Self empowerment is about taking control of your life. This involves developing the self-trust and self-awareness you need to set the right goals, make sound decisions, and understand your strengths and weaknesses - so you can thrive. Living a life fuelled by self empowerment is a refusal to allow others to make decisions for you. Instead, it’s claiming your own path - regardless of what anyone else says - because you know that path is right for you. It’s the harder path for sure. It’s far easier to settle for conventional rules and fall in line. It’s easier to play small and dumb down your goals and your ideas. But if you’re reading this, I know that’s not what you want. You want to dream bigger and achieve more. You want to explore your full potential and you want to feel empowered to take the actions and decisions that lead to an abundant life. So if you know there’s so much more out there, this article is for you. Keep reading and you’ll discover SEVEN powerful self improvement techniques that will help you cultivate the grit, self-trust, and confidence you need to be your best. 1. Journaling “An unexamined life is not worth living.” - Plato Everyday you make decisions, ponder over thoughts, and live out experiences. It’s a big melting pot, which contains a host of insights ready for you to pull out. That’s what journaling helps you to do - it’s a practice that empowers you to examine your life for self empowerment. By getting introspective in your notebook, you can explore your thoughts and experiences more deeply. You can look for the connections, join up the dots, and get clearer on who you are. Journaling isn’t just about mulling over the here and now. You can also use this practice to reflect over your life so you can get more clarity on what’s shaped your beliefs and your thought patterns. If you struggle to know what to journal about, ask yourself questions or get your hands on some prompts. Do what it takes to get more clarity on the subconscious, hidden stuff that’s driving you, and you’ll be able to make more empowered choices moving forward. 2. Make good decisions “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” - Tony Robbins When you lack confidence and you don’t know yourself, it’s easy to be influenced by the people you admire and respect. Especially when it comes to those big, defining decisions! If you don’t trust your own judgement, there’s a good chance you’ll be persuaded. But what others think you should do isn’t necessarily what’s right for you. Often, we know in our gut what the right choice is, but we end up overriding that decision because of fear, ‘logical’ thinking, and the opinions of others. Decisiveness is powerful because it allows you to take control over your life. Instead of procrastinating, you can choose and act. So invest in developing your decision making skills. Train your mind to think widely about the tough choices - considering all angles so you feel confident you’ve chosen well. Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but trusting yourself enough to go for what you think is right is a hugely empowering thing to do.    3. Set goals "The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score." –Bill Copeland When it comes to self empowerment, your goals are the drivers. Set goals and you begin to live your life intentionally. Instead of allowing each day to be like the one before, you set a course that allows you to create the life YOU want. Goals create focus. They tell your brain what’s important (and what is less so). They make it easy for you to prioritize what’s on your plate by putting the things that will take you closer to your targets first. Goals are the seeds of change and they put you in the driving seat of your life. What goals do you need to set - in your relationships, your work/career, your personal development, your finances, your hobbies, your health and wellbeing etc? Set goals that take you closer to the things you want, and take action on them, and you’ll feel more empowered than ever. 4. Manage your time “The key is in not spending time, but in investing it.” - Stephen Covey Each day, you wake up with 1440 minutes deposited in your time bank account. Time is the greatest equalizer. It doesn’t matter who you are, we all get the same time allocation. It’s what you do with your time that counts. It’s easy to feel disempowered in life when time feels scarce, but the truth is you do have enough time to do it all. It’s simply a case of prioritization and allocation. Self empowerment is about taking responsibility for your time and ensuing you’re using it wisely. Ask yourself: - What are you doing that you don’t really enjoy? - Where are you wasting time through procrastination and distractions? - What could you outsource, delegate, or even scrap all together? - What are you not doing that you’d really love to explore? Time is too precious to leave it to chance. Instead, use a planner (such as the Self Journal) to plan your day. Figure out your daily targets (ensuring they’re aligned to your goals) and schedule in all your tasks in the same way you would a fixed appointment. Budget your time to get it all done and there’s a good chance you will.   5. Don’t be afraid to fail “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” - Henry Ford If self empowerment is about taking control and using your life to do the things you want, you MUST get comfortable with failure. No one likes to fail. It’s uncomfortable, it can knock our confidence, and it makes us vulnerable to the judgement of others. However, you can’t create a fully expressed life if you never push yourself out of your comfort zone. The things you want require you to take actions and make decisions that you’ve never taken before. It’s just the way it is! You can’t know everything in advance (and if you do, perhaps you’re not thinking big enough). So give yourself the freedom and permission to get it wrong. Change your perception of failure and see it as a fundamental part of the self-growth process. Turn ‘mistakes’ into learning opportunities and every time things don’t go as you planned, soak up the rush of fresh insights that will help you do more next time. You aren’t your mistakes. You are so much more than that. It takes guts to take a risk and push yourself further than you think you can go. But prioritize courage over comfort, and you’ll feel more self empowered than ever. 6. Say no without feeling guilty “Just saying yes because you can’t bear the short-term pain of saying no is not going to help you do the work.” - Seth Godin Time is your most precious resource. So don’t waste it doing things you think you have to do. I get it, saying no can be really hard - you don’t want to let people down and you don’t want others to feel bad about you. But every time you say YES when you really mean no, you divert your time resource to activities you don’t really want to do. Let that sink in… Saying yes to someone else means saying no to you. It’s your life and that means you’re allowed to do things your way. You’re allowed to prioritize your needs over other people’s. Self empowerment involves being more mindful with your yeses and nos. So next time someone makes