STEP 6 ~ Day 2

of The Completely NEW YOU

  • 1

    Listen to the “Confident Choices” Audiobook ~ Part 2

  • 2

    Read the “Why Is Good Decision Making An Important Skill?” article

  • 3

    Complete the “Acting As If” Activity 6.2 at the bottom

“Confident Choices” ~ Part 2

Why Is Good Decision Making An Important Skill?

How good are you at decision making? It’s a strange question but something that has the potential of making a huge impact on all areas of your life. In short, it’s a question well worth pondering.

Why is great decision making such an important skill? It’s because it affects every area of your life. Let’s start with your job or career. The higher you move up the corporate ladder, the more responsibility you get. In turn, that means that you have to make more decisions, make them quickly, and of course make the right choices.

It’s no wonder that decision making is one of the most critical skills we look for in anyone in a leadership position. Improve your decision-making skills, and you improve your chances of moving up into a leadership position. That should mean more money, and potentially more job security (provided you keep making great decisions).

Now let’s look at your personal life. The decisions you make there also have a significant impact. Choosing the right spouse can have a massive effect on the years to come. So does your choice of where to live and what house to buy for example. It will impact your children (depending on how good the school systems are in your town), and of course, it will affect your net worth as real estate values go up or down.

But it isn’t just the big decisions that have a big impact on our quality of life. It’s also the small stuff, like picking the right foods to eat that stop you becoming overweight and adding to your health risks. It’s also making or not making little everyday purchases that can either lead to a mountain of consumer debt or a sound and secure financial future.

Do you see how your decision-making skills have an impact on just about every area of your life? For example, the decision to use your time wisely will determine how much free time you have. Time for activity and fun with loved ones or enjoying your favorite hobby.

I encourage you to examine the decisions you’re making right now (both big and small) to find out how your skills are measuring up. Then challenge yourself to become better at decision making in general. There’s a lot you can do to learn to make better decisions and to make them in a timely fashion.

Don’t you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to give yourself the best possible shot to craft the life you want? Getting good at making the right choices is a big part of that.

~ “Acting As If” Exercise ~

ACTIVITY

6.2

Think of someone you know who doesn’t have the same weakness and

list them. List one person per weakness.

Now it’s time to look outside of yourself.  Start thinking of other people that you know who don’t share these weaknesses and list those people based on the weakness, so one person per weakness.

If you know somebody who’s confident, list them. 

If you know somebody that’s really good at business or really good with managing their finances and you don’t think you’re competent in that area, list them and then we can start examining that.

STEP 6 ~ Day 1

of The Completely NEW YOU

  • 1

    Download your Files for STEP 6

  • 2

    Listen to the “Confident Choices” Audiobook ~ Part 1

  • 3

    Read the “Making Bad Decisions Isn’t Always The Worst Possible Outcome” article

  • 4

    Complete the “Acting As If” Activity 6.1 at the bottom

“Confident Choices” ~ Part 1

Making Bad Decisions Isn’t Always The Worst Possible Outcome

Let’s talk about making bad decisions. We’re all human, and that means we make poor choices from time to time. It’s not a good feeling when you realize you made a wrong decision, is it? In fact, it can be such a bad feeling that we try to avoid it at all costs. That can be a good thing – when it makes us weigh our options more carefully and allows us to tap into our willpower to do what’s necessary instead of what’s fun. But there are times when the fear of making the wrong decision can be a bad thing.

Here’s the problem with this fear of making the wrong choice. It can paralyze us and cause us to overthink, over-analyze, and keep putting off making a decision altogether. In those cases, not deciding anything can be worse than making a wrong decision.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s say you decide you want to start putting some money into a savings account each month so you can start to work on a down payment for a house of your own. You make an appointment at the bank, and they give you three different options for savings accounts with varying terms, conditions, fees, and interest rates. You’re afraid of picking the wrong one and keep putting the decision off. One month passes, then three, then six, and before you know it an entire year has passed and you have made no progress on saving money for that down payment.

