growth mindset

Dec

2021

Metamorphosis

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Change is always happening all around us. The seasons change without us doing anything about it. All of us are in a constant process of transforming ourselves. Have you heard of the saying that each one of us is “a work in progress”? Each one of us is undergoing our own metamorphosis. It is up to us how long it will take for the change to happen and what the end results will be.

In Greek, the word has the following meaning: meta = changing, morph = shape or form, and osis = process of (*membean). Although, it seems to mean just physical change; it can also pertain to a whole lifestyle change. In reality, metamorphosis is a big word for it means a major change in many aspects of our lives. For each individual, it is a process of becoming something or someone else.

The word “meta” also means “with, across, or after” in Greek. It denotes a change of position or condition and seeing things across a period of time. You are seeing things from a different position or perspective. You may only be thinking of your life in terms of a year. Having a meta view of things means that you are now thinking about your life in 5 or 10 years time.

The word “morphosis” refers to the way an organism changes or develops. This means that a metamorphosis is a transformation that happens over a period of time. So, it is not something that is accomplished overnight or a few weeks or months. It takes time. And it can only be done slowly.

Your Metamorphosis

The important thing in your metamorphosis is that you define what you want to become. You get to choose how you want to go about your transformation and the challenges you want to overcome. You are in full control of how you want to change yourself and your life.

What are your goals for your own metamorphosis?
What change do you want to make in your life?
How do you want to implement these changes?
What changes are going on around you right now?
How will they fit in with the kind of life you want to have?

There will be uncomfortable moments as you adjust to your metamorphosis. For example, If you want to gain muscles, you go to the gym to lift weights and get body aches the next day. So, many quit along the way. But for those who persevere, rewards will soon follow. As time goes by, your body gets used to the routine. You are able to lift heavier weights more comfortably and with less pain.

Fully embracing your metamorphosis doesn’t mean that the experience will all be pleasant. A transformation requires “growing pains”. Learn to accept them as part of the process, and they become less painful.

Are you now ready to become the better version of yourself?

Updated: First published on 2020.07.03.
Feature Image: Original Photo by Ravi Roshan on Unsplash.

Aug

2021

How to Turn Pain into Success

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Many of us want to learn how to turn pain into success. There is no shortcut to success. Being successful always entails hard work and a bit of luck. Painful experiences are part of the process to creating a more successful you. However, when you go through challenges in life, such as losing your job or going thru grief; there are some things you can do to turn your pain into stepping stones to progress, and eventually become successful in your goals.

Rest and Assess

Experiencing challenges and pain forces us to stop in our tracks and even rest from our daily routine. This is the best time to get mental and physical rest as well as emotional rest. Your focus at this time should be how to feel better. When your mind and body are relaxed, and your emotions are calm; you are in the best condition to take stock of things. You can make an honest assessment of your current circumstances and how best to change them. Your lowest point in life could be an opportunity to reset your life.

Explore and Learn

The time of pain is a time to help you explore your feelings and learn from them. Dig deep but don’t dwell on blame or on feeling the victim. The important thing is to be honest with yourself. Ask yourself why you reacted the way you did to a particular person or situation. What triggered your emotions and what could be the cause? Exploring your pain allows you to learn more about yourself. This way, you can get clearer on how you can become better. You can do this with a friend or loved one, in a safe space where you won’t fear being judged.

Create Goals, Not Vices

Sometimes when we are in pain, we want to be alone and we even forget to take care of ourselves. If we dwell on our pain too much without processing them, not taking care of ourselves becomes a habit. Bad habits become vices overtime. This is not a good way to live your life or to heal from your pain. So when you have taken time to rest and reflect; make sure you create goals based on the lessons you learned. This way, you give your self and your life a direction to make progress and grow. Creating goals to move forward is one of the best ways you can turn your pain into a step towards success.

