Friday, 15 May 2015
5 Things Super Successful People Do Before 8 AM
Rise and shine!
1. Exercise.
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Most people that work out daily, work out in the morning. Whether it’s a morning yoga session or a trip to the gym, exercising before work gives you a boost of energy for the day and that deserved sense of accomplishment. Anyone can tackle a pile of paperwork after 200 ab reps! Morning workouts also eliminate the possibility of flaking out on your cardio after a long day at work. Even if you aren’t bright eyed and bushy tailed at the thought of a 5 am jog, try waking up 15 minutes early for a quick bedside set of pushups or stretching. It’ll help wake up your body, and prep you for your day.
2. Map Out Your Day.
Maximize your potential by mapping out your schedule for the day, as well as your goals and to dos. The morning is a good time for this as it is often one of the only quiet times a person gets throughout the day. The early hours foster easier reflection that helps when prioritizing your activities. They also allow for uninterrupted problem solving when trying to fit everything into your timetable. While scheduling, don’t forget about your mental health. Plan a 10 minute break after that stressful meeting for a quick walk around the block or a moment of meditation at your desk. Trying to eat healthy? Schedule a small window in the evening to pack a few nutritious snacks to bring to work the next day.
3. Eat a Healthy Breakfast.
We all know that rush out the door with a cup of coffee and an empty stomach feeling. You sit down at your desk, and you’re already wondering how early that taco truck sets up camp outside your office. No good. Take that extra time in the morning to fuel your body for the tasks ahead of it. It will help keep your mind on what’s at hand and not your growling stomach. Not only is breakfast good for your physical health, it is also a good time to connect socially. Even five minutes of talking with your kids or spouse while eating a quick bowl of oatmeal can boost your spirits before heading out the door.
4. Visualization. These days we talk about our physical health ad nauseam, but sometimes our mental health gets overlooked. The morning is the perfect time to spend some quiet time inside your mind meditating or visualizing. Take a moment to visualize your day ahead of you, focusing on the successes you will have. Even just a minute of visualization and positive thinking can help improve your mood and outlook on your work load for the day.
5. Make Your Day Top Heavy.
We all have that one item on our to do list that we dread. It looms over you all day (or week) until you finally suck it up and do it after much procrastination. Here’s an easy tip to save yourself the stress – do that least desirable task on your list first. Instead of anticipating the unpleasantness of it from first coffee through your lunch break, get it out of the way. The morning is the time when you are (generally) more well rested and your energy level is up. Therefore, you are more well equipped to handle more difficult projects. And look at it this way, your day will get progressively easier, not the other way around. By the time your work day is ending, you’re winding down with easier to dos and heading into your free time more relaxed. Success!
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Thursday, 14 May 2015
5 Proven Methods For Gaining Self Discipline
There are many important qualities that can contribute to a person’s achievements and happiness, but there is only one that begets sustainable, long-term success in all aspects of life: self discipline. Whether in terms of your diet, fitness, work ethic or relationships, self discipline is the number one trait needed to accomplish goals, lead a healthy lifestyle, and ultimately, be happy.
According to a 2013 study by Wilhelm Hoffman, people with high self control are happier than those without. The study discovered this is true because the self disciplined subjects were more capable of dealing with goal conflicts. These people spent less time debating whether to indulge in behaviors detrimental to their health, and were able to make positive decisions more easily. The self disciplined did not allow their choices to be dictated by impulses or feelings. Instead, they made informed, rational decisions on a daily basis without feeling overly stressed or upset.
(Photo credit: Moyan_Brenn DeLight)
1. Remove temptations.
Self control is often easiest when abiding by the old saying, “out of sight, out of mind.” Removing all temptations and distractions from your environment is a crucial first step when working to improve your self discipline. If you are trying to have better control of your eating, toss the junk food. Ask your office intern to leave you off of the daily lunch order email. If you want to improve your focus while working, turn off your cell phone and remove the clutter from your desk. If you’re really having trouble, download the SelfControl app on your computer to block distraction websites – Facebook, Youtube, even e-mail – for a set period of time. Set yourself up for success by ditching the bad influences.
2. Eat regularly and healthily.
Studies have shown that low blood sugar often weakens a person’s resolve. When you’re hungry, your ability to concentrate suffers as your brain is not functioning to its highest potential. Hunger makes it difficult to focus on the tasks at hand, not to mention making you grumpy and pessimistic. You are much more likely to have a weakened sense of self control in all areas of our life – diet, exercise, work, relationships… you name it. In order to stay on track, make sure that you are well fueled throughout the day with healthy snacks and meals every few hours. I personally make sure to always have some almonds or Muscle Milk on hand. These snacks ensure that I can get a dose of healthy protein and fats throughout the day when needed. Eating often regulates your blood sugar levels and improves your decision making skills and concentration. Allow you brain to focus on your goals and priorities instead of on your growling stomach.