a request of you and you want to say no, but feel you have to say yes, dive deeper into your thought process. Grab your journal if you need to. When you understand your programming, you’ll be empowered to give replies that are true to you. 7. Love yourself “Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.” - Robert Holden How’s your relationship with yourself? How do you feel when you look in the mirror? Do you like what you see? Do you think you’re worthy of living life to the full and creating everything you desire? Without self love, everything else becomes so much harder. It’s why nurturing your relationship with yourself is one of the most powerful things you can do. In fact, self love is the catalyst to virtually everything (including self empowerment). - Prioritize your self care routines. - Make more space for the things YOU enjoy (and enjoy them without feeling guilty). - Do the work necessary to ensure your self talk is positive, encouraging, and loving. - Practice daily gratitude and own all the abundance you have in your life already. - Exercise, eat well, and take care of yourself like you are the most important person in the world Make sure your cup is full, and you’ll feel empowered to do so much more. Self empowerment is a journey, NOT an overnight fix Your ability to take control of your life and feel good in the skin you’re in is a state that’s constantly evolving. That’s the beautiful thing about self growth… The more you achieve and discover about yourself, the more you realize is possible. That’s why self empowerment isn’t a destination. Instead, it’s an ongoing journey of personal evolution. And at each stage, you open the doors to bigger and bigger opportunities and rewards. When self empowerment becomes a driver, you’ll always be growing. You’ll discover more and more truths about who you really are. And that is a mammoth reward in itself. How are you cultivating self empowerment in your life? 

Kids don’t see any limits. They see the world through the lens of opportunity and believe that anything is possible. Unfortunately, this open-minded, brave-hearted, fearless approach to life doesn’t stick around. We get told there are things we can’t do. We’re taught to settle. We get trapped in the status quo until we reach a point where we stop dreaming in the same way. I like to think that there are two versions of you. There’s the YOU that’s living your life right now. And there’s another YOU that’s holding the torch for your best self. Exactly who your best self is will be different for everyone. My definition is to become fully expressed, continually explore how far you can go, and to stand in your full potential. The beautiful thing about chasing your best self is there’s no fixed destination. You can’t know for sure where you want to end up because at each stage of growth a whole new door flies open. That said, there are things you can do that make the journey easier and more fulfilling. So get excited and keep reading to discover the specific mindsets, behaviors, and commitments that will empower you to become the person you always knew you could be.  Think bigger Although this isn’t a step-by-step process, one of the first things to unlocking your best self is to think bigger. We get stuck in the status quo because over time we come to accept certain things about ourselves. We make decisions about what we can do (and what we can’t). We decide what we deserve, what’s achievable, and what will fit in with the lifestyle we currently lead. When you’re fixed to a particular view of your life, it’s harder to see new possibilities. Thinking bigger provides a pattern interrupt that challenges your self-imposed limits. A simple way to do this is to apply the 10x rule. Think about something in your life then imagine how that would look when you 10x it. Think about your finances, your health, your happiness, your relationships. Bizarrely, just considering a new possibility can be enough to open the door to an entirely new opportunity.  Create a vision for your life   In your head, fast-forward to your final days on this planet. Who do you want to have been? What do you want to have achieved? What would you have wanted your life to stand for? What were your core values, your purpose, and your mission? Creating this big picture vision for your life gives you the context you need to plan your everyday. You’ll have an inner compass that makes it easier for you to make the right decisions and set the right goals. When everything you do is in alignment, it’s so much easier to become your best self.  Set goals You can’t become your best self if you don’t set goals. Goals give your life meaning and direction. Without goals, you’ll be rudderless and risk living life on an autopilot that takes you further away from where you want to go. Set goals for all areas of your life and ensure they align with the bigger vision of what you want to do. Then make things happen by setting a 13-week goal. This time period is long enough to achieve something significant and short enough to keep you focused and implementing. Put your finish line too far out in the future and you’ll be more likely to procrastinate because there’s no urgency to take action now.  Practice gratitude Your best self knows that life isn’t all going to be plain sailing! You’re going to hit your fair share of highs along with failures and lows. If you want to be successful, you need to nurture a positive mindset. You have to be willing to believe that you can do it, that you are worthy, and that life isn’t always against you! It’s why gratitude is a critical practice to nurture. Bookend your day with a gratitude practice and you’ll train your mind to focus on and appreciate the positives. Start the day by writing down three things you’re grateful to have (or have experienced) in your life, and end the day writing out your gratitudes for the day. It takes minutes to do, but once you get in the habit of practicing this daily you’ll notice a big difference in the way you feel about yourself and your life.  Reflect on your progress This is my favorite ever Steve Jobs quote. “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.” For me, it’s a great reminder that you can’t be sure of the real purpose of what you experience on your journey until you can look back with the benefit of hindsight. Reflection is the greatest of teachers because it enables you to see the patterns and consolidate what experiences have taught you about yourself, your goals, and your next steps. So make reflection a regular practice. Reflect on your day, your week, your month, your quarter, and your year. Use this practice to build your self-awareness and learn more about who you really are so you can plan your next steps more powerfully and intentionally. Learn to thrive in discomfort Your best self is not going to be an easy life! If you want to create and achieve things you haven’t got, you’re going to have to do things you’ve never done before. You will need to push yourself out of your comfort zone - and thrive there. If you don’t, you won’t be able to move beyond where you are now - you’ll keep hitting that ceiling. Plus you’ll never know what you were