New Years Resolutions Tips - Top Tips for New Years Resolution Success

Without delay, let us get into the top new years resolutions tips to help you guarantee success this year. And the first tip is critical to your success:

Be Realistic: This is the thing that you absolutely must start out with. If you are not realistic about your new years resolution, you are setting yourself up for failure.

For instance, if your new years resolution is to lose 40 pounds in the next 3 months, that is a very big goal. Why not aim a little lower (say 20 pounds) and then when you reach that goal, set another.

Create a Plan: It's not enough to make a new years resolution on New Year's Eve and then wish for success in the new year. You have to think your resolution through and create a plan of attack. In fact, the earlier you start that plan, the better.

For instance, if you are trying to exercise more, create a workout schedule that is both realistic and easy to incorporate into your life. Even better, get a friend to workout with so you stick with your plan.

Tell Others About It: When you keep your resolution a secret, it is easy to just ignore it and not stick with it until you are successful. If you tell your friends and family members about it, they are not going to let you off the hook - they are going to ask about your progress and help motivate you to achieve your new years resolution.

Keep a Journal to Track Your Progress: When you write down your progress daily, it is easy to stay motivated and when you see your progress.

Sometimes you cannot see how much you have accomplished because you are weighing yourself daily or staring at that pile of bills, but by reviewing your journal, you will stay motivated because those small accomplishments will begin to pile up.

Do It For 21 Days Straight: Habits are formed after 21 days, which means that you have a higher likelihood of achieving your resolution if you do something toward your resolution for at least 21 days.

According to a recent survey of that looked at how people were keeping new years resolutions, the following is a breakdown of those how many resolutions are kept over time:

• past the first week: 75%
• past 2 weeks: 71%
• after one month: 64%
• after 6 months: 46%

As you can see, if you can keep it going for just 21 days, you will make it into that group of people who are sticking with their resolutions, while everyone else goes back to their same old self they have been wanting to change forever. Do NOT let that happen to you!

And if you do find yourself slipping up, take the next tip to heart...

Failure is Only Temporary: Expect and plan for setbacks. Sometimes when we're trying to do something new or change something about ourselves, we have a set back.

Do not let it de-motivate you or bring you down. Just charge ahead with that New Years Resolutions and pursue that goal of yours until you are successful. You need to go easy on yourself and try not to beat yourself up over the slip ups along the way. Just get back on the "horse" and charge ahead toward achieving your goal.

Have Fun and Celebrate: Resolutions are supposed to be something that you WANT to do, not HAVE to do so have some fun with it to stay motivated and you will find yourself wanting to exercise, eat less, pay down bad debt or do whatever your resolution is.

Celebrate by buying yourself something little that you have been wanting to buy or indulge in your favorite dessert if you have lost your first five pounds (just don't celebrate too much)!

In Summary
The statistics say that only about 5 to 20 percent of us keep our New Year's resolutions (what number you believe depends on what source you look up). The biggest area of failures are around diet fitness resolutions.

Do not let the statistics stop you from pursuing a new years resolution this year. When you follow the above tips for new years resolutions, you will easily fall into the 20 percent of people who achieve their new years resolutions! I hope these tips for new years resolution success have helped. Now go take action on your resolution!

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Post Christmas Diet Tips

Over the years I, like many others, have experienced the post Christmas food hangover. Many years this hangover has lead to days, weeks, and even months of bad diet and nutrition. Finally I've learned from experiences. I'd like to share with you the tips that help me get back on track right away.

Here's my list of Post Christmas Diet Tips that have worked for me:

1. The day after Christmas start your morning off with an intense workout. Nothing puts me back into the right frame of mind with my diet and nutrition like an intense workout to start my day off. After a hard workout my body is begging me for the proper fuel.

2. Hide all candy, sweets, and dessert out of sight. When you don't see those sugary and butter calorie laden foods you are not as likely to go and pick and nibble all day on them. Better yet, next Christmas give them away, don't take any home with you, or if you have to throw them away. Let the kids take one or two and put them away for the kids to have later.

