How to correctly throw punches to generate the most power.
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How to correctly throw punches to generate the most power.
8 Steps to Take When You Feel Like Giving Up
Taking the easy road is nice for a while, but for talented, motivated people it isn’t enough. To find satisfaction you’ll need to set ambitious goals, solve challenging problems, and develop strengths you may not know you have.
Although the hard road is more fulfilling, it isn’t all champagne and victory laps. There will be times when you feel beaten and depressed — times when quitting looks like the best option. There is no formula for dealing with hard times, but these 8 steps will help you understand your predicament and determine the best course of action.
1. Take a Break
One reason we get down ourselves is fatigue. When you’re tired everything is harder. Working your tail off for extended periods will wear you down if you aren’t careful. You’ll also get bored. Fatigue and boredom combine to cause burnout — one of the biggest reasons people quit. When faced with burnout, the best thing to do is take a break. Cut yourself off completely. Do absolutely nothing for a day or two. What’s the worst that could happen? By allowing yourself to recover you’ll be more productive in the long run.
2. Step Back
Sometimes we get so absorbed in our own sphere that we develop a distorted picture of reality. When you feel like giving up, there’s a good chance that a) things aren’t nearly as bad as they seem, and b) there’s a simple solution that you’re overlooking. When things seem bleak, distance yourself from the situation to gain an accurate perspective. What would someone without any emotional involvement do? Asking this question will help you make optimal decisions.
3. Do Your Research
The only constant in the universe is change, but when you’re plugging away with your head down it’s easy not to notice. People often make decisions based on outdated assumptions made months, or even years earlier. To develop a course of action, you’ll need to know where you stand. Stop to evaluate your position.
* What do you have?
* What do you want?
* How has the market adjusted?
* What opportunities still exist?
* What new opportunities have arisen?
By taking stock of the current situation, you’ll discover if your urge to quit is a passing whim or the correct decision.
4. Consult an Expert
When your knowledge base is insufficient you should seek an expert opinion. This doesn’t mean you have to make contact with a world class expert, anyone who knows more than you will be able to help. Think of friends, family, and business associates. Have any of them been in your position before? The web can also be a great resource, just be careful who you trust. Check out relevant forums or email a reputable blogger. I’m consistently impressed with the effort people expend to help total strangers.
5. Re-evaluate Your Strategy
Once you’re well informed, apply that knowledge to revamping your strategy. If you feel like giving up, you might be doing something wrong. This is the time to pour over your efforts and determine what works.
* What actions have lead to the greatest benefit?
* What mistakes have been made?
* What can be improved?
By answering these questions you’ll fine tune your strategy. The urge to give up is a blessing when it leads to analysis and constructive adjustments.
6. Change Course
Knowing what’s wrong and how you can fix it is a relief. Unlike an invisible monster hovering over you, an exposed problem can be directly assaulted. Once you’ve determined a change needs to be made, implement it full force. Don’t hesitate or dwell on past mistakes. Trust your own judgment and deal with new issues as they arise.
7. Push Through the Dip
In some cases you might feel like giving up even though you’re doing all the right things. This is called “the dip” — the plateau that separates the average from the best in the world. Knowing what to do when you hit the dip is so important, Seth Godin wrote a book on it. In you’ve hit the dip and you can honestly say that going forward is the best decision, lower your shoulder and plow ahead until you reach the other side. It might not be pleasant but the rewards are tremendous. If you make it.
8. Quit
We don’t have thoughts and emotions for nothing. Sometimes quitting is the best decision. Maybe you didn’t know what you were getting into. Maybe your priorities have changed. Maybe you’d be better doing something else. If you know deep down that quitting is the right move, do it. Don’t hesitate because of previously invested effort. That’s a sunk cost. If you ignore your better judgment and continue you’ll waste more time and energy.
Original source of the article can be found at http://www.pickthebrain.com
Although the hard road is more fulfilling, it isn’t all champagne and victory laps. There will be times when you feel beaten and depressed — times when quitting looks like the best option. There is no formula for dealing with hard times, but these 8 steps will help you understand your predicament and determine the best course of action.
