I’ve always been fascinated with the psychology of colour and how certain colours can influence the way we feel. We all know that certain colours represent certain characteristics:
So the clothes we wear, the decorations of the rooms in our homes, the paintings we buy, the images we are attracted to on Facebook. It all reveals our true personality, and it’s fascinating to observe.
Today I wanted to share a quick quiz with you that I found really interesting:
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In high school, my English teacher had everyone bring in a self addressed envelope. She gave us some paper and told us to write a letter to our future selves. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but I realize now that she was doing us all huge favor. She was giving a gift to our future selves.
After we wrote the letters, she took them and said she would mail them in five years, just as most of us would be graduating from college.
I will never forget reading that letter when it came back to me, exactly five years later as she had promised. It was a rare chance to reflect honestly on the passage of time and on my own personal growth over that formative period in my life.
This is an incredible exercise to do no matter how old you are. Writing a letter to yourself gives you insight and teaches you valuable life lessons that will stick with you long afterwards. Think of it as a time capsule.
1) Cultivate gratitude.
One of the best things for your emotional health is to practice gratitude regularly. It reduces stress and helps you realize what you have. If you’re going to write a letter to yourself, an expression of gratitude is one of the wisest things you can include.
This letter is a message in a bottle. When you open it years from now, you likely have forgotten what you wrote. So give yourself a gift relive some of the same thoughts that you feel today..
Fill it will positive affirmations and appreciation for the person you are. When it’s time to open it up, your future self will thank you.
2) Increase self-awareness.
Do you ever go back and scroll through your old Facebook posts? It hurts, doesn’t it? Like listening to a recording of your own voice.
It’s uncomfortable, it’s a healthy discomfort, because you’re confronting your own shortcomings. You’re embarrassed by your own naivety and your lack of self-awareness. This is actually a good thing, because it shows you how much you’ve grown.
When I opened my own letter after five years, I was blown away by two things– how much I had changed, and how little I had changed. It’s incredible how we can grow and shape who we are, but we are still fundamentally and unalterably ourselves.
All of your quirks and thought patterns will show up as plain as day. You take one step closer toward understanding exactly what is is that makes you authentically YOU.
3) Create your future.
Where will you be in five years? Who do you want to become?
Maybe you’re stuck in a dead-end job, or you just graduated and you’re uncertain about your future. It can start to feel like your best days are behind you.
This exercise helps get your thoughts out of the present and keeps you focused on what is yet to come. Sit down and address a letter to yourself in 3, 5, or 10 years and tell me that you don’t feel hopeful and excited for your future.
Let your mind run wild. Think big and give yourself permission to be wildly ambitious. What principles will guide your life? What do you hope to accomplish? How are you going to do it? If you vividly imagine your future in concrete terms, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
4) Appreciate the passage of time.
One day, your life is going to end. This is hardly a revelation, but it’s human nature to avoid thinking about it. We can be so consumed with our demanding jobs and fast-paced lives that we fail to see the bigger picture.
Rather than think day-to-day, we can gain so much if we challenge ourselves to comprehend years and even decades. Experiencing life this way brings patience and confidence to every action. I challenge you to try to think farther ahead. Sending a message to yourself forces you to do this.
It’s contradictory, but this also brings urgency to every action. When the thought of death and getting older are present, it becomes easier to realize the shortness of life. You have to hurry to get the most out of it.
5) Give yourself a memory.
Are you about to go to college? Getting married? Moving to a new city? If you’re starting out on a brand new journey, there is no better way to commemorate it than by writing a letter to yourself. Like a snapshot of your life at a point in time, it will be nostalgic to look back and see what you were thinking at this pivotal moment in your life. Were you worried about something stressful that turned out to be no big deal? Or maybe you regrettably forgot to stop and smell the roses?
You could even make this an annual tradition– write a letter to yourself every year, but don’t open it for another five years. This way, once the first letter “matures” in 5 years, you have a constant stream to read and to cherish every year for the rest of your life.
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How to Do It
One simple resource is FutureMe.org (futureme.org). This site lets you send an email to yourself and have it delivered at a future date.
For a seamless experience that is a little more hands-off, try Five Year Letter (fiveyearletter.com). When you sign up, you will receive a real physical letter in the mail that guides you through the process. Then you mail it back in the prepaid envelope and wait.
Of course, you could do it yourself, as long as you remember to open it– and you have to resist the temptation to open it too soon. Don’t forget to date it!
What To Write About
This is just a starting point. The important part is to just be sincere and thoughtful. Write your letter, send it off, and then forget all about it so that it can surprise you later. Your future self will thank you.
Until then, go live your life! It is only what you make it.
Scott Hughes is a writer and entrepreneur in Philadelphia. His project, Five Year Letter (fiveyearletter.com), helps people write letters to their future selves so they can get the most out of life. Email him at scotthughes.us@gmail.com.
The post 5 Reasons to Write a Letter to Yourself (and How to Do It) appeared first on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement.
Successful people keep lists so that they do not forget certain things or simply to track their progress. Most of the time, such lists have a way of contributing positively to their success, since they offer balance and direction. Also a list helps you to be organized and focused. I keep a list in my phone and my tablet so that I always have it handy. Wherever you keep your lists, here are some things you should keep written down to help you attain success.