3. Make sure you have the foods YOU need in the refrigerator BEFORE Christmas so that AFTER Christmas you can't use the excuse that you don't have what you need to get back on your diet/nutrition plan.

4. Don't do anything drastic! Take it one day at a time and remember that it takes time but you are far better off to be sensible. This is a lifestyle not a quick fix.

5. Drink lots of water! I know!!!! You hear this all the time and you hear it all the time because it is TRUE! Water will help your body eliminate all the salt, sugar, and alcohol that you consumed over Christmas.

6. And lastly don't beat yourself up with guilt and regret with what you did eat over Christmas. It's done and over and get be changed. And if you really did go overboard remember that next year and have a plan in place so that you can enjoy the Christmas season without guilt and regret next year.

By following these simple but effective tips I have been able to avoid the post Christmas food frenzy. There's no need to let a simple holiday derail you from your fitness and weight loss goals this year! Stay in control and you'll be able to enjoy the Christmas holiday AND stay on track!

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Boredom Is A Mindset

No beating around the bush, no dancing around the issue. This is the money content: BOREDOM IS A MINDSET. With a slight adjustment in your tolerance for boredom, with a vision of what excites / interests you and what you value, and with a few simple preventative measures and habits, anyone can stave off the dreaded curse of boredom.

Boredom is defined as: "an emotional state experienced during periods lacking activity or when individuals are uninterested in the activities presented to them."

My question is: How can we basically ensure that boredom is not part of our experience anymore? I'm not talking about less boredom, I'm talking about virtually no boredom.

It sure seems hard when you're stuck in a line at the bank, or at the doctor's office, or a traffic jam. But its possible more than possible!

Here I'll break boredom prevention down into 5 components. When applied, these can make most any situation in life not only bearable, but enjoyable and useful for personal growth:

1) Understand what You Value and what Engages You -

Boredom implies not being engaged, it implies seeing no compelling reason to act or think - it implies the belief that if the world does not spoon feed us something fun for our brains, then we will necessarily suffer from boredom. You must understand what does in fact engage you. Do you like to learn about physics, gardening, psychology? Do you enjoy socializing with new people? Do you like playing chess? The key here is to understand a) what you learn from and can immerse yourself in, and b) what you enjoy doing - then figure out ways to bring that into your life. This could be scheduling in what is most enjoyable in your week. Leading into the next point, it could also involve relating what you're doing now to what you value in life.

2) Change Your Perspective -

Before we mentioned that it is maladaptive to believe that if the world does provide our brains with fun, we will be subject to boredom. Why is this maladaptive? Mainly, because it is false. Why is it false? Because we can change our perspective. Instead of labeling a situation as uninteresting, how about tuning your mind to find what IS interesting, what IS engaging, what you COULD do to make the most of the situation. We should always seek to find ways to maximize our moments, to find something to draw from them - be it warm human contact, deleting old numbers from your phone, updating your calendar, etc... We can find something to learn, something worthwhile to do and engage ourselves with. How about we instal a new belief that we will live in alignment with what we value every second, not just when the outside world seems to give us nice things to explore with our minds. Stuck in a long line? What do you value, what do you live for, what could you make from this situation? Meet someone, do some visualization of a future task... the focus is always yours to control!

3) Change Your Language -

Language has a massive effect on our perspectives and our mindset. One bit of advice that will instantly benefit you in eradicating boredom is eradicating "bored" or "boring" from your common lexicon immediately. There is little reason to use these words. Saying that you are "bored" implies that you do not have the will to change your perspective and stay engaged / enjoying your situation - to draw something from your situation. Saying that something or someone is "boring" implies that it is an innate quality within that person, place, or thing. This is the opposite of the truth. So, as you change your perception of your interest in what is around you, you can also shift your vocabulary to make the world more interesting.

