personal development Archives - Page 2 of 2

Begin With Discipline, End With Success

In order for your thoughts and ideas to come to life, you must have discipline. Discipline is developing a steady behavior by practice. Without discipline, you won’t get very far in your efforts.

There are a few ways you can enhance your discipline skills. Depending on your goals, discipline can be very easy or very difficult.

Eating ice cream everyday is a discipline. It’s not a good discipline, but it is a behavior that was practiced and maintained. Actually, it takes more discipline to stop eating ice cream everyday.

Exercising everyday is also a discipline, but in this case, a hard one to practice and continue. You need more concentration to enforce this habit, because it’s not as easy or fun.

No matter what the habit is, discipline is needed to constantly reinforce it. We think of discipline as something hard to do, but in the long run, it’s a great quality to develop.

Create a schedule. You can’t go wrong with this. Everyday, at a certain time, do your task. Improve yourself everyday at that specific time. Read a book, every night at 8pm, instead of watching that reality TV show. Work on your master plan every morning at 5am, instead of sleeping in. If it promotes your self-improvement, make time for it.
Use positive reaction. Let’s say you’re trying to drink 8 glasses of water a day, but it’s just so hard to do. In this case, find something around you that will trigger you to drink. Every time your phone rings, drink. Every time someone says your name, drink. Every time you smile at someone, drink. This will encourage small wins throughout your day, towards a bigger purpose.
Remove distractions. Developing strong discipline requires you to put yourself in a better environment. Wherever you find distractions that pull you away from your goal, remove it. Don’t walk down the ice cream aisle in the grocery store, if that’s what you’re trying to avoid. If you’re trying to stop sleeping in, set your alarm clock to the most annoying sound to wake yourself up.
Eliminate excuses. Making excuses is the main reason why discipline doesn’t work. You are in control of what you do and how you do it. Where there are excuses, there is no discipline. There is no reason why you are unable to win, when it comes to building a positive routine that leads to success. You are responsible for driving your life. When you stop making excuses, discipline can take you to the next level.

These are only a few ways to develop your discipline muscle, but you can come up with more custom ways that work for you.

Once you master one habit through discipline, start another one. Not only does it reinforce your productivity, it will definitely lead to many accomplishments.

It takes effort to be disciplined. Grow towards your potential today by starting small and sticking with it!

#BeGoalden

The Art of Rising

We all have potential -it’s there. There’s always an option, if we choose to use it. When we are faced with that opportunity, what do we do? Walk away, ignore it or embrace it?

Throughout life, we experience different situations and circumstances. Some situations and circumstances may be similar, but for the most part, no two are alike. Either you do the right thing or make the best choice.

Your decision should always involve moving forward (and doing the right thing). Sometimes, you get stuck – it seems too hard to do it the right way or it may cause you to have to start over.

Be a helium balloon. Practice the art of rising. It’s a great habit to develop and will keep you on the path of daily improvement.

Rise to the occasion. If you have an opportunity to do something different, make the attempt to do it. Backing away only enhances your ability to be more stubborn and stagnant. When you’re stubborn and stagnant, nothing happens. You’re here to live life and to experience the best of it, not to watch it pass by and regret it later. After you try it, if the opportunity is not for you, at least you know from experience.
It’s your fault if you stay down. Life happens. None of us likes to be knocked down, especially when we’re in a good place. Things can happen out of your control, but it’s not a sign to give up. When life knocks you down, your job is to get back up – not to get comfortable and stay there. If you don’t do anything to improve your situation, it’s your fault. Use your resources to get to where you want to be.
Rise everyday. Allow growth in your life. Aspire to something greater than you are now. Make it a daily practice to do better than yesterday. Be a better person and improve upon yourself on a regular basis.

The art of rising contributes to your personal progress. It forces you to be responsible for your own life. Too many times, we leave it up to others to guide and control how we live. Why let someone else write the book on your life?

Step up your game and play your part. Stop allowing others to determine your fate, just because it happened that way to someone else. You’re not someone else, you are a person who continuously bounces back, like a helium balloon!

Rise. Create and follow the path for your life. The fault isn’t in falling down – the fault is in staying down and not rising.

#BeGoalden

Run YOUR Race

Life can be hard. But if it was easy, we wouldn’t appreciate it the way we do.

I get it. No matter how much planning you do, it doesn’t seem to go the way you planned it. You set the goal for it to happen in 2 years and it’s been 4 years and you don’t see it. You wrote it down, you did the vision board, and you said the affirmations everyday.

By all means, don’t stop what you’re doing. If you stop, you’ll never see your success. Here’s how to run YOUR race.

