HOW SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE THINK - Motivational Video

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Why Is it So Hard for You to Say "Thank You" When You Get a Compliment?

While most of us are proud of ourselves when we do something awesome, we’re not so great at sharing that excitement with others.

Because who wants to come across as egotistical or cocky?

Certainly not I.

But we also know that there’s nothing wrong with being proud of your accomplishments.

So I have a challenge for you this week (or month, if you’re feeling ballsy), inspired by Feminist Fight Club’s recent newsletter: Try accepting a compliment without explaining yourself.

How so? As the newsletter describes, this means not adding on a “It wasn’t a big deal” or “I didn’t do it alone” or any other excuse after saying “Thank you.” Just say thanks and leave it at that.

Take this common exchange as an example:
Your co-worker says: “Nice job on that presentation today!”
What you’d normally say: “Thanks, but it was really a team effort.”
What you should say: “Thanks!”

I know, this sounds hard—we all want to give the impression that we’re modest team players just checking things off our to-do list for the good of the world. But as Feminist Fight Club points out, this is an important way to practice self-care. And that’s because studies show that accepting compliments helps to boost your self-confidence and performance.

Who knew feeling better about yourself and getting ahead at work was as simple as saying, “Thank you”?

Science aside, don’t you want (and deserve) to get credit for all your hard work and effort? The more you brush it off as “nothing,” the more you give away your own worth.

Don’t do that! Stand proud when you did a good job. And pass the good feelings along by recognizing others who do the same.

If we all took more ownership of our achievements and supported each other’s strengths, the workplace would be a much more enjoyable and uplifting place to be.

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How to rewire the subconscious mind | Sajeda Batra | TEDxEMWS

Why comfort will ruin your life | Bill Eckstrom | TEDxUniversityofNevada

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How comfortable are you?

Sunflower Maze in Philippines

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What are you doing this weekend? Check this out if you are close by.

Affirmation from Louise Hay

Have a great day!

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Jack Canfield explains: How To Accelerate Your End Result

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What are you focused on, what are your goals?

How to Become a Millionaire in 3 Years | Daniel Ally | TEDxBergenCommuni...

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Readers are leaders and more great tips

The Role Your Subconscious Mind Plays in Your Everyday Life

The subconscious mind – something that has a huge effect on every action, but is constantly overlooked.

Instead, the focus is often on our conscious mind, which contains the critical thought function of our brains. The subconscious is the powerful layer underneath. It encompasses the awareness of all things the conscious mind cannot recognize.


Once the subconscious is tapped into, this remarkable part of the brain plays many different roles in your everyday life.

The Memory Bank

Your subconscious mind is like a huge memory bank. Its capacity is virtually unlimited. It permanently stores everything that ever happens to you.

By the time you reach the age of 21, you’ve already permanently stored more than one hundred times the contents of the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.

Under hypnosis, older people can often remember, with perfect clarity, events from fifty years before.
Your unconscious memory is virtually perfect. It is your conscious recall that is suspect.

The function of your subconscious mind is to store and retrieve data.

Its job is to ensure that you respond exactly the way you are programmed. Your subconscious mind makes everything you say and do fit a pattern consistent with your self-concept. This is your “Master Program.”

The Unquestioning Servant

Your subconscious mind is subjective. It does not think or reason independently. It merely obeys the commands it receives from your conscious mind.

Your conscious mind can be thought of as the gardener, planting seeds. Your subconscious mind can be thought of as the garden, or fertile soil, in which the seeds germinate and grow.

Your conscious mind commands and your subconscious mind obeys.

Your subconscious mind is an unquestioning servant. It works day and night to make your behavior fits a pattern consistent with your emotionalized thoughts, hopes, and desires.

Your subconscious mind grows either flowers or weeds in the garden of your life. Whichever you plant is based on the mental equivalents you create.

The Preserver of Balance

Your subconscious mind has what is called a homeostatic impulse. It keeps your body temperature at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. It keeps you breathing regularly and keeps your heart beating at a certain rate.

Through your autonomic nervous system, it maintains a balance among the hundreds of chemicals in your billions of cells. Your entire physical machine functions in complete harmony most of the time.
Your subconscious mind also practices homeostasis in your mental realm. It keeps you thinking and acting in a manner consistent with what you have done and said in the past.

The Comfort Zone

All your habits of thinking and acting are stored in your subconscious mind. It has memorized all your comfort zones and it works to keep you in them.

Your subconscious mind causes you to feel emotionally and physically uncomfortable whenever you attempt to do anything new or different. It goes against changing any of your established patterns of behavior.

You can feel your subconscious pulling you back toward your comfort zone each time you try something new. Even thinking about doing something different from what you’re accustomed to will make you feel tense and uneasy.

One of the biggest habits of successful men and women is always stretching themselves or pushing themselves out of their comfort zones. They are very aware how quickly the comfort zone, in any area, becomes a rut. They know that complacency is the great enemy of creativity and future possibilities.

Tap Into Your Subconscious

Remember, for you to grow and get out of your comfort zone, you have to be willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable doing new things. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly until you get a feel for it. Keep trying until you develop a new comfort zone at a new, higher level of competence.

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Why You’ve Got to Be True to Your Life-Guiding Principles

If you sacrifice principle trying to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.

This maxim of Coach John Wooden’s is a great reminder of a key principle he learned from his father: “Be true to yourself.”

In the book Coach Wooden by Pat Williams, two of Coach’s former players commented on what they took away from this idea in their lives:

Dave Meyers (UCLA: 1971-75), former NBA star and currently a teacher, summarized his lessons this way: “If you are not maintaining self-control, then you are not being true to yourself. You are letting your circumstances or your emotions or the actions of other people control you. To be true to yourself, you have to be in control of yourself. When I played for Coach Wooden, he used to tell the team, ‘If you can’t control yourself, others will do it for you. And if you’re not controlling yourself, you’re not helping the team.’”

Andy Hill (UCLA: 1969-73), who became an accomplished television producer and author of the book Be Quick – But Don’t Hurry, shared this insightful perspective: “Those players who fought with John Wooden the hardest ultimately became his most outspoken advocates. That’s because he let them fight. He wasn’t intimidated by a player who had his own opinions. Coach was totally secure in who he was.”

Rather than “going along to get along,” we should have a value system that will guide us to make the right decision. Doing the right thing is more important than meeting the expectations of our peers.
The following two stories powerfully illustrate Coach Wooden’s consistency in being true to life-guiding principles:

First, Coach Wooden, in his first year as a college coach, refused an invitation to the 1948 NAIA National Championship tournament because Clarence Walker, an African-American player, would have been prohibited from participating solely because of his race.