4) Change Your Body -

What if I told you to imitate a "bored" person, or an "uninterested" person... would you be able to do so very easily? Maybe you would slump over a little, stare off into space with half-opened, and look frustrated and discontent. Bam, you know what it looks like. What do YOU look like when you're bored? I'll bet its exactly as you described it. In addition to changing your inside, change your outside. Sit up strait, open your eyes, find things to engage yourself with in an alert and enthusiastic way. Just moving and acting like this will put you in a state of alertness, it will give you access to the resource of alertness. This is what your body moves and feels like when you really are engaged, so your brain will take you to that state more easily.

5) Be Prepared -

I think this is where things get really fun. Inevitably you'll enter situations where the amount of engaging / fun activities given by the environment seems minimal. This might be a lecture, a long drive, etc... For long car rides, I like to have on some audio programs, or enjoyable / thought provoking music. For a doctor's office, I like to bring in an iPod (again with audio programs) or an interesting book I'm working on (usually psychology or philosophy related). If its a meeting that you anticipate will not be very productive, plan some important issues to bring up, or focus on setting up an appointment with someone in the meeting you want to speak with, etc...

As a final tip: If you ever find yourself feeling bored, record the event or situation when you go home that night, and use these steps above to understand how you could change the situation to something meaningful the next time you're in a similar scenario.

Follow these basic guidelines and avoid boredom altogether. Seriously! I cannot promise you advice to keep you from ever experiencing loneliness, or sadness, or regret - but I can say that by abiding by these basic ideas you can bypass boredom as an experience.

Boredom's algorithm seems to be so much easier than those other emotional experiences (it would take too much time to dive into them all now, haha, believe me!). I don't consider myself different than most, and I can tell you right now that I have not been genuinely bored in about two years - since I caught onto this.

Take these ideas and run with them, constantly look to engage actively with your life and towards your ideals - and "being bored" doesn't ever have to happen again!

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Boredom Is The Stepping Stone Of Creativity

We all get bored sometime in our life. The feeling of boredom results from lack of excitement, adventure, or otherwise fun activities. It instills a sense of unrest in the bored person and he does not know what to do. Most people try to get rid of boredom by engaging in activities that kill time. Sometime, they do some activities that excite them. For example, it is common for bored people to go to a restaurant to eat good food or go to see a movie or engage themselves in some activity which engages their mind for sometime till the feeling of boredom disappears. Some people, even take drugs, engage in binge drinking and even go to the prostitutes to get rid of boredom.

Yet many people cannot get rid of boredom since they do not understand boredom and they fail to find a solution to overcome boredom. The activities with a purpose of killing time only do the symptomatic treatment of boredom. As a result, boredom comes back again and again in the lives of people. When people fail to find an external means to overcome their feeling of boredom, they get depressed and even commit suicide since they find no purpose of life and hence no reason to live. R. I. Fitzhenry, the founder of Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited Publisher said,

"Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity."

The feeling of boredom has a purpose just like the feeling of pain. A pain in the body gives you a signal that there is some problem in the ailing part of the body. In the same way, boredom is a signal that tells you that your mind is not happy with what you are doing. The feeling of boredom is caused when you are not doing anything you love. When you live your life in a way that most of the time, you are simply working to earn your living as a machine or as a passive human being; your mind brings boredom to make you realize that you need to do something else. However, just like most people instead of listening to the signal of pain and taking remedial action to relive the pain, take medicine that suppresses the pain, most people engage their mind in an activity that kills the time.

If you are feeling bored even when you have so much of pending work, you must learn to listen to your soul as in the time of boredom, all external attachments seem unattractive. In this time, you can discover yourself and your soul. Once who has discovered the real self i.e. soul, you also understand the true meaning of life and your actual role in the world.

