You’re reading 5 Helpful Tips That Will Make It Easier to Focus on Your Goals, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

You’re not too fond of your job but it pays the bills, well at least the important ones.

You tell yourself once again that you need a new job and that you have to get moving on that. Planning that one day you’re going to sit down and sort it out to get the ball rolling.

Then one day, shortly after, you convince yourself that today is that day. You sit down at your desk and before your laptop even powers completely on your phone vibrates with a text from a friend wanting to hang out.

You decide to go because your life is hard already so you might as well have some fun. And perusing the mall is more fun than figuring out where your career is going.

You can always take a stab at it another day. One day isn’t going to make much of a difference anyway.

But tomorrow never comes.

The days go on, and they’re just like the previous ones, the ones where you didn’t do anything.

You would think the process of achieving your goals would be as easy as setting them but it doesn’t really work out that way. That’s why you always lose steam right after setting them.

But you don’t have to stay stuck on the first step indefinitely.

You’re in the Majority

Did you know that about 80% of people don’t maintain their new year’s resolutions? I know that’s not too shocking since you probably know a bunch of people that make the same ones then drop them after the first week.

But think about that pattern of behavior. You get all excited to do something, set a date to start it and then drop it like a hot potato.

The real question is, are you doing this to more than just your resolutions?

If this is happening to all of, or even most of, your goals then you’ve got a huge problem.

You’re not staying focused on your goals long enough to make an ounce of progress. You just keep pushing it back until you forget to do the littlest thing.

You’re letting text messages, phone calls and even your internet home page distract you from staying on course.

Pretty much everything that you deal with on a daily basis is coming between you and your goals.

Now, life is going to happen and there’s going to be things that you have to take care of but you shouldn’t let distractions, like an invitation to go shopping, push your goals to the back burner.

But you’re not alone. A lot of people do it but that still doesn’t make it right or ideal.

Flipping the Script

You see how easy it is to get distracted and switch gears? You have to use that to your advantage to stay on course.

You have to make things simpler for you to keep your eye on the ball. That’s the only way you’re not going to look at your goals as another chore you want to ditch as soon as something better comes along.

Finally, you won’t be stuck on the same step year after year. When you make it easier for yourself you’ll be more focused and work on it longer and harder.

The next thing you know you’ll be texting your friends to hang out and celebrate your next career related achievement. That’s the kind of distraction you put something on hold for.

1. Pinpoint it

There are problems you want to fix in your life. It’s more than just your career.

When you think about all the things you want to do a bunch of ideas come flooding to you. If you really sit down and write it you can probably come up with a page filled with goals.

But it becomes hard to focus on them all at once. And you only have but so much free time each day. It can become very easy to get frustrated and give up on all of them.

Don’t spread yourself too thin. Pick 3 top major goals, at most, to achieve over a fixed period of time.

2. Divide and conquer

Once you’ve narrowed things down to up to 3 goals things can still feel a little heavy. I mean you are doing more than what you’re used to already.

To lessen the pressure that major goals can bring you’ll need to break them down into small steps.

Make each step specific and achievable. This will make it easier to do the work, leaving no time to diddle-daddle trying to figure things out.

Every time you complete a step take a little time to celebrate and appreciate your progress. This will keep things fun and keep your momentum up.

3. Keep track

And not just in your head. You may think that that is sufficient but it’s really not. You’d be surprised how quickly you can forget how far you’ve come.

Record your progress. Track what you’re doing and the steps you’re taking.

Not only will it affirm that you’re getting somewhere but it’ll rejuvenate your motivation.

4. Have a vision board

It may sound crazy or even look serial killer-ish having cut-out pictures posted on your bedroom wall but it’s helpful. Besides you can always make a digital one on your computer or phone if you don’t want to put it on display.

The vision board will serve as a reminder of what you’re trying to accomplish, why you made the goal to begin with.

So open up a PowerPoint presentation or pull out a poster board and get cracking.

Whenever you look at the board you will be motivated to continue on and feel good about your goal all over again.

5. Don’t bite your friends’ heads off

You might want to share your goals with friends and family as a result of your excitement or just to let them know what’s going on with you.

So when they ask you for an update don’t bite their heads off. Let your friends hold you accountable for what you said you’d do.

And if you end up falling a little behind don’t take out your frustrations on them. Talk it through and let them help you brainstorm solutions to whatever challenge you’ve encountered.

If they’re truly supportive they’ll only be coming from a good place so don’t punish them for caring. Besides, they are the kind of people you want to keep close.

Focus on Your Goals

The truth is the most meaningful goals won’t be the easiest to get off of the ground. So you have to do everything in your power stay focused on them.

You can’t continuously let simple distractions get in your way of achieving them because then you’ll just stay stuck on the same step forever.

You have goals for a reason and that’s why you need to achieve them. Consistent focus and effort is the only solid way to make that happen.

Do these things and your focus will be razor sharp.

 

So…

What goal are you going to focus on?

