Imagine waking up every morning feeling happy and content.
Harvard-trained positive psychologist Shawn Achor–author of the New York Times bestseller “The Happiness Advantage“–has made a career out of studying the science of happiness. His TED talk on happiness is one of the most popular of all time with over 13 million views. Achor argues that, as a society, our focus is on productivity, and we’ve ignored happiness and meaning. And we’ve done this to our detriment. After all, studies show that having a happy brain gives us a competitive advantage at work, and in life.
Here are some of these advantages:
When the human brain is positive, intelligence rises. This is because we stop diverting resources to worry and to feeling anxious.
Happiness triples our creativity.
When we’re happy our productive energy rises by 31 percent.
Being happy makes you more effective — happy workers make less errors than their unhappy counterparts.
Achor explains that the traditional formula of “I’ll strive to be successful so that I can be happy once I’ve achieved my goals” is wrong. Instead, you have to flip it around. Invest in becoming happy now, so that you can be successful in the future.
In order to help his students and clients apply the principles that he teaches, Achor set out to identify small, simple habits that can be done every day that will increase happiness levels. He uncovered six habits that can be done by anyone–regardless of age–in order to rewire their brain for happiness.
Below you’ll find Achor’s six happiness habits, as well as a method that I developed for making sure that you follow through on the six habits.
The Six Habits that Will Rewire Your Brain For Happiness
Here are the six habits that Achor came up with:
1. Gratitude List.
Every night, spend two minutes writing down three things you’re grateful for that occurred during the last 24 hours. It doesn’t have to be anything profound, but it does have to be specific. For instance, instead of being grateful for your child, be grateful for the big smile and sticky hug that your child gave you that morning.
Due to your brain’s innate negativity bias, you’re usually scanning the environment for threats. However, when your brain knows that it has to come up with three things to be grateful for each night, it will start to do the opposite. It will start scanning the environment for positives.
This brings your brain into better balance. It also retrains your brain so that it will start seeing more possibilities.
Keep in mind that you shouldn’t write down the same three things every night. You want to get your brain to scan the world and notice new things to be happy about. Therefore, make it a rule not to repeat something you’ve already written about.
2. The Doubler.
Take one positive experience from the past 24 hours and spend two minutes writing about the experience. Aim to write down at least four details about the experience.
This is helpful because when you take a moment to remember a positive experience, your brain labels it as meaningful, which deepens the imprint. In addition, it allows you to relive the positive experience–along with the positive feelings that came with it (hence the name, the doubler).
3. The Fun Fifteen.
The effects of daily cardio can be as effective as taking an antidepressant. Hence, one of the six happiness habits is to engage in 15 minutes of a fun cardio activity every day. This includes activities such as gardening, rebounding on a mini-trampoline, and briskly walking your dog.
Achor adds that your brain records exercise as a victory, and this feeling of accomplishment transfers to other tasks throughout the day. It also teaches your brain to believe, “My behavior matters”, which also enhances happiness.
4. Meditation.
Every day take two minutes to stop whatever you’re doing and concentrate on your breathing. Just focus on your breath moving in and out. Even a short mindful break can lower stress and result in a calmer, happier you.
When Achor got Google employees to stop what they were doing for two minutes a day and just focus on their breath, here’s what happened 21 days later:
Their accuracy rates improved by 10%;
Their levels of happiness rose; and
Their engagement scores rose significantly.
Meditation will rewire your brain and allow it to work more optimistically and successfully.
5. Conscious Act of Kindness.
Being kind to others feels good, and carrying out an act of kindness each day is a great happiness booster.
Achor recommends that at the start of every day you send a short email or text praising someone you know. An added bonus is that it’s very likely that the other person will respond with an appreciate comment about you.
Nonetheless, your act of kindness can be anything:
Hold the elevator door open for someone.
When you go on a coffee run ask a co-worker if you can get a coffee for him as well.
Let someone who seems to be in a hurry cut ahead of you in line.
Even something small and simple like giving someone a smile works.
6. Deepen Social Connections.
Our social connections affect our success and health, and even our life expectancy. In addition, having a feeling of social support is vital for happiness. In fact, Achor’s studies show that social connection is the greatest predictor of happiness.
Have some contact with family and friends each day, even if it’s just calling them to chat for two or three minutes, or texting them to meet up for brunch on Sunday.
The Happiness Journal (Free)
Achor explains that if you follow the six habits explained above daily, for 21 days, you’ll be transformed from a pessimist to an optimist. In addition, within 30 days, following these habits will change the neuropathways of your brain and turn you into a lifelong optimist. That’s quite an assertion.
Let’s try it and see if it works, shall we? How? By filling out the Happiness Journal that I’ve created based on Achor’s six habits. I’m going to share it with you, because I’m just that awesome. The journal will allow you to record your practice of the six happiness habits for thirty days.
Here’s what the journal contains:
A cover page.
An instructions page — basically, what you already read above.
Thirty journal pages — write down the date at the top of each page and read the happiness quote for the day. Then, write down three things you’re grateful for, a positive experience for the day, and your act of kindess for the day. At the bottom of the page there’s space for you to check off if you exercised, meditated, and connected with someone.
Here’s what each journal page looks like:
You can download the Happiness Journal, for free, here. And if you’re not currently subscribed to Daring to Live Fully, you can subscribe by clicking here.
Conclusion
Go ahead and rate your current happiness level on a scale from 1 to 10. Then, download the Happiness Journal, print it out, and spend the next 30 days filling it out. At the end of that time, rate your happiness level again.
Did your happiness level go up? If all the scientific data collected by Achor is correct, your answer will a resounding “Yes!”.
Starting this blog–Daring to Live Fully–is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I use my blog for all of the following:
As a creative outlet and as a way to express myself.
As a medium for fleshing out my ideas.
As a money-maker — as a recovering lawyer, I now make a full-time living from my blog.
As a way to be recognized as a thought-leader in the areas of personal development, productivity, and self-learning.
As a way to sharpen my business skills–marketing, product development, strategic planning, networking, and so on.
As a way to serve others and inspire them to live their best lives.
As a way to create a legacy.
In addition, in the future I might choose to write a book and have it published through traditional means. In that case, my blog would be a platform that I can use to promote and market my book.
Here are some other ways people use their blogs:
To create a portfolio of their work which they can show to prospective employers or clients.
As a hobby.
As a way to document a journey — a weight loss journey, a home renovation project, a journey to financial independence, and so on.
To tell you the truth, I knew absolutely nothing about blogging when I first got started. In addition, I don’t have a background in technology — when I published my first blog post I was a total newbie when it came to anything technology-related.
However, one of my life mottos is, “I can figure anything out if I set my mind to it”. So, I took the plunge and started to blog.
Soon, I discovered that blogging is a lot easier than it looks, and that –with some effort–I could in fact figure out everything that I needed to know to become a successful blogger. Also, technology gets more user-friendly every day, so it’s a lot easier to get started blogging today than it was when I got started.
In this post I’m going to show you how to start a blog in eight simple steps.
How to Start a Blog – Eight Steps
Basically, all you need to do to start a blog is to follow these 8 steps:
Step 1 – Believe that You Can Become a Blogger
Step 2 – Choose a Topic/Niche
Step 3 – Choose A Name and A Domain For Your Blog
Step 4 – Choose a Blogging Platform
Step 5 – Choose a Hosting Provider
Step 6 – Design Your Blog and Start Blogging
Step 7 – Choose a Theme
Step 8 – Publish Your First Blog Post
I’m going to take you through these steps, one-by-one.
Step 1 – Believe You Can Become a Blogger
Whatever it is that you want to do–whether it’s to make more money, learn a new language, or start a blog–the first step is to believe that you can do it. Here are some of the beliefs you should adopt in order to gain the necessary confidence to start a blog you can be proud of:
I have value to offer to the world.
I have the ability to learn everything I need to know to start a blog.
My blog doesn’t have to be perfect.
I’ll get better at blogging as I go along.
Making mistakes is how you learn.
The only failure is the failure to try.
I’m going to be bold and get my thoughts and ideas out there.
I have knowledge other people need.
I have the grit and determination needed to build a quality blog.
I have what it takes to be a blogger.
With your new found belief that you have what it takes to become a great blogger, you’re ready to move on to Step 2 and decide what you’re going to blog about.
Step 2 – Choose a Topic/Niche
The first decision that you have to make in order to start a blog is to determine what you’ll be blogging about. When you choose your blog’s niche, or topic, you need to take three basic things into consideration:
First. Choose something that you’re interested in writing about. You have to enjoy writing about the topic that you select, or you’ll get bored after a few months of blogging and quit.
Second. There has to be an audience for your topic — that is, choose something that other people will be interested in reading about.
