You’re reading Powerful Lessons On ‘Letting Go’ By The Great Thinkers, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

One of the most popular Stoic philosophers in history is Marcus Aurelius. He was the emperor of Rome from 161 AD to 180 AD and ruled during a time of extreme turmoil. He campaigned in many wars, saw extreme poverty and suffering and turned to writing as a way of ‘making sense’ of it all. He is well known for his untitled journal writings which are now referred to as The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. His writings have influenced and helped millions of people over the last two centuries and are the basis for many self-help gurus and even therapy courses.

One of his primary teachings is based on the concept of letting go of things we cannot control. This is a profound lesson coming from someone who, arguably, had a whole lot of control and power as the emperor of Rome.

What You Cannot Control

“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius

According to Marcus Aurelius, there are very few things you can control beyond your opinion. Examples of things you cannot control are health, reputation, wealth and prosperity — to name a few. Although you may be able to influence health, for example, by having a proper diet, you still do not have complete control whether or not you are unfortunate and get cancer.

The reason Aurelius says to not focus on things you cannot control is that by doing so, you cause yourself great suffering. It’s like trying to force someone to love you when you know that you can’t make someone love you. Chasing after unrequited love just prolongs your suffering and makes you feel completely helpless. The advice most people give with unrequited love is to move on. Marcus Aurelius is simply saying that we need to realize this lack of control exists over a lot of other things we choose to suffer about (health, reputation, wealth, etc.) We need to learn to let go of the things we cannot control and learn how to move on.

What You Can Control

So what do we focus on if almost everything outside of us is out of our control? We focus on the way we perceive the world. We concentrate on the way we treat others and how we act. You know you can’t control how others behave, but you know you can control how you behave. Whether or not in the morning you decide to be nice to the barista at the coffee shop or you decide to be mean. Whether you choose to take on new exciting opportunities or you choose to hide away from the world. Whether or not you see a rainy day as a tragedy or an opportunity to gleefully jump in the puddles. Your thoughts and actions are what you have control over, not how the world reacts to them.

The power of knowing what you can and cannot control is that it gives you more energy and productivity. Instead of spending hours worrying, plotting, scheming, creeping people on social media or manipulating others — you have all that time and energy into making positive choices in life. You can instead take up new hobbies, read a book or invest in any other self-improvement path you find interesting. You will also feel so much ‘lighter’ without the circular negative thinking about trying to control everything.

Although Marcus Aurelius ruled nearly two-thousand years ago, his wisdom is still applicable today. You can find a list of his best quotes here, or listen for free to his audio books on Youtube, along with other famous Stoic teachers such as Epictetus and Seneca.

You’ve read Powerful Lessons On ‘Letting Go’ By The Great Thinkers, 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 The 5 Best Podcasts on Empowerment, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

We often face decisions with anguish over whether it will be the right choice, because we are afraid of the unknown. We may fear that whatever happens will result in failure. This is where empowerment can make a difference in feeling that you do in fact have control over what is happening to you. To know that you make a decision that is the best for yourself creates a balance between responsibilities and wishes. Of course, this requires that you actually have knowledge of what it is you truly desire. Knowing yourself then is the first step to authentic empowerment. Here are 5 podcasts that aid in the discovery of self-empowerment.

1. Jess Lively’s blog includes an interview with Brene Brown, focusing on how to set boundaries in your relationships in a compassionate way and discussing some of the themes in her book ‘Rising Strong’. How this serves our empowerment is that emotionality can be a driving force and we make up these stories surrounding it which are not necessarily true. We must learn how to have tough conversations, check in and be brave. We deny our feelings based on ‘emotional high centering’ (meaning you can’t go forward and you can’t go back), it is a form of offloading feelings because we are better at hiding or causing pain until it takes a toll on our lives, rather than facing it or being honest about what we are really feeling.

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2. ‘If you want something, ask, people can’t read your mind.’ This podcast is as straightforward as its message. It is all about getting to the point in any and every conversation you have. If you are specific with want you want there will be no confusion to those around you and ultimately for yourself.

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3. In this Dr. Pat Baccili led podcast, she speaks about the obsession we have with comparison to others. Getting to the root of what is at the conscious level and what role does the subconscious play in comparisons. It means that something inside of us feels unresolved and a pain hasn’t been addressed, and we want a confirming element that something is true. Comparison feeds into the idea of winning or losing and that is where we have to look into ourselves and realize that we are making an unfair assessment of our lives. To empower ourselves is to understand our inner values as opposed to concentrating on our outer values.

