc.. transgressed today, ignore it.
Why? Because a positive mind is an action-oriented mind. And an action oriented is better able to persist in the face of inevitable setbacks.
Having an accountability group is extremely effective at keeping you on task. When you have people watching what you are doing, and ensuring that you are going to do what you said you would do, deviating from or quitting on those promises you made becomes extremely difficult. And it is this difficulty and uneasiness that the group causes when they hold you accountable, that will keep you honest humming along towards your goals.
So, get yourself an accountability partner or an accountability group. Without a doubt they will help you become a more persistent person.
Becoming a persistent person will require you to work on developing persistence. And there’s no better way to develop persistence than to develop your self-discipline. Here’s why. When you consciously work towards building your self-discipline you strengthen your will power. And when you strengthen your will power you are essentially increasing your capacity to get yourself to do that which you may not want to do, but know that you must.
As such, when your self-discipline has been developed and strengthened, you simultaneously develop your ability to persist. So, work on building your self-discipline, and you’ll simultaneously be working on your ability to persist.
The majority of people are too quick to give up at the first sign of struggle or misfortune while pursuing their aims. They start off in hot pursuit to accomplish their aims, but once a little resistance and discomfort is experienced, all bets are off. And this is why, if you really wish to become a persistent person, you have to make your mind to be one. You must commit to becoming a person who will follow through no matter what.
By simply deciding to be a person who persists until he/she succeeds, you become more likely to put in the sustained effort that is necessary to reach your aims. So, choose to be persistent and commit to always following through no matter what, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a persistent person.
As we mentioned earlier, a lack of persistence is one of the primary reasons most people fail. But fortunately, it can be remedied with effort and commitment. And the more committed you are to overcoming your lack of persistence, the quicker you’ll become the committed person you envision yourself to be.
“A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but its persistence.”
With that being said, we hope you apply these steps for developing your persistence often, and keep pushing forward towards your intended aims. Persist, and you will succeed.
Everyone wants to start out the year strong, but it’s finishing strong that’s also important. Many resolutions and goals are never reached because we get caught up in what’s happening in our life, and because we haven’t developed the mental strength to keep ourselves going when the momentum from the New Year wears off.
However, a lot of getting yourself to your goals and surpassing them is about being mentally strong for when those hard moments hits. Discipline is developed, so it will power the continual ability to make great choices toward what you want. Remember, not to sacrifice what you really want for some pleasure now.
Being mentally stronger doesn’t mean it has to be a tough grind, here are a few tips and tricks which can help you. Just like if you want to be stronger physically you have to do exercises to keep the muscles strong, do build mental strength you have to do exercises to help build those habits and beliefs.
One of the best ways to build mental strength is to find habits and small tips throughout the day to keep your energy high, mind-set positive, and help develop habits and skills which will help move you forward and keep you feeling good about what you’re doing. Meanwhile, you’re building mental strength in a way which won’t leave you feeling exhausted and overwhelmed.
Set yourself up for a mentally stronger and happier year by applying a few of these tips:5 Quick Ways To Regain Lost Motivation _ Lifehack
You’re already accomplishing things and getting off to a great start when you make your bed first thing in the morning. Remember the saying, “The state of your bed is the state of your head?” There is plenty of truth to it. While it may seem like a small step, it has huge benefits.
Research shows people who make their beds daily are overall happier with their lives, more productive, and have a stronger sense of pride and accomplishment in their day for all the tasks they do. This one little thing gets you in the habit of finishing projects right away in the morning. One task down before you’ve even brushed your teeth, what a great feeling!
2. Say Nice Things to Yourself Daily
Make a commitment to cut down on the negative self-talk and pump up the nice things you say to yourself. You may feel ridiculous at first as you become your own cheerleader in your head, but think about how great you’ll feel as you make stronger and stronger decisions about your life. Those same decisions are what will keep you moving toward your goal.
Be mindful, negative thoughts can sneak their way in really quickly, when you catch them, just recognize them as untrue (even if you have to say it out loud) and replace them with a positive thought.