Third. If you want to make money from your blog, choose a topic where you can promote products, or create your own, that others will want to buy.
You can really start a blog about anything:
Review books that you’re reading — Bill Gates has a blog in which he writes about the books he’s reading.
Give yourself a challenge and blog about it — one man gave himself the challenge of having 52 new experiences in 52 weeks, and he blogged about it.
Become a mommy (or daddy) blogger and offer parenting tips.
Write about recipes and cooking tips.
Write about getting over a divorce, raising a special needs child, or going back to college after 40.
Travel around the world and blog about it.
Write about beauty and fashion.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you decide on a blog topic:
What do I love reading about?
What do I love to do?
How do I spend my free time?
What am I good at?
What problems do I know how to solve?
What kinds of blogs do I visit on a regular basis? What do my favorite bloggers write about?
What do my family members and friends ask me for advice on?
What would I like to know more about?
Who do I want to write for? What do they want to know?
Keep in mind that you don’t have to be an expert on a topic in order to write about it. You just need to be willing to do the necessary research to find out enough about the topic so that you can start writing about it with some authority.
Another tip is not to make your blog’s topic too broad or too narrow. Take a look at the following:
You may have lots of interests, but if you write about fishing one day, you post about your favorite book the next week, and then you write about the steps that you’re taking to train your dog to do tricks the week after that, you’ll just confuse your readers.
At the same time, if your topic is too narrow you’ll probably have a very small audience and it’s likely that you’ll run out of things to say after publishing a few blog posts.
Make your blog’s topic broad enough that you’ll have lots of people searching for the information you’ll be offering and so that you’ll have lots to say, but also narrow enough that people will know what to expect when they land on your blog.
Here’s a scene from the movie “Julie and Julia” in which the protagonist decides to start a blog and wonders what she should blog about:
Here’s what I recommend you do:
Give yourself ten or fifteen minutes to brainstorm possible blog topics.
Whittle that list down to your favorite ten or so.
Rank the topics left on your list by using criteria such as the following: how passionate you are about the topic; how knowledgeable you are about the topic; and how likely it is that you’ll be able to make money by writing about that topic.
Once you’ve ranked your topic, the one with the highest score wins. You have a blog topic!
Step 3 – Choose A Name and A Domain For Your Blog
The next step on your blogging journey is to come up with a good name for you blog. A good name has all of the following elements:
It let’s people know what your blog is about –it’s descriptive.
It’s catchy and memorable.
It’s easy to pronounce and spell.
It’s not too long.
It helps you to build your brand.
It’s in line with the tone/mood that you want for your blog (serious, funny, sassy, inspiring, and so on).
As you can see from my header, my blog’s name is “Daring to Live Fully”. I’m very happy with the name, and I think it helps anyone who lands on my blog to know right away that they’re going to find advice, tips, strategies, and information on how to live their best lives here.
Once you’ve chosen a name for your blog, you can select a domain name. Your domain name is just your blog’s URL. As an illustration, the domain name for my blog is daringtolivefully.com. In most cases, you should favor the domain extension “.com”.
If you’re having trouble naming your blog, one option is to use your full name. Then your domain would just be your name as well. Here are two examples:
If your name is “Edith Taylor”, then that would be your blog’s name and your domain would be edithtaylor.com.
If your name is “Matt Smith”, then that would be your blog’s name and your domain would be mattsmith.com.
Later on you can add a tagline that describes what your blog is about (my current tagline for Daring to Live Fully is “Live the Length and Width of Your Life”). Here are three examples of how you can use a tagline to let visitors know what your blog is about:
If your blog is about home decor, your tagline could be “Simple, Elegant Decor”.
If you’re going to write about business your tagline could be “Business Advice You Can Trust”.
If you’re going to share the parenting tips that you’ve picked up as you raise your kids, your tagline could be “Raising Happy, Confident Kids”.
Again, you can come up with your tagline after you have a few blog posts under your belt and you have a better feel for the direction your blog is going to be taking.
When you’ve chosen your domain name, you have to register it. This typically costs about $10 – $12. However, the hosting provider that I’m going to recommend in Step 5 is Bluehost, and you can register your domain name with them for free as you set up your hosting account, so I’ll be covering domain registration in Step 5.
Step 4 – Choose a Blogging Platform
There are many blogging platforms out there, and they’re basically divided into two categories: hosted (or free) and self-hosted.
Hosted Blogging Platforms
A hosted blog is one for which you don’t have to pay for hosting. In other words, they’re free. Some of the hosted blogging platforms out there include the following:
WordPress.com.
Blogger.
Tumblr.
Weebly.
The good thing about a hosted platform is obvious: it’s free. The bad thing is that the site isn’t really yours, and you have a lot less freedom to do what you want with it than you would with a self-hosted site. If you use a hosted platform you’ll be giving up a lot of control, and you won’t look like a professional.
Self-Hosted Blogging Platforms
As you can probably guess, I strongly recommend that you choose a self-hosted platform. Self-hosted means that you have to pay for hosting yourself. The most popular self-hosted platforms are the following:
WordPress.org (yes, another WordPress platform, but this one is .org and is self-hosted).
Joomla.
Drupal.
Squarespace.
If you want to have complete control over your blog, then you need a self-hosted platform. With self-hosting your blog will be 100% your property, and you can build it from the ground up as you see fit.
WordPress.org is by far the most widely used self-hosted platform, and the one that I would most definitely recommend. It’s flexible and easy to use. In addition, there are tons of plugins available for WordPress.org which will improve your site’s functionality.
So, what do you pay for if you choose WordPress.org? You pay for a domain and for hosting.
However, with Bluehost–which is the hosting provider I recommend you choose in Step 5 below–you get a free domain, so you would just pay for hosting. At the same time, hosting with Bluehost costs less than $10 a month. This means that you can have a blog–which you own 100%–for a tiny price.
Yet another benefit of using Bluehost as your hosting provider is that they will automatically install WordPress.org for you when you purchase a hosting plan from them.
Step 5 – Choose a Hosting Provider
A hosting provider basically connects your site to the worldwide web so that it’s accessible to others. It’s vital to choose the right hosting provider. I cannot emphasize this enough.
Some of the things that you should consider when choosing a hosting provider are the following:
The hosting provider’s reputation for reliability.
The technical support that they offer.
The features that they have available.
Their prices.
Their money-back guarantee.
Taking all of these things into consideration, I recommend Bluehost.com. Here’s why:
You get a free domain–as you’re setting up your account with them you simply enter the domain that you want, and it’s registered.
As I mentioned before, Bluehost will automatically install WordPress.org for you.
They have 24/7 support, so there’s always someone available to help you and answer your questions. The Bluehost support staff is courteous and knowledgeable.
They score a 99.9% uptime on average, which means your site is always available.
They’re very affordable.
They allow their users to host multiple domains and websites under one account.
They have a 30-day money-back guarantee — during the first 30 days, they’ll refund your hosting fees in full.
Set-up is really easy and intuitive – just follow the instructions and you can have your blog up and running in five minutes.
Are you ready? Get started on your blogging journey by following along with the step-by-step instructions below.
Get Started.
Go to the Bluehost.com site and click on the green “get started now” button.
Select Your Plan.
Bluehost gives you three plans to choose from: Basic, Plus, and Prime. Whereas with the Basic Plan you can only host one website, with the Plus and Prime Plans you can host unlimited sites. One site v. unlimited sites? I think the choice is a no-brainer: choose either the Plus or the Prime plans.
Once you’ve chosen your plan, just click on the “Select” button for that plan.
Insert Your Domain Name.
As I stated above, if you can’t decide on a domain name, just use your name. If you already have a domain name (you purchased one elsewhere) use the “I have a domain name” box.
If you don’t have a domain name–which is likely to be the case if you’re just getting startedwith blogging–insert the domain you’ve chosen in the “new domain” box. Again, with Bluehost, your domain is free.
Enter Your Account Information.
Next you’ll be asked to enter your account information. Go ahead and do so.
Choose an account plan based on how far in advance you want to pay. You can choose to pay 1, 2, 3 or 5 years upfront. Bluehost doesn’t offer a monthly payment plan (that’s how they keep their prices so low). As you can see, it works out to be a very reasonable monthly amount.
I skip the add-ons. However, if you don’t want people to be able to see the address that you’re using for your domain, then choose “Domain Privacy” (you get this for free with the Prime Plan). Once you’ve made your selections, you’ll get the total that you’ll pay.
Enter Your Billing Information.
Fill in your billing information, confirm that you’ve read the fine print, and then click “Submit”.
Skip the Upgrades and Special Offers.
At this point you’ll be offered some upgrades and special offers. I suggest you click on the “no thanks” link.
Choose a Password.
Now you’re ready to choose your password. Click on “Create Your Password”.
