8 Steps to Creating Momentum in Your Life

Has your get up and go, got up and went?

 

Momentum is the magic driving us forward. The problem is, sometimes, things happen that suck the momentum right out of the day. Illness, family emergency, even just waking up on the wrong side of the bed can all combine to make your day feel unproductive before you even set foot on the floor. 

 

How, then, do you create momentum and get things moving again? Try these eight steps:

 

Dream Big

 

Before you can even begin, you need to know what you’re aiming to accomplish. Here’s where you’re going to find exactly what to zero in on as you move forward. But if this is truly the case, why would you think small? Believe it or not, you’ll achieve much more if you challenge yourself. This is inviting yourself to grow!

 

Stay Focused…and Positive

 

This should go without saying. Keeping your eye on the prize is the only way to stay motivated when you need the most. Remind yourself you’re going to achieve your goal. Try a pep talk if necessary. Why? Negative self-talk will always limit your ability to accomplish your goals. With the right mindset, you can go wherever you decide to go.

 

Look for Inspiration

 

Need a little bit more of a boost? Think about your heroes. Who has been down this path before? Look for inspiring quotes. Put on music that moves you. Read biographies of people you admire. Remind yourself if others have succeeded where you are, you can too.

 

Focus on Your Habits

 

What are the behaviors and mannerisms standing in your way? This would be a great time to break some bad habits and maybe start cultivating some good ones. Where to focus? Look for whatever pushes you toward good health, a positive mental attitude, and a day filled with accomplishments.

 

Learn

 

Speaking of habits, how about picking up some new skills? Taking time out to better your mind will make you sharper and more creative in the day-to-day. Learning is also crucial to positive brain health, enhancing cognition along with your skillset.

 

Take Chances

 

The only thing really holding you back is you. This isn’t the time to play it safe. When you see an opportunity, seize it. You’ll be surprised at the paths opening up before you.

 

Countdown to Bravery

 

Having a hard time with risk-taking after all? Try this: Do a countdown from 5 and just do it. There’s no time for doubt when you’re in the midst of making things happen. The cool part? Acting brave tends to lead to honest-to-goodness real courage. Yes, that’s you out there doing something amazing.

 

Try, Try Again

 

In the end, if things don’t work, it’s ok. The main thing is not to lose the momentum you just created. Jump in there and start all over again, taking with you the lessons you’ve learned along the way.

 

What are Personal Boundaries and Why We Need Them

You’ve probably heard the phrase before, but maybe you’re unsure what it means. Just what ARE personal boundaries, and what difference do they make in your life?

 

To understand a personal boundary, you have to understand what a boundary is. Let’s start at the dictionary and go from there:

 

bound·a·ry (noun)

a line that marks the limits of an area; a dividing line.

 

Most boundaries are pretty easy to see. The world is full of fences and dividers, clearly marking off space. A personal boundary does the same thing – only on a more invisible and internal level. Let’s look at this on a little closer.

 

What are boundaries?

 

1. A boundary tells you what your responsibility is in a given situation. You already have some boundaries at work or school. These are the parameters of your job or your responsibility as a student and usually are marked out pretty clearly when you took the job or where enrolled. On a personal level, a boundary tells you who you’re responsible for (yourself of course, but you might also be a caregiver). But what about your other responsibilities such as paying your bills, or taking care of your pets?

 

2. A boundary keeps you safe. Many of these should go without saying – such as abstaining from drinking and driving. But sometimes you have to set some such boundaries for yourself. Such as whether or not it’s healthy to be in a relationship with a certain individual.

 

3. A boundary tells us who we are.  Are you a good person? A bad person? A selfish person? A pious one? Our moral code becomes the boundary that defines us.

 

4. A boundary clarifies your needs. What things need to be in place in your life for you to be happiest and healthiest? What protects you for overwork or abuse?

 

5. A boundary defines your relationships. What are the parameters of your relationship? Is that healthy? What is your responsibility to that other person? How are they responsible for you?

 

With all that, it makes sense that having strong boundaries is a good idea. Especially when you take into consideration these facts:

 

Boundaries…

 

…give you a better idea of who you are

…help others to understand your needs

…give guidelines in your relationships

…make for healthy interactions with other people

 

And perhaps most important of all, they are an integral part of self-care.

 

As a side note remember this: Boundaries need to be revisited occasionally and re-evaluated. As we grow and change, our boundaries will change as well. 

 

With all this at stake, it’s no wonder we give boundaries such a lot of attention. Boundaries can mean the difference between a happy and healthy life and a life of drudgery and resentment. 

