The Five Ingredients of Happiness

I've been reading The power of Self Discipline by Brian Tracy over the last few weeks, and I just had to share a small extract from the book, as It helped me so much.

The five ingredients of happiness.

A short fall in any of these areas can cause stress, unhappiness and a feeling of being our of control.

1. Health & Energy - The most important element of a good life.

2. Happy Relationships - 85% of your happiness will come from your relationships with other people

3. Meaningful work - to be truly happy you must be truly engaged with life. You must be doing things that keep you active & give you a sense of fulfilment. If you are making a living you must be doing work that you enjoy, do well and for which you are well paid. People are only truly happy when they feel like they are making a contribution of some kind, that they are putting in more than they are taking out. You need to feel that what you do really makes a difference to the lives & work of other people.

4. Financial independence - some of the greatest fears we experience are those of loss, failure and poverty. We fear being destitute without funds and dependant on others.. One of your chief responsibilities to yourself is to work towards financial independence and financial freedom throughout your life.

5. Self- actualisation -This is the feeling that you are becoming everything that you are capable of becoming. This occurs when you feel you are realising more and more of your true potential.

Abraham Maslow is best known for his hierarchy of needs. He determined that people have both deficiency needs & being needs. People strive either to compensate for their deficiencies or to realise their potential.

He concluded that you only begin to evolve & develop to the highest levels possible for you when deficiency needs are first satisfied.

Deficiency needs:
* Safety & survival - food, water, accommodation, clothing
* Security - Financial , emotional and physical
* Belonging - Social situations with others , home and work.

Being Needs:
* Self esteem/ego - feel & like yourself determines your happiness more than any other factor. This comes from being liked, accepted, doing a good job and moving towards your goals.

Exercise

1 Identify the areas of your life in which you feel the happiest and the most in control - How can you expand on them?

2 Identify the area of your life that you feel controlled by other people or factors - what can you do to resolve these situations?

3 Intentify those areas in your life where there's a gap between your current level of accomplishment & what you would really like to achieve - What can you do to bridge these gaps?

4 Identify the most pressing needs that you have today that are not begin fulfilled - How can you begin to satisfy this deficiency need.

5. Identify those activities that give you the greatest feeling of personal happiness - what can you do to increase these moments of happiness?

6 Identify those areas in life that you are the most discontented - which steps could you take immediately that would resolve those feelings of discontent.

7. Define happiness for yourself what does it mean? What would have to happen for your to feel truly happy? what can you do immediately to help create this situation?

I hope it helped you as much as it helped me. I now have a completely new set of action points which Ill be sharing over the coming weeks.


Plus-You Can Now Join Our FREE Mastering Success Facebook Community at www.masteringsuccess.group

Three Steps to Live a More Powerful Life

Most of us are living below our potential. We let opportunities slip past. We don't ask for what we want. We don't give all we can. We desire more, but we don't make it happen. We are all capable of more. I know that you are capable of more. Reaching higher potential is simple but will require work and action. Here are three steps to live your life to the fullest.

First, know what you want. It sounds simple and obvious but many of us are living through our own personal zombie apocalypse. We let inertia carry us through life. So fearful of change and the unknown, we continue doing the same passionless job day after day, year after year, until much of our life has slipped by. Knowing what you want can be an intense process. Start by questioning yourself and writing everything down. What excites you? What do you despite? What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning? What keeps you in bed when you should be up? Track your thoughts and feelings for a week or two. Then read over it and look for patterns. Look for those negatives you need to eliminate from your life and start dreaming up positive alternatives.

Second, create an action plan. Once you understand what it is that you want, break it down into a number of manageable steps and objectives. Draw a path between where you are and where you are looking to go. Create a strategy that supports your goals. Understand that everyone has three budgets: Time, Energy (physical, emotional, spiritual) and Income. In the short term, these budgets are largely fixed. That is spend an extra hour doing one thing, then you are going to spend an hour less doing something else. Look for those few vital behaviors that will lead to the greatest benefit. Create daily habits around those vital behaviors. For example, getting in shape may require a daily activity habit. Growing a business will likely require a daily habit of calling potential customers. Measure your input.

Third, work your action plan. Success comes from a combination of motivation, determination and positive habits. Create an environment that will lead to success by eliminating or minimizing obstacles. Your environment and associates should make it easier to do the positive actions and more challenging to do the negative actions. Create obtainable milestones and simple habits. Enlist someone to help hold you accountable. Stop frequently and make sure you are still on track to accomplish your goal. If not, adjust as necessary.

Reaching any goal, whether it is a personal, financial, health or relationship goal, can be reached using this process. Don't make the process more complicated than these three steps and don't delay. Get started today.

Source 

5 Benefits You Will Experience Once You Become Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable

As human beings, we often view “stress” as a dirty word. We try to avoid it at all costs. But sometimes a little bit of healthy stress can push us forward out of our comfort zones and into extreme success.

