Don't Let Stress Get the Best of You

We all have felt like we are under situations where our to-do lists seem endless; our days and nights become one but the overwhelming task just doesn't end. Situations when deadlines are fast approaching and you catch yourself saying 'My goodness, I am under so much stress'. That is a good understanding of stress.

But what is stress?

It is a condition under which the body feels like it is under attack and it switches to a 'fight or flight' mode. There are a lot of chemicals released in your body like cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine that change the functions of your body. All the unnecessary bodily functions shut down to help you escape this attack.

Let's use an example to better understand the fight or flight response of the body. Imagine you are walking down a lonely street and you are carrying enough money to enjoy a dinner with your friends at a five-star restaurant. Suddenly, a man jumps at you from behind a tree and points a knife at you. You could do one of the two things- 

Fight: you will make an attack strategy to knock down the thief and your body will prepare you for it.

Flight: you will look for the easiest escape route and run for your life, maybe even screaming for help on your way.

Let's list some causes that could give you stress in your life.

• Fast approaching deadlines at work or studying in a crunch time during exams. 

• Facing financial difficulties or road blocks in relationships. 

• Thinking you are not good enough for any task and feeling guilty for being a burden on everyone. 

• Not being flexible enough therefore having difficulty in adjusting to new situations. 

• Not being able to adjust or compromise easily. 

• Getting easily affected by anything pessimistic that others say.

Now we should look at the symptoms of stress; the ways in which we can recognize ourselves under stress.

• Difficulty in concentrating on the task at hand. 

• Not being able to remember small things you wouldn't forget otherwise. 

• Seeing negativity in everything. It becomes very difficult to see the glass half full. 

• Constantly worrying or being anxious. 

• Isolating yourself from everyone. 

• Feeling irritable or moody.

Stress is manageable. Before it gets out of hand we must learn to control it. Here are ways to keep stress from getting out of hand.

Adopt efficiency- when you have to many things to finish, make a time table and follow 

it closely. That way you will get everything done little by little and it won't stress you out.

Meditate- when your body starts reacting under stress, meditating will help you stay calm and on top of things.

Learn to say no- when you already have too much work to finish and someone gives you more work, don't feel bad in saying no. It is important to not wear yourself out. 

Eat right- when you are under stress you could either lose your appetite or it could become bigger than usual. But you must learn to eat the right kind of things and in an appropriate proportion.

Get enough sleep- but trying to finish all your work and skipping sleep, you won't be helping yourself. Your body will get tired faster and you will lose energy more quickly. 

You may be thinking that stress is a bad thing to have and you will try to escape it all the time. But don't worry, stress is good. It is only when you're under stress that you can push yourself to do better and achieve the impossible. You only have to keep it under control.

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How to Be Successful When Success Comes Slowly

Learning how to be successful in life can be slow sometimes and it can make you feel frustrated at sluggish progress in your success journey - despite all the know-how and principles you rigorously employ.

Can success be sped up? Is there an antidote to slow outcomes despite arduous planning and actions taken? What's the secret for seeing huge results right now?

Let's get one thing straight…

When we admire someone's success, or even our own, we often focus on the end result and not so much on the effort (and time) that it took to become successful. This can cultivate unrealistic expectations, especially the idea that overnight success can happen through careful strategy and an execution of sound advice.
How to be Successful By Focusing on What IS Working

The truth be told, success typically follows a series of little events and achievements that can seem to take an eternity, that include a few disappointments along the way, and that challenge everything about you to the core - your stamina, courage, integrity, and even your willingness to keep going.

If you focus on what's not working, guess what: You're likely coming from a place of aggravation as your mind wraps around all that is wrong.

You may even have negative thoughts like, "I'm not good enough," "It will never work," or "Something must be wrong with me."

What this mentally does is engender more of these counter-productive feelings. You attract what you are feeling. So, negative experiences, people, and results will beget more negative experience, people, and results.

There's not much success in that.

The key in learning how to be successful then, is to focus on what IS working.
Practice Journaling and Meditation

In order to focus on what is working, I recommend two simple practices: journaling and meditation.