You can keep it in a jar, a journal, a shoe box, or wherever you want, but write down something great about each day. This helps create gratitude in your life.
At the end of the year, you’ll be able to sit down and look back at the positive things you’ve experienced and accomplished, instead of only the challenges or rough patches which made you want to give up.
Instead of griping and being angry or disappointed (indulging in negative self-talk) concerning any challenges which may come up, build up your positive mental strength by writing down positive aspects and things you could be learning from the challenges. Try your best to find something to be grateful about every day.
5. Practice Mindful Happiness While Commuting
Mindfulness is about being in the moment. To get comfortable with being happy, practicing being mindfully happy.
Take an event or moment or memory when you are feeling good, and let yourself indulge in the feeling. Look at how it sits in your body, how your thoughts change, how your body changes, and what it feels like; see if there are any colors which it may feel like.
Spend some time with your happy mood. At the end of it, notice the feeling of happiness and joy, it comes from you, and it spontaneously shows up when you are in mindfully in the moment.
6. Practice Being Your Own Best Friend Daily
This is a great way to become mentally stronger, because it teaches us to rely on ourselves, and not need others to pick us up, because we can do it ourselves.
Next time something isn’t going quite as planned, or you start to insult or criticize yourself, pause and ask:
“Would I let my best friend treat me this way?” or “Would I treat my best friend this way?”
The answer is probably no, and it’s a great idea to love yourself as much, if not more, than you love your best friend.
7. Practice Saying “No” without Explanation
As a society, we’ve decided somewhere along the lines that we have to have a reason for saying no, and not wanting to do something isn’t a good enough reason. If you find yourself in that’s line of thinking, then throw it out.
Learn to say no. You don’t have to explain your actions or validate your decisions to anyone about why you don’t want to do something.
It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, if you don’t take some time to really deeply care for yourself, you’ll eventually run your well dry and not be able to love and care for those around you.
Self-care can be something as complex as having a manicure or spa day, or as simple as locking yourself in the bathroom for five minutes just to have some alone time. It doesn’t matter what it is, make sure you create some space and/or activities which leave you feeling full and happy.
9. Do a Hobby or Activity Daily Which Brings You Joy
This is a great form of self-care. See if you can’t find a hobby or activity which you enjoy just because it makes you feel better.
As you become more confident and competent at it, you’ll discover how confidence and self-belief will pool over into other areas of your life. The positive talk you use and the joy you find in your hobby will help make you mentally stronger as you tackle the harder aspects of your chosen goal.
10. Set a Goal to Practice More Gratitude and Less Complaining
Getting caught up in the cycle of complaining can make you hard to be around, but it also can take quite a toll on your mental health. Instead of just endlessly complaining about a situation, try and find something to be grateful about.
11. Set a Goal for at Least 8 Hours of Sleep a Night
This is huge! You’ve seen small children lose their mind when they are too tired. Adults are the same way, only we don’t usually end up eventually passed out in the middle of our dinner plate. When you’re too tired, you make poor decisions, your mental strength goes down, your rational mind turns into a 6-year-old’s, and your body responds by upping stress hormones.
Make sleep a priority this year to help you stay mentally strong. A minimum of eight hours is essential, if you’re any type of athlete, the more the better. If you’re stressed, make sure you are giving yourself sufficient time to rest and relax before going to sleep in order to allow your body to maximize the sleeping hours.
12. Set a Goal to Eat Clean Food Daily
New research is showing the link between your gut health and your mood, and one of the things which directly relates to your gut health is the food you put in your body.
By reducing inflammatory food such as any food allergies, grains, dairy, and alcohol, you can reduce the stress on your digestive system. A healthier digestive system means less sick days, more energy, and can also improve symptoms of depressions and anxiety.
We tend to put our best foot forward on social media, and this can end up with us trying to compare our lives to the highlights reel of another person’s life. Doing so can leave you feeling awful and discontent about where you are in life and the great things you’ve accomplished. It can also cause you to forget how many great lives you touch throughout the day by being the amazing person you are.
