Archive for Positive
I Believe You Have An Attitude
Posted by: | CommentsI am writing this today to remind you successful people that the human race is the only species that comes into this world in a natural state of discontent with that world. Look around – the other creatures you see about you are guided by instinct alone. We however have been given a God-like power to shape our life and thus our destiny. Moreover, this is just what we do each day of our lives, as we put into play actions & ideas that will determine the state and significance of our tomorrows.
For some, these ideas lead to extraordinary achievement. But for most, it leads to a middle ground where they mull around taking their life’s cues from those around them – not questioning why or how – nor considering the consequences of their actions be they good or bad. For still others, their actions & ides lead to recurring disappointment and problems. This leaves these folks to spend their days at the bottom of the socioeconomic PYRAMID.
You see the ignorant would have you believe achievement or failure is a matter of luck, or circumstances, or fate, or the breaks, or any of the old tiresome wife’s tales. Let that be the excuse for the ignorant I say. Success is simple matter of following a commonsense standard of rules or guidelines that anyone can follow.
I think we would all agree that we all want good results from our lives. Be it in our home life, our career or in our friendships – and the most important single factor to that success – the one factor that will guarantee good results day and day out is our attitude! And, I believe you have an attitude.
Attitude is defined as “a position or bearing as indicating action, feeling or mood.” I can think of no truer definition of attitude for it is your actions, feelings, and moods, which determine the actions, feelings, and moods of those around you
The world is a stage is what many say. Perhaps that is true – but I feel more strongly that the world is a mirror – often a cruel mirror that reflects back to us the actions, feels, and moods that we carry around. Our attitude tells the world what we expect of it. If our attitude is cheerful and hopeful, then, it conveys to all that we expect the best in our dealings with our world. If it is a skeptical, pessimistic one then we will convey that as well. Moreover, we will receive that in return because of two reasons:
- Each of us tend to live up to the attitude you carry around
- Others give us, as far as their attitudes are concerned, what we expect.
The good news is we can control our attitude. We can put in place the attitude of our choice each morning. Actually, we do so whether we are aware of it or not. Unfortunately, most do not look at their attitudes in this way. Thus, they start their day off in neutral, poised and ready to react to the first stimuli that they encounter. If the first stimulus is positive then their attitude follows suit. If it is negative then they mimic that instead. They are attitudinal chameleons. We as successful people have to prevent ourselves from becoming an attitudinal chameleon.
Here are three ways you can attain, and maintain, a healthy attitude (and avoid becoming an attitudinal chameleon):
- Physiology
- Focus
- The Platinum Rule
- PHYSIOLOGY - Try a little exercise with me. Stand up and breathe deeply inhaling and exhaling fully. Then look up at the ceiling and smile, smile like an idiot or a child on Christmas morning. Now while still breathing deeply, looking up and smiling – get mad – go on get angry! You cannot do it. If you maintain the body posture I described you will be unable to get angry. How you carry your body affects your attitude – have a seat. Now am I saying walk around with your head held high, breathing deeply and grinning like an idiot? Sure why not it is far more attractive then a frown backed by slumped shoulders! But, seriously, walking around with your head low, your face long with a frown, and your breathing shallow will negatively affect your attitude. That is how physiology influences your attitude; use it to your advantage.
- FOCUS - During the course of your day your attitude can and will be impacted by the questions you ask yourself. If you ask the questions like “Why do I get the projects nobody wants?” Then your attitude will go downhill – quickly. If however you ask empowering questions, “How can I complete this project and enjoy the process?” Then your focus is changed and your attitude will be healthier for it. To avoid becoming an attitudinal chameleon what you need to do is develop some morning questions for yourself. A set of questions that will focus your mind on things YOU want to focus on. Some examples could be
- “What can I do today to build/strengthen my career?”
- “What am I proud of in my life?”
- “What am I confidant I can do?”
- “What can I do for my spouse/child/significant other to let them
know I care?Develop your own set of morning questions and answer them each morning. This will do wonders for your attitude as well as raise your awareness to things around you that will lend themselves to aid you in completing your goals.