What if you’d taken action and randomly picked a savings account and let’s say you picked the wrong one where the interest you’ve earned was completely eaten up by fees. You’d still be better off than by not doing anything at all. Let’s say you decided to put $200 per month into that savings account. A year later, you would have $2,400 in the account, a decent start to making your dream of homeownership come true.

By not choosing, on the other hand, you ended up with $0 and no progress towards your goal. Do you see how inaction and fear of making a bad choice can leave you worse off than making a bad decision?

What can you do instead? When you feel paralyzed by fear, try imagining the worst possible outcome. Facing your fear is the first step towards overcoming it. It also helps to realize that not choosing could be worse than making a bad decision. Then remind yourself that most choices aren’t permanent. In our banking example, it would be easy to switch to a better account once you realize your mistake, or you notice something better out there. Last but not least, try putting yourself under time pressure to get over that fear and force yourself to make a decision.

~ “Acting As If” Exercise ~

ACTIVITY

6.1

List 5 negative personality traits and/or weaknesses that you

think you have.

What we want to do this week is give you a list of action steps that you can start doing week after week that will help you implement this idea of acting as if.  Pretending or being an actor in your role in life, but it’s more than just pretending.

As you saw in our previous example, this is something that can literally reformat the way your brain and subconscious mind operates.

And it all starts with this first exercise, which is listing five negative personality traits, or you might want to call them weaknesses, that you think that you have.

Earlier we were talking about confidence issues.  Maybe you look at other people and think, “Wow, they’re so great at communicating themselves and when I talk to somebody I just can’t get my ideas out there.”

If you think you have certain areas where you’re weak or your personality trait is just not where you want it to be, write it down as one of your top five.

STEP 5 ~ Day 1

of The Completely NEW YOU

  • 1

    Download your Files for STEP 5

  • 2

    Listen to the “Facing Fear” Audiobook ~ Part 1

  • 3

    Read “Fear – The Worst Four Letter Word” article

  • 4

    Complete the Facing Fear Activity 5.1 at the bottom

“Facing Fear” ~ Part 1

Fear – The Worst Four Letter Word

Fear is a series of physiological and chemical responses to a real or perceived danger. If we didn’t have this ability to sense and react immediately to danger we wouldn’t survive. When one of our senses, be it sight, smell, hearing, touch or even taste warns us that something is wrong, this system for self-preservation engages and we take action to avoid danger or death.

Fear begins with a stimulus that’s transmitted to the brain. How we respond to these warnings can be automatic or a series of communications that lead to action or thought. You may walk down a dark street and hear footsteps behind you. Your internal alarm goes off. Your heart rate increases as well as you respiratory rate. Muscles tense up and you start to sweat, the palms of your hands feel wet and clammy.

If you are trained in self-defense, you immediately take a position of defense. If you don’t have this training then you may start thinking, “Should I duck into this building, should I run, should I turn and face this person?” This scenario is the type of fear response is one that relies on personal experiences and training.

The other type of fear response is less thought and more physical. You are walking down that same street and you hear a crash of glass from above. You duck and then cover you head with your arms to protect yourself from whatever is falling from the sky.

Unfortunately, some of our fears are caused by bad experiences and we let them build up to a point that we always avoid a similar experience. This can lead to missed opportunities and a low self-esteem. But, we can learn to control our fears. This book explores fear and how it can render us helpless or provide us with the positive stimulus we need to move on.

No matter what your fears, there are plans in place to cope with them. Here are a few strategies that help to deal with fear:

  1. Relax – Incorporate meditation into your daily practices. Your mind and body needs periods when you just tune out and turn-off your thoughts.
  2. Use visualization –Visualization can help you overcome fear by imagining how you cope with the fear before it becomes a reality. This is a powerful tool for success used by athletes and other professionals.
  3. Take small steps – It will take time and strategy to convince your subconscious that you’re not afraid of whatever it is holding you back from experiencing life to the fullest. Challenge your fears with small successes.

4. Do what you’re afraid of – Doing what you’re most afraid of will make you feel more capable and less frightened

5. Build your self-esteem – Use your small successes to build-up your self- esteem. Celebrate your wins.

6. Interrogate yourself – After you’ve identified and isolated your worst fears, ask yourself a series of questions about them that are designed to help you understand them more. Questions such as, “What’s the worst that can happen?” and “What can I do to minimize the fear?” are good questions to paring down the fear to a manageable size.

