intellectual

Jul

2022

Your Mindset Affects the Direction of Your Life

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Your mindset affects the direction of your life. It determines your future. Your mental attitude and disposition will lead the way to either your success or failure in life.

Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset

A growth mindset is an underlying belief that you are in control of your destiny. Thus, the power to change things is in your hands. On the contrary, a fixed mindset just accepts what is given. It focuses on what you do not have.

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? The hare was so sure that he would win that he slept during the race. The tortoise on the other hand, believed that if he worked hard, there is a chance that he could win the race. Despite the odds against him, he was not afraid of failure and tried his best to win the race. Do you remember who won in the end? Was it the tortoise or the hare?

Youtube video by Pinkfong

The hare and tortoise exemplified the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset respectively. Their mindsets ultimately determine their success and failure.

Carol Dweck, a psychologist and researcher at Stanford University, stated that the two mindsets lead to different behaviour and thus different results. In reacting to setbacks for example, a growth mindset sees failure as a way to improve while a fixed mindset will be discourage and ultimately give up.

For example, as a student if you are not good in Math, a fixed mindset will just accept that Math skills are an inborn talent. It is either you are good at it or you are not. A growth mindset believes that the brain can be developed. Thus, even though you are not a Math person, you will try your best to develop your skills. As a result, persons with a growth mindset are more likely to maximise their potential.

A growth mindset is an integral part of a success of an individual.

Scarcity Mindset vs Abundance Mindset

Stephen Covey, in his best-selling book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, defined scarcity mindset as a belief that there is simply not enough for everyone. People with scarcity mindset “see life as having only so much, as though there were only one pie out there. And if someone were to get a big piece of the pie, it would mean less for everybody else.“

One indicator that you have a scarcity mindset is if you are sad or jealous if a co-worker gets a pay raise and you did not. It is like a feeling that somebody else got the raise and there is nothing left for you.

If you spend the whole of your pay cheque as soon as you receive it to buy stuffs you don’t even need or to spend it on partying, travelling or any kind of entertainment even though you don’t have enough money is another example of a scarcity mindset. Moreso, if you justify your spending, saying that “if I will not enjoy my life now when I am still young, I will never have a chance later on.” This kind of mindset focuses on short term decisions.

An abundance mindset on the other hand focuses on the long-term. It is a deeper understanding that not having something now does not necessarily mean that you won’t have it in the future. As Steven Covey said, “it is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. It results in sharing of prestige, of recognition, of profits, of decision making.

With an abundance mindset, instead of spending all your earnings now, you would rather invest first and spend later on.

Poverty Mindset vs Millionaire Mindset

A fixed mindset and scarcity mindset are both indicators of a poverty mindset. In the same way, a person who has a millionaire mindset has a growth and abundance mindset.

Your mindset is very important. Your future is dependent on what mindset you have right now. It is crucial in ordinary times, mores when you are faced with challenges. Having the proper mindset especially during a crisis will greatly influence the direction of your life.

What kind of mindset do you have right now? If you want to have a better life, your first step is to change your mindset.

First published in Pinoy Smart Living on 12.28.2018

Feauture Image by John Hain from Pixabay

Apr

2022

What is Your Current Level of Wellness?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

One of the many frustrations many people have in their lives concern their physical health. We are obsessed with trying to achieve the perfect bodies similar to the models we see in magazines. But we are frustrated because most of us cannot afford the lifestyle required to achieve and maintain such a body. Similar to our goals of financial success, a perfect-looking body has also become a status symbol. However, the state of our bodies as well as our wallets and/or bank accounts do not provide a total picture or measure of our wellness. What is more important is your current level of wellness.

There are several dimensions of wellness and being able to pay attention to all of them should be our goal. Being able to achieve complete and holistic wellness is a major factor in your success.

The stress of the daily grind affects us mentally, physically, socially, psychologically and even economically. Before we fix anything, let us first try to get a clear picture of our current level of wellness so we can plan the best approach to improve ourselves.

Answer the questions for each of the dimensions to assess your overall wellness. It would be helpful if you make a pie chart or a graph of your results so you can compare your development and improvements in the future.

Are You Well?

