improvement Archives - The Goalden Lady

Your Achievement Is The Reward

Growing up, we did things because there was a reward involved. It motivated us to complete a task, while teaching responsibility. “If you make your bed every morning, I’ll give you a puppy!” Do you need a “puppy” to bribe you into creating good habits that are beneficial to your life?

Although prizes are exciting and fun to work towards, the actual reward is the fulfillment of the goal. Making your bed every morning gives you the satisfaction of coming home to a welcoming and comfortable place to sleep (some people don’t have that).

Having something to motivate you to take action is great, but what happens when there is nothing to push you?

See Beyond The “Prize”

Just about everything has some sort of reward attached to it – the Super Bowl trophy, a scholarship or even BOGO (buy one, get one free) purchases.

Whether it’s sports, academics or marketing, there is something there to incite action in order to make you move. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this, but the challenge comes when you’re looking for a reason to do everything.

Why work for something if there is no reward? There are some people who think they must receive something in return for everything they do. This soft way of thinking is what keeps them stuck and unable to improve.

In some instances, it works to get everyone on the same page and going in the same direction (mostly when teaching kids). When you offer a prize, it promotes competition and stimulates thought. As you mature, you should see the value and gratification within the process and that should be enough.

You don’t need a cookie when you ace the spelling test or a weight loss trophy when you lose twenty pounds. The satisfaction of achieving the goal is the reward. It says that you are on the right track and you’re getting better at it.

What happens after you eat the cookie or break the trophy? Nothing. Your accomplishment is still valid. A “prize” does not make your hard work and results any less credible.

You Are The Reward

Rewards are nice, but not necessary. Living as if the world owes you something is certainly a path to disappointment. It’s much more satisfying to truly know your own abilities, instead of having to prove it to someone else for a “treat”. Do it because it’s right or because it stretches your limits – do it for you.

When you are successful, there is no physical trinket that can erase what you’ve done. You’ll always be the best at what you can do, whether there is something to show for it, or not. Personal satisfaction is the ultimate achievement. Don’t depend on rewards to get you through life – they won’t always come.

Adjust your mindset to taking on tasks and goals, just to achieve them. The fact of knowing that you can do something extraordinarily well is the greatest reward you can give yourself. You don’t have to look for anyone to give you some sort of praise – it’s already inside of you.

Mastering The Art of The Start

Getting ready to start can be a hindering activity. There are so many plans and research that goes into making it perfect, sometimes, the idea may not actually come into existence.

They say the start is always the hardest part. It can be, but if you look at starting from a different perspective, it can be productive, just as it should be.

Thinking Ahead Of Time

We often think too far ahead when we come up with our bright ideas. It’s great to think forward, but you must think forward productively.

It doesn’t help when you overthink. “What if this doesn’t work out – who’s going to help me – how long will it take me to do this?” All of these thoughts are self-defeating. They only promote procrastination and fear.

What happens when procrastination and fear become involved? Absolutely nothing. Every little fear you have contributes to the delay of your idea. It’s a comfortable place to be, but you must avoid hesitating, as this becomes a bad habit that becomes difficult to break.

Doing the opposite will save you more time and mental energy. Upon thinking of your idea, develop the habit of taking some sort of action towards it. Of course, you won’t complete the entire project in one hour, but do something to get you going in the right direction. Taking immediate action allows you to build your ambition muscle.

Excuses, Excuses

Most of the time, it’s best to keep your ideas to yourself. Unless you’re surrounded with a supportive environment, it’s best to move in silence.

As soon as you share your thoughts about your goals, most people will automatically shoot it down. They’ll say negative things like, “You can’t do that – that won’t work – who do you think you are?”

This is why you must be careful of who you have in your inner circle. People will say negative things and give you excuses all day long, just to make themselves feel better. It’s as if they’re saying, “I can’t do it, so you can’t either.”

Don’t allow yourself to become trapped in that box. It’s an easy practice to pick up – before you know it, you’re saying it to yourself and others.

