1. Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does.  Is it true that we all live to serve?  That by helping others we fulfill our own destiny?  The answer is a simple “yes.”  When you make a positive impact in someone else’s life, you also make a positive impact in your own life.  Do something that’s greater than you – something that helps someone else to be happy or to suffer less.  You are only one, but you are one.  You cannot do everything, but you can do something.

Visualize your obstacles ahead of time.

You need to consciously think about the obstacles that could potentially prevent you from achieving your desired outcome. This might seem counterintuitive at first, but it’s a strategy that works wonders.

The “specific outcome” you are aiming for must be specific enough and or reasonable – meaning don’t  aim for a goal too big and overwhelming for your current mindset.

So this doesn’t only motivate you to get the right things done, it also helps you break your bigger long-term goals into achievable shorter-term goals that you can wrap your mind around and get excited about it , right now.  So…

• When people visualize their obstacles and realize they have a good chance of overcoming them motivation increases.
• Those who visualize their obstacles and realize their goals are too lofty and not specific enough (“I want to make a billion dollars this week”) report less motivation.

The latter are deterred from dreaming the wrong dream (Goal) again and again, and so they tighten up their focus and don’t waste any more of their time.  Thus, outcomes for both groups that use mental contrasting are positive.

The bottom line is that to be successful, we have to envision what could go wrong, and what will inevitably go wrong, in advance, before we begin.  Far too many ambitious people fail for easily preventable reasons.  Far too many people don’t have a well-thought-out backup plan because they refuse to consider something might not go exactly as they dreamed it would.

Everything starts with a dream.  But if that’s all you do, you’re in serious trouble. Also, having a positive attitude is an explicit requirement, because a negative attitude makes us more likely to quit — or to never even begin in the first place. But when that positive attitude becomes a constant habit of fantasizing, things go south really quick.  Yes, that’s right, tirelessly dreaming about success is not constructive.

Big fantasies, wishes and dreams detached from real life experience (action) never translates into the necessary motivation to create a more energized, engaged life.  It translates into the opposite — more procrastination. Why?  The inexperienced, emotional human brain just can’t tell the difference between fantasy and reality.

When you fantasize, certain parts of your brain think you’ve actually achieved your goal.  So rather than ramping up, motivation actually pulls back.  Too much dreaming turns positive thinking into mere wishful thinking.

So if it doesn’t work, why in the world do we do it so often?  Plain and simple: it feels good. Just like stuffing your face with chocolate cake or checking your email for the 70th time today, it feels good in the moment — but is counterproductive to long-term success.

Constant dreaming about success in the future seems to protect our egos against sadness in the short-term, but then promotes sadness over the long-term if that’s all we do.  Because lofty expectations are being built but aren’t being backed by any substantial means to get from point A to point B.

Okay, you get the idea.  Dreaming by itself leads to nowhere worthwhile.  So, what are the missing steps?
1- A specific custom plan.
2- Action.
3- Accountability.

www.drjaymorgan.com

I recently heard a speaker say “ All Sunshine Makes a desert eventually.” It’s true, if there is not a fair mixture of rain, wind, storms, and cold mixed in there, growth won’t occur.  I had someone else tell me that “growth doesn't occur on mountain tops.”  Its true, look up there, no trees, no grass, nothing green, just dirt and rock.  “Growth occurs in valleys.”

The point of all this is "life and practice is not supposed to be all roses."  If it is there is something wrong! It’s the valleys that cause you to appreciate the mountain top. It’s the rain, that makes you look forward to the sunshine.  Every day can’t be sunshine and flowers.  We have had 5 straight years of sunshine with little rain here in central Texas. The result?  Drought.  

If you are in a valley right now, remember this is life’s way of educating you, teaching you, molding you, growing.  Open your ears and eyes to it. Learn from it. Take action on it, and grow from it.

1. Write down the thoughts that are filling your head.  Write down what you need to do, want to do, and should do.  Write down good ideas and distracting thoughts.  Go back to it later and cross out anything that’s not important, helpful or necessary.

Do these lines sound familiar? “I’ll never get this finished.” “I can’t.” “What else can go wrong?” “I have too much on my plate.” Change your self-defeating thoughts around: “I’ll finish one thing at a time.” “I’m good enough.” “What can I learn from this?” “Tomorrow is another day.” Overwhelm comes from your thinking. Manage your self-talk and your feelings will change. As will your results!

1. Keep a success journal.  Note what you got right.  Celebrate what goes good.  Create the feeling of success in your mind.  Visualize the end result that you want to see.

1. Everything around us is made up of energy.  To attract positive things into your life, start by giving off positive energy.  Once you’re in the positive, the secret to getting ahead is to focus all of your energy not on fixing and fighting the old, but on building and growing something new.

1. Stop over-thinking and over-analyzing everything.  Do your best and surrender the rest.  Let go.  So many creations and inventions never come to fruition because we spend too much time thinking and not enough time doing.  And then, once we begin “doing,” we never think what we’re doing is good enough.  Like overwhelm, perfection is an illusion.

1. Everything around us is made up of energy.  To attract positive things into your life, start by giving off positive energy.  Once you’re in the positive, the secret to getting ahead is to focus all of your energy not on fixing and fighting the old, but on building and growing something new.

There seems to be an outbreak of overwhelm on this planet.  Everyone believes they have to be busy, on the internet, and on the go every second. When you feel overworked and overwhelmed, stop and listen to the stories you’re telling yourself about your time, your work, and your life.  In order to change your feelings, you have to change your thoughts.  You could say that your problem with overwhelm is all in your head!

We forget that life happens in the moment.  Overwhelm doesn’t exist.  It’s an illusion – a story we tell ourselves that offers us an excuse to get out of what we don’t want to do or don’t think we can do.We can choose to live our lives one choice and moment at a time.

There will always be more tough changes to make. Always! And yes, this growth can be painful. Change can be painful. But in the end, nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you do not belong. You’re not the same person you were a year ago, a month ago or a week ago. You’re always growing. Experiences don’t stop. That’s life. It takes a great deal of courage accept responsibility for making the change happen. But doing so is worth every bit of effort you can muster.

Some people will kill you over time if you let them; and how they’ll kill you is with tiny, seemingly harmless phrases like, “Be realistic.”  When this happens, close your ears and listen to your inner voice instead.  Remember that real success in life isn’t what others see, but how you feel inside.  It’s living your truth and doing what makes you feel alive.

When you stop learning you stop living a meaningful life.  It’s when you venture out, away from the familiar, that you grow stronger and more capable.  You must hold tightly to your core values while at the same time opening your mind to new ideas, feelings and experiences.  Your own perspective will become clearer when you look at things from different angles.  Find ways to provide a healthy challenge to your current understanding, and you will discover and experience far more of life’s magic in the year ahead.

Are you tired of dealing with the same type of headaches over and over and over again that you had in 2014? If so then it’s time to purge some bad habits as we begin a New Year.  It’s time to learn from your mistakes rather than be conquered by them, and let your errors be of commission rather than omission. Remember, you ultimately become what you repeatedly do.  If your habits aren’t helping you, they’re hurting you. Change them for 2015!