Fear can help you to survive and it can stifle your chances for a rich life. If fear is holding you back from learning new skills or exploring new experiences, you owe it to yourself to learn how to manage your fears.

~ Facing Fear Exercise ~

ACTIVITY

5.1

Make a list of your top ten fears.

Today, you’re going to sit down and from time to time start thinking of different things that cause you to feel fear.

It could be, like I said earlier, the fear of public speaking or the fear of introducing yourself to somebody you’ve never met before.  A lot of our fears end up being social, but it could be anything.  Maybe you have a fear of heights.  Put that down so you become aware of it and you acknowledge this is something you’re fearful of.

Make a list as long as you can so you know what your fears are.

STEP 4 ~ Day 4

of The Completely NEW YOU

  • 1

    Listen to the “Persistence” Audio-book ~ Part 4

  • 2

    Read the “How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up” article

  • 3

    Complete the Persistence Activity 4.4 at the bottom

“Persistence” ~ Part 4

How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up

Whether it’s running a marathon, working towards your dream or trying to make a marriage work, there are some situations we can find ourselves in where we want to keep going but really struggle to maintain motivation. We have to give every last drop of will-power and energy not to just give up and pack it all in.

In these situations we often find ourselves turning to mental tricks and ruminations to try and convince ourselves to keep going. So what are some of the best techniques you can use in the moment to ensure that you persist?

Draw Inspiration

Most of us have stories and memories that we can use to dig deep and find inspiration. Perhaps you had a parent or a friend who never gave up no matter what. Maybe you remember them challenge you to accomplish something and really believing in you. Or maybe you just love the film Rocky (who doesn’t?). Either way, these sorts of thoughts and memories can help you to dig deep when you’re really struggling for energy, commitment or will-power.

If that doesn’t work, try an inspiring music track. Anything by the 80s soft rock artist Stan Bush should do the trick! ‘You’ve got the power!’

Remind Yourself Why You’re Doing It

Another trick is to remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing. If you’re working towards a dream then try visualizing yourself where you want to be because you managed to accomplish the gargantuan task. If you’re trying to make money, that might mean imagining yourself on a yacht in the sun somewhere…

Remind Yourself of the Consequences

Sometimes the stick can be more motivating than the carrot. If imagining yourself being highly successful because you did well isn’t doing the trick, then maybe try doing the opposite instead and imagining what would happen if you had to give up. Imagine having to tell everyone you failed. Imagine knowing you failed… Especially after all the effort you’ve already put in!

Break it Down

If you’re tackling an impossible task then sometimes it can help to break it down into smaller milestones. Writing a novel? Then celebrate each time you add a thousand words and count how many units of 1,000 you have left to go.

Take a Break

Sometimes the best thing to do is to take a step back and have a breather. Most tasks aren’t binary meaning it’s not ‘do or die’. Be strategic with your energy management and realize that a short time out can often yield better results in the long term.

~ Persistence Exercise ~

ACTIVITY

4.4

Go back to your blueprint from week one and review your goals list.

Write down any potential problems and how you can “persist” through

them.

Finally, you want to go back to your goals list from the very first week, and check to see if they’re changing.  Right now we’re in week 4 and maybe you’ve got some new goals, maybe you’re working with that accountability partner to identify some different steps you should be taking.

Start identifying, or at least potentially identifying any issues that might be coming up, some roadblocks that you foresee coming.  Maybe those financial problems are creeping back in, and start thinking about, “How will I ensure that I persist through these? How will I ensure I do not give up and stay on course, because these are important goals, important actions for me to be taking.”

With all of that, at the end of week 4, you should basically adopt persistence as a part of who you are, and you’ll never turn back again.

STEP 4 ~ Day 3

of The Completely NEW YOU

  • 1

    Listen to the “Persistence” Audio-book ~ Part 3

  • 2

    Read the “How to Recognize Times When You Shouldn’t be Persistent” article

  • 3

    Complete the Persistence Activity 4.3 at the bottom

“Persistence” ~ Part 3

How to Recognize Times When You Shouldn’t be Persistent

Generally it’s a very good thing to be persistent. People who are persistent keep trying even when the odds are stacked against them which gives them hope and which ensures they never completely give up. Persistent people make their own luck and as a rule, they’re much happier.