One of the most detrimental things you can do for your career, business or life is stay too long in a place where you are comfortable. Personal and professional growth will inevitably make you uncomfortable, but that discomfort shouldn’t stop you. After all, a certain amount of stress and discomfort is required if you want to reach your full potential.
Here are five key benefits you will experience once you become comfortable being uncomfortable:

1. You will let go of perfection

No one is perfect. Once you embrace the power of feeling uncomfortable in life, you will let go of all the unnecessary pressure to be something you cannot be. You will lose the fear that has been holding you back from trying something new.

You will no longer be a prisoner to the fear of failure because you are ok with failing from time to time. Failure and rejection are a given, but once you accept and embrace it, you will welcome imperfection and all of the life lessons it brings with it.


“Beauty and ingenuity beat perfection hands down, every time.” – Nalo Hopkinson 

2. The risks you take will teach you about yourself

The more comfortable you are with feeling uncomfortable, the more aware you will become of what you are truly capable of. You never know how strong you actually are if you never try anything new.

You will want to reach new heights and will be more willing to take risks at something without knowing whether you will succeed. It will not matter if the result turns out good or bad. You will learn because you took the risk and bet on yourself, and you will improve for next time.

3. You will be more productive

When it comes to productivity, comfort is the enemy. Without a sense of discomfort, it is human nature to procrastinate or do the least amount we can to get by. Inside of our comfort zones, all of our drive and ambition is stalled. Pushing beyond personal boundaries will help you get more done in less time because it motivates you to succeed.

4. You will harness your creativity

Seeking new life experiences and learning new skills inspires us to learn more and challenge our old ideas. Creativity is intrinsically risky, but risks will no longer scare you. Uncomfortable experiences will push you to see problems from a new perspective and tackle challenges with a new and fresh energy.

5. Uncomfortable eventually becomes comfortable

Stepping out of your comfort zone and getting uncomfortable in life ultimately helps you deal with sudden and unexpected change. You will become accustomed to a certain level of productive discomfort, and it will become easier to challenge yourself because you now look at things differently.

Change will no longer frighten you. In fact, you will embrace change because you know that it improves you. Your comfort zone will expand, and the number of things that cause you fear will diminish.
How to get comfortable with being uncomfortable

If you continue to operate as you are right now, you will continue to get the same results you currently get. If you want more from life, the only solution is to do something you have never done. It is time to get uncomfortable. Here is how to start today:

1. Determine what makes you uncomfortable

What are the things that you are afraid to do because of a fear of failure? What is driving your fear of that situation? Identify the boundaries of your comfort zone so that you recognize situations that fall outside of it.

2. Set goals

In order to achieve goals, you have to step outside your comfort zone. Figure out what it is you want out of life. Visualize yourself there. How does it feel? What steps do you need to take to get to your end goal? What new skills will you require? Write it all down. Your goals are what will ultimately motivate you to take a chance on yourself.


“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar

3. Take steps towards the uncomfortable

Make a decision to never run away from discomfort again. Take steps to stay uncomfortable a little longer each time until eventually those uncomfortable situations become comfortable. The first step is always the toughest. As you continue taking steps, you will build momentum, and it will become easier to continue forward movement. So seek opportunities to reach out beyond your personal boundaries every day.

Everything amazing about life happens outside of your comfort zone. When you push yourself beyond that safety net, you can achieve goals in life that you never thought you were capable of.

Becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable can help you conquer your world and get everything you want in life. Refuse to settle for what you have and continuously push the limits in order to achieve immense success and happiness. The only thing standing in your way is yourself.
How do you stay positive about your business? We’d love to hear! Leave your thoughts and tips in the comments below!

Source

4 Indisputable Steps to Stop Living An Average Life

I would say that one of coolest things I loved growing up and still to this day is going to the movies. Going to the movies was always so cool not only for the experience of being in a theatre but the actual story telling of the movies there self.

Movies have a way of capturing your attention like no other. There’s always a cool, brave main character with some kind of dope ability. Whether it be super strength, metal craws, super genius or just plain old cool, the main guy always has some trait to his advantage.

The main character would always find a way to beat the odds and overcome whatever challenge to antagonist presents. Always being the one to save the damsel in distress and the goofy sidekick.

4 Steps to Stop Living An Average Life


There is one thing I never really liked about movies and that’s the way they would make me feel when I got home. When I would get home, I would slowly come back to the reality that I would never be able to do any of those things.

My logical mind would tell me to realistic and realistically I was more like the goofy sidekick.

My mind would tell me I was average and would 95% likely to be that way forever.