- THE PLATNIUM RULE - We all know the golden rule and are well served to apply it. However, a person that wants to maintain his healthy attitude at its peak and become a moniker of success will apply the platinum rule. The platinum rule states “Do unto others as THEY want done unto them.”You see how you want to be treated is not specifically how everyone wants to be treated is it? If you go out with the servant’s attitude that your going to treat others in the manner THEY wish to be treated, then this will be reflected back to you – tenfold!
Remember – successful people come in all shapes and sizes, creeds, colors and backgrounds. However even in this diverse pool, they all have one thing in common – they expect more good out of life than bad. This positive expectation is reflected in their healthy attitude. So, in all the things you want, in all the goals you have set yourself upon, let your attitude reflect the fact that there are far more reasons why can have them, then not. Know there are far more reasons why you can reach your goals, then there are reasons to cause you to fail in the attempt.
Use your physiology, maintain your focus, and apply the platinum rule to attain and maintain your healthy attitude (and avoid becoming an attitudinal chameleon).
I believe you have an attitude!! However, is it the one you want?
Think Successfully & Take Action.
Tracy Brinkmann
One of Today’s Top Motivated Coaches & Author of Success Atlas Programs
Unconditional Acceptance of…YOU
Posted by: | CommentsStarting well before the years you can mentally recall your parents, siblings, friends and family were impacting your self-acceptance. As you grow older the primary driver of self-acceptance shifts to how positively you feel you, your style and your beliefs are accepted, by not only your parents, siblings, friends and family, but your boss, co-workers and other important people in your life as well.
Your own level of self-acceptance is determined largely by how well you feel you are accepted by the important people in your life. It is affected even more so by those attitudes you BELIEVE these important people have towards you. If you believe these key people in your life harbor poor or negative attitudes towards you then your self-esteem and self-acceptance is impacted negatively. If, however, your beliefs are that these key people in your life think highly of you and have a positive attitude towards you and your part in their life, then your self esteem and self acceptance is on the rise empowered by this belief.
This simple fact brings to light a simple truth; the cornerstone to building a solid healthy personality hinges on understanding yourself and your feelings. For you to genuinely stop being haunted by those ‘skeletons in your closet’ or those ghosts of the past, you must be able to unveil them to at least one person. This exercise of self- disclosure can enable you to get those ghosts, skeletons and nagging thoughts off your chest and out of your head – free that space between your ears to be focused on more productive and certainly far more enjoyable tasks. Now realize that you must only share these personal thoughts, experiences and feels with someone you trust implicitly. Some that will not make you feel uncomfortable, ashamed or guilty.
The next step in this acceptance exercise can only happen once you have taken the previously mentioned first step of self-disclosure. Zig Ziglar says “I have found in 100% of the cases, no exceptions, that people who will not take step number one… never take step number two.” So do not think you can skip the hard stuff to get to the easy steps and gain all the insight to a better life, love or business. Only when you share what your truly thinking and feeling to trusted person can you even hope to become aware of those thoughts, the emotions they carry and the impact they are having on your life. The other person doesn’t even have to offer up any comment to afford you the opportunity to begin to see the person you are and even more importantly, why you do some of the things you do.
Now comes the third and final step is self-acceptance. After you have shared you thoughts and feelings you begin to gain a new perspective on those things that have happened and how you reacted, and how your still reacting to them or because of them. With this new perspective you can arrive at self-acceptance. You can really look at what makes you tick, and accept you for the individual that you are. Individually unique with you own set of highs and low, fortes and failings, things you like and things you do not like or want to change. All of this makes you who you are today. When you are able to detach yourself from accusing everyone else in the world for who you are. Then you can admit to yourself (and others) that you are not perfect!! That is right, you are NOT perfect!! I am not perfect – the person who raised you is not perfect. Your boss, husband, wife, son, daughter, sister and that cashier at the grocery store all are not perfect. But those of us who can openly admit this fact, and realize we can take steps to improve our imperfections – will begin to enjoy a higher level of self-esteem and self-acceptance.
