Focus On Goals

Having plans to obtain goals are important and will help you stay organized. Having a plan that will help you stay focused will keep you on course. So what you end up with is two plans for the same goal. For example; if your goal is to lose 25 pounds, your plan could be to go to the gym three times a week. And your plan to stay focused could include putting up a sign on your bed room door that states "Do your morning sit-ups", or asking a friend to exercise with you three times a week. Staying focused may even mean not going to places you use to visit or abstaining from hanging out with old friends. Such as not hanging out at a bar if your goal is to stop drinking, or not hanging out with single friends of the opposite sex if your goal is to stop cheating on your spouse.

This might sound stupid but there are some people who believe that they can still hang out with the same old crowd and survive the pressure. It might not be impossible to do, but it only puts you at high risk for failure! A large number of these people end up back doing their old habits. If your friends really care about you they will be understanding as to why you don't hang out with them any more. Also remember that your recovery might be enough motivation to help inspire one of your old friends to have a change of heart and move in the same direction you did.

5 helpful tips on staying focused on a goal:

1. Talk to yourself. Tell yourself what your going to do. Look in a mirror and tell yourself every day "I am not going to drink alcohol today", or "I am not ever going to cheat on my beautiful spouse again", or "I will not eat junk food today", or what ever it is that your struggling with. It would even be wise to memorize a personalized one paragraph motivational speech that you tell yourself everyday. Words have power!!! Use them to your advantage.


2. Tell others about your goal. Telling your close friends and family members about your goal could give you more reason to not give up! It doesn't matter if they support you. The fact that everybody knows could work as an additional reason and constant reminder of why you can't quit pursuing your goal.


3. Ask for help. Don't let pride stand in your way! Getting help from friends, or family, or church members, or professionals could be the one thing you need to stay focused. Also others may have more insight on how you might be able to better reach your goal. Just having someone else to consult with can be helpful in relieving stress, increasing motivation, and maintaining your focus.


4. Make a time table.A goal should be measurable. Have a date that you want to have your goal reached by. A date can motivate you and keep you away from dragging your feet and risking losing some amount of zeal. Having a date will also help keep you focused on finishing what you've started in a timely manner.


5. Make short term goals related to the ultimate goal. Your short term goals are steps toward the ultimate goal. For instance; your ultimate goal may be to lose 10 pounds, but your short term goal might be one pound a month. Or your ultimate goal may be to read a 900 page book within a year, but your short term goal might be 3 pages a day. Short term goals show our progress and give feelings of accomplishment while pursuing the ultimate accomplishment.

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Killing The Habit: Being Unproductive

Every night before I go to sleep,I ponder upon what I did the whole day and what I will to in the next. And more often than usual, I contemplate on how unproductive my day was. So I try to make a plan and say to myself that I will do something significant the next day, And again, and the end of the day I still end up doing nothing really productive. This bad habit has been going on for quite some time now. And here comes a point in my life where I would stand up and say this is enough.

I noticed there are also people like me,struggling to kill procrastination. And as I listen to their stories, I begin to see a pattern. I begin to see dotted lines in between what they want to do, and what they actually did. One thing lead to another so to speak as I observed I wrote down particular habits that needed to die to be successful in your quest to be more productive. Below is a list of tips on how you could kill the habit.

Set your priorities

I am not the first to say this, and this might be utterly obvious to almost all of us. Set your priorities, Learn which task is more important than the other. Create a hierarchy of the tasks you need to do and accomplish them in that order. I would suggest a 3-step-system that works something like this;

• Write down your tasks to be done.
• Number them 1 to 3, 1 being MUST DO TODAY NO MATTER WHAT and 3 being Do Today.
• Begin!

Lists are your friends

To have a better understanding of your priorities, you should master the task of making a list. I don't mean a list that just involves writing down your tasks. You need to have a detailed list. Here are some of the things that you MUST do to your list.

• A list of your things to do (Pretty Obvious)
• Order them using the 1 to 3 hierarchy method stated above.
• Include an estimation of time needed to complete each task.
• Use colored markers or paper to catch your attention.
• Put the list where you spend most time in, Like in front of the computer, T.V.

