11 Rules To Break To Set Yourself Free

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Never Give Up

Never Give Up

by | Nov 7, 2017 | 0 comments

Never Give Up

f I could say one thing to the young people of today, it would be this: Never give up. Keep trying and pushing and struggling, even if you don’t know what your goal is or why you would want to achieve it.

As you march down the street not giving up, hold your head high and swing your elbows. People will recognize you as someone who won’t give up, and they will get out of your way. Some of them will even hide.

Some will try to discourage you. They’ll say that what you’re doing is “illegal,” or a “sin,” or a violation of the health code. They may cling to your legs, causing you to drag them along, or jump onto your back, pleading, “In the name of God, please stop what you’re doing!”

Keep going. Rest assured, they’re jealous.

“We’re not jealous, honestly,” they may say. “Just please stop!” Maybe you’ve struck a nerve.

“No, you haven’t struck a nerve,” they’ll say. “What you’re doing is just awful, and we’d like you to stop!”

Let that be your inspiration. Shake off the naysayers and trudge on, through the mud and the filth and the slime, knowing that you have a higher purpose. Remember, nobody liked van Gogh’s work, and if nobody likes yours it’s probably a sign that you’re a genius.

Look to the horizon. See that little dot? No, not that one—the one that’s even farther out. You can barely see it. Now don’t stop until you reach it. Take out your machete and hack a new path through the jungle, even if there is an old path just a few feet away. Fend off the monkeys of “good manners” and the sloths of “patience.”

We are born with the instinct not to give up. As babies, we cry and scream until we get what we want. But somewhere along the line we lose that ability. People talk us out of our crazy ideas—people who live in the so-called real world, where things “make sense.” They’ve never attempted the impossible. But you have, many, many times.

Keep pushing ahead—not in a way that seems pushy but in a way that says you won’t stop. Some people say you shouldn’t bang your head against a wall. Tell that to the woodpecker.

Read the Full Article: Never Give Up

What Are You Waiting For?

What Are You Waiting For?

by | Oct 31, 2017 | 0 comments

What Are You Waiting For?

We all talk about how great it will be when…

We all do it.

We talk about how great it will be when spring comes. We talk about how much we are looking forward to the holidays. We talk about what out life will be like when we finally meet “The One” (and yes, it always has to have the capital letters because they will be that AWESOME). We talk about how much better (a) we will feel (b) we will look (c) how much easier it will be when we lose that last 5 pounds (or 10).

When it comes to our kids we talk about how great it will be when they sleep through the night, start walking, start talking, or are toilet trained. We look forward to them starting kindergarten and how great it will be when they start writing their name or reading a book on their own. We can’t wait for them to learn to swim, have a sleepover or walk to the store on their own. We look forward to them learning to drive (well, maybe look forward to it is the wrong term but we are excited at the thought of not having to drive them everywhere any more).

When we were growing up we couldn’t wait to be a teenager and then as a teenager we couldn’t wait to be twenty. Thirty seemed less thrilling and after that any birthday with a zero at the end became a bit daunting.

Now, don’t get me wrong, having things to look forward to and be excited about is great, but at the same time we are missing being fully present in this moment, right now. At the same time we also put off doing the things that we love because we figure that we have plenty of time.

“I’ll go swimming when I’ve lost the weight.”
“I will start exercising next week.”
“I will start writing my book when I have more time/when I retire/in the holidays.”
“I will eat healthier when summer comes.”
“We will go to Paris when the kids leave home/graduate/when we retire.”

But here’s the thing: We are missing out.

Read the Full Article: What Are You Waiting For?

8 Ways to Find Inspiration When You Need It Most

8 Ways to Find Inspiration When You Need It Most

by | Oct 23, 2017 | 0 comments

8 Ways to Find Inspiration When You Need It Most

Whether you’re feeling weather-related blahs or just have a sense that your life could use some perking up, there are times when we can all use some inspiration. Sometimes you just can’t get yourself motivated, and you don’t have a clue about how to get started. Even though your to-do list is quite full, it’s not enough to wake you from your listless state.

Psychologists who study inspiration face a similarly daunting task. As stated by Texas A&M University Commerce’s Daniel Chadborn and Stephen Reysen (2016), “The psychology of inspiration has, over the course of its study, been fraught with issues concerning its definition and focus.” However, they believe that a clearer picture is emerging from the various strands of research and theory that have emerged over the years. Their study of inspiration provides a few ways to boost your creativity.

The authors started with the premise that “inspiration acts as a motivational concept, in which inspiration is evoked (generated) from a source and a person then finds some means to transmit an idea and is driven to produce some creative outcome as a result.” Inspiration involves a passive and an active aspect: It is passive in the sense that you see someone else who leads you to want to improve yourself, and active in that it leads you, in turn, to want to create something of value. When you’ve got a case of the blahs, seeing someone you admire being successful may just help you fire up your own creative juices.