Half your social media time and spend the time reconnecting with people you love, reading a book, or practicing the hobby you enjoy. Whatever you decided to fill the time with, make sure it’s something which lifts you up.
14. Put up at Least Three Inspirational Quotes to Read Daily
When things get tough and you feel like you’re not making progress, uplifting words can go a long ways toward keeping you on track.
Take the time to post a few inspiring quotes or pictures (maybe even a vision board) somewhere you’ll see it every day. Words of encouragement and motivation can go a long when you’re in a bad place.
Practice visualizing how you’re going to solve potential problems. See yourself where you want to be, and feel how great it feels to accomplish your goals.
In an effort to be a good person, we often over-extend ourselves and commit to things we really don’t want to do.
Embrace the fact that you can’t please everyone. Let go of the need to let others’ happiness and goals overrule what’s best for you, your health, and your happiness.
17. Set a Monthly Budget Which Includes Something Fun
Anything fun should do, it doesn’t have to be big. It could be buying a new shirt, going to the movie, or getting yourself the favorite bubble bath — something you don’t normally let yourself reach for, something which will make you smile and feel wonderful when you come into contact with it.
Whether it’s lighting your new candle, soaking in a tub with your favorite bubble bath, let yourself enjoy a small splurge every month or few weeks.
18. Stop Indulging in Relationships or Activities Which Drain You of Energy
Go where you’re celebrated. Do things which leave you feeling joyful. Make yourself mentally stronger by building positive relationships and letting go of toxic ones.
Letting go of toxic relationships or places isn’t easy but, you have to make a commitment to being stronger. Without the mental and emotional drain, you’ll find more energy and more happiness throughout your day.
Think about when the last time you thought you should do something. Wasn’t exactly a fun and exciting thought was it?
“Should” usually comes with the feelings of obligation and heavy responsibility, and rarely a feeling of joy. “Should” has a tendency to come with self-criticism and harsh judgement, neither of which support the foundation you’re building this year to become mentally stronger.
Instead of using “should,” re-phrase your sentence into something you look forward to doing. For exampIe, “I would like to be mentally stronger.” or “I would like to be physically healthier.”
20. Journal for Three Pages or Five Minutes Morning And/Or Night
If you choose to journal in the morning, write about your dreams, dump all your worries or concerns on the page, to creatively express anything which may have worried you the nigh before. It’s also a great way to write down your goals and inspirations for the day, get a feeling for what you want to see happen and an action plan.
If you choose to journal at night, unwind about all the things which may have stressed you out, and celebrate all the things you did right.
No matter what approach you take this year, remember:
With a consistent positive practice, you can strengthen your mental muscles and over time, you’ll become mentally stronger!
“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” ~Mandy Hale
We all get stuck: paralyzed about a decision, unsure what choice to make. Stuck in resentment or disappointment we can’t quite recover from. Stuck in a plan that’s not working as anticipated. Stuck in a destructive, repetitive dynamic with family members, coworkers, or friends.
When we’re stuck, things feel immovable, entrenched, even hopeless. The good news is, they aren’t.
We human beings are actually extremely adept at getting unstuck, at seeing the same thing in new ways, discovering new insights and changing our attitudes, but we need some tools to create that movement.
Here are some of my favorite ways to get unstuck. Keep them all in your toolkit, or experiment to see which ones work most powerfully for you.
Perfect? This dreadful, annoying, not-what-you-planned situation is perfect? Yup. It is. Your mind will figure out how if you point it in that direction. Say to yourself, “This situation is perfect because…” and brainstorm five reasons. Find the truth in each of them. Now what looks different?
2.Put on a soundtrack.
Pick a favorite song and connect to the mood of that song. Play the song out loud or just think of it. Then apply the mood of the song to how you look at the situation.
You might bring the spirit “What a Wonderful World” to the argument with your mother-in-law. Bring the mood of your favorite jazz piece to the last minute work assignment your boss just handed you. What feels different now?
Close your eyes and take a magic carpet ride into space. Take your time. Take some deep breaths. When you reach 10,000 feet, take in the gorgeous view and then look down at your current situation from a great distance. What’s clear now that you are looking at the big picture?