Shut off distractions

The number one killer of productivity is a good old distraction monster. Ever had a trip to the kitchen to open the refrigerator,and then suddenly stop and say What am I doing here again? Distractions could range from food, games to problems. Most often you don't even see any of these as a distraction and therefore subliminally thinking you are doing something but your just killing time. You need to follow your list. Anything that is not on your priority list, you can do it after the items on your list. Try to discipline and regulate yourself.

Focus Fire!

You need to devote your time and skills to one task at a time if you want to be really productive. It is highly advisable to multi-task because this could lead to other distractions and more stress. You might fool yourself that jobs would be faster if you multi-task, But do not fall for this. Just Follow your list as it is and you'll be okay.

Stress is lethargy in disguise

How many of us are just plain stressed of the thought that we are wasting our time? Well you should stop stressing and start doing. Because the fact of the matter is, stress is a productivity killer as well, It consumes a lot of energy and pressures you. Don't stress out, take time to relax and again, follow that list and everything is gonna be okay. To make it clear though, I said take time to relax. BUT not that much time,I mean you might have a task for one hour and rest for 3? NO. You'll have better time to rest and relax if you have already completed all the tasks you have today.

DO IT NOW

The simple fact that you are reading this article means that you are looking for ways to help you get rid of your problem with productivity. This means you are motivated and is willing to do what it takes to kill this bad habit. Right now as you finish this article, you feel as if you're ready to go, ready to take on a new leap. Well, You can! and what better way to start than to start NOW. Start now! Do not let distractions or stress or any of the mentioned above deceive you into a procrastination spiral! You are now well equipped with knowledge on how to avoid bad habits. Do it now!

Good luck!

The Science of Intuition Part 3

The good thing about confusion is that it puts people in a place of not knowing. In order for new ways of thinking to develop you need to be in a state of not knowing. Unfortunately we live in a world where people are rewarded for knowing. Those who don't know don't succeed. Just look at the education system, who gets the highest marks those who know the answers. At work who gets the big bucks those who come with the answers. Whilst there is nothing wrong with having answers it is where these answers are coming from that is the problem.

The societal pressure of needing to have all the answers prevents people from accessing their intuition as intuition comes from a space not knowing. How do you break this cycle? Firstly you need to accept that in order to access your intuition you have to suspend judgement and opinion and enter a space of not knowing. Unfortunately this is just the beginning for even when you do enter this space you will still want to filter the incoming information so that it fits with your existing reality.

Why do we filter information? Because your existing reality is familiar and comfortable and anything that differs from it will make you feel uncomfortable and sometimes even fearful. However the real fear is fear of the unknown. It is important to recognise here that the unknown is anything outside your current beliefs and attitudes (i.e neural connections) Most of us need to be in control and being in control means knowing what to expect. This need for control helps us feel safe. You need to ask yourself what are you keeping yourself safe from?

Most people don't have a good answer to this question for how can you be afraid of something that you don't know. When you combine that with the way the brain works you can see that fear of the unknown is just your brain saying hey that isn't part of our current way of thinking. No more no less.

The other reason you filter out the truth is that your beliefs and attitudes are based on your past experiences (remember the first 12 years) and many of these are based on fear. Honestly ask yourself how many times a day do you fear something? Whether it be interactions with people, attending a meeting, being asked a question, learning a new skill, not having enough money the list is endless. Often these fears are not in your highest interests and limit your ability to live your best life. The reality is that these fears act as a defence against the truth. So what is the solution? Firstly you need to accept that many of your fears are based on your perception of past events and then you need to ask yourself is that perception the truth?

Most people would argue that it feels like the truth to them. However there are two things to consider here. Firstly is individual perception the truth? If this were so then this would mean there is no truth because everyone's perception is different?

Secondly because something happened ten or twenty years ago does that make it relevant to the here and now? The brain unfortunately takes the past and places it in the now and then projects it on to the future ensuring that your circle of thinking remains intact.

If fear is based on your perception of the past how much sense does this make? Not much, but knowing this doesn't remove the feelings of fear that precipitate behaviours and hence reinforce thought. Now it comes down to feelings. What are your feelings based on? Thoughts, beliefs and attitudes born out of your perceptions of the past. A nice little vicious circle.