Maintaining a journal or as I like to call it, a gratitude journal is a great way to steer your attention to the positive and continually renew your vision for yourself.

Start each day with reflections on what you are grateful for in your life (list them out!) and end each day with notes on what went right (again, write them down) however small they may seem.

Spend time each day in quiet contemplation, prayer or meditation.

Learning how to meditate can be a powerful tool for arriving at solutions to problems and shifting your attitude so you can attract success sooner rather than later.

The magic of meditation is it’s ability to essentially shut down the outer layer of your judgmental, highly-critical brain and allow your unconscious mind to take over. This is where you enter a deeper state of inner peace and joy, tapping into a higher level of creativity that will help usher in the results you want.

Let's say you're doing ALL these things, but you still aren't happy with your success...

I'll ask you then, are you taking real ACTION?

You may be taking the actions you are used to taking. But, if you keep doing what you've already done, then you'll keep getting what you've always gotten. It's a matter of practicing some new behaviors. Shake things up a bit and see if you can take new actions or modify existing ones.

Every day do five specific things that take you toward your goal. Change up the five actions regularly and be open to feedback so you know when you're off course.
Success Takes Patience

Lastly, I want to remind you about patience.

It's natural to underestimate how long a certain goal can take, especially a profound one. When I set a goal to become a millionaire the year was 1983.

How long did it take? Eleven years. It took time for Chicken Soup for the Soul to hit the bestseller lists. You could say our tenure on the New York Times list was more than a decade in the making.

That's a lot of patience for someone who initially wanted overnight success.
Continue to Take Action

So, yes, patience is a virtue. But, keep at it, and in no time, you'll be only one week, or one day away from your ultimate success.

Remember... be grateful, reflect on what IS working and continue to take ACTION!

I want to leave you with a bit of homework to complete. Resolve to start a gratitude journal to begin steering your attention to the positive and continually renew your vision for yourself.

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Why A Positive Attitude Is Best For You

Of all things you can adopt for yourself, you would be hard-pressed to find something better than a positive attitude. If you believe you have a realistic approach in life and that is what must prevail above all others, perhaps some thoughts on a positive attitude and the benefits that can bring you, could persuade you to open your mind towards acquiring it.

Sometimes we don't realize why we go towards things that express frustration, anger, ill feelings about people, situations of family life, the government, the wife, the husband, the environment etc. all of which, if we allow them to persevere in our life, can change our perception of what reality is, simply because we see them from one angle alone.

All expressions of this side of seeing things is not a healthy way to be about in life. They can stop us from being resourceful and from seeking solutions to everything we see as problems that upset us. It is not very useful and encouraging for others to see us carrying this kind of 

attitude.

Imagine if instead, we present ourselves with ideas to overcome most things that clutter our judgment and project forward a resourceful way of dealing with things, like talking about other ways to see what is difficult, complex, hurtful, abusive, repulsive or hateful.

And what if we persist on smiling, on focusing our thoughts to find solutions, on giving plenty to others without reservation, especially on treating others in a more loveable way without fear of rejection.

Do you think if you took this way of behaving would attract a different response from others? I believe this other way of being not only will change your life, your health and your financial position but will also make you a more caring person to everyone around you. Even if you don't believe it until you make an effort to deviate from taking the pessimistic side of things in life, and go onto the different side of reasoning, that lies in the resourceful state, the creative state, the solution-seeking state, it is extremely difficult to see gains in your life.

Dwelling in the half empty measures, the negative attitudes, the resentments about all things, on blaming everyone else and everything else for your misfortunes is not going to get anything in your life solved. But you already know that, so, trying the other angle, "the positive way" as many people would call it, seems quite a logical thing to do.

If being resentful, blame full, uncaring, angry, boastful, impolite and provocative do not get us anything truly worthwhile and make us look negative in so many ways to others, why not make an effort to overcome little by little all those traits to start having a positive attitude and seeing a change in how we are perceived by others.

