P365 – A Year's Journey

Practicing gratitude is a powerful way to help stay enthusiastic in life, especially when it try’s to drown you. So even in the thick, the dark and the hard, here are 10 tips to help you stay enthusiastic, even when you are crazy busy.

Act Enthusiastic

Force yourself to act enthusiastic, and you’ll become more enthusiastic,” was Frank Bettgers’ number one rule. He challenged people to try this for just 30 days, because this one change could easily revolutionize your life. He went on to become one of the most successful salesmen of his day, and a best-selling self-help author.

Take 15 minutes a day to do something you love

If you can’t put fifteen minutes into doing what you love, you’re making an excuse. Try this yourself. Make a list of everything you love to do. What’s calling to you right now? No matter how busy you are, take 15 minutes to do something that gives you joy, and watch your enthusiasm return.

Get enough sleep!

Learning and memory, metabolism and weight, cardiovascular health, and immune function all suffer when you don’t get enough sleep, and so does mood. Need I say no more…

Feed yourself well

When your body doesn’t get the nutrients it needs, it affects brain chemistry, which impacts mood, memory, and cognitive function. The right diet actually changes how the brain functions, which can boost your mood, help you deal with stress, and make it easier to stay enthusiastic.

Move your body

When you’re feeling unenthusiastic, you may want to head for the couch, but instead of lying around go do something that will make you sweat. Take a walk, swim, dance, go throw a football around with a friend. Anything that gets your body doing what it was made for (i.e., moving!). This will make it easier for you to find your enthusiasm again, heck you might even surprise yourself. I did.

Own self-compassion

Self-compassion is the practice of noticing what you’re feeling, remembering that you’re human. If you practice responding to yourself with self-compassion rather than aggression, you’ll discover it’s a much more pleasant way to live, and when life is better, it’s so much easier to stay enthusiastic.

Meditation

This will vary for many, but spending the time with your creator even just 10 minutes a day can spur on a positive change!

See “whats going well’

Human beings seem to be wired to focus on what’s not going well. It’s important to notice this, of course, so we can make adjustments, but it’s equally important to notice what’s going well.

De-clutter

It is hard to be enthusiastic, when you are weighed down. This is an internal and external element too. Keep your environment de-cluttered as well as your heart.

Surround yourself with the enthused!

Enthusiasm is contagious. Follow it and share it.

Hopefully some if not all of these enthusiastic tips will help you make your life that extra exciting!

I know over and over, people dread the start of the week and I have reminded you nearly each week that if you are not excited for what Monday has to bring let alone every other day, in this case Tuesday, than maybe you’re not doing the exciting thing you should be.

If there is one thing, that will entice and reshape your perspective of any day, it is optimism. No it may not be a natural state for some, but with application, the right mindset and determination, you will be surprised where this positive stubbornness can take you.

As per Brian Tracy’s quote; If you want success and happiness, then optimism is the one quality that is more likely to be associated with this result.

In the case you are unfamiliar with ‘Optimism’, it goes a little something like this:  hopefulness and confidence about the future or the success of something.

So today as you walk into a new adventure, will you take hopefulness and confidence with the plan to conquer not only today, but as the week progresses?

Set the level and set the bar, make Tuesday a new baseline for your week. So make sure you make it a good one!

Take hold of optimism and just see where you can go!

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go…

Life is full of choices. Do you choose where to go or do you let someone else decide for you?

You’re off to great places! Today is your today. Your mountain is waiting, so you get on your way!

Take that first step. Whatever you do, don’t stand still. Dr. Seuss warns us about a universal law called inertia. This means that things keep doing what they’re doing. So, if you’re standing still, you’re likely to stay still. But if you’re moving forward, you’re more likely to keep moving forward.

So, what are you waiting for? Get on your way!

Some people base life on the accumulation of wealth, but there is always something better than a rich mans treasure chest,  a mans rich life.

Today, like any day, is a fresh start, a new beginning in itself. You have a chance to do, be and take action with whatever you want. But you have to make the choice to do whatever it is you want to do.

With this all in mind, I want to not only remind you that today is a fresh start for a new day, but it can be a fresh start for something more, if you want it to be. You can change your life, you can do whatever you want really. But most of all, you can take opportunity.

Everyday is a new day of opportunity, some days you will have more to choose from, but the biggest concern is deciding what opportunities to take and what will be impacted by these opportunities? Regardless, below are a list of opportunities you can interpret and see if you can apply them to your own life. Have a think about them and see where they fit in your life.

“Anyone who has ever made anything of importance was disciplined.” — Andrew Hendrixson

1. Don’t waste your time worrying about what other people think of you.
2. If you don’t know your passion, follow your heart instead.
3. Cultivate a hobby.
4. Let go of friendships that are not working, and focus on the ones that are.
5. Trust yourself more.
6. Take care of your body.

Take these 6 points, think about them, detail them and identify how you can apply these into the next day, week, or even season of your life.

Why is it that you are so happy for Saturday to be here? I mean yes obviously it is because you want to do something other that what you have been doing all week. You want to be able to enjoy your time doing the things you want to be doing. Right?

So why on earth are you not doing this everyday?

Oh but your usual response would be: I need to work in order to do this, or to pay for that. Yes you do, but why don’t you do something you actually enjoy, love and are passionate about?

But before we get into the debate of following your dreams and being the hero to yourself you have always wanted to be.

Lets take it back to something a little more basic. Setting a goal each day that will inspire you to jump out of bed.

For some this will be easy, but others not so easy. 

For me, it is the opportunity of each day, embracing it knowing that you can go into it giving it your best and the best part is, you finish the day knowing you did your best. Which would mean you will always have the best kind of day!