As corny as repeating affirmations may sound, it’s a valuable habit. Others around you are calling you names and constantly telling you what you can’t do, but affirmations provide the foundation of accomplishing what you can do.

Words can be powerful. Start replacing those easy excuses with positive affirmations – see how your thoughts and actions increase towards success.

You Are In Control

When you make a decision to start, you’re in control. You’ve made the decision to begin a new project and you will see it through. What happens during the process can sometimes be out of your control.

This is where overthinking and excuses comes in and destroys your efforts. You may not control how it goes after you start, how far it will take you or who sees it, but you won’t regret making the attempt. Planning helps, but be able to adapt and adjust. Get in the habit of starting without expecting perfection.

Yes, we should have high standards and work towards being successful, but also realize that it’s more about building yourself in the process – the results will come. Too many people get caught up in their emotions because it didn’t turn out the way they wanted, so they give up.

The fact is, you started and did your best. If it doesn’t turn out in your favor, do it again – now, you have constructive feedback and an improved strategy to go on. As long as you start, your skills will continue to develop and get better. No one gets it right the very first time, so get over it and keep going.

Start Starting

Have you ever looked back in your life and wished you would have started something? That’s what you don’t want to happen. Regret is one of the biggest disappointments you can live with. It can be avoided, but you must start and continue to start.

Understand that the journey is what builds you. Everything from your level of discipline, focus, persistence, determination, resilience, consistency, work ethic – it all comes from constantly starting. Your idea can only advance through improvement.

The achievement will come, but first, you must master the art of the start.

#TBT: How To Turn Procrastination Into Progress

Procrastination occurs in many ways. Some people put things off at the suggestion of others, while some are stuck being comfortable.

With the internet, most things have become easier to access. Today, you don’t need to wait for anything to happen. Delaying any type of progress is a choice that you consciously make.

With that being said, how can you stop being hesitant? Is it possible to pull yourself out of that negative vortex? When is the best time to go from procrastination to progress?

The Procrastination Trap

Change can be as difficult as you make it. Sometimes, we tend to make things harder than they really are, especially if it’s outside of our confort zone.

Instant gratification is a procrastination trap. You’re so used to having things happen instantly, you begin to think that everything should happen right now.

When you come across something that takes a little more time to come together, you become anxious. Then, you decide to leave it alone, because it’s not happening fast enough.

This leads to you procrastinating on many things, simply because it doesn’t happen right away. Realize that it takes time for some things to fall into place – all you have is time. Prepare yourself with patience and realize that everything doesn’t come about within a moment’s notice.

The Progressive Mindset

In order to make progress, it starts in your mind. Your mind is your first line of defense when it comes to obtaining information and processing it.

Your environment may be bad, your friends may be critical and your luck may not be going good, but you still have a choice. Don’t let the limitations around you affect your way of thinking.

When you think, think of positive things. Think about improving yourself, achieving that goal, having a good day, helping someone in need, or receiving good news. It may not turn out the way you think, but you learn to accept things the way they are and adjust, so you can make changes.

Progress happens when you’re able to shift your thinking and adapt to any outcome that may happen. Procrastination will hold you back from even making that first attempt, but a positive mindset will allow you to follow through and create a solution.

Procrastination Begins With Small Steps

Once you find a solution, you can begin to step into your life. As long as you don’t let procrastination stop you, you will eventually develop a productive habit.

When you get into the practice of actually starting, it’s not as hard as it seems. Begin with something small and easy to accomplish. This will have a snowball effect – the more you do it successfully, the better you can accommodate bigger tasks with confidence.

Taking small steps isn’t frightening. It’s small enough to begin, but big enough to get you going in the right direction, away from procrastination.

Outside factors can have an influence on how you move. Don’t let your environment intimidate you and don’t let small-minded people convince you to stay complacent. Starting small is better than not starting at all.

Beating Procrastination

Overcoming the habit of procrastination won’t be easy. It’s not something you can expect to happen within 24 hours. The best time to start is always NOW.