Looks like by eliminating all those traits, you can begin to make small changes in your attitude, small enough steps to build a muscle of gradual improvement to overcome ingrained negativity. If you persist with this new way of behaving and make it sustainable, you will be, eventually, unstoppable. Nothing can resist your new level of positive attitude that is all-conquering, charming and effective in just about any endeavour you care to take.

You will always be welcome by everyone and doors will be open to you because it is the new you with the all-powerful attitude, "the positive attitude" that you so much wanted since the days of the "half empty glass" and the "partially cloudy skies" and the gloomy statistics of doom that you used to believe.

Now you are not sarcastic and nasty and do not have time for sadness, illness, abusive manners and provocation that so much hurt others and got you nothing but rejection. No, you are now totally the opposite, the charming, kind, smiley, courteous, giving, always ready to help kind of person that others love to be with, help and admire.

How beautiful is that? To all those that knew you as a negative, stressful type of person to be with, now they love you and respect you and want to help you because they want to reciprocate your changed positive personality. Great news!

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Shifting Out of Negative Space

Meditating does not mean that you extract that part of your memory and forget all that has ever happened before. Especially life events that hasn't served you well and more than anything in this world, you would like the "pain and suffering" to be taken away. You must know, that our mind is like the revolving earth, ever evolving and spinning in its orbit in its own perfect proximity and whatever that's been planted before, it is there and always will be.

Because it is so wide and limitless, we can choose where we would like to lead our thoughts to. Our mind is the limitless space, and "negative" spaces are fundamental to building an "image and picture" of anything we wish to put together. That is how we are able to visualize dreams, scenarios, circumstances and fragments of things we have come to learn and know about. We put those pieces together inside our heads. When you learn to "un-clutter" the mind, you get to choose to be on the other side of the "negative space" that is part of your brain and living mind and you can't turn that part "off" like a switch. You can only ever attempt to make the effort for a "shift" into a different space.

When you "quiet" the mind, you see more clearly and there is a small window of opportunity to make the "shift" when that happens. Slowly, steadily, you shift yourself to a different space - a positive one. One that contains new affirmations and thoughts, new memories, experiences and places you have recreated for yourself. Planting new seeds takes time for it to grow and also takes consistent care for it to ensure that it is healthy and strong before you can bear fruits and flowers for you to enjoy and repeat the cycle.

It is a process, a journey, a learning curve for the mind to adjust and know its way around. Just like anybody you first come to know as a stranger, our minds are the same and it could be our potential best friend or worst enemy. You can make the effort to understand her strengths and weaknesses to make the "relationship" work or you can resist, resent it and feel like it is a battle and challenge every day and feel the need to fight against it all day long. It is a choice we all have and we can make it work to our advantage.

Meditation doesn't necessarily mean sitting in a chair or on a floor and just closing your eyes in a dead quiet room that could echo your breath and forcing your mind to stop the chatter. In the beginning, this would probably be counter-active to your first step of taking the leap to have control of your mind. It would probably work better if you used other tools or routines to help jump-start your mind and introduce new positive things and subjects into it before you begin to sift and sort.

Yoga is one of the methods that best serves as a physical and also a mental workout, producing best results for both body and mind. Because you literally hold your own physical body as your object of attention, all the focus and concentration put on it will ultimately produce positive results if you commit wholeheartedly and go into the postures with intent and give it your undivided attention. If you do it consciously for a full 60 - 90 minutes every day, that would definitely lead you feeling a whole lot better re-leasing all kinds of tensions and stress in your body and mind with your attention taken away from any feelings of negativity in that frame of time and put right onto your physical body directly to tone and strengthen. It is by far one of the most effective practices for easily distracted individuals.

You can of course pick up a quieter and more subtle routine and habit like a good self-development read, (if exercising is a big issue for you for whatever reason) books of a positive nature and feed your mind with more "good stuff" so that you can "fill it up" with new knowledge that are applicable in your daily activities and one that serves you well. Painting nature also serves as an extremely good way to put your attention on bright colors and natural feel-good settings and environment over a good period of an hour straight, uninterrupted with your mind stationed in a good, happy place.