Most creative people are, therefore, quite boring people in the traditional sense. They are not engaged in many external activities as they have developed a communication with their soul. The soul is never restless like a body, nor does it demand continuous stimulation. It is peaceful like the water in the depth of the sea. The peace of the soul makes the person peaceful and calm. Yet the mind of the creative person is not inactive even for a minute as it is constantly discovering new horizons inside. When a creative person represents his mind in any form, he creates something new and useful for the world which is loved by other people. The musicians discover soothing music from their soul and poets discover poems. The scientists discover their greatest findings from their innermost self.

If you have not been making the best use of boredom, it is difficult to be creative. Albert Einstein, the greatest scientist of all times has correctly said,

"Boredom is the highest mental state."

Life is a mystery which can not be explained either by science or by scriptures. Truth has a body and a soul which we call science and religion. Contrary to popular perception, they are not opposed to each other but complement each other like body and soul. In fact, they can not exist without each other.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4643864

How To Make Next Year Your Best Ever

Looking for ways to make next year your best ever? This article will give you the tools needed to put you on the road to achieving your dreams in the coming year.

First, decide that next year will be your best year ever! This creates Looking for ways to make next year your best ever? This article will positive expectations for the year and sets your mind on a search for ways to make it happen.

Now ask yourself what will make next year your best year ever. Exactly how much money do you have to make? What has to happen in your personal life? What about your health? Write a description of what events have to take place, where they need to occur, who is involved, and when things must be done. The clearer the description of what you want, the better the odds are that you will attain that goal. And remember to make these things you really want, don't list things that someone else wants for you, if you don't want them as well. Pick five of these best things that can happen to you and turn them into goals, in order to focus your efforts on your top priorities. Be sure to check for conflicting goals, lying on the beach, does not go with starting a new business.

When looking at your goals for next year, make sure they are measurable, since you will want to track your progress during the year and make any changes in your plans as they are needed. Be sure to budget the funds necessary to implement your goal, and also assign a time budget to it, so you can see what is involved. You may find that breaking down the goals into smaller and smaller pieces makes the process more manageable.

Then, announce to everyone you come in contact with, that next year will be your best year yet. This will generate some pressure to live up to the announcement and help keep you motivated. Plus, your subconscious mind will work to support this statement.

Next, start implementing the plan. All the plans in the world mean nothing unless you take action.

As you move through the implementation process, be sure to give yourself credit for what you have accomplished thus far, even if you have not reached the goal. This will keep your morale up and help keep you motivated.

If you have a setback or lose your motivation to work on the goal during the year, remind yourself of the reason you set the goal, the payoff you expect to get from it, and this will help you get back on track. Also, if you fail to make progress on the goal, step back and ask yourself if it is still a worthy goal. Perhaps you have changed or the circumstances have changed and you should abandon the goal without feeling guilty. Lighten up on yourself if some time has passed and you have not made the progress you wanted to. Maybe your timetable was unrealistic, or other legitimate things have come up to delay the project. Better late than never is a good thing to think of when it comes to goals.

As far as how much time to spend working on your goals for next year, there are two ways to look at it and you can pick what works best for you. One school of thought says you should take total massive action on your goals and never stop to work on anything else until it is completed.

Another adage to keep in mind is that it is better to do a little a lot, than a lot a little. By this I mean it is better to keep working on your goal, doing at least something daily, but keeping at it, rather than trying to do everything at once, but only doing it sporadically.

If you follow the steps outlined in this article, next year truly will be your best year ever. So the last step is to make plans to celebrate having had your best year ever, as you are now on your way to the top.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/110350

Making The Best Of Every Situation

Right now I am in isolation, this is the third time I have been in isolation and when you are trying to get a business up and running again it can be really frustrating when you have to do isolation again. This time it is much closer to home, as my partner is the one who is my close contact who has tested positive.  Just a few days ago, a client of mine had tested positive and I had to start the isolation process. 

I was left with a choice on how I feel - have the 'why me' mentality or what can I do that will benefit me in the future when all of this has gone and we get back to 'normal'. 