You’ll be taken to a screen where you create your password. When you’ve chosen a password, click on “Next”.
Get Started with WordPress.
Next you’ll see a congratulations screen like the one below. Click on “log in” (as I stated, above, Bluehost automatically installs WordPress for you).
Skip the Free Themes.
WordPress is open-source, which means that they allow anyone to create themes and plugins for WordPress. As a result–although there’s a lot of great free stuff out there to enhance your site–, there are a lot of free themes and plugins that are not trustworthy and could potentially harm your site.
For now, simply stay with the theme that comes with WordPress right out of the box (the WordPress default theme). We’ll talk more about themes in Step 7 of this tutorial.
Start Building.
Click on “Start Building”.
You’ll be taken to your WordPress dashboard, like so:
I recommend you ignore the blue buttons in the middle of the screen (Business & Personal) and choose the link that says “I don’t need help” instead. It’s better to start with a clean slate.
If you get stuck anywhere along this process, just contact Bluehost and they’ll be happy to help you.
Step 6 – Setting Things Up
You can access your WordPress dashboard at any time simply by going to “yourdomain.com/wp-admin”. Your dashboard is your command center; it’s where the magic happens.
To set things up, take the following steps:
Go to Settings > General. Fill out your tagline if you have one (right now it should say “Just Another WordPress Site”), choose your time zone, and save your changes.
Go to Users > Your Profile. Fill out your first and last names, choose a nickname (it can be your first name), and the name you want to display publicly. You can also add some biographical information if you want to. Save your changes.
Go to Settings > Permalinks. Check “custom structure” and write in the following: /%postname%/
Now you’re all set up.
7. Choose a Theme
A theme is your blog’s visual style. The theme you choose should complement your blog’s topic and help you to build your brand. If you decide to start with a free theme, as stated above, you can simply get started with the WordPress default theme (the one that comes installed with WordPress).
In addition, here are two good free themes for you to choose from:
Alternatively, you can purchase a premium theme. Premium themes have a higher quality and more functionality than the free themes. They’re also better for search engine optimization, which means that if you use a premium theme it’s more likely that your blog posts will rank well in the search engines.
Their themes are conversion focused, which means that they’re designed to help you sell more.
With a Thrive Themes membership you get much more than just themes. You also get plugins that will allow you to create landing pages and optin forms in minutes. This is incredibly helpful to build your email list and monetize your blog.
If you’d like, you can begin with a free theme and purchase Thrive Themes when you feel ready.
Step 8 – Publish Your First Blog Post
After you’ve chosen a theme for your blog, you’re ready to start blogging. Click on Posts > Add New. And there you go. Write your first post.
What should your first blog post be about? One idea is to talk a little about yourself, your interests and accomplishments, why you decided to start a blog, and what your blog will be about. However, what you decide to write about is completely up to you!
Always keep in mind that each time you write a blog post your goal should be to strive to create value for others. Ask yourself questions such as the following:
Will this post help people solve a problem that they’re having?
Will this post give people information that they need?
Will this post inspire or motivate others?
Will others find this post entertaining, filled with beauty, instructional, inspirational, or helpful in some other way?
Your blog posts can be as short or as long as you want them to be, but it’s a good idea to shoot for about 600 words. In addition, you want to post consistently. This doesn’t mean that you need to post daily, but you should post on a regular basis. A good rule of thumb is to post once a week, and to always post on the same day of the week.
Conclusion
To conclude, here’s a two-step summary of the instructions contained in this blog post:
Starting a blog may be a little scary at first, but I’m sure you’re up to the challenge. Soon you’ll find yourself wondering why you didn’t get started sooner!
Disclosure: I am a Bluehost affiliate, which means that if you open an account with Bluehost through my link, I get a commission (with no extra cost to you).
There’s lots of little things you can do to boost your mood.
Today, as I walked to the organic foods store, a car drove by. I won’t go into detail as to the conduct of the three passengers in the car, but let’s just say that their behavior left much to be desired. Although I was in a good mood before they drove by—I had just spent an hour lifting weights at the gym, which is something I love to do—my mood quickly dropped.
I’m sure you can relate. We’re all subjected to stressors and micro-aggressions throughout the day that can have a negative impact on our mood. Here are some examples:
Another driver swerves and cuts ahead of you in traffic, and you barely have enough time to step on the brakes to avoid hitting them.
Your boss scolds you in front of others for a mistake that resulted from her inability to communicate clearly.
Your neighbor’s dog digs up your flower bed, again.
You overhear two snippy co-workers gossiping about you.
You’ve put on some weight and your so-called friend makes a comment along the lines of, “Goodness, you’ve been hitting the donuts pretty hard, haven’t you?”
Fortunately, for those times when the environment and other people seem to be conspiring against your mood, there are many ways to give yourself a mood boost. Below you’ll find 13 quick ways to improve your mood.
1. Think Fast
Accelerate your thinking – experiments conducted by Princeton University and Harvard University have shown that there’s a link between thought speed and mood. Slow thinking can lead to feelings of despondency and dejection, while fast thinking has joy-enhancing effects.
There are several theories as to why this is so:
People associate fast thinking with happy moods, so if they’re thinking fast they trick their brains into believing that they must be happy.
Thought speed may increase dopaminergic activity which is associated with experiences of reward and pleasure.
Fast thoughts distract you from thinking about the person, event, or circumstance that made you feel bad in the first place.
In order to get yourself thinking fast, you can do any of the following:
Give yourself a brainstorming task. For example, tell yourself that you have three minutes to come up with 100 possible titles for an eBook you’re thinking of writing.
Watch a video in accelerated mode.
Take out a book and speed read.
If you have any poems memorized, recite the poem quickly in your heard.
The next time you feel your mood taking a nosedive, elicit fast thinking.
2. Make Yourself Smile
You may have read the following quote by Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh:
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
James Laird, PhD, from Clark University in Massachusetts wholeheartedly agrees with Nhat Hanh. He’s spent his entire professional life studying the connection between behavior and feeling, and he argues that we can make ourselves happy just by smiling. Plus, he has research to back this up.
Afterwards, both groups were shown cartoons. The group that was asked to smile found the cartoons funnier than the frowners did. Dr. Laird wrote in his conclusions to the study that the simple act of smiling seems to activate happiness centers in the brain.
Smiling does all of the following:
It activates the release of neuropeptides that work toward fighting off stress.
The feel good neurotransmitters dopamine and endorphins are released when a smile flashes across your face.
Finally, the serotonin release brought on by your smile serves as a mood lifter
So, the next time you need a quick mood lift, show off those pearly whites.
Think back to the last time you laughed really hard–the memory is likely to trigger some chuckles.
Try a laughter exercise. Quietly repeat the sounds “ho, ho, ho, ha, ha, ha, he, he,he, hee, hee, hee” as you carry out a habitual task, like showering, washing the dishes, or making coffee.
Look for something funny on the internet. I happen to think the Scrap clips are hilarious:
The next time you need to improve your mood, laugh.
4. Indulge in Some Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate—which has a higher content of cocoa butter and less milk than other forms of chocolate—is not only delicious, but it will also help you to improve your mood. Here are three reasons why eating dark chocolate is so incredibly blissful:
Chocolate is a source of tryptophan, an amino acid precursor to serotonin, the neurotransmitter of happiness and positive mood.
Chocolate is the main food source of anandamide, a neurotransmitter which is very similar to the primary psychoactive component in marijuana.
Dark chocolate contains phenylethylamine, a compound which creates a brain buzz similar to being in love.
When you need a mood boost, dark chocolate is your friend.
5. Listen To An Upbeat Song
Recent research at the University of Missouri revealed that listening to upbeat music—while trying to feel happier—will improve your mood. This is evidence that trying to be happier and making a conscious effort to improve your mood really does work.
Create a soundtrack of your favorite upbeat feel-good songs. Then, the next time that you want to improve your mood, hold that intent while you listen to the soundtrack.
6. Sing Along
Don’t just listen to upbeat music. Make sure that you also sing along. Researchers have discovered that singing releases endorphins, which is associated with feelings of pleasure and elation. It also releases oxytocin, a hormone which has been found to alleviate anxiety and stress.
Although the greatest benefits come from group singing, singing alone also works. The musical vibrations created by singing move through you, creating a soothing and calming effect.
7. Get Up and Boogie
Now take it one step further: as you listen to the music and sing along, get up and boogie. Alice Domar, PhD, director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health in Waltham, Massachusetts explains that movement will release endorphins and elevate your mood.
It doesn’t matter if you have two left feet. Just move. If you absolutely can’t get yourself to dance around, grab your iPod and go for a quick stroll.