It is a little obscure as people always have this idea that only professional artists can pick up that paintbrush to do something like that. But really, you don't need to be Picasso to attempt to engage in this activity. If you have a love for nature, it will not be a difficult task for you to set your eyes on it for a full hour, however your painting turn out to become is totally irrelevant and only serves as an outlet to grab hold of your attention.

The more positive activities and attitudes you choose to include into your daily life activities, the easier the road to be able to sit down and literally do nothing and naturally be able to quiet you mind comes quickly. You will no longer have to use external tools to aid you in doing so. It will just be you, your space and your mind. That is the ultimate goal eventually. Not having to meditate while you're in an awkward pose (yoga) or having to set your eyes on something beautiful to do so (nature) will be the best outlet to go about because you take yourself and your mind everywhere you go, literally.

You can't always carry your yoga mat with you 24/7 or readily have paints and brushes in your bag pack or a new book constantly at the back of your palms so if you can eventually do it with nothing in your hands or on your plate to "keep you occupied", you have successfully achieved the best method to do your meditation. To simply just sit there, close your eyes and let it all go. (Negative thoughts and feelings) To allow well-being to enter with ease and flow, making the shift to the positive space of every-thing you ever desired for and want in your life.

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Top Ways to Remain Positive in Life

Top Ways to Remain Positive in Life

Use your free time for constructive purposes

Today, our lifestyle is quite different from the way we used to live decades or centuries ago. The advent of electricity and scientific gadgets has made our day-to-day living a lot easier and comfortable. During yester-years people used to indulge for long hours for arranging necessary items and doing petty household chores viz. arranging for firewood, grinding, churning, sewing etc. Traveling used to take days or weeks at a stretch. Today, we have technology everywhere, and we can do most of the household chores and connect with others within minutes. All this has given us plenty of free time, and you would agree that when one gets free time, it can be constructive as well as sabotaging. Don't let the toxins of modern-day living overpower you during your free time. Use it for something useful, something productive.

Inculcating a hobby is a good idea

Don't let negativity to scabbard your free time. A hobby keeps you involved and busy and prevents negativity to come around you. Hobby can be anything, it can be nurturing bonsai plants, gardening, painting, writing, cooking, making artifacts etc. What's important is that you should like doing it. Inculcate a hobby of your interest and attend to it whenever you get some free time. Investing time towards your hobby is a kind of self-help that will keep you engrossed and make you happier from inside.

Look forward in life

Another way to remain positive is to look forward in life. Don't keep messing with the things of the past. However, it is important to learn from your past experiences and try not to repeat your mistakes again. But, don't waste your time repenting on issues that can't be reverted. You can't revert back time, you can't revert what has gone past, but you can certainly take steps to make your future better. Look forward in life, gather courage, keep hope and move forward.

Make high ideals

Make successful people your ideals. To be successful in life and make progress, it is important to maintain high ideals in life. If you read the success stories of the people who are most successful in their respective fields, you'll find that there isn't anyone who has not faced any sort of hardship to reach the spot they are in today. Making successful people your icons and having cheerful and positive persons in your acquaintances and relationships will keep you inspired and prepared to do much better in life.

Frame a routine

Framing an appropriate routine is important towards healthy living. There can be circumstances when you would be compelled to bypass certain parts of your daily regimen. But, try to stick to a healthy lifestyle that includes proper exercise, proper diet, proper work and proper rest.

To be healthy, it's important to keep your mindset healthy. Frame a goal in life, take steps and act accordingly to achieve your objective. You may face hardships, but it's important not to lose hope and keep trying to do better.



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Being Positive Means More Than Just WISHING!

Nearly everyone realizes how important it is, to maintain a quality, consistently positive attitude! The reality is you can't become the best you can be, until and unless, you seek the best way to perform, and focus on how you can, rather than why you can't! In my over three decades of involvement in leadership training, and personal development/ self - help, I have trained thousands to not only think positively, but to also arm themselves with the tools, to be ready, willing and able, to achieve, when others fail! Maintaining a genuine, positive attitude, means not only hoping and WISHING, but proceeding in a positive way, in everything you do, and focus on!