1. Take a Break
One reason we get down ourselves is fatigue. When you’re tired everything is harder. Working your tail off for extended periods will wear you down if you aren’t careful. You’ll also get bored. Fatigue and boredom combine to cause burnout — one of the biggest reasons people quit. When faced with burnout, the best thing to do is take a break. Cut yourself off completely. Do absolutely nothing for a day or two. What’s the worst that could happen? By allowing yourself to recover you’ll be more productive in the long run.
2. Step Back
Sometimes we get so absorbed in our own sphere that we develop a distorted picture of reality. When you feel like giving up, there’s a good chance that a) things aren’t nearly as bad as they seem, and b) there’s a simple solution that you’re overlooking. When things seem bleak, distance yourself from the situation to gain an accurate perspective. What would someone without any emotional involvement do? Asking this question will help you make optimal decisions.
3. Do Your Research
The only constant in the universe is change, but when you’re plugging away with your head down it’s easy not to notice. People often make decisions based on outdated assumptions made months, or even years earlier. To develop a course of action, you’ll need to know where you stand. Stop to evaluate your position.
* What do you have?
* What do you want?
* How has the market adjusted?
* What opportunities still exist?
* What new opportunities have arisen?
By taking stock of the current situation, you’ll discover if your urge to quit is a passing whim or the correct decision.
4. Consult an Expert
When your knowledge base is insufficient you should seek an expert opinion. This doesn’t mean you have to make contact with a world class expert, anyone who knows more than you will be able to help. Think of friends, family, and business associates. Have any of them been in your position before? The web can also be a great resource, just be careful who you trust. Check out relevant forums or email a reputable blogger. I’m consistently impressed with the effort people expend to help total strangers.
5. Re-evaluate Your Strategy
Once you’re well informed, apply that knowledge to revamping your strategy. If you feel like giving up, you might be doing something wrong. This is the time to pour over your efforts and determine what works.
* What actions have lead to the greatest benefit?
* What mistakes have been made?
* What can be improved?
By answering these questions you’ll fine tune your strategy. The urge to give up is a blessing when it leads to analysis and constructive adjustments.
6. Change Course
Knowing what’s wrong and how you can fix it is a relief. Unlike an invisible monster hovering over you, an exposed problem can be directly assaulted. Once you’ve determined a change needs to be made, implement it full force. Don’t hesitate or dwell on past mistakes. Trust your own judgment and deal with new issues as they arise.
7. Push Through the Dip
In some cases you might feel like giving up even though you’re doing all the right things. This is called “the dip” — the plateau that separates the average from the best in the world. Knowing what to do when you hit the dip is so important, Seth Godin wrote a book on it. In you’ve hit the dip and you can honestly say that going forward is the best decision, lower your shoulder and plow ahead until you reach the other side. It might not be pleasant but the rewards are tremendous. If you make it.
8. Quit
We don’t have thoughts and emotions for nothing. Sometimes quitting is the best decision. Maybe you didn’t know what you were getting into. Maybe your priorities have changed. Maybe you’d be better doing something else. If you know deep down that quitting is the right move, do it. Don’t hesitate because of previously invested effort. That’s a sunk cost. If you ignore your better judgment and continue you’ll waste more time and energy.
Original source of the article can be found at http://www.pickthebrain.com
Basic Ways to Exponentially Improve Your Productivity
Paul J. Meyer says, “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” This cannot be any truer. To be successful in your career (or anything for that matter), your productivity must shine.
Don’t limit yourself. If you want to get things done in the least amount of time with the best results you need to follow these steps.
1. Turn off your TV.
Besides being a brainwashing tool, TV eats away four hours a day from time you could spend doing more productive things. Four hours a day? That’s ten years spent watching TV if you plan on living past seventy five.
2. Checklists.
No brainer here. Make a checklist of things you need to get done, then go bullet by bullet. So simple yet so effective.
