“We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?” - Steve Jobs There’s something beautiful and powerful about knowing your life has touched another’s in a positive way that makes us feel good. Knowing you've made an impact makes you feel valuable. It gives your life a bigger context that extends beyond you alone. It elevates feelings of connection because through impact we remember how we’re all connected and not alone.  The impact you make doesn’t need to be huge for it to matter. You might impact lives by starting a non-profit or by creating a product that transforms how people live.  But equally important is the conversation you have with someone who’s hit their limit. Or the mentorship you give to a rising star who benefits hugely from your influence.  What’s more, your impact creates a ripple effect that spreads out into the world in ways you can’t imagine or predict.  What might the person you’ve helped do for someone else?  It’s a mystery of life and a reminder that no act is too small to be significant.  So how do you maximize your chances of making an impact in the way that you want?  These ten mindsets are a great place to start.  Let’s dive in! 1. Love yourself  People aren’t only touched by what you do. They are moved by who you are and how you make them feel.  People respond to your energy and your vibe, which is why impact gets amplified by your level of self-love. There’s a correlation. The more you appreciate who you are, the less you’ll doubt your instincts - which means there’s an increased likelihood that you’ll follow through on your impact idea. So do what you can to cultivate self-trust. You’ll find it’s a lot easier to follow your heart with confidence when you’re sure you’re taking the right action.  There are plenty of ways to increase self-love.  Journaling is a great place to dive deep into the inner work and boost your self-awareness. A gratitude practice will inspire a positive mindset and switch on optimism. Have a play to see what methods work for you. 2. Expand your comfort zone Making an impact isn’t always easy. Chances are you’ll face your fears and take on new challenges. But that’s part of the magic of making your mark. In the process of inspiring others, you’ll also discover that you can do more than you ever imagined possible.  In the process, you realize you’re more influential than you thought previously.  So be brave and lean into courage.  Learn to find comfort inside the discomfort and enjoy discovering how powerful you are.  3. Go the extra mile The extra mile is ridiculously under crowded. Most people stop just before they reach the area where another step can make all the difference.  What could you do beyond the point where others stop trying or give up to make a difference?  4. Serve others  Any time you help someone out, you make an impact.  Whether you do a random act of kindness or volunteer for a charity, every act of service makes a difference in the world. Not only that, but every time you contribute, you feel good too!    5. Share your story Change starts with you.  Anytime you lead or reveal possibilities, there will be others who feel inspired by your actions and want to get involved too.   So lead the way. You never know who you’ll inspire when you choose to go first.  Share your stories, speak from your heart, and express your truth. Leverage your life experiences as examples to show others what’s possible.  It’s a beautiful way to make an impact.  6. Make a stand for the things you believe in Your voice has insane power. If you can articulate your beliefs and values in an empowered way, you can have a lot of influence - and even ignite change.  And don’t think a single voice can’t do much.  Just look at people like Greta Thunberg and Rosa Parks, and you can see the far-reaching impact that one individual can make.  Speak out and advocate for the causes you believe in.  Be the example and spark thought-provoking conversations that get others thinking. Who knows where your voice could lead.  7. Check your balance between creating and consuming We’re in the information age where information is virtually infinite.  There’s barely any room for boredom these days because entertainment and conversation are at our fingertips [literally]. There is a negative side to this entertainment on tap. If we’re not mindful, we can quickly lose ourselves in the internet abyss - emerging hours later wondering what we actually achieved.  If you spend all your time consuming, there’s less space and scope for your ideas.  So find the right balance.  Make room to get inspired with your own creativity. Get into writing, poetry, dance, painting, crafts - whatever gets you excited. Art touches people in beautiful ways. How could you impact others with your unique expression?  8. Give compliments As humans, we all long to be seen and heard for who we really are.  Don’t underestimate the impact that a well-timed, specific compliment can make on another individual. Compliments work because they show that you’ve noticed something valuable and beautiful in another person. They allow others to feel acknowledged and noticed.  • Tell your VA how much you value what they do for you.• Tell your child how great they are at hugging and smiling.• Tell your boss their leadership inspires you. Go the extra mile by being specific instead of vague. Specificity feels entirely different to receive.  9. Plan your impact It’s one thing to have an idea about how you’ll make an impact; it’s another to take action on your idea and turn a vision into reality.  Don’t leave things to chance.  Turn talk into action by figuring out the practical steps that will help you manifest your vision. Identify milestones, set deadlines, and build the habits needed to move the needle.  Magic really does happen when you see your ideas through from beginning to end. 10. Cultivate resilience  Progress can feel painfully slow at the beginning. You may even start to wonder if your effort is worth it at all. But just like a stationary car is hard to move initially, once you overcome the inertia the momentum builds.  So don’t give up!  Keep going, knowing the energy you’ve invested has to show up somewhere. And if things don’t work out as you hoped, don’t take it personally. Instead, get comfortable with setbacks and extract the lessons from your ‘failures’. This resilience will make you tougher and inspire you to weather any storm.  How are you making an impact in your life and your world?  I hope these ideas inspire you. 

Join Georgina El Morshdy, BestSelf Co.'s head writer and host of "Writing Your Best Self" podcast, and Lamia Pardo, founder and CEO of Journify - an audio journaling app, for this FREE journaling masterclass focusing on cultivating creativity, clarity and confidence.