1. Wisdom, 5 W's: Just using rhetoric which sounds positive, is far different from truly maintaining that type of attitude! When it is accompanied with a commitment to achieving and performing, and one seeks knowledge and relevant wisdom, he propels himself to maximum greatness! Great leaders understand this, yet most of us, in our everyday lives, seem to permit our fears and insecurities overwhelm our positivity and forward - thinking! To do so, we must get into the habit of asking the right questions, including: who, what, why, where and when! Who will we trust and rely on, what are our real goals, why do we do what we do, where to start, and when will be proactively proceed?

2. Ideas - oriented; interesting: What are you really interested in, and why? Would others find you, and your ideas, interesting and worthwhile? How do you come up with your central ideas, and are you propelled and focused on concepts and ideas, or do you proceed by using, merely empty rhetoric, silliness, and popularity (or lack of stress, etc)?

3. Strategic; sustainable system: Just as in leadership, each of us must strategically plan, our personal goals and priorities. Are you goals - oriented, and do you look at the larger, more sustainable, future, or do you merely proceed day - to - day, constantly applying band - aids, rather than seeking solutions. Do you look to how to become your personal best, and believe you can, or do you just do whatever is easiest, least challenging, and settle for being mediocre?

4. Head/ heart; hear; heal: Being genuinely positive, does not mean being pie - in - the - sky, unrealistic, or a dreamer! Balance your logical and emotional components, listen effectively, and proactively heal wounds, both your own, as well as others, so you can become stronger and more effective!

5. Ideology; integrity: Do you believe the ideology you articulate? Can you maintain your absolute integrity, regardless of controversy, or ease/ comfort level, when others abandon (or never attempt) theirs?

6. Needs - centric: Have you identified what makes you happiest, and what your core needs, concerns and priorities, are?

7. Generate goodwill; get results; greatness: Do you inspire others by the level of your existence? Can you get desirable results, and do you consistently focus on greatness and quality?

You can try to, but you can't really fake being positive! Begin by realizing it takes far more than mere, WISHFUL thinking!

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What To Do When Your Life Is Completely Out Of Control

No matter how much self-development you do, there is going to be a time when even the most perfect person’s life gets out of control. Right now, I feel like my life is somewhat like this. I feel like I’ve done things that I’m not proud of and it has all transpired in such a short time.

This feeling is normal, and there is always going to be winter in every season of your life. I’m in the depth of winter as we speak, and it’s tough. Through all of the cold, what keeps me going is the belief that this won’t last forever. This is normal and even the people I look up to have dealt with this.

This winter patch is all about growth. The unhappiness I feel about my goals that still remain untouched is where the next phase of growth is. Our life is supposed to get out of control so that we can take control back again and for me, inspire people at the same time.

With everything that goes wrong, there is a lesson for the people I love (you guys). I wouldn’t have this library of lessons to share with you all if my life was like one of those cookie cutter Instagram models that get horny over their reflection.

So after my recent challenges, here are the 10 things you can do when your life get’s out of control:

 1. Make a major life changing decision

When your life is out of control, it’s the best possible time to take massive action. Action is what will give you control back and put you back in the driver’s seat. The chances are that there is a root cause as to why your life is not the way you want it.

Look at where you work, who you spend time with, and your romantic relationship. Somewhere in these three areas will be the clue you need to make your big decision. Ask yourself deep down what really makes you angry.

Think about who is getting in the way of your dream and stopping you from reaching your full potential. Does everyone around you encourage you to keep following your passion or do some people think what you’re doing is dumb?

Once you have identified the problem area you need to forget how things were, and the comfort that comes with that, and be prepared to drop bombs and do whatever it takes to change the course of your life. Fear is going to sweep in at 100 miles and hour, but you will have to squash it with all of your willpower.