3. Harder things come first.
If you built yourself a to-do list (which you should), tackle your hard tasks first, don’t save them for last. If you finish them you have nothing to worry about as your tasks will only get easier. This will set a great outlook for the rest of the day and keep your mentality afloat.
4. Consolidate.
Take a look at your checklist and see if you can put somethings together. If you’re going out for errands, try to do them all at once, if you’re calling clients, schedule a period to do them all in one stint.
5. Early to sleep, early to rise.
Getting up at 6AM is a drag I’ll admit. However you’ll be surprised how much more you can get done as opposed to waking up at 2PM. Grab a coffee and go. Of course if you’re waking up earlier, you’re going to need more sleeping hours so going to bed a couple of hours earlier is a must.
6. Say “No”.
Carefully strategize your options and your goals (as well as your tasks). Say no to things that are outside those bounds that are not helping you meet your goals. Keep focused on the important tasks at hand.
7. Start now.
Stop holding off! You’re big projects will just get even bigger with time on their side. Dive in and take a chance, build or demolish your goals brick by brick.
8. Leave time for non-urgent (but necessary) activities.
Schedule time during your day when you work only on non-urgent yet necessary activities like e-mails, phone calls, paying bills, etc.
9. Each day is different, respect that.
What I like to do is prioritize my days differently. Friday is more relaxed so I can focus more on my general & fun projects while Mondays I focus on organizing and planning for the week ahead of me. Wednesdays I use as a marker to see how far I am and the type of progress I need to be showing.
10. Get a ‘The Office’ calendar.
The Office Calendar will at least remind you that it could be a lot worse ;-). Write down all your important meetings and to-do’s, stuff that you can’t fit on post-it notes.
11. Sticky notes wall.
I used to categorize all my tasks onto sticky notes. One sticky note per task. I then put them on the wall of my office as a big collage and when I finished one, I’d ‘X’ it out. This was a great way for me to visually see the progress I was making however it ended up taking up too much space.
12. Reward yourself.
Keep yourself motivated by setting rewards for completing big tasks. This could be anything from a movie ticket to a football game or a gift of some kind. This way you’ll have more push rather then just the obvious monetary gains.
13. Take breaks.
Another no-brainer. Give yourself time to relax and let your thoughts drift. If you’re workhorsing for twelve hours a day with no breaks, eventually you will go insane. Take the time to sit back and look at everything your doing to get some fresh perspective on it.
14. Do your shopping online.
Why run to the story when a diligent UPS or FedEx worker can carry it to your door? You’d also be surprised on how much you can save by shopping online. Here are some great store links:
http://amazon.com
http://half.com
http://overstock.com
http://bestbuy.com
http://newegg.com
15. Automatic bill pay.
Most banks offer this, take advantage of it! You’ll save that extra 1-2 hours paying your bills, spend it doing something more productive.
16. Direct deposits.
Most employers offer this now. Save that trip to the bank, having to wait in line to cash your check. Get it directly deposited every other Friday. Let your employers do the work.
17. The Pareto Principle.
Recently read up on a ‘improve your personal finance’ book and it covered the Pareto Principle. It basically states the 80-20 rule, which is that 80% of the value of a task comes from 20% of the effort. Focus the bulk of your energy on that critical 20%, and don’t spend too much time on the non-critical 80%. For more about the Pareto Principle, click here.
18. Review yourself at the end of the day.
Before you go home from work, sit down and run through your checklist. Be proud of the things you accomplished and focus on the things you left to be done. Sit back and re-organize your new objectives.
19. Make your workspace comfortable.
Use a chair that is ergonomic and conforms to your back. Be sure to get up and stretch every hour or so and make sure that you are working in good lighting.
20. Keep your software and hardware running smooth.
How are you going to get things done with tons of spywar and adaware on your computer? Make sure to keep your hardware and software and check and be security conscious. Want some good anti-adware and spyware tools? Check these out:
SpyBot
Ad-Aware
21. Use computer short-cuts.
Take the time to check out what the common keyboard shortcuts are. Stop using your mouse to copy and paste, use Ctrl+C, and CTRL+V! Here is a link to Common Windows XP Computer Shortcuts.
