Saturday, 7 April 2018
Friday, 6 April 2018
How to Make Good Luck From Bad Moments
Random bad stuff happens to people. You can recognize possibilities and grab at opportunities, you can work hard and proceed with passion and optimism, you can show unusual talent and even zig when others zag. But when illness strikes, a tragic accident occurs, or life takes any unexpected and unwelcome turn, you can be buffeted by forces you can’t control.
That’s the view I’ve always held of “bad luck,” until I spoke with my friend, Barnaby Marsh, Ph.D., an expert on risk taking who’s studied luck extensively. He offered a slightly different perspective on life’s unluckiest moments.
“Sometimes you need to have a bigger view to know what’s good luck or bad luck,” Marsh told me. He believes that what looks like terrible luck today could always turn out to be great luck tomorrow.
Luck—Good or Bad—Isn’t Fixed
Marsh’s perspective reminded me of the 1998 movie Sliding Doors, in which Gwyneth Paltrow plays a British woman named Helen who gets fired from her PR job one morning and rushes home. Going to the subway, she reaches the train just as the doors close in her face. The next train is delayed (more bad luck), so she leaves the station to hail a cab, and standing outside, she gets mugged (even more bad luck). With a slash on her head, she rushes to the hospital.Not a lucky day, right? You might say that everything that could go wrong did. But then the movie backs up and shows another possibility for the day. In this case, the train doors are still open when Helen arrives and she gets on the train. Much better luck! Except when she arrives at her apartment, she finds her live‑in boyfriend in bed with another woman.
In the rest of the movie, both scenarios continue to unfold. And beneath the romantic plotting is the bigger message that we never quite know how life will play out. Good luck can turn into bad—and vice versa. We can’t always predict how events will unfold, and if parallel universes exist, we don’t yet have access to them. So all you can do is take the current event that has been handed to you and try to turn it into good luck rather than bad.
All you can do is take the current event that has been handed to you and try to turn it into good luck rather than bad.
I’ve met extraordinary people who live by this perspective. A few years ago, I traveled around the country giving talks about my book on gratitude, The Gratitude Diaries. I was struck by how many people reached out to tell me about bad luck they had experienced—an illness, a tragedy, a death in the family. Over and over I heard how the difficult circumstance had made them pause to be more grateful and appreciate the good things that happened every day.
One young woman came up to me before a talk with a warm smile and a cheerful demeanor—and told me that she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer a year earlier.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, grabbing her hand in sympathy.
“Thanks. This should have been the worst year of my life, but there are so many moments where I feel very lucky.”
Her eyes were shining, and she didn’t let go of my hand. The treatments had been awful, she said, but she was now in remission. She went for a scan every two weeks and her sister always accompanied her, and they would go out for lunch and celebrate each time there was another good report. She also had a wonderful husband, always at her side.
“My children are only four and seven, and I want to be here for them. But right now I love them and we have fun every day—and I feel lucky for every moment we are together,” she said.
Wow. I felt my eyes filling with tears. Being diagnosed with ovarian cancer had to count as one of the unluckiest events that could strike a young mom. But she counted herself lucky that it brought happy times with her sister, a deeper connection to her husband, and memory‑making moments with her children.
I told her how much I admired her ability to find the bright side of a very dark story.
“It’s the only way to get through,” she said.
Luck, like gratitude, isn’t dependent on events. It’s what you do with the events and the perspective you take that matters.
Luck, like gratitude, isn’t dependent on events. It’s what you do with the events and the perspective you take that matters.
How to Visualize Good Luck
Marsh walked me through a visualization that you can do to shift your luck perspective. Recently at his Luck Lab—where he’s developing a new science of luck—he discussed “bad luck” with the renowned astrophysicist Piet Hut. Hut suggested that you can make good luck from bad moments by trying to step out of yourself and see the situation more broadly.You can make good luck from bad moments by trying to step out of yourself and see the situation more broadly.
Barnaby compared it to walking alone in the woods. Picture this: The forest is thick all around you, so you can’t see anything, and maybe it’s scary. “But if you could pull back and have a big view from above, you’d feel differently. You’d see where you’ve come from and the many directions you can go. You wouldn’t feel stuck and abandoned in that one spot. Seeing more will give you a greater sense of control.”
The next time you hit a spell—or a season—of bad luck, try to imagine the positive outcomes that might yet be. Or, at least realize that they may be there even if you can’t imagine them. Bad luck isn’t always what it seems. Sometimes, it’s just the impetus you need to make the good luck happen.