8. Light a Vanilla Scented Candle
Certain scents can alter or heighten your mood. If you need a happiness boost, the smell of fresh vanilla beans will do the trick. A study published in the Proceedings of ISOT/JASTS 2004 found that taking a whiff of vanilla beans elevated participants’ feelings of joy and relaxation.
One way to fill the air around with this mood-enhancing smell is to light a vanilla scented candle.
9. Meditate
Meditation is like taking a mini-retreat from the world, which is something you need when the world is getting you down.
In addition, meditating stimulates the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus, releasing endorphins and increasing the production of serotonin, dopamine, and melatonin—all associated with relaxation and happiness.
If you need a little help, there are free apps that offer short meditations specifically designed for mood improvement. One of these is Stop, Breathe & Think, which will prompt you to check how you’re feeling and will then recommend three guided meditations– each one between five and 10 minutes long—for you to choose from.
10. Pet a Pooch
A study by the University of Missouri–Columbia showed that petting a dog for just 15 minutes brightens your mood. This is because petting your dog—or cat– releases the feel-good hormones serotonin, prolactin, and oxytocin. It also lowers the stress hormone cortisol.
All of this means that petting your pet will lower your blood pressure and evoke a sense of calmness, happiness, and well-being.
I don’t have pets, but I’m not shy about petting strangers’ dogs.
11. Eat a Banana
When you’re feeling down, make yourself a smoothie and add a banana, or just peel a banana and eat it. A banana can contain 10 milligrams of dopamine. Dopamine is our primary reward chemical, and since bananas give you extra dopamine, they’re one of those feel-good foods you should reach for when you need a mood boost.
12. Ask Yourself: “What’s Going Well?”
Dr. Martin Seligman is the founder of positive psychology—a branch of psychology that studies what makes people thrive. One of the tools that he recommends for increasing well-being is the “What Went Well” exercise. It consists of the following:
Look back at the end of each day and find three things that went well.
Reflect on them and even replay them in your mind.
You want to revisit the good feelings brought on by those successes.
Do something similar when you need a quick mood boost. Even though something just went wrong which led you to feel bad, ask yourself: “What’s going well?” By thinking of what’s going well you’ll be counteracting the negative emotions which are bringing down your mood.
13. Have Some Green Tea
If something upsets you and you need to calm down fast, take out a teapot and brew yourself a cup of green tea. Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, a researcher, nutrition expert and author of “Beat Sugar Addiction NOW! “explains that sipping green tea will calm you down because it causes changes in body chemistry that relax, enhance the ability to think, and change mood.
Conclusion
So, which of these did I try after my unfortunate post-workout encounter? All of them. Did I feel better afterward? I most certainly did. Live your best life by using the 13 strategies explained above to improve your mood.
Thinking optimally will allow you to achieve your best results.
Being a positive thinker is often equated with being confident and assured, thinking in terms of success, and believing that you deserve the best that life has to offer. And, of course, these are all good things.
However, positive thinking can lead you astray. Here are some of the traps you could fall into if you’re always thinking positively:
Disregarding the old adage that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. This can lead you to fall victim to scams, such as investing your hard-earned money in get-rich-schemes.
Jumping into situations without taking the necessary time to weigh the risks and prepare adequately
Failing to anticipate likely obstacles.
Failing to prepare a contingency plan in case something goes wrong.
Hoping that an unfavorable situation will rectify itself, instead of taking the necessary action to make things right yourself.
Continue investing your time, money, and energy into a project when all the facts show that there’s no way to salvage it.
Ignoring negative information which should be taken into account in order to get an accurate picture of the situation that you’re facing.
So, what’s the answer? Certainly not negative thinking. There are countless problems with negative thinking. Here are some of them:
Negative thinkers are constantly missing out on opportunities because their attention is focused on all the things that could go wrong.
Instead of coming up with ways to get things done, negative thinkers enumerate all of the reasons why this or that can’t be done.
Negative thinkers anticipate failure, and they have a tendency to see their life as a series of problems.
The answer, then, is not to think positively or negatively. Instead, you should think optimally. What is optimal thinking? It’s a term coined by Rosalene Glickman in her book, Optimal Thinking: How to Be Your Best Self.
Optimal thinking will allow you to make the most constructive choice at any given moment, and to take the best actions to accomplish your highest priorities. Below you’ll discover how to think optimally.
What is Optimal Thinking?
Optimal thinking is focusing on the best or most constructive thought at all times. Optimal thinkers have realistic expectations and focus on optimizing situations within their control. It’s about constantly choosing your best option in any given moment. Optimal thinkers do the following:
They embrace reality and ask: “What’s the best thing I can do under these circumstances?
They take the worst-case scenario into account and ask themselves how they can minimize the risk and reduce the cost to themselves if things go wrong.
When faced with a problem they ask themselves: “What’s the problem?”; “What are my options for resolving this?”; and “Among my options, which one will be the most beneficial?”
Three Ways of Thinking
Suppose that you have three friends and their names are Bob, Sue, and Ellen. They’ve all invested in the stock market. In addition, suppose that there’s been a lot of bad news about the stock market lately.
Bob is a negative thinker, Sue is a positive thinker, and Ellen is an optimal thinker. Here’s how each one would react to the fact that the stock market is dropping:
Bob (negative thinker): “Of course the stock market is going to come crashing down, now that I’ve decided to invest in it. Things can only get worse. I better get all of my money out as soon as possible and salvage whatever I can.”
Sue (positive thinker): “Well, I’m just going to leave my money where it is and trust that everything will turn out well in the end. If I think positively, everything will fall into place.”
Ellen (optimal thinker): “Under these circumstances, is it better to take my money out of the stock market in order to minimize my present losses, or do I stand to gain in the long run if I leave my money where it is?”
Of the three, Ellen’s line of thinking is clearly the one that is most likely to lead to optimal results.
Making Optimal Decisions
Here’s another example: your employer goes out of business and you suddenly find yourself unemployed. Once again, the three possible scenarios are the following:
Negative Thinking: “I’m going to become a bag lady and end up living in a box outside of Macy’s”.
Positive Thinking: “Everything is going to be OK. I have enough money to cover my current expenses for the next six months, and I’m sure that I’m going to have found another job by then.”
Optimal Thinking: “What expenses can I cut right away and how do I need to modify my lifestyle so that I can stretch out my savings for as long as possible? Can I create an additional source of income to make sure that I’ll be OK?”
Once you’re thinking optimally, follow the process that Glickman recommends in order to optimize your decisions. Here are the steps:
Define the problem.
Define the time frame in which the decision needs to be made.
Make a list of all your possible options.
Eliminate any options that are unrealistic.
Write down the advantages and disadvantages of each option (the “pros” and “cons”).
For each option, rate each “pro” and “con”– where a “10” means that it’s important, and a “1” means that it’s not important at all.
Score each option. For each option, add up all of the points for the “pros” and all the points for the “cons”. Subtract the total for the “cons” from the total for the “pros”, and that gives you the score for that option.
Choose the option with the highest score.
Some More Optimal Action Steps You Can Take
Here are three more steps that Glickman suggests that you take in order to become an optimal thinker:
1. If You Feel Like a Victim. Whenever you feel that you’re being victimized by another person, ask yourself what you want from that person that you’re not giving to yourself. What actions can you take in order to start providing this for yourself?
2. Dealing With Criticism. Decide on the best way to deal with criticism. Write down your strategy for dealing with criticism and practice it the next time somebody criticizes you. This is your Criticism Optimal Response.
Keep refining it until you have a strategy in place which allows you to learn and grow from any criticism that you receive, without feeling bad about yourself or becoming discouraged from going after your goals.
3. Dealing With Fear. Whenever you begin to feel afraid ask yourself the following questions: “What am I afraid of?”; “What is the best way to overcome this fear?”; and “What action can I take to get over this fear, or to act in spite of this fear?”
Conclusion
I’m an optimist by nature, but when it comes to making decisions I always try to do so by thinking optimally. I recommend that you follow Glickman’s advice and do the same.
To recap, when assessing any situation, you need to do the following:
Take the good and the bad into account;
Weigh both your strengths and your weaknesses;
Ask yourself what’s the most constructive action that you can take given your current set of circumstances;
Make the best choice given the facts; and
Come up with a contingency plan in case things go wrong.
To be a successful lifelong learner you need to overcome procrastination.
I’m a lifelong learner, and I’m sure that most of my blog readers are as well. Being a lifelong learner makes you well-rounded, keeps you competitive, and helps you to succeed in life. However, one of the obstacles that can get in the way of learning new things—whether it’s learning a language, acquiring computer skills, learning business skills, and so on—is procrastination.