22. Set deadlines, use alarms.
My T-Mobile Dash calendar is overflowing with alarms, to-do lists and other things to keep track of my ideas, goals and tasks. Use alarms and deadline notifications to help you keep yourself in check.
23. Enjoy your meals.
Yep, you heard me right. Take the time out to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner properly with the necessary time to de-stress yourself from the common difficulties of a normal everyday life. Get back to reality and cool off. Food is crucial, if you are well fed and feeling good, you’ll be able to get a lot more done once you resume your work.
24. If you’re using FireFox, use these tools to improve your productivity.
LifeHack recently published this great article: Top 10 FireFox Extensions to Improve Your Productivity. Definitely a worthwhile read.
25. Coffee/caffeine.
Another no-brainer but it works. Without my coffee in the AM I can hardly keep away. Coffee keeps me focused and alive for the majority of the day (and it tastes good :)).
Two more for the road…
26. Break things up.
Kind of touched on this already but its worth noting again. Break things up. Those major daunting tasks will seem a lot easier when their smashed into bits and pieces.
27. Team up and stay focused.
Having someone either on your back or helping you will make you push yourself harder. However, don’t let this get in the way of the work - cut out the procrastination.
Original source of these tips can be found at http://cashbulge.com
Don’t limit yourself. If you want to get things done in the least amount of time with the best results you need to follow these steps.
1. Turn off your TV.
Besides being a brainwashing tool, TV eats away four hours a day from time you could spend doing more productive things. Four hours a day? That’s ten years spent watching TV if you plan on living past seventy five.
2. Checklists.
No brainer here. Make a checklist of things you need to get done, then go bullet by bullet. So simple yet so effective.
3. Harder things come first.
If you built yourself a to-do list (which you should), tackle your hard tasks first, don’t save them for last. If you finish them you have nothing to worry about as your tasks will only get easier. This will set a great outlook for the rest of the day and keep your mentality afloat.
4. Consolidate.
Take a look at your checklist and see if you can put somethings together. If you’re going out for errands, try to do them all at once, if you’re calling clients, schedule a period to do them all in one stint.
5. Early to sleep, early to rise.
Getting up at 6AM is a drag I’ll admit. However you’ll be surprised how much more you can get done as opposed to waking up at 2PM. Grab a coffee and go. Of course if you’re waking up earlier, you’re going to need more sleeping hours so going to bed a couple of hours earlier is a must.
6. Say “No”.
Carefully strategize your options and your goals (as well as your tasks). Say no to things that are outside those bounds that are not helping you meet your goals. Keep focused on the important tasks at hand.
7. Start now.
Stop holding off! You’re big projects will just get even bigger with time on their side. Dive in and take a chance, build or demolish your goals brick by brick.
8. Leave time for non-urgent (but necessary) activities.
Schedule time during your day when you work only on non-urgent yet necessary activities like e-mails, phone calls, paying bills, etc.
9. Each day is different, respect that.
What I like to do is prioritize my days differently. Friday is more relaxed so I can focus more on my general & fun projects while Mondays I focus on organizing and planning for the week ahead of me. Wednesdays I use as a marker to see how far I am and the type of progress I need to be showing.
10. Get a ‘The Office’ calendar.
The Office Calendar will at least remind you that it could be a lot worse ;-). Write down all your important meetings and to-do’s, stuff that you can’t fit on post-it notes.
11. Sticky notes wall.
I used to categorize all my tasks onto sticky notes. One sticky note per task. I then put them on the wall of my office as a big collage and when I finished one, I’d ‘X’ it out. This was a great way for me to visually see the progress I was making however it ended up taking up too much space.
12. Reward yourself.
Keep yourself motivated by setting rewards for completing big tasks. This could be anything from a movie ticket to a football game or a gift of some kind. This way you’ll have more push rather then just the obvious monetary gains.