So my challenge to you today is; now that you are already awake, you have already missed the setting of your daily goal, but how about you plan for tomorrow. Plan what it is you are going to jump out of bed for? Then write it down. Capture your adventure, your achievements each day and then you can use this to reflect a little later. You will be surprised of how encouraging it can be.

Monday to Friday are the best kind of days. Saturday and Sunday, are just the same!

So remember!! 

Today I want to give you 3 quick, yet important quotes which you can dwell over and hopefully encourage and inspire you to keep on keeping on!

“The most dangerous risk of all – The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later” – Randy Komisar

“The person that you will spend the most time with in your life is yourself, so you better try to make yourself as interesting as possible.” – Unknown

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing.. that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar

These 3 quotes are important elements in your journey to success. Whether you like it or not, sometimes in order to get through to the top, we will need to go through the tough, but in the end you should be able to say it was worth the risk, you’re a better person because of it and that your daily diligence and persistence paid off.

You see, you can choose to accept defeat, you can choose to worry yourself to sleep, or stress so much you don’t sleep at all. You can be fearful of tomorrow, or you can be scared of what is to come…

Or simply; you can be adaptive, strategic and positive and put each one of these times and obstacles into a bucket of either an adventure, a moment or excitement. Either way, regardless of how you categorize these ‘sections’ of your life, this will grow you, make you and create you into something bigger and better than before, even if it does take you a few years to even realize it.

Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain… To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it. – Kevyn Aucoin

So don’t be such a spoil and think of the worst, or mope because you didn’t get to sleep in. Embrace the day and embrace its challenge as one day, you may just find yourself on the edge of life and you will remember the times you could have been or should have been and that you will never have a chance to rise up and be the superstar you are… again.

So why not be a superstar today and be the author of your own adventure, your own moments and your own excitement.

People, you need to understand you are not perfect, (SURPRISE) and you never will be. In doing so, the things that you create and do, wont also be perfect.

I want to give you a friendly nudge that when you decide to embrace your passion and take ownership of it, you will not only enter a journey, but you will basically be jumping out of your known comfort bubble and into something new. Whats that? You don’t know what your passion is? Well why don’t you ask yourself a couple of simple questions…

1. What is it you do that you seem to lose all sense of time?

2. What are you naturally really good at, even if you are not spending hours and hours doing it?

3. What do you like to do in your free time?

These are some simple/basic questions you can use as a base to help prompt the locking down of your passion. If you are still unsure, you can contact us here and we will be more thank happy to help!

The real point I want to make today is… If you have decided to do something about your passion, don’t give up. Don’t start then finish. Stay consistent and stay true to yourself, even if it is a small dosage of effort each day. As the small steps will eventually create big enough footprints for others to notice.

Be ready for anything, be ready for the best to happen and be ready for the worst to happen. Regardless, have your mind in the game and switched on ready to take on whatever comes your way.

“ATTITUDE IS A LITTLE THING THAT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE.” – WINSTON CHURCHILL

If this means taking an attitude check, then so be it. If you go into today with a lousy expectation and for the remainder of the week, you will automatically be looking for the worst, as your mind will have become accustomed to finding the negative. Hence why it is so crucial to have your attitude in the right place. This and your expectation will define the flow of the week. So make sure you have it in the right place.

Are you ready? 

With this all in mind, remember that each day is a new day to step it up. Each day you can show improvement, and work harder than you did the day before. This doesn’t mean to spend longer on whatever you are doing, it just means to be more receptive and focused. Applying lessons learned and skills adapted, ensuring your are really putting in your best.

Each run is unique. Sometimes after no prior exercise within the week, I go into the run with a 100% intention  to run and hit my 5 km mark. Sun, Rain, Day or Night I go for it, I push for it and I aim to conquer it each time.

Surprisingly, you will be amazed by the capability our minds and bodies have. Even after a long week, hard work and less sleep than normal, I still manage to make a mark on my running. I have been running for a 2 years and a half now, usually between 15 km to 30 km a week and from this I believe I have built a tolerance and consistent routine which has enabled my body to withstand this.

However, even when you are out of it for a week, having an inactive weeks, I always get nervous of what my runs would bring, thinking to myself that this could be quite the challenge and it is going to put some pressure on my mind and body. Like when you hit yourself with a hammer while nailing, the next time you go to hit, your hesitate as your body knows… there wail be pain. With almost 100% certainty, when I get out there it really is the opposite. Out of no where I manage to find all this energy, like adrenaline and I am able to just keep going, with no pain, no worry and no doubt!

Finally it hit me.

Before I even started to run, I was maybe second guessing the possibility of what I would achieve. When really my body wanted something more. When I am inconsistent and break my normal routine, my body becomes deprived of running, so when my body finally got another taste for it, it gets a rush. Which leads me to my further point. When you are training your mind to follow a habit, routine or to build consistency, actually keeping the consistency, regardless of the outcome is what will help you in the long run.

Let me remind you – spending a little but key time each day consistently over a long period of time, enables you to build a strong base slow and steady, but in the end it will surely enable you to win the race. 

Clearly it has for me, as out of know where, my body has clicked and said, ‘Let’s do this’.

Now this doesn’t only apply for exercise or running, it applies for anything and everything you are working for. If you blog like me, if you draw or create art, or whatever it may be. If you make a commitment to yourself, to your body and mind, you need to keep that promise and prove to yourself and convince your willpower that you have what it takes.

So next time:

• When you don’t feel like doing it, this is the time you need to do it!
• When you think you cannot do it, give it a go anyway!
• When you have less time to do it, make time to do it later, or do a smaller effort of it, but regardless just do it!
• When you feel too tired, do it anyway!
• When you are scared, give it a go anyway!
• When the weather or another object is prohibiting you to, then find a work around!
• When you find there are excuses, don’t accept them and still do it!

Keep on keeping on!