New Years Resolutions-Goal Setting and Success

by: admin - January 2nd, 2012   Filed under: Advice and Real Life, Motivation, Success 2 Comments

A new year is approaching. It’s time to make New Year’s Resolutions, or is it?

The concept of making annual resolutions at the beginning of the calendar year is one that many people adhere to. Before we get into the actual making of resolutions let’s focus on what resolutions are.

A resolution is a declaration, an act of volition, moral courage, or mastery over self. Often a New Year’s list looks more like a child’s letter to Santa because it is a list of things that a person wants, but it lacks the call to action required to obtain the goal.

Is January 1st the most appropriate date for setting your personal declarations? Yes, if that is when you want to do so. However, any time, any day is just as appropriate, the important thing is that you do it. Certainly, you must re-evaluate your list more often than annually. Just writing out a list and then filing away is a waste of time and paper. Action is needed to make your goals become a habit.

If your list of resolutions, or desired habits, is to be more than a wish list, what should be on it? Every item on your list needs to meet two criteria: desire and belief.

Okay, I know every list is always filled with desires, that one is easy. On the other hand, is it? The only way that you will achieve your goal is to have a burning desire to obtain it. A burning desire is more potent that just wishing you would find an envelope with $1,000 in it and your name written on the front.

A burning desire is a need, from deep down inside you. This burning is what will motivate you to do whatever it takes to accomplish your dream.

The second part of each resolution is your belief. Yes, it is true that if you do not believe that you will achieve your goal, you will not achieve it. Your belief must be more than lip service. You must believe consciously and subconsciously to make your vision reality. The subconscious often does us in. Have you ever said to your best friend, that this is the month that you will be the top salesman? You may have convinced your friend, but the little voice inside you is saying, “yeah, right-when pigs fly-ha, ha, ha”. You have effectively just cancelled out your verbal declaration.

You need to get personal with your list. Every resolution you make must be in the present. Not; I will sell 3 vacuum cleaners in January; but January is the month I sold 3 vacuum cleaners.

  • You must be able to visualize the sale of 3 vacuums,
  • Taste the victory of having the customer’s signature on the contract.
  • Feel the thrill of sending the order to headquarters.
  • Visualize that commission check.

Visualizing your success in both the real world and the pictures and thoughts inside you mind is essential.

How do you go about setting your vision? Every one of your senses needs to be engaged—meaning what you

  • See
  • Hear and
  • Feel—both on the outside and inside your own head.

 

To achieve this write a detailed description of your image. Fill in all the tiny details, the more details you have filled in the more ‘real’ your vision will be.

If a goal of yours to buy a new vehicle:

  • write down the exact name of the vehicle
  • its color
  • engine configuration
  • wheel style
  • seat covers
  • the smell of the leather
  • the feel of sitting behind the wheel
  • the smile on your face reflecting back from the rear view mirror
  • the sound of the engine purring.

Once you have a vision formed, you must keep it in front of you. Tape the description to your computer monitor, on your bathroom mirror, tape it to the sun visor of your current vehicle. Review the goal every morning when you get up, every night before you go to bed, and different times during the day. Make your vision live, hold on to it, and nurture it. Yes, it does require work. It takes action and planning.Make seeing your vision come true a habit. The better your visualization the quicker you will meet your goal. Sweet victory is yours.

A workable list of personal resolutions need not be long. However, it does need to be detailed, precise, and filled with heart-felt, burning desires.

 

 

 

Tags: , , , ,

Memorization for Success

by: Pat - April 4th, 2011   Filed under: Focus + Concentration, Success 2 Comments

Tips for Learning Memorization Skills


Memorization skills are like any other skill, if allowed to lay dormant they get lost. Good memorization skills are the foundation to greater productivity in all areas of like. Your career, school and even socialization skills are better when you can easily and quickly retrieve information, names and facts.

Good memory retrieval skills are goals worth working towards. Practicing being in the now and noting details is a desirable habit.

Tips

Visualize it: Take a mental picture of the location of an item. This is especially helpful if you are a visual learner. Remembering words, concepts and math processes can be remembered with this method.

Vocalize it: Say the material you need to memorize out loud. This works especially well for auditory learners. Saying the information out loud reinforces learning because you are both saying it and hearing it. Vocalization along with visualization is an excellent memory tool.