4. Ask yourself, “What would make this fun?”
Oh, if we all asked that question more… what a world we’d create. Brainstorm ten ideas that would make the situation more fun. Then pick a few and experiment with them.
5.Ask for a dream.
Ask your mind to work on the problem in your dreams. Put a dream journal next to the bed. Give yourself a few days for the dream to show up. It may be obviously relevant or connected through the language of metaphor.
6. Time travel.
Imagine a visit with a fulfilled, older version of yourself, one on the other side of this situation, fifteen or twenty years from now. Ask him or her how she navigated it. What was really important? What advice does he or she have for you?
Pay a visit to your childhood self. Visit yourself as little girl or boy in one of your favorite childhood places. Sit down and play for a few minutes. Then ask that younger you what he or she makes of the situation, and what he or she would like you to do. What new possibilities do you see? What’s happening with the child in you?
8. Tell the truth.
Just tell the truth, including the parts that feel scary and vulnerable to share. Including the parts you’ve been repressing or avoiding. That unfailingly shakes things up and breaks stagnation. Be diplomatic, be kind, be your wise and sensitive self–but state your truth.
9. Take care of yourself.
In difficult situations, we typically focus on how they (those other crazy people) should be different, how they are wrong.
Bring your attention back to yourself. What do you need to do to take care of you? What do you need to protect your sanity, act in alignment with your integrity, and be the happy camper you want to be? Take care of your needs and watch your relationship to the situation change.
10. Draw some pictures.
Doodle, paint, make a collage. Borrow your kids’ crayons and draw. Let your right brain take over as you make some pictures about the situation. You’ll process and evolve your feelings as you do.
Feeling like you are banging your head against a wall or swimming upstream signals a need for surrender. Surrendering doesn’t mean endorsing or even tolerating what is happening; it just means accepting reality.
State what is. Make peace with it. Take five deep breaths, breathing in what is. Let go into it. Notice what new possibilities or insights appear over the next few days.
12.Gather new information.
Speak with someone involved in the situation, who is likely to see it differently than you. Ask them five open-ended questions about the situation. Here are the rules: no statements or reactions on your part. Just brief, curious questions. No questions longer than ten words. No “yes/no” questions (i.e. “Do you think Jane is being unreasonable?”).
Ask “what” or “how” questions (“What do you think about all this?” “What do you think is needed to resolve the situation?”). Use all your experience watching legal dramas too: no leading questions.
13. Look for the pattern.
Something feeling familiar about this situation? Another jerk in authority? Another person abandoning you? Another situation where you are feeling betrayed or powerless or sad or whatever it is?
Look for the pattern. When in your life have you felt this way before? That will point you towards your part in creating the situation, your own issues and side of the street. Once you are looking there, your understanding of the situation will shift.
14. Get in the water.
Some day, science will be able to tell us why, I’m sure. For the meantime we can rely on personal experience to know that something magical happens with problem-solving when we bring our problems to water. (Personally, I think it has something to do with our early lives in the womb.)
Take a shower, take a bath, go for a swim, or listen to water sounds near a fountain or on your computer. Water gets stuck stuff flowing.
I know CEOs who swear that their five-minute walks around the block are their most productive times of the day. Moving our bodies gets our minds and emotions moving. Only the crazy culture of mind-body separation we live with would have us think the best way to solve a problem is by sitting still at a desk thinking about it.
Take a walk, do some stretches, work out, or dance, and then see what has shifted.
16.Become the representative of love.
I don’t want to choose a favorite child from this list, but for me, the most powerful way to get unstuck is this one. I ask myself, “What would it look like to be the representative of love in this situation? What would it look like to bring love into the room, into the conversation?”
Or I set an intention, “May I be a representative of love.” This lifts me out of anxieties into a higher purpose. It reveals a new way to see things, uncovers new things that need to be said, and shows me what I (and my ego) can let go of. From there, I can have real impact.
The problem with worrying is that it becomes a cycle of self-perpetuating negative thoughts. In a new review, University of Surrey researchers described worry as “a chain of thoughts and images that are affectively negative and relatively uncontrollable.”