How do you bypass this and stay in the present moment because this is where your intuition resides? When you truly understand that your feelings come from your brain and are based on what you think. You can then ask yourself whether you want to continue to be at the mercy of your programmed brain or choose to live in the now and use your intuition.

Let's say for example you decide to go through the process of doubt, fear and not knowing. You clear your mind of all thought and hold a space where you just allow the truth to enter. In comes the truth but it doesn't match your current way of thinking. It may suggest that you do something that you wouldn't ordinarily do. Immediately the red flags go up, this can't be right I am not doing that. Such thoughts include this doesn't make any sense or you experience a real fear with taking that action. So you dismiss it and go back to reinforcing your currently held beliefs.

Before you dismiss it you have to ask yourself is what I am seeking guidance about important enough to me to suspend thought and fear and give it a go. This is where the power of doubt, confusion and not knowing come in. Until you get to that point of employing doubt, confusion and not knowing you are going to dismiss your intuition. In fact not only are you going to dismiss it you are not even going to sense it.

Unfortunately the way life works is that you have to get to a point where it isn't working and you experience enough pain either physically or emotionally to take a chance and bypass your beliefs and fears and listen and act on your intuition. Seems a silly way to live life when you think about it. Even more interesting is that when you look at it from this perspective you can see that intuition is usually associated and linked with pain in some way. No wonder people avoid it.

In order to move past fear and access intuition you need to be determined and be extremely vigilant for the truth. Because you haven't relied on intuition in the past you have little or no faith in it. You would prefer to put your faith in a brain that makes erroneous associations between perception and events and leaves you unhappy and fearful. When you truly get this it sounds insane but that is what most people do and further more they do it unconsciously. No awareness what so ever that their life is being ruled by unconscious fear based thinking.

You need to ask yourself what is it that you want to put your faith in. Your existing thought patterns and beliefs or in developing a system of thinking that is outside your brains rational operating model. The choice is yours. Remember you always have a choice. You cannot make a choice of living your life through your brains programmed responses and then complain when life isn't working for you. In choosing to live your life through the use of intuition it won't always feel comfortable but eventually it will lead you to making the correct choices so that you can find more joy, peace, love and happiness.

Overcoming The Mental Inertia To The Attainment Of Desire

"There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge." (Napoleon Hill)

Do you sometimes find that the mere thought of the tasks you need to get done actually weary you? This weariness has the habit of leading to procrastination, which generates no desired results.

In addition to this 'old man' procrastination, there are other obstacles or challenges that may stand in the way of the attainment of your life dreams. These obstacles are those scary heart-throbbing visions that you see when you take your eyes and internal vision away from your goal and destination. They seem as overwhelming giants and often times they are real! You may identify with some of these, which are discussed below:

• Lack of adequate education. This obstacle leads to a feeling of inadequacy to carry out the required action steps for the fulfilment of your dream. It is unwise to think that what is taught in schools is all the education that you need. You may bridge this lack by acquiring the relevant education or seeking out those people who possess what you need. This education must be practical and applicable to your pursuit.

• Lack of focus. This results in the inability to develop your powers of concentration enough to think through the whole process, from the beginning to end. You may overcome this by persistence in your practice of focussing on a certain subject.

• Indecision which paralyses action otherwise known as analysis paralysis. It has been said that successful people make decisions quickly and change them rarely, while unsuccessful people make decisions, if at all, very slowly and change them frequently. Once a firm decision has been made, then the adequate action steps may follow.

• Refusal to listen or yield to counsel. Openness with all matters and topics proves your flexibility. I once heard the phrase, blessed are the flexible for they shall never be broken!

• Greed and the desire to get rich quickly via unfamiliar schemes. Often times, greed causes you to do the wrong things, and may result in a loss of what already existed. Be content with what you planned to obtain and protect yourself from unknown risks as far as possible.

• Fear of taking risks. All risks should be taken with adequate knowledge, but fear prevents one from taking any steps at all. Protecting yourself from unknown risk, does not insinuate that you insulate yourself from all risk!

• Inability to create and/or maintain good relationships. No one is an island, and your success is linked to your associations. Secure and maintain peace with those around you and guard your relationships conscientiously.