Sing it: Putting the material to be memorized in the form of a simple ditty or favorite childhood song is an excellent memory enhancement. Singings activate our right brain which is very good at recognizing patterns. By singing you are activating more areas of the brain.

Use more than one of your senses:  If you visualize and vocalize the material you can also write or enter the information into your computer. The more detailed you are in filling in the picture the more successful you will be in remembering it. Also the more senses you engage the better the result will be.

Create a relationship: If you can relate something that you are trying to remember with something that you already know, it is very helpful. Association with familiar things is another excellent memorization tool.

Chew gum: Yes chewing gum can improve your memory. Of course it is not the gum itself that helps you memorize but it is the action of moving your jaw in a continuous manner increases your heart rate. An increased heart rate improves oxygen delivery to your brain which enhances cognitive skill, which of course includes memory.

Get adequate sleep: Neural connections in your brain are altered as you sleep. Memory skills can be lost if you are sleep deprived.

Physical Exercise: Physical exercise is important for keeping the body healthy, but it also may reduce the chances of you developing dementia or other memory disorders. Physical exercise has a positive effect on the heart. There is a connection between the health of the heart and the brain.


Mental Stimulation: People who remain mentally stimulated have a lower chance of developing memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s. Mental stimulation happens in many different forms. Social interaction improves memory as well as raising a person’s self-esteem. It is as important to keep your body in good shape as it is to keep your brain in good shape.


Keeping your memory sharp and in good shape results in a more active and productive life. It also makes life more interesting and fun.



Tags: , , ,

Laundry Done the Smarter Way

by: Pat - March 30th, 2011   Filed under: Maintenance, Organized Home, Professional Methods Add Comment

Laundry is a never ending job around most houses. The only way to prevent doing laundry completely is to constantly buy new clothes every day, not very practical though.

Laundry is ongoing task, and also an expensive one. Efficiency is needed.  The cost of laundry detergent, fabric softener, and bleach, color safe bleach, pre-cleaning spray as well as energy to run the washer and drying all adds up. Of course the biggest cost is your time.

The object of efficient laundry is many faceted. You need to spend as little time and effort, as possible on doing laundry. You need to keep cleaning supplies to a minimum so that you have money left for more fun activities.  Energy bills and you carbon footprint need to be as small as possible. Lastly you want to save wear and tear on your clothing and prevent damaging them in the laundry.

Laundry hampers are very important, if possible put a double hamper in each bedroom or some other convenient but out-of-the-way place. Having you laundry sorted between lights and darks from the beginning saves a lot of time. Enlist every family member old enough to help by making them responsible for putting their own clothes in the appropriate hamper. This saves you work, and prevents piles of dirty laundry in corners and under beds or in closets.

In the Laundry room have a three hamper system that you can divide your loads before laundering. One hamper is for white and light colored clothing, one for darks, and the third on for items that you need to bleach, such as underwear and bed linens.

Some basic precautions for you to take as you load your washer:

Don’t mix fuzzy fabrics like chenille, fleece with corduroy, permanent press items, or velour to prevent your entire load becoming full of lint and fuzz.

Check every pocket before tossing the item into the machine. One facial tissue, crayon, or ink pen can wreak havoc on the whole load.

Turn corduroy, denims; screen printed shirts and knits inside out before laundering.

Zip all zippers, button all buttons, close the Velcro, and tie all closures to prevent damage to that particular item as well as the rest of the clothes.

Mix your loads with large bulky items and smaller items to balance the load properly.

Fill the machine to capacity but avoid overloading it.

Use the coolest water possible, on all loads except those that need hotter water such as linens, underwear and towels.

Wash your lingerie in with your regular clothes just be sure to use a mesh bag to keep them from getting tangled.

To prevent new dark colored clothes from fading add one cup of salt to the rinse cycle the first time you wash them.

Take each item out of the washer and shake it, checking that any stains were removed prior to drying them because heat will set the stain.

Remove your clothes from the dryer as soon as they are dry, but not 100% dry. Hang, fold, or smooth them while they are still warm.

Timing is important if you want to prevent more work by allowing the clothes to sit in the drying to long or throwing them into a clothes basket to put-up later, when they will be much more wrinkled and may need to be ironed.

These simple, time efficient and economical steps mean an easier laundry day and your clothes will thank you for the extra care by looking new longer.



Tags: , ,