———

Lea Bullen is a certified life coach, foodie and lifehack expert. When you focus your dreams can be your reality so stop settling, get unstuck and to the next level. Get unstuck and to the next level. Take the eye-opening Live Your Dreams course to get moving!

You’ve read 5 Helpful Tips That Will Make It Easier to Focus on Your Goals, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading 7 Ways to Live a Life of Purpose, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

We live in a crazy fast world and it’s easy to get caught up in the vicious cycle of on your marks, get set…. go, go, go….!

The days are a constant blur of racing to get to work on time, trying to achieve all your work responsibilities, being bombarded digitally, and then racing home to buy groceries, get dinner ready, pay bills and find the time to exercises. This is just my to-do list. For those of you who have children, you could easily add another 5-10 activities on top of mine…!

It is little wonder that at the end of the day, we lie down on the couch trying to buy some “me” time in front of the TV screen, with a glass (or bottle of red) trying to medicate ourselves from the stress and pressure of our lives. We may even turn to our favourite digital distractions: Facebook, Instagram or FarmVille.

We don’t even realise that this constant bustling between our personal and professional lives is actually making us sick.

Because of this, lifestyle movements as such as mindful living, minimalism, meditation and yoga are taking off.

By focussing on the journey and not just the destination and taking the time to “smell the roses” we are able to live live with intention and find balance.

Here are 7 things that I do to help me live a purpose-filled life:

1. Self-care.

Call it self-care, self-love or even selfish, but I make sure to prioritize my needs first. While it is noble to take care of others, and can also be rewarding, it can often lead to stress and feelings of resentment. Remember to make time for yourself because if you don’t, the pressure of trying to do it all while trying to do it perfectly will lead to burn out. Take a moment in the day for you. Perhaps its as simple as having a cup of tea in the afternoon. Or reading a book before bed. Or maybe it’s waking up 30 mins earlier to go for a walk. Whatever it is, selfishness can be a good thing if it means nourishing your soul and giving back to yourself.

2. Just breathe.

Practicing daily meditation or yoga can help you get centered. In fact, by purposefully bringing your attention back to your breath, you are gently cajoling your mind to the here and now instead of what it has learned to do (which is race at a frenzied pace!). When I do yoga and meditation in the morning, I tend to be less stressed and overwhelmed because these activities help me to set the tone and intention for the day in a more relaxed way.

3. Get organized.

How many of us say that we don’t have time for the things we really want to do? Most of us. And how many of us actually take responsibility for wasting a lot of the free time we do have? None of us.

If you consider that each of us sleeps perhaps 6-8 hours, and works 8—10 hours per day, that still leaves us with about 8 hours (give or take an hour or two each way) to do as we please. So if at the bare minimum we have 6 hours to do as we please, how many of us are using this time effectively to do the things that give us the most joy or gives us a sense of purpose?

So let’s start trading our time wisely and consciously. If you want to get fit, instead of spending an hour on Facebook, spend that hour going for a run or doing yoga. That’s what I do.

4. You are what you eat.

Your nutrition plays an important role in how you look, feel, behave and think. If you’re feeling tired, negative or depressed, it may be because you’re not consuming enough of the right vitamins and nutrients. I am vegetarian so by default I tend to eat lots of fruit and vegetables. However if you’re diet consists of lots of processed foods, white breads, dairy, refined sugar, and alcohol it could explain why you’re not performing at your optimal levels. Increase your organic whole foods intake, eat plenty of green leafy vegetables and drink lots of water, and you’ll notice a big difference in your energy levels and your overall health.

5. Choose happiness.

I get in trouble for saying this (often by people who prefer to dwell on the negative) but for me, happiness is a choice. Even if I don’t always have control over every element of my life, I know that I can control how I choose to react, think, feel and respond.

My emotions are within my control and that means happiness is also. Now I’m not saying that at every moment of every day I choose happiness. Not at all. Sometimes I get really frustrated. And sometimes I lose my s%$# when things don’t go according to plan. But I take responsibility for those times and they often don’t last the entire day let alone the next couple of days. The truth is, that if you want to be happy, just choose to be happy. Often the only thing separating a negative person and a positive person is their perspective.

6. Avoid distractions.

This is a big one for me because I run my own digital agency and with all the emails, notifications, tweets, and messages I received it can be easy to get distracted. One second I’m  “just checking” a notification and then an hour later you realise you’ve just wasted time on unproductive social media activities. So to avoid wasting time on non-essential activities and be more productive, I turn my phone off when I work. This means that while I’m working on a project, I have my phone on “airplane mode” and I log out of my email inbox so that I’m not distracted by incoming emails that serve no purpose other than to distract me from the task at hand. I am also particular about having several windows open on my laptop as having too many open can also be distracting.

7. Learn to say no.

I used to be one of those “yes” people. I was afraid of missing out on an opportunity and being a social butterfly meant that I would say yes to every invite that came my way. But after years of spending my weekends partying and attending events, I realized that I wasn’t making any headway with my life and business goals. So I started putting first things first, prioritizing my time and saying no to the things that didn’t really matter. And I couldn’t be more happier and fulfilled!