Somewhere deep I would feel my heart telling me that I was great and that I actually was meant for something bigger than how I was living. Eventually something would have to change…

Here are 4 indisputable steps to stop living an average life:

1. Take Back Your Power
One of the worst things you can do to yourself on this planet is allowing your power to lie in someone else’s hand. What I mean by that is so many of us grow up never making any important decision about our life until it’s time for college.

So many young people like I struggle with indecisiveness today and it’s ridiculous.

Most American children go through life with someone telling you what school you’re going to, what food you eat, what you were and every little thing in between.

By the time college rolls around your kind of just told hey pick what college you want to go to and decide what you want to do for the rest of your life.

This very same thing can lead to a road of resentment towards yourself and others around you. I would find myself blaming good people in my life whenever I would get frustrated at a situation I was in.

The thing I didn’t realise was by blaming them I was basically saying they were in control of my life and my outcomes. When in truth I was. Once I took back my blame I also took back my power in realising I have the ability to point my life in any direction I want.


Take back your responsibility for your actions and you will see a whole world of change.

That’s something you can count on.


2. Believe In Yourself

Before I elaborate I must say that I know on a shallow basis we all believe in ourselves. To be honest for most people that’s about where their self-belief powers end. We live in a society today where a lot of young people grow up not having their opinions and expressions valued by those authoritative figures in their life.

You may not think so but this very thing can have a drastic effect on the outcome of a human beings life. They grow up not valuing their own opinions and expressions as an off spring effect because that part of them was never nurtured.

If something as simple as a plant is not taken care or looked after it will die, so what about something as complex and important as one believing in one’s self? Some things speak for themselves.

Good news for us is there is a way to counteract this and it is actually simple. We have to take back the character trait of believing in ourselves. Doing this will open a whole world of possibilities you’ve never dreamed of.

Before I was able to lose my first 30 pounds my mindset was that I could never do it. As I began to believe in myself I realised I can do anything if I held that belief and plan my moves accordingly.

I guaranteed you that if you ask any person of success in any field and they will tell you they knew they would be where they are today. Stop doubting you, you’re all you have when it is all said and done.


3. Make Your Map & Follow It

To be perfectly honest I learned a lot of useless information during my school life but if I had to pick one piece of info that I should have listened to and practiced, it would be writing down your goals.

The importance of writing down goals and sticking to them is something not stressed nor shinned upon enough. Would you go on a long trip without first having known the directions? I don’t think so.

One of the most devastating things about people is they tend to think if they have an idea they can simply store it for later instead of actually bringing it to the physical by writing it down now. Most times when we don’t write things down we tend to go about are day, forget them and never come back to them.

Take the time out to sit down and figure out what you want to do, the best steps to do, and a reasonable time frame to accomplish it. Then you can break eat of those down to even smaller steps and goals.

I promise this will make your life 60% easier, seriously! The cool part is you don’t have to take super big steps in the beginning. Just the smallest moves can lead to something great if you stick with them.

When you realize the reason most people never accomplish great things is because they flat out never plan for it, the doors will open for you.


4. Crack Your Shell

Taking back your power, believing in yourself and making your map are all vital to living up to your fullest potential and getting out of mundane living.

However, this last step is one that lies at the heart of them all and that’s breaking free from your comfort area. Now we’ve all heard someone says at one time or another “you need to get out your comfort zone” but the thing is they don’t really go into the importance of it. Your brain loves to create patterns for us to follow for the simple fact it makes things easier to predict.

The thing about this is your brain does not filter between good and bad patterns, it just works with what it is given to it.

This is why it can be difficult to step out of your own perceptions and expand your horizons. When in stress of breaking your shell just remember that your plan is full proof and will work for you.

I once read a quote that said people can be measured by the amount of awkward conversations they have. It takes guts to stand up for yourself and your dreams but it is a must to reaching happiness with a side of success.


Wrapping Up

A quick tip to leaping over your boundaries is to plan ahead and set ambition but realistic liveable goals. It has to be something you really have a passion for or the next part might be a little challenging.

After you have your set target, the most important step is to believe in it. Listen to me when I tell you believing in yourself and goals are crucial on the road to a better version of you. If you can’t see your vision don’t expect anyone else to.

Source

Investing In Yourself Is A Must For An Extraordinary Life

If you are not investing in your personal development, you are brutally limiting your true potential.

Personal development impacts your entire life, not just your work life, business life or your personal life.

It's shocking how many people don't try to improve themselves and sadly, these are the exact people who often complain how unfair life treats them and wonder why they are always dwelling in mediocrity.

In brief, here are some guidelines to follow when you embark your personal development journey:

#1 Imagine How You Want to Design Your Life

Without a vision, men perish.

You need a clear picture of where you want to go in order to determine what kind of life you want to live.

Success is change. You need to pre-determine the kinds of changes you must go through professionally and personally in order to arrive the Promised Land you've never reached.

What you practice in private will emanate in the public. Personal and professional lives always intertwine with each other.