I recently took a MOOC called Learning How To Learn: Powerful Mental Tools to Help You Master Tough Subjects. It was created by the University of California, San Diego, and is taught by Dr. Barbara Oakley, who’s a professor of engineering (and others). It’s a fantastic course–which I highly recommend–and one of the topics covered in the course was procrastination. Although conquering procrastination is important for any life area, it’s particularly important for learning.
This is because in order to learn well, you have to do it bit-by-bit. It’s similar to a body builder building muscle through day-to-day exercise.
If you cram before a test or before you need to demonstrate what you’ve learned, you won’t be building a solid neural foundation. By getting started early and spreading your study sessions over time, you’ll learn better. That’s why tackling procrastination is so important for learners.
Below you’ll find 8 tips for beating procrastination for lifelong learners which I came across in the Learning How to Learn MOOC.
1. Get Over the Negative Stimulation
When you think of doing something that you would rather not do—such as study for an exam, work on your video course, or listen to another lecture of a MOOC you’ve enrolled in—you activate the areas of your brain associated with pain. Therefore, your brain looks for ways to stop this negative stimulation.
It does so by switching your attention to something else. The process is as follows:
You feel discomfort at the thought of sitting down to learn how to use a new software program.
You switch your attention to a more pleasant task—maybe you watch a YouTube video, chat with a co-worker, go on Twitter, or work on an easy low-priority task.
You feel better–at least temporarily.
A while later you start to feel bad because you still haven’t gotten around to the software program.
The good news is that there’s a way to overcome the discomfort that you feel when you think of working on a task that fills you with apprehension. Researchers have discovered that not long after someone starts working on a task that they would rather avoid, the neural discomfort disappears.
The trick, therefore, is to tell yourself that you’re going to work on the task for a small amount of time – say, fifteen, twenty, or thirty minutes.
By committing yourself to a limited amount of time during which you’re going to work on an uncomfortable task, it’s a lot easier to get started. In addition, as was just stated, once you get to work on the task you’ll discover that the discomfort disappears.
2. Process vs. Product
In order to stop procrastinating, focus on process instead of product. Process refers to the flow of time and the actions that you take during that time. On the other hand, product is an outcome. Here’s an example:
If you want to create a video course, the video course is your product. The product is what triggers the pain that leads to procrastination. If you place your attention on the video course that you want to create, it’s very likely that you’ll procrastinate.
What you have to do instead is focus on the process. That is, the chunks of time that you need over days or weeks to complete the course. Focus on each work session, instead of focusing on completing the course.
By focusing on process you can relax into the flow of the work, instead of worrying over whether the video course is going to be good in the end, if you’re almost done, what your customers will think of the course, and so on.
Here’s a quote from Chilean writer Isabel Allende that perfectly illustrates this point: “Don’t be paralyzed by the idea that you’re writing a book; just write.”
3. Identify the Triggers that Make You Procrastinate
Procrastination is an automatic habit, so most of the time you’re unaware that you’ve begun to procrastinate. In order to stop procrastinating you need to identify the cues that trigger the habit of procrastination. These triggers could be things such as the following:
You decide to check your email for a moment and end up spending half an hour reading and answering emails.
You decide to look something up quickly on the Internet and find yourself surfing the web for forty minutes.
Your cellphone rings, you answer, and then proceed to chat away with a friend for twenty minutes.
You decide to get to work on your video course but you feel uncomfortable since you’ve never created a video course before and you’re unsure of what to do. You find yourself organizing your files instead of working on your video course.
Once you’ve identified the triggers that make you procrastinate, and how you respond to those triggers, you’ll begin to get better at noticing when you’re procrastinating so that you can stop yourself and get back to work.
4. Create Positive Study/Learning Habits
By creating positive study/learning habits you’ll be able to overcome procrastination. There are three steps to creating a new habit. The steps are the following:
Cue
Routine
Reward
A cue is a signal to begin a specific action. As an example, putting your fork down as soon as you’re done having lunch can be your cue to start studying. The routine is the action that you’re going to take once you receive the cue. That action could be to shut the door to your office, turn off all distractions, sit at your desk, and start studying.
Once you’ve taken the action that you planned, reward yourself. Your reward can be things such as the following: savoring the fact that you completed the task, getting a cup of flavored coffee, having two squares of dark chocolate, taking a quick nap, doing a puzzle, playing a video game, and so on.
5. Believe You Can Do It
In order to overcome procrastination, it’s vital that you believe that you can do it. Believe that the steps that you’re taking in order to create positive habits that will allow you to stop procrastinating are going to work. Gain trust in your new system.
6. Plan Your Day the Night Before
Research has shown that if you prepare your to-do list the night before, then during the night–as you sleep–your subconscious will grapple with the list and come up with ideas on how to accomplish the items on the list.
If you don’t create a list of what you need to do, then the tasks that you need to get done will lurk in your working memory, taking up valuable mental real estate. Once you make a task list, this frees up working memory for problem solving.
7. Make Notes About What Works and What Doesn’t
As you work to create an efficient system that allows you to overcome procrastination, make notes about what works and what doesn’t. This can include things such as the following:
Write down which environments you work well in, and where you find yourself getting distracted.
Are there certain times of day when it’s easier for you to get to work on important tasks?
Do you need to sprinkle more fun activities throughout the day so that you can really get yourself to sit down and get through the most important tasks on your to-do list?
Do you need to plan your quitting time at the end of the day in order to give yourself an artificial deadline that you’re going to work hard to meet?
Those times in which you succeeded in getting things done, what did you do? How can you replicate what you did?
By keeping notes you’ll be able to tweak your system until you’ve perfected it.
8. Give Yourself Some Leisure Time
Time and time again, those who give themselves some leisure time outperform those who doggedly pursue an endless treadmill. Once you’re done with all of your tasks for the day, relax and have some guilt-free fun.
You can meet friends for dinner, play a game of tennis with your significant other, go out dancing, and so on.
Stop telling yourself that you don’t have the money to pursue your goals.
How often have you told yourself that you would pursue your goals, if you had the money to do so? When you tell yourself that you don’t have the money that you need to do what you want, your actions will support this. That is, you’ll act in ways that will prevent you from achieving your dreams.
Accept that telling yourself that you don’t have enough money is an excuse that you’re using for not making the effort that is needed in order to achieve what you want. It’s similar to the excuse of saying that you don’t have enough time. As you’ll discover by reading this post, you have more than you think you do. The mental energy that you’re using to convince yourself that you’re not rich enough is energy that you could be using to work on your goals.
Below you’ll find 10 ways to realize you’re richer than you think.
1. You Have More Than You Think
In order to come to the full realization that you’re richer than you think, take inventory of everything you own. You may be surprised by what you come across.
I recently had an experience that perfectly illustrates this point. Right after Christmas I decided to take inventory of the books that I own. First, I realized that I had over one hundred books that I was definitely never going to read or refer to again.
I debated over what to do with these books, and I decided to place an ad in a Panamanian website that’s similar to Craigslist and see if I could sell them. Within a week of placing the ad on the site I had sold the books for $300.
That is, I exchanged what to me was basically clutter occupying space in my apartment for a good chunk of change. I then placed that money in my “Dreams Jar”.
Second, I realized that I own Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”. Why is this important? Because I had just been having the following conversation in my head:
“I really want to read ‘War and Peace’. I’m not going to be able to find it anywhere in Panama, and I’m going to have to order it from Amazon and pay a hefty shipping fee.”
And all the while the book was sitting right there on my bookshelf. By taking stock of what you own you’ll achieve the following:
You may realize that you already have several things that you need to achieve your goals (even if some of those things need to be re-purposed).
You may realize you can make money off of things you own—by selling it, renting it, or teaching others how to use it–and then use that money to get started on your dreams.
One way to realize how rich you are is to take stock of everything that you have.
2. Change Your Mindset
In my post “Five Mindsets That Will Transform Your Life” I wrote about the Wealth Mindset. People with this mindset understand that being rich isn’t necessarily about having lots of money in the bank. Instead, it’s about the following:
Being very clear on what you want.
Knowing that you have the ability to create value for others that will allow you to make the money that you need to pay for what you want.
Working hard to deliver that value.
Taking the money that you make by delivering value and using it to buy what you want.
As long as you have that mindset you’re rich, even if your bank account doesn’t currently reflect this fact.
3. Add Free Stuff to Your Bounty
There’s a lot of free stuff out there. And, if it’s free, it’s yours for the taking. This means that you can count all of the free stuff out there as part of your riches. Here are three ways in which I’ve recently made myself richer with free things:
Specifically, I decided to take a MOOC offered by Harvard University called Introduction to Computer Science CS50. Just think about that: I’m taking one of the most popular courses offered by the world’s number one university, for free.
Exercise, Beauty, and Nature
As soon as I’m done writing the rough draft for this blog post, I’m going out for a run. As I’ve said before on this blog, there’s a gorgeous running path right in front of my building that runs parallel to the sea for several miles.