——

Jennifer Nini is the founder of The Social Copywriter, a digital copywriting agency for socially responsible businesses. She is also the editor of Eco Warrior Princess, one of the world’s leading ethical fashion and sustainable lifestyle blogs. When she’s not perfecting a sentence or coaching business clients, you will find Jennifer at her off-grid permaculture farm connecting with nature.

You’ve read 7 Ways to Live a Life of Purpose, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading Why Some People Make Money – Why Others Never Will, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

If you want wealth, you have to want it so passionately that you are willing to do what it takes to get there. Getting rich involves two things – a wealth-growing mindset and very specific habits and activities, some risky, some conservative. Here are the reasons why some people make money and others don’t.

The Mindset

Rich people and average people think differently about money. Rich people see money as a tool to be used to make more money. Average people see money as the means by which they live – money is to be used to pay bills, buy things, and have a decent life. Rich people look for places to put their money where it will earn as much as possible. Average people buy new cars.

The Habits/Activities

People who make money:

1. Start Early: Some start in childhood, as Warren Buffet did. But it is important to begin as early as possible to put money away in places where it will earn more. A 401K or IRA is the first place to begin. From there, as more money becomes available, increase your contributions, or, if it is expendable money, begin to invest and take some risks.
2. Automate Savings: People who make money have savings removed from their paychecks or transferred from their checking accounts to an investment program. People who don’t make money keep saying to themselves, “I’ll invest myself with whatever I have left.” Nothing is ever left.

3. Live Below Their Means: Rich people have lived below their means for a long time. They often drive used cars; they stay in the same house rather than “moving up” with each new raise or promotion. Warren Buffet still lives in the first house he purchased in Omaha, Nebraska. Bill Gates did not “move up” until he was already a millionaire.

4. Are Usually Entrepreneurs: People who make money generally do not do so working for someone else. While they may start out that way, they have an entrepreneurial spirit that drives them to strike out on their own.

5. Avoid Spending Temptations: In the process of becoming wealthy, rich people are so goal-focused that any extra money they have goes toward that goal – an investment, a new startup, etc. People who don’t make money give into temptations a lot.

6. Make Learning a Priority: People who make money have an appetite to keep learning throughout their lifetimes. This is how they find the opportunities for investments and strategic risk-taking. Continual learning is where the big ideas come from. Richard Branson doesn’t have much formal education, but he has spent his entire lifetime learning new things.

7. Are Risk-Takers: Rich people know that there are risks involved in making money. They are willing to take them and don’t exhibit much fear in the process. The average person stays fearful – he worries about scarcity or bad times that might come sometime in the future. He, therefore, plays it safe.

8. Think Being Rich is a Right: Rich people know that it is right to make money and become wealthy. They believe they can make money and set about to do just that. The average person thinks wealth is a matter of luck or family birth. Sometimes that’s true, but most often it is not. Mark Zuckerberg did not get rich by birth or luck. He got rich because he had a passion, and he followed that passion.

9. Have goals not Wishes: People who make money always have goals and they keep those goals front and center, doing what it takes to achieve them. The big goals turn into smaller goals that are worked toward every week, month and year. People who don’t make money don’t have goals. They have wishes, without the passion to go after them.

The correct mindset toward money is the first step. When these 9 activities are added to that mindset, money is then the result.

 

 

You’ve read Why Some People Make Money – Why Others Never Will, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading If You’re Doing This, You’re Lying to Yourself About Being Happy, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

You’re saying you’re happy in your relationship, or marriage. You’re only saying it though. You feel comfortable. You got married. You bought a house. You even have kids. You say that you’re in love.

But you’re not happy because you don’t dare to face the truth. You know the love is already gone. You know the excitement has dried out. You’ve been doing what was expected of you.

If you want to be happy in love, then follow your heart. Have the courage to break away from a comfortable relationship. And do not rush into anything just because of circumstances. Your heart knows best.

You’re saying you’re happy with your job. You’ve studied hard and graduated with flying colors. You proceeded to get a job for stability and money.

But you’re not happy because the job is draining you. You’re no longer challenged. Everything in front of you are things you do not love or care for. And what’s more, your colleagues and boss are toxic.

If you want to be happy with the work you do, then start something on your own today, or find a job that truly fits you. If not, take it slow, but start now. Remember that you’re not your job. Your identity is not your job. What your colleagues or boss say to put you down are never true. Leave all work in the office, and go home everyday to lead your life.

You’re saying you’re happy with your family. They are after all, your family. They’re your mom, dad, brother and sister.

But you’re not happy because you deep down, you know your family isn’t good for you. Your family is toxic. They’re abusive.

Unfortunately in life, some people are not capable of love, even if you can call them your mom or dad. The sooner you realize this, the better. You need to step away.

You’re saying you’re happy with the friends around you. You get to call them friends alright. Some of them, you’ve known for many years since young.