"The human capacity for burden is like bamboo - far more flexible than you'd ever believe at first glance." - Jodi Picoult. With so much uncertainty, it’s not surprising that stress and anxiety levels are on the rise. Now, more than ever, we need to take care of our mental and emotional health.  The good news is there’s always something you can do to change the way you feel - even if that feeling only lasts a short time.  One thing you can try is mindful living - a practice that can help relieve stress and calm anxiety.  Let me show you how… What is mindful living?  Mindful living is about being focused in the present moment - something that’s not as easy as it sounds.  If you could step outside of your body and observe how you move through your day, you’d see that you spend a lot of it either thinking about the past or rushing to the future. Instead of being in the moment, you’re stressing about the argument you had with your kids over breakfast, or you’re anxious about how tomorrow’s pitch will go.  You’d also notice how distracted you are…  From the constant pings of email notifications to the stream of social updates, your environment is waiting to pull you out of the moment.  And that’s not to mention the 100s of daily decisions that take up bandwidth! It’s a problem because when you’re disconnected from the moment, you feel ungrounded. In turn, your stress and anxiety levels rise.  Mindful living practices can help you combat this… Five ways to practice mindful living 1. Mindful meditation.  Detached from the present moment, even a few minutes of deep presence can be overwhelming. In the silence, you notice how much your mind races with its estimated 50,000 thoughts a day!  Over time, mindful meditation can help you feel comfortable sitting with what is.  The goal with meditation is just to be.  Don’t try to switch off your thoughts entirely. A silent mind is hard to create - especially if you’re new to meditation. Trying to be ‘perfect’ will quickly turn you off your practice! Instead, every time you notice yourself getting lost in thought, bring your awareness back to your breath.  As a busy person, you may wonder if daily meditation is a realistic goal for you. The good news is that even a short practice can leave you feeling calmer and focused.  The BestSelf Co. free mindfulness challenge is a great place to start. 2. Start a gratitude practice.  A daily gratitude practice has been a pillar of BestSelf Co. right from the beginning.  As we studied the secrets of high-performers, we realized that gratitude was a practice many people swore by - and for a good reason.  Gratitude guides you to notice and appreciate the things you have in your life right now. Regardless of what’s happening in your life, there’s always something to appreciate. For example, you can choose to notice the breeze in your hair, your coffee’s aroma, or how the paper feels under your pen. As a presence practice, gratitude also cultivates a sense of positivity as you become aware of how plentiful and abundant your life already is.  And because gratitude sparks feelings of positivity and abundance, it’s a practice that makes you happier too.  3. Journal Journaling is a powerful way to slow down your thoughts enough so that you can observe them and work through them. Through journaling, you get to be curious about what’s happening for you - in any given moment - and in the process extract wisdom, insight, and personal power. Journaling can also help you understand the resistance you have to sitting in the present moment. For example, you can:  • Explore your worries and fears • Work through the reason you still feel triggered or upset by a past event • Get clarity over a decision that’s keeping you distracted • Get curious about the things you do to keep you from the present - such as comfort eating, flicking through social media, or lighting a cigarette • Explore what you’re feeling - and why Journaling is mindful because instead of allowing your thoughts to take on a life of their own, you get to extract them from your head and put them on paper. This can give you clarity and closure. It can help calm your mind too because sometimes when you read back your thoughts, you’re able to make better sense of them.  The net result of emptying your head is more bandwidth and less clutter.  In turn, it becomes more comfortable to sit with yourself in the moment. [For more journaling tips, prompts, and interviews, check out the Writing Your Best Self podcast].  4. Lose yourself in creativity Whether your jam is writing, playing music, painting, dance, or something else, there’s something beautiful about losing yourself in creativity.  When you get into a flow state, time becomes irrelevant, and all distractions disappear.  Instead, you’re absorbed in your imagination. You align with your creative essence, and that magic moves your body in beautiful ways or turns a blank piece of paper into a work of art.  When you’re lost in your ideas, any fear evaporates; replaced with a willingness to take risks, explore new techniques, and push your limits.  In this beautiful state of presence, nothing else matters - and any thoughts of anxiety or stress are long forgotten.  5. Quit the multi-tasking  Multitasking is a myth. What you class as multitasking is actually your brain rapidly switching from one task to another.  Multitasking can drain unnecessary energy because the constant task switching causes your brain to jump from one point of focus to another.  In the process, you can get distracted.  Far better to focus on one task at a time - and lose yourself inside of it. As you give everything to that one task, you’re able to dive deeper into it. Magic can happen when this deep work is allowed because you uncover new ideas. You make more imaginative connections. You do better work.  And you’re more productive and creative too!  A one task rule also makes you more present. Instead of worrying about what you’re going to do next [or stressing about how you’ll fit everything in], you can get your head down.  You can start mindful living now You don’t have to spend your entire day in mindful living - although you can if you want!  The beauty of this practice is you can start small - and build on it.  For example, you can start with five minutes of gratitude a day or a 20-minute journaling session. Or you can weave in a 10-minute mindfulness practice after lunch - whatever works for you.  The rewards are clear.  The more you embrace the present moment, the more your stress and anxiety levels have the chance to fall.  What mindful living practices will you start today?