13. Take breaks.
Another no-brainer. Give yourself time to relax and let your thoughts drift. If you’re workhorsing for twelve hours a day with no breaks, eventually you will go insane. Take the time to sit back and look at everything your doing to get some fresh perspective on it.
14. Do your shopping online.
Why run to the story when a diligent UPS or FedEx worker can carry it to your door? You’d also be surprised on how much you can save by shopping online. Here are some great store links:
http://amazon.com
http://half.com
http://overstock.com
http://bestbuy.com
http://newegg.com
15. Automatic bill pay.
Most banks offer this, take advantage of it! You’ll save that extra 1-2 hours paying your bills, spend it doing something more productive.
16. Direct deposits.
Most employers offer this now. Save that trip to the bank, having to wait in line to cash your check. Get it directly deposited every other Friday. Let your employers do the work.
17. The Pareto Principle.
Recently read up on a ‘improve your personal finance’ book and it covered the Pareto Principle. It basically states the 80-20 rule, which is that 80% of the value of a task comes from 20% of the effort. Focus the bulk of your energy on that critical 20%, and don’t spend too much time on the non-critical 80%. For more about the Pareto Principle, click here.
18. Review yourself at the end of the day.
Before you go home from work, sit down and run through your checklist. Be proud of the things you accomplished and focus on the things you left to be done. Sit back and re-organize your new objectives.
19. Make your workspace comfortable.
Use a chair that is ergonomic and conforms to your back. Be sure to get up and stretch every hour or so and make sure that you are working in good lighting.
20. Keep your software and hardware running smooth.
How are you going to get things done with tons of spywar and adaware on your computer? Make sure to keep your hardware and software and check and be security conscious. Want some good anti-adware and spyware tools? Check these out:
SpyBot
Ad-Aware
21. Use computer short-cuts.
Take the time to check out what the common keyboard shortcuts are. Stop using your mouse to copy and paste, use Ctrl+C, and CTRL+V! Here is a link to Common Windows XP Computer Shortcuts.
22. Set deadlines, use alarms.
My T-Mobile Dash calendar is overflowing with alarms, to-do lists and other things to keep track of my ideas, goals and tasks. Use alarms and deadline notifications to help you keep yourself in check.
23. Enjoy your meals.
Yep, you heard me right. Take the time out to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner properly with the necessary time to de-stress yourself from the common difficulties of a normal everyday life. Get back to reality and cool off. Food is crucial, if you are well fed and feeling good, you’ll be able to get a lot more done once you resume your work.
24. If you’re using FireFox, use these tools to improve your productivity.
LifeHack recently published this great article: Top 10 FireFox Extensions to Improve Your Productivity. Definitely a worthwhile read.
25. Coffee/caffeine.
Another no-brainer but it works. Without my coffee in the AM I can hardly keep away. Coffee keeps me focused and alive for the majority of the day (and it tastes good :)).
Two more for the road…
26. Break things up.
Kind of touched on this already but its worth noting again. Break things up. Those major daunting tasks will seem a lot easier when their smashed into bits and pieces.
27. Team up and stay focused.
Having someone either on your back or helping you will make you push yourself harder. However, don’t let this get in the way of the work - cut out the procrastination.
Original source of these tips can be found at http://cashbulge.com
Tips to improve your bowling game
In the process of learning how to bowl, people often overlook key elements such as arm swing, lower body leverage and other things that you would think that wouldn't be needed when it comes to the game of bowling. Leaving any of the tips that I listed below out of your game at the lanes will hinder you from bowling at your maximum potential. It's not hard at all, just applying a few of the tips at a time will change your game drastically. So apply each, one step at a time and you'll get the full effect when you step on the lanes next time.
I am going to give you some bowling tips that you can use to improve your game drastically, go ahead and give them a try.