But you’re not happy because they’re toxic. They’re annoying. They’re manipulative. They make use of you. They put you down all the time.

If you want to be happy, you need to surround yourself with positive relationships. You need to stand up for yourself and make sure your friends inspire you only. Also, note that people change. That is something you have to get over. You need to let go of friendships that were born years ago. If it’s not positive anymore, just move on.

You’re saying you’re happy from staying in one place all the time. It’s safe. It’s comfortable and you’ve everything you need at home.

But you’re not happy because you’re bored. And deep down you feel it. You feel that sense of regret and that your time is being wasted.

Truly, life is too short for a world this big. If you want to be happy, start opening your mind and expending your horizons. Go travel! Absorb different cultures and meet different people. It’s a guarantee that you’ll always come home to be more grateful for your life.

You’re saying you’re happy when deep down you know that you’re not. Not at all.

You’ve got problems, but you have never faced them head on.

You’ve issues, but you have never resolved them because you’re afraid.

You’ve dreams, but you have never went after them because you’ve been making up excuses.

You’re not happy with the person in the mirror, but you lie to him or her anyway.

Maybe it’s time for a change eh?

You deserve it.

Just for Pick The Brain readers

Hey guys! Want to start being nice to yourself to lead a happy life NOW? Want to stop lying?

Get my free book then. I’ll INSTANTLY activate that happiness in you: 12 things happy people don’t give a f**k about!

This free book only available through this link. Enjoy!

Alden Tan is a passionate breakdancer and writer. He writes about honest and real self-improvement without the bullshit. Get his free book already!

You’ve read If You’re Doing This, You’re Lying to Yourself About Being Happy, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading 3 Ways To Get Super Inspired, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

If you often find yourself feeling dissatisfied with your life and thinking negative thoughts – this could lead to a very unhealthy vicious cycle, which will very heavily undermine your potential for growth and learning as a person. The world is HUGE – there are so many things to see and learn and experience. Every second spent on a negative thought is one more second robbed from you to do something better – doing something that will create real value and impact in the world, on your society, for your community, in your family, or even for yourself!

So you might be thinking… Okay, so the world is huge and there are a ton of things I can do. But where do I start? Well here’s where I hope you will read on and find out how these 3 simple ways can get you inspired and educated.

1. Be informed about what’s going on in the world

The first step to getting inspired is to keep up with what’s going on around you. I find that whenever I start feeling uninspired and slinking into the humdrum of life, it’s because I am not keeping up with what’s happening around me. I get so self-absorbed and my vision becomes so narrowed and tunneled that all I think about and see is my own life. When there are so many other things going on in the world at the very same moment!

I find it really helps when I just spend some time every day to read about what’s going on in the world – the newest innovation, the newest books or movies released and the stories behind them, anything! As you slowly discover new things, you will come to realise what interests you and what doesn’t. That’s when you can start focusing on what matters to you the most and start taking action in those aspects of your life.

Another one of my favorite ways to be informed and get inspired is through watching documentaries. Perhaps because I am a much more visual person, I find documentaries and programmes much more engaging and less tedious than books. (I’m also a strong believer in the old adage that pictures speak a thousand words, what more moving pictures!) It has also been through documentaries that I have discovered my love for animals and made me think about how I can play a part for this cause by just making small alterations to my lifestyle. By the way, if you haven’t already watched Blackfish, you definitely should.

2. Talk to the people around you

The best source of inspiration is right before your eyes! A regular person probably meets at least 10 new people every day – on the subway, at work, at school, or even at the cafeteria during lunch. Each of these ten people will have a unique story, a special passion, something that inspires them and keeps them going every day. (If they don’t, maybe you could share this article with them!) In our increasingly digitalized societies today, it’s getting harder and harder to make real connections with others. But these human connections are so important! They are the foundations of society and innovation and progress – we learn and innovate best in social communities! So the next time you are on the subway or at lunch, make an attempt to chat someone up and go beyond the How are you and I’m fine thank you. Ask them about their day – ask them what made them feel most accomplished that day, and what made them feel most disappointed. It might seem really strange and difficult at first, but you never know when something really great might result from one of your conversations.

3. Recharge and explore in nature

If you have been stuck in the city for most of your life like I have, I would really recommend that you take some time off – a day in a week or just a short weekend – to immerse yourself in nature. There has been a lot of research done on how being in nature affects the brain and I am personally sold on this. Every time I find myself stuck on a tough problem or in a lousy mood, a short walk in the park would instantly make me feel better. It might sound ridiculous but I’m not kidding. If you have ever heard of alpha brain waves boosting creativity and reducing depression, you will realize that being in nature is one very powerful (and completely free) way of achieving alpha brain waves.

You’ve read 3 Ways To Get Super Inspired, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading 3 Thoughts that Sabotage Your Success and How to Change Them, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Every single one of us is capable of greatness. So what is it about the human psyche that insists on casting a continuous shadow of self-doubt over our dreams? Why do we seem to sabotage our own success by taking actions that deliberately conflict with what we know we truly want? The answer certainly isn’t simple, but if we trace these thoughts all the way to their root cause, we usually find a great deal of fear and a poor sense of self-worth.