• Lack of adequate rest. A restful mind helps you to make sound decisions. Know your body and understand how it functions. It varies for people.

• Giving in to the reluctance that shows up on your mind. I will not be sincere if I insinuated that I jumped and acted on every opportunity that I perceived. Often times, I have moved ahead with reluctance because I was used to my familiar territory. These action steps have generated some desired results.

Dreaming requires thinking what others will consider to be crazy, as your dream may not make sense until it is revealed. It did not make sense for Bill Gates to dream about 30 years ago, of a computer on any person's desk, talk less of it being in a majority of homes as it is today. However, Bill took action in spite of the voices of naysayers and the obstacles that would have occurred in his mind.

I am sure that you can think of other obstacles that you may have faced personally or heard about. It is very rare to walk the path of life without some of these making their presence known. Be prepared to overcome them, and remember that nothing ventured is nothing gained!

To your dream's accomplishment!

Who Do You Need to Forgive? - Letting Go to Let the Good Stuff In

I'm not a religious person, but I have recently found out about the importance of forgiveness in my life. I had a situation that was blocking a lot of good stuff in my life and I traced it back to this situation, with this person, and I realised that to be able to move forward, I had to forgive. MY, that made me grind my teeth.

Why should I forgive? I didn't do anything wrong, it's all their fault...

OK... stop. Sometimes we have to realise that we are absolutely complicit in some situations that hold us back, we take part in them. Maybe not in a conscious and willing way, but by complaining about it, rather than acting on it or walking away. I've done it; more than once, and so have you.

Ask yourself, "what do I get from feeling like this?" Is it beneficial to you in any way to feel twisty and upset about this person, this situation, and the bad feelings it generates? Write down your feelings and if they are all negative (and I suspect they will be), tear up the paper they're written on and start from scratch.

So, here's the trick. Just forgive.

Forgiveness doesn't mean you have to like the person who has wronged you. It just means that they're not living rent-free in your head any more. You're not condoning bad behaviour, you're maintaining your well being. So, wave away the person or thing that's causing you pain, along with your best wishes, and let go. Visualisation works here and I always imagine myself high above them in a hot air balloon. Whatever works for you, do it.

Forgiveness heals all sorts of situations and clears the way for the good stuff for you. The person who has wronged you most likely doesn't give you a second thought, in fact, may not have realised you're hurt. You're doing all the carrying of heavy baggage. So, what would it feel like to put it down?

What opportunities will be open to you? How much money can it make you because you're more positive and grounded and happier? If your forgiveness involves a situation over money, then you need to make this happen so that you can be open to more prosperity in your business.

Forgiveness isn't instant, it takes work, and some gritting of teeth. But just do it and see how much good stuff comes your way. We get what we give. Worth remembering.

6 Tips To Help Build Self Confidence

Webster's dictionary states "self-confidence is a confidence in oneself and in ones powers and ability." Feelings of self-confidence based on your appearance are purely in your mind, meaning your confidence depends on your personal thoughts and perceptions about the way you look. If you could change the way you think about your appearance, you can change your level of self-confidence.

Here are 6 tools to help build self-confidence:

1. OWN IT - Don't wait for it to happen, take charge now, TODAY. Be responsible for yourself, realizing you have the power to implement change in your life. No one can change your self-confidence, make you feel a certain way or control the things occurring in your life but YOU!

2. CREATE AN ACTION PLAN - Write it down. For example if you want a new job. Outline your dream job, (hours you want to work (from home, part-time), what are you good at, what would you'd be willing to learn) or are you starting over? Do research, read books, browse the internet for opportunities. If you continue moving toward your goal your self-confidence will increase as you realize you are making strides towards the goal even if it's just educating yourself.

3. ACT - Act as though your confident even if it feels forced. Smile more and act as though you are confident and you will be. Hold your head high, make eye contact and smile. This alone will make you appear more confident.

4. BE POSITIVE - Display a positive attitude. Stop complaining and lead by example. Be positive and compliment others. A positive attitude towards others will give back positive feedback so in the process your self-confidence will grow.

5. GET A MENTOR - Establish a relationship with a mentor. This person can share some insight into the skills they use to build and maintain self-confidence. For example this person can be a superior at work or from a club your involved in. This individual should be someone your comfortable talking with and you see as being very confident and look up to.