But that is not to say that there aren’t sometimes scenarios where persistence doesn’t pay off. It’s a nice idea to think that all you have to do is keep trying but in some circumstances that’s just not the case…

Situations Where Sometimes Persistence Doesn’t Pay Off

An example of a situation where persistence might not be the best strategy would be gambling. If you’ve been on a losing streak then it can be very tempting to keep playing with the hopes you’ll make your money back… though we all know how that can end.

Another example of a situation that doesn’t benefit from persistence would be any scenario where you’re ‘beating a dead horse’. Say you’re a blogger running a website that hasn’t been terribly successful. If you keep trying to make a success of that site then you’ll often find it’s harder than starting again from scratch with a new site, taking on board all the things you learned from the last one.

And while persistence can sometimes pay off in relationships and dating, it can also often go the other way and just be a little awkward for everyone involved…

Signs That Persistence Isn’t Working

So how can you tell a situation that won’t benefit from persistence? Of course each scenario is unique but some warning signs include:

Persistence is actually costing you or is putting you at risk – such as in the case of gambling, or investing lots of money

Persistence is negatively affecting someone else

Persistence is actually a result of stubbornness, rather than optimism (a thin line but there definitely is one)

Ultimately, you will have to assess yourself whether it’s worth giving up or trying again. But the point to keep in mind is that more often than not you don’t have to give up entirely, just somewhat change your tactics. Perhaps gambling isn’t for you but that’s not to say you can’t look into other activities to earn some additional money (like setting up a side business). And maybe your current business plans aren’t paying off but starting again might be just the tonic you need…

It’s a tricky lesson but try to recognize the difference between persistence and banging your head against a wall…

~ Persistence Exercise ~

ACTIVITY

4.3

Analyze the two lists you have created. Find 5 takeaway points (lessons

learned) from your experience and list them.

Now, you want to analyze both these lists and really think on five take away points or lessons learned from you during this experience.

For example, “I give up too easily when I’m faced with financial hardships.” “I really wanted to start this business and things were going well.” “There were some perspective customers coming in the door and then I had to take it to the next level, but I couldn’t get the funding.”

Or, “I got the funding and I blew the money, I spent it the wrong way and things just fell flat and I had to declare bankruptcy or I had to pause the project and I never came back to it.”

I don’t know what it is for you, but really think about those lessons learned, because a lot of the time when we give up or when we do persevere, we forget the lesson.  We want to make sure that every action we take, everything that happens to us in our lives that we’ve learned the lesson and that we document the lesson so we never do the things that are hurting us ever again. And we repeat the things that are working for us as often as possible.

STEP 4 ~ Day 2

of The Completely NEW YOU

  • 1

    Listen to the “Persistence” Audio-book ~ Part 2

  • 2

    Read the “How to Become Persistent” article

  • 3

    Complete the Persistence Activity 4.2 at the bottom

“Persistence” ~ Part 2

How to Become Persistent

We’re always told how we can achieve anything if we put our minds to it – how if we keep puttng in the time and effort, we will eventually start to see our efforts pay off. It seems that the key ingredient to success in all its forms is persistence.

But when people give us this advice, they will often act as though persistence were something you could just ‘switch on’. If you’ve not lost that weight, started that side business, gotten that guy or gal… well then you just need to be persistent. The question no one ever answers is how you go from not having persistence to being able to turn it on at will.

Let’s take a look at some of the things you can do…

Increase Your Energy

One of the definitions of persistence is ‘perseverance in spite of fatigue or frustration’ – or the ability to keep going when you’re tired.

If you’re struggling to ‘switch on’ your persistence though, how about taking a different tact and trying to avoid being tired in the first place? That might be easier said than done but with the right diet and exercise regime built around increasing your mitochondrial count and function you can do wonders in this department. If you have more energy, you might find there’s much less need to use will power to be persistent!