A Balanced Life

After answering these questions, you should now have a better perspective of your current state of wellness. Take note of the items where you had a negative answer and think about how you can improve them in the following days.

This quiz is in no way, a comprehensive list of the things that you need to do or can do to balance out each dimension of wellness in your life. However, it can serve as a general guide on what areas of each dimension you should try to develop to achieve overall wellness.

The only way to achieve wellness in all dimensions is to live a balanced life. This can be a difficult process but it is not impossible. As long as you take the necessary preparation, planning, remain committed and consistent to your goals, then you can achieve a balanced life that allows you to enjoy holistic wellness.

Updated. First published on 2020.03.16.
Original Photo by Kristopher Allison on Unsplash.

Mar

2022

Are You Intellectually Well?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

We all know the importance of physical wellness especially now more than ever in the new normal. This is good, after all physical wellness is the foundation of all wellness. However, sad to say we often neglect our intellectual wellness when actually the two dimensions should go hand-in-hand. Intellectual wellness has something to do with our mind and our thought processes. We are forgetting that our mind is a part of our body. The mind-body connection states that the body reacts to what goes on in our mind. It is so powerful that it affects not just our body, but our life in general. So, are you intellectually well?

What Is Intellectual Wellness

Intellectual wellness is continuing education in general knowledge, specialized skills, creativity and common sense. It is also about being open to new ideas. It is studying and engaging in challenging mental and creative activities. Many people think that it is all about academic knowledge when actually it more than that. True, academic knowledge is a big part of intellectual wellness but it is not limited to just that. Intellectual wellness involves creativity and common sense as well.

Why Intellectual Wellness is Important

Intellectual wellness is important because it involves the mind; thus, it is closely related to our mental health. When you increase your knowledge about life and your abilities in general; you are equipping yourself to be more resilient to life’s challenges. Your extra knowledge and skills will make reaching your dreams a little easier. You will have the courage to navigate life in all its losses, failures and disappointments.

When you learn something new, especially things that you love or enjoy doing, you are living your life to the fullest. You will be able to bond with individuals who share the same interests; thus increasing your social well ness. You will have a creative outlet to channel your frustrations. And more importantly, you will be having fun.

Intellectual wellness does not necessarily mean that you have to pursue a masters and doctoral degree. It simply means being open to learning. You can learn by reading books. If reading is not your cup of tea, you can watch videos or listen to audiobooks. It can also be as simple as having a mentor and listening to that person’s advice. Simply put, it is about being open to new ideas. It is about lifelong learning.

Are You Intellectually Well?

Here are questions to ponder on to know if you are intellectually well:

Do you allot time to personal and professional development?
Do you enjoy brainstorming with others on group projects or tasks?
Is learning a new skill part of your goals?
Do you accept constructive feedback?
Are you interested in learning new things?
Do you maintain a reading habit?
Do you enjoy solving puzzles, playing games or other mentally stimulating activities?
Are you comfortable asking others for help especially on things that you are not familiar with or good at?
Do you learn from your negative experiences?
Do you travel and learn about new places and culture?

If you have answered yes to at least seven of the questions above, then congratulations! You are intellectually well. If not, you can still start today. Just stay curious and open to new ideas. Keep in mind that there is so much to learn out there.

The only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing.
– Socrates

Apr

2020

Smart Ways To Combat Boredom

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Having a daily routine is a good way to organize your activities. However, when you’ve grown tired of your daily routine, or when your activities are cancelled and you suddenly have nothing to do, boredom can strike. Taking a nap is one quick way to combat boredom but unless you truly need it, it isn’t the best way. You can play games of binge-watch TV shows but they are not that productive. We’re sure some ideas have already popped into your head but why not try some more uncommon ways to spend your free time? Try out these smart ways to combat boredom:

1. Redesign Your Life

Start redesigning your future life with a list. Sit down with some pen and paper and ask yourself these questions: “What do you want to become in the future? What areas of your life do you want to improve and how?” Write down a bucket list of all the things you want to improve in the different areas of your life.