Source
Thursday, 5 April 2018
The Key to Getting All You Want? Discipline
For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards. That’s one of life’s great arrangements. If you sow well, you will reap well. Life is full of laws that both govern and explain behaviors, but the law of sowing and reaping may well be the major law we need to understand: For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards.
What a concept! If you render unique service, your reward will be multiplied. If you’re fair and honest and patient with others, your reward will be multiplied. If you give more than you expect to receive, your reward is more than you expect. But remember: The key word here—as you might well imagine—is discipline.
Remember the law: For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards. Learn the discipline of writing a card or a letter to a friend. Learn the discipline of paying your bills on time, or arriving to appointments on time, or using your time more effectively. Learn the discipline of paying attention, or paying your taxes, or paying yourself. Learn the discipline of having regular meetings with your associates, or your spouse, or your child, or your parent. Learn the discipline of learning all you can learn, of teaching all you can teach, of reading all you can read.
For each discipline, multiple rewards; for each book, new knowledge; for each success, new ambition;
for each challenge, new understanding; for each failure, new
determination. Life is like that. Even the bad experiences of life
provide their own special contribution. But a word of caution here for
those who neglect the need for care and attention to life’s disciplines:
everything has its price. Everything affects everything else. Neglect
discipline, and there will be a price to pay. All things of value can be
taken for granted with the passing of time.
That’s what we call the Law of Familiarity. Without the discipline of paying constant, daily attention, we take things for granted. Be serious. Life is not a practice session.
Think about your life at this moment. What areas need attention right now? Perhaps you’ve had a disagreement with someone you love or someone who loves you, and your anger won’t allow you to speak to that person. Wouldn’t this be an ideal time to examine your need for a new discipline? Perhaps you’re on the brink of giving up, or starting over, or starting out. And the only missing ingredient to your incredible success story in the future is a new and self-imposed discipline that will make you try harder and work more intensely than you ever thought you could.
The most valuable form of discipline is the one that you impose upon yourself. Don’t wait for things to deteriorate so drastically that someone else must impose discipline in your life. Wouldn’t that be tragic? How could you possibly explain the fact that someone else thought more of you than you thought of yourself? That they forced you to get up early and get out into the marketplace when you would have been content to let success go to someone else who cared more about themselves.
Your life, my life, the life of each one of us is going to serve as either a warning or an example. A warning of the consequences of neglect, self-pity, lack of direction and ambition… or an example of talent put to use, of discipline self-imposed, and of objectives clearly perceived and intensely pursued.
Source
Wednesday, 4 April 2018
How to Turn Fear Into Fuel
How is fear holding you back?
When I ask this question at my seminars or in my consulting work, common answers I get are “lack of funding”, “I don’t have the education”, “my background”, or even “I’m not sure of the next step to take.” What I’ve discovered, however, is that while all of these may be factors that can impact success, they are not the deciding or underlying factor.
Do you know what is shackling people and depriving them of the success they desire and deserve?
It is fear.
You may say to yourself, “Not me, I am fearless” but the reality is fear is innate in human beings. It is there for our protection. There are, after all, some things we should be fearful of. Playing golf in lighting for example or literally swimming with the sharks.
But what about success? We should be embracing success, enjoying toppling goals and accomplishing newer, better, and greater things. Yet fear is a dangerous obstacle, in part, because we may fail to admit its existence.
How to Recognize Fear
Fear needs to be recognized and managed properly or it becomes an anchor. We can become indecisive, have self-doubt, fear rejection, and simply fail to act. Fear may have us sitting on a great concept or idea or it may restrict us from using our true talents.But what if there was a way to turn fear into fuel?
First, you must realize the role negative thinking plays in feeding your fears. The thoughts may already be there, suggesting “You can’t.”, “You shouldn’t”, and “Yeah, but what if?”
Before you know it, negative thoughts have piled upon one another and have become a seemingly insurmountable mountain to climb. I’m not saying you should ignore reality but most often these negative thoughts are just a boogie man under the bed. When you look closer, there’s nothing there.
Eliminate Your Negative Thoughts
I believe it is much more productive to be proactive in managing these negative thoughts. Instead of allowing negative thoughts to affect you emotionally to the point of indecision or inaction, put your logical brain to work in your favor. Rather than listening to “You can’t”, ask yourself “How can I?”.Ask yourself “What’s the best way to…” as opposed to “You shouldn’t.”
Change “What if it doesn’t work?” to “Imagine how terrific it will be.”
It can help to be even more specific about this. “What are the eight best ways to raise funding for my project?” or “Who are the five people I know best qualified to help me with this?”. Force your brain into helping you by stretching its thoughts, imagination, and focus. “What are 35 ways my life will be better when I do this?” When you put your brain to work on a positive task, there is little room for negative thinking.