What I have learnt is that I made a choice that I will always look on the upside of situations. So in this third isolation I have managed to get a lot more done and be able to spend time on the things that I want to spend time on. 

This all came about through Joe Vitale's 'What If, Up' way of thinking whereby any situation that you come across and you start with "What is the best possible outcome of this situation". Suddenly after a while you cement in your subconscious to look at the good and take this out the fear of making of decisions that you have been agonising over for the last few weeks. 

Now it is your turn to start changing the way you think. This will set you up great for when 2021 starts and you will see how it changes the way you think and act. 

Goals Setting - What It the Perfect Number Of Yearly Goals To Set?

To be effective in goals setting you must first learn to set long term and short term goals. Long term goals are essential in helping you plan the future (a period of seven to 10 years into the future is recommended). Short term goals help you to turn your long term goals into reality and also serve the purpose of giving you a sense of accomplishment on a regular basis. If you were only rewarded after seven years, you would most likely find it difficult to stay focused and motivated for your goals.

In the article we focus on short term goals and in particular look at how many goals you should be setting each year. The perfect number may surprise you.

In the 1950's, George Miller a prominent psychologist came up with the theory that humans can only deal with seven pieces of information at one time. If more pieces of information come in, then we have to start grouping the information if we want to remember everything. For example, if you were remembering large numbers you would have to break the numbers into groups such as 143, instead of 1, 4 and 3.

This is useful information when you consider your yearly goals. You should consider a number around seven. It could be less or it could be slightly more but seven is ideal. This way you will know you that you can easily remember all of your goals that you plan to achieve.

Once you have chosen your goals, and the number of goals, to be effective you still need to do the following:

• Write down your goals: Write them down and place them where you will look at them every day. This will help keel you motivated, and will also set your goals in concrete, rather than just an idea in your head.

• Remember that all your goals are not equal: Weigh up which of your goals are the most important for you, and give these your priority when you are working on your goals. You will be better off only achieving a few of your goals, rather than doing bits of everything and achieving none of your goals at all.

• Make sure your goals are somewhat realistic: While you want to stretch yourself and improve, if you set goals that are too far fetch (like becoming a billionaire in the next six months), you will most likely fail. A better idea is to break the goal down into small achievable chunks, and slowly progress towards. For example, It may be more realistic to become a billionaire in 20 years' time.

So in summary, when setting your short term goals go for a number around seven. This way you will easily be able to manage and achieve the number of goals you have, and you will stay on top of your goals setting.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5730232

How To Beat a Temporary Motivational Slump

People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents. ~Andrew Carnegie

Regardless of your level of motivation, it is human nature to have days when you aren't feeling very motivated. By surrounding yourself with positive and motivational things, those days will normally be few and far between.

However, if you find your lack of motivation lasting for more than a few days you may be on your way to a full-fledged motivation slump.

True motivation is an internal force.

Although motivation from other people can be helpful, reality is that you're not always going to find the support and encouragement you need from other people when you need it.

It's not necessarily that they don't care, sometimes it's simply that other people are caught up in their own lives at the moment and simply don't realize you're waiting for them to motivate you.

So if you find yourself waiting for someone else to encourage you, or kick your butt to get going... then maybe it's time for you to kick your own butt a little and work on motivating yourself.

When You See a Slump Coming

• Recognize a slump for what it is: We are rarely immediately aware when a slump begins to set in. More likely we'll chalk it up to the need for a break; telling ourselves we'll get back on track after a break. Left unattended, some people won't get back on track for days, weeks, months or even years in extreme cases. Recognize the slump for what it is-a momentary lag in your motivation-and take action accordingly.


• Look for new ways to do the same old things: Even the most important task on your list can get old if it involves doing the same thing day in and day out. Mixing up your schedule or trying a variety of ways to complete repetitive tasks will keep your brain engaged and interested and your motivation will continue to burn.