2. Create a Vision Board

Once you have a bucket list of how you want your future life to be, get some old magazines, scissors, glue and cardboard. Sit down for a bit and write down a paragraph to summarize what your redesigned life is like. Take note of the important keywords and find the images that relate to those words in the magazines. Cut them out and arrange them accordingly on your cardboard. Your vision board should remind you of your future goals everyday so make sure to hang it where you will always see it.

3. Set Your Financial Goals

If you’ve been itching to tackle your financial situation, now is the time to do so. Focus on what your short term, medium term and long-term financial goals are and assess where you are now. From here, you can determine what you need to do to move towards your goals. Make sure that you are making S.M.A.R.T. goals so you can measure your progress.

4. Create Your Budget

So you might have your financial goals set but how about your daily, weekly, monthly spending? How do you allocate your money each time you get your paycheck? The answer to that is having a budget and while no one budget system is perfect for everyone, you can start with the Money Jar Budgeting System and tweak it according to your needs.

5. Plan Your Meals

A healthy body keeps you going so you can pursue your goals further. So what you eat is an important part of your success. If you’re going on a diet and even if you are not, planning your meals not only keeps you healthy but also keeps your budget on track. There are ways to get the most out of your meals while saving money on groceries. If you keep these in mind, your body and your wallet will surely thank you. Plus, you can ensure that you and your family get to enjoy all your favorite dishes too.

6. Organize Your Clothes

A messy closet can be a daily scene that seems normal when you are always in a rush to get out the door each morning. Now that you have the time, why not be productive and spend it organizing your wardrobe? You might find hidden gems that you can wear on your next party or items that you don’t want to keep but your friend would love to have. Make sure to check if you have the basic items and make a note of what you need to complete them. If you have a lot of items to let go of, then you can sell them for some extra cash.

7. Compose An Apology

Do you need to say sorry to a friend or family member but haven’t done so for whatever reason? Now is the time to compose your thoughts and learn to properly say you’re sorry. The important thing is to be sincere about it. It would be good to write down your thoughts first and practice saying your apology. When you think you’re ready, contact your friend or family member and ask them to listen to you as you state your apology. Hopefully, your sincerity should win them over and you can sleep with a lighter heart.

8. Hone A Skill

Got a hobby or childhood talent you’ve never had time to practice? Now that you’ve got the time, pick up that guitar, paint brush and canvas, or that manual and start training yourself again. Or you can learn a new skill. All the greats started where you are now and you may not be aiming to be a professional in that field but improving yourself in something you love to do can boost your confidence and help you perform better in other areas of your life.

9. Start a Gratitude Journal

Being grateful is life-changing so why not start being grateful right now? All you need is your favorite notebook and pen, or your mobile phone will also do. Review your day, week, month, and write down the things that you are thankful about. Don’t discriminate between the small things and the big things, they are all equally worthy of being grateful for. You can do this every day before you sleep so you can rest with good vibes around you.

10. Go On a Themed Staycation

This is especially fun to do with the whole family. Since you’re stuck at home, why not indulge in a themed staycation? It doesn’t cost much and it can be fun. It can be a game night, a musical where you are all actors and singers, movie night with kids movies, starting a garden, a home decluttering theme, or even making a game of finding things that you can get rid of in your home. While some things may sound like a chore, if a delicious home-cooked meal is a reward, it should bring a sense of fun into the activity.

These are just some of the things that you can do while you’re stuck at home, alone or with your family. What other things do you do to help ease boredom at home? We’d love to hear your suggestions.

Original Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash.

Apr

2020

How to Overcome Challenges

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Life is full of of adversities. It is all part of our journey in life. Challenges are crucial for growth and success. Without them, we will never have a chance to improve and become better persons. Conquering them is not easy but it is possible. What is important is the will to find ways on how to overcome challenges.

Adversity has the effect of drawing out strength and qualities of a man that would have laid dormant in its absence.
Herodotus

Unfortunately, not all people bounced back. There are those who got stucked in the past. These people tried to relive the pain of the past over and over again. They are not making progress in life. They are also unhappy. You don’t want to be like them.

At the other side of the fence are the champions. They are the ones who survived the adversities that came their way. The challenges that they have encountered in life became their stepping stones for success. They conquered and were able to rise above the storm. You want to belong in this group.

Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.
Roger Crawford

Yes, it is possible to overcome adversities. It is going to be hard. It will be painful and very difficult. You must be unshakeable. You need to persevere. Don’t be discouraged by defeat or failure. That’s the only way to survive and conquer adversities in life.

Here are some tips on how to successfully overcome adversities:

1. Take Responsibility for Your Life

Be responsible for your actions. You are where you are right now because of the decisions that you have made in the past. Acknowledge what happened. Take ownership of your past behaviours. Stop blaming others. Accept the fact that there are some things that are beyond your control. Instead, ask yourself what are the things that you can control and could have done differently. Learn the lesson and move on. The sooner you will take responsibility for your own life, the sooner you can get out of that predicament.

Don’t play the victim to circumstances you created.
Unknown

2. Focus on Your Goals

What do you want to accomplish in life? Many people have a hard time overcoming adversities because they don’t know what they want in life. It is difficult to focus when you don’t know what you want. It is like driving your car without a clear destination. So before anything else, you need to first start creating your life goals.

If you are focus on your goals, you won’t get distracted easily. You will only pay attention to things that will help you achieve your goals. No matter how hard, you will search for solutions to problems.

3. Have the Proper Mindset

Your mindset affects the direction of your life. Whether you become a success or failure in tackling life’s challenges relies heavily on your mindset.

Your mindset is your mental disposition. It includes your values, thoughts and beliefs. It determines how you response to events that happen to you. If you think you can overcome it, then you will. In the same way, that if you think the problem is too big for you to handle, then it is going to be too big for you to handle. That’s why it is very important to have the proper mindset in times of crisis.

Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.
Henry Ford

4. Practice Gratitude

You need to practice gratitude especially in tough times. Gratitude helps you feel good. It diverts your focus from the negative to the positive. You begin to look at what you have rather than what you don’t have. You will feel blessed. It will become helpful especially during times of anxiety and despair.

5. Surround Yourself with Positive People

Have you heard of the saying that “you are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with”? The people you surround yourself with has an enormous power to influence your life. They directly affect your mood, mindset, motivation and decisions.

For example, you have decided to improve your wellness. You made a promise to yourself to start eating healthy foods but every time you go out with your friends, they kept on eating fast food. Compare this in a scenario wherein all your friends eat organic and fresh produce. In which case do you think will you be achieve your goals?

The same is true if you surround yourself with positive people. Positive people will support you, encourage you and compliment you while negative people will criticize you and put you down.

6. Be One With Nature

Did you know that there is a new wellness model called Ecowellness? Ecowellness pertains to psychotherapeutic activities that involves nature. You can go to the beach or the mountains, take a walk in the park or do gardening in your backyard. In other words, it is using nature to heal and reduce stress. It is allowing yourself to experience calmness and in the process cultivate deep awareness of one’s self. Before you know it, you will that moment of clarity wherein you will know what to do with the challenges ahead.

Feature Image by Posted by A.L. Jonas in Emotional, 0 comments

Apr

2020

5 Ways to Handle Stress for Success

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Everyone has the goal of living a stress-free life but that is impossible and not very useful. We will experience no growth in life if we don’t encounter stress. If you don’t experience stress and conquer them, then you will never realize your full potential. You need to be able to master how to handle stress for success.

Instead of aiming for a stress-free life, we can aim for a life where we have more joyful moments and less stressful moments and whatever stress we may encounter is manageable. In the meantime, here are 5 ways to manage stress so it contributes to, instead of hindering your success.

1. Expect and Be Prepared for Change

Change is a constant in life so you should always anticipate it and prepare for it. For every situation you are in right now, think of what possible changes may happen in the future to change the situation for the better or for worse. Think forward and prepare for the possibilities. This way, you are prepared for change any time it arrives.

2. Look for the Opportunities

When we are stressed, we often feel restricted in our actions; put into a corner with limited our decisions. But there are always opportunities to help change things around. Instead of focusing on the limitations, try to identify the opportunities in the situation.

A work-related conflict might be an opportunity to push forward an idea you have long held or an opportunity for you to start a career in another place.

