Category: positive mindset

Motivation To Reach New Goals

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It’s hard to stay motivated (long-term), especially now when our lives and sense of “normalcy” has completely changed.

Below are 2 strategies that I find to be very helpful ways to stay motivated and follow through on your most challenging tasks.

1.  Artificial Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is a principle of human behavior that says that a behavior is more likely to happen & will continue to happen, when it’s followed by something enjoyable or rewarding.

For example: 

Suppose you want to stick to a goal of running two times a week for one month.  Each time you accomplish your run, give yourself a small reward-like 15 minutes of reading time, a piece of dark chocolate, or your favorite smoothie or juice from a local juice bar.  Each time you complete your run, reward yourself in a small & healthy way.
At the end of the month-think of a larger reward to give yourself for reaching the goal of completing the entire month, like a new outfit for the summer or a pedicure.  (Ok, for now that pedicure might have to be done on your own, but you could include a bath & make it extra relaxing!)

I know we usually think of this reward system as something for kids, but you know it works for them-so try it for yourself and see what happens!

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2.  The Ulysses Pact 

This pact is named after the hero of the Trojan war & is a technique for holding yourself accountable to stick with a goal, even when it is hard.

The key in this pact is that we make a choice in the present that binds us to perform an action in the future.

For example:

Suppose you want to stick to a plan of making a healthy dinner for your family 5 nights a week.  Or, you make a decision to workout with a buddy 3 times each week.  You could write your good friend or even your child a series of checks for $20 each and instruct them to cash one of these checks and use the money however they want, if you skip out on meeting for a workout or don’t meet your 5th dinner for your family for that week.

The Ulysses Pact helps you maintain a high level of motivation when things get tough by locking in a future behavior ahead of time.

I personally thought that these techniques are good ones for setting new goals and sticking to them.  Hope you give them a try and strive for something bigger and better in the future!

Family Health While Stuck Inside

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During uncertain times like these, it is important to find ways that you can stay mentally and physically healthy and strong so that you can be there for others when they are not.

Check out some of my tips below so that you can use this time to slow down and build a more positive, healthy environment for you and your family!

 

Molly Woods Pose

I have composed a list of ways in which you can keep yourself and your family as healthy as possible, while you are stuck at home right now:

1.  Weather permitting-get outside and be in nature

  • Living close to nature and spending time outside has significant and wide-ranging health benefits.   Recent reports reveal that exposure to greenspace reduces the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death, preterm birth, stress, and high blood pressure.
  • Can’t go anywhere but your back yard?  Create a scavenger hunt for your kids, do yoga on your back lawn, have a picnic in the grass, or involve your family in a game of kickball.

2.  Write down 3 optimistic people you would like to hang around with sometime in the near future. Writing it down will actually help you get closer to your goal. 

  • Can’t physically visit with these people right now?  Call them up or write them a letter!  Now is the time to connect in ways that we haven’t when we were busy running around during the normal rat race of life.

3.  Keep a gratitude journal and write down 5 things that you are thankful for each day.  I recommend starting the day with this, so these positive aspects of your life are fresh in your mind first thing.

  • Get your kids involved in this daily exercise and have them write down what they are thankful for each morning for breakfast!
  • The more grateful we are, the more opportunities we find.  Hope is built on gratitude and opportunities.

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4.  Set a time each day to unplug from electronics and enjoy the company of your family

  • Unplugging can help us live in the present moment. We are more connected to our devices now than ever before and this leaves us less time for meditation, self-reflection, and connection with others.
  • TURN OFF the news when your kiddos are around.  We made the mistake of playing the news while the kids were in the room last week & it really scared them.  We are all facing uncharted territories right now-it’s best to keep your kids feeling safe and secure by keeping them away from the media as much as possible.

5.  Get in physical exercise & involve your whole family!

  • It doesn’t even need to be explained but spend time each day to move your body to increase energy, improve mood, reduce stress, lower your risks of a multitude of diseases, and more.
  • Involve your WHOLE family!  Check out this free family workout by yours truly right HERE.