For example, if you imagine yourself being more compassionate and forgiving to others, this trait will exude and impact both of your lives.

Also, if you wanted to develop your leadership skill for your local community, such improvement of skill will easily be transferrable to your professional career as well.

The key is to identify and imagine the kind of person you have to become in order to achieve your goals.

#2 Have A Reality Check

Before you resolve to any changes in your life, make sure you know where you are standing right now.

Discovering your current strengths and weaknesses will help you formulate a plan of action to make the necessary changes meaningful and effective.

#3 Set Ambitious Yet Realistic Goals

Once you know what your strengths and weaknesses are, create both long-term and short-term goals that you need to achieve in order to move towards your ultimate destination.

Never set goals without an action plan. You must set concrete, quantifiable, manageable milestones with clear deadlines so that you feel the urgency to take action and get things done.

#4 When Things Don't Work Out As Planned, Change

Change is the only constant in the Universe.

When plan A doesn't work out, you need to try plan B, plan C and so on until you succeed.

Planning doesn't guarantee success because no one can predict all the uncertainties that are shaping the future.

So don't be discouraged when your initial personal development plan fails. When you hit a roadblock, it simply means it's time for alternative solutions.

#5 Track & Evaluate How You Are Doing

When you have a small victory, have a look how you did against the plan of action steps.

This is critical because you always want to learn from any potential mistakes and subtle lessons along the way. Be brutally honest and truthful when you do your self-assessment.

Be okay if you suck at anything in the first few times. Mastery of anything takes years or even decades to develop.

Alternatively, have someone else perform this objective evaluation for you. It will definitely sound painful and ego-busting when you hear the brutal truth, but the benefits will well worth it.

Finally, remember to keep your personal development simple.

Don't overwhelm yourself with unobtainable goals that are setting yourself up for failure.

Sure, push yourself, expand your limit and keep going every day.

But always be aware of your current capabilities so that you are motivated enough to stay in the long game instead of giving up too early.

If you are committed to your daily tiny investment on yourself, you'll be assured to lead an extraordinary life very soon.

Source: 

10 Ways to Benefit From Your Greatest Fears

Once the richest man in the world, Warren Buffet was known to be the most successful investor in the 20th century.

His biggest fear was public speaking and in college, he would select courses that didn’t require him to give presentations or speak to a room full of people. He even enrolled for a public speaking course before dropping it before even attending the first session!

He was 21 when he started his career in investment and soon realized that if he wanted to mark a niche of his own, he would have to overcome his greatest fears and only then move forward.

10 Ways You Can Benefit From Your Greatest Fears

If you want to become a better and bigger version of yourself, then you have to face your fears, not run away from them. When conflict arises, most people are conditioned to take ‘flight’ instead of ‘fight’.

That’s when success comes to pass; not when you are cozy in your comfort zone, successful growth starts when you get out of your comfort zone.

When you face your fears, it gives you this strength and confidence which you thought you never had in you; fear is nature’s way to tell you to raise the bar to higher standards of living.

When you become aware that your greatest fear is meant to develop you into a better and bigger person, you will be able to then start using your fear to your own advantage. Here we have listed a few ways that you can benefit from your greatest fears:

1. Unleash Your Full Potential

If you are reading this article then you must already be aware that you have a lot of potential which is simply being blocked by your greatest fears.

Fear, if misread, stops you from progressing. Thoughts and actions that are lead by fear always fall short of your full potential. Feeling fear, would be your first cue to know that on the other side, there lies a better you.


2. Move Faster Than Your Greatest Fear

Remember that fear is always counter-intuitive, that means, fear is urging you to move forward when you ideally feel to stop. Fear is the one feeling that actually can encourage you to go ahead.

When you pause mid-sentence, stop in your tracks and begin to think that if you take another step, you will fail, you tend to start feeling fear. That’s when you need to move faster than your fear.


3. Use Fear as an Incentive to Move Ahead

When you live a compromised life, in your business or in your personal life, you start to feel weak and less confident about yourself. When you feel small, you are actually delaying the time when life wants to satisfy you.


When you embrace your fear, although, not letting it win, that’s when you begin to feel more confident.

When you overcome fear, you can increase your confidence level every step of the way.


4. When in Fear, Analyze

The fear you feel, is never without reason. Analyze what you are afraid of and why. When you spend time analyzing your fear, it can give you the chance to answer some unanswered questions and turn that negative mind-block into a positive step ahead.

5. Use Fear as a Safety Belt

Remember that fear is always your ally.

When you feel fear about something, it is a cue to pay more attention to your situation. Fear can actually tell you that ‘it’s now or never’ and other times, it can even urge you to ‘sleep on it’. Fear is your cue to stop and think, negotiate and plan your next step.

6. Get Positive Energy from Your Fear

Remember that everything you ever need is on the other side of your fear.

When you treat fear as any other feeling, that is, when you treat fear as a pathway of a new opportunity – which is a positive experience, it can give you a lot of positive energy to move forward.


7. Fear, as a Stepping Stone of Wisdom

When you do things you previously thought you ca never do, it forces you to experience new things, you then become wiser and not limited to your growth.

Fear can be linked to your instinct. Most times its hard to listen to your gut feelings, but when you feel fear, it is time to take note of it and then take action.


8. You Can Be Yourself

It’s normal to feel fear of being yourself in front of others. Most people wear masks when they are working, and they are a completely different person when they are at home.

The truth of the matter is that people are drawn to more authentic people. It is very courageous to be your authentic self when most people around you are fake.

9. You Can Make it Your Feature

Just as some bugs in IT world can be presented as features, you can do it with your fear, too. Fears can be part of your charisma, and you should not be ashamed of them.

Of course, not every fear, but some phobias that you can’t overcome just with your willpower, or some harmless types like fear of ghosts in the closet, can totally coexist with strong and successful personality.


10. You Can Organize a Club

A club for people with fear of height, or being buried alive, or finding a spider in the bed.

Such experience is:
a) Simply fun
b) Trains you to be a leader or moderator;
c) Cooperates a group of people around you, with numerous interests and experience. You can do something big together, which doesn’t have to be connected with the fear, too.
d) You can help people and yourself to overcome that fear with some activities, and just remain great friends for life.



Choose the way to turn your weakness into your strong feature, and you will benefit even from your greatest fears!

What are your greatest fears? Leave a comment below.

Source

7 Valuable Lessons to Learn While Escaping Your Comfort Zone

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. So if you’re feeling uncomfortable right now, know that the change taking place in your life is the beginning, not the ending.”– Neale Donald Walsch

The comfort zone; one place which destroys all your potential and belief to live an extraordinary life. Living outside of your comfort zone means mental and psychological growth, which we all need to live a happy life and enjoy it to the fullest.


7 Valuable Lessons to Learn While Escaping Your Comfort Zone

I have written this article to motivate you and to encourage you, to give you enough reasons why stepping out of your comfort zone may be the best decision you can make for yourself and your future.

Here are 7 valuable lessons which teach you what life is truly about:


1. You Will Push Your Limits

We all have certain limits in what we can or can’t do. Stepping out of your comfort zone will push those limits and make bigger space for you to expand. What you thought is impossible a few months ago is now part of your daily life. Isn’t it crazy?

Stop for a second right now and think of the one moment when you got out of your way and acted in spite of fear. Think about it and ask yourself, “If I was able to do it back then, why not try it again?”


2. You Will Expand Your Potential

Have you ever thought how much potential and energy you have within you? The amount is enormous. Why don’t you use it? Why not take a chance and see what happens?

People don’t become successful because of the money or the right influences. Individuals who made it to the top knew that comfort zone is a broke zone. They also knew that using their potential is the fuel behind extraordinary results.

Once you start expanding your potential, it will become a habit, a source of euphoria you experience and enjoy it at the same time.


3. You’ll Gain Undeniable Courage

To gain muscles, you need to train them on a constant basis right? The same happens with courage. Only by overcoming a fear of the unknown and going beyond your comfort zone, you will become braver than ever before.


We don’t become courageous by watching House of Cards in our favorite sweatpants in the comfort of our home.

Courage comes in a moment when we decide to fight for what we want no matter the situation or feeling. Feeling will pass, but what we create or become will last much longer.


4. You’ll Become Confident In Yourself

The World outside of your comfort zone may seem scary. We don’t know what is out there, whether pleasant moments or difficulties. But this unknown environment is exactly what build us up, makes us stronger and braver for the future.

Overcoming what we fear builds confidence and healthy self-esteem, which is an essential part of every success in life.

Try to recall the last time you acted in a courageous way and think of the feeling after you have succeeded.

How did you feel about yourself? How did you see yourself when you looked in the mirror? You felt proud; you felt satisfied, and this is exactly the kind of reward you gain by going the extra mile.


5. You’ll Become Stronger & Unstoppable

Living outside of your comfort zone will teach you many lessons.

By getting hit by unpleasant moments and circumstances, you will become stronger every time situation happens, and you overcome it.

This strength will build up your character and shape you as an individual with a powerful mindset, ready to face any challenge along the way.

As you will grow and see the difference you can make in your life and how the power of mind really works, you will become unstoppable in reaching what you desire the most.


6. It Will Excite You to Share It With Others

Once you’ve expanded your mindset and see what is beyond your comfort zone, you will realize that many people are stuck. People don’t believe in themselves, and that’s why they are trying to avoid any opportunity for growth or change.

Not everyone will welcome your advice to follow your path or to try it out. That’s fine.

