Jump Out of Your Comfort Zone

I bet you that you’ve been told more times than you can count to try something new and step out of your comfort zone.  Am I right?  Especially when we were kids and teenagers.  However when we are adults we don’t hear it that much...unless we’re saying to a kid!  But guess what, the saying never dies.  We should always be searching for ways to step outside of our comfort zone.

Humans are a creature of habit.  It is one thing that make us great, but it also limits us in many ways.  Think about it.  Do you have a specific parking spot?  Do you use certain phrases without even thinking about them when talking with people?  What about only ordering certain foods at a restaurant because that’s what you’ve always done?  I’m challenging you to take a leap of faith this week and consciously break some of these habits.  Whether it is something small like parking in a different parking spot, picking different food, or saying something different to a person.  While these are small things, there are much bigger ones.  What about your health? How love life?  Are you just going through the motions.  I challenge you really think about parts of your life you think could be better.  Then instead of running on autopilot, make a conscious decision to try something new.  Say something different, try something new.  Maybe a friend invited you to go to a workout.  Join them!

Obviously you’ll want to keep it polite and legal.  I’m not giving you permission to break the law, but step outside of your comfort zone and give something new a whirl.  You never know, it can become one of your new favorite things!

Discovering your Strengths

What are your strengths?  It’s no secret that playing to your strengths can help you be successful.  Everyone is good at something and struggles in other aspects of their life.  The trick is figuring out what you are good at and doing more of that and either delegating the other parts you’re not so good at to other people or working to improve them.  

What about if you don’t know what your strengths are?  How can you find out?  There are two relatively easy ways to figure them out.  The first way is for you to sit down and reflect.  Think about your job, activities, hobbies, family life, and everything you participate in.  Write down everything that you think you do well.  It could be everything from consoling a family member, to swinging a sledge hammer, and everything in between.  When you have a number of items listed, then break them down even more.  What makes you good at them? Are you strong, do you listen well, can you type fast, etc.  These are your strengths.  Then think of the parts of your life that are difficult.  What things do you struggle with.  This list is usually easier for people to come up with.  Don’t hover over it, just write them down and move on.  You can break these down into items you can delegate to other people and ones you can improve.  Then figure out who you would delegate them to and/or how you will improve those parts of your life.

The second way to learn what your strengths and weaknesses are is to ask a trusted family member and coworker.  Doing it this way may be a little harder to hear, especially for your struggles, but that’s ok.  You are asking a trusted family member, friend, or coworker with the goal of delegating some of them and learning to improve the others.  Make the same list as you would if you sat down and thought about them and break them down.  

Now doing this is great and will make you aware of your strengths and weaknesses, but it won’t do you a lick of good if you don’t do something about it.  As already mentioned, you delegate or work to improve your weaknesses.  For your strengths, play to them.  Do them more often, focus on utilizing them to their full potential, and share them with the people around you.  Not only will you feel great sharing your talent, you will get more accomplished and move farther along in your career.

I’d love to hear your strengths!  Please post them in the comments below!

Find your Dedication

Do you have what it takes to be a dedicated person?  If you are, then you will have every chance at succeeding.  Why?  Because being dedicated means that you will stay focused, you will get up when knocked down, and you will learn from the tough times and improve for the future.  

If you don’t think you are a dedicated person, let me ask you why not?  What do you need to change to become one?  

One of the big things you can to help you be dedicated is have a very specific reason to stick to whatever you want to be dedicated at. This is your why.  For example, let’s say you want to improve health habits. You want to eat and feel better but as soon as you start it’s only a matter of days or even hours before you fall off the wagon.  This happens because your why isn’t big enough or isn’t sunk in enough yet.  To help you with this, pick a bigger and more meaningful reason why.  An example of a fitness why could be: I want to get fit to feel better.  However that brownie, those chips, oh look fast food may get you to deviate from your plan and your why to “feel better”  It may be strong for some but not all.  A stronger example could be: I want to be able to keep up with my kids and show them what it takes to be healthy.  Now you’re including your family and wanting to be there for them and show them what dedication, and healthy looks like.  Finding your why is a great way stay dedicated and focused on your goals.  Here’s an article to help you find your why. http://jonesintomotivate.blogspot.com/2016/09/what-is-your-why.html

Let's Focus on more Results

Do you want to see a difference?  Want to see some change in your results?  Then focus.  That’s right, focus.  Look at what you are doing throughout the day.  How much of it is just busy work, chatting by the water cooler, social media distraction?  My guess is, that distractions like those take up a bit of your “work time”  No matter if you are working at your job, or trying to get a task done at home.  Focus on that task, on that job.

For example, I am currently writing this article sitting in a chair in my living room with music playing.  I know that I can focus on writing and get my best info out when I have music playing.  If I had a movie or the TV on that would distract me too much.  My phone is turned over and on the coffee table so I don’t see every time I receive a notification.  

Find what works for you, put up a mental do not disturb sign (maybe even a physical one LOL) and focus on the task at hand.  Stick with it until it’s done or until you get as far as you can with it for the time period.  You will be amazed at how much you will accomplish just by focusing on a single task.  

Go ahead, give it a shot and let me know if it helped you  in the comments below or tag me in a post.

Be an Eagle and see the Forest and not just Trees.

Life has a way of getting you so wrapped up and crazy busy that you can lose sight of the big picture.  It becomes extremely easy to get lost in the details.  When this happens, you need to take a step back, breath, and look at the big picture.  You need to regain your eagle vision. Don't get lost by looking at a tree but instead see he forest! How do get it back?  Try these 3 easy steps:

1. Breath.  That’s right, just breath.  Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth.  Focus on slowing down your breathing and inhale and exhale slow and steady.  
2. Take off your shoes.  You can leave your socks on or not, it’s up to you but stand up.  As you inhale curl your toes in. (even better if you are on carpet) When you exhale, stretch your toes out.  
3. Lastly, close your eyes.  When you are breathing and curling your toes let your mind go.  Let any tense or stressful thoughts go.  Clear your mind and focus on you.  When you feel centered, slowly start to expand your thinking to your goals and more importantly to your why.  Ignore the individual tasks just focus on your why.

Regain your eagle vision and continue on towards your goals and dreams!

Tracking your way to Success!

Track it!  Just like a business tracking their expenses and income track your behaviors.  If you want to improve and/or reach a goal.  Make a list of 1-3 small tasks you can do each do to help you achieve your goal and improve.  Then, track it!  Make a checklist and every time you complete one task, check it off!  Do this everyday and you will see that what you are successful with and areas where you struggle.  Then make the changes necessary to keep you on track and headed toward goal, and continue to track.  If you don’t want to end of off course, check in daily and make sure you are headed in the right direction.  It’ll take a matter of seconds, so why wait!  Go track and get closer to your goals and dreams!

Be a Light in the Darkness

Life may have seemed to throw a rock slide in front of your success tunnel and blocking your way to your goal.  It may have seemed to diminish all the hope and excitement from the people around you leaving you in darkness.  Don’t let it stop you and take away your hope and excitement.  Be a light.  Be the person who will dig out and push through the rock wall.  Be the person who is a light in the darkness attracting and spreading your hope and excitement to everyone that you meet.  Yes life will get hard, but stronger and braver than that.  Push yourself, don’t stop.  Be the light when times get dark.