This is turning fear into fuel.
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Many of us strive to be comfortable. Letting go of that comfort zone can create real fear. You may worry that by stepping out and doing something you always wanted to do or reaching for more may put your comfort in jeopardy. You may risk your steady income or lifestyle or (gasp) you may not be able to get that 65” flat screen TV with surround sound. If you allow your comfort zone to become a prison, you must recognize it is working against you, not for you.So how do you get out of it?
Think about the times when you took a chance and were successful. Remember how victory felt and how rewarding it was to achieve a goal. Odds are, it was a time when you stepped out of your comfort zone. Please remember that taking risks and being bold doesn’t necessarily equate to being reckless. I would never suggest being reckless. But I do know that life is often best lived out of your comfort zone. Turning fear into excitement and anticipation is another way to use it as fuel towards your success.
Face Your Fears Head On
One of the best ways to use fear as a fuel is to face it head-on. It’s not embarrassing to fear change or to enjoy your comfort zone.But, if you don’t recognize its presence, fear can hold you back without you even knowing it. Turn those fears into empowering positive questions your logical brain can work upon. Practice on reaching out from your comfort zone and recognize and face your fears. It very well could fuel you to the next level.
Source
Tuesday, 3 April 2018
Monday, 2 April 2018
7 steps to Achieving Maximum Productivity
Have you ever asked yourself why there are times in which you can’t seem to get things done? Maybe you have. You might have even read lots of time management and productivity books, and you know that time is your most valuable resource.
What is more, time is an intangible resource. It simply exists, without being able to grasp physically.
How can you manage what you can’t grasp and is beyond your control?
The fact is, you don’t manage time. You manage your actions. Some people call this life-management.
Another important fact is that it doesn’t matter what you call it. What matters is: are you doing it?
Strange.. but with so many articles and books on this subject, most people don’t change and continue to be unproductive. It happens to the best, and the cause can be difficult to understand.
Following thorough studies regarding the human mind and the mindset of successful people, I came to understand where I was going wrong. These 7 steps can guide you on the road to productivity.
Step 1: Understand Why You Want to be Productive
More than often, people go out of their way to obtain or achieve something with little regard to its overall utility. If you don’t know WHY you want to do something, then it’s going to be very difficult to find out the WHAT and HOW you’re going to achieve that.If you don’t have a dose of motivation to make the change, then every step that you take will be made harder by your mind.
Grab a pen and paper or open Word right now and write down why you want to become more productive and how this will benefit you in the long-term.
Step 2: Analyze Your Present Actions
Before making the change, it’s important to do an objective analysis of what you’re doing at this moment. Maybe everything isn’t as bad as it seems or maybe it’s worse.Try to analyze your actions over the course of three days.
Again, take out a pen and paper (or Word) and write down everything you do during that day: from cleaning your teeth to web browsing or doing your chores.
Be honest. The more serious you take this step, the more objectively you can go over those 3 days.
Step 3: Eliminate and Simplify
And yet again, as you notice, I don’t say anything about planning, new habits, etc. Unfortunately, this is how most productivity booksThis step is probably the hardest. That’s because it’s not easy to quit something that you’ve been doing for years.
Also, find activities that take up a lot of time and ask yourself how you can simplify them.
Understand that time is not on your side. It doesn’t come back or wait around, so make the most of it.
Step 4: Discover the Genius Within
Probably the most important step. Before jumping to this step, it’s important to understand whether whatever you want to do is important to you or not and whether you have the potential and will to excel.We’ve gotten so used to offering our time to other people that we completely forget about ourselves.
Every human being has to be good at something, and each of us has our own role and mission on this planet. One of the things successful people share is their willingness to dedicate the majority of their time to activities they are passionate about.
This is the true power of productivity. To do what you like and put most of your time in it.
Question: Do you dedicate at least 1/8 of your time (3 hours) a day on activities that you’re passionate about?
Step 5: Plan!
This step is where you need to figure out what works for you and can only be fully effective if you’ve gone through the other steps. It’s really no use planning unless you know what you want.There are many ways you could plan a day. I have my own method which is mainly tied to my business.
I start my day by planning 6 main activities plus 2 secondary activities.
Three of the six are related to my business, and the other 3 are related to my personal life: health, relationships, and personal development.
The two secondary activities are either combined with one of the other main activities or done after finishing them. I usually consider getting postponed things done and relaxation as my secondary activities.
This way, I create a perfect balance between professional and personal life while still having results.
Step 6: Create New Habits
The first habit that you must follow is to plan every day, except the weekends.The second vital habit that you must form is to actually stick to the plan you set and complete ALL the tasks that you’ve set for yourself.