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4. ‘When your deepest beliefs are challenged by contradictory evidence, your beliefs get stronger.’ This idea propels the discussion of this podcast, discussing the phenomenon of how provoked skepticism fuels behavior that can cause them to become more certain of their incorrect beliefs. How this relates to empowerment is that we search for information with our own emotional involvement, and to be truly empowered we need to learn how to recognize why we challenge information we don’t want to believe in.

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5. This podcast by Bri and Thais (on stepping into your power), addresses the daily things we may not notice we are doing that can take away your inner power, such as operating at a low energy level by being passive aggressive and complaining. Sometimes, a simple mindset shift is beneficial to stand in your power, explain your intentions or address your behavior.

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At any given point in our lives, we may seek empowerment that is either psychological, physical or emotional (among others). You define what issues are important to you, whether it be setting boundaries in relationships, feeling physically well or recognizing where our self worth comes from. All of these develop as we work through them, essentially, making empowerment a continuous journey that we take.

Do you read a great blog about empowerment that’s not on the list? Leave a comment on FB!

Larissa Gomes is a breast cancer survivor and single mom to her spirited baby boy! Originally from Toronto turned Angeleno, she has worked in roles from writer, actor and producer for well over a decade. In that time, she’s developed concepts, film and television screenplays, short stories, along with freelance articles, blogging and editing work.

You’ve read The 5 Best Podcasts on Empowerment, 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 Bad Financial Habits That Are Also Terrible For The Environment, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Being green isn’t easy, but the effort to keep our environment safe is a moral imperative. Environmental consciousness isn’t just the right thing to do, it also saves money. Something I learned when I checked out the Bad Habit Calculator tool from Lending Tree.

The bad habits of one individual seem tiny in comparison to the larger world and it is easy to keep making poor decisions. However, when I realized these habits were costing me money, I decided to get green and keep more green in my pocket.

Here are 10 tips that will save cash and the environment at the same time.

1. Stop Smoking — save money and stop litter

Apart from the obvious health issues, according to this New York Times article from 2009, about 30% of all litter nationwide is cigarette butts, something that adds up to around 4.5 trillion butts per year around the world. Disgusting.

If that unpleasant amount of detritus isn’t enough to make someone quit, how about that just 2 packs per week will cost you an estimated $600 per year? If you and your partner smoke that’s $1200 in dirty money. Consider a solid smoking cessation program.

2. No More Water Bottles

The 22 billion dollar a year bottled water industry is dumping approximately 1.5 million tons of plastic into the environment which does not properly degrade. With only a fraction of this being recycled, it wreaks havoc on the environment. In addition, people pay an average of 1000x for bottled water than what they would for regular tap water. What that meant for me was getting a reusable bottle — it saves me $550 a year. Easy to feel good about that.

3. Stop Buying Coffee at the Cafe

There are environmental effects of coffee consumption, but even if you’re not ready to give up your daily joe, buying coffee from vendors is definitely significantly worse for the planet. Why? This NY Magazine article suggests that just the paper cup is choking the environment. Sadly, even so-called environmentally-friendly coffee is bad. Not to mention that NOT buying coffee out can save you around $1000 a year. Solution? Get a nice mug.

4. No More Fast Food

Again, apart from not being good for you in general, fast food waste is a pervasive environmental issue. In particular, factory farming, something fast food companies generally utilize for their livestock, is a serious problem. But what can it hurt to eat it just once a week when the groceries run out? For a family of four — about $1200 a year. Better meal planning will prevent the need to get something from McDs – the government will even help you plan.

5.Your Beer Could be Heating Homes

According to dramming.com the energy it takes to make alcoholic drinks is enough to heat around 2,286,000 households per year. Brewing and malting alone take a great deal of energy. In addition, buying drinks out is an enormous drain on finances. If a beer costs $5 at your local bar, just 2 per week for a couple (4 beers total) is over $1000 annually. If you must drink, do it at home and maybe brew your own… Will that save you money? Maybe.

6. Cut Out Soda

Even if you recycle your soda cans, mining the aluminum that it takes to make them is environmentally damaging and glass bottles actually create twice the carbon footprint that cans do. If that wasn’t enough incentive to cut down on your daily trip to the vending machine, one $1.50 soda each day racks up close to a $550 annual tab. Instead — get that reusable water bottle I mentioned.