Clearly Define Your Goals

Being persistent is often a result of having clearly defined goals that you’re willing to work tirelessly towards. If you know precisely what it is that you’re trying to achieve and you know precisely how you’re going to achieve it, then it’s just a matter of executing that plan even when it’s exhausting or daunting.

If on the other hand you don’t really know what it is you want, then you might struggle to remind yourself of why you need to put in that effort to go the extra mile.

Have a Support Network

Often we derive strength from those around us. When we’re at our last ebb, we think of all the people who believe in us and the people we don’t want to let down. Just knowing you have people cheering for you to succeed can often be all it takes!

Persistence

And you know what? Persistence takes practice. Even if you find you’re prone to giving up, consistently trying to try can actually help you to develop the persistence you need. Don’t give up on not giving up!

~ Persistence Exercise ~

ACTIVITY

4.2

Make a list of 10 situations where you didn’t have the successful

outcome you hoped for.

Next, you’re going to make a list of 10 situations where you didn’t have the successful outcome you hoped for because you gave up.  Do you have regrets?  I’m guessing that 10 is going to be a number that’s achievable, but if not that’s okay, too, if it’s less than 10 that’s fine.

But think about it.  There’s probably been a number of situations in your life where you had an idea and you just lost interest.  Maybe that was the best decision at the time because you moved onto something more successful, and that’s okay, but let’s make note of it.

By giving yourself a chance to think about this, you can go back and reexamine exactly what happened.  Were there certain things that happened in that situation that you can see or notice a pattern in so that maybe you avoid doing those things again in the future?

Really give yourself a chance to think about those situations where you can acknowledge, “I gave up and maybe it could have happened for me, but I did give up and I’m living with that choice now.” “But it is a situation where I gave up and if I could go back would I do it differently?”  That’s always a powerful question to ask yourself.

STEP 4 ~ Day 1

of The Completely NEW YOU

  • 1

    Download your Files for STEP 4

  • 2

    Listen to the “Persistence” Audio ~ Part 1

  • 3

    Read the “The Power of Persistence” article

  • 4

    Complete the Persistence Activity 4.1 at the bottom

“Persistence” ~ Part 1

The Power of Persistence

Sometimes the secret to success is simple: just keep trying. Of course this won’t always be the case and sometimes thinking smart is just as important as working hard.

More oten than you realize though, it will be the case that you can actually succeed doing a lot of things simply by continuously trying and being more persistent than the competition.

An Example

Let’s imagine an example. Say you were interested in becoming a successful mobile app developer. In this case, you might learn how to build apps then spend a lot of time and money developing one to release to the Google Play Store or the iTunes App Store. If this then didn’t turn out to be successful however, you could feel disheartened and consider giving up entirely.

This is one of the big reasons that many people don’t end up being successful in the areas they wanted to be.

Because if you were to be persistent and if you were to keep trying at releasing mobile apps, then you would greatly increase the chances of being successful. Let’s say that there’s a 1 in 100 chance of releasing a hit app – while if you release 50 then you’ve greatly improved the odds in your favor!

What’s more though, being persistent means you’ll learn as you go. Each time you try to release a new app it will be better than the previous one meaning that your chances of success will increase exponentially.

And Another Example…

There are other areas where persistence can be successful in a completely different way. If you’re trying to get a pay rise for instance and asking your boss for a raise doesn’t yield results straight away, asking more can only have positve results. Literally: the only cost of failure is staying the same as you are already, so there’s really no downside to asking. If you catch them when they’re in a good mood or when they’ve noticed they have a bit more room in their budget, you might find that your persistence pays off. At the very least you’ll demonstrate that you’re serious.

In countless different scenarios, persistence can be a great asset. It is the best way to increase the odds in your favor, to incrementally wear down opposition and to grow and develop yourself as a person. There are many more examples of persistence being a hit too so instead of giving up at the first sign of a challenge, pick yourself up and try again!

~ Persistence Exercise ~

ACTIVITY

4.1

Make a list of 10 times you’ve persevered and been successful.

The first thing I want you to do is to make a list of 10 different times in your life where you’ve persevered and you’ve been successful.