Like anything else, making progress will take time and effort to establish and maintain. There are many distractions working against you already, but as long as you don’t expect things to happen instantly, have the right mindset and take small steps, it’ll all come together.

Procrastination comes in many different forms, but you can handle it. With the right outlook, you can defeat the battle of putting things off and become more productive and dynamic with your goals.

#BeGoalden

Time Is Never An Excuse For Reaching Success

The Most Convenient Excuse

What is the most common excuse people use the most?

“I don’t have enough time.”

It’s not true, I don’t care who you are. We all work under a daily 24 hour time frame. How do you think other people become successful? They manipulated their 24 hour schedule.

To achieve your goals, you will have to make some sacrifices. If you’re unable to do everything within your day, you need to make some adjustments. Time is not the issue, following through strategically with your plan is.

It can be a challenge at first, but it is definitely possible. You will have to learn to make time, for time.

First, you must stop making the excuse that you don’t have enough time. If you truly want it, you’ll find the time to work on your plan.

Put in time on your lunch break, after work, after dinner, early in the morning, or on the weekends. Skip the party, and Happy Hours (among other things).

“But I hang out with my friends on the weekends. I have to wake up to go to work at six in the morning.”

Take a weekend off from hanging out with your friends, or get up at four in the morning to work on your goals, then go to work.

It’s simple, but many people make it hard. Living a lazy life will bring you lazy results. Sacrifices will have to be made. You will have to skip Happy Hour from time to time.

The only way you’ll get the results you wish for is by putting in the time and consistent effort.

Actually, you could do all of these things and still make time to work on your plan. You may have to stay up late during the work week or get up early in the morning on the weekends, but there’s time to do it. The question is, will you make the sacrifice?

Utilize Every Minute

Once you begin to find the time to work on yourself, you’ll begin to see how critical each minute is.

Your goals should drive you to work diligently through to completion. If it doesn’t make you want to get up earlier or work later into the night to accomplish them, apparently, you don’t want it bad enough.

When you work on your dream, you’ll want to stay up later. You’ll want to be more productive on the weekends. You’ll want to turn down your friends for Sunday brunch. You’ll find it hard to focus on anything else. Your mind will become inundated with thoughts of success.

You’re on the right track. Your mind has become consumed with ideas and you become more aware of the time you have in your day.

Twenty-four hours won’t seem like enough time, but you will make it work. Every ounce of time you find within your day, you exhaust it. You are going to make it happen with the time you have been given.

Your environment will likely change to people who are more respectful of time. Everyone in your circle will be doing outside projects or side hustles. When you’re surrounded by people who are enthusiastic about their work, it rubs off on you.

Being in a productive environment helps you to stay on track and it allows you to become more creative.

Working towards your goals may seem hard, but after you start, the process becomes nearly effortless. You’ll lose those self-limiting beliefs as you grow. When you overcome challenges, you’ll learn from the past and know what to do the next time. Learning from the obstacles of the past allows you to make solid decisions and to move with more confidence in the future.

Excerpt from “Help! I’m Stuck: How To Increase Your Energy, Master Your Money And Control Your Time.”

Be Better Each Day

Being successful doesn’t happen all at once – you have to practice getting better. Accomplishing your goal takes time and energy. The process seems long, but if you do a little bit everyday, you’ll gain more ground and improve more than you originally thought.

Be careful about what you put into your mind and body and know how to handle your money. “What do you mean Goalden Lady?” Let’s break it down below:

Be Better, Mentally

Your mind is constantly at work . It’s always busy thinking, putting sentences together, recalling memories, following directions – it’s a nonstop, active roller coaster.

It’s easy to let garbage enter your mind. Once it’s there, it takes over your thought patterns and logical reasoning. Things like gossip websites and TV shows – you want to be aware of the type of content you process, especially when going out into the world.

Some things you encounter when you’re out and about, is (a lot of times) negative. If you think you can’t do anything about it, think again.

