Sure, this is supposed to be a “health & fitness” blog, but there is more to life than just looking good in a bathing suit and having others admire your physique ;).
Today we are going to focus on personal development and growth. I want to change your LIFE, not just your body.
Today I seek to inspire YOU.
Life as we know it, is full of challenges, obstacles, and roadblocks, and instead of throwing down our battle flag in the sand and fighting on, most of us just freak out, get stressed out, and lose control.
If you only remember ONE THING from this post today remember this: there’s no such thing as stress; there are only people thinking stressful thoughts.
You get what you think about, whether you want it or not.
So if you think stressful thoughts, you will be a stressed out freak.
When you change the way you process the world and your thoughts, the thoughts you’re processing will also change.
We all want to be able to provide for our families, to perform well, to achieve, but at what cost? Stress kills. Today we are going to take back control and kick stress to the curb.
But how?
Let’s tap into your inner zen. In order to retain control and manage stress, you need to be more self-aware. Know thyself. Are you really the person you think you are? How are you perceived? Do you know? Personal development and self-awareness are critical components to helping you battle stress and adversity.
Here’s the thing, most of the successful people you see these days usually aren’t any more gifted, talented, or smarter than you are. These people are often very highly emotionally intelligent and self aware. In fact, some studies have suggested that emotional intelligence competencies, including self-awareness, were twice as important in contributing to excellence as cognitive intelligence (IQ) and expertise.
We cannot improve ourselves or develop new capabilities unless and until we know what level of capability we currently possess. Knowing yourself, being self-aware, having self-insight, and self-understanding will help you tremendously and also help improve your relationships with others, your stress levels, and your personal growth.
You will also be more able to deal with the many adversities of life without wanting to go run and jump off a cliff.
Sure, life can be challenging at times, but often, the key to success is staring you right in the face. All you have to do is recognize it, and open the door. Life is only as complicated as you make it.
Here are 8 basic keys to success that have helped me in my life, and I wanted to share them with you today because I hope they will help you as well. Enjoy.
1. SET YOUR SAIL
The winds of circumstance bow upon all of us. We all have experienced the winds of disappointment, despair and heartbreak, but why do people arrive at such different places at the end of the journey? Have we not all sailed upon the same sea?
The major difference isn’t circumstance; it’s the set of the sail, or the way we think. In spite of our best efforts, we have moments when things just seem to fall apart. The rich and the poor have the same challenges that can lead to financial ruin and personal despair. It isn’t what happens to us that determines the quality of our lives, its what we do after we’ve set our sails and the wind decides to change direction. When the winds change, we must change.
We have to struggle to our feet and reset the sail in a manner that will steer us in the direction of our own deliberate choice. The set of the sail, how we think and how we respond, has a far greater capacity to destroy our lives than any challenges we face. How quickly we respond to adversity is far more important than adversity itself. The great challenge of life is to control the process of our own thinking.
2. LEARN FROM SUCCESS AND FAILURE
The best way to establish a new and powerful philosophy is to objectively review the conclusions you’ve drawn about life. Any conclusion you’ve drawn that isn’t working for you could be working against you. The best way to counteract misinformation and wrong data is to input new and accurate information. Gather information from personal experience.
If you are doing something wrong evaluate what you did wrong and change things. Choose a role model you admire and respect and study them. Its far better to deliberately choose the people we will permit to influence us than to allow bad influences to affect us without our conscience choice.
3. READ ALL YOU CAN
People from all walks of life who’ve had some of the most incredible experiences have taken the time to write of these experiences so we can be instructed and amend our philosophies. There are two books you need to read to build your philosophy: Think and grow rich by Napoleon Hill and The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason. These are two of my favorite books and I highly recommend you read them.
The contributions of other people enable us to reset our sails based upon their experiences. Books offer treasures of information that can change lives, fortunes, relationships, health and careers for the better.
4. OBSERVE AND LISTEN
Pay attention during your day, watch whats going on and become a good listener. Fine a voice of value and stay for a while. Surround yourself with people you respect and admire. Find people whose personalities and achievements stimulate fascinate and inspire you, and then strive to assimilate their best qualities. This is called the skill of selecting. Don’t waste your time on the silly and the shallow.
One of the major reasons people don’t do well is because they keep trying to get through the day while a more worthy cause is to get from the day. We must become sensitive enough to observe and ponder what is happening around us. Be alert. Be awake. Be aware.
Often the most extraordinary opportunities are hidden among seemingly insignificant events. Be a good listener. With so many voices vying for your attention, you need to develop the skill of selective listening and only dial into the radio station that appeals to you. If a voice is not leading to the achievement of your goals, exercise caution in how long you listen.
5. BE DISCIPLINED
Every day is filled with dozens of personal crossroads, moments when we are called upon to make a decision regarding minor as well as major questions. These decisions chart a path to a future destination. With careful mental preparation, we can make wise choices. The development of a sound philosophy prepares us for making sound decisions.
When we eat healthy foods, we experience positive results in a short time. When we start exercising, we feel a new vitality almost immediately. When we begin reading, we experience a growing awareness and a new level of self-confidence. New disciplines practiced daily will produce exciting results. The magic of new disciplines causes us to amend our thinking.
6. DON’T NEGLECT
Neglect is the major reason people don’t have what they want. If you don’t take care of things in your life, neglect becomes a disease. If you neglect to do good things with your money, you probably neglect to do good things with your time. If you don’t know whats going on with your health or your bank account you could be at risk.
Set up new disciplines to change your life. Don’t neglect. Everything is within our reach if we will read books, use journals, practice the disciplines and wage a new and vigorous battle against neglect. Build your philosophy. Commit yourself to a new journey and say, “I’m going to change my life.” Once you do, you’ll never look back.
7. KNOW YOURSELF – Question Yourself Toward Success
* What makes life worthwhile?
* What makes life work well?
* What is your economic plan?
* How do you feel about yourself?
* What should you get done in a day from now? a week?
* How much money have you saved?
* How many books have you read?
* How many classes have you taken?
* Who are the people around you?
* Where do you want to go?
* What do you want to see?
* What income do you want?
* Where do you want to live?
* What are they doing to you? Is that OK?
8. CHALLENGE YOURSELF – Ten Steps to Victory
1. If you will change, everything will change around you.
2. Spend time and money on things that count.
3. Don’t spend too much time on things that don’t count.
4. Instead of getting through the day, get from the day.
5. Take charge of your own life.
6. Repetition is the labor of skill.
7. Put yourself through an activity plan.
8. Clean up your neglect.
9. Spend more money on the inside of your head than the outside.
10. Remember that time is more valuable than money and if you find something of value, try it.