Author: CLFurlong

I have been doing this for weeks on end now, simply posting a Monday motivation blog with the intention to have you all see the same that I see. Monday is a day of opportunity and excitement.

Monday’s are the foundation to creating a week full of high-end results as well as shaping the ultimate mindset and routine. It is a chance to seize opportunity and embrace something new.

However, it can be a slow process getting your life in control, and like so it will be a slow process of making Monday’s the day that will set your week. But if you decide to give up… this is never going to speed it up!

So how can you get your Monday in control, to further lead to your week being in control? Monday is the perfect chance to set some mindsets, to do some preparation and to psych yourself up for the week. See below of a few examples of what you can do today:

• Take the morning to revise your goals for the upcoming week. Whether these are personal or for work. Monday is the day to do it.
• Instead of jumping into your day, wake up twenty minutes early to gather your thoughts. You have just finished a week and today is the best day to reflect and identify anything you need to get in line before doing it all again.
• Look at Monday as a new start. Forget last week and focus on what is ahead of you. Aside from learning from mistakes, this week is a new slate.
• Stop looking at the day negatively. Your thoughts control your perception which affects your actions. Be positive. You already know this! Monday or any day for that matter is and should be based off your attitude. So make sure you have it right!
• Breathe, be positive, and go through the day with ease. There is nothing more to it than that. If it gets heated or tough – take another breather, refresh your mind and try again.

These are just some of the things you can be doing. However, I cannot empathize how important your attitude is. If you have a negative approach, you will be stubborn and fight any chance of you being positive, let alone in a happy mood. Maybe last week wasn’t the best, or maybe the weekend sucked. I understand, it is tough, but we are tough. You are tough! So get your head back into the game and get back out there!

How do I become this amazing morning person?

Firstly you need to want to be this amazing morning person and secondly you need to choose to be.

But if it needed to broken down into 3 points, I have found that the below 3 points are what my mornings are made up of and I challenge you to give them a go and see if it works for you too.

Routine 

I have found that for any morning to have any sense of flow and structure you need a routine and a good one at that. Now, this doesn’t mean you do the same thing everyday for the rest of your life, but it means you should have a structured morning each day whether it be the same as the day before, or maybe an alternating routine, or even a completely different routine on the weekend. The idea here is to have something which becomes second nature to you. Once your routine has become a morning usual, your mind and body will learn to adapt and go with the its natural flow. This will put your whole morning into a kick started state when you wake, as your whole body and state of mind will be already doing what it should be… but subconsciously.

Attitude

Attitude is the key to any good day. Take away routines and you are left just another day. But attitude creates a day into what you want it to be. By setting my attitude the moment I wake up, this is usually the tone and theme for my day. Setting your morning tone basically influences the remaining actions of your day. However, you can also overcome your false or unhappy attitude by stepping out of your current zone refreshing your mind and trying again. 

Excitement

Excitement is all about taking the little things of your day and turning them into the highlights, the high points and using these as motivators and encouragements. When we’re excited we do stuff. We overcome fears. We take chances. We make tough decisions. We push the boundaries. We explore our potential. We become solution-focused. We become more resourceful. Chat with any successful person about their goals and their passion and you’ll see what I mean about excitement. If you’re not excited (on some level) about your goals, then you may need to find some different ones.

Any early bird would know we have a common set of traits which make us successful. Maybe you are in the process of changing up your lifestyle and looking to be an early riser?

This is the perfect blog for you!

Morning people…

1. Accomplish Tasks As Soon As They Start Their Day
2. Potentially More Intelligent
3. They Are Most Focused In The Morning
4. They Follow The Habits Of Successful People
5. They Get Enough Shuteye
6. They Are More Proactive
7. They Have The Time For Breakfast
8. They Are Usually Happier
9. They Usually Have Great Personality Traits

All these traits have some amazing benefits. They allow for more time, for more activities, for better schedules and even healthier bodies. This does not mean being a night owl is worse off. It just means that if you utilize our morning strategically and with a well-rounded routine, you will be jumping out of bed and kick-starting your day at a whole new level.

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive-to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius

Today could be a loss. But, your day could also be one of your best days yet.

But what really matters is what is now and within you. How is the present, how are you taking whats within you and making a difference with it?

What lies before us and what lies behind us are small matters compared to what lies within us. And when you bring what is within out into the world, miracles happen. – Henry David Thoreau

Don’t get me wrong – planning is great and should always be a consistent part of your life. However sometimes, you need to take a step back and stop focusing on what has been and stop trying to make everything perfect for the future. Focus on what you can do better now. In order to get to that ‘perfect future’ of yours you will need to make the important and the prioritized. 

Think of it like taking each day and setting it as a foundation for the next. Progressing each day will set a new foundation for the next day. Even if the day feels like a loss, if you are moving forward, or even leaning forward this is still better than being stuck at a single stand point.

The point of all this is: Keep moving forward. Lose many, but win most battles and conquer the war. There will be losses, there will be fights – but by the end of it you will have conquered the very challenge that may at one stage seemed like the impossible. Each day it is a chance to reconvene, to restructure and strategically try again. 

I have been running for about a two and a half years now and having now run roughly 1400km, I have learned 4 things which I think we should all be applying to our own lives. The best way to do this is to simply get out there and start running yourselves!

Any day I am too busy to run is a day that I am too busy! – John Bryant

1. Staying Committed To Your Goals
   • Runners are dedicated, that itself is an understatement.
   • Runners fight the urge to give up, and they continue on to CONQUER.
   • Runners thrive off feeling accomplished.
2. Believing In Yourself
   • Running and completing the run is on you. You are the only one that can get you across the line. You are capable.
   • You are your motivation. Self motivation. Runners learn to build this and believe in themselves.
   • Accomplishing a run, requires determination and a confidence enough to know they can do it.
3. The Alone Time
   • Perfect way to take a break and clear your mind. This is one of the best things I love about running.
   • It is a chance to think about anything. No interruptions. Just you and your mind. A chance to sort out work issues and any self issues…
   • Running wont mean you run away from your issues, but run out your issues. A way to clear the mind and exercise your body and mind too!
4. How To Always Be Happy
   • Exercise has a direct correlation with the level of happiness someone exhibits. Anyone who knows me will now understand why I am always happy!
   • Overall running provides physical, mental and emotional benefits. You can do it your whole life. Why wouldn’t you be happy when you are making your physical, mental and emotional aspects of your life better?

So I hope from this, you can see the benefits of running!

• If you don’t run. Get out there and give it a try.
• If you are slacking off from running, get out there more and see the benefits trickle through.
• If you are running regularly like me. Push on and challenge yourself! You champion!

Today is terrific, today is the best kind of day, today is the success I will make. Why? Because I want it to be. I choose it to be. Attitude defines my day and the best part is, I have control over it each and every day.

Leon Ho, founder of Lifehack said:

There are three types of people, those who do not ask enough questions, those who have a lot of questions but no intention to answer them and those who ask good questions and seek ways to answer them.

Society today says to settle for the ordinary and to go with what is the usual and what people know. Don’t get me wrong, sticking to what you know will work but sometimes stepping out and working until it is better than the norm, will work better.

Questions are an important part of life and as I noted yesterday, successful people are asking themselves questions all the time. Today again, I have some more striking questions to ask yourself to challenge and prompt your mind into success.

Whenever you are doing something, like a new gig or job or even a task… ask yourself:

1. Is this what I really want to do?
2. Will this provide me an avenue for growth?
3. What strategies will define my success at this?
4. Do I have the belief or mindset to accomplish this?
5. What are my greatest strengths?
6. Can I improve the lives others by doing this? Or how can I improve the lives around me by doing this?
7. What rules have to be broken to get this done?
8. Am I learning from my mistakes?
9. Will the people around me be supportive? Or destructive?
10. What bad habits do I need to stop that can alter my success?

“The most successful people in life are the ones who ask questions. They’re always learning. They’re always growing. They’re always pushing.” – Robert Kiyioski

Aside from these 10 Questions – another driving element of being successful, that I believe is CRUCIAL to success is your mindset.

Successful people – never give up!

Yes, this one sounds cliche-ish but the truth is that highly successful people never give up. While most people would give up on their third or fourth try, for the highly successful individual, failures are simply life lessons that get them one step closer to achieving the victory they seek.

By the end of the day ensure that there are no EXCUSES, no EXPLANATIONS and no REGRETS.

Here are 10 things you can evaluate at the end of the day (any day for that matter) to measure your success. These 10 things are usually evaluated over a longer period of time, however lets scale it back for today and see if you can relate.

10 Ways you can consider yourself as highly successful today:

1. Successful people don’t make excuses for themselves.

Ask yourself: What makes my dreams impossible? If I put in all 100% effort, would it still be unachievable?

2. Successful people are flexible when and if they need to be.

Ask yourself: Why is my plan not working currently? How could I improve my plan?

3. Successful people don’t quit.

Ask yourself: Do you have to quit or do you want to quit? If you quit now, is there a chance you will one day regret it?

4. Successful people are a business.

Ask yourself: Could I be more productive during the day? What do I want to achieve this week? What do I want to achieve this month?

5. Successful people have clear goals.

Ask yourself: What are my goals? How can I achieve them? How long will it take? Can I put all of my effort into this?

6. Successful people understand that sacrifice is important.

Ask yourself: Will this sacrifice help me to achieve my goals? Is it worth the risk? Am I willing to make this sacrifice?

7. Successful people are willing to jump in at the deep end.

Ask yourself: Do I think it is worth it? Do I want better results? Can I overcome my fears?

8. Successful people live in the moment and do not hold grudges.

Ask yourself: Am I still affected by this? Can I stop thinking about this? Does it affect my future?

9. Successful people can embrace change.

Ask yourself: Can I challenge my fear. Can I adapt to make a difference. Am I willing to grow?

10. Successful people are thankful.

Ask yourself: Who has helped me today? Have I thanked them?

Don’t limit yourself to what the world says you can and can not do. If you have a dream big or small and you believe in it, then fight for it and you work for it. Think big as the world is in need for big ideas like yours! Have you worked on you big idea lately? Do it today!

The only thing stopping you, is your drive to work harder, push longer and grow stronger. If you want it, how far are you willing to go? It is between you and your discipline, self-control and perseverance to get where you want to go! So what will you do? Will you make the effort today? 

Sometimes things happen for reasons that we don’t know why… I believe we have delays for a purpose… We are delayed because timing is everything, timing is sometimes short-term or long-term. Have patience and keep pushing forward and you will eventually find the finish line. Who knows,  maybe it will be closer than you thought… If it isn’t well the journey along the way will grow you even stronger!!

Worry less but plan more. When you fill your mind with worry, there is no room for your greatness, your ideas and your talents to reflect. When worry takes over, take a pen and some paper and jot down a plan to track back on target, to understand what needs to be done to release this worry and be back at productive capacity!

Fresh beginnings start every day! It is never too late to start your goals, dreams and aspirations! You cannot go back and change the past, the last time you started, or even starting earlier. What you can do is start today and make a new ending, a new tomorrow and chance at hitting those dreams! Today is your day, if you let it be!

You are the answer. You tread your own path. You will have ups and downs and you will either push on or give up! It all depends on you. So what will you do?

Motherhood is tough 24 hour job with no pay, no day’s off and resignation is impossible. – Unknown

Here are 17 things you should tell your Mum:

1. You Created a Human Being
Do you get how huge that is? You completed one of the most sacred and important tasks there is.

2. You Are a Good Mum
First things first, you ARE a good mum. Even when things are hard, remember that you’ve got this!

3. You Rock It Without Sleep
The Sleep Foundation recommends that adults (26-64 years) sleep 7-9 hours a night. Yet Mum’s seem to still rock it with less than this.

4. Your Friends and Family Have Never Appreciated You More
No one compares to the support and love of friends and family. These are the people you are always offering a supportive hand or listening ear.

5. You Don’t Have to Listen to Every Opinion
Know that even if opinions are given with the best of intentions, you don’t have to listen to them all. You’re navigating this motherhood thing instinctually, and with the advice of a few well-selected advisors.

6. You’ll Never Stop Worrying
You know the feeling you experienced right after the intense joy of delivering your baby? That feeling was worry and it’s never going away. Just learn to embrace and manage the worry and you’ll do just fine. You already are!

7. You Won’t Ruin Your Child’s Life
Making parenting mistakes is normal and expected. Stop stressing about being the perfect mother and remember that you’re doing your best.

8. Your Mummy Instincts Are Right on Track
Congrats mum, your instincts are right on point. You can read your kids like a book!

9. You Care More Than Anyone
That says it all.

10. You Are Allowed to Feel Overwhelmed
It’s normal to feel overwhelmed. Plus with everything you put up and with and do… I don’t blame you.

11. You Deserve a Break
You do a lot all day and all night long. You are always working hard, and for that reason, you deserve a break.

12. You Can’t Protect Them From Everything
Life is meant to be experienced and it’s impossible to protect your children from every form of adversity they are sure to face during their lives. But keep telling them otherwise.

13. You Are Powerful
The husband may be the head of the home, but the mum is the neck and she can turn it any way she wants to. You couldn’t do that if you weren’t a super hero. Even when you feel weak, know that you are as strong as it gets.

14. You Should Be Insanely Proud
You made a human being. One day that very someone may be someone who saves people’s lives or rules a nation. You never know…and you know what? It all started with you. If it wasn’t for you, your little baby wouldn’t be on this Earth right now. Good job mama!

15. You Are Doing Great
Sometimes you might feel like giving up on this whole motherhood thing. Don’t worry – all mums feel like this at one point or another. Just know that you’re giving your children love, a safe and happy home, and a caring family, and that’s more than enough.

16. Your Child Loves You
You know that almost unbearable love you feel for your child? You child loves you just as much. Loves you even when you ran the bath a little too cold, loves you even when you’re frustrated. So never worry about whether or not your children love you.

17. You’ll Figure it All Out
You might not get all of your parenting questions answered until the day before your last child leaves home, but you will get it all figured out. Parenting is a long and winding road with plenty of ridiculous twists and turns. And if you ask any mum, she’ll tell you it’s the only ride worth all the trouble.

You can get out there, each day and everyday for years on end and YES you will progress, but you may also not get as far as you had always planned. (that’s life). This doesn’t mean you give up. This doesn’t mean you settle. This doesn’t mean you give up on your dreams and your ambitions. It just means you need to keep waiting for what you deserve. But don’t wait around doing nothing. If you settle for nothing and expect it to land in your lap, you have another thing coming.

But this isn’t even what the blog is about. What it is really about is the outcome. To help you understand the benefits and enormity of waiting for what you deserve, I have a short video that will express this through a love between a husband and wife.

“When you make the sacrifice in marriage, you’re sacrificing not to each other but to unity in a relationship.” – Joseph Campbell

Before I get to the video, let me first remind you that – waiting around for what you deserve wont only apply in your love life, but in all areas of your life. Like any part of your life, it requires your action to move forward, however getting to the place you want it to be is up to being patient, pushing on and waiting it out at the same time.

As noted before, this video is defines the love between a husband and wife and this is just how it should be.

It is true that love and marriage means sacrifice, when we love someone we become selfless, devoted and we learn to accept the one we love wholeheartedly. (that’s why waiting it out for the right one will be worth it) Marriage may go in waves of ups and downs. Through trials the love and commitment between partners are being tested, but how far would you go for the one you love?

See below the video which I hope will inspire and encourage you in more than one way.