“Journaling is like whispering to one’s self and listening at the same time.” — Mina Murray, DraculaSome of the world’s top-performers swear by the practice of journaling - and for good reason. This powerful practice goes far beyond recording the events of your day for prosperity. Instead, journaling is a practice that will help you become your best self. Keep reading to discover SIX reasons why... Reason #1 - Free up creative bandwidth Jim Rohn says “Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.” Here’s an interesting fact… the average person has between 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts a day. That’s up to 50 thoughts a minute [yup, I can’t quite fathom that either!] Here’s the thing… A lot of those thoughts are repetitive or low-level. You become what you think, so if you’re constantly repeating the same thoughts, you’ll keep recreating the same reality. Thinking ruts keep us stuck in the status quo, making it less likely that the mind will wander down a tangent that delivers a door-opening idea. Here’s where journaling can help - HUGELY. You can use your journal to close up some of those repetitive thought loops. In turn, you free up bandwidth and create some new space to think. As a result, you’re more likely to discover something new. Reason #2 - Boost your emotional intelligence In a nutshell, emotional intelligence is your ability to recognize, understand, and manage your emotions. As you can imagine, emotional intelligence is a pretty crucial skill if you want to be your best self. Your emotions are messengers. They give you an insight into how you’re feeling that goes beyond what your logical mind wants you to know. Emotions can give you insight into specific experiences, people, and situations. They can help you understand your triggers too. The better you can navigate, process, and express your emotions, the more powerfully you can show up for yourself and for other people. Of course, journaling can help you here too - because you can use your journaling practice to work through how you feel. With the help of your journal you can write about and process your emotions. Helping you to feel more connected with yourself and with others. Reason #3 - Better know yourself Your journal is a brilliant place to get to know who you really are. Think about it… Unless you’ve lived a very intentional life [where you’re conscious about why you have the beliefs you have or why you make the decisions that you do], then a big chunk of how you show up is determined by your hard-wired beliefs and habits. It’s not unusual for these instinctive patterns to have been shaped by influences outside of your choice - for example: • Meeting the expectations of your parents or teachers as a child • Showing up in a way that got you accepted by your peers • Behaving in a way that earned you brownie points with your boss, teammates, or clients A lot of these habits WILL serve you - but some won’t.  Your journal is the perfect place to differentiate between the two. Through the process of introspection, contemplation, and self-discovery, you can distinguish between the authentic YOU - and the parts of you that are serving others more than they serve you. In turn, your journal becomes a powerful catalyst for rapid self-growth. Reason #4 - Set and achieve the right goals Are you setting goals that you REALLY want - or goals that you think you should want? It’s a crazy fact that only 8% of people achieve the goals they set. There are lots of reasons why people fall short of where they say they want to be - and one of those is because their goal didn’t excite them enough in the first place! There’s a profound difference between motivation and inspiration. Motivation is often an outside thing whereas inspiration comes from within. Ideally, your goals should light a fire inside of you. You should feel inherently driven to do what’s required to make them work.  You can use your journal to figure this piece out by writing to get clarity on what you really want… And more importantly, WHY you want it. With a clear direction mapped out, you can put your Reticular Activating System to work - and increase your chances of success significantly. Reason #5 - Learn from your life “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This quote is widely attributed to Einstein - [it’s such a good quote that we’ll overlook the fact that he may not have said this at all!] Have you noticed how life has a funny way of repeating itself? The situation may be different, but the context is often similar… I think this is life’s way of helping you learn something specific - meaning familiar experiences will continue to show up, until you ‘get’ the lesson! Once again, your journal is a powerful place to put reflection to work. With the help of your journal, you can look back over an event, a day, a week, a season etc. to pull out the life lessons. It’s more powerful to write out your reflection than it is to just think because writing allows you to pull on all the threads of thinking - and see where they go. When you write, you can join up the dots and make the connections that would otherwise be invisible. And as you reflect, you learn - and make it more likely that you won’t repeat mistakes - which in turn allows you to grow more quickly. Reason #6 - Feel more centered Life is pretty crazy at the moment.  All this chaos, uncertainty, and confusion means the road ahead might not be as clear as you once thought. In turn, stress and anxiety can increase - creating emotional reactions and mental fog that make it harder to make decisions and think straight. Your journal can help you work through these fears - so you can feel more grounded. There’s something about writing out your worries and concerns - in detail - that can take the edge off the emotional energy of it all. Instead of thoughts whirring round and round in your head, you can create closure and clarity - therefore increasing your feelings of empowerment. Journaling inspires you to get focused - and that can calm your wandering, worrying mind and create some much-needed relief. Pretty cool, right?! Who’s have thought you could extract all of those mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits from capturing a few words on the blank page. Yup, journaling really is one of THE most profound practices that you can adopt - and best of all, it’s so simple to start. All you need is a pen, a notebook [I recommend the Scribe], and your wandering mind. So get to writing NOW. Loved this journaling article? If so, get weekly tips and insights when you subscribe to the Writing Your Best Self podcast. Packed with interviews, journaling strategies, and free journaling prompts, you can feel supported as you explore your inner world and unlock your best.