truly capable of. Pressure can make you incredibly resourceful. You can ALWAYS do more than you imagine. So go with it. Let the fear guide you and as you proactively seek out experiences and situations that are going to force you to grow, watch your potential unravel. Take absolute ownership When things aren’t going the way you want them to, it’s easy to point the finger elsewhere. When it’s not your fault, you don’t have to take responsibility and you can feel better about yourself by placing the blame elsewhere. The trouble is this attitude is disempowering. If it’s not your fault, then you’re powerless to change the situation. That’s why you have to take absolute ownership for EVERYTHING that happens in your life - even the stuff that doesn’t at first seem to be your fault. When you own it, you control it. When you own it, you can take proactive steps to change the circumstances and shift your life in the direction you want to go. It’s one of the most powerful attitudes for a successful life. Default to action It’s true that everything starts as a thought in your head. But if that’s where it remains, you’ll never feel the full value of that idea in your life. It’s why you must train yourself to take action. Make implementation a non-negotiable. Commit to doing something practical every single day that takes you closer to the person you want to be - no matter how small. That way, you won’t find yourself a few years down the line in the same place tackling the same issues. When you default to action, you force yourself to make decisions. You don’t sit on the fence and you therefore don’t waste time. You show initiative and you find a way to fix problems. It’s the doers in life that get the best results - become one of them.   Enjoy today You only get one life. So don’t waste it wishing your time away to some point in the future where you think you’ll find ‘success’. Instead, enjoy the journey now. Your goals may have a defined finish line, but they’re not the destination. Who you become as a result of achieving your goals is far more important than achieving the goal itself. Spend time with yourself We live in an insanely connected world. 24-hour news, TV on demand, phones that make us accessible at any time of the day (or night). Social media that allows us to be close friends with people we’ll never meet and search engines that put information at our fingertips. Everywhere you look there’s someone (or something) telling you how to live your life. This is how you should look, this is where you should live, this is what you should be doing, reading, cooking, writing, playing, learning, exploring, discovering… It’s why you need to disconnect. You need to shut out all those other voices and get clear on who YOU are and what you want. Meditation and journaling are two ways you can explore who you are inside. Make time for them and watch how they rejuvenate and recharge you.   Master your minutes Time is your most valuable, non-renewable resource - you need to ‘waste it wisely’. As Jim Rohn said, “Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” So how can you maximize the 24 hours you have each day to think bigger, achieve more, and enjoy the journey? The simple answer is to become a student of productivity. Truth is, we unknowingly squander so much time every day. Distractions, interruptions, and lack of focus means time soon disappears. But take control of your minutes and you can train yourself to do more in less time. Learn to work harder and not smarter. Use tools (such as the SELF Journal) to allocate your time well, and be honest with yourself about where you’re not being as disciplined as you should. There’s plenty you can do to become a productivity whizz! And when lack of time is no longer the thing that holds you back, just imagine what else you’ll be able to do. Build resilience We won’t always get what we want. Even if we work hard and with a passion, you’re going to knock up against failure. How you respond when things don’t go your way is key. Mistakes don’t feel good. No one wants to see themselves as a failure, but if you’re never getting it wrong, there’s a good chance you selling your potential short. This is where resilience helps in spades. How much do you want it? If you keep getting up every time you get knocked down and refuse to give in, you will find a way. It may not be the way you expected and you may not even get the result you wanted, but you will find your potential. Develop a growth mindset When you commit to becoming your best self you quickly discover how much you DON’T know. What’s more, each time you breakthrough to a new level of living, you’ll simply step into a whole new, unfamiliar world. There’s so much you don’t know you don’t know! So stay curious and stay hungry for knowledge. Be OK with not knowing everything - knowing you can find it out if you look in the right places. People with a fixed mindset don’t believe they can change. People with a growth mindset know there may be a steep learning curve, but with the right training, knowledge, or mentorship, they can get there. So stay inspired. Read. Listen to podcasts, watch TED Talks, subscribe to YouTube channels that spark ideas and challenge your current way of thinking. Keep feeding your mind and expanding your knowledge base and see what else opens up for you. Believe in yourself Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.” The success you want starts in your head. If you don’t genuinely believe you can do the thing you want to do, there’s a high chance you’ll prove yourself right. So invest in your confidence. Do the inner work that helps you understand (and address) your limiting beliefs. Track your successes to reinforce that you’re on the right path. As cheesy as it sounds, make friends with yourself. Talk to yourself in the same way that you’d talk to your best friend. Remind yourself you CAN do it (you wouldn’t have come up with the idea in the first place if it wasn’t possible). The way you feel about yourself is pivotal to everything. The quicker you crack this one, the faster you can accelerate your best self journey. Review your network There’s an old saying that people like people who are like themselves. Your network will have a significant impact on what you’re able to achieve - because not only will they influence what you set out to achieve, but they’ll influence what you believe is possible. As painful as it sounds, do audit the people in your closest circle. Ask yourself if the people you spend the most time with (and therefore the people who have the most influence on your thinking, goals, and everyday behaviors) inspire and uplift you? Do they support your goals - or do they tell you that you’re crazy? Change your circle and you can transform what you believe is possible. It’s one of the reasons we created the Best Self Alliance - so you can get yourself in a peer group who want the same things as you. Have a beginner’s mindset It’s OK not to know the answer. Sometimes not knowing gives you an advantage because it stops you assuming wrongly. It’s OK to have a lack of knowledge if you have a willingness to learn. Permit yourself to be curious. Ask the ‘stupid’ questions (someone else is definitely thinking the same!) Don’t allow what you think you should know to stop getting your hands on what’s going to get you to the next step. We all start out as beginners. Feel comfortable enough to seek help from the right people and you’ll accelerate your journey. Get tools that help! Settling in life is easy. It’s easy to allow yourself to be trapped by what you, society, your friends, your parents, your boss, and your partner says is possible for you. But what if they’re wrong?   