Tip 1 - Keep that arm swing loose
Remember first and foremost, keep your grip relaxed in the ball. To avoid the muscled arm swing don't squeeze your fingers or thumb. To avoid this it's best to head down to a pro shop and get a ball fitted and drilled correctly so you can have a relaxed thumb. Like I said, you don't want to have to squeeze the ball because your thumb doesn't fit.
Tip 2 - Use your lower body leverage It is absolutely necessary that you bend your knees in bowling. Make sure to bend your knee to get lower to the lane on the last step.
Tip 3 - Finish close to the foul line
The closer you are to the foul line the less energy you will have to use. When you're all the way up to the foul line, you'll want to have the ball a short distance over the foul line, which will result in the ball making contact with the lane further down and it'll preserve energy so you can knock down all the pins. The further you are from the foul line the more energy you will have to use.
Tip 4 - Relax your thumb and come through with the ball
If you over lift, or turn the ball during the release it will cause muscling or misdirection of your arm swing. So remember relax your thumb and release the ball with the free arm swing, finish close to the foul line and make sure you have good lower body leverage.
Tip 5 - Bowling technique is all in the mind!
Visualize the lanes in your mind, define your good shots and do them until they're near perfection.
Tip 6 - The drop off method
Instead of pushing the ball away, hold the ball up at the shoulder level then take a small step but do not move the ball just let it drop down into the swing on the second step.
Tip 7 - Come up with your own style
Whatever you think helps you make your bowling game better and gets you high scores, then by all means use it. Apply the bowling techniques that work for you.
Tip 8 - Watch how the pros do it
Turn to ESPN and watch the PBA games. Study the styles and bowling techniques of the pros and use them.
I am going to give you some bowling tips that you can use to improve your game drastically, go ahead and give them a try.
Tip 1 - Keep that arm swing loose
Remember first and foremost, keep your grip relaxed in the ball. To avoid the muscled arm swing don't squeeze your fingers or thumb. To avoid this it's best to head down to a pro shop and get a ball fitted and drilled correctly so you can have a relaxed thumb. Like I said, you don't want to have to squeeze the ball because your thumb doesn't fit.
Tip 2 - Use your lower body leverage It is absolutely necessary that you bend your knees in bowling. Make sure to bend your knee to get lower to the lane on the last step.
Tip 3 - Finish close to the foul line
The closer you are to the foul line the less energy you will have to use. When you're all the way up to the foul line, you'll want to have the ball a short distance over the foul line, which will result in the ball making contact with the lane further down and it'll preserve energy so you can knock down all the pins. The further you are from the foul line the more energy you will have to use.
Tip 4 - Relax your thumb and come through with the ball
If you over lift, or turn the ball during the release it will cause muscling or misdirection of your arm swing. So remember relax your thumb and release the ball with the free arm swing, finish close to the foul line and make sure you have good lower body leverage.
Tip 5 - Bowling technique is all in the mind!
Visualize the lanes in your mind, define your good shots and do them until they're near perfection.
Tip 6 - The drop off method
Instead of pushing the ball away, hold the ball up at the shoulder level then take a small step but do not move the ball just let it drop down into the swing on the second step.
Tip 7 - Come up with your own style
Whatever you think helps you make your bowling game better and gets you high scores, then by all means use it. Apply the bowling techniques that work for you.
Tip 8 - Watch how the pros do it
Turn to ESPN and watch the PBA games. Study the styles and bowling techniques of the pros and use them.
How to stop Smoking
When you decide to stop smoking the most difficult part is to resist the urges. It doesn’t matter that each craving lasts only 3-5 minutes. It’s still the whole 5 minutes to battle with your willpower! These 7 tips will help you to resist the urge to smoke one urge at a time.
1. Remind Yourself Why You Quit
Every time you experience a craving remind yourself why you quit. It’s the excellent idea to take a blank index card and list all the reasons why you decided to quit smoking. List as many as you can, the more the better. If necessary, take the second index card. Carry them with you all the time. Every time you feel the urge to smoke take the index card and slowly read all your reasons why you decided to stop. After you finish reading your urge will pass! (If not, read them one more time or come up with more reasons.)
