Throw Out Your Negative Thoughts

Did you know that negative thinking is the cause of most of our problems? It causes us to focus on life with a negative perspective and dwell on the problems we have. We think about all the bad things that are going to happen to us and we can't even see the possibility of anything good happening. We defeat ourselves with our negative thoughts that quickly turn into negative words and actions.

If negative thoughts are constantly coming into our head, we should try to throw them out and replace them with positive thoughts. You may be thinking that this isn't possible but of course it is. Many people have been able to change their thinking with a lot of effort and patience, including myself.

How do you throw out your negative thoughts? First you need to consciously be aware of what you are thinking, then stop yourself and replace the thought with something positive.

Let's look at some examples:

What would you do if a fly flew in your face? Just ignore it and let it crawl around or would you shoo it away?

What would you do if a car drove by you in a rainstorm and splashed mud on your pants? Just leave the dirt on your clothes or try to wipe it off?

What would you do if you tried on an outfit in a clothing store and it didn't fit? Just leave it on and buy it or take it off and try on something else?

The answers are pretty obvious. You would do something about the problem. You would shoo away the fly, try to wipe off your pants and try on other clothing until you found something that looked good. You wouldn't accept the problem and not take action.

So why would you allow negative thoughts to remain in your mind when they are causing problems for you? Start taking action and get rid of them! You can't have a positive life with a negative mind, so work at throwing out those negative thoughts.

Try to be consciously aware of what you are thinking and make positive changes before those negative thoughts take root in your mind. Create a new habit of positive thinking! It really changes your life and you CAN actually be happy MOST of the time if you continually work at it. 

Happy thinking!

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Moving Forward: How to Maintain Change for Positive Results

Many people make resolutions for the New Year. Most people start strong and will continue for several months. Then throughout the year, things happen and get you off track. You find yourself losing motivation and finally no longer on track. It's difficult to keep up change but it is possible to reach your final goals!

When you begin to set goals, be sure you include some extra tools to keep you focused and motivated. One tool is when you know and understand your purpose for your goals, it helps you stay motivated. You set up your commitment because you know you have to fulfill your purpose. For example, if your goal is to exercise more because the doctor has informed you that it help reverse your heart condition, then your purpose is to reverse your heart condition. It can also help avoid surgeries which help avoid missing work and financial issues. Your commitment and determination can be fueled by the reason why you developed your goal in the first place.

Another tool is being sure your goals are within reach. Don't try to set goals that are unrealistic. It just sets you up for failure. For example, if your goal is to climb a mountain but you've never been near a mountain and you're afraid of heights, you may want to start with some basics steps before climbing the mountain. You may need to get some counseling for your fear of heights and then do small adventures like going to a theme park and ride the tallest ride there. You may even consider a hiking trip with friends that lead to a place with a view overlooking a city. This process may take a year or two so take your time! Set realistic goals in order help keep up your progress.

The other tool is having a support system. This can definitely help with maintaining your new behavior and habits. It is common to see people exercise and diet within a group setting because it a support system. There's normally a higher success rate that they successfully keep up their dieting and exercise habits because of that support system. Some people get gym trainers, life coaches, business coaches, etc. to help them because those individual becomes their accountability partner. Be sure to select your support system carefully because you should select the one that will work best for you!

As you move forward, be sure you have some goals set! Be sure you have all the tools you need to keep up the positive change. You will encounter some tough moments but just know that you can and will succeed!

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8 Daily Challenges to Quickly Turn Your Life Around

If you currently feel like your life isn’t going the way you want it to, and you’re struggling to wake up every morning, knowing that what you’ve got going for right now is not to be looked forward to, then this is for you.

Here are 8 daily challenges for yourself, in order to quickly turn your life around at 30 years old, 40 years old, it doesn’t matter how old you are.

1) Stop watching T.V

As Bill Gates once said, “T.V is not real life”. Sometimes I think that people spend more time focused on what’s going on in the fictional world of Television, rather than their own life.

It just doesn’t make sense. Sure it’s a good thing to relax and T.V has that entertainment value to which you can relax to, but when it starts to overtake your own life, that’s worrying. Life is precious. Focus on your own personal stuff that you’ve got going on, and don’t get caught up in the world of Television.

The people you’re looking at on your T.V get paid to act, and they most likely love what they do. You can’t get lost in the world with them because they’re the ones who aren’t wasting any time.


2) Never stop looking for new opportunities

Some people find a job that they’re relatively happy with, apply, go for an interview, get the job and then stop looking for anything better. Once they get themselves a job, they can’t see a reason to keep looking for others. Why would they need to? They have a job now.

But what if there’s a better, more suitable job out there, that you just haven’t spotted yet. One that you’d absolutely love, rather than just mildly enjoy. If you stop looking, you’ll never spot it.