 

Is it time to learn where to draw the line?

 

How Can I Spark My Imagination?

If you have woken up to discover one day that you have almost completely left your imagination behind in your childhood, you might be wondering how you can get it back. The good news is, there are many ways to spark your imagination to bring it back, a few of which are listed below. 

 

Try Something New

 

One of the main reasons you lose your imagination as you age is because you learn exactly how the world works, and it leaves no room for you to wonder about the unknown. A good way to get your imagination going again is to try something unknown to you. This can be anything from a new hobby, visiting a new restaurant, or a vacation to somewhere new. 

 

Journal

 

Journaling regularly can help spark your creativity, especially if you engage in a string of consciousness thinking where you just let your mind wander and write down whatever comes to mind. This freewriting can help open your mind to new ideas and get your imagination going again! For best results, you should try to journal as frequently as possible, maybe even every day if you can.

 

Read Imaginative Media

 

As you age, you are exposed less and less to imaginative media. Gone are the days where you would read books about castles, dragons, and far-off lands. So help get your imagination going by reading some fiction novels again! There are many fiction novels in the adult section for you to enjoy, but don't be afraid to venture to the Young Adult section. You never know what amazing story will get your mind going.

 

Make A Vision Board

 

Do you have goals in your life that you are nowhere near achieving? Well, surprisingly, achieving goals takes a fair amount of imagination! Creating a visual image of your goal, like creating a vision board, can help get those creative or imaginative juices flowing. This is especially true when you make a physical board using just supplies you can find the house (or maybe old fashion magazines) as it takes creativity to transform unused stuff into a vision board. 

 

Overall, sparking your imagination isn't hard when you know where to start! If you want to get yourself back to a creative state of mind, start by trying something new, incorporate journaling into your everyday life, read more imaginative media, and make a vision board! Before you know it, you will be feeling more imaginative than ever before! 

Move Repetitive Decisions to Autopilot to Declutter Your Mind

Steve Jobs is the more well-known co-founder of Apple. He created the world's first one trillion dollar and two trillion dollar company along with Steve Wozniak. Apple became the first company with a market capitalization of three trillion dollars in January 2022. 

 

The meteoric rise of Apple in the computer and consumer electronics industries in the early 1990s had a lot to do with Jobs' leadership. One thing the tech icon did that impacted his management was frequently wear the same outfit. Perform an image search for "Steve Jobs," and you continually see him wearing the same three things.

• A black mock turtleneck top

• New Balance sneakers

• Blue jeans

One of the wealthiest men in the world, Jobs could certainly have afforded an endless amount of clothing. Yet he continually wore the same things. Why did he do that?

 

It gave him one fewer choice to make every day.

 

This allowed him to free his mind up for other things. He put what would otherwise have been a daily decision on autopilot. He didn't have to spend any mental energy worrying about what he would wear.

 

How many images of Albert Einstein have you seen that look the same? He reportedly purchased several versions of the same suit so he didn't have to waste any of his considerable brainpower on his choice of clothing each day.

 

In an interview on the NBC Today show, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said he owns about 20 identical gray-colored T-shirts. Former US President Obama also believes in limiting the number of routine choices he has to make daily.

 

In a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair, President Obama said, "You'll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I'm trying to pare down decisions. I don't want to make decisions about what I'm eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make."

 

If it's good enough for these successful people, should you try it? Perhaps you should if you want to declutter your mind.

 

Limit Repetitive Choices

 

Maybe you don't want to wear the same clothing all the time. That's fine. All we're saying is that when you limit the number of conscious decisions you have to make, there's less going on in your conscious mind. That means fewer things that can collect in your head and lead to clutter.

 

Move simple decisions to autopilot. This could be what you will wear to work, what you eat each morning, or a specific schedule of activities you will follow at some time during the day. The less mental energy you spend on decision-making, the freer your conscious mind is when you engage in important activities.

 

This is a simple way to reduce the amount of input that goes into your mind. When you reduce how much you ask your conscious mind to do, you limit the possibility that mental clutter will build up and keep you from performing at your best.

How to Stop Yourself from Sabotaging Your Own Success

When you sabotage your own success, you are using action or inaction that will undermine your progress and prevent you from accomplishing your goals. You will be hindering your own success. 

 

Some people may undermine their good intentions and defeat their long-term goals. If you take destructive steps like this, it can have a negative impact on almost every part of your life, including your career and relationships. 

 

This article will discuss self-sabotage and teach you ways to stop yourself from sabotaging your own success in life. 

Why Do People Develop Self-Sabotaging Behaviors?