Second, again from the book Coach Wooden, Pat Williams recounts a meeting Coach participated in prior to his last season as a college coach:

“In 1974, Coach Wooden and his assistant coaches were called to the office of UCLA athletic director J. D. Morgan. ‘We just received an offer from one of the television networks,’ Morgan said. ‘The network has offered UCLA a lot of money if we will play North Carolina State as the opening game of the upcoming season.’ Just a few weeks earlier, the NC State Wolfpack had stunned the heavily favored UCLA Bruins in the opening round of the Final Four.

The network thought that opening the season with a rematch between the two teams would be a ratings sensation. But as Morgan laid out the terms of the offer, there was one big hitch: The game would be scheduled on a Sunday, the day Coach Wooden set aside as a day of rest. Coach and his wife, Nell, never missed a Sunday attending church in Santa Monica. After church, their children and grandchildren usually came over for Sunday dinner. Would Coach be willing to forego his weekly ritual for this opportunity?

Morgan asked the two assistant coaches, Gary Cunningham and Frank Arnold, what they thought of the offer. Both assistants said they would prefer not to play on Sunday but would do what they had to do. But they both knew it wasn’t their opinion that really counted. Morgan turned to Coach Wooden for his response. ‘Well, Coach? What do you think about the offer?’”

“‘J. D.,’ Coach said gently, ‘if you want to schedule that game on Sunday afternoon, go right ahead. But I won’t be there.’ With that, the discussion was over. There would be no Sunday game.”

In his first season and his last season, nothing had changed. John Wooden remembered: 
If you sacrifice principle trying to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.


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HABITS TO START DOING TODAY TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL - MORNING HABITS FOR SU...

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Your life today is essentially the sum of your habits. How in shape or out of shape you are? A result of your habits. How happy or unhappy you are? A result of your habits. How successful or unsuccessful you are? A result of your habits.

How Your Mind Sabotages Your Life & How To Stop It — T. Harv Eker

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Have you ever  wondered why you just can’t seem to get what you really want out of life?

That for some reason for every step forward you take… you end up taking two steps back?

Then listen to this ...

6 Things You Can Do on Your Commute to Feel Better About Work

If you rely on public transportation to get you to work and then back home again, you may be feeling so very over it. From New York City to Washington, DC, it’s been a trying time for commuters. Which is not to say that driving in gridlock is a pleasant experience.

Whatever your mode of transport, things could surely be worse. But, they could also be better. And that’s what I think we should all focus on.

Take your annoyance to social media if you must the next time your ride into work lets you down, but once you’ve gotten that out of your system, consider how the six ideas below can help make your morning or evening at least a bit better.

1. Listen for Inspiration

Whether you’re a podcast devotee, an audio book aficionado, or an NPR loyalist, listening to something that makes you happy can do wonders for your mood when you arrive at the office.

Depending on your industry and position, you may even find listening a source of inspiration for your creative work. But, if that doesn’t describe you, that’s OK. Chances are that an enjoyable commute will have you putting your best foot forward, and that’s bound to make for a productive day.
If you’re not sure where to get started, check out these 15 highly-recommended podcasts.

2. Draft Emails

I don’t love sending emails from my phone. I’ll write the occasional two-liner or will follow up with someone if I can do so in a couple of sentences, but the ones that merit bigger paragraphs? I used to leave them until I was in front of my desktop.

That is, until my commute started to deteriorate. I needed to fill the time (at least some of it) with something resembling productivity. So I began drafting long messages on my ride and saving them for later. Try this: You may find that you’re at your most articulate when you have time to go back before you press send.

3. Track Accomplishments

You know those small wins that feel good in the moment but are soon forgotten as the daily grind takes over? You will forget them if you let them sit untouched for too long.
Your commute’s a fantastic time to take pen to paper or finger to screen (whatever you prefer) and start making notes of all your many achievements, from the seemingly insignificant ones to the bigger ones. Biking or driving? Get in the habit of making a mental note and as soon as you get where you’re going, write down whatever you comes to mind.

4. Absorb Company News

From new company press to the CEO’s weekly email, we could all use some extra time in the day to read and process everything getting thrown our way. If you’re anything like me, you have good intentions to do it before you head out for the day, but you never quite get around to it.

If you drive in, consider trying out an app, that reads your emails aloud to you. And if you’re sticking it out on the subway or bus, bookmark these reads for easy access as soon as you board.

5. Refine Your To-Do List

I strongly suggest you use this time to evaluate today’s or tomorrow’s to-dos. What must you prioritize? What needs attention? What can wait? Not having to devote an ounce of energy to this when you start your day can save you time and stress. You know what awaits, and you can focus predictably when it’s time to start working.

If you can (because you’re not driving), jot it down. And if you are behind the wheel, consider putting Siri, or a similar app, to work for you.

6. Worry

That’s not a typo. You read that correctly. If you’re feeling stressed or anxious about the work that lies ahead (and a long, slow commute isn’t helping), use this time, approximately six minutes of it, to fill your brain with worry.

Really allow the anxiety to rear its ugly head and once you’ve taken the allotted time, return to normal. It’s called scheduling time to worry, and it’s not so unlike this trick for solving problems while you sleep.


Unless you’re willing and able to move down the street from your office or you get a job that’s 100% remote, the truth is, commuting to work is a reality for most of us, but it doesn’t have to be so harsh. When you can get in a better mood on your way into office and on your way home, you’re more likely to approach your work with enthusiasm and interest.



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Visualize and It Will Materialize

Visualization is a common sense success strategy that can keep you motivated and focused to achieve your goals throughout the day. As I’ve often said, “Visualize and it will materialize.”    

Visualization is the applying of your given gift of imagination to your faith and confidence. You can use it to discover ways to work through tough times, to rise above your problems and see the possibilities of a solution. It can also be used in the process of healing or to manifest a particular desire.

I know that doubt is the great nullifier when you want a particular desire to manifest. When I visualize what I’m asking for as being answered, I am more confident and it enhances my results. Having an unshakeable belief that my desires will manifest at the right time is certainly empowering. But when I see what I want in full detail, it reinforces the positive feelings I need to stay motivated throughout the day, regardless of setbacks and challenging circumstances. That continual motivation and the feelings that fuel it are crucial to manifest what I’m asking for.

As you visualize, it’s important that you crank up your energy. I mean, really get into this! It won’t have much of an effect if you’re casually looking at yourself in the picture. You must enthusiastically be in the picture as if it’s really happening. Feel the excitement. Include every detail. Feel and experience the emotions as if you already have what you want.

If your desire is to create a meaningful relationship, you might want to picture the two of you laughing or holding hands walking on a beach. Perhaps you can envision eating dinner together at a cozy, romantic restaurant and having a meaningful conversation. The point is to feel the excitement of already having the relationship you want. For a little extra oomph, give thanks for the outcome you desire and know that it might take a while, but somehow, some way, you will eventually meet the right person.

