Self Improvement Tips: 7 For The New Year
Author: James Allen
The New Year is here, and everyone is rushing to make their resolutions. Are you among them? Self improvement is often a favorite resolution, and rightfully so. To that end, here are seven self improvement tips to help you start the New Year with a bang.
1. Keep your self talk positive. Make it a resolution to do away with negative self-talk this year. No more “I can’t” and more “I can”. Positive self talks automatically programs you to head in the direction of success.
2. Stay dressed for success too. A new haircut or a fresh shave and decent looking clothes will create a positive and energetic air around you. This works even on those days you aren’t feeling at your best.
3. Stand straight and tall. If you’re going to think positive and dress positive, stand up like you mean it. Sloppy posture is a sign of weakness. Keep that back straight on your path to success this year.
4. Set specific goals. Instead of “I want to lose weight this year”, you should write down “I want to loose 10 pounds in the next 2 months.” The mind can help your body reach specific goals much more effeciently than vague suggestions.
5. Post your plans. Keep your plans and specific goals written and posted where you can see them every day. Take time to read and review them on a regular basis. Cross off those goals you reach and those plans that have succeeded. Keep reviewing and adding to your list so you will continue moving forward.
6. Share your goals. If you are married or in a relationship, make sure to share your goals and plans for this year with your partner. Mutual support and understanding can not only help your reach your destination faster, but it can also add a extra level of trust and intimacy to your relationship.
7. Take time to enjoy the fruits of your effort. Find a way to celebrate when you have reached any of the self improvement goals you have set out for the new year. Reward adds more value to your efforts and increases your motivation to continue.
What We Need To Be Happy
Author: Marc Frey
If you were to write a list with all the things you need to be happy, what would you put on that list? While the list may vary from person to person, it is often interesting to see how many dependencies people put on happiness. Naturally, the answers will vary from a loving relationship to financial independence, to being in good health, not having to work etc.
Often times we observe that the more we need to be happy, the less happy we actually are. Why is that the case, you may ask? It goes back to the question of dependencies. The more you make your happiness dependent on certain things you need to have in place in order to be happy, the less you’re likely to achieve it.
If you wake up every morning thinking that you’d be happy if only you’d have that new exciting job, you’re depriving yourself from being happy right now without that job. Or if you believe that you need that new house to be happy, you’re actually telling yourself that you won’t allow yourself to be happy without the new house. In other words you’re acknowledging that you’re unhappy. The same is true for all the other dependencies we’ve identified for happiness to materialize.
If we can detach happiness from these dependencies and make a conscious decision to be happy with or without the things we have on our list, we’ll in fact not only allow ourselves to increase our level of happiness, but also open ourselves up to discover other things around us that add to our happiness.
5 Self Improvement Tips for Taking Control of Your Life
Author: Gregg Gillies
Embarking on your own self improvement quest can be very difficult and frustrating. This is especially true in today’s society, where so many people are trying to tear down successful people out of their own jealousy and laziness.Sadly, some of our biggest obstacles on the road to self improvement and realizing our dreams are our friends and family. So how do you overcome these obstacles?
1) Treat Yourself Well
Doing the things necessary to improve yourself and your life is a lot easier when you feel good. Eating well, getting enough exercise and getting enough sleep are extremely important for developing the proper mindset and having enough energy to pursue your dreams.
2) Focus On the Good Things
This can be a tough one. We all have a tendency to think the grass is greener on the other side. As a fitness author, I know I have this tendency when it comes to my own training program.
Being naturally skinny, I get very frustrated with how difficult it is for me to build muscle, and I wish for the genetics of those that find it easy.
But in reality, I should be thrilled that I have the health to be able to pursue my workout routines with a vengeance and that’s what I need to focus my energies on.
3) Don’t Make Assumptions
Going back to what I said in the opening paragraph, this is what almost everyone does about successful people. Think about all the negative phrases you hear all the time with regards to money and rich people. And yet they aren’t true.
The vast majority of millionaires in this country are first generation millionaires and they’ve worked very hard to get where they are. It wasn’t handed to them and they weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouths.
If you allow yourselves to wallow in this mindset, you’ll feel that everything is against you and that you can’t become successful yourself because your parents don’t have money, you didn’t go to Harvard, you don’t know the right people, or whatever excuse you can think of.
4) Elminate ANTS
Dr. Daniel Amen talks about “ANTs” - Automatic Negative Thoughts - in his book “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.” These are the reactive thoughts you have without even thinking about it and goes hand in hand with not making assumptions.
Don’t assume it must be something bad if the boss wants to see you, or that when co-workers are laughing, they must be gossiping about you.
Automatic Negative Thoughts are a waste of your time and energy that can be better spent on the positive steps you need to take to reach your goals.
5) Step Back from Negative Thoughts
Following on eliminating ANTS, take the time to step back when you have a negative thought. Acknowledge that you had the negative thought, don’t judge it, and move on from it.
Implementing these steps into your daily life will make your self improvement a much easier journey. While it will be challenging at the beginning, the longer you are able to follow these steps, the easier it becomes.
Before you know it, they will be second nature and you will have integrated them into your new improved life without even consciously thinking about them.