So what’s the best way to stop the cycle? We rounded up some research-backed ways:
Set aside a designated “worry time.” Instead of worrying all day, every day, designate a 30-minute period of time where you can think about your problems. Penn State researchers found in a 2011 study that a four-step stimulus control program could help seriously stressed people take control of their anxieties, LiveScience reported. Step one: Identify the object of worry. Step two: Come up with a time and place to think about said worry. Step three: If you catch yourself worrying at a time other than your designated worry time, you must make a point to think of something else. Step four: Use your “worry time” productively by thinking of solutions to the worries.
Kick your online addiction.
All that time you spend perusing your Facebook newsfeed probably isn’t doing your mental health any favors. A recent study from Anxiety UK showed that nearly half of people feel “worried or uncomfortable” being away from email or Facebook. “These findings suggest that some may need to re-establish control over the technology they use, rather than being controlled by it,” Anxiety UK CEO Nicky Lidbetter said in a statement.
Be mindful. The most effective strategies to stop worrying and rumination may be ones based in mindfulness, which involves nonjudgmental awareness of present thoughts and emotions, as well as cognitive behavioral therapy strategies, according to the University of Surrey review of 19 studies. Particularly, the review noted that “treatments in which participants are encouraged to change their thinking style, or to disengage from emotional response to rumination or worry,” as well as “treatments which enable participants to adopt more concrete and specific thinking or which cognitively restructure thinking in a more positive and constructive way” seem especially effective.
Accept the worry — and then move on. Worrying about worrying is a dangerous cycle to fall into. A 2005 study in the journal Behaviour Research and Therapy showed that people who naturally try to suppress their unwanted thoughts end up being more distressed by said thoughts. Meanwhile, “those who are naturally more accepting of their intrusive thoughts are less obsessional, have lower levels of depression, and are less anxious,” the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researchers wrote. Therefore, people who get caught up in worry when they try to force themselves to stop worrying may want to try a different strategy — acceptance.
Letting all your emotions out on paper before a big exam could help decrease test-taking worry, according to a 2011 study in Science. “It might be counterintuitive, but it’s almost as if you empty the fears out of your mind,” study researcher Sian Beilock, an associate professor in psychology at the University of Chicago, told U.S. News. “You reassess that situation so that you’re not as likely to worry about those situations because you’ve slain that beast.” While exams are no longer a threat to many of us, Beilock noted that the approach could work for people facing anxieties for other things.
Cut yourself some slack. Dr. Susan M. Love, a professor at the David Geffen School of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, told The New York Times that the perceived need to follow all the rules when it comes to health can be a source of stress and worry in itself. Love, who wrote the book “Live a Little! Breaking the Rules Won’t Break Your Health” told The Times that at the end of the day, it’s impossible to have perfect health, and you’re probably a lot healthier than you realize. “Is the goal to live forever?” she said to The Times. “I would contend it’s not. It’s really to live as long as you can with the best quality of life you can. The problem was all of these women I kept meeting who were scared to death if they didn’t eat a cup of blueberries a day they would drop dead.”
Keep your hands busy. Engaging in activities that keep your hands busy and mind distracted could help prevent flashbacks from traumatic experiences, according to research from the Medical Research Council in England. While the study didn’t examine how this strategy impacts everyday worry, the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Bob Hirshon pointed out that “keeping your hands and mind busy interferes with storing and encoding visual images.”
Make time for meditation.
Taking some time to find some zen can really help anxiety in your brain — even brain scans say so. A study published earlier this year in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience showed that meditation training not only lower anxiety levels in people, but it also had effects on the anterior cingulate cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex brain regions (the former region controls emotions and thinking, the latter controls worrying).