Think Positive, Do Positive

It is important to keep up a positive outlook even in times of pain. Losing hope in yourself and in the future is a dead end. There is always a lesson to be learned, a silver lining to the storm so to speak. Keeping a gratitude journal helps but expressing gratitude towards others for the little things they do for you is even more fulfilling. It is also important to learn to smile, at your self and to others.

The future may be uncertain, but you can be sure that the sun will rise again. Take each day as a chance to start or restart. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Remember, you are a work in progress just like everyone else. The only way to overcome challenges is to keep working on it. As long as you don’t quit, you will find success later on.

Feature Image: Original Photo by Road Trip with Raj on Unsplash.

Aug

2021

What is Your Money Personality?

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Your money personality simply means your attitude and behavior towards money. It is a reflection of your beliefs about money. Knowing and understanding your money personality will help you improve your financial life. It will help you spend, save, invest and grow your money wisely. So, what is your money personality?

There are five kinds of money personalities. Each one has different outlooks on how they handle money. It is possible to be a mixture of one or two personalities.

1.The Big Spender

As the name suggests, the big spender is someone who places value in their possessions. It is easy to spot one. Just take a look at the possessions that they own. Do they have the latest smartphone or gadget? Are they always wearing branded clothing? Do they have high-end vehicles? How big is their home? Do they own the latest and biggest television?These people are so comfortable spending money that they don’t care even if they end up in credit card debts.

If you are a big spender, make sure that what you are spending falls within your budget. If not, learn the art of delayed gratification. It is also important that you understand how credit cards work. Otherwise, a big spender is in great danger of falling into financial distress.

If you can’t buy it twice, you can’t afford it.
– Jay Z

2. The Savers

The savers are exactly the opposite of the big spenders. Savers shop only when necessary and they hardly ever use their credit cards. They generally have no debts. They are the cheapskates. If you know someone who tries to avoid paying and does not want to share expenses, then they are the savers. Unlike the big spender who derives satisfaction from the possessions that they own, the savers get theirs from looking at their bank accounts.

If you are a saver, congratulate yourself. It means you are already careful and aware of your finances. Chances are, you already have your emergency fund and probably a bit of retirement fund as well. However, money psychologists advise that you should also learn to allow yourself to enjoy your hard-earned money. In the same way, you should also learn to share your money with others. The money jar budgeting system allocates at least 10% for play and another 10% for title.

3.The Security Seeker

The security seekers are careful planners. They research every option available before they start spending their money. However, unlike the savers, security seekers are willing to spend as long as they have the budget for it. They make sure that they have enough money to pay for the expenses before swiping their card or going on vacation. The downside is that sometimes, because of too much research; they end up not making the decision at all.

If you are a security seeker, it is best to lessen too much pessimism and anxiety over financial decisions. Be aware that life is all about choices. The key is to know your financial goals and make decisions towards the attainment of those goals. Yes, there will be better opportunities that may arise in time but be comforted in the fact that you already did due diligence. Your decision is the best decision at that point in time.

4. The Avoider

The avoider is someone who avoids thinking and talking about money. Avoiders are those people who have an untouched stack of bills lying in the counter. They don’t want to face their finances. They don’t take note of the due dates of their credit cards and bills.

If you are an avoider, it is best to start caring about your finances. Let’s face it, whether you like it or not; money is a big part of our lives. We need money in order to survive in this world. The first thing to do is to track your expenses. You will not be able to improve your financial life if you don’t know where your money is going. From there, you will be able to set up a plan going forward.

5. The Moneymaker

The moneymaker is someone who already perfected the skills of creating wealth. They spend most of their time and energy earning money. They believe that money is the key to happiness.

If you are a moneymaker, you have probably achieved financial freedom. You have enough money in the bank to live comfortably for life. However, do realize that although money is important; relationships are far more important than money. Because you were always busy creating wealth, you might have neglected important relationships. Now is the time to slow down and reestablish a deeper relationship with your family and loved ones.

6.The Gambler

The gambler is someone who loves taking risks. They get satisfaction from the thrill of risk with the promise of high rewards. They invest in anything that they think will give them high returns. Most of the time, they don’t even do their research anymore before investing. These are also the same people who are in danger of being addicted to gambling.

