Wise Words to Ponder on Today ...

Is There an Elephant in the Room? How to Make Progress on Your Goals Inevitable

I wake every morning at 6 am. Not because I'm a such a morning person, but because I know I will feel better if I do my morning routine before my son wakes up. Have you also noticed that what's important to us gets short shrift while we attend to whatever presents itself in the moment?

Every morning when my alarm goes off I want nothing more than to sleep more. The bed is so warm and cozy and my dreams are so sweet. I used to keep my alarm clock by my bed where it was easy to slap the snooze button.

Now it's across the room and I have to get out of bed to turn it off. Once I'm out of bed I'm almost always able to remind myself why I put the clock away from my bed, why I want to get up early, and why I want to take the two steps out the door to start my day rather than the two steps back to bed.

Why do I need to create a morning routine that helps me remember what's important to me? Psychologists tell us that we've got two systems in our brains-the rational system and the emotional system-and, unfortunately, they often disagree about what will make us happy.

The rational system thinks that happiness would be losing 30 pounds and taking stress off of the knee joints so we could walk without pain. But the emotional system thinks that happiness is dependent on devouring the bread basket, the cheese plate and the dessert tray. Guess which system usually wins? Hands down it's the emotional.

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt used a great analogy to explain this in his book The Happiness Hypothesis. He says that the emotional system is like an elephant, and on its back is a human rider that represents the rational system. The rider thinks he's the one in charge, but an average elephant weighs 6 tons, so who do you think is going to win in a fight?

If you want your rational system to win out, you've got to avoid a direct tug-of-war with the elephant. Your rider (what we think of as will power) thinks he's got it in the bag. But if you want to lose weight, don't assume that your self-control will keep you from inhaling that bowl of chocolate-covered popcorn (just to use an example from my evening).

Whatever you do, don't believe that if you only had more willpower, you would win. That would be like believing that two humans would win against the elephant. And please don't make your apparent lack of willpower an opportunity to be hard on yourself, or think that others have it easier.

If others do have it easier it's probably because they developed systems for managing the elephant, for working with the elephant, for respecting the power of the elephant.

It's impossible to stop an elephant on a dime (or stop him eating), but given enough time and foresight, he can be turned. And so, if you want to lose weight, you may want to keep bread or ice cream or Newman's O's (another personal favorite) out of your house. Or you may want to develop the habits that encourage exercise-like making time for a walk in your schedule, or making a date with an exercise buddy.

In my case, I wasn't "strong enough" to resist the siren call of sleep if my alarm clock could be turned off while I lay in my warm bed. So I established a system that made it necessary for me to get out of bed (and quickly, so the alarm wouldn't wake my child), which made it inevitable that I would stay out of bed.

Identify what's important to you and make sure you make them your priority first thing. What systems could you establish to make it inevitable for you to do the thing that you know would make you happier? Even if your elephant, in the moment of decision, disagrees?

Stacey is a purpose and success coach who helps you give birth to your BIG dreams. To find your purpose and passion, check out her FREE eBook,

The Purpose and Passion Guidebook. 

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Stacey_Curnow/379959

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If You Want To Know What It Takes To FIND and KEEP LOVE - WATCH THIS!

0:30 / 3:10 Robin Banks - Do you want Real Success?

6 Minutes to Start Your Day Right! - MORNING MOTIVATION | Motivational Video for Success

morning routines robin banks

Six Powerful Steps to High Levels of Motivation

It is a well established fact that success in life goes most frequently not to the most deserving, the best looking or even the most intelligent. Instead, it tends to go to the person with the greatest amount of drive or motivation. Motivation is that intangible something which makes you get up early in the morning, full of energy and ready to accomplish tasks and attack obstacles because you "want to." You have passion. You are driven.

But in today's complicated, competitive and often cut-throat world how does the success-oriented person maintain consistently high levels of motivation to get the job done and achieve the stated goal? How is it possible when there are so many negative and retarding forces arrayed against you sapping your energy and causing you mental fatigue?

Well, here are six powerful steps which will help you through and beyond the trials and tribulations.

#1 - You must be driven by an overwhelming desire to achieve a specific goal. Goals give purpose to life. Without them, you will find yourself meandering through life being controlled by events and the actions (or inactions) of others. You might get lucky and accomplish a little something. But that which you achieve will be the result of just that - luck - or put another way "mediocre, accidental success."

#2 - Each goal must be clear and specific. They should be written down. And you should be able to write them down in 15 words or less so clearly that a 10-year-old can understand them. Statements such as "I want to be happy" or "I want to be rich" are not goals; they are daydreams. Wake up! Goals must be rational, have a timeline for achieving them and be concrete such that you can actually measure whether or not the goal is being achieved.

#3 - Nourish your goals. Feed them with thought and effort. Smart thinking and specific actions are the nutrients which feed goals and enable them to grow into strong realities. You should have a "daily things to do list" which includes specific tasks aimed at bringing you closer to your specific, clear and concrete goals.