Still another powerful tool to pushing your levels of self-esteem and self-acceptance high is to sit down and review you accomplishments – big and small. Park yourself at your desk or kitchen table, with a blank pad of paper and go back as far as you can in your memory. Write down each and every accomplished you can recall. Do not set a level for the accomplishment – if you did it – write it down. Write down, “I graduated high school.” If you do not think that is an accomplishment – look at scores of kids and adults who have not attained it. Write down, “I learned how to sew.” Even the simple tasks take on a new meaning at some time. Ask the bachelor that does not know how to sew – when tears his best suit right before that important interview. Write each and every accomplishment that comes to mind. Do not stop writing until you cannot think of another thing.
Now that you have all your accomplishments, do the same thing with your unique talents, skills, and abilities. Write down all those things that you are good at, do exceptionally well or do only fairly well but love doing. Leave nothing off this list either. Write it all down. This list will usually encompass the core of your success (past, present or future) in your profession, as well as your personal life. Because if you are doing something you enjoy doing, and getting paid for it, then you will do it far better than someone who is just doing it for the paycheck.
Now review your list, adding anything new that comes to mind. Keep your list handy. Review it at least once a week for the next month. Keep your mind alive with your accomplishments and the things that you excel at, as well as the things you do well and love doing. This will do wonders for guiding your thoughts towards the future. As you think towards the future and the possibilities it holds. Realize that your potential is practically boundless. You can do what you want to do, go where you want to go. You can be who you want to be – to steal the words of Zig Ziglar once again. You can set those goals, both miniature and monstrous, to reach your dreams. You can device the plans around those goals. The plans that tap your skills, abilities and past accomplishments. The plans to move you methodically towards the realization of your dreams and the person you wish to become. The plans to over come the largest obstacle you will ever face – yourself.
Your Successs At Last Checklist
___ Sit down with trusted confidant and share with them, honestly, on and topic that has been on your mind. Perhaps even start out with something small and work you way into those larger concerns.
___ At you share with your confidant, develop your new perspective. Even detach yourself and look at the matter as if it were happening to someone else. What guidance would you give?
___ Build your list of accomplishment, unique talents, skills, and abilities
___ Keep your list handy and review it at least once a week for the next month. Feel the pride of those accomplishments. Jog your memory to the fact that you have in fact done well, can and will do so again and again and again.
“You will be amazed at the things you will accomplish the moment you BELIEVE you can accomplish them. For once you believe in yourself you have the first secret of success.”
Think Successfull & Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann
One o Today’s TOP Motivated Coaches & Author of Success Atlas Programs
Motivation is the Spark
Posted by: | Comments“Motivation is the spark that lights the fire of knowledge and fuels the engine of accomplishment. It maximizes and maintains momentum” – Zig Ziglar
Well I can think of no better way to fire up this post than with that very quote. It speaks so well to the truism of motivation being the enabler of our success. As you go through that article, and any other article the causes you a moments pause about your direction, ask yourself this question: Do you merely drift along the current of life like a leaf on a stream? Pushed along the ebb and flow without choice or reason. Or do you take change of your direction? Know this, the answer to this question has a major impact on your life, (both personal and professional) because life is filled with ups and downs. The trip along life’s road is loaded with pit-fills, quick stops, blind turns and incomplete paths. Then, on occasion after our trails, we are blessed with a period where there are smooth paved avenues, lined with beautiful trees and no obstacles. However, this to shall pass and the next barrier, obstacle and challenge will offer itself up.
Motivation is a critical ingredient to our resilience and ability to get back up when we have been knocked down (or out). When you are down the right attitude and motivation can and will be the difference between responding positively or reacting negatively. This difference has many impacts personal, professional and financial.
Let me give you simple example. Some years ago I moved to the suburbs of the great city of Atlanta. This growing metropolis has the same challenges around traffic that I’m sure most of you face if you have to journey into a major metropolitan area during peak traffic periods. Even though I am about the most upbeat and positive guy that you will meet (short of Zig of course). I have to admit that occasionally I have uttered discouraging comments about the traffic. Whacked the steering wheel of my car and barked out orders to the driver in front of me. All of which was a pure waste of time. Because after all of my banter, the traffic was still there, and so was I. However, now my emotions were running on the negative side so any little thing just irritated them all the more.