 

There are various reasons why people may thwart their own progress. The causes can range from effects of prior relationships to issues experienced in childhood. Other reasons include coping problems and low self-esteem.

 

Self-sabotage may serve as a temporary coping mechanism for dealing with past traumas and stressful situations. However, it usually makes those problems even harder to deal with, and limits someone’s ability to move beyond them. 

How Can You Stop Yourself from Sabotaging Your Own Success?

 

You can overcome your self-sabotaging problems and replace them with self-confidence, with practice. Here are some tips to stop yourself from sabotaging your own success:

1. Recognize the Behaviors You Use to Sabotage Yourself

 

If you want to stop self-sabotaging, you must recognize the behaviors that sabotage you. Think about goals you may have had for years but have not yet accomplished. Are there areas where you put off making decisions? Do you suffer from a lack of motivation, in minor things as well as important things?

2. Understand Emotions that Lead to Self-Sabotaging Behaviors

 

Behaviors that cause you to sabotage your own success often stem from feelings of anger, anxiety, or worthlessness. Try to manage those emotions, so you won’t commit yourself to any behaviors that will have negative consequences. Check for warning signs of anxiety or anger before they can get out of control.

3. Change Unhelpful Thoughts, Emotion, and Behaviors

 

As you discover negative thoughts and emotions that trigger your self-sabotage behavior, challenge them. If you change one of those aspects, you can change the others more easily.

4. Develop Behaviors that Support You and Your Goals

 

After you identify and begin defeating the false thoughts and emotions that lead to self-sabotaging behavior, you can then begin rebuilding your confidence and self-esteem. 

5. Challenge All of Your Excuses

 

Pay attention to all the excuses you’ve developed when you don’t reach a goal, or when you fail in some way. Usually, the excuses are made to cope with your pain of failing. 

6. Don’t Feed Your Fears Anymore

 

Fears will not go away all by themselves, simply by your pretending they’re not there, or by pushing them to the side. If you don’t attend to fears, they grow stronger. Challenge your fears and see if they’re real and take actions to reduce fears wherever you can. 

7. Learn From Each of Your Mistakes

 

You’re probably the only one who sees yourself as a failure, but many people see themselves in the same way. Everyone will make mistakes – at home and in their professional life. Learn from those mistakes, rather than dwelling on them or burying them. 

8. Understand Your Limits

 

Don’t take on many things at once that you don’t have the capacity, control, or capabilities to handle. You can go after more than one objective, but don’t take on more than you can accomplish. Know what your limits are and stay within them. 

Final Thoughts

 

When you sabotage your own success, it makes life more challenging than it needs to be. There is a great deal of pressure in your life, which can translate into anxiety or stress in your career position and your relationships. 

 

Embrace your capabilities and your potential to be successful, and don’t let doubts or negative emotions keep you from becoming everything you desire to be. 

Breaking Bad Habits: 5 Effective Steps to Overcome Negative Patterns

If you are fully aware that something is bad for you, why is it so difficult to stop? 70% of smokers report that they want to quit. People who abuse alcohol or drugs struggle to break free of their control over their lives. Many people carry unhealthy weight that could be lost if they exercised more and ate right. Why do so many people have trouble overcoming these negative patterns? 

 

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are searching for the answer to that question. They study what happens in our brains while habits are forming. They have discovered clues to why our bad habits are hard to overcome. They are working on strategies that will help us make changes we need to make in our lives. 

 

Here are 5 effective steps for overcoming negative patterns and breaking bad habits:

1. Understand that Success Won’t be a Straight Line

 

As you begin trying to change, you will find setbacks and bumps in the road. They are parts of the important process of developing lasting change. You are your own worst critic, and you may view anything less than complete success as a failure. 

 

It may help to take the perspective of a third person and react as you would to a friend trying to change, instead of yourself. You would be reassuring and kind, rather than critical. Allow yourself the same treatment. 

2. Make an Achievable Game Plan

 

Start your journey with a game plan you can achieve. Just thinking about change isn’t normally enough to overcome negative patterns. Instead, use a journal – or your phone, or paper – and start with a plan. 

 

Gain some introspection into the changes you want to make. Consider:

• What is your main goal?

• Why is that goal one you want to achieve?

• Can you set smaller goals to help you reach the main goal?

• What things trigger your bad habit?

• What setbacks do you foresee?

• What types of coping strategies can help you deal with your triggers and your setbacks?

• What type of support system is available for you?

• How will you be tracking challenges and progress?