If you are a gambler before you start losing all your money; it is best to first understand the rules of investing. Be strict on where you invest your money before you make big financial decisions. And avoid borrowing money just to enter an investment that you do not even understand. Learn to guard your money.

The bottom line, understand your money personality and find a way to balance the personalities in order to help you achieve your money goals.

Feature Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

Mar

2021

Spring Clearing Challenge

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The Spring Clearing Challenge is an annual practice in many households all around the world. Different cultures have different names for it. It is also practiced at different times of the year, usually during holidays or when the weather changes. Of course, not everyone views it as a challenge. But isn’t it challenging work to clean out stuff in our homes and in our lives, whatever season it may be?

There are many stages in our lives where we practice “spring clearing” to rid ourselves of past negative energies that are weighing us down. The end of the month is as good a time as any to do some spring clearing.

Spring Clearing Challenge

For this challenge, instead of just cleaning out our space physically; we will do a clearing up of negative energies. Remember that our mind and body are connected. Our thoughts, emotions and physical health influence each other. So clearing up one aspect will help improve the others.

Take Time to Meditate

Find a spot at home to sit awhile for a meditation. Make yourself as comfortable as possible and try to calm your mind and relax your body. If you are just starting out, focusing on your inhales and exhales is the only thing you need to do so you don’t get distracted.

Ask yourself, “Where would I want to be to feel completely relaxed and refreshed?” Allow your imagination to take you to that place. Picture yourself relaxing there and try to enjoy all aspects of that moment with all of your senses. Taking the time to relax your senses helps you feel lighter so you can better focus on what needs to be done.

In this way, you can slowly clear up the things that are piling up around you, mentally, physically or emotionally. By doing this spring clearing challenge; you can prepare yourself for a fresh start on your goals.

Practice Mindfulness

Can’t sit still enough or can’t find the time for a meditation? Then start practicing mindfulness. Try to be aware of the little things in your daily life; the small actions that you do throughout your day. Are you eating your favorite dessert? Savor the taste. Are you enjoying the smell of a new book? Tune your senses to that moment.

Ask yourself, “What makes this activity so pleasant or pleasurable?” Finding the answer to this question helps you get to know yourself better. It helps you better understand what things make you happy and allows you to plan for more moments like this.

By understanding what motivates and triggers you; you can better take control of your own actions and reactions to negative circumstances. Reacting mindlessly to negative situations is one of the biggest ways to waste our time and drain our energy. So being able to manage yourself in these situations allows you to focus on what you should be working on. It also helps you figure out how to deal with toxic people and not become a toxic person yourself. So you can focus your attention on the people you love and cherish instead.

Let Your Feelings Go

You may be carrying a lot of emotional stress because of past traumatic experiences, like losing a loved one. You may have regrets about not being able to apologize to someone. Or you maybe struggling to forgive someone. Instead of bottling everything up, why not let it all go?

Ask yourself, “How do I really feel about the situation/person?”. Crying is not weakness. It is a necessary process to start your healing process. Many of us go through our daily lives like zombies because we refuse to deal with our feelings and confront them. We end up becoming numb to other emotional experiences as well.

Find the time to be alone and cry if you have to. If you need to write down your thoughts and feelings while you’re crying, then do so. Maybe you want to watch sad kdramas or movies while eating ice cream; go ahead. You need to feel what you feel and acknowledge it. Of course, you will feel bad at first, but that is the only way you can release all those burdens in order for you to start feeling better about it.

Envision a New You

Clearing out your life should be for a purpose. It is natural for us to strive for a goal in order to have a direction in life. Otherwise, you will just be living your life on auto-pilot and never feel fulfilled with anything that you do even if you accomplish much.

Ask yourself, “How do I want my life to look like in 3 years, 5 years, 10 years from now?”. Make plans for yourself so you can start acting on something you truly want. This is your signal to the Universe so that you can be guided in the right direction.