• Paint a clear picture for yourself of what life will be like if you never change: Sometimes pain is our motivator for change; for instance having to lose weight for health reasons. In this case, it may be helpful to create a trigger to remind yourself of the consequences of not staying on track with your goal to lose weight.


• Perfection doesn't exist: Find the middle ground between perfection and just-good-enough. Motivation is almost impossible to maintain when we expect everything to be 100% perfect. Shoot for 80-90 percent and move on when you've hit it!


• Build your own small library of personal development tapes: Listen to motivational messages and personal development tapes while you are commuting, running errands, cleaning or exercising.


• Get the blood pumping: A little exercise, whether it is in the form of a weight-lifting session in the gym, or a leisurely walk will not only make you feel better physically, but the rush of endorphins will give you that little feel-good kick.


• Give yourself a pep talk: Set aside a minute every day to let positive energy flow; write down (or say aloud) everything that you like about yourself and your life, and use that minute to reaffirm why you want to meet your goals. You may feel silly at first, but it's harder to feel unmotivated when you're literally cheering yourself on!


• Surround yourself with success: Success stories can be great for lifting the spirit and re-engaging our motivation when it's lagging. There's also something quite profound about the effect motivational quotations can have on us - amazing what a mere string of words can do to touch our hearts and give us that extra bit of courage.


• Pat yourself on the back: Even if no one else knows about your accomplishments, they shouldn't go unnoticed. Commemorate finishing a marathon by framing your bib or medal, or engrave the date of a huge accomplishment on a piece of jewelry. Not only does it feel good to celebrate the achievement, but it also serves as a visual reminder of your progress, which can help keep you pumped up on those less-than-motivated days.


• Challenge yourself. A little competition can be good for you! Join a challenge for that extra push you need to meet your goals, as well as the support from others who are going after the same goal.


• Considered creating your own mantra or adopting a theme song: Why not take your goal or goals, and turn them into your own personal mission statement-"I choose to spend more time with my children" or "I choose to take control of my time so I can start my own business". Maybe you have a favorite song that when you hear it causes your spirit to soar.


• Monitor your progress: Keeping track of your progress on goals or whatever you are working toward achieving will not only help you stay motivated but will serve to alert you if you begin to fall into a slump.

Forced vs. Natural Motivation

There is a big difference between trying to force ourselves to do something and being self-motivated to do it as a result of wants and desires. Forcing yourself to do something, even when you realize it's for your own good, locks you into struggle. It is like sitting in a car with one foot on the gas and the other foot on the breaks. It uses up a lot of energy and internal resources. It is pitting your willpower against the deeper motivations of your subconscious mind, and willpower can only take you so far.

If you find yourself a situation where you are feeling forced to accept or create change in some way, take responsibility for your own life experience by examining your real motivation. What behaviors, situations, or consequences are you avoiding and what do you need to do to be true to yourself?

Final thoughts on self-motivation...

Experts agree that self-motivation provides a sense of freedom when it comes to successfully navigating the paths we choose to take in life.

Think of all the brilliant examples you've read over the years of the successful and famous. Those people who went through the wringer of perspiration and effort, sparked by their inspiration, belief and vision that one day their idea, invention, book, whatever - could become a reality. Through all the trials and tribulations they kept faith with themselves. They maintained their self confidence. They utilized their positive mental attitude. They kept on going, when most would have walked away, and made their 'little' bit of history.

Self-motivation was the key.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7354309

The Higher Purpose of Pain - A Liberating Truth

It would be hard to imagine anyone who is not aware of the pain in this world. It's all around us. But, what about our own pains? Are you suffering and looking for ways to avoid the pain? Gee, aren't we all at times?

Physical vs. Emotional Pain

When you stub your toe, the pain is acute and immediate. It's also very clear where the pain originated, why it came, and that it will eventually subside. Emotional pain, on the other hand, is not so easily understood. Sometimes it's triggered by an outright event that is clearly seen and understood. Other times it is an automatic reaction that comes from "nowhere" and overtakes us without our permission.