As I run along this path not only am I getting exercise out in nature, but I also get to see the ships lined up to traverse the Panama Canal. And running outside is free!
Knowledge and Education
A while back I decided that I wanted to read “The Death of Artemio Cruz” by Carlos Fuentes. I went to a small library near my house to look for it, but they didn’t have it.
I then proceeded to convince the librarian that Fuentes’ book is one of the great works of Latin American literature, and that it would be a great addition to the library. A couple of weeks later I was notified that the library had bought the book. I checked it out and read it for free.
There’s free stuff everywhere, and all of that free stuff is part of your bounty.
4. Find Out How Much Your Goal Really Costs
How many times have you said something like the following to yourself: “I wish I could do X, but it’s too expensive”? The truth is that a lot of things don’t cost as much as you think they do.
If you’re currently telling yourself that there’s something that you want that’s out of your price range, sit down and find out how much it really costs. You may just discover that you can afford it after all. Or, at least, that you can afford a stripped down version of it.
For example, a lot of people think that starting a business or traveling is too expensive for them to even consider. At the same time, there are countless people starting businesses and traveling on a shoestring budget.
The next time that you want to do something, ask yourself these two questions:
How much does it really cost to do this?
How can I do this on the cheap?
Realize that you’re richer than you think by acknowledging that a lot of things really aren’t as expensive as you think they are.
5. Reassess Your Potential
In my post “Seven Essential Ways to Build Wealth”, I write that when you see people who have the things that you wish you had, you should ask yourself: “Why not me?” That is, instead of telling yourself that you could never have those things, realize that you do have the potential to have those things.
You don’t need to be a genius to have a million-dollar net worth.
You don’t need to have star-quality talents to have a million-dollar net worth.
Although hard work is necessary, you don’t need to work yourself to the bone to have a million-dollar net worth.
Could you pursue your goals with one million dollars? You almost certainly can. And if 1 out of 20 households in the US has that kind of money, then why not you?
Realize that you’re richer than you think you are by accepting that even if you’re not there yet, you have the potential to be there in the not-so-distant future.
6. Redefine “Being Rich”
What does “being rich” really mean to you? Look at the following:
Would you rather have $25,000,000 or be healthy?
Would you rather have $25,000,000 or have a fulfilling relationship with your spouse and children?
Would you rather have $25,000,000 or have peace of mind?
You have two options:
You can define “being rich” in a way that will prevent you from ever getting there.
Or, you can define it in a way that lets you say, “I’m already rich”, or “I’m on my way”.
Realize that you are richer than you think by redefining what it means to be rich.
7. Evaluate Your Spending
Contrary to what a lot of people think, rich people don’t throw money around. In fact, they do exactly the opposite. They’re very careful about how they spend their money (in large part, that’s how they got rich in the first place).
Right now you’re probably wasting money on all sorts of frivolous expenses you could easily do without. And the money that you’re spending mindlessly is money that you could be setting aside to achieve your goals.
Create a budget and stick to it and you’ll probably discover that you’re richer than you thought you were.
8. Rethink the Value of a Dollar
You probably think that a dollar won’t go very far. However, by setting aside $1 a day you can do all of the following:
Donate the money — become a philanthropist.
Buy the best business books you can find on Amazon and get a high quality business education on your own.
Invest the money in a DRIP –DRIPS, or dividend reinvestment plans, allow you to invest small amounts of money into dividend-paying stock by purchasing directly from the company.
Start putting money in a dream jar, even it’s just $1 a day.
Take out a dollar bill, hold it in your hand, and allow yourself to feel rich by thinking of all the things you can do with that dollar.
9. Stop Comparing Yourself to Those Who Have More Than You Do
I’ve already written about the importance of not comparing yourself to others. Yet another reason to stop comparing yourself to others is because it will never allow you to feel rich. After all, there will always be people who have more than you do.
Look at the following:
You just bought yourself a new car and you feel great. Then, someone pulls up next to you at the traffic light in a Lamborghini. You compare your car to theirs, and now you feel lousy.
You’re sitting in a plane flying to your dream destination, and you’re full of excitement. Then, you happen to glance over toward the first class cabin and you start wishing that you had all that leg room, and that you were being served champagne. You conclude that this isn’t your dream trip after all.
If you’re constantly comparing yourself to people who have more than you do, then of course you’re going to feel like you’re coming up short. In order to realize that you’re richer than you think, stop comparing yourself to others.
10. Help Others
One of the best ways to realize just how rich you are is by helping those who are not as fortunate as you are. Look at the following:
The moment in which you buy a meal for someone who’s hungry, you realize how much you really have.
When you buy a Christmas gift for a child whose parents are going through difficult economic times, you grasp just how much abundance there is in your life.
By helping an entrepreneur in a developing country through Kiva, you are saying to yourself: “I have so much, I can afford to give some of my riches to help others”.
Realize how rich you really are by helping others.
Conclusion
I hope that after reading this post you’ve realized just how much you really have. Live your best life by dropping the excuse that you don’t have the money to go after what you really want. You are richer than you think.
Your personal power is your ability to influence others and your surroundings.
We all have personal power–the ability to impact the world we live in– albeit in different degrees. Clearly, the more personal power you have, the greater your influence. So, where does personal power come from?
I believe it comes from ten different sources. These sources are the following:
Network Power
Interpersonal Power
Technical/Expert Power
Image Power
Formal Power
Resource Power
Physical Power
Attributes Power
Knowledge Power
Moral Power
In addition, there are ways to increase each of these sources of power, as well as ways to leverage each one so you can get the most out of it. Why would you want to increase and leverage your personal power?
Because the more powerful you are, the easier it is for you to realize your full potential and achieve your goals, whether those goals involve achieving financial security, traveling, helping others, impacting the world with your ideas and creating a legacy, and so on.
Below you’ll find an explanation of the ten sources of personal power I’ve identified, as well as five ways to increase each one. That will give you a total of 50 ways to increase your personal power.
1. Network Power
Your network power is who you know. Knowing the right people can vastly increase your sphere of influence. You may have heard the saying that your network is your net worth. This is because other people can do all of the following for you:
Offer valuable advice;
Give you important information which keeps you “in the loop”;
Open your eyes to new opportunities;
Help you kick start or accelerate your journey toward the achievement of your goals;
Find new clients, partners with complimentary skills, or potential investors;
Introduce you to others who may be in a position to help you; and so on.
Here are five ways to increase your network power:
Create a personal networking plan.
Work on your networking skills. You can read books on networking, attend seminars, and/or do research online.
Write down your goals and identify who you need to know in order to achieve those goals. Then, get to work on finding ways to meet those people.
Target networking opportunities that best fit your needs and personality.
Position yourself as a resource to others.
In order to increase your personal power, you have to make the right friends and surround yourself with the people who will help you to achieve what you want.
2. Interpersonal Power
Your interpersonal power is your ability to get along with and influence others. It’s related to your “likeability” index. Obviously, the more likeable you are, the more interpersonal power you have. In addition, the more persuasive you are, the greater your interpersonal power.
Here are five ways to increase your interpersonal power:
Acquire negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
The more interpersonal power you have, the more you’ll be able to get others to act in the ways you want them to.
3. Expert Power
Expert power comes from your technical abilities, skills, competence, and experience at your job, ventures, the roles that you play, and so on. If you have some particular skill or expertise that others value, then you will have power over the people who want or need that particular expertise.
Here are five ways to increase your expert power:
Hone your skills and work to perfect your craft.
Keep up with changes in your career/industry/area of expertise.
Become a thought leader in your area of expertise. One way to do this is to get published in respected journals.
Compete for awards and other forms of recognition that are highly visible to others.
Teach your skills to others, whether it’s by blogging, creating courses or tutorials, writing a book, or getting a teaching position at a school or college.
People trust those with expert power, defer to their opinions, and believe that they have the wisdom to stir them in the right direction when it comes to their area of expertise. Your expert power will allow you to command respect and ask for more money for your services.
4. Image Power
Your image power is how much power others perceive you have, whether that perception is based on truth or not. Although one can argue that image is superficial, it’s powerful. The world judges people not for who they are, but for who they seem to be.
And if you haven’t achieved much yet, you can make others think that you have by the way in which you present yourself.
Here are five ways to increase your image power:
Take control of your image – decide how you want others to see you and then craft your image so that they start seeing you that way.
Build your personal brand and reputation.
Look the part.
Work on your game face – even if things are not going the way you want them to, other people don’t need to be made aware of this fact.
Curate carefully what you post on social media.
The perception of power is critical.
5. Official Power
Your official power is the power that comes from your role and level within an organizational hierarchy, as well as within key projects and committees. It’s the authority that comes inherent in a job title and role.