Create a vision board, write down a bucket list of how you want your life to be. Don’t be afraid to go big and be ambitious. Of course, you have to be prepared to work for these goals so make sure they are SMART goals.

Many people don’t want to start working on their goals because they are afraid to fail. Remember that failure is part of the process to success. Unless you fail, you will never learn which means you will be stuck doing the same thing over and over again without moving forward. Treat failure as a learning process instead of an end result. Welcome the challenges into your experience; like this spring clearing challenge. They are good experiences to help you grow.

Don’t Forget to Have Fun

Do you start the day with a smile? Maybe you still feel groggy from a lack of sleep. But try to face the mirror with a smile and see how it lifts up your mood. Try to smile back at people too and express your gratitude so you can lift up their mood. You never know how your small gesture can make another person’s day brighter and more pleasant. A genuine smile can completely change a person’s negative outlook in life and even make them feel more hopeful.

Ask yourself, “What can I do today to make things more fun (for me or for someone else)?” Having fun on your own may sound boring for you. Doing it with somebody else can make the goal even more worthwhile.

Taking life too seriously is one of the major causes of stress in our daily lives. Worrying endlessly about the what-ifs exhausts us mentally and emotionally. By focusing on the positive aspects of any situation; you can feel less stressed about it and enjoy the whole experience instead.

These are just some of the things that you can do to start spring clearing your mind, your emotions and your physical environment. This spring clearing challenge is not just for spring though. You can do this anytime you feel the need to clear out negative energy from your self or in your environment. Try to start spring clearing today and see how much better you will feel afterwards.

Feature Image: Original Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash.

Feb

2021

Change Your Poverty Mindset To Wealth Mindset

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Do you want to become wealthy? The key to wealth is to master the wealth mindset. The difference between the rich and poor has nothing to do with the amount of money that they have in the bank; rather, it is all about their mindset. Your mindset is your set of beliefs and attitudes about certain areas in your life. If money is your concern, then chances are you have symptoms of a poverty mindset. You need to be able to change your poverty mindset to wealth mindset.

Your first step towards financial prosperity is to break out from your poverty mindset. Having a poverty mindset is ruining your chances of success. It is not yet too late to change your life for the better. Once you have the correct mindset, you can slowly rise from whatever position you are in right now in your life.

Here are ways on how to change your poverty mindset to wealth mindset.

1. Have a Grateful Heart

Did you know that about 150,000 people die each day around the world? That number is even greater now that we are in the middle of the pandemic. The fact that you woke up this morning is already one big reason to be grateful for. I’m sure if you take a closer look in your life, you will find so many simple things to be grateful for,

Unfortunately, most people take their blessings for granted. Everyday life is full or worries, challenges and busyness. In the midst of all that pressure, it is very easy to forget to be grateful.

I remember a story told by preacher and best-selling author Bo Sanchez in one his weekly prayer gathering called The Feast.

A woman approached him complaining how everything is wrong with her life. Here is how Bo Sanchez replied.

Bo asked, “Do you have cancer?”. The woman replied saying “no, I don’t have cancer”.

Bo then asked, “Is your husband having an affair?”. The woman laughed saying “no, my husband is ugly. The only two persons in this world who likes him is her mother and me.”

Bo then asked, “Is your child a drug addict?”. By this time the woman was laughing, “no, Bo. My child is only three years old.”

The woman then proceeded to explain that she is having problems with her boss at work.

Then Bo answered by saying that “It is not true then that everything is wrong with your life. Only a small fraction of your life is not doing well.”

This story is a classic example of how a poverty mindset works. People who have poverty mindset focuses on the negative aspect of their life. In order to be happy and to grow, you need to focus on the positiv e. Be grateful to all the blessings in your life. Always start your day by thanking God for all His blessings. Be thankful also to the people around you have always been there for you.

