Are You Full of Good Intentions? - Part 2

- Ask for help. It's not a sign of weakness to let others be supportive. Or consider buying in help so that you can use your time more efficiently. Some skills like accountancy, technical expertise, PA support can often be outsourced on an ad hoc basis and can reduce your stress levels whilst freeing up your time. On a domestic level it may be useful to consider hiring cleaning, ironing or garden support so that time at home is not spent fully occupied with chores.

- Lists can be a good way to encourage a clearer focus. Spending twenty minutes on a Sunday to assess the week ahead or sitting down each evening to plan the next day can be a great way to bring the spotlight back on those good intentions. Decide what needs to be done each day in order to move towards your goals. Making a phone call, arranging a meeting, filling out a form may seem like tiny steps, but each step can move you in the direction you want to go. At the end of each day give yourself credit for the actions you've taken.

- Failure's okay. If you try something and it doesn't pan out the way you'd hoped, that's fine. You've learned something new, tried something out and possibly made some new contacts along the way. Don't allow failure to signify the end; it's merely a setback or detour along the way, and sometimes those detours can bring unexpected opportunities and gifts.

- Don't wait for everything to be perfect before you have a go. Not every 'I' needs to be dotted or 't' crossed. Often simply getting started can provide sufficient impetus for things to start coming together and happening.

- Use the winter months as a time to de-clutter and clear out the old. When we keep adding to our 'stuff', without taking time to assess what we've already got, we can gradually become mentally and physically overwhelmed and unable to appreciate the things that are important. It's important to make time to occasionally discard the old so that we can appreciate the new.

- Being 'resilient' is often thought of as being tough, strong and keeping going no matter what. In fact resilience demands that we stop occasionally, take stock of things and then adapt and grow in the light of new challenges and new goals. The companies I work with and the workshops I run, place a high value on training staff to be resilient by taking stock of the present moment and learning to adapt to an ever-hanging and unpredictable future.

Just as the trees use winter to shed their leaves and rest awhile, so we too can benefit from a period of reflection and introspection. Use this natural break to consider your options and formulate a viable action plan. Then your good intentions can really start to take shape.

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Are You Full of Good Intentions? - Part 1

December and January can often be months which provide valuable opportunities for reflection and time to evaluate the direction in which our life is heading. The long holiday period can provide a natural break in which to assess what's been achieved during the previous twelve months and give time to start planning for the coming New Year.

We may start January full of good intentions but it's not uncommon to soon fall back into old habits, especially if some of our plans fall by the wayside. Then we can end up berating ourselves, feeling a failure and becoming disappointed at our lack of progress.

Let's consider what may happen, even when we're full of good intentions, and then explore ways to help us maintain our resolve. 

- Check if you're setting yourself goals that don't particularly motivate you. It may be that you're adopting someone else's agenda; they want you to stop smoking, join a gym, learn a particular skill or be a successful business person, but if that doesn't fill you with joy you're not going to sustain your enthusiasm beyond the first hurdle that comes along. You have to really want something in order to persevere though the difficult and stressful times. A positive focus can keep you motivated and on track when the going gets tough.

- Timing is important. There may be many things happening in your life that demand your time and energy, leaving you with few reserves for new challenges and opportunities, no matter how inspirational they may be. Financial worries, children, ailing relatives, a demanding boss may all feature in your life and leave you with little time or mental space to dedicate to something new. If that happens you may need to respect yourself and focus on your immediate quality of life in order to support your health and wellbeing.

- Find something that has meaning for you, that allows you to feel that you've done something really special with your time. But if it's not viable for you to fully immerse yourself in a project or career change at the moment, might you be able to organise your time and commitments a little differently? It might free you up and enable you to become involved in something on a smaller scale that holds real interest for you.

- Is there a way you could discuss your dreams and aspirations and let others know what you'd love to be doing? Others may be genuinely unaware of how you feel or not fully appreciate the many demands that are made of you. You may be perceived as someone who thrives on being busy, who undertakes everything with apparent ease. Share your stresses and let others in.