We can all do so much more than we give ourselves credit for. Just think back to the last time you found yourself in a stressful or challenging situation - I bet you found a way out. It may have been messy, but you resolved it one way or another. And you emerged stronger and wiser as a result of it. So don’t leave your best self journey to chance. There are plenty of people out there who will try and knock you off course and stifle your dreams - because your drive says something about their lack of it. Instead, invest in tools that will help you get focused, stay on track, and make progress every single day. Ready to kick-start or accelerate your best self journey? Check out the tools we’ve created to help high achievers (just like you) think bigger, achieve more, and enjoy today.

Change your mindset and break through barriers! Subversion of ideas is a powerful tool we can use to turn a negative into a positive in almost every situation. When it comes to self-worth and confidence this can be a monumentally beneficial and imperative practice. The social landscape we live in is littered with confidence destroying landmines from social media sites to youtube, and everything in between. The ability for anyone to tear us down with various degrees of anonymity is higher than ever. To combat this some of the worst social faux pas have evolved in a way that allows them to be more healthy and even absolute necessities for maintaining balance in the world today.   Ego is the Enemy but Achievements are Best Friends Achievements are now more important than experience in many circles.  Whether it's in the workforce, with friends, or in relationships- responsibilities are no longer so clearly defined. Instead, as the popular expression goes we all wear "many hats". Meaning anything goes and all that really matters is results. We live in a time when we can find anything we need to get something done, for free online or for cheap. Specialty skills are still valued but more and more the ability to quickly learn a new skill and apply it, trumps all. This has lead to the trend we see, where the most relationship building information you can share is your achievements. This turns the aversion of ego on its head as our ability to tout our achievements can be the difference between getting the job, making the friend, or helping someone in need. Achievements are what give us an air of authority in someone else's mind. Today's environment values titles less and less, moving the perception of what provides value towards those who don't just problem-solve, but problem-find. We shouldn't let this get us down though! Removing titles is such an empowering transition for society! It shows we can recognize that knowledge or at least the acquisition of knowledge is becoming a universal commodity. The bottom line is that now more than ever, we can be whatever we want to be. The phrase "If you can think it, you can do it." is not just something we tell to our kids to bolster their confidence. It a pure and powerful truth. That can make all the difference in your life if you sit down to pursue what you really want.   Grab your Journal! What do you want to do? No limits Ask yourself. What have you done? Now, look up what it takes to accomplish one of your top items on the first list. How much of what you've already achieved can be applied to this what you want? Make a list of the achievements you have left to fill in so you can get what you want. Take charge! Get out there and build out a goal to move you towards your desired achievement! Nothing can stop you, but you! Forget about the requirements someone laid down decades ago as a gated entry to what you really want. They no longer exist! Tout your achievements, and you will go far! Vanity doesn't Satisfy but Personal Truth Boosts Self-affirmations have become a necessity for anyone making their way through social structures. Personal branding continues to grow as one of the most powerful forms of advertising, no matter the type of business, a non-profit organization, or government agency.  We are drawn to the pure influence of seeing everyday people we can connect with or aspire to be. To tap into these incredibly powerful forms of growth for ourselves, our businesses, and our dreams we embrace vanity. From selfies, to live streams we open ourselves and our lives up to millions of people with a few snaps and clicks. We can with a single interaction encourage, and inspire someone all the way around the planet in an instant! Even for ourselves, taking just a little bit of time to build ourselves up is proven to create a higher resilience to difficult and stressful situations. The truth is, this has opened up so many doors for people to live the kind of lives they never could before. From artists to clothing designers, crafters, and everything in between personal brands have empowered uncountable people to do what they love every day without adhering to any rules but their own. Affirmations for their part have been studied and proven to change the way we perceive ourselves. They build up our confidence and in doing so help us deal with the difficult things life can throw at us.   Grab your Journal! List out some positives about yourself, and don't be afraid to be a little vain! Write down a list of positives you want to be true for yourself. No limits! Schedule time in your morning routine to review these positives. If you say them out loud, even better! Schedule in activities that will make the positives you want to be true to yourself real. Who you are is unique to you, and no one can truly define who you are but yourself. Don't let your self-perceptions be controlled by an external force. Instead, own yourself by being the first person who gets to tell you who you are every morning! Selfishness breeds Loneliness but without Self-Care, we're Lost Self-care is a critical activity we should engage in during the day. Our time is split between two forms of contribution. One that is in service to others- these are our communications, our efforts at work, or taking care of the kids. The other is in service to ourselves- those are eating, exercising, intentionally breathing, and just taking a quiet moment to appreciate what we have. We need both to truly thrive! As with all things, a balance must be met. We cannot be completely selfless. If we are, we will find ourselves used up. Sometimes even abused for our giving nature. Yet, we can't be completely selfish either, if we are then we push away those we care about most. We have to fill ourselves up before we can make a contribution to others. We have to take care of ourselves because if we don't then our contributions come from a place of emptiness. This will make them subpar and in some cases even detrimental to our ability to serve at a level that will make a real difference. It's an incredible time to be alive! A time when we are seeing so many social constructs be deconstructed. Allowing for exciting new structures to rise in their place. Individuals are empowered to learn complex skills, make connections with communities, and chase their dreams like never before. There's a new societal renaissance happening around us every day and it includes everything from- music, art, business, communication, health, education, self-enlightenment, even reality itself with growing virtual reality advances! With so much possible to contribute to we have to selfishly take some time for ourselves or the result is total burnout.   