Now my typical commute can be about an hour each way. That’s two hours a day, five days a week, bringing us to about 500 hours a year with vacations etc. If I were to make this barking, whacking banter a daily routine, I would certainly be flirting with potential accidents as I challenged drivers around me in my irritated state. Let’s not forget the physical effects that these negative emotions bring about (headaches, high blood pressure etc.)
No for me the obvious thing to do is take advantage of this time to in a more positive manner. I have a full library of audio education and motivation on MP3and CD. As soon as I get in the car to start my commute I drop in my CD or put on my iPod and I’m off down the road to work, and up the road to success. I have reviewed the works of Zig Ziglar, Anthony Robbins, Brain Tracy, Napoleon Hill, and Dale Carnegie. I have taken 1 00s of hours in personal/professional development courses in subjects like e-commerce, goal setting, creativity, growing IQ the list goes on and on. This automobile university has served me well in numerous ways. Paying off in the motivation that has sparked ideas I have turned into actions in the real world.
FACT – the audios I listened to during these drive times never once said, “Tracy here is the solution to your problem.” Some of my audios gave me information others gave me some positive thoughts to ponder. A person, who wants to maximize their life, will schedule regular motivational input and regular educational input. This input will be about their job, about who they are or who they want to be, or even about something entirely new and unrelated to anything they do currently. These injections of new concepts, ideas, confidence-building thoughts, and opinions will energize you, building your momentum and your motivation, thus bringing you up emotionally! You learn more when you are up; you perform better when you are up and people will react to you more positively when you are up. So right now is the time to take out some motivational insurance. Take out your scheduler and schedule yourself regular intervals of motivational and educational input. Do this now – it will pay off in big rewards!
Lets take a look at the dictionary for the definition of motivation (motivate, motive)
Mo-ti-vate:
to provide with, or affect as, a motive; incite.
Mo-tive:
1 – an inner drive, impulse, etc. that causes one to act; incentive.
2 – of or causing motion
Combining your regular infusion of motivational material with your educational materials will provide the drive and impulse (motivational material) to set into motion the new concepts, ideas, confidence-building thoughts, and opinions (educational material) that will energize you. This will further build momentum and motivation, bringing you up higher! Are you seeing the pattern here?
You can not stand in front of the stove of life and say “Stove give me some heat and I’ll put some wood in you!” You will have to put some work into it first by stoking the fire that will warm your motivational soul.
Let me share with you 10 things you can do when you can’t seem to get motivated.
- Get some rest. One of the major de-motivators in today’s society is lack of rest. Go to bed an hour early so you catch up on your rest. Or you could take a nap instead. A good night’s sleep is essential to your level of effectiveness and motivation.
- Get some exercise. Take a walk, a jog, workout or whatever level of physical exercise you can partake in. Exercise gets your endorphins flowing and this will do wonders for how you feel. Not to mention you’ll be doing your body some good to. (be sure not to hurt yourself) – every day should start with your Hour of Power (more on that in another post).
- Tap the sap. Figure out what is sapping your energy and get rid of it.
- Pamper yourself. Take some time for you. This could be a mini-vacation (a few hours to a day or two) Get away from everything and enjoy yourself. Clear your head and come back refreshed.
- Review your goals. Review and remember why you are doing what you’re doing. If you decide now is not the time for a goal, them dump the goal. Remember you can always renew that goal again when the time is right.
- Play with it. Get out a calendar and leave yourself some cute notes or pictures (sticker work great here) about your goals and activities. Send yourself letters in the mail to keep you up and charged. Here is a way you can use those free things on the net. Places like Yahoo.com have free calendars that will send you notes and reminders. Make them fun!
- Use trusted advisers as a cheering section. You can have them send you notes (see #6 above). You want them to motivate you but don’t let them white wash the facts. Constructive criticism is key tool here. That way you are motivated to grow or keep growing.