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Make Your Life Easier With These Little Things

What are the life changing little habits?

These little things or small habits are basically life changing practices that we can adhere to in order to simplify our life situations drastically.

Routine: Plan your everyday life around a schedule. Trust me you'll do yourself a great favour when I say live your life with routines. Whether it is waking up, going to work or putting your kids to sleep; all of it routinely done eases and simplifies things. You'll truly know the value of life once you see everything happen on time.

Weekly planning: Don't rush on to anything immediately. Researchers say that planning your coming week way in advance is the best way to go forward. This will not only help you gain confidence as you go but will also help you avoid unnecessary dealings that you would otherwise have to face.

Jot things down: Whatever it is from goals, dreams, plans, ideas or appointments; learn to write them down on paper. Maintaining a written documentation of your life helps visualize things more easily. It will help you drain these unnecessary thoughts off of your head and into paper.

Do not clutter: Don't you find it annoying when there is too much stuff laying around and you don't know what to do with them? Well, learn to get rid of unnecessary clutter. The lesser your personal belongings are, the lesser your miseries will be.
Budget planning: Financials is one of the leading causes of most of the issues. You have to learn to make your life easier by planning your financials to the penny. Saving money is a whole new type of peace.

In-Conclusion:

Apart from all the tips and tricks mentioned above to make life simpler, you have to simply learn to be present. When you're present in the moment nothing can go wrong. Let go of the past and live a much happy life by looking forward to a much more beautiful future.

Miscellaneous tips:

Learn to say "No": A lot of times we get caught up with things that we don't wish to be a part of. Whether it is friends, activities or perhaps works; learning to say no pretty much negates the risk of time wastage drastically.

Disconnect: If you are always around people, places and work; you will always be tired and weary. Disconnect yourself from time to time. It is a very effective means of rejuvenating and making life simpler on the go.

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"Focusing is about saying no" - Steve Jobs (WWDC'97)

VISION - Motivational Video

Never give up by Nick Vujicic

Self motivation

Being self-motivated and taking initiative is vitally important to most employers. No one wants to babysit a new member of staff through their work. Equally, however, it is not right to simply ignore instructions or advice and do what you feel is right. So how do you get a balance?

What is self-motivation?

Being self-motivated is about doing your job well because you want to, and not simply because it pays your wages. Self-motivated individuals want to be the best they can be regardless of where they work and will often take responsibility for projects even when they do not need to.

Self-motivated individuals tend to:

• Work longer and later than others
• Learn new skills and take regular training courses
• Take ownership of problems
• Become team leaders
• Go above and beyond their job description

Why do employers want self-motivated people?

Self-motivated employees need a lot less managing than less determined individuals, so are highly sought after by recruitment agencies and HR departments.

If you are self-motivated, you will normally want everything you do to be of the highest quality and you will always see the bigger picture that the company is looking at. Self-motivated individuals are motivated by improving themselves, and they only way they can do this is by making the company they work for better.

How can you show you have it?

Desire and self-motivation are difficult qualities to show. Expect to be asked questions about times when you have risen to a challenge or taken control of a situation. Employers are looking for people who have taken charge of a situation and solved it in a creative or innovative way. Fundraising is a good way to show initiative, as is times when you’ve identified a problem and come up with a solution.

You can also demonstrate self-motivation by emphasising the quality of your work and the impact it has had on your studies or previous jobs.







How is self-motivation used in the world of work?

It is much easier to demonstrate self-motivation once you’ve actually landed the job. Little things like getting to work ten minutes early are noticed. Make sure you ask your manager questions and show a desire to do well – if your manager identifies an issue, go away, think about it and try to come up with a solution. Enthusiasm can go a long way.