Ideas can be very volatile. They are important to your success, as one idea could change the direction and course of your whole life. This is why it is essential to have a list of ideas written down. These ideas should be the ones you want to act upon or that excite you just as you receive their spark. Many successful minds have a way of carrying a journal or notebook at all times. This way, when an idea pops up, they write it down so they won’t forget them for future use.
Every successful person reads. Reading books boost your chances for success, as they are one item that could challenge you intellectually and inspire smart decisions. Whether it is a non-fiction or a fictional work, always have a list of the books that will satisfy your career or success interests. Sometimes such books are recommended by others, while other times we simply stumble upon them.
Just like creative ideas that could trigger your success, it is important to write something that could inspire and educate others. Success is not just about you, but also offering others a hand in achieving their own success. You could be offering thoughts or knowledge in the form of blog posts, an article in a famous magazine, or a book. This could also propel your career and make you an authority in your field.
I once met an important and knowledgeable person at a conference. Even after a very interesting discussion, I did not take down his contact information. This is something I still regret, because who knows what and when I would have needed his expert advice again? It is always important to keep a list of interesting people you have met and how you can once again reach out to them. Their knowledge and expertise could add to the talent pool of a business you are building or working for.
From TV hosts to journalists, media persons can be pivotal to offering you the recognition you need to be successful. Reaching out and keeping a list of such persons can be rewarding and offer the needed boost in publicity you need. Don’t be shy to connect with a media person or to engage them on social media. Make sure you are noticed by them.
Success requires that you keep track of your progress. Many successful persons like Oprah, Eminem, and J.K Rowling have a journal which they use in tracking their progress. Progress may not mean initial and momentary success, but rather a holistic view of what you define as success. With such a journal, you can identify your areas of strength and flaws and see how you can navigate your terrain for the future.
This is a list of things that you intend to accomplishing in the future. For some, it is a “bucket list,” yet this helps you identify what is important and what is not. It also helps you ascertain what direction you want to take. Each item on this list should help to make you a more fulfilled person.
Many may not consider this essential, but just as books engage and develop the mind, certain movies, documentaries, and TV shows have a way of making a considerable impact on our success. Try checking out reviews and listening or reading critics to know what shows would align with your goals.
Featured photo credit: http://www.picjumbo.com via picjumbo.com
The post 8 Lists To Keep If You Want To Be Successful appeared first on Lifehack.
Many people have talents and want to do great things with them, yet this requires some sense of responsibility and continuous advancement. The benefit of making continuous efforts could be the distinguishing factor between you and competition. It all starts with believing in what you can attain and avoiding these warning signs of stunted growth.
People who grow with their talents tend to explore and take more risks. Risks are the bedrocks of progress. Without taking risks with your talents you could get stuck. Yes, sometimes your talent has to push you out of your comfort zone and engage you with more challenges. However, when you have started settling for what you are known for rather than developing into unknown territories, it means your growth has been halted somewhere.
At the end of the day, no one can fully appreciate you enough for whatever talents you possess. Taking more than giving means that you are not offering more than what you are either paid for or assigned to do. Having a set skill or talent offers you the opportunity to give more of yourself to the world. Talented people tend to work harder and prove to the world that they deserve more than what they are being paid for or what duty they have been assigned to do. To improve your talent, you need to start finding a way to make better contributions rather than making more demands.
How do you view a new challenge? Do you see it as exciting or do you see as mountainous? Those who want to improve their talent are not afraid of obstacles or challenges. They do not see the negatives in a situation but rather they see the positives. Identify the opportunities you are presented with by changing your attitude to meet with challenges. By doing this you will be able to transform grief into greatness.
Mistakes play a vital role in success. Many talented people make mistakes but are quick to learn from them and correct them. Correcting your attitude and devoting yourself to more education on your trade will distinguish you. Understanding that mistakes add to the learning curve rather than halting it could be beneficial to becoming the best you can be.
Because we live in a quick fix-society where you can lose ninety pounds with the swallowing of a pill, many people start looking for an easy way out. Unfortunately that is not the pattern nature has set for each of us. To building your talent and maintain a sustainable growth within it, you have to cherish difficulties. There is no easy way out of the doors of ignorance or mediocrity. Most times what could count even more than raw talent could be the determination and grit you have shown to build up your skills. Growing with your talent means earning every milestone you reach.
Your skills should be promoted by the attention you offer to it. What activities are you investing your time in? Are they related to helping develop your skills and talents? Focus and attention are crucial to making the best out of your talents because we all have constraints such as limited time and energy. This is why it is important to spend time with people and activities that continue to stir up the passion for your talent. To achieve growth with your talents, it will be better to devote your resources effectively to its consequential growth.
By taking notes of these warning signs and taking action against them, you can start developing your talents and making substantive progress at it.
Featured photo credit: http://www.pixabay.com via pixabay.com
The post 6 Warning Signs You’ve Stopped Growing Your Talent appeared first on Lifehack.
Sig Nordal 