2. Reward Yourself.
Make it a habit to reward yourself at the end of each nonsmoking week. Think of something you want (it doesn’t have to be something expensive, a nice home made meal or hot bath will work). Take the index card and write down what would you give yourself at the end of the week. When the urge comes take a look at the index card with your reward. Isn’t it worth coping for 3 minutes? :)
3. Be prepared for your urges!
Get yourself prepared for the urge to smoke in advance. In most cases something triggers the craving (certain feelings, people, or places). You have to know what triggers the urge.
Lets do a really quick exercise. Take a blank piece of paper and divide it into 2 columns. On the one side list your triggers (like “stuck in traffic”, “drinking morning coffee”, “arguing with colleague”…) and in the second column write down the alternative course of action.
For example, instead of smoking while drinking your morning coffee you could read a newspaper. Instead of smoking after the hot argument with your colleague you can take a walk around a block or write down everything you think about this person, then tier this piece of paper in shreds and throw it away. Don’t be lazy, write it down! This exercise really works!
4. Call your friend.
This method works great. Call someone who can support you, who can talk with you for a couple of minutes. You can call your nonsmoking friend, or someone who’s trying to quit smoking too.
5. Distract yourself with a quick task.
Think of a small task you have to do, something what would take you 5-10 minutes. Make a call, send a fax, make yourself a cup of coffee, water the plant in your office. Anything! Your task is to distract yourself until the urge will pass. (Hint: Try to find activity that makes smoking impossible!)
6. Drink a Glass of Water.
Take a glass of water and drink it with a straw. First of all having something in your mouth to chew on will help, second it will take you a couple of minutes to drink the whole glass and the urge will pass. Plus, don’t forget that you’re supposed to drink 8 glasses of water every day!
7. Power Tip.
That’s the disgusting one, but it often works. Print a small picture of smoker’s lungs (you can find one here: http://www.quitsmokinghelp.net/smokers_lungs.html) and put it somewhere in your wallet. I know the view is not pretty, but something like this can stop you dead on your track from lighting up. Take a look! Really! THIS could be your lungs! You love yourself, and you respect your body. Why harm yourself?
Original source of these tips can be found at http://healthynoise.com
1. Remind Yourself Why You Quit
Every time you experience a craving remind yourself why you quit. It’s the excellent idea to take a blank index card and list all the reasons why you decided to quit smoking. List as many as you can, the more the better. If necessary, take the second index card. Carry them with you all the time. Every time you feel the urge to smoke take the index card and slowly read all your reasons why you decided to stop. After you finish reading your urge will pass! (If not, read them one more time or come up with more reasons.)
2. Reward Yourself.
Make it a habit to reward yourself at the end of each nonsmoking week. Think of something you want (it doesn’t have to be something expensive, a nice home made meal or hot bath will work). Take the index card and write down what would you give yourself at the end of the week. When the urge comes take a look at the index card with your reward. Isn’t it worth coping for 3 minutes? :)
3. Be prepared for your urges!
Get yourself prepared for the urge to smoke in advance. In most cases something triggers the craving (certain feelings, people, or places). You have to know what triggers the urge.
Lets do a really quick exercise. Take a blank piece of paper and divide it into 2 columns. On the one side list your triggers (like “stuck in traffic”, “drinking morning coffee”, “arguing with colleague”…) and in the second column write down the alternative course of action.
For example, instead of smoking while drinking your morning coffee you could read a newspaper. Instead of smoking after the hot argument with your colleague you can take a walk around a block or write down everything you think about this person, then tier this piece of paper in shreds and throw it away. Don’t be lazy, write it down! This exercise really works!
4. Call your friend.
This method works great. Call someone who can support you, who can talk with you for a couple of minutes. You can call your nonsmoking friend, or someone who’s trying to quit smoking too.
5. Distract yourself with a quick task.
Think of a small task you have to do, something what would take you 5-10 minutes. Make a call, send a fax, make yourself a cup of coffee, water the plant in your office. Anything! Your task is to distract yourself until the urge will pass. (Hint: Try to find activity that makes smoking impossible!)