Do you ever get overwhelmed into inaction? Does your to-do list weigh heavy, drain your bandwidth, and prevent you from getting the clarity you need to make sound decisions and move forward? If so, you’re not alone… When you’re juggling too many balls and doing your best in a multitude of roles, your mind can get foggy. Mental clutter is a big problem and it’s costly… If we can’t take action, we can feel stuck and stagnant. When we lack clarity, we can’t focus enough to identify the choices that could change our lives for the better. If that sounds familiar, then this article is for you - because I’m going to show you how to declutter your mind so you can get the mental clarity you need to make good decisions and feel in control of your life. Let’s dive in…  1.  Remove decision fatigue  Decisions take mental energy meaning the more decisions you have to make, the less bandwidth you have. One way you can free up headspace is to cut the number of everyday decisions you have to make. There was a reason that Steve Jobs always used to wear the same black turtleneck, jeans & sneakers. Wearing the same thing every day meant he didn’t have to stand in front of his wardrobe deciding what to put on. Don’t worry; you don’t have to purge your closet to remove decision fatigue - unless you want to! Instead, achieve a similar outcome with the help of: • Planning meals in advance• Implementing a morning routine that switches on your best - on autopilot• Scheduling your day in advance [using a tool such as the Self Journal] so you don’t have to keep spending time figuring out what to do next 2.  Create external brains Another way to sharpen mental clarity is to stop trying to remember everything! The human brain isn’t at its best when it’s used as a memory bank. Instead, it thrives when it has the freedom to solve problems or get creative. With that in mind, set the intention to get things out of your head and into systems or onto paper so you don’t have to waste your time and energy recalling key information. For example:  • Create a robust note-taking system - so you don’t end up with piles of sticky notes, scribbles in various notebooks, and no idea where it all is. • Write tasks and errands onto a to-do list [the Weekly Action Pad is great for this]• Set up calendar reminders so you don’t forget birthdays or other key dates• Carry a notebook so you can jot down ideas or journal through thoughts when they show up All these simple practices will free up valuable creative energy which you can use elsewhere.  3.  Don’t multitask It’s a myth that you get more done when doing multiple tasks at once. The human brain can’t actually multitask. When you’re multitasking, you’re actually switching rapidly from one task to another - because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. But that’s not all… Multitasking prevents you from diving into deep focus and deeper work because your brain never has the time to sink beyond the surface-level and superficial. In fact, multitasking steals your time because it takes a while after each switch to get back into the zone again. It may feel counterintuitive, but doing ONE thing at a time is a powerful way to get more done AND feel clearer in the process. Where are you wasting bandwidth and cluttering your mind needlessly? 4. Systematize and automate  Are there parts of your life or your business that you do over and over again? If so, take the time to figure out how you can shift repetitive tasks into a system so you don’t take up brain space and waste your energy repeating stuff unnecessarily For example:  • Are there automation tools you can introduce so you don’t even have to do those repetitive tasks at all? • How about set alarms to remind you to drink water• Or using a tracking watch to keep you accountable to your health habits 5.  Prioritize  Your time is finite and limited. This means if you want to win the day, you’ll have more success if you focus on the tasks that move the needle the furthest. It’s the 80/20 rule where 80% of your results come from 20% of the tasks you complete. Here’s a mindset shift that can help you cut the overwhelm you feel from a growing to-do list… Simply remind yourself that NOT all tasks are created equally. Instead, figure out the key tasks that will move the needle the most - then focus all your energy to complete those first. We recommend you set a maximum of THREE targets a day. Sure, you can include quick to-dos alongside this, but ask yourself... if you could do only three things - which ones would make the most impact. When you’ve identified those key levers, schedule time to do them and set your focus. Take action now! Mental fog can really drag you down. It can drain your productivity, steal your motivation, and ensure you hit the pillow feeling anxious that things are piling up. But with the right mindset and action steps, fogginess needn’t slow you down. With the help of the techniques we’ve explored in this article, not only will your brain feel a lot less cluttered, but you’ll accomplish more on a day-to-day basis too. What is the action you'll take immediately to declutter your mind? Pull out your notebook and make your plan now - you’ll be glad you did! 