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BELIEVE IN YOURSELF - Motivational Video (ft. Jaret Grossman & Eric Thomas)

Quick Tips for Better Self Confidence

1) How to Feel Good When You Need to

Because self confidence and feeling good has a major 'hormonal' element, you can change the way you feel by re-living good times. If you can remember a time you felt really self confident, then excellent - use that! If not, then use a time you felt contented or happy. Taking deliberate control of your thoughts and emotions will have an huge impact on your self confidence and other areas of your life.

2) Beating Self Consciousness, Confidence Enemy No.1 

Although useful for learning about the impact you have on others, too much self consciousness is the No.1 enemy of self confidence. The trick is keeping your attention off yourself when you need to. Here's how...

a) When you feel self-conscious, (you can usually tell because you start to feel anxious), choose something outside of yourself to focus on and study it in detail. For example: examine a door, look at the different textures and shades of colour, wonder about who made it and how and so on. The important thing is that you're learning how to keep your attention off yourself.

It is a good idea to practise this technique in private first. Just sit quietly, practising focusing firstly on your own thoughts and then deliberately focusing outwards onto a picture or piece of furniture.

b) Social self confidence can be difficult to find sometimes because it is unclear what you are 'supposed to do'. In this event, concentrate on what your purpose in the situation is. Whether you're there to:

• find out if you like the other people present
• make others feel comfortable
• find out some information
• make business contacts
• and so on...

It's much more difficult to feel self-conscious if your mind is occupied with a task.
People are often most comfortable with others when working towards a common goal. The common goal of socialising could be making friends, the exchange of mutually beneficial information, expanding your knowledge of different types of people... it could be whatever you want it to be! The key is to have an aim.

3) Watch Out for Undue Criticism - Especially Your Own!

Have you noticed that people will speak to themselves in a way they would never speak to others? You know the sort of thing - you break a glass and it's "You stupid idiot. You can't do anything right can you?"
Criticism that leaves the receiver feeling upset or depressed is rarely useful.
Challenging your own assumptions about yourself and other people can really help build self confidence. Here's a few to get you started:

1. Those confident-looking people have bad moments too - you just don't get to hear about them!

2. If you feel under-confident, it doesn't mean other people can tell. They're often too caught up with their 'own stuff' to notice!

3. If you catch yourself saying things to yourself like "I'm no good at anything" then rest assured, you're wrong about that. Everyone can compose a sentence, get successfully to the store, eat without choking and do a million other things. Emotion can make things seem hopeless when they rarely are.

Don't let yourself make sweeping statements about yourself - in the long run it is this sort of thing that can really damage your self image. If this happens, say to yourself calmly and gently, "Hold on a minute, that's not true". If you can come up with some evidence that disproves the sweeping statement, then even better. It may take a bit of effort at first, but the impact on your self confidence levels is huge.

Building self esteem is not just about thinking good of yourself, it's about not thinking bad for no reason!

4. Just because you have felt bad about yourself in the past doesn't mean you're always going to feel that way. I have seen hundreds of people surprise themselves once they have learned how to build self confidence in a way that it stays built!

The important thing is to get away from thinking "Why did that happen?", or "Why do I feel this way?" and towards "How would I like to feel?", "In what situations do I feel confident?" or, "What do I need to learn in order to have better self confidence in this situation?"

5. Persevere and don't expect everything at once. Really learn how to develop your self confidence by following the tips from this site and the free Self Confidence Course and notice the small differences as they happen. Building good self confidence is a wonderful thing, and it's much easier than you'd imagine.

Regular confidence boosts can make all the difference

 

Source 

The skill of self confidence | Dr. Ivan Joseph | TEDxRyersonU

INVEST IN YOURSELF - Motivational Video

9 Ways To Build A Strong Character Everyone Loves

Some people are more likable than others, and that is mainly because of their unique character – outgoing, friendly, talkative, empathic, down-to-earth and honest people always have it easier. We use the term “character” almost on a daily basis, but how many of us actually know what a good character involves? People love loyal, courageous and moral people, and if you have decided to take your character and personality into your own hands, then here are some of the most important things you need to pay attention to:

1. Always Be Calm

There is no point in getting all heated up and overreacting – calmness can take you a very long way, as this state of serenity and quietude allows you to meditate and concentrate and, ultimately, to make the decision that benefits you the most. Calmness is undoubtedly one of the most notable traits of people with strong characters – if you manage to express yourself, your thoughts and your emotions in a calm and warm manner, that will certainly appeal to all those around you!