Some of us are pretty hard on ourselves so we might think, “I’m the kind of guy that just gives up.” “If things don’t work out after two or three tries, then I just give up.”  I’ll say, “Let’s go back really far in your lifetime and think about when you first learned how to drive, when you first learned how to write or do arithmetic.”

If you need to go way back, then do it because guess what?  You persevered and you persisted until you achieved those skills.

There are so many things you do right now naturally that were not natural at some point. Through persistence and perseverance and by doing them over and over and over again you learned through failure and just made them a part your life that you don’t even think about it anymore.

If you drive a car, case and point.  You probably sucked at that at one point and now you probably do it pretty naturally without thinking.

Then there’s obviously going to be times that are a little more goal-oriented, where you really achieved something pretty cool.  Maybe you got a promotion or maybe you landed your dream job and it took you 5, 10, 15, 20 attempts.  It took you getting a second degree to get that job.

I don’t know what it is for you, but you really had to persist and persevere.

We want to take this week to really let our minds focus on all those times where we did persevere so that you can remind yourself that you are the kind of person that does this and now you’re going to be the kind of person that just simply lives this way all the time.

STEP 3 ~ Day 1

of The Completely NEW YOU

  • 1

    Download your Files for Week 3

  • 2

    Listen to the “Accountability” Audiobook ~ Part 1

  • 3

    Read the “What is Accountability and Why Does it Matter?” article

  • 4

    Complete the Accountability Activity 3.1 at the bottom

“Accountability” ~ Part 1

What is Accountability and Why Does it Matter?

Accountability essentially means ‘being held responsible for the things you do’. It’s essentially a form of responsibility that basically means ‘the buck stops with you’ and it’s actually incredibly important. Here we will look at what accountability really means in terms of psychology and at why it’s so important.

Examples of Accountability

An example of accountability might be going to work and heading up a project, then sta/ng that you take full responsibility for the outcome. This is basically you going out on a limb and saying that you will take the flack should anything go wrong.

Likewise, accountability might mean puttng yourself forward as a politician and stating that it is your mission to make sure X happens. You will be held accountable if it does not.

Immediately it’s clear to see that accountability has value for the larger community and for those that you work with and for. It means that you’re taking responsibility for your actions and this prevents you from taking advantage of your position. But it’s also very important for you.

Accountability and Achieving Goals

Let’s take the example of achieving goals for instance. Say you want to get into shape within a certain timeframe. Now normally you might write this down somewhere and then work quietly towards that goal. In this scenario, you have no accountability – you haven’t told anyone what you’re going to do and you’re not going to face any repercussions if you fail.

In fact, you probably won’t even be accountable to yourself really. Why? Because if you fail you’ll probably make some kind of excuse.

But now imagine a different scenario, where you announce to your family and friends that you’re going to lose weight, you tell them that they shouldn’t accept any excuses from you and you give yourself some kind of penalization if you don’t accomplish them.

Now you’re accountable and you’ll find that you suddenly are much more motivated to accomplish said goal. This way, accountability has just made you much more productive and driven.

How to Bring Accountability Into Your Life

With all that in mind, it’s very important to start bringing more accountability into your own life. Not only will you find that people respect you more for taking the flack and for standing up for what you believe and what you intend to do – but it will also result in you being more productive and ultimately happier as a result.

~ Accountability Exercise ~

ACTIVITY

3.1

Take some time to think of people who could potentially be your

“accountability partner”.

The actions this week are actually quite simple, but the profound effects over the long term will really change your life for the long run. 

First of all, we’re going to talk about taking some time to think of people who could potentially be our accountability partner.

You’re going to have to brainstorm.  Who else in your life is success-oriented, is goal-oriented, is on the same kind of path as you?  Who is somebody you could share this 12 Weeks To a Completely NEW YOU Program with? 

Show them what you’re going through and do their own goal setting and their own vision setting and you can become accountability partners for them.

You want to start thinking about people in your life.  Do that first and really sit down to think about who would be the best fit for that.