It doesn’t end there. The next step is to continue visualizing your desire with passion and enthusiasm throughout the day. This step is important because it keeps negative emotions such as fear of failure, doubt and uncertainty from interfering with your intended desire. Also, know that you have to take action. In other words, you can’t have a meaningful conversation at a cozy restaurant unless you are motivated enough to set the date, time and make a reservation. Remember what Einstein said, “Nothing happens until something moves.” I say, “Your life won’t happen unless you move.” So move! Do your part! Take action! Get motivated! Stay motivated! And don’t give up!

When I made the decision to shift careers from being a stand-up comedian to become a motivational speaker, I didn’t expect to wake up the next morning and say, “OK, when do I speak?” That’s ridiculous, of course. I was well aware that action needed to be taken. I knew I had to reinforce my foundation of faith and confidence. There was a well-thought-out step-by-step process involved.

Here’s the thing, dear reader. At various times throughout the day, during the process of creating my speaking career, I visualized myself on stage speaking to thousands of people. I envisioned the audience laughing at my jokes and funny stories and acknowledging my message. I saw myself getting standing ovations and people thanking me for giving them hope. I envisioned agencies and clients from all venues calling my office wanting to book me. I saw my calendar being filled with speaking engagements. I envisioned my fees and product sales increasing. I saw my team and agents calling me and saying, “You have another offer!” It took time and a great deal of dedication before I started reaping the benefits of my labor, but I did eventually get the things that I envisioned. And it’s still paying off.

Take a few moments every day—throughout the day—to visualize the things you desire. Feel them with your heart and soul. See them in your mind as if they’re really happening. Include every detail. Feel and experience the emotions as if you already have what you want.

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Abraham Hicks - Decide That Your Life is Getting Better and Better

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A packed 13 mins of inspiration from Abraham

Life has purpose if we choose to find it and strive towards its fulfillment. But what of one’s demise? When the death of someone whom we hold dear comes too soon and unexpectedly, what purpose does it serve? What reason will satisfy those who are left behind?

Some live very long lives, while others inexplicably do not. What determines how long our lives will be?

We can choose to believe that all things are accidental and that death comes merely by chance. Men of science assert that everything is the result of entropy and chaos. Therefore, even our deaths are merely the product of random occurrence, uncertain and unpredictable.

However, believing this may prompt us to become obsessed with our safety and health. The sheer randomness of it all may make us so afraid that we are driven almost to the brink of paranoia.

On the other hand, we can choose to believe that death comes predetermined by some higher power. But if this is the case, will this not move us to question the wisdom of celestial justice? The unforeseen death of loved ones will often shake the foundations of our faith. It may even break it.
Therefore, the paradox is clear.

On the one hand, the absence of faith and the belief in the randomness of the universe frees us from the risk of spiritual anguish. But it renders both life and death meaningless. Having faith on the other hand, comes with it the possibility of it being shattered by the pain of incomprehensible loss.

The one true conclusion we can arrive at is that life is precious no matter what we believe. And we must necessarily accept that all life comes to an end, unexpectedly or not. Sorrow is but a natural consequence of losing someone close to us. And this should move us to appreciate and value more deeply the people around us especially those whom we hold dear.

Quote - Dr John Demartini,

Are you an enabler?

All of us desire acceptance. Our friends seek us out because they know we make them feel accepted. The dynamics of friendship require that we remain nonjudgmental towards one another.

But what do we do when our friend shares with us that he is doing something ethically questionable? Should we just accept this too and tell ourselves that it’s none of our business? Most of the time, we fear offending our friend. And this becomes the excuse for not doing anything and merely tolerating his actions.

Often, instead of telling our friend that what he is doing may be injurious, we even make him feel that it is okay. We enable his undesirable behavior. But by doing this, we reinforce whatever he is doing. When we condone the harmful or self-destructive actions of other people, we become their enablers.

Sometimes we think that being a friend entails giving blind and unconditional acceptance. But this should not be the case. We cannot be the one to give encouragement to a friend when he engages in dishonesty or becomes mired in vices.  If we truly consider ourselves to be a good friend, then we should not enable the wrongdoings of those close to us. A good friend shows concern and will not simply watch and wait for his friend to slowly destroy his own life.

When we become aware that a friend is doing something wrong, then we must recognize that it is our obligation to point this out. By making a clear and consistent stand on the issue, we can object to our friend’s deleterious behavior in a concerned and respectful way without risking the friendship. When we carry this out, at the very least we will know that we have done all we can do. And by being a positive influence, we can hope to bring about a realization in our friend by allowing him the opportunity to discover what is truly good for him.


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Quote - Dr. Wayne Dyer

5 Rules for the Game of Life

10 habits of mentally strong people

Despite West Point Military Academy’s rigorous selection process, one in five students drop out by graduation day. A sizeable number leave the summer before freshman year, when cadets go through a rigorous program called “Beast.” Beast consists of extreme physical, mental, and social challenges that are designed to test candidates’ perseverance.

University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth conducted a study in which she sought to determine which cadets would make it through the Beast program. The rigorous interviews and testing that cadets went through to get into West Point in the first place told Angela that IQ and talent weren’t the deciding factors.

So, Angela developed her own test to determine which cadets had the mental strength to conquer the Beast. She called it the “Grit Scale,” and it was a highly accurate predictor of cadet success. The Grit Scale measures mental strength, which is that unique combination of passion, tenacity, and stamina that enables you to stick with your goals until they become a reality.

To increase your mental strength, you simply need to change your outlook. When hard times hit, people with mental strength suffer just as much as everyone else. The difference is that they understand that life’s challenging moments offer valuable lessons. In the end, it’s these tough lessons that build the strength you need to succeed.

Developing mental strength is all about habitually doing the things that no one else is willing to do. If you aren’t doing the following things on a regular basis, you should be, for these are the habits that mentally strong people rely on.

You have to fight when you already feel defeated. A reporter once asked Muhammad Ali how many sit-ups he does every day. He responded, “I don’t count my sit-ups, I only start counting when it starts hurting, when I feel pain, cause that’s when it really matters.” The same applies to success in the workplace. You always have two choices when things begin to get tough: you can either overcome an obstacle and grow in the process or let it beat you. Humans are creatures of habit. If you quit when things get tough, it gets that much easier to quit the next time. On the other hand, if you force yourself to push through a challenge, the strength begins to grow in you.

You have to delay gratification. There was a famous Stanford experiment in which an administrator left a child in a room with a marshmallow for 15 minutes. Before leaving, the experimenter told the child that she was welcome to eat it, but if she waited until he returned without eating it, she would get a second marshmallow. The children that were able to wait until the experimenter returned experienced better outcomes in life, including higher SAT scores, greater career success, and even lower body mass indexes. The point is that delay of gratification and patience are essential to success. People with mental strength know that results only materialize when you put in the time and forego instant gratification.