6. LOOK IN THE MIRROR - Last but not east take care of your personal appearance. Although inward beauty is very important outward beauty is a reflection of what you may feel inside. Start building your self-confidence by dressing nicely, maintaining good posture, smile often, exercising and making sure your skin is looking its best. Great skin helps radiate confidence.

How To Start Loving Yourself

Do you love and accept yourself? Accepting yourself means that you love yourself for the way you are right at that moment. It doesn't mean that you stop making improvements to yourself. It just means that you don't have to change to be lovable and good enough.

You are good enough, just the way you are.

Why doesn't everyone naturally love themselves? We are born loving ourselves but somewhere along our journey this may change. Maybe a parent or teacher tells us that we aren't good enough. People tell us we need to look or act a certain way to be acceptable. But that isn't the case. You are good enough. And once you realize this and start loving yourself, your life will dramatically improve.

The most important thing you can do in your life is to love yourself. It's more than having confidence, it is knowing deep inside yourself that you are unique, you are special, and you are lovable - exactly the way you are at this moment in time.

An exercise to get started on loving and accepting yourself:

1. Get some journal, paper, or a notebook and list anything you don't love or accept about yourself. It can be anything from physical items, behaviors, whatever comes to mind.

2. Take the list and for each one listed write: a) Why don't you like this about yourself? b) Is it something you can change?, c) If so, what can you do to change or improve it?, d) If this "thing" didn't change and you were on your deathbed and reviewing your life, would it really matter to you? Some times we think a particular is horrifying but when you step back and look at it in terms of your whole life is seems a lot smaller of an issue or problem.

3. Make a list of ideas and steps you could take to try to change each item you listed if you still wanted to change it.

4. Now - for the big step - make an agreement with yourself that you will make a commitment to try to make improvements but that you will love yourself right now, just as you are.

5. For additional help, start using affirmations such as those listed at the bottom of this article to help in loving yourself and making positive improvements.

When you decide to accept yourself fully and completely, miracles happen.

A good example of this is when I became addicted to prescription pain pills. I didn't like myself very much at the time. I felt so much guilt over getting severely addicted and ruining my life. I didn't think I would ever be able to forgive myself. When I would go to 12-step meetings I would quietly cry to myself because I felt so ashamed.

But once I made a commitment to love and accept me, even though I had totally messed up and gotten addicted, miracles did happen. It was like I dropped a ton of bricks that I was carrying and my life got better and better every day.

Know that you are good enough and remember:

1. It's okay to want to improve things about you and that is healthy.

2. Don't wait to accept yourself after the changes (I'll be okay once I lose x number of pounds). Be "okay" now.

3. The sooner you accept yourself the way you are really love yourself, the faster you will make improvements and it will be easier and more rewarding.

4. And know: You are good enough. Right now. You are lovable and deserving.

Affirmations:

It is safe for me to love and be loved. I am lovable.

I am good enough, just as I am.

I am lovable and I deserve to be loved.

In this moment, I am perfect, whole, and complete.

I consistently speak the truth.

My intuition improves daily.

Good, good, and more good come to me now.

I am enthusiastic about my life.

The more good I notice in my life, the more good that comes to me.

I relax and trust my intuition. I am always Divinely guided.

I easily forgive and release the past.

I see my pure, perfect self. Just as I am, right now, today.

I allow change in my life and am willing to learn and grow.

It is safe for me to forgive others. It is safe for me to forgive myself.

My life is harmonious and peaceful.

I am peaceful, joyful, and radiant.

I am responsible for my own feelings. Others are responsible for their own feelings.

My love is a powerful healing force on the planet.

I love myself unconditionally.

It is safe for me to be myself. I am authentic.

I keep my thoughts positive and I am empowered.

That which is not for my highest good, now easily fades from my life.

I am self-motivated and Divinely guided.

I eliminate anything I don't want to make room for what I do want.

I take responsibility for my own life.

I choose to have a positive attitude.

I believe in myself and my abilities. I take positive actions everyday.

I completely and totally love myself.

I want to be the best that I can be.

I have freedom in my life.

I am worthy of all that my heart desires.

I claim my right to be happy!

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