2. Spend Time with People who have a Growth or Millionaire Mindset

Did you know that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with? Your mindset is a product of your environment. If you have a poverty mindset, chances are the people around you have the same mindset. In order to grow, you need to get out of your circle. It does not mean ditching your old friends, it only means that you should spend more time with awesome positive people. If you spend too much time with negative people doing meaningless things, you will never get anywhere.

He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
– Proverbs 13:20

3. Set Goals

When was the last time you set a goal for yourself? Setting goals will make you look at things in the long term rather than the short term. A millionaire mindset looks at things in the long term while a poverty mindset looks at things in the short term.

What you should do is to imagine yourself in the future living the life that you want. What will your spring day be like? Discover where you want to be in one, five, ten or even twenty years from now. Remember that success always starts with a vision. Then, write them all down in paper. Read them everyday in the morning to remind yourself of what you want to achieve or better yet, have a vision board. A vision board will inspire you and keep you motivated to achieve your dreams.

Setting goals is the first step to turning the invisible to the visible.
– Tony Robbins

4. Refrain from Speaking the Poverty Language

How many times have you said the following statements?

“I cannot afford it.”
“That is only for the rich, not for us.”
“We don’t have money.”
“I can’t do that.”

Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits.Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
– Lao Tzu

Be conscious of the words that come out of your mouth because your words are simply a manifestation of your thoughts or your subconscious mind. Speaking the poverty language indicates that you have a negative state of mind regarding your situation. If you want to get out of your situation, you need to get rid of the negative, only then can you change your future.

5. Educate Yourself

For most people, education ends the moment they graduate from college. If you are one of these people, this is probably one the biggest mistake that you can do in your life. Continuous learning is an essential strategy for your success. Education does not not necessarily mean that you need to go back to school to get your Masters or PHD. There are many ways to learn. You can attend training or seminars, read books or simply have a mentor.

For starters, do you have idols? Who among the successful people out there do you wish to become? Then, study those people. Study their lives, their values, their life strategies. Find out what they did in order to get to where they are now. Their stories will definitely inspire you.

By educating yourself, you are improving your skills. You need better skills to be more qualified and successful in whatever field you are in right now. For example, if financial freedom is your goal, have you studied about money and how it works? If not, how do you expect to gain financial freedom if you don’t spend time learning about money?

Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.
– Brian Tracy

Follow the steps above and you will just wake up one day with a different mindset. However, this is not a one day to do list, it is something that you have to do on a daily basis.

Good luck!

First Published in Pinoy Smart Living on 09.04.2018

Feature Image by Alexas Fotos from Pexels

Jan

2021

What Do You Focus On?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

You just bought a new red car over the weekend. On your way to work on Monday morning, you have noticed that suddenly there are so many red cars exactly the same as yours on the road. They were not there before! What happened? Just like you, did they decide to buy the exact same car as yours over the weekend? That’s unlikely. What happened is that your Reticular Activating System (RAS) has been activated. The red cars have always been around you. It is just that you did not notice it before.The only difference is that you are aware of them now. So, what do you focus on?

What Is The Reticular Activating System?

The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is a bundle of neurons in the brain. Its primary function is that it is in charge of a person’s sensation and attention. Anatomically, it is just the size of a little finger but it plays a very important role in our being because it filters the information being sent to our brain. It removes out any unnecessary information. There are millions of information out there at any given time. The brain cannot process everything so it only chooses information that it thinks is important to you.

For example, if you are in a room full of people and you heard somebody call out your name, then your first reaction is to look, right? That is because your RAS recognised the sound of your name. You are not going to even bother when somebody calls out other people’s names, are you? That’s how crucial the function of an RAS is.

How Does The RAS Know What Is Important To You?

As mentioned, the RAS filters information. It chooses only those who are important to you. But, how does it know which is important to you? It knows through what you focus on the most. It validates your beliefs. It works within the boundaries that you set into. So, if you believe in something strongly, then the RAS will focus on that.