3. Don’t wait for it to “feel right.”
Improving your self discipline means changing up your normal routine, which can be uncomfortable and awkward. Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, explains that habit behaviors are traced to a part of the brain called the basal ganglia – a portion of the brain associated with emotions, patterns, and memories. Decisions, on the other hand, are made in the pre-frontal cortex, a completely different area. When a behavior becomes habit, we stop using our decision-making skills and instead function on auto-pilot. Therefore, breaking a bad habit and building a new habit not only requires us to make active decisions, it will feel wrong. Your brain will resist the change in favor of what it has been programmed to do. The solution? Embrace the wrong. Acknowledge that it will take a while for your new regime to feel right or good or natural. Keep chugging along. It will happen.
4. Schedule breaks, treats, and rewards for yourself.
Self discipline does not mean your new regimen needs to be entirely
cold turkey, hard core, or drill sergeant-like in execution. In fact,
giving yourself zero wiggle room often results in failures,
disappointments, and giving into your old ways. While practicing self
control, schedule specific breaks, treats, and rewards for yourself.
Dieting? Designate Saturday as ice cream sundae day. Trying to lose
weight? Treat yourself with a fancy massage after a month of gym trips.
Working on controlling your spending? Allow yourself a $25 splurge at
the mall on Sunday. (Leave the credit cards at home, and bring cash
only). Self discipline can be hard. Reward your effort.
5. Forgive yourself and move forward.
Instituting a new way of thinking won’t always go according to plan.
You will have ups and downs, fabulous successes, and flat out failures.
The key is to keep moving forward. When you have a setback, acknowledge
what caused it and move on. It is easy to get wrapped up in guilt,
anger, or frustration, but these emotions will not help build improve
self discipline. Instead, use the hiccups in your plan as learning
experiences for the future. Forgive yourself, and get back in the saddle
ASAP. The longer you’re off your game, the harder it is to keep going
in a positive direction.
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Use Mistakes to Achieve Success
No matter what you do in life, you will make mistakes in your quest for success. Whether your path is entrepreneurship, athletics, or another pursuit, it is important that you embrace these mistakes as the perfect learning opportunity to achieve success.
Often looked down upon in modern society, mistakes are simply unavoidable on any path in life. It is time we changed how we view making mistakes and their role in promoting success.
Mistakes Are Rarely the End of the World
Even if each mistake that you make seems like the end of the world, there are people with far worse stories. In some cases, mistakes can lead to death, loss of property, or relationships, but that doesn’t mean that you cannot recover in order to be successful with whichever endeavor you would like. After all of these mistakes are made, you can either complain, feel emotionally drained, or take a learning approach to your situation.
At the moment, the pain might be very real. Many of these scars will even last you a lifetime, but this will prevent you from ever making the same mistake again. For anyone trying to be successful, avoiding the same mistake more than once is key.
Victory From Mistakes
Whether you believe it or not, many of the top leaders in world history made tremendous mistakes earlier in their lives. Some of them even led to the death of friends and comrades, but each man learned from the mistakes in order to be successful.
George Washington – well known as the founder of the USA, Washington started his military career in the French and Indian War as a Corporal in the Colonial Militia. In one skirmish, Washington made a blunder that cost the lives of almost all of his men. Learning from his mistake, Washington was able to outmaneuver the British army, which was the strongest of the time.
Thomas Edison – once quoted as saying “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work!” Edison is the perfect example of making mistakes. After thousands of his own mistakes, Edison learned all of the things he had done wrong in order to create the light bulb correctly. Had he quit, we would all be in a very different place.
Abraham Lincoln – while known for his two Presidential terms in the USA and his role in the Civil War, Lincoln’s political past is largely forgotten. In the years before the Presidential election in 1860, Lincoln had lost 8 out of 10 elections. Only two years prior, Lincoln had lost a U.S. Senate race. Learning from his mistakes, he was able to win the election and change the course of American history.
Learning From Your Mistakes
Even though the histories of these great men might resonate with you, sometimes it is better to have a tangible practice to help you learn from your mistakes. Here are a few of the things that you can do in order to learn from your mistakes more efficiently.
Meditation / Relaxation – initially, you cannot learn from your mistakes without relaxing. If you are stressed, your mind will think differently, you will take the wrong lessons, and ultimately you will learn nothing. You must compose yourself through either meditation or just through some time of relaxation where you can become more composed.
Write mistakes down – you need to visualize your mistakes and even diagram them to see at what level things started to fall apart. When you write it down, it will have a much deeper impact on you.
Be realistic / remove emotions – you have to be realistic with yourself when it comes to your mistakes. Do not be too harsh, do not be too easy on yourself. Just look at the event subjectively and see what you can learn.
Ask friends and family – you need more than your own perspective. Get the help from friends and family that you trust to see where you went wrong and how to correct things
Once you transition your brain to embrace mistakes in order to learn from them, you will find that you are far more free from outcome and able to utilize lessons better.
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