September is Self-Improvement Month, which sets a great reminder that taking care of yourself is a vital part of feeling your best and living a life that you’re proud of. Self-improvement can happen in the form of self-care, and can be implemented in many forms, including physical, mental and emotional practices. Each derives a different area of improvement that is associated with your body’s performance and mental health and can bring you to a stronger and healthier state of mind. Self-care involves participating in an activity that boosts your overall well-being. These can be things that you enjoy doing on a daily basis, like reading, drawing or going for a walk. Everyone’s self-care regimen is different based on lifestyle and personal preferences, but just as long as you’re incorporating the things that make you feel like your best into a schedule, you’re leading yourself to a happier and more well-rounded version of yourself. Although Self-Improvement Month is within a specific timespan, this does not mean that you need to reach every single self-care goal you’ve set for yourself within one month, or go back to an old or unhealthy way of life after the month is over. Instead, it gives you an opportunity to kickstart self-improvement goals that can be reached over a longer period of time. Yes, it’s possible to have a “glow up” within 30 days, but realistically it could take years for an individual to properly prioritize personal care and recognize their self-worth depending on their life experiences. To learn more about what you can do to spark a self-care transformation, here are some tips to follow: Start a Writing Journal Journaling your daily thoughts can help you reflect on both the positive and negative situations you’re enduring in your life. This is especially beneficial if it’s challenging for you to communicate to others about what you’re going through. Writing improves your mood, calms the body and helps you identify the frequency of certain thoughts that are heavy on your mind. Journaling is an extremely beneficial self-care technique. It helps to clear your mind of self-doubt and gives you time to reflect on certain life experiences while taking a deeper dive into your emotions. What you write about can be anything you want it to be. As long it helps you improve your mental, emotional and spiritual wellness, you can count this self-care regimen as a success. According to Penzu, it’s important to set a time for how long you want to write. Ideally, this should be between 5-20 minutes, and done consistently throughout the week in a quiet, non-distracting space where you can relax and focus. If it helps, put your smartphone or laptop in another room to avoid hopping on social media or answering phone calls and text messages. If you need a background noise to be able to write to the best of your ability, there are plenty of zen playlists on Apple Music or Spotify that you can utilize. Depending on your music preferences, you can also customize a playlist for journaling so you’re listening to some of your favorite tunes when you write. Begin a New Hobby Hobbies are a great way to get yourself involved in the community, and an even more fantastic way to meet new people. It might be helpful to look online for organizations and teams that are in need of assistance. This could be within recreational sports groups, volunteering services and classes that are hosted by people who are passionate about providing to society. You can join Facebook groups based on your interests and chat up individuals who have been involved to get a glimpse into their experience. Knowing that you are involved in the things that you enjoy participating in or giving back to creates a spread of positivity change, resulting in a more powerful self-reflection and appreciation for your own personal growth. During the time of COVID-19, it may be difficult to find a hobby that is open to the public depending on where you’re from, but at-home hobbies can be just as fun and simple. If you're a crafty person, start a small-business to spread your creativeness to others. If you enjoy fitness, find online yoga or exercise classes to improve your physical health. Do you like spending time outside? Find local hikes to visit when you want to be in nature, or build and maintain your own garden to have fresh foods available nearby when you want to cook a nutritious meal. This might take a few trials to find exactly what you enjoy, but once you do, you’ll find that you’re happier and involved with people with common interests. Dive Into Your Finances Financial health can be a trigger to emotional and mental stress, as without a saving and spending system in place for your personal finances, it can make you feel overwhelmed that you won’t have enough in your checking account to provide for yourself. Due to the challenges that could be associated with underlying money management issues, like late bill payments or overspending, it’s important to incorporate personal finances into your self-care routine. Ultimately, we want to have full control over our finances, and to be able to comfortably create short- and long-term financial goals. But when you’re not organized, your mental health could take a toll and result in depression, anxiety or even anger.Developing financial habits isn’t a simple walk in the park at first. It takes time to learn how to organize your bills, create a spending plan and to properly invest your money. Whether this stress is coming from your source of income or poor financial wellness, there are many resources that can help you self-improve and adjust to a better financially friendly lifestyle. With smartphones completely taking over today’s world with apps, information and digital tools, financial-technology is boosting in popularity and giving people a savvy way of managing their finances. Along with expense tracking apps and personal budget software’s, there are app-based banking solutions without a credit check that can help you manage your money regardless of how challenging your financial situation is and how far along you are with developing a self-care routine. By utilizing your mobile device for organization, you can simply access thousands of resources meant to reduce money-related stress and anxiety from anywhere, and in seconds.  Participate in Random Acts of Kindness To cultivate kindness is to create a positive environment for yourself and those around you. When individuals view you as someone who spreads good vibes and remains calm through difficult situations, they are more likely to emulate your behavior—creating even more generosity among a wider population. There are many ways you can participate in random acts of kindness, even something as simple as complimenting another person goes a very long way. Other options include sending a card to a friend showing your appreciation for them, making a donation to a cause that you’re passionate about and even treating someone to a coffee or lunch once in a while. Spreading kindness doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, but rather a simple conversation or plan to show your family, friends and others that you care. Read or Listen to Podcasts Self-help and motivational books consist of tips and tricks that can help you improve certain areas of your life. Depending on your topic preferences, you can find books for almost every subject—from relationship advice, to nutrition and exercise, to career growth. Reading about the parts of your life that you want to improve on can give you additional insight into more ideas that can help you achieve your goals, and even reading books on the same subject by different authors can give you numerous perspectives too.  