STEP 2 ~ Day 3

of The Completely NEW YOU

  • 1

    Listen to the “The Power of Daily Routines” Audiobook ~ Part 1

  • 2

    Read the “How to Overcome a Lack of Motivation” article

  • 3

    Complete the Motivation Activity 2.3 at the bottom

“The Power of Daily Routines” ~ Part 1

How to Overcome a Lack of Motivation

It happens to us all.  One day we’re motivated and the next day we’re in the dumps having ourselves a pity party.  Staying motivated is not easy.  If it were, everybody would do it.  But, it can be done.  You believe it can be done and that’s why you’re reading this right now – good for you!

You may have felt good about a certain job or project when it began.  You were filled with enthusiasm and motivation.  Then you hit a few speed bumps and unexpected failures and your motivation waned.  You may have fallen into depression and decided to give up.  All of those positive thoughts turned into negative ones.

We’ve all experienced these emotions that can cause us to give up prematurely.  All that upsurge of energy when we started a new project inevitably ends as dreams become reality and we lose our confidence. 

You must turn these negative emotions around and the best way to do that is to understand them, analyze them and what caused them. We lose our motivation as we lose our focus, our confidence and our direction. If you can learn to control these three emotions you can control your life.

Focus on what you really want.  Be specific and be positive.  We generally think in terms of what we don’t have rather than focus on what we want.  Don’t focus on your fears but what you can do to overcome them.  Don’t focus on being poor but on a plan to create wealth. 

To do this make a plan to get there one step at a time.  You don’t become the president of a company until you’ve come up from the ranks.  Focus on your plan to achieve your objectives and your goals.  Be realistic on your goals.  Goals that are unreachable can lead to depression.  But even small goals that are achieved lead to increased motivation.

Boost your confidence by taking stock on what you already have and not what you lack.  You’ll probably discover you’re more successful than you think.  We waste our mind power being jealous of others instead of working on achieving our own aspirations. Don’t take your strengths for granted and count your failures one by one.  Count your blessings one by one and whatever your mind thinks it can accomplish.

Without direction there is no motivation.  You must create a day-to-day strategy.  Make a to-do list and do it.  Mark off each item once it’s accomplished and do not mark it off until it’s done. 

You’ll eventually get tired of looking at it on your list and do it.  By making a list or outline of what needs to be done, you’ll find ways to do it and you’ll believe that you truly deserve success.  Don’t waste time by worrying about the future.  Start today by doing something to change your future for the better.  Today’s actions can create a better future.

Don’t be surprised or depressed about a loss of motivation.  Look at it as an opportunity to step back and analyze what you’re doing wrong and what you’re doing right.  Discover your faults and correct them.  When you re-evaluate your plans and goals from a fresh perspective, you’ll feel a new surge of enthusiasm and motivation.

~ Motivation Exercise ~

ACTIVITY

2.3

Take some time for yourself and unwind.

Next, you want to actually take some time to enjoy the things that motivate you. If you’re motivated by getting a project done so that you can have some free time in the evening to spend with your kids, then get that work done and then absolutely enjoy that time.

Close your laptop. Close your work, whatever it may be, and thoroughly enjoy the reward you received by achieving this task or completing this action.

If you’re going to give yourself the reward of going to the movies once you’ve completed something, then go to the movie and enjoy it. Take your spouse with you and really forget about everything and enjoy that moment.

These are the motivators that we can use to continually propel ourselves forward.


This week, take care of yourself big time!

You might be saying that you don’t have the time…but it saves you time in the long run.
Have you ever had a serious case of burnout? Sometimes it’s hard to get back on track after that. Honor yourself right now by taking care of yourself.

Take a little time each day to do something you really enjoy. Try something you haven’t done before. You might find that you come back to your daily life with renewed zest and even some new ideas. The concept you’re concentrating on this exercise is that your business will survive without you for short periods of time and those short periods are important to your well being.

Of course, keeping track is important too!

List three things you did this week that helped you unwind or released tension.

STEP 2 ~ Day 1

of The Completely NEW YOU

  • 1

    Download your Files for STEP 2

  • 2

    Listen to the “Motivation” Audiobook ~ Part 1

  • 3

    Read the “What Does Motivation Mean to You?” article

  • 4

    Complete the Motivation Activity 2.1 at the bottom

“Motivation” ~ Part 1

What Does Motivation Mean to You?