Weak people can’t get back in control of their life, and weak people tend to fail a lot. You’re not weak, and you have guts and determination.

 2. Stay true to your habits

Even if your life get’s out of control, it’s imperative that you hold on to your positive habits. These habits might be: drinking a juice, doing a workout, practicing meditation or reading a book every week. No matter what, these habits are your foundation, and you cannot get lazy and drop them.

Through tough times it’s easy to lose the motivation to power on through your habits. The thing is, during tough times you need your habits like mediation even more.

Through my own rough patch, I have doubled the amount of meditation I do each day from ten minutes to twenty minutes. Now more than ever I need inner peace and a time to reflect on all the mind chatter that is playing out every minute of the day.

 3. Set some new goals

I’ve found that when your life is out of control, part of the reason why, is that you need some new goals. The current goals you have are not keeping you motivated, or they might even be too easy.

I’ve crushed most of my year’s goals already, and I’ve found that this achievement has made it more likely for me to become lazy. For this reason, I have created two brand new goals that have lots of fear and require me to go out and do things that I used to procrastinate doing.

New goals help you to try something new and give you a reason to focus back on controlling your life again.

 4. Accept a lapse in decision-making

I’ve had some lapses in decision-making in recent weeks, and I’ve let myself get worked up about it. What I have discovered though is that it’s important to realise that you will sometimes make a bad decision. Each week you make more than two hundred decisions and statistically speaking some of those will be bad choices.

Understand that bad choices are normal, and as long as you are making more positive decisions than negative, it will all balance out in the end. Now that’s off my chest I am going to forgive myself for that coffee I drank 

 5. Go and do a good deed

If your world is spiraling out of control, then try and do a good deed. Go and help people whose life is even crazier than your own and get some perspective. You’d be surprised how in control your life really is compared to say a homeless person who has no money to buy dinner.

Find somewhere in your community where you can go in undercover and coach some people. Coaching people is a great way to use the lessons you have learned to help someone achieve their dream. I’ve found coaching to be one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life.

What’s even more fun is when one of your students achieves the impossible and you get even more happiness out of the experience than they do. You were put on this earth to inspire people so go and do it and forget about your problems for five minutes!

 6. Figure out what’s good in your life

A feeling that your life is out of control can often be brought on by focusing too much on the negative points of your reality. There are some parts of your life that work really well that you’ve forgotten about.

Think of how you might pay your bills on time, have a well-kept automobile, have a tidy home, have access to smart people, work a good job, or have a business that pays for your lifestyle. There’s always something that you have right now that’s just right. Make a list of those things and then study them.

Tell social media all the good you have right in your life and watch your friends reach out and support you. There’s no way you can feel out of control when you reframe just how good some areas of your life are.

“Trying to strive for perfection is what will give you a feeling that your life is out of control” – Tim Denning

 7. Escape to the countryside

When life doesn’t go the way you want it to, sometimes the best thing you can do is escape your current circumstances for a week and get some perspective. I’m doing this by going overseas for a few weeks to focus on something other than problems.

Our minds are curious by nature, and when we go to a place we haven’t been before we become explorers of our reality rather than being trapped in it.

Smell the roses, walk on a foreign beach, and speak to people from another culture. You might just find a new found way to gain control back again in all the newness that you’ve brought into your life. 

“It’s impossible to be stuck in your head when you’re in a new environment that you haven’t visited before”

 8. Decide how you want to live your life

Feeling like your life is out of control will only help you to dig a deeper hole for yourself unless you decide to set a new vision. Clearly, if your life is out of control, it’s because you haven’t decided how you want it to be and set a vision.

For me, I’ve set the vision up, but I’ve forgotten to readjust the GPS co-ordinates once in while. Once you know how your life needs to be, you need to write down the action steps you’re going to take to get there. This is not a time for beating around the bush and struggling to make a decision.

This time, it’s about getting clarity and then being unwavering in your approach to getting the results of the vision you so desire. You have to get aggressive here and not settle for second best otherwise you will never get back in control of your life again.