Podcasts are another great outlet for self-improvement advice. These can be found on music subscription websites like Spotify or Apple Music, or on blogs and other media outlets that provide personal wellness content. Podcasts can be listened to while you’re working, driving in the car, hiking or even when you’re hanging out around the house. If you’re struggling to find one that you like, ask other people about what they’ve listened to, or read reviews online about what others have to say about certain podcasters and how they frame their conversations. Some individuals talk about personal topics and life experiences, while others share general information and life tips. Don’t be afraid to listen to a preview before following a podcaster to ensure you know that it will be something you enjoy. Sustain a Daily Routine  Beginning your day with something productive, health-oriented or an activity that brings you joy is imperative to maintain. Mornings are a crucial part of your daily routine because what you do with the first few hours of your day can depict how the rest of your afternoon and evening play out in terms of your productivity and mood. Start with something simple like waking up and going to bed at a consistent time to keep yourself on a better sleeping schedule. Eating healthy meals is another vital part of feeling your best on a daily basis. Avoid skipping one to keep your energy levels high and to avoid head and stomach aches from a lack of nutrition.  In terms of organizing your daily schedule, use a planner to map out the hours of your day and check off each completed task to visualize your success.  Using colored pens, sticky notes and labels can bring more creativity and organization to your planner, and can make it easier for you to categorize the different components of your routine, such as exercise, meals and work related tasks. If you’d rather use a digital method to craft and keep track of your plans, look into calendar apps or other internet services that provide online planners that are compatible with all phone providers. In some cases, these apps can be used on a laptop, phone and tablet, which extends your ability to use them across all of your devices. Self-Improvement Month is the perfect time to envision, create and share a new and improved version of yourself. This process doesn’t have to happen overnight, and can take some time. The more you focus on yourself, for yourself, the better you’ll feel about the person you are becoming.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle It’s great to take feedback from other people and explore different perspectives from the ones you hold. But never overlook or downplay the wisdom you have within. Your life and personal experiences have given you a unique perspective that’s invaluable. So trust yourself. Make it a habit to know yourself on deeper and deeper levels - you’ll find it’s the catalyst to unlocking your best self. This article will help… As well as exploring why knowing yourself is so so empowering, we’ll also dive into three revealing techniques that will help you know the person in the mirror on a whole new level. Let’s get started? Why it pays to know yourself “Be yourself — not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.” — Henry David Thoreau You are the blank canvas upon which your life gets to play out. You are the common denominator through all aspects of your life too. From your relationships to your career through to your finances, you are the decision-maker, the implementor, the goal-setter, the resistor, and the main actor. You’re ALL of it! Imagine how much more fluid your life can be if you understand the building blocks that you’ve got to play with? Imagine how much easier it would be to become your best self if you knew: • Your patterns • Your fears• Your purpose• Your passions• Your values• Your perceived limitations• Your desires • Your judgements• Your limits • Your needs• Your insecurities • Your saboteurs• Your wounds • Your patterns• Your limiting thoughts• Etc. When you know what you’re working with, it’s so much easier to make the right decisions for you. It’s easier to put yourself into situations where you’re going to grow. You’ll instinctively know what people are right for you, what goals you need to set, and what aspirations will actually leave you feeling fulfilled - not left wanting. The more you know yourself, the more you can create a deeply fulfilling life. So how do you walk this path of ever-increasing self-awareness? Here are THREE techniques to explore. Journaling  Journaling is one of the most potent tools for introspection, self-discovery, and self-awareness that I know. In the safety of the blank pages of your notebook, you can write anything - and see where it leads. You can ask yourself the deep questions that guide you to the parts of you that you're yet to explore - and you can inspire healing and inner knowing as a result. The beauty of journaling is that it’s personal. You pick the tools and the frameworks that best serve you. For example, you can try: Julia Cameron’s Morning PagesAnswering journaling prompts Mindmaps Doodles Notes, bullets, poetry even! Anything goes! The key is to write from your heart so you can discover what’s really inside. The wisdom that bubbles up is beyond powerful because it’s an ever-flowing stream of knowledge about you. If you’re ready to start journaling, here are some tools to help: The Writing Your Best Self podcast - for weekly journaling techniques and prompts Icebreaker Deck - prompts that help you find valuable things to write about Scribe notebook - if you love quality stationery, this one’s for you! Reflection “The unexamined life is not worth living”. - Socrates Humans are creatures of habit, which means we do a lot of things on autopilot. On the one hand, this is an extremely valuable trait. Autopilot habits take less bandwidth and energy because you don't have to think about doing them consciously. On the other hand, if your ingrained habits and behaviors don’t serve you, you’ll undermine your potential to be your best self. Reflection allows you to analyze your choices, decisions, outcomes and ultimately your life so you can get clear on what’s working - and what isn’t. Bringing awareness to our instinctive patterns is a powerful way to get clear on where we hold ourselves back - and where we’re driving ourselves forward. Reflection is embedded into the Self Journal for this reason. When you can extract the lessons and learnings from your everyday experiences because you’ve become a witness to your life and choices, you can eradicate limits and step into your best self. Ask for feedback Often we’re far to close to our own lives to see our blindspots. This is where input from trusted people can be invaluable. A coach, accountability partner, or a trusted friend are all excellent places to get an outsider’s input on the way you’re showing up and potentially getting in your own way. The right people can: • Help shine the light on the things you’re not seeing• Guide you to work through the patterns that don’t serve you• Support you to solve problems and challenges• And more! It’s not always comfortable to work on yourself, but the more you learn about who you really are, the more you let go of what no longer serves you, the easier it is to be your best self. What techniques will you try to know yourself better? I promise the habit of self-awareness will make a positive impact on yourself, your goals, and ultimately your life. 