Grab your Journal! Make a list of all the things you do to contribute to the efforts of a group or others around you. Make a list of all the things you do to contribute and care for yourself. Check in with yourself. How imbalanced is your list? How much burnout do you feel with your list like this? Make a list of all the things you need to balance yourself out. Make as close to equal contributions to external as internal. Schedule in the things you need to balance yourself in the day, be selfish and take the time you schedule. When we reflect on the values we've put on pedestals. Question our thought processes and mindsets on what the real benefit of our actions are, what we find is a personal truth. We open ourselves up to possibilities and our contributions become even more significant because we have more to give. Self-care is the fuel we need to be giving machines! The question- Who are you? It's never been more important or life-impacting as it is today to know who you are. It is the key to finding your passions, connecting with a community that will support you, that will give you a real and lasting sense of fulfillment and contribution. To truly find the answer to this question. You have to be a little selfish and engage in some real, honest, and revitalizing self-care. You have to be a little vain and believe in yourself. To lift yourself up and be a little egotistical so people know what you're capable of. You do this so you can find yourself. Because when you do that! This crazy world we live in starts to make a lot more sense. Take it from Jessica, she can do anything better than anyone.  

Self-reflection reveals what we want most. It's also a powerful accountability tool that identifies where we can improve. All it requires is a little quality time spent with yourself. In this post, you get everything you need to start a self-reflection habit in just two simple practices. They are even adjustable as time and your goals progress! "Self-reflection is the school of wisdom."- Baltasar Gracian Practice One: Engage in Daily Active Questioning A major challenge of a self-set goal is there's no one to hold us accountable. In the moment choice, we allow lenience and give ourselves a pass on doing what we know we should. After we allow this slip, we quickly become our own worst critic. We engage in harsh self-judgment, and it’s through this dark lens of failure that motivation dies.   Instead, try Active Questioning! How To: Step 1: Create your list of questions.Always start them with “Did I do my best to…” this focuses the effort of reflection on what you can control, yourself. Here’s a list of starter questions, feel free to adapt them to be more specific to your life and goals. Remember, there are no right or wrong questions, ask yourself what matters to you. Here are some examples Marshall gives you can use to start: Did I do my best to... set clear goals today?   make progress towards my goals today? find meaning today? be happy today? build positive relationships today? be fully engaged today? Step 2: Block in time at the end of your day to rate your efforts.Wherever you can schedule a reminder, do it. This will keep you consistent by keeping the pressure on. Through the day you'll know answering these questions is coming. That inevitability will make your tasks harder to ignore. Rate your efforts on a scale of 1-10: 1 being “You didn’t try at all’ - 10 being “You made every effort.”  and reflect on your answers. Step 3: Reflect on your answers and insights.The meaning behind your ratings is going to be unique to you. Remember the point of the exercise isn't to judge yourself. Low scores aren't failures they are indicators of a place to improve. It could mean you simply need to find a way to buckle down on your dedication to the task. It could mean another task is taking priority over this one. On the other end, a high score doesn't mean there is nothing for you to improve. You could have made every effort and so rate high. But, you did not actually do what you planned because of a competing task. Whatever the rating, it exposes roadblocks to work on. Bonus: If there's someone you trust to ask you the questions, involve them! It will build your relationship and provide insight you might otherwise both miss! Final Takeaways Active questions will lead to insights about what's important to you. This can mean the removal of plans or actions that are actively hurting you. Which can be difficult and even scary. Stand strong, be kind and honest with yourself.  Stop letting detrimental habits overwhelm your mental and physical health! Despite our best efforts, negative self-talk can creep in during this process. If it does, don't worry, Practice Two will help! Practice Two: Walk the Self-Talk Negative Self-Talk is a confidence-destroying habit. So easy to engage in because it's often an unintentional side effect of our most challenging efforts. It goes hand-in-hand with cyclical thinking; another crippling mental practice. Where associations with the worst aspects of the past connect to present situations. As our brains make these connections any feelings of resourcefulness vanish. When we engage in a cycle of negative self-talk, it reinforces the feelings of inadequacy. At best, this will sidetrack plans. At worst, it catapults us into bouts with anxiety and depression.  Walk the Self-Talk is a self-regulated practice to turn negative self-talk on its head! Transforming this potentially self-destructive habit into a trigger for a massive change! Step 1: Pause, and take a moment to write the biggest challenges you’re facing at the top of a blank page. Step 2: Write, all the negative self-talk you’re experiencing related to that challenge. Step 3: Draw a line to separate the page, then write the title “The Truth Is...”. Step 4: Address the truth for every line item of negative self-talk. Step 5: Face, Allow, and Adapt to what's true. Face: If you know the item to be a false perception of who you are, write a retort to the negative talk. Allow: If you feel the negative talk is true, take a moment to forgive yourself, know that it’s ok you’re having this issue. Adapt: Now to address it, reflect on the line item and decide how you will change your actions so it’s no longer true.      After you’ve completed the exercise, display it or put it in a place where it’s accessible. Keep it at hand while you’re working through your challenge. Now that you know the talk is either outright false or you have a plan to address it. When negative self-talk hits again, refer to this little piece of paper. It can shield you from its destructive power!  Notes: You can perform this practice for more than one challenge at a time. If you do recognize tackling the biggest challenge first will get you furthest along. Suggestion: If your confidence is too low, try to knock out the quickest and easiest things first. This gives you some momentum by racking up small wins. Use the confidence you get from tackling a few little things then jump to conquer the big ones! When we have a stronger sense of self, we are better able to deal with the challenges that arise in our lives. Reflecting and building a plan to address challenges is a cornerstone of productivity and motivation. To achieve we must look inside, figure out what's in the way, and act to work past it. 

