Category: MOTIVATE

We have this idea that the things holding us back is due to external reasons. This ain’t usually the case. Most of the time they’re inside our head and our hearts. I can guarantee you that these are the most common limiting beliefs that keep us from making the progress we have wished for, let alone wished we had even starting.

I’m the first to admit that when it comes to expectations, I am one to set the highest on myself. Usually before my bosses or those directing me. Now this isn’t necessarily the worst thing, but it can be a problem if it starts to hinder your ability to go or move forward. With this in mind, it is also common to take single experiences or circumstances and blow these out of proportion and make the generalization that this is going to be the rest of your life. All this is doing, is harming your confidence and your ability to grow. STOP IT. We also make the assumption that others are seeing how we are not meeting our own HIGH and UNREALISTIC expectations, so we tend to be pulled down… The funny thing is, is they have NO IDEA that you have this expectation, let alone didn’t reach it. So STOP IT.

So what do I say to you?

If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward. – Martin Luther King, JR

Pick yourself up, take these expectations and leverage these into some good old motivation. Maybe you have missed out on hitting your target, maybe you were rejected, maybe you just don’t feel satisfied of where you ended up. Well, the good thing is, you haven’t given up. But before you fall any deeper down the rabbit hole, you need to get up and keep going. Fly, run, walk or crawl – whatever it takes. Keep moving forward.

Stop making the excuses of:

• “I need to have this before I can start”
• “Once this is in order I will start”
• “I am waiting for this or that so I can start”

Whatever the excuses are – JUST STOP using them and JUST START moving forward. Take action. Today!

Successful people build each other up. They motivate, they inspire and they push each other. Unsuccessful people just hate, blame and complain. Find what it is you want to motivate people to do, find what it is you will inspire them to do and find what and how you will push them to do it.

The problem with any journey to success is we become so focused on what we haven’t achieved that we lose sight of what we have. It’s easy to forget about all the progress we’ve made, and be discouraged by all the things in our lives that are going wrong or ‘missing’. But maybe it’s time to start taking pride in our progress. Maybe it’s time that we recognize all the accomplishments we’ve made and the true significance of these accomplishments.

Here are some signs that you may be doing better than you thought you were – see if you can relate to any:

You know what you don’t want 

It can be hard not knowing what you want, as you are always searching for it and it is always on your mind. But the good thing is, because of this you usually know what you don’t want.  It’s okay to discover what you want through finding out what you don’t. You want to be happy, not just content – and you deserve that. Take your time and cross off the things you know which are not going to get you further. I would think, if you look back now and see how far you have come – you have made it here due to making decisions saying no to one thing and yes to another. Which means you’re already aware of some of the things you don’t want. So now just keep identifying these and also taking note of the things you do want.

You take responsibility for your life

We’ve all experienced some form of pain in our lives. Maybe we’ve suffered heartbreak, death of a loved one, financial hardship, or problems with our families and friends. You understand that you can’t change the past but you can change what happens from now on. By you realizing that your future is in your hands, then you’re taking responsibility for your life and what happens to you. Kudo’s to you!

You know there’s more to life than material possessions

You don’t need to buy the latest products to be happy. Likewise, you don’t need the most expensive clothes or house. If you know that happiness doesn’t lie in material possessions, then you’re placing more importance in the relationships in your life. The little things and the sentimental things in life will always be of GREATER value.

You’ve picked yourself up after challenges

We have all been through bumps of rough and tough and we have all climbed mountains that we thought we would never conquer. (more to come…) However, here we are. Standing, breathing and living. You have come so far and you know it. Deep down you know it. Be proud of it. Yes it might still be tough, or it may even get tougher but you can do it. You’re so much stronger than before. You are now ready to take on the next challenge.

You’ve made progress in an area of your life

You may not be the best at a specific skill but you’re trying your best. If you’re making consistent progress, then give yourself a pat on the back, because you’re already heading in the right direction and that’s what matters. This could be with school, work, personally, physically or relational. Whatever it is! Well done chap!

You add meaning to the people in your life

Sometimes, when we’re feeling down about life and all the goals we haven’t achieved, we might forget the impact that we’re having on people’s lives. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE INFLUENCE YOU HAVE. Even if it is silent, someone is always watching you with a close eye and they are inspired and influenced by you. If they have told you this, then you will know you are adding meaning to people’s lives. Even if you don’t realize it, you’re likely adding much value to the lives of others just by being around or in their lives.

You’re striving to become a better person

Life is a learning curve. We don’t need to be perfect. We don’t need to live free from mistakes. If you are determined to improve yourself and to become better, then you are already halfway there. This attitude to life, (to become a better person) will take you far. You may not always be happy – but because of this, you strive to push further, harder and deeper into what you are doing with the intention to become better.

Don’t get mad. Don’t get even. Do better. Much better. Rise above. Become so engulfed in your own success that you forget it ever happened. – Unknown

Procrastination is not a disease, but a mindset, which means it can be changed, trained and controlled. It just takes some hard work and dedication.

If you want change. You need commitment. As with no commitment, there will be little change. So before you attempt changing, evaluate how committed you are at making the change happen.

“You may delay, but time will not.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

With this all in mind here are some tips to improve productivity and keep yourself from procrastinating:

• Give (10+2)*5 a try – The (10+2)*5 simply means 10 minutes work + 2 minutes break multiplied by 5, completing 1 hour. (more here)
• Use red and blue more often – As per Science Daily, the colour red was found out to increase attention to details while blue sparks creativity as noted here.
• Create a break agenda – Don’t sit around and do nothing, plan to do the things and necessary tasks you would not have a chance to do when working or busy.
• Timetable your tasks – Like any other habits, procrastinating is a tough wall to break. Replace this habit with another habit. Timetables! Schedule what and when you will do it.
• Take it outside – Change the environment. Home is comfy, but try a coffee shop, try a park. These have way different vibes.
• Learn to hack productivity – The idea of being lazy is questionable, but if you can learn to fold a t-shirt in 3 seconds… this is more of a saver than being lazy.
• Delegate – If you can outsource, or have someone do the task for your then why not.
• Gadget and gizmo free – In a technological age, putting down the devices for a short period may go a long way.
• Be prepared – take 15 minutes the night before and prepare whatever you can. (pack bags, organize food, task list)
• 10 minute wake me up – Start the day with a jog, or some quick HIIT. Here are some examples: ways you can use a treadmill or 10 minute, no-equipment needed workout
• Mini steps – Big day or project ahead of you? Break it down into smaller tasks, with checklists and even include your coffee break in there.
• Inspirational Board – Use a whiteboard or backboard to have self motivating quotes and a quick reminder of task lists.
• Redecorate/Arrange room –  This will brighten, lighten or enlighten your productivity. Don’t forget the effect of colours.
• Ready the nibbles – Before settling down to smash out a task, have your nibbles prepared earlier, otherwise you will be making stops to the pantry… 
• Lock in chores – Have these scheduled and ready to go. But do it as a ‘2 birds 1 stone’ style. i.e. Folding clothes while catching up on Netflix!

At the end of the day – sometimes we just lack the urge to do or go. Well in this case it may just be better to jump in and get your hands dirty, otherwise you never will…

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. – Walt Disney

Below is a list of 30 ways you can blast procrastination out the door. You can use all of these, or a range. Regardless, these should help put you back on track.

1. Get up and move – change your scenery
2. Setup reminders – daily, hourly and momentarily
3. Get a motivation buddy
4. Make yourself accountable
5. Create something everyday (Project 365)
6. Wake up early 
7. Go to sleep early
8. Clean and clear as you
9. Cut the cable – get rid of it
10. Screw it, let’s do it – Richard Branson
11. Schedule time blocks – be organized
12. Have a task list – tick off those boxes
13. Have a system – a routine
14. Don’t check your emails (set times to do so)
15. Destroy your social networks (hibernate from them)
16. Time yourself in segments
17. Track yourself
18. Automate anything in your life
19. Create a playlist – PUMP IT!
20. Identify and face your fears – conquer
21. Realize you will never be perfect – be GREAT though
22. Become mindful – be aware
23. Set daily goals
24. Take a break when required (scheduled)
25. Stick with tools – stick with what you know and works
26. Entertain yourself – reset the mind
27. Work less – play harder, follow your heart and dreams
28. Have some quiet time (daily)
29. Don’t settle – you can do better
30. Focus on your Strengths – (Strength Finder 2.0)

I have found that our biggest hindrance is motivation and confidence. When you are wanting to do something, something which is going to make an impact whether it is an impact to you or someone else – we can become a little overwhelmed or fearful of the idea of “What if I fail?”

Well what if you do fail. What if you don’t. If you do fail, who will actually know? I mean, if you have told people well of course they may know, but if you don’t, then the only person you have to prove yourself to is you. Now I can understand, you may set the standard high, or the expectations even higher, but it is you. We are our own worst critics. We are our worst enemies. Get over yourself… you will fail sooner or later and I would think it is better to fail privately than it is to publicly. That may come too… but if you can handle failure from your worst critic (YOU) then you basically can handle anything. Seems legit right? Well that’s because it is. What is even funnier is it is really that simple.

All you need to do is start something today, even if it is planning how you will start tomorrow. Any good project will have an exceptional planning period and whatever your goal is, is just another project.

I say screw failure. Let it come. Otherwise, the longer you wait around for something to be right and to be perfect, this is never going to happen. I am sorry to scare you or even surprise you. But this is reality. People may seem like that have it all, but I can promise you there is something in some area in their life which isn’t as glamorous as the one they are showing. Why? Because we are human.

So I challenge you to get out there and MAKE IT HAPPEN. As it is your dream and your goal so it is all dependent on you. But feel free to ask for help along the way. As I noted before our biggest hindrance is motivation and confidence and this derived from the fear of failure. So how do we increase our motivation and encouragement…

Yep you guessed it. Look and see what others are doing and find the inspiration to motivate you from what they are doing. Secondly, speak and work with others. Maybe you are trying to do too much as a lone wolf. Maybe you are thinking you can take on the world single-handedly… Well maybe you can one day, but right now you are a growing youngster who has more TALK than ACTION. So find a buddy, find a mentor, find someone who is going to inspire, encourage and motivate you through the thick and thin. You can even have more than one. Just do it.

There you have it. You have literally less than 4,000 hours of this year, in which the longer you wait the harder it is going to get to CONQUER whatever it is you want to accomplish this year. Don’t make the same mistake you have made before, making the year not what you wanted. Make 20165 the year you rose to the pedestal and made an impact. More so making an impact on you.

Just think about it –

excuse – an explanation offered as a reason for being excused; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault or for release from an obligation, promise, etc.

With this all in mind, we tend to continue to make excuse’s, which actually keeps limiting us of who and what we are.

Ever heard, or recall saying “I’ll be so happy when X happens”

At the core, we tend to believe the pursuit of “X” will solve our deepest problems. When really all we are is infected with the deadliest disease of all. 

The “I will be happy when” syndrome.

This is ridiculous; following a life of chasing an achievement after achievement saying that completing each one of these will make you happy and content. Yes it is GREAT that you are pursing these goals and I say continue to do so, but don’t let it consume your ability to live happy. You should not have to be something in the future, or somewhere in the future to be happy. What about now? Why can’t you be happy now?

I have a challenge for you…

BE HAPPY TODAY.

Be content with your life, with what you have. Stop trying to fill your gaps within you, with outward success. A job, a person, a promotion, a house or winning the winning the lottery will make you happy, but they will never heal or cure the disease of being unable to be happy now.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Why am I chasing this? 
• Why do I believe achieving ‘X’ will make me ‘Y’?
• And the harder question, Can I be happy without them, or it, or that?

Don’t count every hour in the day. Make every hour in the day count!” ~ Mark Amend

Time with your family

Money can always be made, but time, it will only ever be lost and consumed. You can never gain time, only spend it wisely. Family is important. If you were to charge yourself for the time you have spent with your family in comparison to the time spent away – how rich do you think you would be. Do the math… Lets say you spend 3 to 4 hours a night per week. That is 28 hours a week and at a low entry rate of $20, that’s only $560 a week. Is your family this cheap? Or should they be worth more than this?

Writing down your ideas

Ideas will always grow as you grow. Your knowledge and wisdom through trial and error will help you derive new ideas and ways of doing things. Write these down, as this rich source of information is your mind working at it’s best. If you don’t, then one day you will come back looking for it and will have lost what potentially could be the next world shaking idea.

Experiences

Your favorite moment – you cannot take it with you but it will always be in your mind. Yes money can go with you, but money once again is consumed by the monster of society.  Plus you can never buy happiness, it is found in the moments by you.

Giving

Like a boomerang, as you give you will be blessed. As you throw it out it will go around and touch everyone. As it comes back to you and as you catch it, it will feel fun. Fun will always be better than money!

Laughing 

Laughing will always make you happier and even healthier. You will live longer. You cannot buy laughter, but you can find it the places you would least expect and it will never let you down.

Persistence

We all dream of doing something important, but it will take persistence to achieve it. This lets you share ideas and persistence also gets people excited about ideas, and will surely get you paid for them too.

Ideas for other people

Aspire further in your own life to help aspire others further in their own lives. Here is an idea. Come up with “10 Ideas to make (Insert Name) Better”. This could be a person or a business. Send this list out and do it for 50 people/businesses. Maybe only 1 will respond, but that is all it takes for something great to start,

Your DNA / Legacy

What type of legacy are you leaving? Money will disappear over time, it may also increase. But who you are, your essence and passion, your ideas. These shared moments can live on forever.

Physical health

Health should always be more important than money. As if you are not able to operate, then it will make it hard to make money, let alone spend it. Be healthy every day, so you can live a long and healthy life. You will be happy.

You

What would you do, if I said that there was $100,000 on the rooftop of a building right now and you have 15 minutes to get to it – Would you get it? Of course you would. Would you know exactly how were going to get it? No you wouldn’t. You would rush off with the goal in sight and work out the how and the what, while you are doing it. 

Seem’s legit right? 

“To be successful, you have to be out there. You have to hit the ground running and if you have a good team around you, and more than a fair share of luck, you might make something happen. But you certainly can’t guarantee it just by following someone else’s formula.” – Richard Branson

Let me ask you another question: (you may want to write this down)

What do you have as your goal in life. Where are you trying to go? What are you trying to do? Take away everything. Stop what you are doing and think for a single moment. Define your very endgame. 

Is it a business? A life full of passion? Financial Freedom? What is it? You don’t have to define all the specifics or the details, just jot down quickly what it is.

OK – now that you have it lets move on.

What if I told you that right now, there is a door to your success, a door to your dreams and goals, just in hands reach and it is only up to you to open it. No catch. All you have to do is open the door and hit the ground running. You will have the goal in sight. You don’t need to know how you are going to get there, but you can work it out on the way. 

See my point?

• Like that $100,000 you too can have the future you want, as long as you go get it. You can take a leap now, a head start and figure out the details on the way. 

“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” – Richard Branson

But with this aside, like anything great, it takes a series of smaller steps and time to get there.

So what can you do, what steps can you apply each day and every day to ensure that you’re being intentional with your time and spending it on your priorities. Incorporate these tips into your daily routine and watch your success soar!

But first you should always know:

Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.

So here is what you can do:

1. Define your priorities – daily
2. Set your schedule for the day in advance
3. Eat the frog – do whatever is the biggest challenge of the day first
4. Be honest with the person in the mirror
5. Set your own deadlines before the real ones
6. Minimize distractions
7. Pause – take a break regularly
8. Plan backwards

   EXAMPLE:For example, say you want to lose 12 kgs. After you set an initial long-term goal of losing 12 kgs by one year from now, start planning backward and breaking the goal down into doable chunks. If you want to lose 12 kgs in one year, you’ll need to lose 0.25 kgs (1750 calories) each week. This is 250 calories per day. Many people have 3 meals and 2 snacks per day, which means you can decrease your intake by 50 calories every time you eat. That’s a totally doable goal! You’ve now taken a large, overwhelming aspiration and you broke it into very small, achievable daily goals.

    

9. Write it down (goals, thoughts, worries, anything relevant to you and your day)
10. Find a buddy – an accountability buddy
11. Compare yourself to those you aspire to be like – fuel your determination
12. Find a mentor! Be mentored!
13. Learn to delegate and upwards too…
    

    “If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.” – John C. Maxwell
    

14. Choose who you hang with – be wise about it
15. Read, read more and read some more again

What do you do, when things start to go horribly wrong? What actions do you take?

It is up to you to control how and what happens after something goes wrong. Sometimes, we can become so tied up in the worry and doubt, we forget that all we need to do is, step back think and react appropriately. How do you react?

• Do you become so negative you infect anybody who comes into contact with you? Only to regret it or apologize later?
• Do you over think the situation, say horrible things to yourself, beat yourself up and over exaggerate everything?
• Do you fall into self-pity, self hate, turn off your phone and shut everybody out?

When you wake up every day, you have two choices. You can either be positive or negative; an optimist or a pessimist. I choose to be an optimist. It’s all a matter of perspective. – Harvey Mackay

There are better ways to handle horrible days and the below eight actions will give you an idea of what they are. I wont elaborate on these, but I suggest you take some paper, jot these down and flesh out what these mean to you. You will most likely surprise yourself:

First, change your perspective.

Secondly, get out of the thinking zone.

Thirdly, look at what has gone well.

Fourthly, slap on some groovy tunes.

Fifth, avoid the negative people.

Sixth, be and get productive.

Seventh, do what always makes you happy.

Eighth, get out of the past!