“If you can tune into your purpose and really align with it, setting goals so that your vision is an expression of that purpose, then life flows much more easily.” ―Jack Canfield Unlocking your purpose is a powerful way to set aligned goals, ramp up motivation, and feel more fulfilled in life.  With your purpose to guide you, it’s easier to make decisions. It’s easier to distinguish between the opportunities which are right for you - and those that aren’t too. Finding your purpose can take time. It requires soul-searching and deep thought. What’s more, your purpose can change with time as you collect more experiences and discover new things that you love. But whatever it takes to get clarity over your purpose is more than worth it. With purpose as your compass, life can flow that little bit easier.  What’s your life’s purpose? Here are three techniques that can help you unlock yours.  Journal your passions “There is one quality that one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.” - Napoleon Hill Your journal is one of the best places to unlock your purpose. In the privacy of your journal, you get to explore ideas, riff with your heart, and make discoveries that aren’t possible any other way.  Journaling is one of the most effective ways to pull on the threads of your thoughts to see where the tangle leads. As you write without censorship or judgement, you can dive into your truth and that can be liberating.  Best of all, you don’t have to be an A-grade writer to get value from writing. There are no gold stars for the best journal entry! Instead, the purpose of journaling is to get your truth out of your head [and heart] and onto the blank page so you can see it and therefore use it to be your best self.  Questions are a brilliant way to pierce open a portal so the words can pour out.  In The Master Key System, Charles F. Haanel describes questions as “spiritual searchlights”. It’s an idea rooted in science thanks to the instinctive elaboration mental reflex where your brain is compelled to find answers to the questions you ask.  So open your notebook, grab a pen and get to writing your best self!  Here are some prompts to help you unlock your purpose and your passions.     If your day was free, what would you do?  • What do you love to give advice on? What do people ask you about? • When do you lose track of time? • What do you want to be remembered for?  For more tips and techniques to help sharpen your journaling practice, check out the Writing Your Best Self podcast.  Understand your impact It’s not unusual for your purpose to be wrapped up in something you’re naturally good at. This makes sense when you think about it…  When you’re living your life with purpose, it’s easy to lose track of time because purposeful activities take you into deep flow. You find that you’re so engrossed in what you do that you’re no longer clock-watching or procrastinating. Instead, things happen effortlessly and creatively and it feels really good. Sometimes, we’re too close to ourselves to understand the breadth of our skills and impact. So don’t be surprised if the thing that others value in you isn’t something you instinctively see in yourself! It’s easy to overlook the true value of something that comes easily to you.  Time to get curious...  Ask other people what they love about you. Chances are you’ll get some really valuable insights that will help you understand the true impact you make. Ask your boss, work colleagues, clients, friends, partner and family etc. Most importantly, be ready for some surprises.  Knowing what others value in you is a powerful way to take full ownership of the impact you make. When you’re aware of how you empower others, you can own this aspect of you in a more purposeful way.  It can have a huge impact on the way you approach what you do and help you be your best self.  Find your WHY Simon Sinek, author of Find Your WHY says, “If we want to feel an undying passion for our work, if we want to feel we are contributing to something bigger than ourselves, we all need to know our WHY.”  Our WHY is the reason we get out of bed in the morning. It’s the essence that injects and infuses passion into your work and the things that you do.  Sinek says that most of us know what we do and how we do it. But fewer people know the underlying reason behind their efforts. Get clarity over your WHY and you’ll connect with a bigger picture. Instead of doing alone, the things you do will take on more meaning and purpose - and that feeling inspires and motivated us to show up more fully. But that’s not all...  When you know your WHY you’ll be able to make aligned choices. You’ll instinctively know what things light you up and what things will drain your energy. You’ll know which goals to set and which opportunities to turn down. You’ll feel more focused and resilient too because you’re anchored by a deeper meaning that underpins the work you do.  You’ll feel better too… because a life lived with purpose just feels more fulfilling.  So how do you find your WHY?  One way is to dig below the layers… Start by asking yourself WHY you do what you do. Write down the first answer that comes to you. For example, I might say that that I write because I enjoy it.  ^ that’s the top-level superficial answer! Now it’s time to go deeper by asking WHY again.  In reply, I might say that I enjoy writing because it’s creative and self-expressive.  ^ Now we’re getting closer to the truth - but we can go deeper still by once again asking WHY?  In reply, I might say that creative self-expression leads to self-awareness and the opportunity to be seen and heard for who I really am - which is ultimately a form of self-love.  [And I believe cultivating self-love is one of the most impactful intentions we can set for ourselves.] In other words, I write because it fuels self-love, which helps me be my best self.  What about you?  What is your WHY?  Try this exercise for yourself and keep asking WHY until you get to the core. You’ll know it when you do because it will sing true.  Living a purposeful life In the words of Robert Byrne,  “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”  It never feels good to be going through the motions - living on autopilot.  But find your purpose, and you can infuse everything you do with more meaning and therefore fulfilment.  What’s your purpose?  With the help of the techniques in this article, it’s time to find out!

