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| Motivation Information |
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Self-Improvement-Inspiration: How to Exit Your Own Rat Race
We can all get in a rut from time to time. Who hasn't had a moment in their lives where you've asked yourself the question: "Why am I doing this?" Whether it's who you've become, the business you are in, your career, relationships, where you live or all of the above - sometimes you realise you are just not where you want to be and you are not sure how you got there! It sure feels like your own version of a rat race though. If where you want to be in your life is not where you are, then maybe it's time for you to drop out of your very own rat race. We are conditioned into believing that we must continue to strive, to take more on, and to do more, in order to be "successful". But this is a limited and ultimately self-defeating definition. If we can only be more successful by what and how much we do, then we have created our own treadmills to run on. 1. Redefine Success Redefining success for yourself can be the first step in taking a fresh perspective. Try this exercise by completing the following sentence. " I know I am successful when." You man not complete the sentence with anything to do with work or material goods. Here are some examples. I know I am successful when? ?I laugh every day with my children ?I bounce out of bed enthusiastically every morning ?all of my relationships give me great joy ?I inspire others to make positive changes By redefining what we believe makes us successful, we begin to strive for different things in our lives. This can be instrumental in slowing down the treadmill enough for us to take stock of where we are. 2. Springclean your mind If you feel as though you don't have time for anything - especially thinking about ways to do things differently - it's time for a time-out. When we are busy and occupied all the time, we are usually reacting to things going on around us, rather than acting out of choice. So make an active choice to take a rest, a vacation, talk it out with someone you trust, blow off steam, do whatever it takes to get some perspective about your situation. Just this simple step will make you feel more in control, and can help to streamline the energy you'll need for the changes ahead. The idea is not to just get out of your rat race but to go towards a more fulfilling way of living 3. Get real The reality is that you can't change anyone else's behaviour but your own. So it's a good time to stop wishing that people would act differently so that you could feel better. Also, it's time to make alternative plans just in case you don't win the lottery or get a salary increase. This sounds harsh, but people who wait for things to happen to them are usually waiting a long time. Don't wait for chance or fate to step in. Figure out what it will cost (in time, energy, money, etc.) to make the changes you know you need to make. Then figure out what it will cost not to. 4. Pack light There's something very cathartic about taking time to clean things out getting rid of the old to make way for the new. You could start with a room in your house, your email address list, or old beliefs that aren't adding value to you any more. In every situation there is a good lesson to take with you - something of value to keep. Even if it's only, 'Well that's a place I know I never want to be again'. There is always something worth keeping. Any situation, and your perception of it, is part of who you are. Identify specifically what it is you want to keep and what you'll leave behind. Be brutal. You may even miss some of the things you choose to leave behind that's all part of the process. What you will find is renewed energy for new things that you want to include in your life a great start to exiting your rat race and beginning on a new journey. 5. Create a map When was the last time you thought about where you wanted to be in 5 or 10 years time? We get so caught up in "doing" things - for the business, for work, for others things we think we should be doing, that we take no time to consider what we really want. Forget the race. Think journey. Take the time to think about yourself, and where you would like to be. Nobody else's map will do here ?it's time to do some hard thinking for yourself. What are the core values that you would like to base your life around? What do you love to do or to be? What gives you a sense of purpose? What do you stand for? What could you not be dissuaded from believing in, no matter what? If you had one life to live this time round what would you do with it? These are tough questions and their answers are part of the journey. Don't freak or feel guilty if you don't know the answers straight away. For the impatient and perfectionist people reading, this is not a test there is no pass or fail. So don't treat it like one. The more you know about yourself, the more you will be able to start drawing your own map. 6. Head for the Life! (Not the Lifestyle) Do you know what the difference is between having a life and maintaining a lifestyle? A lifestyle is something we are told we need by society, advertisers, and parents. Life's luxuries, although nice to have, can be expensive financially and in the energy spent getting them. Perhaps the energy spent maintaining a lifestyle might be better used turning your life into an expression of who you are. A lifestyle buys comfort. A life buys satisfaction and contentment. The best bed in the world only makes for a comfortable sleepless night if you lack contentment. If your lifestyle impedes you being who you are then dump it. 7. Go for your ideal If it turns out that you drop out of your rat race and into your perfect life, would you even know it? Create a vision of where it would be, who you are with, what you are doing. Design it around your passions, beliefs, values and loves. Remember, just like spending your money, if you don't know what you want from your life there's plenty of people around who will be only too glad to tell you. 8. Look out for the rough bits Choosing to live your life in your own way is tougher than staying in your rat race. People you know may be understanding or incredulous, and won't hesitate to give you their opinion. Temptations will abound to take a few laps round the old racecourse when the going gets tough. Our old comfort zones are traps waiting to lure us back into our old ways. By being aware of this and planning for how you'll cope you will get through. Anything different can be scary. But it can also be fun too! 9. Enjoy the trip! You've recognised where you don't want to be any longer and identified where you do. Now live where you are. Learn from the past and move on. Plan for the future but live in the present. You can't do anything about yesterday, so stop worrying about it. If you spend every minute think about tomorrow then you'll never enjoy today. And that's where all the action is! 10. Go for it No more excuses. Nothing more to say. Just do it. Sometimes the only way to "win" a race - where there can be no winner - is to just stop running. Megan Tough - published writer, coach, facilitator and speaker - works with people to create outstandingly satisfying and truly successful professional lives. Make more money - have more fun! To learn more and to sign up for more FREE tips and articles like these, visit http://www.megantough.com