Have you noticed people who kept on saying…

“I’m never gonna lose weight”, never loses weight
“I don’t have enough money”, never have enough money
“I’m not good at that”, never get better in that particular field

On the contrary, people who focus on the positive attract more positivity in their lives. If you focus on the good things, good things will come to you. On the other hand, If you focus on the negative things, you will attract negative things into your life. Always have a positive attitude.

What you focus on grows, what you think about expands, and what you dwell upon determines your destiny.
– Robin S. Sharma

if you want to move on from your current state and live a better tomorrow, be careful on what you focus on. Focus on your goals. If you focus on your goals, your RAS will open your eyes to information, people, opportunities and situations that will help you achieve your goals.

So, what do you focus on?

First published in Pinoy Smart Living on 02.27.2019

Photo by Maurício Mascaro from Pexels

Aug

2020

Travel is A Matter of Courage

Reading Time: 2 minutes

We all know that we need money to travel. Some of us choose not to travel in order not to incur travel expenses. Others set cheap travel plans, while others take their time and save up for their dream destinations. In fact, travel is a matter of courage. It is true now, more than ever.

No matter what kind of traveler you are, traveling with others or traveling solo takes a lot of courage. Spending money on a travel experience means foregoing some material things.

Even before you take your first step towards your intended destination, you need courage to even think of traveling. This applies not only during times like a pandemic. It takes courage to travel, each time you decide to pack your stuff and go. Why?

Travel helps you grow. Each step of the way to finally fulfilling your travel plans involves a lot of risk-taking, belief in the kindness of fellow humans, belief that the Universe has your back, and trust in your own capabilities.

Traveling is risky because you will be uncomfortable and basically you’ll be by yourself, in another place, far from the comforts of home and the reach of family and friends. Travel requires you to constantly challenge yourself adapt to change and manage your expectations.

Traveling involves a strong belief in the wonderful possibilities that could happen; trust that everything will go right, and belief that at the end of the day, you can accomplish what you set out to do in your journey and collect more pleasant memories than unpleasant ones. Believing in something and trusting in the positive side of things, takes a lot of courage. It takes courage to pursue your travel goals.

More importantly, it takes courage to dream and to pursue that dream. It also takes discipline and the perseverance to go on despite obstacles. It takes courage to hold yourself responsible for the realization of your goals.

Did you not suddenly transform into a person who prefers to save for future travel plans instead of splurging impulsively? Did you not change into someone more mindful of their habits and tendencies when you decided to prepare for your dream destination?

It takes courage to think of doing something different and even more courage to sustain the effort and energy, and sometimes the sacrifices to be made, to make that change come true.

Launch Challenge

So if you travel; you bring your courage with you to every destination and for every decision you will need to make along the way. This does not only apply to travel only though.

Challenge yourself to use your courage and apply it to accomplishing all your goals. Become the person who is responsible for your own happiness. Have the courage to be the person you want to be and to live the life you want to live.

Updated. First published on Pinoy Smart Living on 2018.11.23.
Featured Image: Original Photo by Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash.

Apr

2020

Challenges Are Important for Growth and Success

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Challenges are important in life. They are needed to four own personal growth and success.

When facing a problem big or small, are you the type to tackle it head-on, go around it or avoid it? Do you react to a problem in a calm manner or do you react with anger or frustration? When put under pressure, do you often give up or do you become even more motivated? Do you sometimes find yourself asking why are there so many problems in life anyway?

Ideal

Almost everyone’s picture of a happy life is one where a ship always sails through calm waters. It is a life where the problems one faces are few and far in between. And if ever adversities come, they are the kind of problems that are actually pleasant to deal with (e.g., what type of coffee to drink from all the options on hand). But life is not always like that just as the ocean is never always calm. The storms you experience in life are there for a reason and it’s not because you’re just unlucky.

“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.”
– Willa Cather

Purpose

Life’s challenges may be painful and we may sometimes feel that they are unfair but they do have their purpose.