Sounds bleak, doesn’t it? But rest assured that fear can be managed, and better self-worth can be cultivated through a few simple changes in our thought patterns. Listed below are a few common, self-defeating thoughts, and how to transform them into more helpful, positive affirmations.

1. “I’m not good enough, so I shouldn’t bother trying.”– Of course you’re not good enough—yet. True greatness takes lots of practice, and that is one of the toughest things I have had to learn as a writer. It’s painful and discouraging to see how much improvement we need in order to reach the level of brilliance we see in others we admire. I find myself avoiding writing sometimes just because I don’t want to see the awkward sentences that come before I refine my work. I cringe a bit when I read some of my first blog posts, but when I read my more recent work I can see that those beginning writings were part of the evolution that was necessary for me to grow my talent.

So this statement becomes: “I must try, so I can become better.”

2. “It’s too late for me to follow my dream”- It’s easy to think our “window” of opportunity has passed, and could be gone forever. I look back at the 4.5 years I spent in college and think about how much freedom and opportunity I had to develop my talent. Now I am 31, with 2 young kids and very little time to work on my dream. But guess what I didn’t have while I was in college? The insight to know what I am truly meant to do with my life, and the maturity to know that it will take lots of hard work. After years of thinking success should come easy or that I will someday just be “discovered,” I finally have the wisdom I need, and a clear, realistic path to reaching my dream. I may only have a couple hours a day to work at it, but at least I know where I am going now. It doesn’t matter if you are 31 or 72, it’s never too late to start something. The time we spend dwelling on wasted time could be spent moving towards our goals.

So this statement becomes: “It’s time to move forward now.”

3. “I don’t deserve happiness and success”- Here’s a funny little fact about true happiness: Most people are actually afraid of it. Maybe it’s because we are scared that too much success or happiness means some impending doom is inevitable. We think that at some point, we’re bound to lose everything. Maybe suffering is a safer place for some people, because it means they can’t be let down if they are already down. When we are up—happy and successful, down seems much scarier and more hurtful.

The thing is, you are going to have ups and downs. But as you work harder you will have more frequent and bigger ups, and you will learn how to handle your downs better. It helps to remember that many successful people before you have come back from some pretty massive downs.

So this statement becomes: “I am worthy of happiness and success.”

Everyone must start from the bottom, and the top can seem impossibly far when you let fear and self-doubt drive your thoughts and actions. When you learn to recognize self-defeating thoughts for the un-productive lies they really are, your self-worth can have room to grow and flourish. There will always be a small voice inside you that whispers,

“You aren’t good enough.”

Know that you have the inner strength to ignore that self-sabotaging voice, and move forward.

———-

Ivy Shelden is a freelance writer and the founder of The World is Yours, a blog dedicated to helping people get in touch with their free-will and the power to create their own lives.

You’ve read 3 Thoughts that Sabotage Your Success and How to Change Them, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading 4 Ways to Silence Your Inner Critic and Regain Your Confidence, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Many people remember their failures more than their successes. They beat themselves up over the smallest mistakes, but they only acknowledge or celebrate their greatest wins.

As a result, they feel discouraged, unworthy and insecure, and they struggle to have confidence in themselves and their abilities.

If you sometimes find yourself in that position, here are four quick things you can do TODAY to silence your inner critic and boost your self-confidence:

1. Keep track of even your smallest wins.

If you told yourself that you were going to call ten prospective clients today, but you only called nine, which are you going to focus on?

The one person you didn’t call, or the nine you did?

As tempting as it is to view success as “all or nothing”, and to see anything less than perfection as a failure, that mindset doesn’t give you enough credit for the things you DID achieve.

So anytime you’re feeling like you haven’t accomplished enough, or like you didn’t perform your tasks as perfectly as you wanted to, make a list of the things you did get done, no matter how small they are.

Maybe you didn’t handle the phone call perfectly, but you still made the call.

Maybe you ate a bit more than you’d planned to, but you also exercised self-control and ate less junk food than you felt like eating.

When you focus on your successes, you encourage yourself to believe that you can succeed again in the future.

If you have trouble remembering your victories, I recommend writing them down as they happen, so you can refer to a list of your wins whenever you’re tempted to beat yourself up.

2. Don’t measure yourself by the amount of time you spend working.

This is especially important for people who feel like if they aren’t working, they aren’t good enough.

Even if you’ve gotten through your to-do list, it can be easy to feel like you’re slacking off if you finish early and have some extra time.

On days like that, it’s important to remind yourself that your worth is not dependent on your work. You deserve to take a break and take care of yourself, and if you got your work done efficiently, you’ve earned the extra time.