That’s why it’s important to set realistic goals so that you take your schedule seriously.
Also, it’s not important if you don’t complete your tasks on time.
The important part is that you get them done. After all, that’s the purpose of goal setting.
Try starting with a morning and evening ritual.
Remember, mornings and evenings are the most important part of the day.
It will come easier to get things done during the day if you’ve started it with healthy and productive actions. That might be making your bed, taking the trash out or exercising.
And, of course, let’s not forget about the habits that will help you fulfill your professional and personal goals.
Know that habits take time to form. The 21-day rule is a myth, in my opinion. I would say that habits take something like 90 days to stick.
Also, you must take one habit at a time, not all at once, because that will create a hard exit from your comfort zone and your mind won’t allow that to happen for too long.
Start off with 1-3 new habits. Then start forming other habits after 90 days, and so on.
Step 7: Act But Take Care of Your Sleep
And now, the final and most important phase. Nothing that you did up until now will count if you don’t actually make it happen.Don’t force it. Instead, take small steps in the beginning, learn to walk, and you’ll be running in no time.
By the way, planning is in itself an action, and that meant you took a step. Now, take another, and another.
Start with the 6 steps, build momentum and stay focused.
Don’t forget to sleep. It’s easier to lose focus when you’re tired.
You’re not a robot and your resources are limited.
That’s why it’s recommended to take a day off, not plan anything and do whatever you like, even if that means scrolling Facebook all day.
Of course, I don’t recommend that. You would be better off spending that time with family, friends, going outside, traveling and doing whatever activity that you enjoy doing.
The last part of the day is dedicated to recreation and sleep. You won’t be able to get a good night’s sleep if you’re stressed because of too much work. Thus, you will wake up tired and your day will be unfulfilling. And you absolutely don’t want that.
Conclusion
This 7-step plan is just one of many solutions you will find on the web. This is the thought process that can help you discover the genius within you, to excel and to live the life you truly wanted.It’s not complicated at all if you understand the process and take your time seriously.
Source
Start Your Day Off Right With The Hour of Power
The morning is the most important time of the day. If you spend an hour a day to do these three things you will be happier in life, healthier, and more motivated than you’ve ever felt.
I call this my hour of power. Every morning I wake up and I spend 60 minutes doing three things. They've helped contribute to a lot of my success.
So what is this Hour of Power exactly?
It’s a full hour that is broken up into three 20-minute sessions:- 20 minutes of exercise
- 20 minutes of meditation
- 20 minutes of reading (positive, uplifting material)
The Benefits of the Hour of Power
1. Exercise
Simply by meditating you’ll make better decisions, have better mental health, energy, and focus. Reading something positive every day ensures that you are always learning and growing, along with increasing your focus. Exercise, even if you are taking a walk or stretching for 20 minutes will make a huge difference in your overall health and longevity.You can switch the order of the 3 activities and you can also choose what hour of the day you’d like to reserve for your personal Hour of Power. I usually schedule my Hour of Power for the first hour I’m awake in the morning. This really jumpstarts my day and allows me to feel energized, focused, and engaged.
And each day, I change my routine a tiny bit….One day I might exercise by taking a 20-minute walk around my neighborhood. The next day I might jog on the treadmill. Whatever type of exercise you choose to do is fine; what’s most important is that you commit to doing it!
2. Meditation
The same goes for the meditation portion of the hour. There are so many amazing meditation resources out there for everyone. The most important thing is to find one that you feel connected to and spend 20 minutes really grounding yourself.And remember, you don’t need to be in a remote cave in India to meditate, although that would be pretty cool!. You can meditate almost anywhere….in your home, at a park, at the beach or a lake.
Again, go with your internal guidance and find a place that you feel calm and present in, and use those 20 minutes to feed your mind, body, and soul.
3. Reading
And last but not least, the third portion of your Hour of Power is 20 minutes of reading. Get your hands on positive, uplifting material – it could be from an online magazine, a book, journals or articles.But again, find something that excites you and that you’ll look forward to reading. By reading positive material, your subconscious will become emerged in the affirmative, which helps you to remain in that positive state throughout the day.
I want to leave you with some homework after watching this video. I’d suggest test-driving the Hour of Power for 30 days. After 30 days, see what worked well and what didn’t. Try moving your hour to different times of the day. Did having your Hour of Power in the morning work better for you than having it at night?
Remember, you can always change the terms of your hour. It is YOUR Hour of Power.
But have fun with it. And know that it’s extremely effective in centering you, uplifting you, and helping you create a powerful, positive day.
Source
Sunday, 1 April 2018
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