7. Buy Less Clothing

According to Ecowatch, the fashion industry is the second “dirtiest” industry in the world, just under Big Oil. Why? Partially it’s the impact of textile mills, but overwhelmingly it is the huge amount of water that is involved. The process of making one cotton t-shirt uses over 700 gallons of water! Buying clothes is also an expensive habit — just $50 worth of clothing a month (and that’s maybe a pair of jeans, a shirt, and some underpants) comes out to $600 a year. What to do? Check ebay before heading to the mall.

According to Lending Tree’s Calculator these tips taken together will save me more than 5k a year. That’s something I can use to take a trip into nature instead of polluting it.

You’ve read 7 Bad Financial Habits That Are Also Terrible For The Environment, 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 Working Less Will Let You Get More Done, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

The key to get more done isn’t to slave away for 10 hours a day, it’s to work smarter instead of harder. Working less is one way to working smarter, and here’s why. 

The Simple Law That Can Revolutionize the Way You Work 

In school I often procrastinated until the deadline was 45 minutes away. I panicked, worked like a machine and miraculously finished it in time.

I experienced Parkinson’s Law: that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

If you have a deadline, you’ll almost always meet it. Parkinson’s Law works because it forces you to bring more energy, motivation and focus to your work. If you’re close to a deadline, you’ll become a working machine. But if you have all the time in the world, you’ll constantly check Facebook, watch YouTube and do easy work.

If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute – Cyril Northcote Parkinson 

Limiting the time you work also forces you to focus on your most important tasks. You would be able to fill a 120 hour week with work, because there’s always an infinite amount of things you could be doing. But that doesn’t mean you should. 

How Many Hours a Week Should You Work? 

Cal Newport, the author of Deep Work, said that if you study world-class performers in a lot of different fields, none of them practice more than 4 hours a day. The conclusion? Most people can’t sustain more than 4 hours of intense concentration a day.

All other hours of focus are much less productive. In most work the amount of focus and energy spent is just as important as the time put in. 

Studies has shown people are the most productive while working 35 hour weeks. While 60-hour weeks increase your productivity in the short run, after a few weeks you’ll be too fatigued and stressed to do anything efficiently. You have to make room to recharge.

Researchers concluded that “at approximately eight 60-hour weeks, the total work done is the same as what would have been done in eight 40-hour weeks.” Another study found that productivity “falls off a cliff after 55 hours—so much that someone who puts in 70 hours produces nothing more with those 15 extra hours.”

The Key for Taking Advantage of Working Less 

Track how much you’re working.

If your goal is to spend 35 hours a week, stop when you’ve tracked 35 focused hours. The daily limit could be 4 hours, or to never work after noon. The time tracking software I use is Toggl.

That’s it. Working less makes you more productive by creating a deadline, making you focus on your most important things and letting you recharge. Start tracking your work now, and have a great day! 

Elias Edgren is a writer, productivity geek and addicted to music. Do you want to get more done? How convenient: he has written a free “Cheat Sheet for Extreme Productivity“.

You’ve read Why Working Less Will Let You Get More Done, 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 10 Tips to Maximize Your BALANCE + PRODUCTIVITY, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Balance and productivity are two of my favorite topics. They go hand in hand because our drive to produce can make us feel unbalanced, and our desire for balance can make us feel unproductive. So I offer you 10 tips to maintain both, so you can live more joyful and ease-ful days. Included in this bonus is a COOL video, which can be found here

1. Take Mini-Boosts

A mini-boost is an activity you do for a short amount of time that gets you away from your work and screens and gives you a shot of natural energy. Mini-boosts do not involve caffeine, alcohol, or screens of any kind. Mini-boosts give you a second wind, refresh your mind, stretch your body, and occasionally offer you a laugh.

 

In fact, studies show that brief diversions from a task can dramatically improve one’s ability to focus on that task for prolonged periods.

Action: Make a list of mini-boosts that feel good and work in your schedule. Tape the list to your computer or other visible spot to serve as a reminder.

2. Establish a Morning Routine

This little ritual can have the effect of skyrocketing your balance and productivity. The hardest part of establishing one is getting started. Once you get started, you’ll immediately see the effects, and you’ll be naturally motivated to maintain it.

Action: To get started, take one SMALL action one morning this week. That action can be 2 minutes of meditation, writing in your journal, or setting your daily intentions. Try to find a space in your home that you love, and make that your morning routine space.