You have to make mistakes, look like an idiot, and try again — without even flinching. In a recent study at the College of William and Mary, researchers interviewed over 800 entrepreneurs and found that the most successful among them tend to have two critical things in common: they’re terrible at imagining failure and they tend not to care what other people think of them. In other words, the most successful entrepreneurs put no time or energy into stressing about their failures as they see failure as a small and necessary step in the process of reaching their goals.

You have to keep your emotions in check. Negative emotions challenge your mental strength every step of the way. While it’s impossible not to feel your emotions, it’s completely under your power to manage them effectively and to keep yourself in control of them. When you let your emotions overtake your ability to think clearly, it’s easy to lose your resolve. A bad mood can make you lash out or stray from your chosen direction just as easily as a good mood can make you overconfident and impulsive.

You have to make the calls you’re afraid to make. Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do because we know they’re for the best in the long-run: fire someone, cold-call a stranger, pull an all-nighter to get the company server back up, or scrap a project and start over. It’s easy to let the looming challenge paralyze you, but the most successful people know that in these moments, the best thing they can do is to get started right away. Every moment spent dreading the task subtracts time and energy from actually getting it done. People that learn to habitually make the tough calls stand out like flamingos in a flock of seagulls.

You have to trust your gut. There’s a fine line between trusting your gut and being impulsive. Trusting your gut is a matter of looking at decisions from every possible angle, and when the facts don’t present a clear alternative, you believe in your ability to make the right decision; you go with what looks and feels right.

You have to lead when no one else follows. It’s easy to set a direction and to believe in yourself when you have support, but the true test of strength is how well you maintain your resolve when nobody else believes in what you’re doing. People with mental strength believe in themselves no matter what, and they stay the course until they win people over to their ways of thinking.

You have to focus on the details even when it makes your mind numb. Nothing tests your mental strength like mind-numbing details, especially when you’re tired. The more people with mental strength are challenged, the more they dig in and welcome that challenge, and numbers and details are no exception to this.

You have to be kind to people who are rude to you. When people treat you poorly, it’s tempting to stoop to their level and return the favor. People with mental strength don’t allow others to walk all over them, but that doesn’t mean they’re rude to them, either. Instead, they treat rude and cruel people with the same kindness they extend to everyone else, because they don’t allow another person’s negativity to bring them down.

You have to be accountable for your actions, no matter what. People are far more likely to remember how you dealt with a problem than they are to recall how you created it in the first place. By holding yourself accountable, even when making excuses is an option, you show that you care about results more than your image or ego.

Bringing it all together

Mental strength is as rare as it is important. The good news is that any of us can get stronger with a little extra focus and effort.

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Feel the Fear but Don’t Be a Baby With It

It’s just as thrilling the second time you get a bike for Christmas.

My new (pre-loved) motor scooter was outside the window when I woke up. It had been decades since I got a new bike (a bicycle back then) and I felt the same rush of excitement.

It was raining. I tiptoed outside in my bare feet, took a seat and gingerly hit the starter button. As the bike lurched forward, I accidentally accelerated, falling over and bruising my leg. My daughters laughed, not unkindly, but there was a subtext: aren’t you a bit old for this?

For a few days after that I stared at the scooter through the window as the thoughts ramped up:

• It’s too heavy for me.
• I won’t be able to handle it.
• This is a very windy city.
• I should have test-driven it first.
• I got hurt. What if it happens again?

 

Fear. It had me by the throat.

 

As a psychologist I knew it, I almost smiled each time a new negative thought came in. But it was a smile through gritted teeth. What worried me more than the negative thinking was that age was beginning to bite.

I’d had a motorbike when I was younger and, even though I’d come off a couple of times, I was never afraid of it. I loved it; I loved the freedom, the crisp air, the songs I sang loudly to myself under my helmet.

I’d always tried to be a fearless person, throwing myself off bungy bridges, trying new (sometimes stupid) things, not taking the expected path. It made me feel like that old cliche, like I was living life to the full.

But now? The scooter had given me a jolt. I’d seen too often in clients what happens to people as they feel the pinch of age. Instead of seeking and grabbing new opportunities, they’d back off, lose confidence, play it safe.

I’d heard the line “At my age, I can’t…..” too many times to count. And often from people who were still in their 40s. I didn’t want that to happen to me, and yet here I was scared of a scooter.

It was time for some therapy. I know the treatments for anxiety but I knew that meditating and box breathing weren’t going to do anything for this one. So I sat myself down on my own couch for a little chat. It was a one-liner that went like this: “Feel the fear but don’t be a baby with it.”

Then I wrote myself, in my head admittedly, a four-point plan.

1. Notice the fear.

Notice, acknowledge, but don’t fight. We’re all afraid of something; fear is a bunch of thoughts that we’ve grabbed onto and are giving far too much attention. Sit with the thoughts for a while and you’ll realise thoughts on their own are harmless. They’ll only strike out if you hand them the power.

2. Strike a deal.

Remind yourself of the importance of walking towards the fear. Especially if there is another player in the game — in my case, age. Fear is always up for the game and will be thrilled if you back off, avoid or hunker down to whatever the challenge is. Because it has won.

3. Do one small thing.

If you’re scared of flying, book on a fear of flying course. Go to the airport. Learn breathing techniques or coping tools. Ditto for any other fear. If you’re scared of motor scooters put on your helmet and go sit in the lounge. No-one has to see you do this. The point is, step forward — not back.

4. See the big picture.

This is the biggest because it gives you some perspective. Ask yourself what kind of life you want to live. If you genuinely don’t want to fly anywhere, ever, or speak in public — and you can live with that, fine. But if you say no to something you might enjoy or might help you make progress or do good things in the world, that’s wrong. It’s still your choice though.

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Remember, fear wants to make your life smaller, when our aim, as long as we can breathe, should be to supersize it, in whatever ways we can.

I ride the scooter most days now. The smile beneath the helmet is genuine. The songs are still loud. My daughters will NEVER ride on the back.

But I’ve got this. It’s not about the bike. But you already knew that didn’t you?

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#5 The Law of Intention and Desire

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Decide what you want and let it go. Release your intentions.

Lift Depression With These 3 Prescriptions- Without-Pills | Susan Heitle...

How Anger Can Affect Your Whole Day

Avoid starting your morning in a bad mood. 

I’ve stopped checking the news first thing in the morning. In fact, I don’t do any social media (and only occasionally go through my email) before I’ve checked off a long morning to-do list that sets me up for a productive day: making my bed, eating breakfast, taking my vitamins, squeezing in a bit of exercise, spending some time with my kids, and writing out the things I want to accomplish for the day.

This isn’t simply so I start my day off with healthy habits—though, that is a part of it. It’s not even that I just want to avoid screen time in the morning—also not a bad idea. The reason I steer clear of my computer and smartphone is to avoid the anger and frustration that used to shade my morning after reading yet another dreadful political headline or seeing the outpouring of rage and cynicism on Facebook. Being confronted with that kind of negativity is no way to wake up. It felt like the whole world had their fists up at 6 a.m., and even if I didn’t lace up my own gloves, the adrenaline surged through me.

