Tag: independent

Be Responsible – Getting Your Ducks In A Row

Be Responsible - Getting Your Ducks In A Row

Going through different situations can be hard when you’re not responsible. Being proactive with your life should be a priority. When you have your ducks in a row, it makes life a little bit easier to deal with.

Life can throw a curve ball at any moment and you want to be ready when it does. We can’t anticipate everything that will go wrong, but we can do enough to keep it from working against us.

Being Responsible Is Not That Difficult

Everyone isn’t raised to be responsible. Some of us were raised (into adulthood) to be dependent upon others for whatever we need. Buying the latest tech gadgets and clothes with your money, but asking other people to ‘help’ pay your living expenses, is as irresponsible as you can get.

Look around you – you can see the effects of being irresponsible. Not paying your parking tickets? Your car will be towed. Haven’t payed your rent in 3 months? You will be evicted. Didn’t pay your phone bill? It will get cut off.

It’s not a surprise – you know what will happen when you don’t follow through with certain things. These are consequences that you are fully aware of.

If you take care of your business and pay these (and other things) on time, you won’t have to deal with the drama of late fees, other bad outcomes and harsh results.

Money Has A Lot To Do With It

If you noticed, the scenarios I just mentioned all have to do with money. Not all, but most circumstances have to do with money and can be proactively avoided.

Yes, situations happen out of no where. Your water heater stops working or you have a flat tire. It’s a pain, but these things can be efficiently handled if you have your ducks in a row.

Everyone can spend their money the way they want to, but when you have to constantly borrow ‘a little something’ until you get paid, there’s an issue that needs to be addressed.

What does a financially responsible individual look like? At the very least, have a checking and a savings account. Your checking account is for everyday expenses and bills. Your savings account is for saving your money for when that water heater stops working or you have that flat tire.

Depend On Yourself

We were put on this Earth to help each other, but not to be taken advantage of. Being independent says a lot about your integrity and who you are as a person.

Depending on other people only invites more drama into your life (and theirs). You have to ask them for something, then you have to see if they’ll help you. If they do, then you have to wait for them to help because they don’t get paid until Friday…it can be a mess and a huge hassle to go through. It’s uncomfortable for everybody.

That’s why it’s good to be independent. When you have your ducks in a row, you can do things on your terms and when you feel like it. You never have to wait on anyone for help – you can do things at your own convenience. Being independent works to your advantage.

The World Keeps Turning

When unfortunate things happen in our lives, the world keeps turning. Nothing and no one stops for you, just because you’re in a bind, whether you created it, or not.

Most of the things that happen, we can prevent. Pay your bills on time. Maintain a good credit score to avoid high interest rates. Exercise and eat healthy. Stop being surprised when something bad happens, due to your lack of attention and effort.

Get your ducks in a row, no matter how young or old you are. Your life is your responsibility, no matter what circumstances you were born into. You have the ability to become anything you want to be – it’s in your control. You can simply start by being responsible and independent.

#BeGoalden

You Know What To Do, So What’s The Hold Up?

You Know What To Do, So What's The Hold Up?

Why do we have to trick ourselves into building habits and reaching our goals? There’s a hack for almost everything, but deep down inside, you know you can do it without all of the bells and whistles.

Our ancestors didn’t need hacks to do anything. It was a matter of life or death and they just did it. Have we become so lazy that we need incentives and tricks to force us to do everything?

Making The Right Decision

You know what you need to do. Making it pretty and convincing shouldn’t keep you from achieving the end result. Stop looking for ways to make it easier and just do it.

If you know you need to lose weight, lose it. There’s really no need to join a weight program. Some people do it for the social aspect of it, but essentially, you can lose weigh on your own.

We’ve become soft. We want someone to hold our hands and tell us that everything will work out and be okay. We want someone to tell us how proud they are of us for showing up 3 days in a row.

Ultimately, you make the decision to lose the weight. It’s nice to have a partner who is holding you accountable, but it’s not necessary. In most cases, it only makes you more dependable on them and not yourself.

It Doesn’t Need To Be Pretty And Right

So what if you did it wrong? As long as you’re still breathing, you have another chance to do better.

Taking action beats perfection. Perfection is a form of procrastination and it will keep you in the same place for long periods of time.

It’s like when you are writing and you’re afraid to hit publish. Why? Because you’re scared of what others will think and say. It doesn’t ‘feel’ right.