Get your heart pumping. Exercise may be a predictable way to beat stress, but it’s only predictable because it’s so effective. Research in animals, for instance, shows that exercise can affect brain activity of serotonin (a so-called “happy” brain chemical) as well as reduce the effects of oxidative stress, The New York Times reported. And Well and Good points out studies showing that exercise interventions can result in lower anxiety levels than people who stay tied to the couch. “Several studies have found the effects of aerobic exercise to be initially similar to those of medication,” Jeff Dolgan, an exercise physiologist at Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach, told Well and Good. “However, in the long term, exercise seems to work better.”
The following ideas are to help you attract more wealth and abundance into your life. These fun and practical little tips will magnify your energy and get the Law of Attraction sending more prosperity your way.
1. De-clutter your wallet or purse
Show your money how much you love it by creating a safe environment for it to energetically feel valued by your purse or wallet. Make sure you arrange your bills in order, and keep them unfolded. Throw away any old receipts or expired cards – clear the dead energy. This process gives the Universe a very clear message you have created space in your purse/wallet/heart/life for more abundance to be drawn to you effortlessly.
2. Collect all of your coins
You would be amazed at how much money appears when you empty out your old coat pockets, look under the sofa or check out your handbags…even go through your car! Create a jar specifically for your coins and see how they all add up to help contribute to your wealth. Treasure your coins because they carry the vibrational energy of abundance.
Explore the possibilities and much more!
3. Tell the money you love it
Start to feel good about your money and send it loving thoughts. Basically, if you love your money then your money (energetically) will love you back and multiply. If you send it hateful thoughts then it will want to stay away from you.
4. Place beautiful images of money in your awareness
Get some fake money, photocopied money (for personal use only) or stock images of money and place it in an area that is in your visual awareness quite often. It could be the fridge, the bathroom mirror, your vision board, your bedroom ceiling – pretty much anywhere that you can imprint your subconscious mind. Surround yourself in imagery of prosperity and see what happens.
Write an elaborate list of all of the opportunities and experiences you would like to attract for yourself over the course of your life. Be specific because the Universe is listening! Intention setting is imperative in the manifesting process.
6. Commit random acts of money kindness
Whatever you put out there comes back to you. When you commit a random act of kindness the energy is bound to head back in your direction (as long as you don’t expect it). Drop $5 in the bathroom when the cleaner is in there or perhaps pay for the coffee for the person behind you at Starbucks. This is such a feel-good exercise in tuning into the energy of abundant flow. You are giving the Universe the message that you have more than enough prosperity to share around.
7. Write yourself a check
Once upon a time Jim Carrey was a struggling young comedian trying to make some money in Hollywood. He was just about to give up his dream of becoming a professional actor and comedian when he was booed off the stage at an open mic session in an LA nightclub.
Jim sat by himself at the top of Mulholand Drive contemplating his success or failure. He then pulled out his check book and wrote himself a big fat check for $10 million dollars and made a note on it: “for acting services rendered.”
He then carried that check with him in his wallet everywhere he went from that day forward.
By 1995, after the success of his blockbuster movies: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Dumb and Dumber, and The Mask, his contract price had risen to the price of $20 million dollars.
Write yourself a check for a specific amount and place it in your purse or wallet.
8. Act as if you have money – get classy
Put on your best suit or your best dress and go to the supermarket. Dress up for the most ordinary tasks and witness how you feel energetically. Power dressing raises your vibration and shows the Universe that you are all dressed up and willing to go places.
Go to a shopping mall and buy everything you see that you like (mentally). Really get into the feeling space of being able to purchase anything your heart desires. Allow yourself to mentally buy the most expensive pair or shoes, or that $10,000 handbag. Feel as if you have the power to purchase anything you want.
10. Replace your language patterns of fear and lack
Start to see that money is just an exchange of energy. Witness every time you say ‘that’s too expensive’ or ‘there’s not enough money’ and reframe it to feel better within your heart. Sometimes not vocalizing your fears is the best way to transform the energy.
11. Meditation: Breathing in abundance
Take 10 minutes to visualize yourself surrounded in prosperity. With every image that lands in your mind, take a deep breath and imagine you are replacing your oxygen with the energy of abundance and wealth. This infuses every atom in your body with a new and vibrant energy of possibility.