Being an early bird rather than a night owl won’t naturally lead you to become more successful. There is no secret magic formula to success; this is something you must accept. Success is the result of a ‘simple’ list made up of four things: hard work, talent, passion, and a good dose of perseverance. Having said that, fine-tuning your lifestyle can help you to pave an easier path to success, and being an early bird is one habit you should consider adopting. Early Birds VS Night Owls There are key differences between early birds and night owls and although there are well-known successful night owls, early birds are more often associated with success. Early birds are morning people — even if they wake up with a frown on their face. They are the ones who will hit the ground running very early in the day and use the early quiet time to cross off their list what they consider important. They are the ones fueled by a sense of urgency, the ones who need to see certain tasks completed before lunch. On the other hand, night owls seem to have a more nonchalant attitude towards their tasks. It doesn’t mean they are lazy or that they slack off but they might not feel the same sense of panic that early birds do. Rather than the early morning, night owls are the ones who find solace and time to work in the dead of night. Both the early birds and the night owls use quiet time to their advantage, but for one group the sun is rising, and for the other, the moon is doing its job. What Are The Benefits Of Being An Early Bird? If you’re not used to waking up early, then you need several good reasons to turn into an early bird. Some of the benefits of being an early riser include the following: No interruptions: The best part of waking up early is not having anyone disturb you. No emails from work to interrupt your train of thought, no group messages about meeting later for dinner, no random phone calls, no kids crying, no friends asking for a favor. Having the upper hand: With no interruptions, comes more productivity. Being an early bird will make you feel like you have the upper hand. This is a great feeling to experience and you will be crossing things off your list while others are still sleeping. No rush: When you feel like you have the upper hand on time, you will feel less rushed. This has a slew of advantages. Not feeling rushed creates the sense of ‘slow living’ first thing in the morning. You can eat your breakfast in peace, have a proper conversation, and choose how you want to look for the day. More than that, when time feels like it has slowed down, you’re not panicking about your to-dos. Accordingly, you can use this time to work on your most important tasks. You can also pave the way for your mind to stop, wander, and tap into those nooks of creativity to spark new ideas that will only strengthen your work during the rest of the day. Becoming more grateful: Being an early bird gives you a chance to witness the day come to life. It’s a time where you can stop and be grateful for what you have. It may not sound like much but gratefulness is a key component to everyone’s success story. Be more prepared: In how you look, in what you eat, in how much your body gets to move, and in other ways too, such as being better-prepared for meetings. Better able to handle pressure: Waking up early gives you time to shake off the drowsiness of the night and gain energy gradually, so by the time you’re at work and someone hits you with a load of pressure, you’ll be ready for it. A time to set goals – Set goals for the day, the week, or the month. Early morning is also a good time to see how far you’ve come so you can keep your motivation fueled. Start early to finish early – Early birds have more reason to finish early from work. This leads to more time to be spontaneous in the evening with family or friends and more time to do away with technology before bed so you can get better sleep. Two Key Disadvantages Of Being A Night Owl Lack of persistence – It seems that early birds are better at being persistent and are less likely to experience “fatigue, frustration, and difficulties.” This is according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Barcelona. This may be a result of night owls being more prone to indulge in “extravagance, impulsiveness, and novelty-seeking.” Less proactive – According to another study comparing early birds and night owls, results show that the latter are smarter. Nevertheless, intelligence does not necessarily lead to success. Early birds are the proactive ones, doing the bulk of their work during regular working hours. They’re the ones who are more present during regular hours allowing them to grab opportunity when it presents itself. How To Become An Early Bird If You Are A Night Owl It is possible to change your ways and the following are habits that will get you closer to becoming an early bird. No drastic changes – As the master of mastering habits, Leo Babauta recommends against doing anything drastic. Start by waking up 15 minutes earlier than usual and gradually increase the time with each week so the change can become a permanent habit. Sleep earlier – Give your body time to rest by heading to bed earlier so that you can leave it earlier. Don’t snooze – Snoozing is bad for you because you’re giving your body a false start every time you hit that button for another five minutes. Do away with it by setting the alarm at the right time and getting up on the first go. . Turn on the lights ­– Unless you don’t want to wake up your partner, switch on the lights so you’ll make it harder for yourself to go back to sleep. Place the alarm clock far away – This way, you’ll have to get out of bed to switch it off. Give yourself a good reason to wake up early – Give yourself a good reason as to why you are doing this, something that will be worth getting out of bed early for, such as grabbing an early breakfast or catching a beautiful sunrise. Much like success, there’s no magic formula to becoming an early bird. Everything you want to do can be done, it’s simply a matter of deciding that you will act upon what you wish for. It will be hard at first but like every other habit, you will get used to being an early bird, and then you will start to see the beauty of your decision.