3. Look Back at Your Lessons

Review your life and see what lessons you have learned from the stressful situations you have encountered and handled before. Write down these lessons and review them regularly so you can instill in yourself these lessons you’ve learned.

You might even be able to identify negative habits and behaviors that contributed to putting you into such stressful situations. These insights will help you to change for the better so you don’t go thru the same kind of stress again.

4. Talk Positively to Yourself

Most people are worriers and when we worry we tend to look at the negative side of things. Change this pattern and look at the flip side of things. Change the “what ifs” to positive scenarios and focus on how that would feel. What would you say to yourself when this positive scenario becomes reality?

Imagine the good things in life more instead of focusing on the negatives. Pat your back and treat yourself when you achieve small victories. Remember that the thoughts you always indulge in will influence your reality.

5. Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude

Part of focusing on the positive things in your life is to learn to appreciate the blessings and opportunities you are able to enjoy. Schedule a time to recall the events of the day and list down the things that you are thankful for.

Identify the opportunities that came from stressful situations and appreciate that too. Write them down on your mobile device, a spreadsheet or on a notebook. Whatever way works for you is ok as long as you are consistent with this daily habit.

All these positive habits will help you manage stress better and move you forward to success much faster. The way you talk and think about yourself will also attract to you the kind of people and opportunities that will reinforce your thoughts and actions. So keep on practicing these positive habits to manage any stressful situation while still keeping a positive outlook.

Updated. First published in Pinoy Smart Living on 05.03.2019.
Original Photo by JESHOOTS.COM 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

Mar

2020

Proper Mindset in Times of Crisis

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Everyone has to go through a crisis in life. It can be the loss of a loved one, a financial issue, a health problem, a conflict with a colleague, a lack of motivation or a pandemic. Whatever it is, it is all part of life. It can lead to despair and anxiety but with the proper mindset and correct strategies in place, you can emerge out of it as a better version of yourself.

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Problems in life are actually opportunities in disguise.

Every adversity is an opportunity for you to change your life for the better. It allows you to figure out what you are capable of. Growth only happens if you successfully navigate through them and learn the lessons in the process. It is going to be tough but it is possible to go through it successfully. All you need is to have the correct mindset.

Your mindset is the way you look at things. You need to believe that you can overcome whatever it is that you are going through right now. Believe in yourself. Remember that your mindset affects the direction of your life.

Whether you think you can or can’t, you are right.
– Henry Ford

Here are things that you can do to develop the proper mindset in times of crisis:

1. Acceptance

There are some problems that you can quickly solve but there are others that will be beyond your control. You may feel helpless. You may also feel anguish and pain. That is ok. You just have to learn and accept. Accept things that you cannot change. No matter how much you stress yourself about the situation, you need to move on.

2. Practice Gratitude

The practice of gratitude can help you through tough times. In fact, it is essential. Gratitude will help you look for the silver lining in every situation. Instead of focusing on the negative, gratitude will help you identify and magnify the blessings. It will make you feel optimistic and hopeful because your focus will shift from the negative to the positive. Start your gratitude journal now.

3. Have a Positive Attitude

It is easy to have a positive attitude when things are doing well. It is very difficult to do so when things are tough. Rather, it is much easier to drown in despair and self-pity. No matter how hard, keep in mind that the only road to a better life is to have a positive attitude.

You cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can always control what you feel and do about what happens to you.
— Harold S. Kushner

Your mindset and attitude about life are both very important. Your mindset will affect the direction of your life whether it is happiness, good health, financial abundance or success that you are seeking.

Change Your Mindset from P overty Mindset to Abundance Mindset

4. Practice Mindfulness

Learn to quiet your mind. Meditate. Find calmness within yourself. The practice of mindfulness helps you deal with the negative emotions like fear, panic, sadness and pain. It is very effective in reducing stress and anxiety. It will also help you get in touch with your inner self. If you need assistance on how to practice meditation and mindfulness, sometimes it helps to seek the help of professionals who can teach you the practice of positive self-transformation.

5. Adopt and Act on The Situation

Instead of waiting for things to be better, do whatever you can to make it better now. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Your future begins today. Get rid of your stubbornness. Learn to adapt to the situation.