In fact, even long after the anger-inducing clickbait had left my mind, its effects were still noticeable. I would be irritable throughout the day. I would make poor food choices even when I knew full well that I would later regret it. I’d snap at my kids without warning, surprising myself with the outburst. I could never pinpoint what it was that was making me feel so off until I decided to take a social media break. It wasn’t that I had been waking up on the wrong side of the bed. It was that I had been rolling over to my iPhone and scrolling before I was even fully awake.

Getting angry first thing in the morning can affect you a lot more than you think, even when you’re no longer upset. Missing your alarm in the morning, scrolling through the news, sitting in rage-inducing traffic on your commute—there are plenty of things that have the potential to set off anger in the morning. You may take a deep breath and dive into work, assuming those negative emotions were left behind, but research shows that residual anger can guide our decision-making long after we’ve been provoked.

A study from Harvard found that residual anger can color our perspective even when we’ve moved onto a completely unrelated task. Perhaps you go into work and have to report about some less-than-stellar results on a team project. If you’re still riding the wave of anger, chances are you’ll attack those around you before taking responsibility for your part. Anger is the primary emotion of justice, so we tend to have a desire to blame others in a very punitive way when we’re mad. But being a poor team player isn’t the only downside you’ll experience.

The study also found that we make reckless decisions in many ways when we’re angry. We feel overly confident and often take risks we otherwise wouldn’t. These snap choices can range from making uncharacteristic health choices to impulsive online shopping. We become trigger happy with our decision-making. So the fact that you want that fast-food burrito right now (even though your stomach will hate you for it later) is justified in your mind because your gut desire feels right. We don’t stick around for sound reasoning to come into play because we don’t want our choices questioned, even by ourselves.

Hit that unfollow button if you need to. Get off of Twitter for a while.

Of course, there’s no way to completely rid your life of anger. The Harvard study cites another study that found that “most people report becoming mildly to moderately angry anywhere from several times a day to several times a week.” Even my method of no morning media doesn’t quite absolve my life of anger; it simply delays it. So how do we fight the force of anger so it doesn’t sour our whole day?

We can obviously start by exposing ourselves to less anger-inducing elements. Hit that unfollow button if you need to. Get off of Twitter for a while. Mitigating our consumption of media that will make us angry is important, but when anger strikes without warning, it helps to take a break before moving onto the next part of your day. Mindfulness meditation (a method I personally use) can be a total game changer in keeping the lasting effects of anger at bay. You can use an app like Headspace or simply bring awareness to your breath for a minute or two while your emotional state is still shaky.
Getting back to the present before you go forward can help you move back into your day anger-free.

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Jim Rohn - How to Use Money Wisely (Jim Rohn Motivation )

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Money management with Jim Rohn.

Quote - Abraham Maslow

"Your Words and Thoughts Create Your World!" - By Louis Hay -Law Of Attr...

Here's How to Make Happiness a Habit

It was my last year in college, and I needed to take physics to graduate. The only problem? I had skipped physics in high school, so I had no foundational physics skills. After only one week in the class, I was completely lost. I read every word in the textbook, went to office hours, and attended a study group, but I just barely passed the class.

My experience probably doesn’t surprise you. You know that to learn something new, you have to set yourself up for success—and this is also true for learning happiness. We can make it easier for ourselves to build happiness when we choose the right habits to work on first. Here’s how to get started.

Start Small: Savor the Good Things—Past and Present

 

Researchers believe that some happiness habits are easier to build than others. So rather than starting with whatever happiness habit is currently the most popular—meditation! self-care!—you’ll likely be better off starting with habits that are easier or more fun.

The broaden-and-build theory suggests that experiencing positive emotions broadens our mindset and builds our psychological, intellectual, and social resources, allowing us to benefit more from our experiences. By starting with easy or fun practices, you may be able to get a jumpstart in happiness, subsequently boosting your sense of self-efficacy and propelling you forward in the happiness-building process.

Illustrating this theory, one study showed that people who felt more positive emotion in the beginning of a happiness program reported greater improvements at the end. By going after the low-hanging fruit of happiness, you can build up reserves of confidence and good feelings that may help you tackle the trickier skills later.

By going after the low-hanging fruit of happiness, you can build up reserves of confidence and good feelings that may help you tackle the trickier skills later.

Which habits are easy to start with? Well, one habit that researchers believe is relatively easy to build is savoring good things in your life (like a special trip or awe-inspiring concert) by continuing to reflect on them and share them with others.

Another good way to get started is to just start somewhere that feels fun to you. In a 2012 study, people seeking happiness chose which activities to practice. They selected exercises related to setting goals, savoring the present moment, and recording gratitude more frequently than thinking optimistically, savoring the past, expressing gratitude to others, and recording acts of kindness. This evidence gives us some idea about which habits are the most enjoyable (or, at least, which ones we think will be most enjoyable).

So when getting started with happiness habits, try to begin with easy, fun ones—but don’t stop there. More difficult habits are valuable, too.

Work Your Way Towards High-Impact Happy Habits

In a recent survey, I aimed to find out which happiness habits likely contribute the most to happiness. What I discovered is that some habits, like developing positive feelings about the self, appear to be more closely linked to happiness than the rest.

Other research supports this idea. For example, researchers found that one group of habits that highly impact happiness in the long run are those that shape what you pay attention to. This includes practices like anticipating good things in the future, paying attention to the positives rather than the negatives of a situation, and reflecting on good things that happened in the past.

Using a greater variety of practices, regardless of what the practices are, may also be beneficial. Other research suggests that the people in happiness programs who choose to engage in more different practices show greater increases in happiness than those who choose to engage in fewer practices. And people who engage in a diverse range of practices and engage in them in more situations seem to show the most benefit of all.

In sum, trying to create any new habit can be tough, so it’s worth thinking about which happiness habits to cultivate first. Once you’ve built a few of these habits, you’ll get the hang of it, and building other habits will feel easier. Use these tips to start off on the right foot—and avoid the mistake I made in physics.


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Save Some Energy for Yourself (and Make Time to Recharge)

Lately, I’ve noticed that I’m really tired at the end of the day. Not normal tired, but exhausted. I feel like I’ve given all my energy away to my clients and my friends, and saved none for myself.

I’m someone who loves connecting. It’s in my DNA. It’s part of why I became a coach and why I love helping clients jumpstart their own careers. I can’t turn this part of myself off, and I wouldn’t want to. I also love connecting with colleagues, friends, and people who come to me for advice.