- Find your song. We all have a song or songs that move us. Make yourself a Mp3 or CD full of these motivational songs. High-energy songs are best whether they are Bach or Backstreet Boys as long as they move YOU
- Listen to your motivational audios/CDs. Your car does not have to be the only place you go to get motivated.
- Hire some help. I hired a maid for my wife. I have a martial arts trainer and a personal success coach too. These coaches and trainers can help you accomplish those things you can’t handle alone.
Motivation enables you to effectively use not only recently acquired knowledge, but also it will ignite, incite and enable you put in motion, things that you thought were long ago forgotten. Science has shown us that inspirational information conveyed in an enthusiastic manner activates the pituitary gland, which releases neurotransmitters that enhances our energy, creativity, and endurance. Keep your motivation up with your regularly scheduled motivational injections (articles like this one are a good start). Keep your pool of knowledge growing so you have more wood to stoke that fire with.
“Your motivation will positively fuel your attitude. Your positive attitude builds the confidence necessary to be persistent. And of course we already know persistence pays off.” – Tracy Brinkmann
Think Successfully & Take Action!
Tracy Brinkman
One of Today’s Top Motivatated Coaches
Developing Passion
Posted by: | CommentsPassion for anything you want to have, be or do occurs at the very moment you get a peek at the potential for the goal. Whether your goal is self-improvement, a project, a mission or any other worthy objective.
My mission with these blog is to give you a peek at your own potential. A fleeting look at what you are able to have, to do and to become. Once I have accomplished that goal, there will be born within you a spark of passion. When you fan that spark it will grow into a burning desire that no one can stop. Those with a burning desire have persistence and they reach their goals, every time.
How do you develop passion? Well I was recently asked that question so I sat and thought about it for a while and came up the following:
1. Know what you truly want and develop a plan to get it.
During the course of my life a number of pivotal events have developed passion deep with me. The birth of my first daughter, the death of my second daughter, the birth of my third daughter, hearing the applause of an appreciative audience for the first time, the list goes on and on. While each of these events sparked a life changing passion, most of the time my passion comes from a careful review of my dreams, desires and goals. What do I want out of life? Where do I want to be in 1, 2 or 5 years? A careful review of your goals (long and short-term), and the development of a detailed plan (a Success Atlas)to attain them will do wonders do develop the passion you need.
You check out these previous posts for more Goal Setting tips:
10 Ways to Stay Focused on Your Goals
5 Tips to Map Out Clear Goals
Value of Goals – Goals of Value
3 Tips for Goal Setting
Ways to Climb Your Mountain
2. Daily action toward your goals.
Once you have completed step one, (remember in 100% of the cases I have found that anyone that will not take step one… will never get to step two) and developed the plans to reach your goals. Take DAILY steps towards their attainment. As you take these daily steps, your goal will become increasingly closer, increasingly more real, more vivid and more enticing. This will fuel your excitement, enthusiasm and your commitment to follow through on your goals until they are attained. A bonus gift here is, with each step you complete, each little success you achieve, your self-confidence and self-esteem will increase. It is a like a river feeding itself. Complete a step, feel better, gain confidence and passion, become more committed to your goal then take the next step towards the goal. Then you complete another step, feel better, gain confidence and passion, become more committed to your goal then take the next step towards it. Are you seeing the pattern here?
3. Direct your passion.
The next time you are passing a construction site take a moment to notice the immense power of the vehicles at work there, dump trucks, tractors, and cranes to name a few. Each weighing tons and able to move far more than their weight across a road, up hundreds of feet into the air or down the freeway at considerable speeds. The next time you see one of these powerful vehicles roaring down the highway, take a quick look at the driver behind the wheel. All 180-220 pounds of him (or her) are controlling all that power. What would happen if you were to remove that driver from the steering wheel? The power would be rendered useless or worse yet would roll on without regard to its surroundings wreaking havoc until it came to a crashing halt.
We need to be at the helm of our passion, making effective use of the power our passion holds, much like the driver of those massive vehicles. Effectively steering your passion synergizes all of your great qualities into a finely tuned ‘machine’. Each of these qualities working in harmony with the other. Creating an overall ‘power’ within you that is greater than each of your qualities individually. So bring your passion to focus on your goal.