Admittedly, part of my mind sometimes has trouble accepting this, and you might encounter the same difficulty. Deep-seated subconscious beliefs don’t just go away the moment you throw a bit of logic at them, and it takes time and dedication to change them.

If feeling unworthy when you aren’t working is a chronic and serious problem for you, there’s no shame in seeking professional help to change your self-sabotaging beliefs. But for a dose of quick relief, you can try option 3:

3. Take one productive step to assuage your inner critic.

Sometimes, all it takes is one small bit of progress to make you feel like you’ve done enough. If you’re getting close to the end of the day, and you’re tired and in need of a break, but your inner critic won’t let you relax, try choosing one quick, easy chore that won’t be a drain on your energy.

It could be one step in a project that’s been weighing on your mind, or a load of laundry, or an email that you can’t stop thinking about until you get it taken care of.

If something is nagging at your mind to the point where you can’t relax until it’s addressed, taking one small step toward completing it can make you feel like you’ve made enough progress, so you can relax until it’s time to get back to work.

4. That was then, this is now.

It can be easy to define yourself by your track record, and to use your past failures to forecast your chances of future success. But this can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, so it’s important to change that mental pattern to something that supports your confidence and success.

The next time you find yourself thinking about your past mistakes or bad habits, mentally interrupt yourself, and say, “That was then, this is now. Today, I choose to be (calm, confident, focused, honest, courageous, kind, or whatever it is that you want to become).”

Remember, you can make a change at any time you choose. That doesn’t mean the change will immediately become second nature, but in every situation, you can choose how you’re going to react, and decide how you’ll define yourself.

Whether you define yourself by your failures, omissions and mistakes, or by your successes, achievements and good choices, is up to you.

What do you tend to do when your inner critic rears its head?

Do you have any additional tips for your fellow readers?

I look forward to reading your comments.

You’ve read 4 Ways to Silence Your Inner Critic and Regain Your Confidence, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading 7 Surprisingly Simple Keys to Happiness and Success, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Do you know how many thoughts you think on a daily basis?

And that most of them are of the ‘worrying’ kind?

If we leave our ‘brain alone’ it’ll overwhelm us with negative thoughts.

Psychologists have discovered that more than 60-70% of what we think is discouraging, ‘mental chatter’.

Thoughts like:

• “Oh, others are more successful than me.”
• “Look how happy they are – it’s just not happening to me.”

And so on.

As long as we don’t change our thoughts, we spin on a downward spiral..

Conscious thoughts leading towards a goal in life, and taming the ‘monkey mind’ (as the Buddhists say) are the key to happiness and success.

How do I know? Well I had to experience it to understand it.

I was a very famous actor in Germany, living the ‘red carpet’ life, believing I had everything you could wish for.

But actually, I was deeply unhappy.

After 40 years in the industry, I decided to find out how I could truly be happy, and locked myself away for a four-month  ‘retreat’ in a flat with no electricity. My goal was to find out how I can be truly happy.

The book, ‘The Desire Code, 7 Keys to Happiness and success’, was born.

Easy–to-read, simple, thought-turning ways to show you how you can turn your life around. Just as I did.

There is one secret behind it: Don’t just read them! Be active! Do it! Pick the brain and shape it the way you want it!

Pre-order your signed copy by backing our Kickstarter Campaign launching on April 4th. Go to http://ift.tt/1UXUHz2.

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Key 1 – Just start!

It’s easier to approach this in a playful way by beginning with things of less significance.

Energy follows attention, so focus on positive things.

Train your brain for success by achieving small goals. Your brain’s reward system will remember that and become ‘addicted’ to success – and reward.

Step by step you can reach towards higher goals.

Key 2 – Get the wording right

Observe your words! Listen to what you’re saying. Use language that leads to happiness rather than reinforces current struggles.

Don’t talk about your lack of confidence, about your lack of success or your doubts. It creates a feeling of being a ‘loser’, which you’re clearly not. You just think you are one. Change your thoughts, change your life.

By focusing on your goal, focus on want you ‘want’, not want you ‘don’t want’.

“You must ask for what you really want, don’t go back to sleep.” – Rumi.

Key 3 – Thanking

Need your daily dose of the ‘Happiness Hormones’ dopamine and serotonin?

Well, forget your pill – use gratitude instead.

Neuroscientists know that gratitude boosts both of these neurotransmitters.

Being thankful activates the brain stem region that produces dopamine. Gratitude towards others even increases activity in social dopamine circuits, so you enjoy being among others more.

Thanking invites us to reflect on things in our lives that are going well. This causes them to multiply, because we feed them even more energy which eliminates doubts and worries.

Thanking also confirms our belief that the wish will be carried out. Just as in everyday life, we give thanks only for things that have already been confirmed: “Thank you for doing that for me.

Key 4 – Convince the mind

These Keys are capable of bringing you incredible success but there’s often a part of our mind that refuses to believe it, so we must convince it with evidence.

In 1933, physicists Marie and Pierre Curie observed how ‘matter’ can be created out of ‘nothing’. They discovered that energy can be transformed into matter. Energy can be guided – using the power of our thought.

