Tag: Project 365

1. You Don’t Need A Plan From The Start

2. Be Ready To Improvise

3. Habits Lead To Results

4. Prove You Want It Most

5. Remember To Be Nice To EVERYONE

6. Enjoy The Ride

7. When You Get To The Top Of The Mountain – Keep Climbing

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman

No matter what you do – as long as you maintain your honor and integrity it’s pretty hard to screw up badly enough that you get sent back to square one. Always keep pushing and know that with these keys you might just be able to do something great!

The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. – William James

Here are 5 ways you can turn stress into productivity:

Get Caught Up to Stress Less

It won’t be easy to concentrate on what needs to get done today if you’re stressed about things that didn’t get done yesterday. Instead of letting the unfinished tasks daunt your mind, be more productive with your time and focus on completing them rather than worrying about them. If you’re behind on your list of things to do, getting caught up will offer some relief and you’ll find yourself not stressing out so much. Stress isn’t going to get things done for you, no matter how much energy you put into it.

Give Yourself More Time and Take Breaks

Unless it’s absolutely crucial for you to get something done by a certain time, don’t give yourself strict deadlines that’s not easily manageable; Doing so will cause you to stress out about getting the project done on time and you’ll be in constant worry as you repeatedly glance at the clock to see how much time you have left. While this may cause you to work faster to get things done, it’s not likely you’re actually putting in the quality work that’s needed if you’re simply speeding through the task because you’re fueled by a deadline you’re stressing over.

Don’t Do It All Yourself

If you are under a strict deadline or you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by completing the task, you should ask for help if you need it. Everyone needs help at some point and having an extra set of hands to help won’t feel as overwhelming as if you were doing it by yourself. With help, you’ll be twice as productive and you’ll worry less about meeting that deadline now that you have someone helping you. 

Get Some Perspective on Your Task

Becoming more productive in your day-to-day life can be accomplished by realizing what’s important and what’s not important because you’re likely spending a lot of your time stressing over things that are not that important in the big picture. A lot of the things that people stress over are actually not as significant as they would like to think they are… Keeping a positive attitude as you start the day, dive into your tasks, and tackle everything that needs to be done can deter you from getting sidetracked and wasting time on stressing over insignificant things.

Focus on Your Stress and Confront It

Sometimes focusing on your stress can be a good thing, if you’re trying to figure out how to better handle it that is. If trying to avoid stress isn’t as much of a successful method as you would like it to be, you could be productive through your stress and write down what it is that’s making you feel that way so you can confront it. In addition to writing down what stresses you out, also write down what’s the worst that can possibly happen. This will allow you to be able to look at back at what you wrote at a later time and see for yourself whether or not what you were stressing over was actually something significant. Usually, things end up not being as bad as they seem once you remove yourself from the situation and get a clearer head when looking at things.

Stress can ruin your life, but it only will if you let it. By learning to maintain your stress, you can become more productive, be happier, and learn how to look at the bigger picture of things. While it’s natural to feel some extent of stress when it comes to some things in life; Stress shouldn’t dominate your day. 

“If someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you’re not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later.” – Richard Branson

Fear is an illusion until conquered. But the problem with fear is it prevents us from even attempting to overcome the illusion. To break it you need just go and do it. The more you think and analyse, the more you have to convince yourself. Just like getting into a cold pool or the beach. Jump in and you’ve done it. Walk in and you feel the pain and you still think about backing out. The fear overwhelms you. 

“If someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you’re not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later.” – Richard Branson

Fear of failure prevails when there is an illusive notion that successful people are on a higher plain, elevated and showered with angel dust by the success fairy who passed over the rest of us. The realization that this is a delusion becomes clear when you see professionals who lack professionalism, managers who cannot manage and executives who fail to execute. When you have a negative experience with someone at the top, it serves as a reminder that there’s room for more, including yourself in the club of success.

Once you step out of your comfort zone, this is where you will grow and this is where you will be challenged. It will be scary, it may be hard and won’t always be fun… but what I can say is, the growth will always be worth it in the end. The question is… where will you step out of your comfort zone? New Routines? New Goals? New Styles? New Challenge? What?