History is filled with stories of average everyday men and women who have accomplished great things with little more than a passion in their hearts and a goal in their head. Apply your passion to goal, job, profession, family or to yourself and you will see the difference between just getting by and real success.
Then once you have that passion here are some post to help you keep it through all the trials and tribulations that world will throw at you:
Three More Ways to Stay Positive
Four Ways to Stay Highly Motivated
Think Successfully & Take Action.
Tracy Brinkmann
One of Today’s Top Motivated Coaches & Author of Success Atlas Programs
FREE Video reveals how I went from the
Streets of LA to running my own company!
View the Free Video and Learn More!
Today Is
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the learning’s in life that I would like to share with you today is a lesson that is probably as old as the peaks of Mt. Everest and for many just as hard ascend. It is a lesson of living in the NOW and learning of what today is. You see, many of us look backward too much, while others look forward too much – thus missing the joy of living in the moment that today is, allowing it to pass us by. Two very special people in my life come to mind, one of which lives in a angry past and the other lives in this dark future he has forged. Both fall prey the disease of missing what today is, and as a result are unable (or unwilling) to get the joy that is all around them this very minute. Do you know somehow like this? Do you know someone like this intimately perhaps?
It would seem, these days that fear of LIFE is a quiet pandemic killing many without their knowledge. Those inflicted by this poisonous phantom loose their happiness to the fears of yesterday and/or woes of tomorrow. For example, those who are afraid of growing old – forget the intelligent design of Mother Nature. More often then not, as one part of a person’s bodily vigor wanes, it gives way to the ability of their mind and spirit to be grown exponentially. By living in the now, they can not only see that shift but are able to tap it quickly. So rather then fret over your past or woe over your yet unrealized future, suppose you consider what today is, what it can be, what it offers you in opportunity.
You should get a note card and write on it ‘TODAY IS the best day of the year!” Now, hang this card in a place you will see it everyday. You see today is the day you can set that new goal, begin to wean yourself off that bad habit, meet that special person, or just do a good deed for yourself or someone else. If you treat today as if it were the best day of the year – then today is going to back at you with a smile. Today only looks uncaring to the thoughtless and the malicious, so do not put yourself in their company. Realize that today is a day you can get something accomplished – not matter how small!
We should all wake up, run our entire day and go back to bed knowing that today is the same kind of day that occurred when the greatest events in history took place. Whether today is rainy, sunny, snowy, hot or cold – some great even took place in history on a day just like this one. Today is a single tile in the mosaic of your life. That tile can either enhance the beauty of or detract from the finished piece – but it is your choice. Will you choice an active colorful and attractive tile for the day or a dingy, dull, gray, uninteresting and unchallenged tile?
What if today’s tile was going to be your last tile? What tile would you choose then? I would imagine (and hope) it would be a colorful one. So, perhaps that should be the tile you choose for each and every one of your todays.
Do not fall prey to the pandemic of hating your past or fearing your tomorrows. But rather put you energy and your thoughts into what today is. For all of use there is a time to be born and a time to die – it is what we do with the todays between those two points that makes all the different.
Your Success At Last Action Steps:
- Take a few minutes to Review and consider your past
- Write down those things you regret
- What would you do different
- What did you learn from the experience
- Write down those things that you are proud of
- Write down those things you regret
- Write down how you would like your future to look
- Give it detail.
- Be able to see it, feel it, even smell it
- Use your notes from your past to avoid pitfalls of the future
- Give it detail.
- Create a Plan (Success Atlas) to get you from here to there
- Break it down into bite size step
- With your goals you can live in the NOW and choose colorful tiles everyday.
- Break it down into bite size step
- REMEMBER: TODAY IS, the best day of the year!
Think Successfully & Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann
One of Today’s Top Motivated Coaches & Author of Success Atlas Programs
http://YourSuccessAtLast.com
http://YourSuccessAtLast.com
FREE Video reveals how I went from the
Streets of LA to running my own company!
View the Free Video and Learn More!