Our thoughts are like a laser gun, whose energy beam can be focused on one point. Similarly, the power of our thoughts guides the energy that’s always available everywhere, causing it to condense in a specific form.

Energy follows attention. What we think materializes and we become. Success attracts more success, and happiness attracts more happiness.

Key 5 – Have faith instead of doubts

We constantly believe in something. There is no objective ‘truth’ we can rely on.

‘Doubt’ is just a thought. No more, no less. There is no evidence to suggest it will happen.

By doubting, we get in our own way. Thinking that “this isn’t going to work” is actually a very strong conviction and, as a result, we experience precisely this limitation.

How about changing your mind?

Have faith! Believe in your success! For at least 3 weeks– this is the period of time, according to neuroscience findings, that our brain needs to create new circuits (and get rid of the “not used” ones). YEAH!  There is hope!

Key 6 – Be open to ‘coincidences’

“There are no coincidences.” Of course not! There is just “synchronicity”.

We often don’t see the field of possibilities around us, because our perceptual filter is limited to our previous experiences.

Open up to countless possibilities – and you will experience almost ‘miraculous’ opportunities.

When we stay alert and keep our ears open, we get all the information we need. And the surest means of that happening is through our intuition.

Key 7 – Discover your true great wishes

Don’t waste your time and energy chasing  a goal you don’t really want from the bottom of your heart.

Forget all the ‘plans and wishes’ the people around you want to see you in.

Whose life are you living – theirs or yours?

Find out your deepest desire – that’s the only way to happiness and success.

These 7 Keys will support you on the most exciting journey of your life!

Yours,

Pierre

“You are what your deepest desire is. As is your desire, so is your intention. As is your intention, so is your will. As is your will, so is your deed. As is your deed, so is your destiny.”

― Upanishads

A bestselling author with more than 60 titles published in 11 countries and sales of more than 3 million, Pierre Franckh lectures around the world and hosts sold-out seminars. He is also a motivational coach and inspirational speaker with numerous clients in the business world, as well as doctors, psychologists, and complementary health professionals.

More than 325,000 people have successfully changed their lives as a result of his work.

He lives in Munich and London with his wife, Michaela Merten, a bestselling author and coach, and their daughter, Julia.

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The Desire Code launches on Kickstarter on April 4^th 2016. Pre-order your signed copy, become a Backer and grab yourself an exclusive Reward. For details and to read more, go to http://ift.tt/1UXUHz2 .

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You’re reading 5 Healthy, Practical Ways to Handle Change, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Life is change.

Even though we know this on an intellectual level, dealing with uninvited changes can often be a struggle for many people. While change is the thing which allows anything and everything to come into existence to begin with, it’s often unwelcome, especially when it comes unexpectedly or at an inconvenient time.

I should know! In the last 12 months, I became a father, moved to a new country, lost my job and started a business. Most of those changes were voluntary, but one of them was not and had negative impacts and consequences for the other three.

I’ve had to learn how to deal with change in healthy ways. Here’s what I’ve come up with.

5 Coping Mechanisms for Dealing with Change

Keep Perspective – Perhaps one of the best ways to deal with change is to take a deep breath and remember to keep things in perspective.

While whatever is happening may seem like a big deal now, will it really matter in 5 years? How about 10 years from now? What about 20?

Looking at the bigger picture has a way of taking what appears to be an unscalable mountain and turning it into a manageable molehill. Don’t freak out. From the moon, even Everest is a speck of dust!

Look at the bigger picture. This isn’t as serious as you think.

Be Present – One of the most torturous elements of change is that our minds go into hyper drive, guessing, predicting, thinking about what might happen, second guessing potential decisions and engaging in an endless game of ‘what if’.

The irony is that none of what is running through our minds is real!

All of this anxiety-inducing mental imagery can be stopped by practicing presence. To do so, simply bring your focus and attention back into the present moment. Don’t allow your mind to wander. Look around you, take a deep breath, center yourself, and realize that 99% of what is running through your mind is merely imaginary.

Remember what Mark Twain said: “I’m an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”

Recognize that your mind is running away with itself, and bring it back into the present moment, where everything is usually OK.

Accept not Knowing – This is one of the most difficult things for human beings to do. To walk into the future unafraid, knowing that you simply do not know what is going to happen next is very difficult for us to do.

Yet, to use a great analogy, you can drive right across the country from New York to California in the dark, as long as your headlights work well enough to allow you to see the 40 feet in front of you!

You don’t need to know what’s going to happen all the way to the end. Even if you think you do, it likely won’t play out like that anyway. Accept that change has happened and thrown you on an uncharted course, and that you can only see the next few steps at most.

You’ll get where you’re going. Just accept that you don’t necessarily need to know where that is, and you’ll survive.

Practice Right View – The Buddhists have a mental technique known as ‘Right View’.