3. Bundle Your Tasks

This simple technique has an amazing effect on your balance and productivity. When we bundle tasks we focus on only one category of tasks for a block of time. When we do a variety of different tasks in a time period, it takes more time and energy to complete, and we often don’t complete the tasks as well.

Action: Simply designate a day of the week or month to deal with certain tasks. For example, set aside a day of the week to do your finances, a time of day to write emails, and a block of time for personal errands. This may sound simple and obvious, but try bundling something that you normally tackle in an ad-hoc fashion and notice the difference.

4. Don’t Take Your Technology to Bed

You may love your smart phone or iPad, but there’s a time to put those lovely little distractions to bed…and that’s BEFORE you go to bed. Digital technology has the effect of turning your brain ON, not off.

Action: Keep your technology out of your bedroom (that includes the TV). Instead, unwind with a nice book, a cup of tea, some easy stretching, or a bit of meditation. You’ll sleep better and wake up the next morning more refreshed.

5. Set a Technology Timer

Scrolling. We all do it. Whether you scroll newsfeed, tweets, or pins, scrolling can be a nice way to connect with cool people, and/or it can be a huge waste of time.

Action: Allow yourself a set amount of time during the day to scroll social media, and set a timer. Maybe that’s 5-10 minutes in the morning, afternoon and evening. If you’re on a timer, you’ll be more disciplined to use your scrolling for good, not evil.

6. Take Time for Rest and Relaxation

Countless studies show that most of us are over- worked and sleep deprived. Rest and relaxation come in the form of naps (I love them), a restorative yoga class, walks, or light reading. Sadly, many of us have been taught that taking an afternoon nap, for example, is an indulgence. The truth is there’s nothing indulgent or luxurious about it. If you feel like taking a nap that means you need rest. You’re not lazy, you’re not wasting time, you’re simply tired.

Action: Make a list of activities that you find restful or relaxing, add one activity to your weekly calendar

7. Water and Nature

To help you with #7, there are two extremely restorative activities that are easy to fit into busy days. The first is water. Submerging yourself in water is extremely restorative to the body. Our skin is our largest organ, so water is both hydrating and replenishing. Second, connecting to nature grounds us and fills us naturally with energy. As we spend more of our days indoors behind a desk, we can suffer from “Nature Deficit Disorder,” thus it’s important to proactively carve out time to spend in nature.

Action: When you’re feeling harried or stressed, take a bath or shower or hit the pool (or lake or ocean). Second, incorporate into your routine time to go to the park or forest for a walk, hike, or bike ride.

8. Schedule Time for Fun

When you’re focused on a goal or have a full schedule, the fun activities are often the first thing to fall off the calendar. The best way to prevent that from happening is to schedule in fun time

Action: Brainstorm things that are truly fun for you and add one thing to your calendar. You can do this by signing up for a fun class, getting together with a group of fun friends for a weekly outing or activity, and identifying fun things that you can do alone at home (such as singing, painting, or working in the garden).

9. Watch Your Thoughts

How many times have you said to yourself, “I just don’t have the time.”? That may feel VERY true, but what if it’s not? Hendricks Gay makes a compelling argument   in his book, The Big Leap that we have the ability to create the right amount of time that we need in a day. Any time you say or think to yourself, “There’s not enough time,” that’s exactly what you create.

Action: Change your inner dialogue to: “I create enough time to get everything done.” Or, “there’s always enough time.” See what happens.

10. Set Intensions

This is easy to do and easy to forget. Setting intentions is your way of asking the Universe for help with your to do list.

Action: Set intentions. For example, if you’re at the grocery store and remember that you have to pay a bill, simply say to yourself, “I intend to remember to pay that bill.” When your days feel hectic, then, “I intend to create a joyful and ease-fu schedule.” When you feel lonely, then, “I intend to attract the perfect circle of friends.” If you’re feeling poor, then, “I intend to attract unlimited abundance.” Once you set your intention, then let it go and allow it to arrive to you.

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Allyson Scammell is a Life and Career Coach who purpose-driven professionals pursue their passions. Prior to becoming a coach, Allyson spent over 15 years working in post-conflict humanitarian response for the United Nations, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in countries all over the world. She now lives in Brussels, Belgium with her husband. Learn more by signing up for her free 10-day Bold Action Challenge at: shantipax.com.

 

You’ve read 10 Tips to Maximize Your BALANCE + PRODUCTIVITY, 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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