Five Ways to Break a Bad Habit
Posted by: | CommentsOkay, let’s start of with a round of pure honesty with each other as well as with ourselves. We all have a bad habit (or two or three) that we would love to be free of. It might be biting our nails, overeating, procrastination, smoking or any other one from the long list of nasty, success sucking habits – many of which are much easier to eliminate than imagine.
Now for the good news! With some shifts in your perception, perseverance, and determination you CAN be free of that nasty little habit (or those nasty little habits if you are like I was.) In order to make it easier for you to shake that habit free from your life I want to give you a few tips on dump it like the morning trash.
Here are five strategies that can help you break a bad habit:
- Commitment. Is this something that YOU truly want to accomplish? Make sure it is! After all, it is nice to “talk the talk,” but in the end you will need to by “walking the walk” as well – or you will feel worse about yourself AND you will still have the habit. So, Be honest with yourself! Is not honestly the right time to kick your bad habit? If it is, are you trying to flush this bad habit for YOUR own reasons, or are you falling to the pressure of someone in your circle of influence?
- Only take on this commitment for one person – YOU! Don’t let yourself be pressured by others. It is your time and energy not theirs that will be expended on make this goal a reality, so invest your time and energy in the way YOU believe will give you the greatest end result.
- Journaling. A life worth living is a life worth recording. Every time you find yourself engaging in your targeted bad habit…Jot down it down. I do not want you to look on this as a way to punish yourself, but rather, as a way to give you an insight of just how often your undesired behavior is occurring. This insight will better arm you in devising ways to break this bad habit.
- Be sure to include the thoughts and feelings that you experienced just before and/or during the behavior (bad habit). Again, this will give you insight on whether you are engaging in this habit out of stress, boredom, being tired, etc. It may seem a bit time consuming to record all these thoughts and actions, but I can attest that it will be a wonderful tool in speeding up your success in breaking your bad habit.
- Fill the void – Choose an alternative behavior. Getting rid of a bad habit creates a ‘vacuum’ – the universe does not like vacuums (except in space). So you will need to pick some other activity or behavior that will serve as either a short term reminder of or, a long term replacement to, your bad habit, thus filling that vacuum.
- For example, after serving six years in the military I came out with bad cussing habit. When my daughter started learning to talk, I decided I did not want her to pick up my adult language so I to choose to drop the consonant ridden four-letter words from my vocabulary. In their place I choose to put the word ‘bloody’as a long term replacement. Thus, allowing my passionate nature to express itself but in a more acceptable manner.
- Some other ideas are to take a walk, read a book, sing a song, or cook. Any activity can be used as an alternative behavior. But remember, you do not want to replace one bad habit with another one, but anything that can redirect your focus works well.
- Start scheduling the replacement NOW! Now that you have selected your alternative behavior, immediately start inserting it in place of your bad habit. But in some cases a gradual shift may work better for you than a complete and immediate change.
- Perhaps in your habit’s case it would be better to start with once this week, then twice next week, and so on, until you are practicing your alternative behavior instead of the bad habit consistantly.
- Remember, you did not learn your habit overnight, do not expect to change it overnight. Please practice patience! People learn different behaviors at a different pace. Just because your best friend was able to quit smoking in one week, does not guarantee that you can. Nor does their need to take three months to loose two pounds mean you need six month to loose four.
- Share this GIVE UP goal! Zig Ziglar taught me that when it comes to your goals, you share your Go Up Goals carefully with trusted people. But your Give Up Goals – those you share with everyone. Do not keep this a secret. If you have made the decision to break a habit, tell your friends, your family and your co-workers. This is the time when you need their support to help you be successful.
- Whether you succeed or not, choosing to try and break a habit is taking a major leap in a positive direction. That is why it is important to share what you are trying to accomplish with those that can help remind you. The people in your life that care, even a little bit, will be there to encourage you, offer support, and help you wherever they can.
Again, lets be honest, breaking a bad habit can be a difficult task, but it is not an impossible one. Use these techniques to make your journey easier, then celebrate your accomplishment when you’ve succeeded – because you did it and you deserve it!