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Business Management Raising The Bar One of the most popular events in the Olympics is the pole vault event. We all watch with amazement and anticipation as the competitor runs full speed down the track with a long pole in his hands. Then the jumper hangs on for dear life as he lowers the pole downwards into a hole that propels him high up in the air, high enough to clear the bar just in front of him. The jumper then has a soft landing on his back ready to jump even higher the next time. What Does Your Future Hold? Do You Have A Plan? Or Are You Just Waiting To See What Happens? We often find ourselves in a situation in which we either accept the change that someone else imposes upon us or in which we ourselves effect the change we would like to see happen. We sometimes stammer and hesitate and procrastinate with regard to decision making. Not making a decision is a decision in itself. Being Determined - What Good Will That Do? 'Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.' -- Josh Billings Journaling - A Tool for Healing and Growth The word "journal" comes from the French. It dates back to the 14th century and means daily. As recently as April 26, 1999, "Newsweek" magazine ran an article entitled "Pen, Paper, & Power. Confessional Writing can be Good for You." Achieving Your Dreams While most people spend most of their lives struggling to earn a living, a much smaller number seem to have everything going their way. Instead of just earning a living, the smaller group is busily working at building and enjoying a fortune. Everything just seems to work out for them. And here sits the much larger group, wondering how life can be so unfair, so complicated and unjust. What's the major difference between the little group with so much and the larger group with so little? Be Action-Oriented Are you a melancholic online business owner by nature? I have something to tell you. Motivation By Comparison Motivation by comparison is a dynamic form of motivation which can totally transform our attitude of mind. It is used much too rarely. It is so powerful it could and perhaps should be used every day as a part of a morning ritual of preparation for the day ahead. Knowledge Or Action It's been said that knowledge is power. While that's true to an extent, it isn't the whole truth. Knowledge without action is almost useless. It doesn't help to be a genius if you never do anything with the knowledge. I tend to think of knowledge as ammunition and action as a gun. (It's a typical guy thought, I know but it works for me.) Think about it. If you have bullets and no gun, they're pretty much useless. If you have a gun and no bullets, the best you can do is throw (action) the gun at the target. Not as useless as the bullets (knowledge) since action without knowledge is more productive than knowledge without action The Magic of Success is Actually a Law Set in Motion. Finding it is Quite Simple Building Energy Around your Investment! The Toughest Decision of All: Get Out or Get Going! Many of us are influenced by the sports ethic: Never give up! When a basketball team is down by 20 with 30 seconds on the clock, the players never stop working. Spectators might be filing out, and the winning team might be deep into the bench, but the game goes on. Top 4 Reasons Women Ride The ?Emotional Roller-Coaster? 1. Women have learned and are in the habit of being driven by the approval of others. Most women allow the expectations of others to define them and therefore making the approval of others is responsible for their happiness. This pattern gives others' the power to make and take your happiness at any time. Approval seeking steals your happiness and doesn't allow you to ever get to know yourself, your wants, your desires, or your needs. A total disconnect. Thus an up and down roller-coaster of emotions. Not a pleasant way to live. 7 Tips to Keep up Your New Year Resolutions There are many people who enthusiastically make their New Year Resolutions with a fond hope that they will stick to them and thus make changes in their life for the better. Free Will To The Rescue Today's society and your private world are the results of free will. We have arrived here today through intention, ignorance or abuse. Some people understand and use free will daily. Some people completely deny it. And other people simply mock it and complain it "doesn't work." Your Biggest Do it Yourself Project When I meet people and tell them what I do, I often hear, "Oh, you are a motivational speaker," with some amount of assuredness in their voice. While I realize there are many speakers that people lump into this category (some who are my friends and mentors), I strongly disagree with that label. Resolution Revolution: 3 Tips For Creating Real Change in the New Year 'Tis the season once again for parties, champagne, noisemakers...and of course, New Year's resolutions. Every year, millions of people go through the same ritual of making optimistic resolutions for the coming year - many of which are destined to be swept up into the dustbin with the remains of the confetti and party favors. Heres How Tiger, Oprah, And Spielberg Stay Motivated I want to share with you a powerful principle that I've used to change my life and that you can use to unleash your greatness. Live On Fire Words seem inadequate to describe the beauty and abundance that surrounds us during the month of October in New England. It's as if Mother Nature has taken her paintbrush and with broad strokes has set the landscape ablaze in color. Tips for Mastering Visualization Techniques Visualization is creating a mental picture of something. Visualization is important because it makes the future become more clear. Seeing yourself already achieving your goal makes your brain believe that attaining that goal is possible. Focusing consistently on any given goal will enable you to manifest it far sooner than if you did not focus on it at all. Focus brings the goal closer to you. Time Management - Finding Some Personal Time Personal time or relax time is often why people want to learn how they can squeeze an hour or so out of their busy day. Often though, personal time becomes television time. You may think that if you only have an hour left before going to bed, there's not enough time to start something so you might as well just watch T.V. Motivating Yourself To Take Action Daily Daily action towards a goal is the fastest way to achieve your goal. As you take daily action you see the results of that action fairly quickly if not immediately. Visible results which are clear and undeniable are huge motivators.
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