Just take for example the COVID-19 pandemic, Wherever you are in the world right now, you are affected. While a great number of people are not infected by the virus physically, the economic and even psychological impact has greatly affected millions of people around the world. You may be powerless to eliminate the problem but you can do something to lessen the impact in your life. You can keep yourself healthy by following the basic rule to combat diseases or do some simple things to improve your finances during a crisis.

If you can follow these things, one day you will be surprised that you have passed the crisis successfully. You have become a better person. You are now more mature to face future challenges.

Feature Image by Motivators world 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

Mar

2020

Tips to Stop Procrastinating

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Many of us have had the experience of not being able to start on a task or project, or not wanting to. We find many excuses to delay doing what we need to do. Writers call this the “writer’s block”, others call this phase being “uninspired” or “unmotivated” and those who don’t understand may just attribute it to laziness. Whatever the reasons, here are some tips to unblock you from this unproductive phase and stop procrastinating.

Try out some of these strategies to combat procrastination or laziness whenever it hits you.

1. Make a List and Prioritize

If you can’t start doing what you need to do for a project or deliverable, get pen and paper and list down what it is you’re supposed to do. Keep in mind to just write the bare minimal; be short and concise. Number what needs to be done first so you can focus on finishing that task first. You can fill out the details once you start working on the task; and that’s the next thing you’re supposed to do after completing your list.

Sometimes, we just need to unclutter our brains to be able to focus on what we should be doing. Writing down what you want to do and sorting out what really needs to be done first helps us refocus our attention and prevents our brain from getting distracted with unnecessary worries.

2. Try New Things

A tried and tested method, such as writing your To Do’s, might not work. During these times, you can try out new methods to hep you cope. For example, instead of writing down your list, maybe doodle them or get a colleague and tell them about your tasks through a story. Give yourself a time frame though so you don’t spend all your time on your new method.

Similar to writing things down, your goal is to get your brain to focus on what needs to be done and trying out a new method will also help get your creativity flowing.

3. Teach Others

Some people learn best when they have to teach others. Of course, you already know what you’re supposed to do but if you can’t focus, then ask a colleague or friend to help you out by acting as your pupil or apprentice and learning something in return.

Teach them how they are supposed to do things if they were the one who needed to do what you should be doing. They don’t need to do what you teach, they just need to listen. The purpose of this method is to help you reframe your perspective on why you should be doing what you’re not doing yet.

By teaching others, you are able to form new ideas to help you do the task at hand. It also jumpstarts your creativity as you need to find a way to convey the information in a way that will be easy to understand.

4. Make Work Into Play

Make a game out of your To Do’s. Every time you accomplish a task, think of the rewards or benefits. Maybe getting off work on time and getting home early enough to watch a movie online. Or getting off from work early enough to get dinner at your favourite food joint.

You can also, reward yourself with small things like a piece of your favourite chocolate for each task completed, or promise yourself a more decadent slice of chocolate cake at your favourite cafe for completing everything on your To Do list.

We all know rewards are a great motivator but be sure to not ruin your budget just to curb your procrastination.

5. Do Something Else

There are tough times when procrastination hits us so hard that we can’t seem to do anything about it. During those times, don’t force yourself and do something else instead. Follow the tenet “Love what you do or leave.”

Get up and make yourself a cup of coffee or go out and order yourself that coffee. Do some stretching exercises while seated on your chair; walk around the block or start working on something else that you’ve put off for a while like a side project or something a colleague asked you for help with.

Walking away from a situation, or in this case a state of mind, helps you reframe the situation and see it with clearer eyes when you get back to it. It may also inspire some new ideas on how to tackle your To Do list more efficiently and effectively.

Remember, there are no short cuts to success. The key is to do the work consistently. But you should give yourself a break when your brain or mood is not cooperating. These tips should help you get back on track.

However, if you find yourself procrastinating more often than usual on a particular project or task, then you may need to examine why you always “feel not up to doing it” and end up procrastinating instead.

Always remember, your future begins today so stop procrastinating. Start acting now.

Updated Version. First published in Pinoy Smart Living on 01.25.2019
Original Photo by Pedro da Silva on Unsplash