“We cannot expect to grow if we are too afraid or unwilling to change and face challenges. When we exit our everyday, mundane lifestyles to do something different we can experience growth, undiscovered strength, and new abilities within ourselves.” – Ashley Ormon

Worry not of the day ahead, worry not of tomorrow. Not everything can be changed or controlled, but if you have made your decision to lose before even starting, how could expect to at least attempt in changing or controlling the things before you?

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!

Worry less but plan more. Take an attitude check, reevaluate and prepare yourself to be the best! Give it a shot today!

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” – Elbert Hubbard

90 Day’s may still seem a long time for you – but it is not. Looking at 90 days and thinking what can I do, will enable you to think more precise as you know the time is limited – which in theory should give you that extra motivation, as it will give you the fear of missing out.

You have a real shot of changing your life and the decision is to be made today. Maybe you want to lose some weight, run further, read more, be more, start this, or achieve that. Maybe you want to grow your art skills or writing skills – so do something about it for the next 90 days. 

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” –  Wayne Gretzky

Earlier this year (Day #88: Habit + Willpower = ?) I told you that if you want results, you need to apply some action and keep momentum. While at the same time if you apply daily discipline and create a new habit through willpower to prove to yourself that you even can do it – then you will be motivated more and more by the result. 

Forming habits can be hard or really, really simple. It is all about limits, quotas and challenges. With only 90 days remaining – you have a wonderful chance to still make some noise and a big enough impact to whatever it is you wish to do. All you need to do is set yourself a daily quota to do something and this will enable you to more likely stay dedicated.

So what will you do? Grow your mind? Read more books? Develop you writing passion?

In quota terms this is how you could do it: “Do 20 math exercises a day”, “Read a chapter a day”, “Write 500 words a day”.

Make this a priority for each day for the next 90 days (starting today).

Then you need to just evaluate what this can do for you. Remember make sure you pick something realistic.

I say keep it smaller to enable consistency.

Now you want to take whatever it is and calculate the development of this daily discipline.

• If you do 20 math problems a day, for example, after 30 days you’re 600 problems smarter. So for 90 days that’s 1800 problems solved. 
• If you read a chapter a day, after 2 weeks you have read the entire book (based on the average book size). So for 90 days that’s roughly 6 books.
• If you write 500 words a day, after 2 months you end up with the equivalent of a full novel. 90 days would mean the equivalent to almost 2 novels.
• There are plenty of 30 day running plans equating to 30 miles (48kms), so how about going for 90 days and hit just shy of 150kms.

Where the real magic is found is if you improve your effort by increments every day for the next 90 days instead of not or even less.  My favorite example on this is push ups. 

Start with a baseline of 1 push up. Then increment daily by 1. The next day, do 2 and so on. So by the end of 90 days you will do 90 push ups on your final day. But think of the compounding. If you do not increment each day by 1, by the end of the year you have done 90 push ups. BUT! If you increment by 1 each day for the next 90 days. By the end of the year you have done 4094 push ups. And that’s just push ups. Imagine what you could with all your other goals! But if you can already do 50 start from there, that’s 8505.

The point is, go back to your list of goals for the year and have a look of what you have and have not done. Don’t waste any more time and pick one goal that requires action and make it your priority today. The more time you invest, yields a higher return. Remember, success is earned, never given. 

Just like when I go for a run, the final 500m is where I push the hardest, I fight for a burst of energy and a bolt of speed to wipe off some of those slacked seconds. It is my chance to finish strong, to finish on top and to come out with a smile. This is what you are doing. If you have been taking it easy this year, it is time to make the final sprint and really make it count. No you may not reach the final tip of your goal, but you will make noise and make enough effort to make you realize you have what it takes. 

With this said – this will only work if you take action and invest the little time left. Success is never given, it is only earned. 

“The biggest difference between success and failure is total time invested.” – Oliver Emberton

Always Be Prepared – Just be ready for change

Remember To Breathe – Slowly exhale. Repeat this process. You’ll be okay.