Getting a job for life in a stable industry used to be an empowering career goal, but in this world of rapid change and transformation, that is no longer the case. As new industries emerge and older ones go into decline, it’s a fact that most of us will change careers or shift direction at least once in our lives. Recent events have shown us that we can’t know what the future holds or what fresh opportunities exist ahead.  But that doesn’t mean you’re powerless to navigate the ever-evolving playing field.  Thanks to an abundance of books, courses, and content, we do have the ability to pivot. In this information age where knowledge is so readily accessible, we can learn just about anything! You can develop new skills, explore new interests, and choose to explore a new direction entirely.  That’s the power of self-education habits… they provide the key to virtually anything you want. It’s as Jim Rohn said, “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”  But how do you cultivate a lifestyle of self-education so you can be your best self and make the most of the opportunities that come your way?  Keep reading to discover SEVEN powerful self-education habits that can help you unlock your potential so you can create the life you want.  Read You’ve no doubt heard about the power of working with the right mentors. Well, books can be mentors too. What’s more, they’re a super affordable alternative to working directly with world-class thinkers and leaders - both dead and alive. That’s because books allow you to step into the shoes of the people you want to learn from - in virtually any field or discipline you can imagine.  Through the pages of a book, you can get a grasp of who someone is and how they think. In turn, books can transform what you know and how you think for a low-ticket pricetag. They can shift your perspective, open your mind to fresh ways of being, and inspire you to take action in a direction that you previously didn’t know existed.  Become a note-taker The human brain is notoriously bad at remembering things. More importantly, trying to remember stuff is not the best use of your brain’s talents. Your mind is a problem-solving, creative machine and the more headspace you free up for those activities, the more your best self can evolve.  Your brain has around 70,000 thoughts per day - a lot of them are low-level and repetitive. Writing things down into an ‘external brain’ like your notebook frees up the headspace you need to focus elsewhere.  This is one of the reasons why successful people take notes. They know that note-taking is a self-education habit that will help them become more creative and successful. Through the power of note-taking, you can crystalize what you’re thinking into a more tangible form. To paraphrase Jim Rohn, you’re only ever one idea away from completely changing your life. Why would you risk forgetting [or overlooking] the very idea that can unlock new doors?  Journal Your real value is not in what you do… it’s in WHO YOU ARE.  You are the creative canvas upon which your life unfolds. The more you can eliminate your fears, understand yourself, and work through the challenges that keep you from your best self, the more you can be.  Journaling is one of the best practices I know for unlocking the truth of who you are.  Through journaling, you can increase your self-awareness by getting introspective and reflective.  Through journaling, you can get clearer on the paths you want to walk and discern between the decisions that are right for you - and the ones that aren’t.  Discover how journaling can help you to write your best self in this podcast episode.  Ask better questions The quality of the questions you ask yourself [and others] will influence the quality of your life. Period.  Here’s why… Questions are like searchlights. When you ask a question, your mind is compelled to answer. What’s more, your brain looks for the answer in a single-minded way. It considers nothing else but the answer you want.  If you keep asking the same questions, you’ll keep getting the same results.  If you ask different questions, your life can open up in beautiful new ways,  Ready to put this concept into practice for yourself? If so, download the free Edison PDF. Use it to challenge your brain and see what fresh ideas your imagination can conjure up.   Find your favorite podcast How can you make the best use of your in-between times? For example, your commute to work, while prepping lunch, over the ironing, or when you're cleaning the kitchen?  As well as getting the task at hand done, you can invest in your self-education journey by listening to a podcast [or an audio book].  As a self-education habit, podcasts allow you to learn something new or be a fly on the wall in thought-provoking, game-changing conversations. You can take away fresh ideas or perspectives in an entertaining, easy to digest way.  There are podcasts for just about anything you can imagine. All you have to do is pick a subject that interests you, find a host you connect with, and get listening!  Here are a couple of places to start:  Journaling - The Writing Your Best Self Podcast Developing courage and confidence - The Courage Over Comfort Podcast Engage in deeper conversations There’s a Chinese proverb that says, "A single conversation across the table with a wise person is worth a month's study of books." It’s true! Amazing things can happen when you really talk.  As well as being fun, conversations strengthen your relationships, help you solve problems, inspire fresh ideas, enhance your self-awareness, and even get plans into action! In other words, investing in deeper talk is a simple way to enhance your life.  Deeper conversation as a self-education habit gives you access to the knowledge available when you explore a deeper life. A deeper life is a life lived below the superficial, surface layers. It’s a place of vulnerability, soul-deep enquiry, and a commitment to uncovering the wisdom and insight that helps you live your most meaningful life.  With the help of more in-depth conversations, you can move through small talk and get to learn more from the person in front of you. You get to ask the questions that piece to the core of a subject and in doing so, you can extract life-enhancing knowledge.      Adopt a growth mindset In the words of Henry Ford, “whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”  What you believe about yourself and the world has a disproportionate impact on how you show up and create in the world. Remember how questions direct your brain to find a specific answer? If you ask yourself why you can’t do something [or why a goal is out of the question for you], you will find plenty of answers to keep you small.  In comparison, ask yourself why you CAN do something, and you’ll find answers to that question too.  It’s up to you which path you want to take through life, and adopting a growth mindset can be a powerful self-improvement habit. Someone with a growth mindset believes you can learn talents and skills. In comparison, someone with a fixed mindset believes you’re born with ability, and you can’t nurture anymore.  Recent thinking in neuroplasticity has found that the human brain is a lot more malleable than we previously thought.  Discover more about the difference between fixed and growth mindsets here.   Self-educate your way to your best self Abraham Maslow said, ‘You will either step forward into growth or you will step backward into safety.”  There’s so much out there to experience, explore, and discover. You have the opportunity to create your own self-education curriculum and take yourself in whatever direction your heart and curiosity calls you.  Your best self is a unique definition.  And with a commitment to self-education habits, you really can unleash your full potential and create the life you came here to live.