You don’t need to go through a 12 step program in order to hit the publish button. Yes, it’s scary, but what’s the worst thing that could happen? You never know who will gain value from reading what you wrote. Even if you gain a couple of trolls, that just means you’re doing it right because they’re paying attention.

You Already Know What To Do

Whatever it is you need to do, you already know the steps to accomplish it. The challenge is in your mind and starting.

Continuing with the weight example, you know the consequences of not eating healthy. For some reason though, you feel you need a pretty little app to get started and a weekly group to report to.

Have faith in yourself – you already know what to do! Stop overthinking and depending on other little gadgets and groups to pull you through. Don’t make it hard on yourself. There’s no need to pay $50 a month for someone to tell you something that you already know how to do.

It’s All On You

In the end, it’s all on you and the actions you decide to take. In your heart of hearts, you know what needs to be done, but your mind has to make the connection to the activity, in order to achieve the result.

We encounter many distractions and it’s difficult to find our own thoughts and think for ourselves. It’s easy to go along with someone else’s idea, but what about your idea? What do you think?

It’s nice to have an accountability partner and join groups that help us get to the next level. Having that support can make things easier to handle and accomplish, but it holds you back when you begin to depend on it to reach your goals.

It’s Like Riding A Bike

When you learn to ride a bike, there’s someone there to guide you and hold your seat so you won’t fall. Once you gain your confidence, they let go and you can ride on your own. Even if you fall every now and then, you know how to get back on and ride again. There’s no need for them to hold your seat again, because you know what to do.

Later in life, when you’re older, do you look for that person to hold your seat? No, because you know how to do it on your own. You can have bike buddies who ride along with you, but you are also capable of riding by yourself.

It’s the same with life. There are times when we need guidance and for someone to show us how it’s done, but when you learn it, you can go on by yourself without needing and depending on them all the time.

You don’t need other people like you think you do. Bet on yourself. You can do this. You’ll be surprised at the great amount of progress you can make independently.

Today, choose one thing that you will do by yourself, without relying on someone else. You know what to do – do it and make progress with your life.

#BeGoalden

3 Ways Being Alone Can Increase Your Productivity

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

“I can’t hear myself think!” Those are the words of my mother, whenever it was too loud or she needed to get away from a crowd of people. I never understood what she meant, until I became older.

Some of us have a fear of being alone. We’ve been raised to have a social life and to not be anti-social. We have friends at school, friends at work and our family around us at our every waking moment.

There’s a time to be social and a time to be alone. It can be kind of hard to sift through your thoughts and make decisions when there’s a lot going on around you, so isolating yourself helps.

It’s good to have people around you, but don’t be afraid to be alone at times. Your best productivity can come from being alone.

  1. Being alone encourages us to think our own thoughts. When you’re around other people, you hear many ideas and opinions that may be different from your own. When you’re alone, you have the mental space to discover how you feel about certain things. You have a chance to come up with your own beliefs and standards. There’s no one to bombard you with their thoughts.
  2. Being alone helps you to work independently. It’s easy to hide within a group. Receiving praise or criticism is a lot better when it’s spread around to many people. When you work by yourself, you learn to take full responsibility for what you do. Also, you have complete control over what you’re trying to accomplish. Your creativity has no bounds when you’re working independently.
  3. Being alone allows you to spend time with the most important person – you. Listen to your own thoughts and ideas. Get to know you. Every morning, before you walk out into the world, learn to have peace with yourself. You are in charge of building and becoming the person you want to be. When you know who you are, you’re more comfortable with what goes on outside of yourself.

Sitting with yourself gives you the opportunity to remove yourself from the dramatics of life and to get clear on what you want. It allows you to think through your goals and create effective plans. Others may tell you that being by yourself is weird, but it promotes a sense of wellness and productive independence. You are using your power to create a calmness that only you can give yourself.

There are times where we need to be with ourselves, to recognize what we truly want. We let other people take control of situations without thinking, simply because it’s ‘easier’ at the moment. Sometimes, the talking and all of the commotion can drown out what you really think. By being alone, you give your thoughts and ideas a chance to breathe and come alive. Clarity often comes through isolation.

Anyone can hide in a crowd, but it takes a strong person to stand alone. Take some time to be alone and to ‘hear yourself think’. Experience the wonderful ideas that’s been lurking around in your mind and follow through with action!

#BeGoalden