Becoming motivated and staying motivated is difficult for most of us.  When you ask the question what motivation means to you, it also begs the questions, “Do I believe in motivation” and, “Do I really need motivation?”  In other words, do you believe you need motivation to succeed in your career and personal goals?

The dictionary defines motivation as something that causes a person to act or a method to provide a motive.  Motivation comes with many different faces.  Some you may recognize and some you may not. 

Some synonyms for motivation are inspiration, incentive, drive and enthusiasm. Do any of these look familiar?  If they don’t, then you may need motivation more than you think.  It appears some people were born motivated. 

They hit the ground running each morning with a vibrant burst of energy that makes others a little nauseous while downing their first cup of coffee.  Throughout the day, they seem to be inexhaustible as they tackle one project after another.  You watch from the sideline with emotions ranging from skepticism to admiration.

You, on the other hand, could fall in the category of being slow to start and it goes downhill from there.  You could do as well as the other fellow if you could just get started and find the motivation. 

Depression may rear its ugly head as you continue to watch others run the race and finish while you’re still in the starting gate.  Depression has been called the absence of motivation.

It’s difficult to be depressed when you’re motivated; and equally difficult to fail or fall behind when you’re motivated.  Perhaps you’re plagued with short bursts of motivation only to lose interest when the going gets tough.  This is common not only in business goals and projects but in your personal life as well. 

Most people who are motivated in their personal life find it easy to maintain that enthusiasm in their career.  If you equate motivation with success, eagerness and passion you could be right.  Are you eager and passionate about your daily tasks?  Or, do you slog through them and only see a glimmer of happiness when the task if finished.

Perhaps you have stumbled on a key to becoming motivated.  There are hundreds of ways to acquire motivation but nothing motivates like success.  We’re not talking here necessarily about winning an election or first prize in a contest, although that would be great.  Success comes in all sizes and disguises. 

If you’re trying to lose weight and the pounds keep dropping each week you step on the scale, you feel motivated to do more.  If you’ve made a dozen sales calls and finally make a sale, you’re ready to make a dozen more calls seeking another measure of success because it’s so motivating. It’s true that some people were born with an innate quality of motivation.  But, motivation is a vital skill that you can learn.

~ Motivation Exercise ~

ACTIVITY

2.1

Practice daily visualization.

We’re going to start with something very practical but not always used by everybody, and that is the act of practicing daily visualization of all of your dreams.

This might seem kind of foolish, it might make you seem like a dreamer, but think about this for a minute. The very first thing we did in week number one was we had you picture an ideal vision for your life, the ideal way you’d like to see yourself in 10 years.

We allowed ourselves to really get in touch with that, because most people don’t even allow themselves to think about that.

You came up with a bunch of ideas that were obviously naturally important to you at a gut level, in your heart, in your spirit, whatever you want to call it.

And so these things naturally draw you forward.

The more you think about having already created these things, when you visualize yourself in possession of all these amazing things that you want to do, places you want to go, people you want to meet, things you want to create in your life, organizations you

want to help, I don’t care what it is, the more you start visualizing that and getting emotionally involved in it, the better you feel.

It doesn’t matter how negative you felt five minutes ago. Now, as you go into this visualization, you’re literally shifting your vibration, so to speak. You’re shifting your energy.

Sometimes that’s all it takes to change your motivation.

The more clearly you can picture your success and the more often you do so, the quicker you will be able to achieve your goals.  Did you know that studies have shown that your subconscious mind can’t distinguish between what is real and what you believe is true?

That’s why visualization is so powerful. It is one of the most effective ays to keep motivated.
After the work you did last week, you have a clear, detailed picture of the unique, authentic, successful life you want for yourself.

Spend 10 minutes each day this week visualizing yourself already having achieved that life.

This would be an excellent exercise to practice often, even daily, from now on.
Remember, whatever you visualize clearly and often will eventually become a part of your reality.

To help you be honest with yourself write down the time you visualized and for how long.

 

© 2020 SuccessWave

Take Charge of Your Life!