That means that I’m “on” for almost my whole day. The majority of my time is spent supporting, consulting, and providing guidance. My clients hire me and rely on me to provide those services, and I’m there for them 100%. But I’ve recently realized I don’t need to give that same 100% to every single interaction I have. That doesn’t mean that I can’t or don’t want to provide support, it just means that I have to be more aware of saving some energy for me. At the end of the day, if my battery is completely drained, even just finding the energy to recharge is hard.

“I love what I do, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. But to keep bringing my best self to my business, I have to make sure that I’m not running on fumes.

As someone who is in the business of listening to and supporting others, it’s often hard to ask for support for myself. It’s not something I’m used to. When someone says, “Tell me how I can support you,” I don’t have a good answer. And I think this is common for many professionals who provide a service. They’re so used to being a dedicated listener for others that they don’t stop to talk honestly about their own day — even when someone is offering that to them.

Lately, I’ve been trying to make sure I not only save energy but that I make a deliberate effort to recharge when I need it. If you feel depleted because you’ve been giving your all, here’s what has been working for me:

1. Don’t overschedule your time, especially when it comes to favors. I’ve talked before about the importance of valuing your time, and I think it’s an essential part of conserving your mental and physical energy. Often the times when I am the most drained are when I schedule back-to-back networking meetups. When I’m meeting with other entrepreneurs who want to pick my brain, either about coaching or entrepreneurship in general, it’s my natural impulse to share my knowledge, provide the best advice I can, and follow up with resources via email. But when I stack too many of these meetings in one day, it’s almost guaranteed that I’m going to feel drained by day’s end.

Not overscheduling your time is critical in many ways, but it’s especially important when you’re feeling like your resources are depleted. And when it comes to doing favors, I’m a huge fan of doing trades, rather than giving your time away for free. Being an entrepreneur requires you to protect your time. That’s something that many business owners respect and can understand.

2. Mentally reserve some of your energy for yourself. It helps to be mindful of your energy before you use it all up. If you consistently arrive home and crash on the couch, unable to do anything other than scroll through your phone and head to bed, there’s a good chance you’re giving all your energy to others and leaving none for yourself.

To remedy this, try mentally pledging to conserve a fraction of your energy for yourself. It could be 5, 10, or 20 percent. Whatever you decide, check in with yourself over the course of the day. If you’re feeling drained, assess what you can do to regain some of your energy. Try taking a 20-minute break to walk outside, call a friend who will listen, meditate or practice yoga. The goal isn’t to stress over whether you’re “achieving” your goal or not; it’s to leave a little bit of mental and physical energy for yourself at the end of the day.

3. Identify the people who have your back. When you connect with people who genuinely want to support you, a real relationship emerges. There’s more give-and-take than a typical client relationship (although client relationships can and do evolve into true friendships, too). There’s something so amazing about genuine support that doesn’t have strings attached. When you can be authentic with someone, you can vent or share a worry or simply talk about a random moment in your day. And that very often gives you energy, rather than taking it away.

4. Explore other activities that make you feel heard. If your job requires you to be fully attentive to the needs of others (this could be anything from coaching to customer service), you might relate to this: by the end of the day, you’ve spent a lot of time talking, but you don’t feel that you’ve been heard. You’ve been giving advice and acting as a sounding board for others, but you haven’t been sharing your own personal thoughts.

Everyone needs to be able to express themselves on a personal level, and work isn’t always the time or place for that. But you can seek out other opportunities that allow for self-expression. I’m part of a creative writing group in NYC that meets bi-weekly. Each session, each member brings a new piece of writing and we share and receive feedback. Even though it’s another commitment to my schedule, it’s completely worth it. It’s an amazing outlet for me and I always leave feeling rejuvenated.

5. Make time to recharge. Sometimes, you do end up tired or drained. In some cases, it’s inevitable. When that happens, it’s important to take time for yourself so you don’t get burnt out. When I feel like my energy is depleted, I like to do any of the following (depending on what I need at the time):

• Go for a walk.
• Take a yoga class.
• Meditate.
• Attend an event that will inspire me.
• Read a book or listen to a podcast that’s motivating.
• Call my best friend or family member who will listen to me vent.
• Watch mindless TV and let go of whatever is bugging me.

This list is what works for me, but everyone is different. Once you discover the types of activities that help you feel recharged, try to factor them into your routine with some regularity. You don’t have to utilize them for when the tank is completely empty. Instead, you can try to make part of your daily or weekly schedule to ensure that you’re putting your well-being first, not last.

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How to Develop a Millionaire Mindset | Jack Canfield

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To be rich, you have to learn how to think like the rich

How to Overcome Your Fears of Rejection

The fear of rejection and failure is the single greatest obstacle to success in adult life. Taken to its extreme, we become totally preoccupied with not making a mistake, with seeking approval for security above all other considerations.

The experience of the fear of failure is in the words of “I can’t”, I can’t.”

We feel it in the front of the body, starting at the solar plexus and moving up to the rapid beating of the heart, rapid breathing, and a tight throat.

Fear of rejection interferes with performance and inhibits expression. We learn this when our parents make their love conditional upon our behavior. If we do what pleases them, they give us love and approval. If we do something they don’t like, they withdraw their love and approval-which we interpret as rejection.

As adults, people raised with conditional love become preoccupied with the opinions of others.
Many men develop Type A behavior which is characterized by hostility, suspicion and an obsession with performance to some undetermined high standard. This is expressed in the attitude of “I have to, I have to,” and is associated with the feeling that “I have to work harder and accomplish more in order to please the boss,” who has become a surrogate parent.

More than 99% of adults experience both these fears of failure and rejection. They are caught in the trap of feeling, “I can’t, but “I have to,” “I have to,” but “I can’t.”

Learn to Love Yourself

The antidote to these fears is the development of courage, character, and self-esteem.
The opposite of fear is actually love, self-love, and self-respect. Acting with courage in a fearful situation is simply a technique that boosts our regard for ourselves to such a degree that our fears subside and lose their ability to affect our behavior and our decisions.

One of the most powerful techniques ever developed to overcoming fear, and relieving stress is called the “worry buster.”

Many people have come back to me and said that this simple method has changed their attitudes from negative to positive and enabled them to be more effective in their work and their personal lives than they had ever thought possible.

Here are the 4 steps of my formula:

1. Define the Problem in Writing

Step one is to define the problem or situation you are worrying about clearly in writing.
The best way to do this is to take a pad of paper and draw a line from top to bottom right down the middle.

On the left side of the pad of paper, write a clear description of your problem, the answer to the question, “What exactly am I worrying about?”
 Fully 50% of all problems can be solved at this definition stage. In medicine, they say that “Accurate diagnosis is half the cure.”  Many of our worries exist because we have not taken the time to sit down and really define clearly what it is that is bothering us.

2. Write Out the Worst Possible Outcome

Step two is to write out the worst possible outcome of the worry situation. On the right-hand side of the page, answer the question, “What is the worst possible thing that can happen as a result of this problem?”