Whatever the source, there it is and we'd do almost anything for it to be gone and to prevent it from ever happening again. Or, would we?

You see, the truth is that we want pain. Now, before you scoff and hang me from the highest tree, hear me out. Pain has its advantages. And not just to remind us to "never do that again!" While it certainly can be a warning signal, pain is also an indication that there's adventure in life.

Things We Put Ourselves Through

Why do we climb mountains? What motivates us to accept challenges? Why do we seek rewards and awards? Should we accept the pain as a given on the way to our accomplishments? Most of the time we do. We say things like; "No pain, no gain." But, is that really the whole truth?

What if we saw pain differently. What if there existed a bigger picture that proved there is no difference between the pain and the reward. No difference between the struggle and the accomplishment. What if we saw them both as equal parts of the same experience.

Adventure: Either we're alive, passionate and active or we're spectators.

We have choices in life. Every day there is choice. We can experience life first-hand or we can experience it from afar. Either we're an active part of existence or we're detached. It's up to us.

If we're a part, we get what comes with it. If we want to avoid all pain, we also avoid the adventure. Nature favors the involved. Choose otherwise and the pain of avoidance will creep in and weigh heavily on us. We soon find it was the wrong choice. The adventure of life is lost. We succumb to the lifeless drudgery of simply existing. And that's no fun at all ... is it?

We are growth oriented, adventure seeking beings.

Our higher purpose choice has already been made. We are here. We are alive. We instinctively know that action is what it's all about. We know, deep down, that the higher purpose of pain is to motivate us to participate fully in life. Even when it seems to guarantee us more "pain."

It's a Matter of Perspective

We can see pain as a dreaded evil or a part of the fabric of life. A beautiful part of life that teaches, motivates, acts as a signpost to better choices, and adds to the adventure. It's a matter of perspective and it boils down to where we put our attention and focus.

The truth is we can see pain differently. We can see the bigger picture. The higher purpose of pain is understood when we step back from the immediacy of the challenging moment and treasure the gift of life. Then we can see that in this amazing adventure, there is no separation between rewards and struggle or even living and suffering.

When we do that, we stop calling it suffering. Pain loses its negative label and its connection with evil. Instead, it becomes a meaningful part of the game we call life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3051978

Pain & Pleasure As Motivators

If you have ever tried to quit money splurging, smoking, drinking or to change some major behavior that you have habitually done for many years, you will know how powerful our habits are. The word habit is spelled as H-A-B-I-T. If you erase the 'H', you will still have abit of the habit. Removing the 'A', will left you bit of the habit. Now you see the picture?

Habit is deeply rooted emotions. When our subconscious mind must choose between deeply rooted emotions and logic, emotions will almost always win. Human habits are a tough nut to crack, but like any tasty nut in a hard shell, it is very rewarding to break through the barrier holding you back.

An effective way to reach inside and create new empowering habits or behaviors is to learn why we do what we do, and how much better it would be if we didn't do it!. We simply do not change long held beliefs or behaviors unless we are somehow shocked by how bad our behavior is or we are motivated to change by seeing the benefits or rewards for our new actions.

To make our own personal changes we have to get very clear about what is negative (pain) about the habit and what benefits (pleasures) we will gain by changing. List as many pain and pleasures as possible.

By understanding pain and pleasure as motivators, you can act now to change your bad habits. It's one thing to know what to do, but another to do what you know. There are 2 types of habits: Doing and Not Doing.

We have to continually reinforce both the pain (creating intense pain if we DON'T change) and the pleasure (creating intense pleasure if we DO change). The more ways of emphasizing the good and bad associated with the behavior we want to change, the more likely we will continue with the new positive habit. Pain and pleasure are powerful driving forces when we learn to focus them and use them properly.

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How to Set Goals: 80/20 Rule for Goal Setting | Brian Tracy

Today a great video that I shared for how to set your goals so that you succeed. Brian Tracy explains the 80/20 rule that will have a massive impact on your success and how to be more structured. 