Never stop looking for new opportunities, because that’s how you end up becoming stuck in a rut, that you just can’t get out of. There may not be any more opportunities for you if you forget to look for even a short while.


3) Become an early riser

You should know by now that becoming an early riser is a very powerful way to change your life. Going from waking up at 11am, to waking up at 5:30, is an incredible difference. 5 hours and 30 minutes to be precise. Just think how much more can be achieved in that time.

That’s enough time to start your own business or project on the side, as well as having a full time job. And if you still think it’s not, you must be tripping. There are so many people who have managed to get out of the 9-5 grind by getting up early and working on their own thing before heading to the office to do some work for somebody else.

Even if you don’t want to wake up early for that particular reason, it gives you time to workout, process your thoughts, get things ready for the day, relax a little, you name it.

No, it won’t be easy at first. Which is why I recommend you start by setting that alarm for half an hour earlier, then repeat that gradually over a few weeks, and soon you’ll be waking up earlier without even having to think twice.

4) If you know what you want, go after it

Why is it that sometimes when we see things we want, we don’t go for them? Or we don’t put in as much effort as we could be doing? I’m sure that there’s been a few times where you’ve seen something incredible, an amazing opportunity that you know you want, but you carry on walking as if it was nothing.

I’m talking about a new career, or a new relationship, some sort of unique opportunity that just shouldn’t be passed up. The reason is usually always because we’re scared. We’re scared of putting a lot of time and effort into something that just might not work out.

This is a terrible mistake. If things don’t work out, you accept it, learn from it and move on.

The negative risks involved are perceived by us to be worse than they actually are. And the possible positive outcome that you’re giving up… can you really afford to pass by it and not take a second glance?

5) Challenge yourself mentally

Mental challenges on a daily basis are important if you are to grow as a person, and in your chosen field of expertise. How do you expect your brain to ever adapt if you’re not giving it a big enough challenge that will push it in that direction.

If you have this dream job that you just can’t quite seem to get right now, don’t keep waiting until the next interview. Challenge yourself mentally on a daily basis that’ll allow you to progress your knowledge on the subject and ultimately give you better chances of succeeding with your dreams.


6) Make 5 new connections a day

You know the old saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know”? Well that’s definitely the case in many circumstances, but it doesn’t matter because making new connections is just so easy.


7) Read, watch and follow motivational speakers

I don’t know if you read a lot of books from life coaches, motivational speakers and such, or watch their videos. But you should be doing so. Watching videos on YouTube is not a waste of time if their motivating you and providing you with better understandings of life.

If you’re not sure who you should be following, then check out Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Eric Thomas & Les Brown. That should get you started for now. There are plenty more to come. Watch their videos, read their books, take in their wisdom.

8) Appreciate what you’ve got before it’s gone

Lastly, appreciate what you’ve got on a daily basis, before it’s gone. Change the way you look at things. You may be sitting there, feeling sorry for yourself, feeling like you have nothing to live for, and it’s partially because you’re not realising and being appreciative of what you already have.

Family, a roof over your head, food, water, a freaking internet connection.

Change the way you look at things and be more appreciative of what you have. Don’t take things for granted and you’ll already be feeling happier… because happiness is a choice. You could be living in a bad neighbourhood on a low income, in bad shape and by yourself, but still have a peaceful and happy life.

It doesn’t matter whether you want to turn your life around at 30 years old or 50 years old, just give the above challenges a shot and make a change in your life!

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How to Conduct Your Personal Mid-Year Review

How often do you take the time out to really reflect on how you are progressing towards your goals for the year?

Now that we are at the half-way point of the year, it’s the perfect time to conduct your own personal mid-year review!


Why Conduct a Personal Mid-Year Review?

Conducting a mid-year review gives you the time and space necessary to evaluate your progress towards your goals.

Without taking the time out to reflect, how do you know whether your decisions, behaviour and actions for the first 6 months have helped you move towards where you want to go in your life?

Reflection is one of the most fundamental skill-sets of successful people.

If you are serious about creating your best life and making your dreams a reality, then you need to reflect to ensure you are making the right decisions and working towards them in the most effective and efficient way.
Benefits of Conducting a Personal Mid-Year Review

There are a tonne of benefits from conducting your own mid-year review.

Some of the major benefits include:

• Determine if your actions are progressing you towards your goals
• Determine if you are progressing at the right speed (i.e. will you reach your goal on time?)
• Determine if your goals are still relevant
• Understand the challenges you have faced and what learning’s you can make
• Identify more effective or efficient methods of achieving your goal

The more often you can conduct a personal review, the more effective you will become in your life.


I would recommend that you at least do a 6-monthly in-depth review of your goals. In fact, I encourage you to do it as often as you can. When I talk about these reviews, I’m talking about your ‘big life goals’.
Conducting Your Personal Mid-Year Review

Let me guide you through the process that I go through when I conduct my own personal reviews.