3. Keep Changes Simple

 

The reason it’s difficult to break your bad habits is that they are already automatic and easy. New behaviors are harder to adopt. Your brain has not yet taken them on. When you make your new goal behaviors simple, it helps in integrating them into your brain’s autopilot routines.

4. Practice Mindfulness

 

Mindfulness will assist you to develop an awareness of your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions. Simply observe the impulses related to your bad habits without reacting to them or judging them. 

 

As you develop awareness of your routine behaviors and those triggers that cause them, you can consider other available options, like not acting on your urges or avoiding cues that cause you to remember bad habits. 

 

Practicing consistent mindfulness will also help you in noticing ways in which your habits affect your life on a daily basis. As you begin recognizing those effects, it helps you to feel driven to change the bad habits. 

5. Cut Out Your Triggers

 

Cut as many triggers as you can from your life. If you usually smoke when drinking, don’t drink alcohol. If you eat whatever cookies you have in your house, throw them away. Make it easier to break your bad habits by avoiding whatever causes them. 

Conclusion

 

Once you have broken a bad habit, what’s the next step? You need to plan to prevent any relapse. Bad habits are difficult to break, and it will usually take multiple attempts to change. Remember to be compassionate with yourself, so you won’t give up when you encounter a setback or roadblock. That makes success much more probable.

References

 

https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-break-a-habit#be-mindful

 

https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/mental-health-and-wellbeing/how-to-break-bad-habits-and-change-behaviors

 

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-break-a-bad-habit-202205022736

 

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-break-bad-habits

 

Finding Balance Between Your Personal and Professional Life

In today’s fast-paced society, many feel that all they do is work without time left for family, friends, and leisure activities. While we are grateful that we have jobs, struggling to keep up with heavy workloads, other career challenges, and personal lives can be overwhelming. 

 

We tend to get so caught up in the rush that we forget to care for ourselves. As our stress increases, various physical and mental health issues, such as decreased immunity, poor concentration, irritability, depression, high blood pressure, and more, can occur.

 

Work-life balance is one of the most important considerations for your quality of life. The path to well-being is finding the balance between work and personal life. The following are several strategies to help reduce stress and achieve the desired balance. 

 

• Practice Self-Care: Boost your ability to cope with daily stressors by eating healthy foods, staying active, and getting sufficient sleep. Research shows a healthy lifestyle benefits physical and mental health, such as reduced stress and depression and a more robust immune system.

• You Deserve a Break: Take small breaks throughout the day to clear your mind and restore energy, whether at work or in your personal life.

• Create a Daily To-Do List: A practical approach to finding balance in your life is to have a plan or to-do list for each day. This helps you to be organized and control your personal and work tasks. 

Create your task list the night before to give yourself a roadmap for the upcoming day. Keep your work tasks and personal tasks separate to help foster a distinction between the two. Be sure to keep your lists realistic and don’t include unimportant tasks. Otherwise, you’ll race throughout the day trying to get everything done, causing more stress and disbalance.

 

• Practice Time Management: As you execute your daily to-do list, you’ll likely encounter interruptions and other activities that take focus away from achieving your goals. The following are several time management techniques that will help you be in control of your limited time. 

• Don’t Multitask: When you work on multiple tasks at the same time, you may end up wasting valuable time. Multitasking makes focusing on a single task challenging since your focus is split among several tasks.

• Control Interruptions: Prevent distractions by silencing your phone and checking emails only 1 – 2 times daily. Carve out 1 – 2 hours daily where you have no interruptions. Let those who need to know that this is your boundary and why.

• Communicate: When you feel that the demands and volume of work are too overwhelming, talk calmly and professionally with your employer. Your employer must be aware of your concerns to address them. If you have thoughts on a solution, share them.

Conclusion

OnePoll surveyed 2,000 employed Americans to find their reasons for quitting their jobs. The result is that 55% left their careers to find a better work/life balance. 

 

We understand that ongoing work/life stress can impact our well-being physically and mentally. Aside from finding a different career opportunity, there are positive steps that we can take to improve the work/life balance. 

 

Living a healthy lifestyle is essential to improve coping abilities and decrease stress. Taking short breaks throughout the day helps us to refresh and clear our minds. 

 

Creating a daily plan for work and personal tasks and time management allows us to take control of achieving our goals. Communication with colleagues and leadership is key, as well as taking control by reducing interruptions and eliminating multitasking. 

 

Regularly practicing the preceding strategies can lead to good habits that will help you find a balance between your personal and professional life. 

References:

 

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/physical-health/diet-exercise-sleep

https://www.onepoll.us/portfolio/wisetail-the-great-resignation/