You may lose your money, lose your relationship, lose your job, your investment, your health, or your prestige. Whatever it is, write it down.

Steps one and two will quickly start relieving the stress that causes worry.

What we have found is that it is resistance to facing the worst possible outcome that causes most of the anxiety and stress associated with worry. Once you have written down the worst possible thing that can happen, you will find that you will slowly stop worrying.

3. Accept the Worst Possible Outcome

Step three is to resolve to accept the worst possible outcome, should it occur. Just say to yourself, “Well, if it happens this way, I’ll learn to live with it.”  Once you have resolved to accept the worst, should it occur, you no longer have anything to worry about. All the stress caused by denial, by refusing to face what the worst could be, suddenly disappears.

4. Begin Improving on the Worst

Step four is to begin immediately to improve upon the worst.  Having resolved to accept the worst, should it occur, now think of everything that you could possibly do to make sure that the very worst does not occur.  Once you stop worrying and have resolved to accept the worst, your mind will be calm and clear and capable of creative thought.  By overcoming fear you are now in a position to do something constructive.

Remember, worry is merely a sustained form of fear caused by indecision. The only real antidote to worry is purposeful action. Get so busy doing something about your situation that you don’t have time to worry. As you take action, your confidence, courage, and sense of control will return and wipe away your fears.

Here are two things you can do to get rid of your worries:
First, make a list, down one side of a page, of all the situations causing you any stress or worry at the moment.

Second, on the other side of the page, write out the worst possible thing that could happen as a result.

You’ll be amazed to see much of your worry disappear with this exercise.


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Universal Law of Giving & Receiving by Deepak Chopra

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In the Universe everything circulates.

Jack Canfield: Create Your Attitude

5 Simple Ways You Can Beat Stress (Yes, It’s Easier than You Think)

Getting rid of stress becomes a whole lot easier once you know what to do and what not to do. There are specific areas of your life that you can tap into to make a positive change and get rid of stress for good.

Everything from the food you eat, to the grudges you keep, can relay into anxiety and stress. Your self-esteem and perception of the world around you play a significant role in this as well.

Beyond using the fidget spinner, here are five ways you can de-stress your life today!

1. Change Your Morning Drink

Making appropriate changes in what you consume every day makes a difference in how much stress you are incurring.

For example, coffee is a major stimulant for anxiety and then stress. Not everyone reacts to different amounts of caffeine consumption in the same way. Some people can tolerate it and go by their day like its nothing; others may unknowingly be suffering from stress and irrational anxiety because of having too many energy drinks or coffee.

If you really want to test it out, consider cutting out caffeinated beverages from your lifestyle and notice if it makes any difference for the better.

2. Sleep Better

One of the unfortunate paradoxes of sleep and stress is that stress causes one to lose sleep. However, it also happens to be the cause for one to be stressed out.

When you don’t get a good night’s rest your body and mind fall out of sync. While the world moves on, you don’t feel energized or prepared to greet the day, hence creating stress regarding your potential to be able to do your best.

A study found that a lot of people report that they get less than the recommended eight hour sleep time. 49 percent of Generation X admits that not getting proper sleep makes irritable, while 47% of millennials say the same.

If you are having trouble sleeping because of too much work, one neat trick is to grant yourself time before bed to relax; dim the light and don’t stare at any bright screens at least half an hour before you plan to hit the hay.

3. Manage the Clock (Time Management)

One easy way to make sure that your habits directly influence less stress for you is if you start managing your time well. You would be surprised to know the number of people who fail to stick to a schedule even though they think they will get everything on their list accomplished for the day.
Stress usually stems from thinking about a faltering plan–where you start doubting whether things that need to be done will ever really get done or not.

With terms like “Time is Money”, and “The early bird gets the worm”, a small slip in time management usually is cause for a major pointer that picks at your brain and makes you anxious about what you might have missed, and what you can no longer have just because you failed to manage your time.

While seemingly far-fetched, these are substantial stress-inducing reasons.

4. Get Moving

Exercise is an essential aspect of what you can do to combat stress.
According to the American Psychological Review, out of the 17% of people who admit they work-out regularly, 53% claim they feel great about themselves after exercising, 30% say they feel the stress go away, and 35% say it puts them in a good mood.

The benefits of exercise are the best when you practice it every day. Working out is actually known to lower stress hormones like cortisol in your body.

Another thing that physical activity effectively does is improve your sleep quality which is adversely affected by stress. Remember, not getting enough rest always makes it harder to work-out the next day, and even harder to concentrate and focus on the important tasks at hand.

5. Get Rid of Frustration and Anger

Another primary reason for people to feel stressed out all the time is that they are holding on to a lot of negative emotions. Let’s get one thing right. Toxic feelings never did do anyone any good.
When you are already mulling over unsolvable things or things of the past that cannot be changed, you will end up stressing yourself because you don’t have control to change any of them.

It is vital that you learn acceptance and how to not lose your cool in times when you must concentrate on more important matters. The best way to get rid of these feelings is to treat yourself and just let go. Move on, and give yourself another chance to do better. You will eventually persevere and see the difference yourself.


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What Tony Robbins Does Every Morning

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Ever wondered how some people accomplish so much in a day?

Robert Kiyosaki's 7 Keys To Ridiculous Wealth

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Great advice from an expert.

How to Show Up for Your Life

How was your day yesterday or the day before that? Do you remember what happened; how you felt, who you spent time with, what you saw, heard, tasted, or experienced? Do you remembered what moved you to tears or laughter? It wasn’t long ago that I didn’t remember any of those things unless I looked at my calendar or my to-do list. Every day felt like a race against the clock and a quest to see how much I could cram in and get through. After a while though, I realized I wanted more than to just get through my life. I wanted to show up for it, to be in my life and not just checking pieces of it off my list each day.

If you’d like to show up for your life too, this is what I recommend. These are things I’ve done that have made the biggest difference and allowed me to be fully present for what matters to me. These aren’t listed in order of importance. This isn’t a competition or a race and these are all practices I continue to revisit and refine. Experiment, be curious, be gentle with yourself and remember you aren’t doing this to have a simple life, you are doing it to have a life – a life you want to show up for and experience with your whole heart.


1. Make a little space.
When everything is important, nothing is. Start to show up for your life by making room for it. Make a little space by clearing some distractions from your living space, your working space, and from your calendar. This doesn’t mean you have to get rid of everything right way. Even 5% less will make a difference. When you pre-order my new book Soulful Simplicity, you’ll receive a special PDF I created called, Soulful Space: 10 Ways to Create more Space in Your Heart and Your Home. It’s important to create space on the inside and the outside.