Here are five ways to increase your official power:
Actively seek to get a promotion at work;
Ask to be made the Project Manager of any project that you’re working on with others;
Look for ways to be made leader of any committees you’ve been assigned to;
Run for the presidency of any group that you belong to, whether it’s a Gardening Club, your city’s Chamber of Commerce, or your Rotary Club.
Run for public office.
This is the traditional form of power. Although official power may be difficult to acquire, once you have it you’ll be able to exert power over others in the form of rewards, punishment, and asset allocation.
6. Resource Power
Resource power is the extent to which you get your personal power from the resources that you control. Resource power can come from access to money, property, information, tools and equipment, and other assets which can help you to achieve your goals.
Here are five ways to increase your resource power:
Look for ways to acquire more resources.
Increase your earning potential.
Learn how to get a better return on your investment on the resources at your disposal.
If you have few assets at your disposal, learn to be more resourceful.
Look for ways to get others to allow you to use their resources.
The more resources you have at your disposal, the more powerful you are.
7. Physical Power
Physical power is the extent to which your personal power comes from your physical characteristics. Like it or not, this aspect remains potent. Look at the following:
Attractive people are more likely to be employed;
They earn more;
It’s more likely that they’ll be approved for loans;
They’re perceived as being more competent;
They’re thought of as being more trustworthy; and
They marry attractive and highly educated people.
Fortunately, there are ways to increase your physical power, even if you didn’t win the genetic lottery when it comes to good looks. Here are five ways to increase your physical power:
Eat well and exercise so that you look healthy and fit.
Be well groomed.
Make the most of your looks – wear clothes that flatter your shape and accentuate your best parts (and minimize the not-so-great-ones).
Be energetic – people who exude confidence, joy, and enthusiasm are highly attractive.
Project strength by the way in which you carry yourself.
Like any other source of power, physical power can be increased.
8. Attribute Power
Your attribute power refers to personal characteristics which make you more powerful, such as your intellect, grit, confidence, determination, and resilience. Look at the following and ask yourself which person is more likely to get support from others when they’re striving to achieve a goal:
Someone who has shown grit and resilience in the past.
Someone who gives up easily and has a tendency to leave things half-done.
Obviously, the first person is going to get more support from others—whether it’s financial support, encouragement, and so on. Also, look at the following:
People are more likely to back a confident person than they are to back a person with low self-esteem.
People are more likely to want to help those whom they perceive to be smart and talented.
Here are five ways to increase your attribute power:
Create a personal development plan.
Ask yourself what your goals are and what attributes you need to achieve those goals.
Being self-assured, tenacious, and determined, and having positive habits, can make you very powerful.
9. Knowledge/Education Power
Knowledge and education power come from your level of education and the quality of the educational institutions that you attended. Your educational credentials can open many doors for you. In addition, people tend to respect those who have a good education.
Here are five ways to increase your knowledge/education power:
Go back to school and get an advanced degree.
Enroll at Harvard’s Extension School or take continuing education programs.
Get certified in an area that will help you in your field.
Find other ways to show that you’re committed to lifelong learning.
Create a portfolio showcasing your knowledge and skills.
Knowledge and education are power.
10. Moral Power
Your moral power is derived from your perceived moral stature. It affects how you’re perceived, as well as your ability to persuade and affect the actions of others. In essence, moral power is your ability to convince others that what you’re asking them to do is morally just.
Here are five ways to increase your moral power:
Volunteer.
Start a nonprofit.
Build a reputation as someone who has strong values and lives up to those values.
Champion a worthy cause.
Donate money to charities.
Moral power is often not given its proper due, but it’s an important factor in social life.
Conclusion
How much power do you have in each of the ten power sources explained above? Apply the 50 ways to increase your personal power that I’ve shared with you in this post, and become unstoppable. Always remember to use your power wisely and for the good of yourself and others.
All you need to achieve your goals and drastically change your life is one-hour-a-day.
In my post, “The One-Hour-A-Day Fast Track to Goal Achievement” I gave you ten reasons why you can fast track your goals with just one-hour-a-day. Now in this post I’m going to share with you 197 ways to improve your life in one-hour-a-day. You’ll find the list of ways below.
Your mindset will have a huge impact on your success.
Mindset is a way of thinking that determines your behavior, outlook, and mental attitude. As Wilson Kanadi once said, “To change your life, you have to change yourself. To change yourself, you have to change your mindset.” Your mindset will determine the kind of person you’ll be and the goals you’ll be able to achieve.
All of the following depend on your mindset:
How you handle risk.
Whether you succumb to fear or overcome it.
How you respond to challenges and setbacks.
Your levels of motivation — how much effort you’re willing to put into an endeavor.
The opportunities you’ll be able to notice and how you’ll respond to these opportunities.
The five mindsets that will transform your life are the following:
The Creator Mindset;
The Growth Mindset;
The Abundance Mindset;
The Wealth Mindset; and
The Entrepreneurial Mindset.
Each of these mindsets is explained below, along with a few suggestions on how to adopt these mindsets.
The Creator Mindset
Those who have a Creator Mindset understand all of the following:
No one is going to hand them what they want, and things are not going to magically happen by themselves. If they want something, they have to go out there and get it for themselves. They have to make things happen.
If they’re having a problem, they have to solve or fix it themselves. No one is coming to the rescue.
Nothing is being done to them. Whenever they find themselves in a negative situation they accept that they created the situation themselves; they contributed to the situation; or at the very least they permitted it to happen.
They always have a choice.
They’re responsible for themselves and their actions.
Even if there’s not much they can do to influence any given situation, at the very least they can choose their attitude.
If you want to adopt a Creator Mindset, start by asking yourself questions such as the following:
What do I want?
How can I get it?
How can I solve this problem?
What can I do in this situation?
How can I get the money to do this?
What’s the best thing I can do in this situation, right now?
By adopting a Creator Mindset you’ll develop the capacity to envision the outcomes that you want and then start taking steps to manifest these outcomes.
The Growth Mindset
In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success , Carol Dweck, Ph.D.–a professor at Stanford University and a social psychologist–explains that there are two different kinds of mindsets:
A Fixed Mindset; and
A Growth Mindset.
One mindset leads to risk aversion and feelings of limitation, while the other leads to success.
People with a Fixed Mindset believe that intelligence and talent are fixed traits: they’re born with a certain amount and that’s that. People with a Growth Mindset believe that abilities and talents can be cultivated through instruction and practice.
You develop a Growth Mindset by accepting the following:
With effort, you can train your brain to get smarter.
You can learn any skill, as long as you’re willing to put in the practice.
Failure doesn’t define you; it’s just a temporary setback.
See mistakes as feedback. Analyze the feedback and do better the next time.
Seek out new experiences that will challenge and stretch you.
It’s OK if you don’t understand at first. The point is to understand little by little. Ask yourself: “What can I try next?”
You can change your mindset so that your thinking patterns help you to succeed.
As I write in “The One-Hour-A-Day Formula“, if you’re one of those people who have a long list of skills that they want to learn–such as learning a language, taking up an instrument, learning to code, and so on–, having a Growth Mindset is vital.
The Abundance Mindset
The Abundance Mindset is often contrasted with the Scarcity Mindset. People with a Scarcity Mindset think that there are few resources out there, and their thoughts are centered on lack.
On the other hand, people with an Abundance Mindset think that there are enough resources for everyone, and their thoughts are centered on plenty. In order to adopt an Abundance Mindset, do the following:
Instead of feeling lack by focusing on what you don’t have, feel abundance by being grateful for what you do have.
Instead of fighting over what you perceive to be limited resources, actively look for ways to expand the pie so that everyone can get a piece.
Instead of staring at the door that just closed, start looking for a window that’s open.
Instead of constantly worrying about the future, be mindful of the gifts contained in the present.
Instead of thinking that you have to be more or have more before you can he happy, choose to be happy with what you have, and with who you are, now.
Having an Abundance Mindset will open possibilities and allow you to see more alternatives. In addition, it will make you more resourceful and creative.
The Wealth Mindset
Another way of thinking of “mindset” is as a series of beliefs and thinking patterns. Therefore, if you want to adopt a Wealth Mindset you need to identify the beliefs and thinking habits that make up this mindset. So, what are the beliefs and assumptions that make up the Wealth Mindset?
Here are some of them:
Wealth creation is simply about acquiring the necessary knowledge on how to create, build, and protect wealth.
You should strive to become financially independent instead of relying on an employer for your financial well-being.
Money is good — money allows you to develop yourself to your fullest potential.
Building wealth is about having your money work hard for you.
To build wealth, you have to constantly learn and grow.
You are unique and valuable. In addition, what you have to offer to the world is unique and valuable, and you deserve to be well compensated for it.