2. Avoid Drama At All Costs

Nobody likes drama queens – we all have our fair share of problems that we need to deal with, but drama and fatalism have never solved any issue so far. We are all responsible for the lives we live, and instead of trying to blame everybody else but yourself for your failure, you should take responsibility for your actions and do your best to change your destiny. Happiness is a state of mind that one often builds – you do not find happiness, you create it from scratch. Also, remember the law of attraction: what you think, you attract!

3. Steer Clear From Irrational Impulses

Irrational impulses are, sometimes, part of human nature – some people feel things more intensely than others, and this may lead to irrational actions sometimes. If you do not guard against these impulses, they can take their toll on your relationships and they can easily bypass your intellect as well. Sometimes, we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by fear or sadness, when ultimately it is entirely up to us to decide whether we are the slaves of our deepest fears or if we practice self-control.

4. Be A Truth Seeker

 

Everybody loves truth seekers – they would rather choose a tough and hurtful truth over a comforting lie, and that is certainly one of the most important markers of a strong character. Strong and rational people always doubt things and they examine all the facts – that is why they are rational, in the end. Strong people get rid of all their biases and prejudices and they are always in the pursuit of happiness, on all levels.

5. Be Courageous And Never Look Back

Fear is a perfectly normal and natural state – we are genetically programmed to feel fear during stressful situations, and every single person on Earth has felt it at least once. However, while some people wear their heart on their sleeve, others manage to masterfully disguise their fear and to let courage prevail – and this is precisely what you should do as well, if you have decided to make the best of your character. Face your obstacles and overcome them – do not run away, do not panic and always trust yourself.

6. Be Empathic

Being empathic is one of the most important and valued character traits – as a matter of fact, empathy is what makes us human. One of the most common misconceptions many people have these days is that showing empathy and warmth makes them look weak, when the truth is that only truly strong people, those who shine from within are able to be good and kind with others. Love those that surround you and always empathize with them, without expecting anything in return. Never judge people before walking a mile in their own shoes, for everybody is fighting a very hard battle that you know nothing about!

7. Be Confident

 

Self-confidence is very attractive and empowering – when you are confident in your own potential, you inspire other people to be the same, and everybody will love you for that. Confidence is a natural thing, and we are not born confident – instead, we learn how to build our confidence and how to respect and love ourselves. Throughout our lives, we go through numerous events that shatter our self-esteem, or that at least make it plummet. However, it is up to us to sail smoothly through all of these obstacles and never to accept failure or defeat as an option. Success is built upon itself, and that certainly requires a lot of time and effort – besides this, it is essential to acknowledge all your small accomplishments, instead of focusing only on your biggest failures. That is by far the best way to build confidence and, ultimately, to become a stronger person with a character everybody will love!

8. Always Maintain Your Reputation And Your Image

Your reputation is one of your most valuable assets, as it takes years to build a good reputation within your circle of friends, and only a few seconds to have it shattered. People always love and respect those with a good reputation and a flawless personal integrity, and you must do your best to keep your reputation impeccable, as long as this does not require you to sacrifice other qualities, such as honesty. Always be true to who you are, and remember that there are some people who might look up to you for inspiration.

9. Be Courteous And Polite With Everybody

Being courteous will never become old-fashioned, for people will always appreciate good manners. However, when it comes to courtesy, it must be said that everybody can be courteous and nice with their friends and with people they generally like – the true challenge arises from being courteous with those you dislike! If you manage to do so and still keep it real at the end of the day, then you have managed to strengthen your character to a greater extent than you might have bargained for, and your friends and relatives will undoubtedly appreciate that.

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