Archive for August, 2009

Success Breeds Success!

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

One of my daily mantras is that there is nothing like Success to breed Success!

There is nothing like achieving a goal to really make you feel good and make you want to do more.

Often I have found that when we set big hairy goals we get so over whelmed that we don’t know where to start. The key is to start small. Start by setting some realistic goals which form part of  your larger goal, ones you know you can achieve. The goal can be as simple as putting 15 minutes aside tomorrow to do something that makes you happy or to get out of bed when the alarm goes off (i.e. not hitting the snooze button!!). Set yourself smaller targets this week, you will feel good when you hit them and I can guarantee that you will want to do more.

Each of these small action steps completed each day will take you closer to where you want to be. All too often we decide not to take action as we feel it will take us too long to achieve our big hairy goal. What a pity…in two years time you could be looking back saying to yourself “if only I had kept taking action I would have achieved my goal by now”.

This quote from Bill Gates sums it up
“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next year and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction”

Will Rogers said it even better
“You may be on the right track but you will get run over if you just sit there!”

What Are Your Core Values?

Monday, August 17th, 2009

When setting goals to get us to where we want to be in life it is so important that we always honor our core values in all we do.

WHAT ARE CORE VALUES? Firstly values are the things in life which are most important to you but core values go even deeper still. These are the qualities and characteristics that you hold dear to you. The characteristics and qualities you wish to embody in everything you do e.g. honesty, compassion, integrity, courage, loving, sincerity,caring.

Every day we read about people and companies who lose sight of their core values and get themselves into a lot of trouble. I know personally when I have gone against my core values I have really struggled with my life. However when I honor my core values in all I do I feel really good inside, I know I am being true to myself and life just flows. Does this sound familiar to you?

HOW DO I FIND OUT WHAT MY CORE VALUES ARE? Grab a pen and paper right now. Write down 6 of the personal traits and characteristics that are important to you e.g. sincerity, honesty,loving, compassion.

Next I want you to think of at least 2 people you admire (living or past). They could be someone close to you or someone whom you never met but what they stand for really resonates with you e.g. Gandhi,Nelson Mandela, Richard Brandson. Ask yourself what values; what characteristics and qualities does this person represent to me. Now write down 6 qualities and characteristics of  these people you admire.

Finally lets look at both lists - your values and the values of the people you admire and I want you to pick the top 3 from both lists.

You now have a list of your 6 core values. These embody the very essence of how you are being in life. Remember to honor your Core Values in everything you do, when you do your life will flow!

Life, We Learn Too Late Is For Living

Friday, August 7th, 2009

When I recently looked up the word “WORRY” in the dictionary one of the definitions was “to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts”. Sounds like something you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy doesn’t it? Why on earth would we want to put ourselves through this?

When it comes to past experiences perhaps at some level we feel bad about what we have done and this is a way of punishing ourselves. The truth however is that we always do the best we can with the resources we have at the time. You need to ask yourself “Am I happy with the results I am seeing in my life right now?”  If you are not then acknowledge it and start to look at what you can begin to do differently.

It’s so important to remember when you are feeling low that making mistakes is all part of life as without falling over from time to time we would never grow as human beings. The key is to always learn from our past experiences. Once we learn we have never failed.

I am sure you already know that the worst experiences in life are guaranteed to bring about the most positive change and growth within ourselves. As M Scott Peck says

“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.”

So let’s look at some great ways to stop us worrying whether it is related to the past or the future.

Every new day is a new beginning; write it on a piece of paper and stick it on your bathroom mirror where you will see it every morning. Each new day is a blank canvas. You and only you have the choice to paint it how you want it. Will you choose to paint a masterpiece or just any old painting?

Live in day tight compartments; meaning that we must really start to realize that the past is gone, the future has not yet arrived and there is only now!  Focus on today only and know the best way to get ready for tomorrow is to concentrate on today. Write down at least two action steps you can do today to improve your life and do them. Remember today lived well makes every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Start to count your blessings and not your misfortunes; nearly everyone I meet could give me a list of all the bad things that are happening in their life right now but you can be guaranteed that it would take them a while to come up with a list of at least 10 good things. Write down at least 10 good things that are happening in your life right now. When you begin to focus on what’s good you will begin to feel good.

Finally I wanted to end this blog with a quote for you to ponder upon

“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon – instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today”.