But there are going to be those individuals who feel as excited as you. I believe it is your and my responsibility to share with others that beyond our limits is a much better world which is worth every single struggle and sacrifice.
7. You’ll Gain Encouragement & Belief to Create Life on Your Terms

By expanding your potential, gaining confidence in yourself and having a clear picture of what is out there, you will feel encouraged and alive.

It will bring you a sense of determination to create a life based on your biggest dreams and desires, the one you want, not your boss or teacher or parents.

Once you practice living life outside of your comfort zone, you will strengthen your belief in yourself and a better life. You’ll get the opportunity to discover a whole new level of possibilities which you had no idea exist.


Conclusion

Eliminate the ceiling above your head.

Get rid of this illusion you have created in your mind where you subconsciously sabotage yourself from growth. Real deal begins when you are willing to feel as uncomfortable as possible.

Fear doesn’t exist; it is a product of your thoughts, and you are the only person who has the power to destroy it.

Once you overcome this fear of the unknown, I guarantee you that you will not want to come back to your ordinary life.

Once you taste the power of your mind, once you grow and see what you are truly capable of, you will begin the most amazing, courageous and insane adventure of creating an extraordinary life.

Are you struggling to move out of your comfort zone? Leave a comment below.

Source

5 Tips Make Your Goals Come to Life

1. Do something different. Go for a walk to clear you head, or meet friends at the local coffee shop to brainstorm or respond to questions or to make plans can do you the world of good. Sometimes a new environment has been the key to increasing productivity and creativity for me. Just change things around from your normal day.

2. Setting goals inside and outside of work place are necessary to keep me motivated. If I am just concentrating on work and not also on my home life, I find it harder to want to work.

We all need life outside of our 9 - 5 day. We also need goals for ourselves. You might choose to learn to cook, learn a new language or speed read. Whatever you choose, make it something you will enjoy.

3. Create a to do list. I love lists and highlighting the completed activities makes me happy! Creating a to do list not only helps you to get your must do's out of your mind, it also helps you to think clearly as you are processing less information at any given time. I love that feeling when I get the end of any tasks that I complete, as it gives me a great feeling of accomplishment. I can also reflect on this list in the future to see how I worked through problems if something similar arises.

I write my list in order of priority. I can then to see the scale of what I am working on and be able put my to do's in an order to work in with my day. I usually have several projects on the go at once and this helps me to be balanced over my schedule.

4. Sometimes there are things we just cannot do alone this is when we need to ask for help. This can be one of the hardest things to do, but remember that you can return the favour one day so it does not all need to be one-sided.

If you are at work, make your goal a joint effort and get buy in from the team. If the goal is at home, maybe you could ask your partner, family member or friend if they would like to learn that new language with you so you can practice on each other. Two brains are sometimes better than one.

5. The most important for me is to reward myself when I get to the goal. Don't fall in the trap of constantly looking for the next thing. Take a break, reward yourself and those who helped you get there and appreciate the journey. If you know the reward is coming, it makes it that bit easier to work towards the big goal at the summit.

I find that the main thing for me is to chip away a bit every day. It might be to reach out to someone, write a quick article, remind myself of the purpose or to read over the plan each morning. The focus of the goal must be big enough to make you really want it enough to motivate you to move forward.

Reaching the goals and rewarding yourself will give you the improved mood and revitalised mind and body that will make you and your team want to achieve more! Enjoy the process and reaching the end goal.

Source: 

10 Daily Affirmations to Energise and Inspire You

The Morning Cycle: Anxiety, Dread, Negativity


“The only pressure I’m under is the pressure I’ve put on myself.”

Mark Messier

I would go to bed every night promising myself that everything will be okay and that my life is generally pretty good and that I’m reasonably successful. I’d remind myself of all the wonderful things that are happening and how grateful I should feel.

Then morning would come, as it always does, and I’d wake up with anxiety and dread. I would have a dozen terrible thoughts running through my head and literally feel heavy from the weight of these thoughts while still laying in bed! (Do thoughts actually have weight? I’m betting the negative ones do!)

Even before I’d rouse myself to start a new day and see what actually transpires, my thoughts had already made up stories that scared me to even face the day.

What if I have a car accident (one of my worst fears)? What if I have a disease I don’t know about? What if I lose someone I love today? What if this or that awful thing comes to be, what am I to do?

And on and on these negative thoughts would circulate my head as I showered and dressed and got ready for my day. I would wear a fake smile, look all happy and smart on the outside, and go about my day, feeling anything but peaceful.

By mid day, the morning’s anxious thoughts would dissipate and the busyness of the day would take over, but I’d be physically depleted from fighting this war in my head every single morning.

How I Found My Way out of Negativity

Then a few years ago, I stumbled upon something called “positive affirmations“, these first-person present-tense mantras or statements that you repeat over and over to cultivate a positive calm state of mind.