If you read the life stories of many great and successful persons, you will find that their lives were hardly easy and smooth and sailing. They had plenty of downs before they had a breakthrough which changed their lives for the better or they had many seemingly unfortunate events which motivated them to pursue their next path towards success. It’s only when looking back that they can connect the dots and see how all their past experiences helped them become the person capable of succeeding.

Self-Reflection

Think back on your life as well. Maybe you had experienced some form of criticism in the past which greatly impacted your way of thinking today or motivated you to improve in a particular area in your life. What other negative experiences did you have that made you an even better version of you?

What’s important to keep in mind is that all the pain and discomfort we experience in these difficult situations is a result of our ability to process our experiences mentally and emotionally. We are in-charge of our own reactions and we can make decisions that steer our thoughts and emotions into a calmer space so that we are in a better state of mind to decide on our next actions.

Challenges give us a chance to improve in the different areas of our life by gaining more experience and wisdom to push forward. They are there to test our limits so we can see how far we can go to reach our goals. At the same time, challenges are opportunities for us to achieve a greater level of success than the limits we have set for ourselves. They are like the fire that melts away the impurities in the materials to bring out its better qualities.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.

Challenge

The next time you find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place, welcome the challenge. It is an opportunity for personal growth and a nudge that brings you closer to your success. Always keep in mind that like all things, challenges are temporary and they too will pass; but it is always a better feeling afterwards to pass them with flying colors.

Original Photo by Hieu An Tran on Unsplash

Apr

2020

Rise Above the Storm

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Challenges are part of our daily lives. They come in many forms. They can be in the form of financial difficulties, work problems, health issues or relationship conflicts. While some challenges are manageable, others are not. Sometimes, they can be very difficult to overcome especially if it is something that is beyond our control. Whatever problems you are encountering right now, the most important thing is how to rise above the storm.

An example the Covid-19 pandemic. It came unexpectedly. No one was prepared for the negative effects it brought into people’s lives. We feel angry, frustrated, anxious and depressed. Despite our helplessness, there are some things that we can do to protect ourselves and to help others.

All challenges are the same. It is natural to feel helpless, frustrated, depressed and anger. Embraced that feeling for awhile. However, you need to go beyond that in order to successfully overcome the challenge. You can’t live with your negative emotions forever.

So, what are you going to do about it?

The Right Approach

The fact is, the challenges that you encounter in life will never go away on their own. You need to face and address them. You need to have the right attitude. Start by acceptance. Then, you need to detach yourself from the problem and look at it from a different perspective. By doing so, you will be able to discover your strengths and new abilities that you have never known before. It is ok to ask for help or reach out to others if you feel that it is too much for you to handle alone.

Of course, you always have to option to feel distressed. You can blame it on others. You can even choose to harm yourself and others. But you can also choose to fight. You can choose to stand up again and not be defeated. The decision is yours to take.

It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
– Epictetus

Join us this month as we help you go rise above your challenges. Together, let us all overcome whatever it is that we are going through and emerge as stronger, healthier, happier and better persons in the process.

Feature Image by Kryzsztof Pluta from Pixabay Images

Mar

2020

How to Make SMART Goals

Reading Time: 4 minutes

We are constantly dreaming and making wishes for what we want our future to be like but most of us procrastinate when it comes to actually writing down our plan for how to achieve our goals. We all know where we want to go but we don’t have a plan on how to get there. This causes us a lot of anxiety in our everyday lives. More often, we see the prize but we are not prepared for what it takes to achieve it. Having a vision is not enough. You need to know how to make SMART goals to complement your vision.

In order for us to lessen the anxiety and worries that plague us about our future, it is necessary that we come up with a plan that will give us a structure and provide guidepost to follow so we can track our progress. A vision board serves as a reminder of where you want to be but you need a plan on how to get there. One of the best methods to do this is to make S.M.A.R.T. goals.

What are S.M.A.R.T. Goals?