It is a process whereby I ask myself specific questions which help me understand exactly what I can do moving forward to work more effectively and efficiently towards my goals.


Get Yourself Setup

Before we get to the questions, the first thing you need to do is get yourself ready for your mid-year review. No, this doesn’t mean you have to dress up nicely and look pretty, it simply means you need to get yourself in an environment that is conducive for reflection.

So, to get setup:

Find yourself a nice, quiet environment
Have your goals and any other supporting materials with you that you can use to look over
Make sure you have something to write with

One piece of advice on the environment… try conducting your mid-year review away from your ‘normal’ working environment. This would mean getting out of the office, or away from your home and out into a park or somewhere where you can think about your life more objectively and freely.

Let’s get into it!

Question 1: Are My Goals Still Relevant?

Goals change over time. Life is full of surprises!

This is not something to be concerned about, but something to be aware of.

The first thing to do when conducting your personal mid-year review is to look over the goals that you have set and ask yourself whether they are still relevant.

How have your goals changed?

Sometimes when you originally set your goals the future is murky. It’s impossible to predict the future and to know with 100% certainty that a set of circumstances will eventuate. In-line with this, you may have had some clarity on the general direction of where you want to go, but now that you are six months into the year you have realised that there is a slight alternative that you are now working towards.

This is fine and goals are to be constantly tweaked and refined… this is all part of the process!

The key is to ensure that your goals are still linked to the things that you are passionate about.Passion creates the drive, energy and enthusiasm necessary for success.

When looking over your goals, it’s also good to remind yourself of WHY you are working towards them. Your goals and your life need meaning. Answering the question of why will reinvigorate the drive for making them a reality.


Question 2: What have I achieved?

Do you fall victim to ‘setting and forgetting’ your goals? Hopefully not now that you’re part of The Start of Happiness!

Now that you have confirmed that your goals are still relevant, the next step in the process is to reflect on what you have actually achieved.

How are you tracking towards your goals? What ‘mini-goals’ have you met or what smaller steps have you done to help you reach where you are?

Taking the time to reflect on what you have achieved will help you to determine whether your actions and progressing you towards your goals and whether you are likely to achieve them on time.

One of the best things about asking yourself this question is that it will highlight the behaviours and actions that have worked. This is super-important to being able to progress further in the back half of the year.


Question 3: What challenges have I faced?

When you are looking back over your progress for the year, it’s important that you also look at the challenges you have faced.

Very rarely can you reach your most important goals without a challenge being thrown your way.

Reflect on what these challenges have been. Why did these obstacles or challenges occur? How did you feel when they were presented? What did you do to overcome these challenges?

Resilience is a key factor in overcoming challenges. Understanding how you have faced these challenges and managed to overcome them helps you to build this resilience. It helps to embed the confidence in yourself that no matter what gets thrown your way you will be able to continue moving towards your goal.

The other thing that this question can raise is what can you do in the future to prevent these challenges from happening again?

Question 4: What have I learned?

Life is one big learning experience.

When you’re making progress towards your life goals you’re going to make a million decisions. Some good and some bad. One of the key ingredients that separates successful people is the ability to learn from their actions.

Looking back over your answers to the previous questions, now is the perfect time to ask yourself what have you learned from these experiences?

That is, what have you learned about your goals in life?

What have you learned from your achievements?

What have you learned from the challenges you have faced?

Taking the time to understand the key things that you have learned will help you get set-up perfectly for answering the next question.


Question 5: What can I do differently?

Now is when your mid-year review has its biggest impact. Your future.

Based on everything you have learned from answering the above questions, it’s time to think about the actions that you will put into place to make sure that the back half of the year is even more effective than the first half.

It’s all about continuous improvement! Never get complacent.

What habits do you need to change?

What extra support do you need?

What processes do you need to put in place to be more effective?

How will you address your next challenge?

This is a perfect opportunity for refining your goal and working on a specific strategy for the next 6 months of the year. You can start to map out the exact things you will do in this time to get you there.


Next Steps

There are 2 things you need to do first and foremost as next steps:
Set yourself a date for your next personal review
Write down 3 things that you can do immediately (or sometime today) to start building momentum in your life…. and go do them!

Your personal review should be a regular thing. If you can make it habitual then you’re well on your way to success.

I know of many people who write down their to-do lists or goals for a specific day, but how many people look at how those specific things on their to-do list help them progress towards their bigger goals in life?

The more regular you can review your progress towards your bigger, life goals, the more effective and the more speedy you will get there.

If you’re yet to create goals or want to go even a step back and start to look at the bigger picture in life (that is, understanding yourself and where exactly you want to go), then I highly recommend you check out our Launch Your Life Academy which guides you the proven process of making positive change in your life.

So, what are you waiting for?

Let’s make the next 6 months a ripper!

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