The skeptic in me poked fun at affirmations for the longest time, but the curiosity was thankfully stronger so I gave them a try. Every day, I’d start repeating three simple affirmations before even getting out of bed.

“I am feeling strong and healthy today. I am grateful and happy for my life. I trust myself.”

I did this for a week and let’s just say, by the end of that week, I could no longer justifiably make fun of positive affirmations! They worked miracles in my mind.

So I’m here to tell you today that you are not alone.

If you wake up with anxiety and stress, you are not alone.

If you think of all that could go wrong before the day has even started, you are not alone.

If your first thoughts in the morning are not peaceful, you are not alone.

Millions of people wake up with stress and anxiety every day. Science and medicine has researched and proven the harmful effects of negative thoughts and stress.

Stress and anxiety can have serious negative long-term effects on your physical health, your mental well being, your relationships, your job performance, your finances and your opportunities in life. Don’t let it do that to you!

Ready to heal your negativity?

“If you realised how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” – Peace Pilgrim

You know the worst part? Most people don’t ever learn that changing their thoughts is within their complete power. So they remain slaves to their own thoughts – most of which are negative.

It turns out that you can choose your thoughts and if you can choose, then choose positive thoughts. It is a skill that you can develop at any age and stage in your life.

You have the brainpower, the smarts, and all the tools that you need to decide which thoughts you allow and which ones you forbid. It’s marvellous really when you get the hang of it.

The most effective tool to use to direct the right thoughts in and the wrong ones out is daily affirmations. When you learn how to incorporate daily affirmations into your life, first, you become aware.

You become aware of your thoughts and of what is going on in your head. You become aware of your natural tendency to think negative thoughts in certain (or most) situations.

Awareness helps you identify when the patterns are happening so that you can then use affirmations to reverse such patterns.

With the power of daily affirmations, the energy flow of your thoughts changes. You will infuse more positive energy into your mind and become aware of the potential negative energy surrounding you.

10 Daily Affirmations to Memorise Now


“I am safe. All is well. Everything comes to me at the right time.” ~Louise Hay

If daily tools are not quick and easy to use, we’re not likely to stick with them even if the benefits are huge. That’s why I pulled together a list of only 10 short and easy-to-memorise daily affirmations that are both effective and energising in helping you feel inner peace and excitement. It is best to say these first thing in the morning. Repeat each affirmation three times and do this for one week to start getting results.
I am enough.
I wake up happy and productive.
I accept my true identity.
I trust myself and my decisions.
I love and approve of myself.
I am worthy of happiness and respect.
I bring great energy to all things I do.
My body is healing itself all the time.
Gratitude is my default emotion in all things.
My life serves a purpose.

I included mostly first-person affirmations, because they’re generally the simplest ones to start with. You can memorise the list in pairs at first. Memorise two then another two and then keep adding. Or you can pick and choose your favourite affirmations from the list and only use those.

Remember: You are important. You are capable. You are smart. And you are worthy of love and happiness. Your thoughts may lie to you until you start to drive the negative thoughts out and focus on the positive ones. Affirmations can help you do this and much more. Give yourself another chance. Let affirmations be the start of your happiness now.

Source

NLP Principles That You Can Use in Daily Life

NLP Principles That You Can Use in Daily Life

Here are the basic principles of NLP that you or any person of any age can apply to absolutely any situation in life. Like any new skill that we are at the beginning of learning it'll take some practice, but practice makes perfect at what we practice. The value will come very soon - the quality of your life and communication with yourself and others - and thus your productivity and happiness levels will increase for you and people around you:

You create your own reality.
You know your reality, but not other people's realities.
You get what you concentrate on.
You have within you the resources you need to achieve what you want.
Your behavior is purposeful.
You are doing the best you can - and you could probably do better.
Every behavior is useful in some context.
Choice is better than no choice. Always aim to increase choice.
The meaning of communication is the response it elicits.
There's no failure, only feedback.
Each person has their own reality. As they operate from that reality, they're always right.
Your current behavior is the best possible choice for you at the time.
If what you're doing isn't working, do something different.
Mind and body are one integrated system.
People with the most flexibility are most likely to achieve what they want. The part of any system that has the greatest variety of possible responses will control the system.
People work perfectly - no one is wrong or broken.
There're no resistant clients - only inflexible communicators.
It is easier to change yourself than to change others.
People do the best they can given the choices they believe are available to them.
Modeling excellence leads to excellence.
If one person can do something, it is possible to model and teach it to others.
Everything that is said, done, experienced is said, done, experienced by someone.
Experience can be changed.
Mind and body are systemic - when you change one, you'll change the other.
People will make meaning from experience - not just respond.
Energy flows where attention goes.
Our realities limit what we are capable of more than do the constraints of external realities.
As we have better strategies for achieving what we want, we will choose to use them.
We all have equal access to building and using internal resources.
Our deeper experience is revealed in our language whenever we speak.