Think Successfully & Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann
One of Today’s Top Motivated Coaches & Author of Success Atlas Programs.
http://YourSuccessAtLast.com
FREE Video reveals how I went from the
Streets of LA to running my own company!
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Beliefs Abandon or Action
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Five Tips On Influence
Posted by: | CommentsOver the course of your life you have, and you will need to continue to influence people around you. You will want to influence some to see your point of view, some to execute tasks or work for you and others to buy from you. Now, no one wants to be tricked into any of this nor do they want to be taken advantage of. So how can you sincerely influence those around you – without risk of doing just that? Let me give you four tips on ethically influencing others.
- Platinum Rule – Do Unto Others
The golden rule says “Do unto other as you would have done unto you.” I would urge you to take that up a notch to the Platinum Rule: “Do unto others as THEY would like to have done unto them.” One of the most effective ways to influence someone is to do something nice for him or her. That is why you will find many successful salespeople taking their prospects to a meal. During this meal the truly successful ones will not mention their products or services – but rather they will make small talk, pose questions and just listen to their prospect and their needs, wants, desires and passions. This is a way of building trust and establishing a friendly relationship. Find a way to do something nice for someone – because you want to – not because you want something out of it. This will do wonders to build your influence with them.
- See The Person First
Some of the most influential people of today see the person first. Before seeing them as prospects and customers they look upon them as friends and even partners. These influential people look for ways to share helpful information and improve the lives of their partners. They do so in ways not directly related to their products or services. If they know one of their friends and partners has a passion for baseball and they come across an interesting article or trinket related to baseball – they send it to their partner. This is just a small example but you get the point. See the person first, know what interests them and keep an eye out for how you can positivity impact their life with this knowledge. By sowing these seeds you can, like other influential people, reap the harvest because these sown seeds trigger a desire within the partner to reciprocate.
- Please and Thank You
Remember growing up and your parents taught you to say “Please” and “Thank You”? Well these words of kindness still apply as you interact with those you wish to influence. You should continually be on the look out for ways to say and down positive things for others. This ranges from things like polite positive comments on their attire and appearance, to sending Thank You & birthday cards. Something a little more elusive but VERY impactful on your influence on others – is to “Do what you say.” Be a man or woman of your word. Keep your promises and keep your confidences. Further building the relationship of trust – sowing more seeds for you to reap.
- Be a Go Giver
Take a moment and think about all the statues you have ever seen. What were they built for? Where they built for people that spent their lives worrying about what they can get from the world. I would argue that they were built to honor those that spent a majority of their time giving to the world. To be like these impactful figures of our past – be a go giver – continue to look for ways to do nice things for others. When you meet someone ask – “Is there anything I can do for you?” then honestly listen for way to put give rather then get.
- Sincerity and Empathy
All in all the more you are honestly open and empathetic to the needs of those you around you the more open to your positive influence they will be. Building your character and personality with sincere empathy and sensitivity will enable you to accomplish far more far faster then you could ever dream.
All of this may seem a little bit sideways or even backwards but trust me when I say “The best way to GET what you want is to GIVE unto others.” This heartfelt positive giving will move you toward the great success that you desire and deserve. I think Zig Ziglar put it best when he said “You can have EVERYTHING you what, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
Your Success At Last Exercises
To help you move towards Your Success At Last – here are two actions you can take NOW on these tips and ideas.
- Do Something Nice TODAY. Actively look for way(s) to do nice things for others. Whether your friends, family, prospects or customers – the more niceties you do for others the more positive you feel about yourself.
- Truly listen to someone TODAY. Take the time to really listen to those around you today. This includes your fellow associates, staff and even that nice person that served you your coffee this morning. The more, and the better you listen, the more and the better your influence will be.
Think Successfully & Take Action
Tracy Brinkmann
One of Today’s TOP Motivated Coaches
FREE Video reveals how I went from the
Streets of LA to running my own company!
View the Free Video and Learn More!
Tips On Influence
Posted by: | CommentsFREE Video reveals how I went from the
Streets of LA to running my own company!
View the Free Video and Learn More!