If you want to make more money, you just need a better idea, and you need to bring focus and discipline to the process of turning that idea into reality.
Money doesn’t discriminate – it doesn’t care about your gender, race, ethnicity, and so on. In addition, it doesn’t care if you come from wealth or if your parents lived paycheck-to-paycheck. If you do what it takes to make money, and to take care of that money, you’ll become wealthy.
To create a Wealth Mindset, set financial goals. This will get you to think seriously about money and how to make it. Then, adopt the beliefs above and get to work.
The Entrepreneurial Mindset
Some people have an Employee Mindset, while others have an Entrepreneurial Mindset. People with an Entrepreneurial Mindset think in terms of finding opportunities and creating value. They’re driven and they know how to take calculated risks.
Here’s what having an Entrepreneurial Mindset is all about:
It’s about being self-directed, instead of waiting to be told what to do.
It’s about giving yourself permission, instead of waiting for permission from others.
Entrepreneurs see opportunities instead of problems.
They’re constantly thinking in terms of value creation.
They see constraints—such as limited resources—as a good thing. After all, it eliminates the paralysis of choice that would otherwise prevent them from getting started. They do what they can with what they have.
They’re constantly looking for problems that other people are having which they can solve.
They can tolerate discomfort and ambiguity.
It’s about getting up each time you fall, learning from your mistakes, and tolerating rejection.
It’s about getting good at learning new skills.
It’s about realizing that the buck stops with you.
It’s about being action-oriented.
It’s about learning to promote yourself and sell your goods and services.
It’s about creating a strategy, and then executing that strategy.
You can’t succeed as an entrepreneur without having an Entrepreneurial Mindset.
In addition, even if you currently work for somebody else, people with an Entrepreneurial Mindset are more valuable to their employers than people with an Employee Mindset–after all, they need less supervision and get better results.
Conclusion
Make your mind your friend by adopting the right mindsets. Live your best life by developing the five mindsets explained above.
Here are 59 time quotes to help you make the most of your time.
1. “If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” ~ Bruce Lee
2. “We give our time away all day long, to emotions that gain us no advantages, to people who do not value our time, to inefficient habits. If you want to take back this time, you need to cut to the chase.” ~ Stuart R. Levine
3. “If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got.” ~ Lee Iacocca
4. “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” ~ H. Jackson Brown
5. “Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might as well put that passing to the best possible use.” ~ Earl Nightingale
6. “Either you run your day, or your day runs you.” ~ Jim Rohn
7. “I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.” ~ Golda Meir
8. “Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week.” ~ Charles Richards
9. “Take care of the minutes and the hours will take care of themselves.” ~ Lord Chesterfield
10. “All you need to achieve your goals and drastically change your life is one-hour-a-day.” ~ Marelisa Fábrega
11. “You’re writing the story of your life one moment at a time.” ~ Doc Childre and Howard Martin
12. “It’s how we spend our time here and now, that really matters. If you are fed up with the way you have come to interact with time, change it.” ~ Marcia Wieder
13. “Your greatest resource is your time.” ~ Brian Tracy
14. “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” ~ Michael Altshuler
15. “Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” ~ Carl Sandburg
16. “Those who make the worse use of their time are the first to complain of its shortness.” ~ Jean De La Bruyere
17. “In truth, people can generally make time for what they choose to do; it is not really the time but the will that is lacking.” ~ Sir John Lubbock
18. “The real problem of leisure time is how to keep others from using yours.” ~ Arthur Lacey
19. “Lose an hour in the morning, and you will be all day hunting for it.” ~Richard Whately
20. “Up until now you’ve probably heard the terms ‘investing” and ‘return on your investment’ only in relation to money. However, you have to start applying these concepts to your time as well. Make wise time investments and then enjoy the positive returns that you receive on your investment.” ~ Marelisa Fábrega
21. “A year from now you will wish you had started today.” ~ Karen Lamb
22. “While we are postponing, life speeds by.” ~ Seneca
23. “The great dividing line between success and failure can be expressed in five words: ‘I did not have time.’” ~ Franklin Field
24. “With perseverance, the very odds and ends of time may be worked up into results of the greatest value.” ~ The Royal Path of Life
25. “Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” ~ Lord Chesterfield
26. “I recommend you take care of the minutes and the hours will take care of themselves.” ~ Earl of Chesterfield
27. “How long will you wait for the right time to come? The right time is now, and the right place is here.” ~ Dada J.P. Vaswani
28. “Your purpose should dictate how you spend your time.” ~ Brenda Johnson Padgitt
29. “Stop allowing time to control you; instead, take control of your time.” ~ Marelisa Fábrega
30. “Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year — and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!” ~ Anthony Robbins
31. “You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.” ~ Charles Buxton
32. “Time is the most valuable coin in your life. You and you alone will determine how that coin will be spent. Be careful that you do not let other people spend it for you.” ~ Carl Sandburg
33. “Managing your time without setting priorities is like shooting randomly and calling whatever you hit the target.”
~ Peter Turla
34. “The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything if you want to succeed in business–or almost anywhere else for that matter.” ~ Lee Iacocca
35. “Spare moments are the gold dust of time.” ~ Bishop Hail
36. “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” ~ Stephen Covey
37. “If you want to be more productive, you need to become master of your minutes.” ~ Crystal Paine
38. “You get to decide where your time goes. You can either spend it moving forward, or you can spend it putting out fires. You decide. And if you don’t decide, others will decide for you.” ~ Tony Morgan
39. “If you don’t set aside some time each day to create the life you want, then you’ll be spending your time surviving instead of living your best life.” ~ Marelisa Fábrega
40. “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” ~ Peter Drucker
41. “Don’t spend a dollar’s worth of time on a ten cent decision.” ~ Peter Turla
42. “We can no more afford to spend major time on minor things than we can to spend minor time on major things.” ~ Jim Rohn
43. “The cost of a thing is the amount of what I call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
44. “You wake up in the morning, and your purse is magically filled with twenty-four hours of un-manufactured tissue of the universe of your life! It is yours. It is the most precious of possessions. No one can take it from you. And no one receives either more or less than you receive.” ~ Arnold Bennett
45. “A man must be master of his hours and days, not their servant.” ~ William Frederick Book
46. “Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, for they are gone forever.” ~ Horace Mann
47. “It’s how we spend our time here and now, that really matters. If you are fed up with the way you have come to interact with time, change it.” ~ Marcia Wieder
48. “The time for action is now. It is never too late to do something.” ~ Carl Sandburg
49. “Until you value yourself, you will not value your time.” ~ M. Scott Peck
50. “The great dividing line between success and failure can be expressed in five words: ‘I did not have time.’” ~ Franklin Field
51. “We say we waste time, but that is impossible. We waste ourselves.” ~ Alice Boch
52. “There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.” ~ Brian Tracy
53. “What comes first, the compass or the clock? Before one can truly manage time (the clock), it is important to know where you are going, what your priorities and goals are, in which direction you are headed (the compass). Where you are headed is more important than how fast you are going. Rather than always focusing on what’s urgent, learn to focus on what is really important.“~ Unknown
54. “We realize our dilemma goes deeper than shortage of time; it is basically a problem of priorities. We confess, we have left undone those things that ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.“ ~ Charles E. Hummel
55. “To get all there is out of living, we must employ our time wisely, never being in too much of a hurry to stop and sip life, but never losing our sense of the enormous value of a minute.” ~ Robert Updefraff
56. “If, before going to bed every night, you will tear a page from the calendar, and remark, there goes another day of my life, never to return, you will become time conscious.“ ~ A.B. Zu Tavern
57. “We sleep, but the loom of life never stops, and the pattern which was weaving when the sun went down is weaving when it comes up in the morning.“ ~ Henry Ward Beecher
58. This is the key to time management – to see the value of every moment. Menachem Mendel Schneerson
59. “Use some time each day, one-hour-a-day is all you need, to bust your regrets. What do you regret not having done in the past? Start doing it now.” ~ Marelisa Fábrega
Conclusion
I hope your found these 59 time quotes useful. Live your best life by improving how you manage your time.
Marelisa Fabrega is a lawyer and entrepreneur. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., as well as a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center. You can learn more about her here
Harvard-trained positive psychologist Shawn Achor–author of the New York Times bestseller “The Happiness Advantage“–has made a career out of studying the science of happiness. His TED talk on happiness is one of the most popular of all time with over 13 million views. Achor argues that, as a society, our focus is on productivity, and we’ve ignored happiness and meaning. And we’ve done this to our detriment. After all, studies show that having a happy brain gives us a competitive advantage at work, and in life.
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Marelisa Fabrega is a lawyer and entrepreneur. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., as well as a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center. You can learn more about her 