Don’t get distracted. Sometimes, we can focus too much on what others have achieved. There’s no rule book saying that we all are supposed to be millionaires by 35. Let go of the little distractions that pull you aside from your goal. Start with silencing notifications on your cell phone. Or, you could turn off the TV for a day, do your work and see what happens. Or, stop letting someone else’s ‘success’ get you down.
Stop comparing your life to theirs. It’s difficult to know that you followed all the rules of life and you still feel like you’re behind. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. You should be further along. That’s life. Things happen everyday, but somehow, we figure out how to move on and keep pushing. Just because you don’t see somebody else’s struggles doesn’t mean they don’t have any. It’s impossible to focus on what you’re doing, if you’re paying attention to someone else.
Focus on YOU. Put the horse blinders on. Figure out YOUR way. Help yourself first, then you can help others. It’s not being selfish. They even tell you on the airplane to put YOUR mask on first, then help the person next to you.
Don’t give up on YOU. How many times have we been disappointed by other people? How many times have you given your best to someone and they step on it? No one is going to care about you, but YOU. Don’t depend on other people for your satisfaction in life. Only you can make things happen.
Take a break. Do not mistake a break for stopping. Things can get heavy sometimes and you need to take a breather. That’s totally fine, but don’t allow taking a breather to turn into quitting. It’s not the same thing. Give yourself a chance to reset. It could bring about new ideas and thoughts to help push you forward.
Celebrate the small wins. The little things that happen everyday, give yourself credit for them. It’s the small wins that pave the way for the big wins. It’s a sign that you’re on the right track. Small wins matter! Even though you may not see your goals coming to be at the moment, it’s your responsibility to continue on and make it happen. If you stop, you’ll never get what you dream of – and no one else is going to give it you.

Keep your mind in a successful space. Keep doing the vision boards, writing down your goals and reading your affirmations. That’s what keeps you going. That’s what helps hold you up when others try to bring you down and say you can’t do it.

Have you ever heard someone say that the road to success was a piece of cake? No. Everyone has a story to tell. You just haven’t finished living your story yet, but when you do, what a story it will be and a great opportunity to help others.

YOU will be successful at your goals in life. When you get there, be that voice that helps others. Pay it forward, because you used to be that person.

Smile and know you are on the right track. There are lots of people who give up – don’t be one of them. Prove to yourself that you have what it takes to become the success YOU want to be!

How To Hack Your Life For Awesome Results!

Sorry. There is no hack. No matter what they tell you, there is no magic pill or mathematical equation that will enhance your life.

You want to make your life better? Find your own hack. The same ‘hack’ doesn’t work for everybody.

What does work is being consistent. Moving forward. Not allowing your emotions to get in the way.

In order to hack your way to a better anything, there has to be constant progress. Being ‘all in’ one day and lazy the next couple of days does not promote movement. Even if you have to break it up into small chunks everyday, that’s more consistent than making three huge splashes every month. Big progress or little progress, you are responsible for making it move.

The biggest reason it doesn’t seem to be happening is because of excuses. When you want to have that awesome life, you have to put yourself on the next level. If you’re on a ‘good’ level, then to get to the ‘awesome’ level, you have to push harder – remaining on the same level won’t get you to where you want to be.

Going to the next level may be changing your surroundings or joining a new networking group. Or, you could put in more effort and expose your work to more people. Advancing to the next level doesn’t happen all at once, but do something different once a week or once a month that you haven’t done before.

When you level up, it encourages movement, and movement encourages growth.

People often get caught up in their emotions when it comes to working through challenges and obstacles. They are there for a reason. It’s not for you to stop, it’s for you to grow. Blaming and complaining doesn’t solve or help anything.

Be like a computer. When you search for something in the computer, the computer doesn’t say, “Sorry, not today. I’m too tired to search. Ask me again tomorrow. Girl, stop.” No, the computer gives you results. No talking back or smart comments involved. It’s purpose is to help you find the solution to whatever you’re looking for.

That’s how you face those tough challenges. Try it the next time something doesn’t go your way. Put your emotions and reactions aside and focus on finding a solution.

These may sound like several small hacks, but even these suggestions may not work for everyone. There is no ‘one hack fits all’. Find your own personal hack and make it work for you.

Protect Your Conversation

When you have an ‘a-ha’ moment, you want to tell everyone. You’re thrilled and want to share how great your idea is and how you’ll go about your plan. As exciting as it is, everyone won’t share your enthusiasm.

Have you ever been around people who are Negative Nancy’s? No matter what you say, they will surely find a way to make pessimistic remarks. They’re always making snarky comments to bring you down.

If you know someone like this, why would you want to spend your time explaining your idea if you know they’re just going to shoot it down? They intentionally wait for happiness to shine, just so they can bring the rain. Talking to this person can damage your outgoing spirit, so don’t give them too much of your time. I wouldn’t share my hopes and dreams with someone like this.

Having those bright ideas should be an important moment for you. Share it with those who are encouraging and supportive. When you come across those obstacles, you’ll need someone in your corner to help push you forward – not someone that says, “I told you so.”

Be careful who you discuss your goals and dreams with. Talking to the wrong person will certainly kill your dream on the spot. That’s no good for you. You deserve a chance to see it through without any discouragement. You want to be around those who will help you expand and grow, not those who want you to remain stagnant.

Take control of your environment. Be around people that have the same drive as you. Limit your time with the Negative Nancy’s and Debbie Downers. Once you do this, your environment will create itself into a positive circle of optimism. You will be surrounded by forward moving people who encourage you and support your focus.

A plant can not thrive in polluted soil. It eventually becomes weak and stops growing. The weeds will take over and the plant will become part of it’s surroundings.

Change your environment. Be around people who will give you sunshine and rain to grow. Don’t let a bad element overtake you. Plant yourself among the growing element. Be mindful of who you share your bright ideas with. It could be the difference between you reaching your goal or your goal becoming a distant thought.