#4 - Adopt the following mantra: "I get the most out of life by endeavoring to get the most out of each day." This mantra is to be repeated in the morning shortly after getting out of bed; once in the evening shortly before going to bed and each and every time you feel yourself wavering or slacking off.

#5 - Consistently rest and relax. Nothing which has been said above implies that you must run through life frantic and at breakneck speed. In fact, your actions will be smooth, efficient and effective because you will be working according to a plan and because you know what you are doing. Since your goals are concrete and not daydreams or fantasies, you will be able to see and measure your progress. And next to a good sexual experience, nothing enables you to rest like being able to honestly say at night "This was a good day."

#6 - Meditate to the point of self-hypnosis. Daily meditation (or prayer for those of you who are more religious) need not take more than 15 minutes to one-half hour of your time. Go to a comfortable, quiet place, sit down, lean back, close your eyes and gradually relax your entire body. Then program positive, constructive thoughts into your mind. This can be a self-hypnotizing experience in which you render your mind relaxed, clear, sharp and happy. Try it. It can truly be a powerful and freeing experience.

P.S. - If you can get another person or a team of friends to engage in some of the above practices with you on a regular basis, the experience will be even more powerful, liberating and motivational. This group or "family" can also act as a protective shield helping one another to ward off and combat some of those retarding forces and obstacles which are bound to occur.

Robert N. Taylor is a researcher and newsletter editor. For more information about this article and other Taylor writings, visit http://www.freewebs.com/wealthgazette

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After This You'll Change How You Do Everything! - Tony Robbins

The One Thing Only 1% of People Do | TRY IT FOR 21 DAYS and Success Will Come!

Goal Setting - A Stick With It Attitude For Kids

Congratulations! A New Year has commenced and with it comes the hope and dreams of millions of creative mothers and fathers, children and extended families!

What will you accomplish this year? What are your children looking forward to achieving? How are you going to motivate them to stay on track? How are they going to savor their success?

Here are a few basic rules to follow.

1. Is the goal yours or theirs? Make sure that whatever your children's goals are that it comes from them and not you or their grandparents, teachers, or caregivers. They have to have a yearning that is garnered from deep within them.

2. Solicit a rock solid commitment. Ask them how committed they are to following through with their goals? What do they intend to do when they come up against obstacles? Cultivate a stick with it attitude before they embark on each goal.

3. Write goals down. Purchase a small note-book at the dollar store and have them record each goal.

• Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California, did a study on goal-setting with 267 participants. She found that you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down.¹

4. Use a SMART format when writing goals down.

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Relevant (reasonable, realistic)

• Time bound (time-based, time limited)

• For example: an 8 year-old boy has a burning desire to play hockey but he does not know how to skate. His parents don't skate either. They have reservations as to how successful he may be. Instead of discouraging him they sit down with their son [or daughter] and map out what he needs to do to bring about a successful execution of this goal.

• He needs skates and an opportunity to practice. His parents rent second-hand skates (with the option of buying them) and one of his parent's friends offers to show him how to skate at a public skating rink. He has a ball! Three times a week he practices skating on the rink.

• His parents take him to the library to research how hockey is played. He devours the information. Eventually, he gets to try out for a hockey team. You get the picture.

5. Mark Progression on a Calendar: Map out the time frame on a calendar and what daily steps are necessary to do. Don't be afraid to ask for advice from people who have already done what your child is working on.. Why re-invent the wheel?

6. Create a vision board & an accomplishment board. As your child meets a target he transfers a visual representation from his vision board on to his accomplishment board. What an easy way to build confidence! Teach him to savor each success. How is he going to celebrate? Is he going to keep a journal of his progress?

7. Everyday ask this simple question. "What is one thing that your child can do today that he cannot fail at, to move him closer to reaching his goal? Teach him to take it one step at a time while visualizing the outcome clearly in his mind. This is a key motivating factor. He has to see the end result and feel he has attained it. Visualizing the end result helps him stay motivated on days he encounters stumbling blocks.

8. Perseverance-If he does not make the team the first time have him ask the coach what he needs to do to improve. Never take NO as a confirmation that a goal is unattainable. Never give up. Keep on keeping until he feels satisfied with the outcome.

"Most "impossible" goals can be met simply by breaking them down into bite size chunks, writing them down, believing them, and then going full speed ahead as if they are routine."-Don Lancaster

1. https://michaelhyatt.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-commit-your-goals-to-writing/

Kathleen Boucher, CEO of Great Kids and Me, http://www.greatkidsandme.com. Did your parents teach you how to set goals as a child? Do you sit down as a family and decide what you & your kids want to accomplish at the beginning of each New Year? Make this year amazing. Begin a ritual that your children will pass on to their kids.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kathleen_Boucher/1932365

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Zig Ziglar Setting Goals 1 of 3