S.M.A.R.T. goals allow you to define what steps you need to achieve your goals and allows you to measure your progress as you advance thru each step of the plan. This acronym stands for the following aspects of goal setting:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely / Tangible

According to Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Allen Lakein said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”, and Napoleon Hill said, “Plan your work and work your plan.” So let’s start planning the S.M.A.R.T. way.

SPECIFIC

Create a specific goal statement. A goal stated in general terms will seem difficult or even impossible to accomplish so make sure that you make your goal statement specific. Your goal statement should answer the following questions:

Who is involved?
What do I want to accomplish?
Where will this happen/be implemented? – This may not always apply especially for personal goals.
When should this happen/be implemented?
Which things are needed? – These are the requirements and the current limitations.
Why should I achieve this? – Your reason for the purpose and/or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

As an example, a general goal would be “I want to get physically fit.” A more specific goal would be “I want to lose 15lbs by November 15 by working out at home 3-4 times a week so I can look and feel better as well as gain more confidence in social gatherings.”

Another example is if your general goal is to get out of debt, a specific goal is “I will pay an extra P2,000 a month to my credit card bill for 12 months.”

MEASURABLE

Create the specific steps that you will do to achieve your goals but make sure they are measurable so you know that you are making progress. This also means that if you see that you are not making progress doing a particular step, then you can change that specific part of the plan.

Your measurable steps should answer questions such as how much, how many and how will I know when it is accomplished.

Include specific amounts, measurements and dates so you can better track and monitor your progress each step of the way.

For example, a measurable step for the physical fitness goal would be to “exercise 30 minutes a day, 3-4 times a week”, “eat 6 small meals through out the day”, as well as “to lose approximately 2lbs per week.”

ATTAINABLE

Set attainable goals. Weight the efforts you need to make to achieve the goal. Do you have the time to make the effort? Are you willing to make that much effort in the amount of time you have defined? Make sure that the goal you set for yourself is acceptable to you personally otherwise you will only lose confidence in trying to accomplish it.

However, do make your goals challenging and avoid goals that are too easy. Set a goal that you can attain but will allow you to move forward in you plan.

As an example, maybe you would really like to go to the gym for a workout but there’s not one near your home and you need to travel early to get to work on time; you also can’t afford the extra gym fee. A more attainable option is to start your plan by buying some affordable gym equipment such as dumb bells and just work out at home instead.

REALISTIC

Make sure that the goals you set are realistic otherwise you may give up in the middle of the process. If you have financial or physical issues for example, take that into consideration as you make your goals. Try to focus on baby steps and give yourself an adequate amount of time to accomplish each step in your plan.

For example you are earning ten thousand pesos a month (P10,000). A goal to save nine thousand pesos (P9,000) a month is not realistic. In loosing weight, loosing 2lbs a week is an attainable goal compared to losing 5lbs a week. A realistic goal is more more motivating than setting the bar too high and not be able to achieve it at all.

Do your research first to make sure that what you are setting for yourself is realistically and humanly possible and break it into smaller goals if necessary. You can also ask yourself if you have achieved something similar to your goal in the past. If you have, then that is a good way to tell that your goal is realistic.

Set a realistic target but make sure it’s also challenging to you and not too easy.

TIMELY / TANGIBLE

Your goals should be timely. You should give yourself an adequate time frame to complete each step of the plan and achieve your goals. As in the goal statement example above, you should set yourself a deadline for when you should have achieved the goal.

Your goals should also be tangible, meaning you can measure the actual progress made or the exact difference from the “before” situation compared to the “after.” In short, you can experience everything with your senses to measure the progress you are making and should be making.

A timely goals allows you to know when you can give up on a step if it fails to produce results and when to begin the next step in the plan. It also allows you to know when you can celebrate a completed milestone in your plan.

So, what are you waiting for? Get a piece of pen and paper. Look at your vision board and start writing down SMART goals on how you can slowly attain the life depicted in your vision board. Do bear in mind though that it is not going to be easy. There will be a lot of challenges ahead but there is a way to how to make your journey a lot easier.

First published in Pinoy Smart Living on 03.22.2019
Original Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash