Category: INSPIRE

I SAY START TODAY!

So today you have 5 months, 4 weeks and 1 days remaining. [Plus one more day being a leap year]

• 26 weeks
• 182 days
• 4,368 hours
• 26,2080 minutes
• 15,724,800 seconds

Yesterday we touched on some of the smaller details, which alone seem like nothing, but together through consistency they stand out and actually make quite the impact to your life.

I gave some examples yesterday of what you can apply daily, however I have some more small changes you can make that can completely transform your life…

Daily:

• Read 10 pages of a good book (15 minutes)
• Listen to 30 minutes of an instructional CD
• Eat 125 calories less each day then you normally eat
• Drink two bottles of water a day
• Walk 2,000 steps a day, roughly 1.6 kms
• Make date night with your significant other a priority

Now for no reason at all, lets ask ourselves where would we be in 27 months… (6 months)

• Read 47 books (7 books)
• Listened to 465 hours of audio on success and improvement (69 hours)
• Saved 117,500 calories = lost 15.2 kgs. (17,407 calories, 2.25 kgs)
• Drank 3,720 gallons of water (551 gallons)
• Walked 1448 kms = an additional 13.6 kgs lost (170 kms, 2 kgs)
• Had 124 dates with your partners = a better relationship (at least 18 dates)

Now these may seem like a lot or not a lot at all, but these are only examples. Imagine if you add your finances, your actual time spent in gym and other areas of your life. These things start to add up quickly over time, and in the short-term things might not seem like they are progressing, but the routine of consistency will IMPACT you more so in the long-term.

I want to leave you with this thought the next time you think success isn’t within reach: consider implementing these small steps, they will leave you living the life of your dreams.

You have come this far, don’t stop now! By the end of today you will have made it halfway through the year. For those on the journey to outlast your resolution to the end and are still on target, my hat goes off to you! You deserve a gold star and a quick reminder that you have conquered the first mountain! By now you should have learned the different meanings of self-control, persistence, goal setting, overcoming fear, success, perspective and of course a new feeling of joy! Keep at it, as the next half is going to be a challenge too!

For those still struggling or haven’t started. It is not too late to begin. And today’s message is for you. At the start of the year, you may have set out to do wonders, to conquer this or that. Maybe you started strong but have lost the plot, maybe you didn’t start at all. Regardless, it would seem you still have a bit to go. 

So I ask you this. How much do you want it? What is it you even want? If you could still do one thing before then end of the year, what would it be? Maybe you have multiple things? There is nothing stopping you to start today. It’s not too late to give it all you got and see the wonder you can do for the next 6 months. So will you?

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one. – Mark Twain

No one wants to take a risk and fail. We all have an instinct to wait until something is a sure thing before taking the leap. However, that hesitancy can lead to missing out. Instead, we take the risk once you’re sure you have a decent chance of succeeding. I believe you have a chance today to take a risk and to start working, moving and pushing towards your goal.

Let me put some smaller details in to perspective for you…

Starting today you have 5 months, 4 weeks and 2 days remaining. [Being a leap year there is a day more]

• 26 weeks
• 183 days
• 4,392 hours
• 26,3520 minutes
• 15,811,200 seconds

Put some effort in and you could:

• Save an extra $50 or even $100 a week. That is $1,300 or $2,600 by the end of the year. Holiday? New down payment for a car?
• Stop those bad habits… stop buying coffee through the week and you could save another $520 by the end of the year.
• Start tonight doing 1 push up. Adding 1 more each day till the end of the year. NYE you will be doing 183 push ups! You can do this for any exercise.
• Burn 150 calories a night which would equate to nearly 8kgs lost by the end of the year. Imagine 300 calories… or even 500!
• Read a chapter a day (2500 words). With an average book being 18 chapters, you will smash out nearly 10 whole books!
• Start running, targeting 5/10/20km a week and see that by the end of it you will have run 130/260/520km. That’s quite a few marathons!

Three simple rules in life:

1. If you do not go after what you want, you’ll never have it.
2. If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.
3. If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.

“BE MISERABLE. OR MOTIVATE YOURSELF. WHATEVER HAS TO BE DONE, IT’S ALWAYS YOUR CHOICE.” – WAYNE DYER

Goals are what we reach for. Standards are where we stand.
How much easier would it be to touch the sky if you were standing on skyscraper then the sidewalk?
I recommend you raise your standards to the level of the individuals you look up to (ironic). As an example you can ask yourself some questions, in reflection to the people who have inspired you:

1. How did Steve Jobs spend his time?
2. What type of environment did Steve surround himself around every day?
3. What type of attitude did he have?
4. How did Steve spend his money?

This helps your mind, relate, understand and formulate an answer for you.

So what do you need to do to train your self to be positive everyday. Well here are 5 steps to becoming more positive today.

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” ~Winston Churchill

Step One: Believe a Positive Attitude is a Choice

The hardest of them all, is to actually make the choice to have a positive attitude. As life is going to throw some things your way, and for sure they ain’t all going to be the best.  But with the right attitude, you can make the best of everything.

Step Two: Rid Your Life of Negativity

If you want to live a positive, joyful life, you cannot be surrounded by negative people who don’t encourage your happiness. Sacrifices will need to be made.  It can hurt to distance yourself from people—even when you know they aren’t good for you or your current lifestyle. Also check out the negative behaviors

Step Three: Look For the Positive in Life

In every person, in every situation, there is something good. Most of the time it’s not obvious. We have to look. And sometimes we have to look hard. Everything—good and bad—is a learning experience so, at the very least, you can learn from bad experiences. You will usually find something good, something genuinely positive, about every person or situation.

Step Four: Reinforce Positivity in Yourself

Be honest with yourself, but do your best to look for the good. And, whatever you do, don’t focus on the negative. It’s okay to not like everything about yourself, but don’t focus on what you don’t like. We all have positive attributes, and it’s up to you to remind yourself of them every day.

Step Five: Share Positivity with Others

They would help you succeed, they would give you daily motivation and of course, they would inspire and encourage your own self-control.

Interested?

Yes? Awesome!

Take a look in the mirror. That person is you.

The only person they will get you from A to B is yourself.
The only person that will that can truly motivate you, is you.
The only person that can give you self-control is you.

Not sure how? Ask your self: “How determined am I to see this through?”

If you are determined. Then you will make it happen!

So what will you do? Where will you go? How will you do it?

It all begins with YOU!

Let no one discourage your ambitious attitude, you don’t need a fan club to achieve your goals, be your own motivation – Unknown

I have a challenge/exercise for your today.

It is a visualization exercise to maximize your persistence.

You can complete this exercise without pen and paper, but it’s much better to do it with pen and paper, as it will solidify the visualization.

1. Imagine yourself five years from now if you have persisted with your current goals. How old will you be? What will your life be like? Are you happy and fulfilled?
2. Imagine yourself ten years from now if you have persisted with your current goals. How old will you be? What will your life be like? How much more progress have you made? Are you happy and fulfilled?
3. Imagine yourself twenty years from now if you have persisted with your current goals. How old will you be? What will your life be like? How great does it feel to have stuck it out this far? How happy and fulfilled are you?

Now it’s time to do the exact opposite.

1. Imagine yourself five years from now if you have not persisted with your current goals. How old will you be? What will your life be like? What job will you be working? Are you happy and fulfilled?
2. Imagine yourself ten years from now if you have not persisted with your current goals. How old will you be? What will your life be like? Are you starting to feel regret? How happy and fulfilled are you?
3. Imagine yourself twenty years from now if you have not persisted with your current goals. How old will you be? What will your life be like? Take yourself through an average day. How much regret do you have? How poorly do you feel?

There are many ways to stay committed, to stay motivated, to see it through to the finish line and this is for any good habit, goal or routine. However, the real key may be as simple as  ‘keep on keeping on’. As long as you’re doing, then you are progressing and as long as you are consistently realistic. 

Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes… but no plans. – Peter Drucker

See below on some ways you can keep on keeping on:

Force yourself to actually do something

If you can just get yourself doing something related to your goal each day, even if it is small, you’re already ahead of the game. If you do it in the morning, at the crack of dawn, even better as you will have fewer interruptions. But doing something, rather than nothing is still progress.

Extreme – Yes or No?

Whatever your new goal is, you have a choice to attack it slow and steady, which is still reliable. Or you can hit the nail on the head and jump in cold turkey. The difference? Going slow and steady will set up a consistency, which just may require the results to actually become tangible a little slower. Jumping in cold turkey, may be extreme, it may be harder, but it will not only have you smashing out our goals quicker, but it will be training your mind and willpower to overcome. As long as you are making progress and your are content with it. Either will do. This will also depend on the type of goal you are doing.

Track it

You constantly scroll through your Instagram feed, so why not download one more app? It will always motivate you when you can actually see the progress and with all the tracking apps out there, you can do this for your goal in some real fun and exciting ways. If you are a gamer, and struggle to exercise? Try this one: HabitRPG | Your Life the Role Playing Game

Find some passion while you do it

When you’re actually working on your goal, find a way to do it that you enjoy doing. Let’s say you’re trying to lose 10kg and you have never exercised, or had a routine to keep you honest. This is the perfect chance to do a workout that you find fun. You could swim, box, run, walk, go intense or slow it down with yoga… There are so many options, there will always be one for you. This is the same for other goals. 

Educate yourself

Knowledge is power, people. Just don’t try to impart your wisdom on those who didn’t ask for it. If you’re going to be doing and trying new things to get this goal over the line, you may as well educate yourself. As once you succeed, I can assure you, you will have others looking to you for the secrets of success and when you have the knowledge to share, this can benefit you quite well!

Apply it to your life

What’s that? You don’t have time to focus in your goal? Well firstly, that’s a joke as where is your priorities? However, I can understand we all have busy lives and the best way to ensure you are doing something for your goals each day, is to embed your efforts, within your daily do. Trying to hit those 10,000 steps each day? How about skip the subway and walk? Want to read a book a week? Read while you commute. These are some simple and very basic examples, but that’s all it needs to be. Think of it like killing two birds with one stone.

Own it and take charge

The key to sticking to your goals, is owning them and taking charge of your plans. There will be sacrifice and make it clear that when you are working on your goal, this is your time. If people ask if you are busy, YES YOU ARE BUSY. You have something on. Your goal working time! I’m sure some people will find it silly, or say you can do that anytime. Well that’s not true. You have dedicated this time as this is the time you can do it. So be strong, stand tall when it comes to staying on top of goal progress. As it only takes a couple of times skipping your usual goal working session and you will be back sliding… and all that PROGRESS will start to decompose. It is your choice. Own it!

You are worth so much more than you could ever imagine! You just need to realize it! You need to claim it, own it and take it wherever you go.

“Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it. ”– M. Scott Peck

Maybe you have problems identifying who you are? Maybe you need to ask yourself some questions?

• Who are you?
• What motivates you?
• What saddens you?
• Why are you driven by one thing but not another thing?
• Why do you feel upset in one situation and not in another situation?
• What are your values and beliefs?
• Where did they come from?

Do these questions challenge you? Prompt you?

Looking back over the past months, 2016 is ticking on quickly and soon enough we will be knocking on 2017. The scary fact is, people are planning next year already and we haven’t even finished this year, let alone hit half way. So it is important you make your next 6 months better than the ones before.

If you think you’ve already made it, that’s when you can fall short and go backwards. I’m constantly pushing forward and chasing the element of perfection. – Jason Derulo

But in all honesty, this quick checkpoint should tell you one of two things. Either you need to up your game for the next 6 months, or you need to keep on keeping on. Regardless, there is no backing down. So either way you need to be moving forward.

On paper my year is progressing well. I am learning lots, growing lots, achieving lots and majority of this is in my work life. This is great as I have had a goal to set a deep foundation in my career, setting me up for the longer years ahead. Likewise, I have also achieved some things this year in my personal life which I have been trying to do for a while. So in all honesty, I should be proud!

But if I have done all this in the first 6 months, what do I have to aim for in the next? I know exactly what. For the next 6 months I want to up the anti. Recently, I have had to focus on work, which I have loved and will continue to do so. However, I also want to grow things out side of work too. I want to ensure that my work skills don’t only reflect there, but reflect across my entire life. And vice versa.

So what am I going to do?

I’m going to push harder. I will look at the next 6 months just like another day. And each day I strive to do and be better than the day before. If I don’t end up coming out better, than the experience itself is worth it. I still have some goals and things I want to knock out and I still have 6 months to do it. But my plan is to overcome these goals and go greater.

The question I have for you is; what are you going to do for the next 6 months. Checkpoint today and take a high level evaluation of what you have done for the past 6 months. Are you happy?

We can all improve, but if you are not happy, what are you going to do about it. That is the ultimate question. What are you going to do about your next 6 months?

If you’re an iPhone lover, then the mention of the classic alarm ringtone will give you anxiety every time.

Anyway, each morning your alarm goes off and you are given a split moment to make a decision. As you open your eyes you know what needs to be done, but within the first 5 seconds of waking you fight every urge to decide shall you snooze or shall you get up.

For me, this is 4:45AM sharp. My back up alarm is 4:50AM, just in case.

As you make this decision, and depending on the day, you are reminded of the places you have to be, the job you have and the responsibilities you have.

For some the snooze button is: The easy fix for all things annoying.

For others it is a reset button of something new, something fresh. A new challenge, a new day. It is a chance at something more. Maybe even a second chance. But no matter what the day is, this day is opportunity.

So what does this ongoing battle to snooze or not snooze mean? Well below I have some points and theories which you may find relevant.

If you don’t hit snooze, it means facing your issues.

This is GREAT. It means you know you have things to do, things you are not scared to face. Or maybe you are terrified, but you are bold enough and brave enough to take a stand and take ownership of your day. Even more so your life. I say skip the snooze button and jump out of bed, as today is your day and you never know just what wonders may come a float!

HITTING SNOOZE IS LIKE…

You always end up giving up when things get too messy.

Mornings are hard. Relationships are hard. You’d rather hit snooze and just… not do anything. Life is hard…You know getting out of bed will have to happen eventually, but it sounds so hard. You’d rather just go to sleep than deal with anything stressful. I personally don’t like the sound of this one…

You never want to open your eyes.

You do not want to open your eyes and see the harsh reality of the day. You get anxiety wondering if this is going to be a bad day.

You’re constantly delaying things.

You press the snooze button, delay the things you need to get finished, and nothing ever really gets completed.

You always think something better will happen in five more minutes.

Maybe it will… but most of the time you just fall behind…

When you finally summon the ambition to move, you’re already behind.

By the time you are up and moving, you are already rushing as you are behind. You feel like a mess, you haven’t eaten and your rushing to get out the door or make it time for your first meeting.

“Nothing will work unless you do.” – John Wooden

So there you go. 1 Positive and 5 Negatives. Seems like hitting the snooze button aside from some extra sleep, is only going to limit your ability to commit and push forward. If you went about snoozing for a year straight, or even a month… imagine the bad habits, or the lack of routine you would create. Do you really want to let yourself down, all for another 5 minutes. As one day, that 5 minutes will turn into a loss of a job, a missed opportunity, a lazy lifestyle and eventually it will start to play on your mind, potentially having you start to second guess, question and challenge what you are doing with your life.

I say get out of bed.

I’ve always been one to aspire further and higher than the day before. The urge and drive I have to move forward, higher, further, deeper and closer towards my goals, grows stronger each day as I apply daily discipline. This creates a new habit through willpower, which further proves to myself that I can and that I will conquer. In doing so, I am motivated more and more by the result.

I remember back when I started to run 10 km in a single session. It was 2 years ago I was completing my first 5 km. And less than a 3 years before that I was barely surviving a 3 km run. The point is, the longer you push, the stronger you push and the deeper you push, soon enough you will GROW, and you will step out of the box you were held by and you will be released into a bigger box. This is called your comfort zone. Then you start again. Working day by day to move forward and closer to your goal.

The sooner you give up, the sooner you accept defeat.

My challenge to you is; before you start moving forward, why not take a moment to identify the next step it is you need to take. What will it require from you and what will you do about it? Sometimes, we can be so caught up in moving forward we miss what we are actually trying to achieve.

Regardless, each day is a chance to start fresh, start clean and a chance to start again. Will you be willing to take today as that chance? Are you up for it?