I hope you enjoy it! 

Tony Robbins | Goal Setting 2018 | Must Watch

Despite that this video is 2 years old at the time of writing, this is worth going through so that you get more clarity and become the best version of yourself and make the rest of 2020 and the whole of 2021 exciting! 

Common Goal Setting Obstacles and How to Maneuver Around Them

Perhaps if you know some of the most common goal setting obstacles you can work toward overcoming them.

You Don't Want What You Think You Want

Some goals are set because other people want them for you. If you don't really want what you say you want, it will be very difficult to set a goal for that thing. Be sure that you've set the goals for the right reasons and that it's something you really want. Write down the pros and cons of any goal and know why you want to achieve that result before setting it in stone.

You Don't Truly Understand the Importance of Goal Setting

Many people think goal setting is just hocus pocus and doesn't really work. If you don't really understand the power behind appropriate goal setting, it can be hard to take the time out of your day to truly set a goal. To understand the importance of goal setting, read several books about success and you'll find that the most successful people set realistic goals, and then worked that goal into their schedule every single day. Even people who experience "overnight success" didn't really achieve everything overnight. It was many nights of following a plan that brought results.

You're Not Really Sure How to Set a Reasonable Goal

If you've actually tried to set a goal before but didn't experience results, it's probably because you just don't know how to set a goal. It's not as easy as just writing down a dream. Goals aren't dreams. They are realistic, specific, achievable end results that you want to see. Take the time to learn the best goal setting techniques in order to experience goal setting success.

You're Scared of Failure

Many people do not bother setting goals because they have a self-limiting belief that they'll fail anyway. Therefore, if they do not set a goal, they won't have to be a failure. But remember that the idea of planning to succeed over planning to fail is realistic. No goal setting is a recipe for failure; goal setting is a recipe for success. When you accept that you can only achieve real success through goal setting, you'll overcome this obstacle.

You're Afraid of Judgment

Sometimes people are scared to set a goal for something because they see it as outrageous. For instance, let's say that you want to go back to college to get a Master's degree, or you want to start your own business. You fear that if you set that goal, and other people know about the goal they'll judge you harshly for wanting it or for some other imagined issue. If you are worried about what others think of you, it's time to dig deep inside yourself and get over it. The truth is, what you think of yourself is more important than anything else. When you stop judging yourself, you'll stop worrying about the judgment of others.

You're Afraid of Success

Believe it or not, some people are literally afraid of success. They feel too much pressure surrounding success to actually make goals to be successful. They are more comfortable in their role as someone who is not successful or who is "normal" instead of as someone who sets a goal, works toward achieving it, and is seen as a success. The truth is, there will always be people who want to tear you down once you achieve some success, but the saddest thing in life is regretting not doing something. Most people regret the things they did not do, more than the things they did do - right or wrong.

You Secretly Don't Think You're Worth It

This is where the way you see yourself is important because if you see yourself as someone who doesn't follow through, who doesn't succeed and who can't change their life, you'll avoid goal setting like the plague. You're the only person on Earth who can control your actions, so you're the only one who can set the goals for you, and the only one who can make yourself feel worthwhile.

You Don't Really Believe It's Possible

People avoid goal setting because they simply do not see the vision of what can be. They don't believe. They don't picture themselves fully at the point of success, experiencing success. Since they think it can't happen, they don't try. But, the truth is, you can't know for sure about anything unless you follow the steps necessary to reach a goal. You can dream big, and reach for the stars. Trying is more important in most circles than actually making it. And, chances are that if you really try, you will make it after all.

Goal setting is an imperative if you want to truly see all your dreams and visions come to fruition. It doesn't matter if it's business oriented or personal - setting a realistic and achievable goal, and then working toward realizing that goal on a daily basis does work. You just have to do the work.

Cheers to your future and your greatness within it!

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