“You’re 100% to blame for where you are right now and only you can change your reality” – Tim Denning

It’s no one else’s fault if you feel lonely or uninspired – it’s yours. There are people all over the world that would love to speak with you and talk about a whole range of topics.

There are people on social media that love what you do, and you can’t let them down by sulking. This game plan you have set out to achieve success and financial freedom is supposed to be hard. Otherwise, everyone would be driving a baby blue Lamborghini with the top down listening to Rihanna.

Reassess where you’re at and step up the game with a refresh of your vision. Don’t be lazy and put up with this BS reality you might be experiencing right now. Don’t take any prisoners along with you and stick to your standards that you’ve committed to.

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Finding Your Sweet Spot

Anything out of balance feels out of whack, feels unpleasant and overwhelming. It just doesn't sit right when you're not in your "sweet spot". Meditating is the same. In the beginning, it would be extremely awkward, even certain levels of discomfort in the physical body caused by the attempt to give the mind new instructions to take it slow. To let it all go. Any kind of environment we were growing up with, be it work or school or even at home, you were conditioned to take in as much as you possibly can. To grow up quickly and learn as fast as you possibly can. To absorb and to digest.

No one in this world ever taught you to let go. To do less and to not do anything at all. To just be present and be in the moment. You would never find it in any "to-do list" because it seems "lazy" to have so little on it. To fathom the concept of doing less yet able to be producing more. In this day and time, quality productivity surpasses any other forms of multi-tasking.

You can be the best multi-task-er in the world but at the end of the day, if you went home and unloaded your "overflowing" cup and drowned everyone else with your workload you have taken on, then you have not succeeded in finding the balance and harmony for yourself. You are simply dumping it off on someone else. A best friend, a lover or a spouse, your poor mother or perhaps even strangers who have no business listening to you ranting on about your day's issues.

This is why we practice mindfulness to find the "sweet spot". It can increase positive emotions and lower negativity and thus counteract stress and prevent depression from "overworking" the mind. It also increases the capacity for attention (to be present) and develops our memory so we may focus on the good things in life that we already have. Of course, being mindful helps to be more solution oriented and getting better at exploring creative strategies for problem-solving. Meditation also helps a person withstand the traumatic effects of the mental state of being and enhance its resiliency.

Mindful living benefits us in a positive way which we are able to experience our bodies and minds differently and we are not so quick in reacting to bad situations and circumstances, instead we will be able to handle it effectively and positively strengthening ties and relationships with every aspect of our lives. It can extend to every aspect of our existence and consistent practice will lead us to benefiting from it in the long-term immensely.

The "sweet spot" equates to "life's satisfaction". Mindfulness cultivates behaviours and attitudes that encourages it and makes the pleasures of life more noticeable and enjoyable, also helps us become more committed to activities in the moment and a greater capacity to deal with life's challenges and curve balls thrown in our way. All of these ultimately leads to greater overall life's satisfaction. So we get more done and feel really good about it which reduces the moments of "default thinking" allowing the mind to wander off carelessly.

Being present in the moment lets us learn to become more flexible in our thinking, less stubborn and resistant to new concepts and ideas. We can observe our thoughts without becoming overly attached to them against our own will, we're able to accept them without the attempt to change them or have it be different. There is a deep sense of well-being that is sturdy and stable, not having to be dependent upon life's circumstances which is ever-changing at an unpredictable rate. We will be able to thrive in the harshest of conditions with a practiced mind, sitting in our "sweet spot".

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How To Feel Motivated All The Time?

Action leads to motivation, this is one of the tricks I've always advised clients to use.

If you're willing to do just 5 minutes of the work, regardless of how you feel at any moment, you can ignite the hidden power of commitment and consistency which gives you more fuel to continue the task for another 30 minutes.

Instead of "trying to get motivated", taking action and just doing the first small action step will bring you motivation.

However, I've recently heard about this interesting integrative motivational theory called Temporal Motivation Theory.

Basically, it's a theoretical equation that purports to explain everything about motivation.