12. Buy yourself items that make you feel prosperous
Buy something luxurious that makes you feel prosperous. It could be a lottery ticket, a nice bottle of champagne, a piece of jewlery- anything that makes you feel abundant.
13. The $100 note exercise
This was an exercise in a book by Abraham Hicks called ‘Ask and It Is Given’. You basically always keep a hundred dollar note in your purse or wallet and never spend it. The idea is to mentally spend that hundred dollars and know and feel safe by the knowledge that it’s in there and available for you to use when and if you wish. It apparently expands your money mindset and allows for more prosperity to flow.
14. Cast a spell: ‘To the wind I say, bring money my way’
My mother used to do this one in times when she needed to attract more money. Use it as a prayer to the Universe to hear your call.
15. CRYSTAL MAGIC: Citrine and the power of crystals
Crystals can carry very powerful vibrations to help you attract wealth and become more of a money magnet. Yellow citrine apparently carries amazing attraction powers. They can be found at most new age/spiritual bookstores.
16. Light a candle for abundance
Ever thought of creating a beautiful ‘abundance altar’? It could be your own sacred space to ‘worship the money gods and godesses’ (so to speak). Light a candle when you do your abundance meditations or prayers to set the mood for your soul to respond. Pick one that has a nice fragrance that you can associate with the scent of success.
17. Learn to pick up coins from the ground + celebrate
Even if it’s just five cents, make sure you bend down and pick up the money! You’ll show the Universe that you are open to collecting abundance. When you feel like you’d be embarrassed or self-conscious about doing this, I want you to reframe it so that you are looking after the money. You are a conscious custodian of cash making sure that money feels loved. This generates the energy of appreciation.
When they land in your inbox or your letter box make sure that you mentally send them love and say thank you to the Universe for the services you have received in exchange for the bill. Draw little hearts on them and use the bills as an affirmation that prosperity flows into your life in many forms in order for you to pay your bills on time. Whatever you do, don’t send the bills negative energy. Try and re-frame your perspective. Remember that more than 80% of the world’s population survive on less than $10 per day. There’s something to think about.
19. Investing
If you’re in a position to invest in something that will provide a financial return then do it! Whether it’s shares, property or a company…try and invest in something that will bring in abundance on autopilot. Imagine how the people that bought cheap shares in Facebook are feeling now!
20. Creating multiple streams of income
Along the same lines as investing, think of creative ways you could generate more money with little effort. Could you have a garage sale? Perhaps sell items on eBay? Get a job? Or start your own business? Be open to all possibilities that can help to pave a brighter and more prosperous future for you.
21. Keep track of what you spend
This can be a fascinating exercise for sure. For a whole week carry around a notebook (or keep receipts) of all of the purchases you make. This will help you to identify the areas that you can save money, and therefore attract more.
This is along the same lines as paying it forward or committing random acts of kindness. However, being of service to others ensures you are truly getting out of your own way and providing value in the lives of others. The energy you generate when you are being of service to others has powerful momentum to make you feel really alive, vibrant and on purpose.
23. Get specific: How Much Would You Like to Earn/Allow?
Formulate a very specific number in your mind that you would like to manifest by a certain date. Specificity ensures that you are open to receiving more money. How much would you be able to live on comfortably?
24. Create a vision board with images and words that define the way you want to feel about achieving your goals and opportunities
Creating a vision board is a fabulous way to manifest your desires. Just taking the time to construct a visual representation of your dream life will help you to let the Universe know you’re serious about drawing those desires into your reality. Check out the MANIFEST course for tips, tricks and ideas to create a powerful vision board.
25. Network with people online and offline
Surrounding yourself with people that will support you on your metaphysical journey is so important. Find and seek out groups of people that are interested in manifesting and The Law of Attraction.
26. Enter contests where you can win stuff or money.
You’ve got to be in it to win it! Make sure you take that lottery ticket when you feel the intuitive nudge or that you enter contests when they are presented to you. Sometimes getting lucky just takes very small actions for large returns.
27. Affirmation time:
It is safe for abundance to flow into my life. I am worthy of prosperity.
I want to see what happens if I don't give up 