A New Outlook on the New Year
As the days draw nearer to 2020, I recognize a familiar feeling. It’s actually a heavy sense of disappointment crowned with a hint of sadness. But why? A New Year is supposed to be a time of joy and celebration. This discrepancy between how I usually feel and how I should feel made me realize something for the first time… Wow, I have a terrible outlook on the New Year. I should probably work on that. I just find myself thinking about the things I had planned to do during the year, all the goals I had set, and the “new and improved” version of myself that should have already…
You Can’t Spell Challenge Without Change
It’s an interesting fact that all the letters in the word “change” are also found in the word “challenge.” But beyond mere spelling, there is meaning. Not only can you not spell the word challenge without change, but most challenges require some level of change. There isn’t much of a challenge if things stay exactly as they are. Challenges often demand change coming from things like our perspective, effort, and mindset to our environment and comfort zone. Remember, there is little challenge without change and little change without challenge. Quote by: Esthella B
The Problem of Perfectionism and “Product” Goals
Recently, I was talking to a friend about goals. We all have them. And if you don’t, get yourself some. But I digress…As we were sharing our goals, she asked me a simple question about one of mine. She asked me when the book I’m working on will be published. I had no response. Even worse, I hadn’t given enough thought or planning on it to know the answer. The truth is, I feel like it’ll never be done. The finish line seems so far in the distance that I sometimes forget it’s there. I actually stop moving toward it. The truth is, I often go months at a time…
The Importance of Counteracting a Sedentary Work Life
Over the past two years of working at a desk job, my lifestyle has been the most sedentary it has ever been. If I don’t intentionally exercise, my main physical activity would be walking to or from a parking lot. Outside of that, I would spend most of my day sitting or standing. Why is this relevant? Unless your job requires physical activity, your lifestyle is probably similar to mine. It’s innately sedentary. And with all the technological advances and automation of physical tasks, this is unavoidably becoming more common. As a result, sedentariness is very much built into the fabric of most of our days. But it was never…
Why We All Need to Have Things to Look Forward to
What are you looking forward to, besides your next day off work? I asked myself this question and realized the sad truth. Lately, I’ve been so busy that the weekend is all I ever look forward to. It’s my days off, time to get more sleep, do errands, hang out with friends and family, and occasionally get more work done. But there has to be more to life than anticipating the next weekend filled with the same old activities. After a while, the same pattern starts to get old. But sometimes, when you don’t have anything really exciting to look forward to, you have to create it. One thing I…
Motivation Part 3: Top 3 Ways to Get Past Wanting to Do Something to Actually Doing It
We’ve now gotten almost halfway through the Motivation Staircase. In Part 1, we defined what Motivation means; and in Part 2, we used that understanding to move from “I won’t do it,’ to I can’t do it,’ to ‘I want to do it.’ The question now is how. Knowing how to do something is important, as it creates a boost of confidence that motivates you to do that thing. However, it’s just as important to know how to start and continue. How do you get past wanting to do something to actually doing it? The following productivity strategies have motivating elements to them. Therefore, they increase your productivity and motivation…
Motivation Part 2: Increasing our Positive Motivation
In Motivation Part 1, we realized that at the heart of motivation are these definitions: 1. “…to want to do a specific thing more than we want to do anything else at a particular time,” and 2. “what we would rather do than not do (20). However, even with these clearer definitions, we can’t get anywhere if we don’t get past the first two obstacles to motivation: “I won’t do it” and “I can’t do it”. These also happen to be the first two steps on our Motivation Staircase. How can you increase your positive motivation? If you’re not at step 3 yet, begin by asking yourself why you won’t…
Motivation Part 1: Why We Should First Understand What Motivation Actually Means
There are countless motivational speakers, books, sayings, and support groups aimed to motivate us to start, stop, or continue something. So, it behooves us to ask the question: what is motivation? Motivation Staircase Before we begin, below is an illustration that’ll be referenced in each post in this Motivation series. The picture presents motivation as literal steps that go from having no desire to do something to getting it done. Looking at the image and the title of this post, one might say a basement should be added. That would be correct. We’re literally and figuratively starting from the very ground up when we ask ourselves: what is motivation. Why…
Step 1: Motivation. Step 2: Climb
Talking about addressing our emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing without discussing Motivation would be a big miss. It’s like saying how food is cooked without mentioning any source of heat. Or explaining how a bowling ball hits a strike without saying anything about it being pushed by someone or something. Or how about this illustration: Imagine being stuck in a deep dark hole. There’s no ladder in sight and it seems like there’s no way out. But there is a way out. It so happens that certain actions result in a rung of a ladder to appear. With each action, another step is formed, enabling you to not only climb…
Developing Life Goals: Set, Plan, Execute, Track
From improving our health to advancing in our career, strengthening our faith, or just doing whatever it is we’ve been putting off, there are many apps out there for productivity and time management. They make it easier to actually do the things we say we’ll do…tomorrow. Goals Wizard by Brian Tracy is one of them them. For each goal you set, you dive deep with a questionnaire that explores why you really want to accomplish it and obstacles standing in the way. You can set a target date and benchmarks, fill in to-do lists with one-time and recurring activities. Furthermore, it enables you to edit a built-in calendar that can…