2. Eat better food.
It’s hard to show up for your life when you are tired, lack clarity or don’t feel well. This almost always comes back to food. What you eat has a direct impact on how you feel and how you experience your life. I don’t want to recommend a specific diet, but instead recommend that you learn what foods make you feel the best (and the worst). Try a nutritional reset like the Whole 30, eliminating common trigger foods like sugar, dairy, grains, alcohol and others. Notice how you feel when you add them back to your diet. You might also try keeping a food diary including how you feel each day. Look back after 30 days and see if you notice any patterns. When you are mostly eating food that is best for your body, you will sleep better, have more consistent energy throughout the day and feel more alive.

3. Put your phone down.
Our digital devices add value to our lives but they also steal us from our lives if we let them. When you put your phone down, you can notice your surroundings, listen to your heart, and make eye contact. You can pay attention to what is right in front of you. Without the distraction of our digital devices we are less scattered and more focused. There are plenty of things we can do to manage digital usage like turning off notifications or switching on airplane mode but the only way to show all the way up for the life right in front of us is to put the phone down.

4. Dress with less.
Deciding what to wear requires mental energy better spent on other things. Clean out your closet for good, create a uniform, or try minimalist fashion challenge Project 333. By choosing what to wear from a small capsule wardrobe, you’ll get to wear your favorite things everyday and eliminate decision fatigue. Save your brain power for more meaningful decisions, creative ideas and problem solving throughout the day.

5. Morning routine.
Sometimes my morning routine is hours of writing, walking, yoga, and meditation. When I travel or have an early morning meeting, my morning routine is a shorter version of writing and meditation or just walking. Consistency is more important than intensity when creating a morning routine that fuels your day and helps you show up for your life.

6. Do less.
When you are overwhelmed, tired or stressed … the solution is less. Get rid of something on your calendar, something on your to-do list, something on your mind, and something on your heart. Let go of the idea that you have to get it all done or who you are is somehow measured by what you cross off your to-do list. You are so much more than that.

Simplicity is the way back to love because it gives us the time, space and presence we desire to show all the way up for our beautiful, messy, magnificent lives.

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5 Mindfulness Exercises For the Person Who Can't Sit Still

Traditional mindfulness meditation is one of those things that has a barrier to entry—if you don’t already see yourself as someone who could sit still for an extended amount of time, doing so sounds like trying to fall asleep to a TV blaring obnoxious commercials at you. Maybe your inner voice isn’t trying to sell you five cleaning products for the price of one, but it’s not easy to turn off your thoughts to the point of absolute silence.

It’s common to think that meditation only works if you sit still on the floor and think of absolutely nothing, but you don’t have to be absent to be present. The American Psychological Association sees mindfulness as a psychological state of awareness, and meditation is just one of many activities to help you get to that state.

You don’t have to be absent to be present.

According to a Perspectives on Psychological Science study, mindfulness meditation is “the nonjudgmental awareness of experiences in the present moment.” Notice that they don’t say anything about sitting still in that definition? That’s because mindfulness meditation works differently depending on your personality. Some may like to sit cross legged in silence, others may prefer a busy task to assist their brains to focus. Me? I’ve always found that drawing is a preferred mindfulness activity, since it requires me to notice every little detail of whatever I’m drawing on the paper.

However your practice it, mindfulness comes with lots of potential benefits—it can help regulate our emotions, reduce stress, and strengthen our focus, according to the American Psychological Association. If you don’t feel like the “meditation type,” it’s important to look into other ways to practice mindfulness.

Here, five ways you can feel in the moment without having to drop everything and do nothing:

1. Get Walking

If sitting still isn’t for you, do the opposite and get walking with a purpose. Mindful.org breaks down a specific kind of a meditation walk, which is all about finding awe in the world around you. This "Awe Walk" is meant to help cultivate that feeling of vast amazement and appreciation for things that are bigger than us.

To take an “Awe Walk,” Mindful.org says to “walk in a place of meaning and beauty, where your sole task is to encounter something that amazes and transcends, be it big or small.” Perhaps your awe walk is through a local wooded trail, your favorite neighborhood in your city, or alongside a body of water. Maybe it’s passing by one of your neighbor’s gardens you’ve always loved or walking to a place that has a special meaning to you. Wherever it is, your goal is to simply be in awe. Take notice, be aware, be mindful.

Take a look at the trees, the pavement beneath your feet, and the sounds around you. How would you describe what you’re experiencing to someone who wasn’t there? What do you notice that you hadn’t before?

Mindful.org also suggests that if you find yourself daydreaming or getting caught up in your thoughts, try listening to the inhale and exhale of your breath.

2. Have a Daily Mindful Activity

Mindfulness is less daunting—and more likely to become a habit—when it’s integrated with things you already do every day. Maybe when you brush your teeth, you narrow in on the sounds of the brushing or the way the bathroom tiles feel when you stand at the sink. Or, when you’re doing laundry at the laundromat, you let yourself focus on the repetitive sounds of the dryer tumbling around. The goal is to pick something you already do, but bring extra focus to each step of the activity.

Pick something you already do, but bring extra focus to each step of the activity.

3. Bring Mindfulness to Work

If your work schedule is chaotic, try taking mindfulness breaks during the workday. During your 15 minute break, find a quiet spot in a backroom or outside to breathe and bring awareness to how you’re feeling in the present moment. Or, count your steps and pay attention to new details when you get up from your desk to grab water or coffee. These small moments can act as a restart to your mind and will help you feel more aware when you return to your computer or shift position.

4. Try a Guided Meditation App

Sometimes the traditional conception of meditation seems nonspecific and too vague. Meditating without any kind of guidance can also make you wonder if you’re doing things right. One way to find some guidance without signing up for an expensive meditation retreat in the woods is to download a meditation app.

Shine’s free iOS app includes interactive meditations that actually ask how you’re doing, and give you a specific exercise based on what you say. It’s a way to feel mindful without feeling ignored or generalized. The app also gives you advice and guided meditations based on your situation. Feeling stressed? Overwhelmed? Lost? Perhaps all three? Shine has a guided meditation for that.

5. Drive Your Way to Mindfulness

Eric Langshurt and Nate Klemp, PhD., co-authors of Start Here -- Master the Lifelong Habit of Wellbeing, recommend a mindfulness technique they call Notice-Shift-Rewire. The best part? It takes place on the road, so you can integrate it into your daily commute.

Basically, the technique revolves around three steps: Noticing something, shifting your perspective, and rewiring your thinking.

The two authors give an example involving a stop sign. When you approach the stop sign, notice the sign and what it’s asking you to do. Then shift your behavior and your awareness to the activity. As you bring your car to a full stop, let yourself pay full attention to the activity as if you were a 15-year-old preparing for your driving test all over again. Finally, rewire your thinking after you continue driving past the stop sign (safely, of course. You are driving after all). Think to yourself, “I’m driving here. Right here, right now.”

Hopefully, you’ll travel on a little more mindful.


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