Read motivational and inspirational blogs and articles. Listen to podcasts that force you to think constructively. Network with people who share the same productive interests as you.

When you grow your mind, you grow your life.

Be Better, With Your Health

Being healthy is important, but we treat it like we can order a new body on Amazon if we damage the one we have. At the moment, it’s impossible, so let’s be good to the one you have, now.

Eat a healthy diet. It’s the same concept with your mind – if you put garbage into your body, you will get garbage out through low energy levels, stress and disease.

When you eat better, you’ll feel better. Who wouldn’t want that? We base our diets on what tastes good, as opposed to what is good for our bodies. Some diseases can be prevented, just by adjusting what you eat.

The point of food is to give you energy, not to taste good. Consult a nutritionist to see what diet works best for you. You’re worth the investment.

Be Better, With Your Wealth

People say money is not important, but in some cases, it is. The world operates on money – if you don’t use it wisely, you’ll always be a step (or five) behind.

No matter how much you make, always save something. It doesn’t have to be $500 – it could be anything. We tend to think that we need to have a huge amount all at once, before we save it and that’s not the case.

You can save $1 a day and you would still have more in 30 days than you had before. Start somewhere, but more importantly, be consistent with it. When life’s emergencies happen (and they will), you’ll be prepared to handle them better, than if you had nothing.

How To Be Better, Everyday

Understand that no one falls on top of the mountain. Some people are born with a greater advantage than others, but that doesn’t matter. You can still make the choice to do better.

Start and do a little everyday. Watch a documentary about your hobby, drink a glass of water, save $5 whenever you can – just start and remain persistent.

When you do a little each day, you create a valuable habit that will help you in the future. After 6 months, you’ll be smarter, healthier and wealthier than you were before!

This is how you become better – brick by brick. A house won’t appear out of thin air, you must build it daily and every brick counts.

When you look back on it, you’ll be glad you started when you did. Create your own path, be resourceful and follow through. Be confident and know that you will make it happen.

#BeGoalden

Organize Your Overwhelm

There are a million things that need to get done. It can flood our minds to the point where we become stagnant and we won’t get anything done. You silently hope that something will give, so there will be one less thing to think about.

Being overwhelmed is mental weight. If not managed correctly, it will zap your mental energy throughout your entire day because you can’t stop thinking about all the things that need to be done. You know you can do it, but it’s so much, it feels like you’re stuck and you don’t know where to start.

Overwhelm is a major cause of self-care denial. We’re so busy doing things for others that we forget about caring for ourselves.

Becoming overwhelmed is a responsibility you have to accept. No one makes you do anything – you make the choice to take on different tasks from different directions. You take on so much that you wear yourself down and that’s not healthy, mentally or physically.

Overwhelm doesn’t have to consume your life. There are a few ways you can break free from your mental prison.

Brain dump. Every evening before bed, do a brain dump. A brain dump is when you write down everything that needs to be done the next day. It declutters your mind from those thoughts that keep popping up in your head. Not only does it relieve mental stress, but you are able to have a more restful sleep. Your mind won’t be overloaded with the things you have to remember to do the next day. Try it out – it works.
Delegate. We all know that you do it the best and no one else can do it better than you. It may be true, but get over it. Some things can be outsourced or delegated. For your mental sake, ask someone else to do it – we know it won’t be to your standards, but for you to make any kind of improvement, you need to let some things go and allow others to do it. It might not be perfect, but the world is still turning.
Write it down. Take a few minutes and write out what you’re going to do and when you’ll do it. Give it a special time. It doesn’t take long to make a list. The hardest thing will be completing them. Also, when you write it down, you remove some of the burden from your mind – when you complete it, it will be totally out of your mind. Create more space in your mind for other tasks and thinking by writing down what needs to be done and following through.

There’s no magic trick to getting everything done all at once, but you can manage the mental load.

When you get to a place where you feel everything is flowing and under control, it’ll open up some extra time. What can you do with that extra time? Something for yourself.

#BeGoalden