The formula is that motivation equals to (Expectancy times Value), divided by (Impulsiveness times Delay).

Put it simply, there are 4 factors that we can use to increase our motivation.

#1 Expectancy

Expectancy, or self-efficacy, is how likely you think you will succeed in a particular goal.

The easier you think you can handle something, the more you expect to succeed, the more confidence you are, the higher the motivation you have.

#2 Value

Value is the reward associated with the outcome, it's how much the result means to you.

The more valuable we perceive the result to be (maybe because of the pleasure or meaning you're going to get out of it), the higher the motivation we do the thing.

#3 Impulsiveness

Impulsiveness is how good we are at withstanding distractions, disruptions or interruptions which get us off track.

The better we can "say no" to these temptations using our willpower and habits, the higher the motivation we have to follow through the action.

#4 Delay

Delay is the amount of time until the outcome realizes (i.e. the deadline). It means how far into the future will the reward or outcome lies.

For example, at the beginning of a school term, students' motivations are not high because there's a long delay before the deadline (aka. exam) comes, therefore the reward of studying is not immediate and it has low value.

But when students have only a few days to prepare the exams, because of the short delay and the higher perceived value, the motivation will shoot up to the roof.

Assuming this equation is correct, how can we apply it in our lives?

To put it in a simple sentence, you'll want to set easy achievable short-term goals with a deadline to it, cut off all distractions possible, dominate it and then nicely reward yourself when completed.

The key is to have an imminent deadline so that you have that "last-minute rush" feeling like the students so that you are compelled to focus intensely during that short period.

With that said, do you feel an urge to stop reading so much about motivation and start doing just 5 minutes of the work you've been procrastinating on? (Yes, I do mind read.)

Anyhow, go crush that thing and I'll see you in a bit!

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3 Simple Strategies For Massive Goal-Setting Success That Works Like Magic

The ability to set goals the correct way constitutes an essential skill that can make or break your personal and professional success in life. The manner in which you do so will determine the speed in which you can achieve your goals, or whether or not you can achieve them in the first place.

So if you often find yourself setting goals, but not achieving them at all, this article is for you. Here are 3 strategies that I use to massively improve my goal-setting success, to quadruple the rate of achievement of my desires in half the time.

Strategy #1: Write down your goals

Yes, you got it right! The first step to any goal-setting endeavour is to first write down your goals. It seems like a common sense and obvious thing to do. Unfortunately, many of us have the intention to achieve something (e.g. lose weight, get a promotion, earn more money) but did not crystallize it by writing it down. Your goal will thus merely exist as a thought, an intention, or a dream, and that is why they never become a reality!

Therefore, the first step in any goal-setting endeavour is to always first write down your goals. By doing so, you create the first action toward your desires, and transform your thought into a commitment that becomes more real to you.

Strategy #2: Revisit your goals every day

After writing your goals, it is useless if you only revisit your goal at the end of the year, and realized you have not achieved anything at all! Therefore, it is vital that you revisit your goals every single day. Write your goals on a piece of paper, look at it at least once every morning, and ask yourself what would you do today to bring you one step closer to your goals.

By revisiting your goals consistently, you can re-align your day towards the key objectives you will very much want to achieve.

Strategy #3: Announce your goals

The third strategy you can adopt is to simply announce your goals. Tell your family, friends, and colleagues about the goals you will want to achieve. Studies have shown that if you announce your goals, the probability of backing out on these goals decreases tremendously.

In addition, trusted friends and colleagues who are supportive of your endeavours can point you to valuable resources, advice and people who can help you achieve your goals in record time! They can also hold you accountable to your goals, further ensuring that you achieve your goals despite the excuses you might use to give up on your goals.

Unfortunately, many people are uncomfortable in announcing their goals to the supportive people around them. So get over the discomfort and start announcing them.

Conclusion

The three simple strategies presented in this article are relevant and applicable. You can use it immediately during your next goal-setting exercise. Apply these strategies the next time you set goals, and watch the magic unfold.

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