1 Step to better Persistence

Most of us have hopes of what we want for our lives - usually those hopes are work-, relationship- or healthrelated. The problem starts when we fail to take action even though we know it is important to change. We know we want to loose the weight or have a better relationship, however we fail to do something about it. We push off the thought about getting better until we are so frustrated with ourselves that we stop to believe we can achieve.

The best way to overcome this is to start training your persistence. The better you get at doing what you say you will do, the easier it becomes. In order to build the muscle you need to set small goals and commit to doing it. Let’s say you want to loose weight and you know you need to exercise at least 5 times a week to make this work (there’s no easy pass for changing your body). So you start setting one goal to work out today - just today. You tell yourself to do it, and then you pull through. Afterward you don’t only get the feeling like you’re getting better at achieving, but you also show yourself that your word counts for something. Tell yourself "Just for today I'll do it". Instead of pushing things off to tomorrow, say you'll do it just for today. 

Set little goals and commit to them. Even if it is just giving a card to your partner, cooking one healthy lunch this week and then just do it. In order to get different results, you need to take different actions. You know the goals that would make the biggest overall improvement. If those goals seem as overpowering as they often do, just size them into one small portion and then take action. Thinking about your dreams and then getting frustrated will only achieve one thing - getting you so demotivated and negative that you go back to the only comfortable thing: old bad habits.

What is the goal that would make the biggest overall improvement on your life??
Is there a small action you could take today? What could you commit to, that you would feel good about once you’re done?

Secrets to changing how you feel about situations

Everything we do and experience changes with the meaning we give to situations.

You notice that when you are in a good mood you feel differently about a situation you would normally feel negative about. When you are in a good mood, you have resources of humor, relaxation and ease. The same experience can feel completely different depending on what state you are in. It is important to realize that the meaning you give changes with your interpretation. A small incident at home might be a small incident when you are in a good state but might seem much more serious and meaningful when you give it a different meaning.

That’s why it is so important to observe which meaning you give to situations. What meaning do you give a one time rejection or critique? How do you interpret your partner forgetting to do the dishes or coming late to dinner? Which are small incidents to you and which ones are more meaningful and how do you decide?
Your emotional health depends on you making the right choices when it comes to the meaning you give situations in life. Once you realize that your interpretation is destructive, you can call yourself on it and move out of the negative state.

One simple way to get everything you want

“You can get everything you want in life, as long as you help enough people get what they want” Zig Ziglar

If you read a book or listen to a seminar of Zig Ziglar, you will inevitably hear those words many times. This quote has proven itself true many times not only for myself but also for many other people in my life.
In today's society we often get taught not to give too much to others, or else we get taken advantage of. Negative experiences establish a skeptical cautious behavior where we hold on tightly to our knowledge and energy, afraid other people would take too much.
Unfortunately the caution doesn’t get you very far. It is only when you let down your guard, that we can connect and get appreciated.
Intellectually it is easy to understand “You can get everything you want in life, as long as you help enough people get what they want” - however it takes contemplation to truly get the meaning of the message.
We all have skills to help further the development and happiness of others - you’ll notice using those skills will always pay off. If we let go of the need to control and keep a tight grip on our resources, you will be surprised by the appreciation you’ll receive.
Try it out and help people get what they want in life, then notice the benefits you’ll find.

How to get motivated plus 2 Words you better stop using...

Hey there everyone,

My husband Jeff and I will be back on the Radio Sunday tomorrow morning 10 AM EST on our show "Opportunity Radio". We're on each week and very similar to this blog, it's all about tricks and insights for you to get your Fresh Start! 

We'll be talking about the subject of Motivation plus 2 Words you better stop using. Tune in on 107.5 or online on http://www.WCHV.com/  or Soundcloud. 

Listen in and connect with us through Facebook or our Homepage - we'd love to hear from you! 

Find out the one critical determinant to Your Success

In Leadership development literature it’s often been called the most critical determinant to your success in business and in life: How much you like yourself.

How much you like yourself makes all the difference in your behavior, your choice of relationships and the challenges you take on at work. Think about it: when you like yourself you feel comfortable with who you are. We all know that when we are proud of ourselves, we act with confidence, certainty and have little fear of rejection. The more you like yourself, the higher your self-concept is. The higher  your self-concept is, the less you have self-limiting ideas and beliefs. Self-limiting beliefs are the assumptions we make once we failed once or twice in an area of life.

Most obstacles in life can be overcome when psychological obstacles of perceived limitations change. When we are at our best, we have the humor, strength and flexibility to overcome struggle. When we are at our worst, we fear the failure, rejection and believe we are out of control. Your mind-set makes all the difference during adversity. Liking yourself, who you have become and who you set yourself to be, influences every single decision you make and the opportunities you recognize.

Do you like yourself? Do you like who you set yourself out to be?

How to quickly change out of an unresourceful state

We all have unresourceful states that hold us back at times. For some people it is frustration, for others it’s anger, fear, stress or resignation for example. Those states hold us back when they influence the decisions we make and how we treat the people around us or ourselves. Making changes to more constructive mind-sets is easy and works for everyone - here's how:

The quick trick to changing your state is catching yourself when you realize that it’s not helping you right now. When you realize you're getting to your unresourceful state, you can make the fastest difference by changing your posture and the language you're using. Your mindset is connected to a specific posture and language. Do you remember a time you were able to see someone is feeling down simply by how they talk and carry themselves? We attribute specific body posture and language pattern to the mindsets we have. Changing the posture and language therefore changes the state you're in.

When you change the way you talk and the way you use your body, you will find yourself unable to remain in the negative state. For example when your unresourceful state is anger, then once you take your shoulders back, breath deeper and change the tone of your voice, you will be unable to remain angry. Simply because your mindset is so connected to your pattern of language and posture, you can change the way you feel at any time.

This is the fastest way to take back control over how you are feeling and realize the way your shoulders could be hunched over when you feel down and low for example. Changes like this can happen in an instant and help you feel empowered at any point.

What is your unresourceful state? How do you carry yourself and how do you talk?

What not to say if you want to take control of Your Life

One phrase that keeps you from taking control right now is “then it wasn’t meant to be”....
Whether you realize it or not, this is the ultimate excuse to detaching yourself from your goals, discarding your hopes and pulling back your resources of time and persistence.

Maybe you are one of the many who hope that things fall into place and the universe brings you what you are looking for. Faith is a wonderful trait that can help you believe in possibilities which might be invisible to you right now. At the same time, faith without action is almost certain failure. Faith exists to give you persistence to act and the courage to stand up for yourself. Too often we use faith as a crutch so we don’t have to take responsibility for our actions. When saying “it wasn’t meant to be...” we contribute current setbacks to ominous signs and take away any possibility of success through persistence.

Instead of hoping for your dreams to come to you, you need to at least proof to yourself your dream is real enough for you to pursue it. Only if you start taking action toward  your Goals, circumstances can fall into place to help you. Reward can only follow if you take responsibility and act. No matter if you believe in God, the Universe or simply human potential - you are here with the resources you need in order to take action. Instead of hoping that the Universe or God will make all your dreams come true, you were given the freedom and courage to act in the name of what you believe in. Faith will help you to persist and new resources will come to you.

Be bold and courageous and stand up for what you want to make happen. Setbacks are not there to discourage you, they are there to teach you lessons. Decide now that everything you truly want is meant to be and you will not give up until you are where  you want to be.