This technique is used by Buddhists to stamp out mental suffering, which is precisely what change usually brings when it occurs unexpectedly. Right view consists of getting an accurate picture both of how things are, and how things used to be, rather than the exaggerated view our minds tend to cook up and serve.

Have you lost a job? Reflect on how that job had both good and bad sides, and you’ll begin to feel more neutral about losing it.

Have you broken up with a partner? Rather than pining after that person, focus on the fact that they had both good and bad qualities. Don’t just remember all of the good sides, but remember what used to really bug you, too. Reflect on the fact that this new situation of being single has a good side, and that anyone you meet in the future will also have good and bad qualities.

Right view helps you to maintain a balanced and accurate view of things, which can help you get over nostalgia for the past and resistance to both the present and the future.

It helps you see both the good and bad in every situation, person, place, and thing. Your feeling and emotions towards that person, place or thing will then level out and be more balanced.

Connect with Nature – There’s something about nature which has an automatic calming effect on humans.

Whether it be watching the mighty ocean crash onto the shore or wandering through a thick, dense forest, nature has a way of helping us disengage from our rampant, incessant over-thinking, while at the same time helping us recognize and understand that life is so much bigger than we are, and that we are just a part of a mysterious and unfathomable tapestry of staggering complexity and beauty.

This is turn helps us to set aside our problems, accept the change which life has foisted upon us, and accept that even if we don’t like them, there’s not much we can do about it anyway since life and nature are so much bigger and more powerful than we are.

When I face huge problems, connecting with nature brings me a great deal of peace. I take one look at the endless ocean and realize I am a speck of dust blowing around on a rock, or I look at a single 1000-year-old tree and realize that while things seem chaotic and unstable now, life will go on.

Summary

Change is life, and life is change. If the seed didn’t become the stalk of grain, and the grain didn’t become the cereal, and the cereal didn’t break down and become energy, life would not even exist to begin with.

We don’t always like change, but it’s going to happen either way. While we do have the power to bring about change, sometimes change happens due to factors beyond our control and we just have to deal with it.

Using the above techniques, we can better accept and navigate change when it occurs.

Whatever you’re going through, you’ll get through this and a whole new dawn will come. I wish you well.

——–

G writes on Men’s health, fitness and self-improvement at Art of Selfhood. He currently lives in Asia and spends his days writing and raising his family.

You’ve read 5 Healthy, Practical Ways to Handle Change, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading 21 Inspiring Quotes To Launch You Out Of Bed In The Morning, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Why is it that a few words put together in a certain order invoke such strong reactions in us?

Is it thanks to history’s greatest authors, philosophers, and orators who are just naturally able to communicate ideas succinctly and vividly?

Largely, yes—but there’s a lot more going on than first meets the eye.

Take a look inside the mind of the average person and you’ll no doubt be confronted by a whole load of negative mental chatter: “I can’t do this”, “I’m a horrible person”, “I’ll never achieve what I want”.

With our inner worlds dominated by self-criticism and self-defeating thoughts, it’s a much welcome relief to hear quotes—or as they’d be considered in Buddhism, ‘affirmations’—that transcend nasty psychological blocks and tap into our core beliefs.

You see, the purpose of affirmations is not to convince you of something—they simply ‘make firm’ something that already exists inside of you which has been obscured by doubts.

To help us bring to light these inner truths, affirmations need to be repeated over and over and over again. In the case of understanding quotes and making sure you put them into action, that means reading them consistently as part of your daily routine.

Spring to life every morning by reading these 21 inspiring and motivating quotes from some of history’s greatest philosophers, authors, and thinkers.

“You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.” — Henry David Thoreau

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”—Marcus Aurelius

“Do not say, ‘It is morning,’ and dismiss it with a name of yesterday. See it for the first time as a newborn child that has no name.” —Rabindranath Tagore

“Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it.” —Richard Whately

“Be pleasant until ten o’clock in the morning and the rest of the day will take care of itself.” — Elbert Hubbard

“Either you run the day, or the day runs you.” – Jim Rohn

“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend — or a meaningful day.” —Dalai Lama

“Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination” —Oscar Wilde

“What ever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”—Napolean Hill

“Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them.” —William Arthur Ward

“Many a false step has been made by standing still.” —Fortune Cookie

“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” —Seneca

“Life is very short for those who forget the past, neglect the present, and fear the future.” —Seneca

“Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.” —Jim Rohn

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” —Anthony Robbins

“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” —Leonardo da Vinci

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” —Anne Frank

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” —Thomas Jefferson

“Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” —Farrah Gray

“There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” —Aristotle

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot

Want to take the next step to getting your day off to the best possible start?

Grab your free copy of our new eBook: MORNING MASTERY: The Simple 20 Minute Routine For Long Lasting Energy, Laser-Sharp Focus, and Stress Free Living.

Joseph is a freelance writer, and the co-creator of Project Monkey Mind—a new blog for the 21st century solopreneur and young professional who wants to lead a more free and fulfilling life.

You’ve read 21 Inspiring Quotes To Launch You Out Of Bed In The Morning, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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