6. Drink a Glass of Water.
Take a glass of water and drink it with a straw. First of all having something in your mouth to chew on will help, second it will take you a couple of minutes to drink the whole glass and the urge will pass. Plus, don’t forget that you’re supposed to drink 8 glasses of water every day!
7. Power Tip.
That’s the disgusting one, but it often works. Print a small picture of smoker’s lungs (you can find one here: http://www.quitsmokinghelp.net/smokers_lungs.html) and put it somewhere in your wallet. I know the view is not pretty, but something like this can stop you dead on your track from lighting up. Take a look! Really! THIS could be your lungs! You love yourself, and you respect your body. Why harm yourself?
Original source of these tips can be found at http://healthynoise.com
Tips to Find Good Ideas
There is a secret to finding good ideas. There is a process and frame of mind to have that will result in you having an explosion of ideas to pursue further.
Ideas are the starting point for all great things. For me the idea of having a nice passive income is driving me to more ideas of how to do it. But finding ideas that solve the question of how can be difficult. Here are my tips for getting answers to those vital questions.
1. Open your mind - Consciously take notice of those little things that sometimes pass you by.
2. Make notes - Even if you do notice something cool, the next day you may have already forgotten about it. Write them down so you can review it later.
3. Ask Questions - Where did it come from? How was it made? Who was involved in it’s creation? Dig into things to find answers.
4. Expose yourself to randomness - Be around lots of other people and their ideas. Try reading RSS feeds, walking in crowds, listening to conversations and reading books you might not otherwise read.
5. Find ways to Connect - Take two or more things that you’ve written down and put them together to create something new.
6. Take time - Don’t rely on your subconscious to suddenly light up with the best new idea ever; it will probably never happen. Set a deadline and the number of ideas you need. Work on it.
7. It doesn’t have to be New - Most good ideas are not new. Opening a McDonald’s isn’t a very original idea, but it might be a good one. If your idea is to sell something new that people never knew they needed you’re in for an uphill battle. Old, well understood ideas are the easiest to sell (if they don’t sell themselves).
8. Test - You have an idea… But is it any good? Test it out by getting other people’s honest opinion, search online for similar things, see if you can attract people to your idea by posting about it online.
Ideas are easy to come by, good ones are a bit more rare. Remember a good idea is worthless without the follow through to act on it.
Original Article can be found at http://www.halotis.com
Ideas are the starting point for all great things. For me the idea of having a nice passive income is driving me to more ideas of how to do it. But finding ideas that solve the question of how can be difficult. Here are my tips for getting answers to those vital questions.
1. Open your mind - Consciously take notice of those little things that sometimes pass you by.
2. Make notes - Even if you do notice something cool, the next day you may have already forgotten about it. Write them down so you can review it later.
3. Ask Questions - Where did it come from? How was it made? Who was involved in it’s creation? Dig into things to find answers.
4. Expose yourself to randomness - Be around lots of other people and their ideas. Try reading RSS feeds, walking in crowds, listening to conversations and reading books you might not otherwise read.
5. Find ways to Connect - Take two or more things that you’ve written down and put them together to create something new.
6. Take time - Don’t rely on your subconscious to suddenly light up with the best new idea ever; it will probably never happen. Set a deadline and the number of ideas you need. Work on it.
7. It doesn’t have to be New - Most good ideas are not new. Opening a McDonald’s isn’t a very original idea, but it might be a good one. If your idea is to sell something new that people never knew they needed you’re in for an uphill battle. Old, well understood ideas are the easiest to sell (if they don’t sell themselves).
8. Test - You have an idea… But is it any good? Test it out by getting other people’s honest opinion, search online for similar things, see if you can attract people to your idea by posting about it online.
Ideas are easy to come by, good ones are a bit more rare. Remember a good idea is worthless without the follow through to act on it.
Original Article can be found at http://www.halotis.com
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