Source

7 Valuable Lessons to Learn While Escaping Your Comfort Zone

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. So if you’re feeling uncomfortable right now, know that the change taking place in your life is the beginning, not the ending.” – Neale Donald Walsch

The comfort zone; one place which destroys all your potential and belief to live an extraordinary life. Living outside of your comfort zone means mental and psychological growth, which we all need to live a happy life and enjoy it to the fullest.

One of my biggest challenges I have taken so far was moving across the globe all by myself with £250 in my pocket. Did I feel uncomfortable? You bet. But the biggest challenges often brings into our lives the most significant rewards.

It’s been almost 4 years since I moved and I have never regretted it. The amount of knowledge, experience, and lessons I have learned along the way are priceless.

7 Valuable Lessons to Learn While Escaping Your Comfort Zone

I have written this article to motivate you and to encourage you, to give you enough reasons why stepping out of your comfort zone may be the best decision you can make for yourself and your future.

Here are 7 valuable lessons which teach you what life is truly about:

1. You Will Push Your Limits

We all have certain limits in what we can or can’t do. Stepping out of your comfort zone will push those limits and make bigger space for you to expand. What you thought is impossible a few months ago is now part of your daily life. Isn’t it crazy?

Stop for a second right now and think of the one moment when you got out of your way and acted in spite of fear. Think about it and ask yourself, “If I was able to do it back then, why not try it again?”

2. You Will Expand Your Potential

Have you ever thought how much potential and energy you have within you? The amount is enormous. Why don’t you use it? Why not take a chance and see what happens?

People don’t become successful because of the money or the right influences. Individuals who made it to the top knew that comfort zone is a broke zone. They also knew that using their potential is the fuel behind extraordinary results.

Once you start expanding your potential, it will become a habit, a source of euphoria you experience and enjoy it at the same time.

3. You’ll Gain Undeniable Courage

To gain muscles, you need to train them on a constant basis right? The same happens with courage. Only by overcoming a fear of the unknown and going beyond your comfort zone, you will become braver than ever before.

We don’t become courageous by watching House of Cards in our favourite sweatpants in the comfort of our home.

Courage comes in a moment when we decide to fight for what we want no matter the situation or feeling. Feeling will pass, but what we create or become will last much longer.

4. You’ll Become Confident in Yourself

The World outside of your comfort zone may seem scary. We don’t know what is out there, whether pleasant moments or difficulties. But this unknown environment is exactly what build us up, makes us stronger and braver for the future.

Overcoming what we fear builds confidence and healthy self-esteem, which is an essential part of every success in life.

Try to recall the last time you acted in a courageous way and think of the feeling after you have succeeded.

How did you feel about yourself? How did you see yourself when you looked in the mirror? You felt proud; you felt satisfied, and this is exactly the kind of reward you gain by going the extra mile.

5. You’ll Become Stronger & Unstoppable

Living outside of your comfort zone will teach you many lessons.

By getting hit by unpleasant moments and circumstances, you will become stronger every time situation happens, and you overcome it.

This strength will build up your character and shape you as an individual with a powerful mind-set, ready to face any challenge along the way.

As you will grow and see the difference you can make in your life and how the power of mind really works, you will become unstoppable in reaching what you desire the most.

6. It Will Excite You to Share It with Others

Once you’ve expanded your mind-set and see what is beyond your comfort zone, you will realize that many people are stuck. People don’t believe in themselves, and that’s why they are trying to avoid any opportunity for growth or change.

Not everyone will welcome your advice to follow your path or to try it out. That’s fine.

But there are going to be those individuals who feel as excited as you. I believe it is your and my responsibility to share with others that beyond our limits is a much better world which is worth every single struggle and sacrifice.

7. You’ll Gain Encouragement & Belief to Create Life on Your Terms

By expanding your potential, gaining confidence in yourself and having a clear picture of what is out there, you will feel encouraged and alive.

It will bring you a sense of determination to create a life based on your biggest dreams and desires, the one you want, not your boss or teacher or parents.

Once you practice living life outside of your comfort zone, you will strengthen your belief in yourself and a better life. You’ll get the opportunity to discover a whole new level of possibilities which you had no idea exist.

Conclusion

Eliminate the ceiling above your head.

Get rid of this illusion you have created in your mind where you subconsciously sabotage yourself from growth. Real deal begins when you are willing to feel as uncomfortable as possible.

Fear doesn’t exist; it is a product of your thoughts, and you are the only person who has the power to destroy it.

Once you overcome this fear of the unknown, I guarantee you that you will not want to come back to your ordinary life.

Once you taste the power of your mind, once you grow and see what you are truly capable of, you will begin the most amazing, courageous and insane adventure of creating an extraordinary life.

Source