Chadborn and Reysen were particularly interested in the notion of inspiration from a social identity perspective, or how seeing yourself as similar to someone else can inspire you to reach for greater heights. However, in addition to seeing yourself as similar, you also need to see the other person as having greater status or some other quality that you wish you had. If you’re a cook trying to get motivated to prepare your next meal, you’ll be more inspired by a cable show featuring a top chef than the hash-slinger who lives next door.

To test their hypothesis that identification would trigger inspiration, the Texas A&M researchers conducted a series of studies on college student samples (primarily white females) to complete questionnaires assessing their degree of identification with their own group (Americans), as well as identification with an “outgroup” consisting of either artists or accountants. With no outgroup specified (i.e. Americans), the extent to which participants identified as American was associated with greater inspiration. With an outgroup stereotyped to be more creative, though (i.e. artists), the ingroup made less of a difference than did identification with the higher-status outgroup.

Thus, you don’t always have to dig deep into your own soul to get inspired. You can turn to those you see as similar to yourself or, even better, those you see as personifying the inspirational goals you would like to achieve.

Let’s take a look at how you can incorporate the findings of the Chadborn and Reysen study into your own ability to motivate yourself:

Read the Full Article: 8 Ways to Find Inspiration When You Need It Most

6 Tips to Create a Balanced Life

6 Tips to Create a Balanced Life

by | Oct 10, 2017 | 0 comments

6 Tips to Create a Balanced Life

Life is a balancing act. Here’s how to get yours and all its priorities aligned.

Imagine a tightrope walker in a circus. He is on a rope suspended a few feet above the straw covered floor. His purpose is to walk the rope from one end to other. He holds a long bar in his hands to help him maintain his balance. But he must do more than simply walk. On his shoulders he balances a chair. And in that chair sits a young woman who is balancing a rod on her forehead, and on top of that rod is a plate.

If at any time one of the items should start to drift off balance, he must stop until he can get all of them in perfect alignment again—for the tightrope artist doesn’t begin until all the elements above him are aligned. Only then does he move forward, carefully, slowly, across the rope.

Life is very much a balancing act, and we are always just a step away from a fall. We are constantly trying to move forward with our purpose, to achieve our goals, all the while trying to keep in balance the various elements of our lives.

If any aspect of our life draws a disproportionate amount of energy, we have to shortchange the other aspects. That throws us off—and we are unable to move forward on life’s tightrope until a balance can be reestablished. We have to deal with any areas that are taking too much energy and put them in perspective, align them, so that we have energy available for all areas.

It’s important to understand that others cannot do this for us. No one can think, breathe, feel, see, experience, love or die for us. It’s up to us to balance all the different aspects of our lives. We just have to decide to do it.

How? What’s the first step? To stop and assess how we’re doing. To look at all the various aspects of our lives that we are constantly juggling, constantly trying to keep in balance—marriage and family, money, health, social circles, spiritual development, mental growth.

Are we able to devote ample energy to all areas? Or are we tipped to one side, unbalanced in one direction? Here’s how to balance it all out:

1. Assess your life as it is now.

Looking at ourselves as we really are is the first step in restructuring our lives. Do you feel physically exhausted, mentally stagnant or find yourself without close relationships? Would you call yourself a workaholic? Do you feel a lack of spiritual alignment? If you answer yes to any of these questions, your life is probably out of balance.

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How to Ask for What You Want – And Get It

How to Ask for What You Want – And Get It

by | Aug 29, 2017 | 0 comments

How to Ask for What You Want – And Get It

It isn’t always easy to express our desires. We worry that others will see us as pushy or demanding, or that we’ll be turned down. But asking for what you want is a necessary part of life, and I’ve found that the more you practice it, the easier it becomes. Here are the five things I want you to remember:

Ask with commitment. 
The first ask is for yourself: Question whether this is really what you want. Only when you’re certain of your true desires will you have the courage to pursue them.

Ask with awareness. 
Every request comes with a price — there is no free lunch. For instance, asking for a raise may mean a tense conversation with your boss — and if you’re successful, nine times out of ten the raise will come with additional responsibilities. That’s the cost: You have to be willing to do what’s required. We cannot enjoy the benefit if we can’t accept the price.

Ask without fear. 
Fear is an obstacle that blocks your capacity to receive. I’m not just talking about the fear of making your voice heard. I’m also talking about the fear of getting what you want and realizing it’s not all you’d hoped it would be, the fear of the responsibility that will come with it, the fear of losing it, and the fear of what will happen if you don’t get it. These are all common, and they can get in the way of going after the things you yearn for most.

Read the Full Article: How to Ask For What You Want – And Get It