We’ve all heard of meditation. It’s when you’re supposed to sit really still and not think about anything for an appointed amount of time (easy right?), but is it worth it? How do we know if we’re even doing it properly? If you’re like us, you’re probably a bit skeptical. Why should I meditate? What’s the big deal? For us, meditation seemed to come up over and over again from people we trusted so we decided to find out once and for all. History of Meditation The practice of meditation (Latin for “to ponder”) has been around for over a thousand years, originating from India. In Hindu tradition, the Vedas (an ancient Indian scripture) discusses the importance of meditation for spiritual enlightenment. Religious scholars would read sacred text and use meditation as a period of thinking and reflection. It didn’t take long for Buddhists and Taoists in China to adopt the practice as well. Slowly, yet surely, other religions and parts of Europe caught on. With the influence of yoga spreading into the western world (which became popular in the 60’s), meditation became less about spiritual enlightenment and more about relaxation, inner focus, and self-improvement; until it evolved into the practice we’re all familiar with today. It’s noticeable that some of the most successful people in the world, such as Arianna Huffington, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, and even Kobe Bryant, all practice the art of meditation. How Will Meditation Help My Body? Photo Credit: julie-smith.net There have been countless studies showing the health benefits of meditation. Not only does it help nurture you physically, but it also improves your mental health. According to an article in HeadSpace, meditation can help reduce: • Stress• Anxiety• Depression• Sleep• Relationships• Cognition The research was done in Belgium involving five schools with 400 students ranging from 13-20 years old. After six months, students reported reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. As for the physical benefits, a study done by Harvard University Medical School, Meditation also helps: • Lower blood pressure• Improved blood circulation• Lower heart rate• Less perspiration• Slower respiratory rate• Lower blood cortisol levels• More feelings of well-being Meditation focuses on the most important aspect of our bodies: breath. Without air, we cease to exist. When we meditate, we’re helping our mind and body come back to its center. All the distraction, cares, and worries are set aside and our minds can return to a sense of clarity and calmness. We’re giving our body, and more importantly, our mind, a chance to recharge and refuel before we jump back into the chaos of everyday life. How Will Meditation Help At Work? No one is safe from the stress of a busy work environment. From deadlines, to difficult bosses, to faulty computer systems, it can get pretty overwhelming pretty fast. So how do you bring yourself back to your center? Those who practice meditation, often bring their healthy habits into their workplace. When you find you’re getting overwhelmed or stressed out, step away from your desk and find a quiet spot to close your eyes and breathe. It’ll bring down your heart rate, balance your blood pressure, and clear your mind so you can focus again. According to Eoc Institute, meditation “can give many the opportunity to increase problem solving skills, and think creatively ‘outside the box’ instead of analyzing problems in the same, drab, and routinely predictable way you have always done”. Meditation is a tool to quiet your mind and calm your body. With it, you’ll be able to handle stressful situations and critical thinking opportunities with more ease and perform at a higher level. How to Meditate Photo Credit: julie-smith.net Now that you know where it came from, you’re ready to give it a try: • Select a time of day where you’ll be able to devote a few minutes to meditate without being disturbed.• Wear comfortable clothing• When you’re ready to begin, silence your cell phone and lie or sit in a comfortable position. (A popular meditation pose is the Lotus position where your legs are cross-legged and each foot is placed on opposing thighs with your hands lying open. If this is not comfortable for you, change positions. Being uncomfortable is distracting!)• Close your eyes• Breathe naturally.• As you inhale and exhale, focus your mind on the movement of your shoulders, your chest, and rib cage.• If your mind wanders, bring it back to your breathing.• Do this for just a few minutes and gradually increase it as you become more comfortable with meditation. Quieting your mind can seem like an impossible task, but with practice, you can master it. The late Steve Jobs was a big believer in meditation and we love this quote from his biography: “If you just sit and observe, you will see how restless your mind is. If you try to calm it, it only makes it worse, but over time it does calm, and when it does, there’s room to hear more subtle things – that’s when your intuition starts to blossom and you start to see things more clearly and be in the present more. Your mind just slows down, and you see a tremendous expanse in the moment. You see so much more than you could see before. It’s a discipline; you have to practice it.” Once you’ve harnessed the power of calming your mind and relaxing your body, you’ll begin reaping the healthy benefits of this powerful practice. Conclusion We never recommend tools or practices we don’t try ourselves. Both Cathryn and I (Allen) practice meditation daily as part of our morning routines. Busy lifestyles are a part of life, but creating time for our mind to unwind makes our mornings better and our days more productive. Your stress won’t be erased the moment you begin to meditate, but you’ll be giving yourself the tools to handle and fend of stress better in the long run. While meditation is tough when you’re just starting out, eventually your mind will find a sense of calm among chaos. You’ll find that you’re calm in moments when you normally would panic. You’ll find that you’ll be able to think clearly and creatively to handle problems you would have found tough before. And when life just gets to be a bit too much, you have a tool to deal with it. Steal a quiet moment and meditate.