6.  Keep Up With Your Healthy Eating Habits

  • Try some new healthy recipes and use this time to sit down with your family and enjoy meals together!
  • Eating a variety of lean proteins, healthy fats, and fresh produce will keep your brain and body functioning at its’ highest level.
  • Don’t allow your kids to snack on junk all day!  Encourage your family to eat a rainbow of colors at each meal.

 

I hope that you find these tips helpful for you and your family.  I am trying my best to find ways to help others virtually right now, so please reach out to me if you think of an idea on how I can improve others lives’ from afar or if you just have a question for me!  Thanks for reading!!

 

Changing Your Mindset

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Our mindsets are formed through prior experiences and emotional milestones in our lives.

Unfortunately, if you are like most of the population, then you have developed several “counter mindsets” A counter mindset is one that holds us back and doesn’t help us produce the results that we want in life.  This mindset is a negative way of thinking and visualizing the world.

Changing your “counter mindset” is something that doesn’t happen by accident-it’s a conscious choice that we have to make and it takes some serious work.

Did you know that approximately 65,000 thoughts go through our minds each day?  The majority of these thoughts are negative, whether we realize it or not.  Most of us struggle with “ANTs”, which are automatic negative thoughts that occur so often throughout the day that we are most likely not aware of it.

Here are 7 steps that we can take to change our mindsets:

1.  Accept that your thinking needs an adjustment

The first step in any change is acknowledging that you need to make one!  Just identifying this will help you make a step in the right direction.

2.  Identify your “ANTs” (Automatic Negative Thoughts)

Pay attention to your negative self-talk and how frequently it happens.  Being aware and identifying these harmful thoughts is pretty eye-opening.  You may notice that your negative thinking can be narrowed down into a few key themes.  Taking a mental or physical note of this is a big step towards change because we can’t change what we don’t recognize in ourselves.

3.  Change your thought patterns

There are two fairly easy approaches to moving your thoughts from a negative to a positive.

The first one is to FORCE yourself to change your thinking.  For example, instead of looking in the mirror and seeing your flaws, compliment yourself!  It might feel phony at first, but once you get into the habit of consistently filling your mind with positive affirmations vs negative ones, you will start to believe yourself and grow.

The other idea is to try the “IF/THEN” approach which is a thought process that allows you to think past your negative thoughts.  For example, IF you start to say that you are too tired, too out of shape, or too lazy to exercise, THEN go straight to your closet and put on your workout clothes and go for a walk.  Sometimes just by taking one step in the right direction is enough to shut your ANTs down.  You can prepare yourself ahead of time by writing down several IF/THEN statements.

4.  Understand your “WHY”

Since most of our unhealthy habits and ANTs were formed when we were kids, changing our mindsets takes hard work to break.  Understanding your why can help you work towards a more positive outlook.  To set a why-think about a goal or dream that will have a transformational change in your life.

Examples of a why may be:  “To improve my relationship with my companion” or “To be happier in my career.”

Once you identify your why, write it down on paper and why it is important to you.

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5.  Realize that motivation is not enough

High achievers understand this reality so they stop mentally punishing themselves every time they stumble or fail to stick to a plan.  Knowing this will allow you to be emotionally freer which will encourage you to try again tomorrow and not give up!

6.  Start with super small goals

Set tiny, achievable goals that you can easily reach.  For example, if you want to reduce stress, try deep breathing for just 1 minute each day.  Or, if you want to start exercising, make it a goal to walk for 5 minutes.  Decide that your mini goal is the minimum and that you can do more if you feel up to it.  More times that not, you’ll feel awesome because you are over-achieving when you do more and if you just do the minimum, you’re still hitting your goal.

To ever make any serious change, we have to take small steps and repeat them daily.  This will create momentum towards positive change.  Consistently hitting our small goals will form new mindset habits.

7.  Acknowledge that you will FAIL

Highly successful people realize that the only thing that really keeps them from their goals is stopping, so they don’t stop!  They know that they’ll have obstacles and failures along the way but they give themselves permission to screw up because failure will help them learn and make adjustments as they see fit.  If you know that failure can happen and you accept it, seek feedback and make changes to get back into the game.

I hope these tips help you as much as they do me.  Do you have other healthy mindset habits that work for you?  I’d love to hear them!