A Little Discomfort Can Be Healthy – In life, it’s important to push ourselves outside our comfort zone. We grow by attempting what we think we can’t accomplish.

Appreciate The Beauty – Sometimes, we get so caught up in the destination, we forget how beautiful the journey is.

Go Your Own Pace – There’s no need to go faster than you’re comfortable going. There’s no need to belittle your accomplishments and measure them up against others.

Don’t Let Fear Stop You – Regardless of whether or not you succeed, there is beauty in the attempt. To be paralyzed by fear is to stop appreciating the beauty that surrounds us.

Just Keep Moving Forward – Take a small break. Step back, look around and appreciate how far you’ve come. If you’ve made it this far, a few more steps won’t hurt.

A Little Is Better Than Nothing – So get out there. Go for a walk. Read a book. Grab a coffee. Put on some music and shake it off.

You Gain Perspective At The Top – Once you have climbed your mountain… The hike is rigorous and harder than you expected. You’re ready to turn back, but you keep pushing forward. You’ve gained clarity and a new perspective on what is important in your life. On-wards to the next mountain!

Revel In Your Success; You’ve Earned It – Congratulations! Instead of rushing to the bottom or moving on to the next task, take a second. Realize how far you’ve come and how much you’ve accomplished. Revel in that success. You are amazing. Throw a little party for yourself. Reflect on how far you’ve come.

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. – Edmund Hillary

“If you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you’ll spend your life completely wasting your time. You’ll be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing thing you don’t like doing, which is stupid.” – Alan Watts

Passions, dreams, goals, lifestyle, happiness, motivation and encouragement are all of a single instance – they are of the heart. Following your heart, your ultimate journey, you will go places you would have never have thought, you will become greater than you could have ever imagined and you will amaze all the people who would have never thought you could have done it. But don’t do it to impress – do it for the satisfaction knowing that you have conquered the highest mountain, the hardest challenge and the biggest critic. YOU. If you can fight yourself, beat yourself and train yourself to go, be and do the things of your dreams and turn them into a reality and into a lifestyle. You will always be happy – as if you love what you do, you will always do what you love and never have to work another day in your life.

Go now and make path of your journey ahead. Don’t wait another moment… follow your heart, follow your desires. 

“If you’re waiting until you feel talented enough to make it, you’ll never make it.” ― Criss Jami

It Can Lead To A Positive Life

I’ll let you in on a little secret I’ve discovered about life: Life is as simple or as tough as you make it to be. Personal happiness can be achieved through working hard, always learning and achieving goals. Following whatever passion you have in life will help you determine and define your own definition of success.

It Can Help With Self Discovery

It makes total sense to want to get to know more about yourself. You are inside your own head 24 hours of the day, seven days a week, whether you like it or not. In the long run, it’s enabled me to put my best strengths to use, avoid my downfalls, find a path for myself and stick to it. The more you know yourself, the more capable you are of achieving your goals.

It Can Help You Achieve Happiness

True happiness that radiates from within is like an infectious disease; it’s simply unavoidable. I believe happiness is a choice, but the magnitude in which it is fueled and delivered is based on the passion behind it.  If you have a passion (YOU NEED TO FIND IT FIRST) and you are living it – this automatically will formulate a rich and contagious happiness from within you. People won’t have a choice but to see it.

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman 

Here are seven good reasons you should keep at it just a little longer and don’t quit:

1. It takes many iterations for one success.

“If birds can glide for long periods of time, then… why can’t I?” – Orville Wright

2. Instant success is a myth.

“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

3. Your success might matter more than you think it does.

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” – Abraham Lincoln

4. The most worthwhile things are not easy.

“Action is the foundational key to all success.” – Pablo Picasso

5. You might not have tried the right thing yet.

“If I have done the public any service, it is due to my patient thought.” – Isaac Newton

6. Tenacity matters more than talent.

“To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.” – Mark Twain

7. Your past does not determine your future.

“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” – Bill Cosby

99.9 percent of the time, our first attempts were not their best and won’t be. But if stay strong and push through one bad draft after another, one business flop after another, until we learn enough and  have tried enough – then we will succeed. 

Don’t quit. Success is ahead.