Would you describe yourself as someone who has grit? Would you say that it’s one of the most important traits a person can have? Experts would. Here are five tips on how you can build grit (and why it’s so important that you do): 1. IQ ≠ Success. Stop Focusing On The Wrong Things. In sixth grade, Carol Dweck occupied the first seat in a classroom where the teacher sat the students in the order of their IQ, highest to lowest. To Dweck, now a professor of psychology atStanford University, it was clear the teacher regarded IQ as the telltale indicator of success. Dweck now finds this practice destructive and believes she knows why she was able to maintain the first seat in the class. It wasn’t her IQ. Professor Dweck’s research leads her to the conclusion that it wasn’t intelligence, talent, or even desire that lead her to success in the classroom. For Dweck, it was the fear of failure in front of her peers and her ability to cope with and overcome, the obstacles. Through research in her adult life, Dweck found that the quality that correlated the highest with success was the ability to persevere until long-term goals were met. The most indicative trait of success... was grit. If you are aiming to build grit, the first step is acknowledging exactly what grit is. Building grit means learning how to persevere through obstacles to achieve long-term goals. Just as important is knowing what grit is not. Angela Duckworth, whose TED Talk on grit went viral, notes that “Grit isn’t talent. Grit isn’t luck. Grit isn’t how intensely, for the moment, you want something. Instead, grit is about having what some researchers call an “ultimate concern”–a goal you care about so much that it organizes and gives meaning to almost everything you do.” 2. Understand Your Mindset Have you ever described someone as being talented or intelligent? When we use these phrases, it can sometimes imply that the talent or intelligence is inherent and wasn’t developed through growth over time. According to Carol Dweck, this is what is known as a “fixed mindset.” Dweck acknowledges that some people may have the propensity to pick up a skill quickly or to absorb information with ease. However, too often, we ignore the possibility that perhaps rather than just being “talented” or “intelligent,” these people just have grit. We ignore the possibility that they simply set long-term goals in a given area of study or practice and overcome the obstacles to reach that point. According to the same research, “gritty” people are more likely to have what Dweck refers to as a “growth mindset.” This means that they believe their skills, intelligence, and overall abilities are traits they can improve over time through goal-setting and perseverance. Naturally, a growth mindset is much more conducive to developing grit. The danger occurs when someone of a fixed mindset believes that they are inherently lacking talent or intelligence. Without the grit of a growth mindset, the individual remains static and does little to grow. 3. View Setbacks as Opportunities and Never Stop Asking Questions If you have made it this far into the list, I have some good news for you: you probably have some grit. People with a growth mindset are always trying to better themselves (even if they’re trying to build grit). In addition to seeking out new knowledge, part of having a growth mindset means learning from others as well. Sometimes, this type of growth means you will need the ability to accept and absorb criticism. According to Angela Duckworth, people with grit view criticism and setbacks as an opportunity to grow their skills and abilities. People with a fixed mindset, because they view their talents and skills as inherent, are more likely to take criticism personally. Giving ourselves a friendly reminder to check our egos at the door can be a great way to help us develop a stronger growth mindset. 4. Discover and Explore Your Passions Not everything in life will inspire you, and that’s okay. People with grit find their passions and pursue them through the use of long-term goals. If you’re having trouble keeping goals, make sure that you’re finding purpose in the work you do. According to Duckworth, people who find purpose in their work will have a much easier time reaching their goals and achieving personal growth along the way. She also suggests that if you are having trouble finding purpose, to consider the ways your current work impacts other people. Her research has indicated that people who have grit also tend to be motivated to serve other people, to live what she calls an “other-centered life.” When it comes to finding purpose, sometimes the hardest part is taking the first step. This is especially true if you’re stepping into the unknown territory of a new project or interest. Adam Grant, from the Wharton School of Business, emphasizes the need for mentorship to inject passion into our professional lives. Duckworth too, argues to surround yourself with gritty people. Sometimes, peer pressure can be a good thing! 5. Believe That You Can Change and Grow I know... it sounds cheesy, but a growth mindset is not possible without a belief in yourself. People with fixed mindsets will remain static until they begin to explore their own ability to grow and change. Without the belief that you can achieve your goals, you too will give up. A staple in Duckworth’s theory on grit is that by building grit you are working to “make tomorrow better than today.” Perhaps this means setting new, attainable goals or even revisiting some old, abandoned ones. Regardless, building grit starts with a commitment to your passions and a willingness to persevere when the going gets tough.