The power of Self-Discipline and why you should have it

Are you currently living your life on autopilot and not getting much done? If so, you need to re-evaluate your daily routine.

A routine is a set of habits we develop as a daily practice. Whether you realise it or not, you already have many routines that you do on a daily basis. Whether it’s getting out of bed at a certain time every day or watching your favourite program in your favourite chair at the same time every day.

However, if you don’t take time to analyse each of your routines (morning, afternoon and evening) to see if they bring you closer to your goals then chances are, you’re not going in the right direction.

Having no routine or structure in your life is so much more draining mentally, physically and emotionally than not having a routine at all. Why waste your time figuring out what to do each day, when you can create a routine tailored to your wants and needs?

Lets explore what a good daily routine consists of and how to create an ideal routine that suits you.

First, as you know a routine means:  A routine is a sequence of actions that you do repeatedly.

Brushing your teeth and washing your face with your fancy skincare products is a routine. Waking up at 6:30am and going out for a run is a routine. Purchasing hot chocolate from Starbucks on your journey to work is a routine. These actions happen repeatedly and create a rhythm in your daily life.

Why should you create a routine?

Establishing a productive routine is both a self-investment and a way to do your best for the rest of the world.

“In the right hands a routine can be a finely calibrated mechanism for taking advantage of a range of limited resources: time (the most limited resource of all) as well as willpower, self-discipline, optimism. A solid routine fosters a well-worn groove for ones mental energies and helps stave off the tyranny of moods”

Mason Currey

Managing your day allows you to feel more in control. Who likes having their day dictated by other people? I know I sure don’t. You’ll feel more energised and productive with a routine that you know is progressing you further in life. This in turn will help you be more proactive and in control in the face of a stressful situation.

Your routines prime you for success. They help you achieve more than you would by “winging” your day. All it takes is discipline.

Here is a list of actions you should take to help create the best daily routine

1. Make your bed every morning

If there’s one habit you should adopt in your life it’s making your bed every day. Here is some advice from Navy Seal Admiral William H. McRaven:

“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished your first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another. By the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.

Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never be able to do the big things right. If by any chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made – that you made. A made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be a better day. “

As Charles Duhigg said in “The Power of habit” – Certain keystone habits can trigger other positive behaviours. If you can change a step in your unhealthy habits you can gear your life to building healthier patterns.

 Making your bed doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have better productivity, but it can lead to a healthier overall mindset.

2. Reflect on your achievements

It’s easy to lose sight of achievements made after a long day. Taking a few moments before you jump into bed to reflect and celebrate your wins big or small puts you in a grateful and happy mindset before you go to sleep. Reflecting on these achievements puts things into perspective and gives you the encouragement to carry on the same flow for the next day.

Reflecting also gives you a better understanding of what’s working and what’s not. This then allows you to make better decisions and change habits that are not beneficial for you. Each time you improve, it helps build your confidence with increased knowledge and perspective.

You can reflect in a number of ways such as jotting it down in a notebook, writing in your gratitude journal and you can also track your productivity with a number of apps such as: “Productive – Habit Tracker, “ Forest” and “ Wunderlist”.

3. Recite affirmations

Affirmations are positive statements that you use to reframe how you think about yourself and the outcome of the future. They are a good way of visualising the good things that will come to you and overcoming negative self-talk.

Affirmations make an impression on your subconscious mind, allowing you to be in alignment with what you want to accomplish. This makes it easier to be in the right mindset before you start your day and when you’re ready to go to bed.

The way you choose to think, day in and day out is just that – a choice. Choose daily positive thinking and watch how differently you see your life.

4. Have a proper breakfast

Breakfast provides the body and brain with fuel after an overnight fast – which is where its name originates from, breaking the fast! Starting the day running on empty is equivalent to trying to drive a car with no petrol. 

I HAVE to have breakfast in order for me to have a productive day. Nothing worse than trying to get some work done and your stomach is just grumbling away!

Eating a good breakfast is amazing for your health, as research shows that those who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight and more likely to be in their ideal weight range compared to people who skip breakfast. If you skip breakfast, you’re more likely to reach for high sugar and fatty snacks mid-morning to get your energy boost.

Probably the most appealing benefit Is that breakfast jumpstarts your metabolism and thus helps you burn more calories during the day. When you eat breakfast, you’re telling your body that more calories are coming throughout the day. When you skip breakfast the message your body gets is that it needs to conserve rather than burn any incoming calories.

5. Clean your home

When you start your day, the last thing you want to see is mess all around you. Without regular clean-up sessions you’ll find your environment in disarray.

Spending 10-20 minutes each day tidying up reduces the stress of having regular deep cleaning days. While it sometimes seems impossible to manage everything on your plate, there are some quick and easy tips to help you get your house in order.

1. Put everything away after use
2. Focus on one room at a time
3. Do the dishes after every meal
4. Set a timer so you don’t procrastinate
5. Do a load of laundry daily
6. Give everything it’s own space to live
7. Make your bed as soon as you wake up
8. Keep basic cleaning supplies close to where you use them

6. Exercise

Even though exercise can happen at any time of the day, many experts suggest that the morning is the best time to take part in physical activities. Exercising in the morning is a great way for helping the body jump-start your metabolism and burned stored fat.

A general recommendation is to exercise 30 minutes each day, this amounts to only 2% of your day! Exercising is a no-brainer when it comes to what you should incorporate into your daily routine. Is it going to be easy? Nope. Is it going to be worth it, absolutely!

Start thinking today about how you’re going to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. If you already do, think about how you can start mixing it up. Keeping things fresh keeps your mind engaged, making you less likely to give up.

7. Read

Becoming an avid reader was one of the best things I’ve done for my creativity and mental wellbeing. The first book I ever read for my personal growth was The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. It was this book that started my daily reading habit and would urge anyone who wants to learn more about habits to read that book!

A daily dose of reading can do wonders for your relationships, health and memory.

Want your vocabulary to improve? Read
Want to develop your self-discipline? Read
Want to boost your IQ? Read

Pick up a book today and spend a minimum of 15 minutes reading. Get yourself in a nice comfy area with a hot cup of tea and let your imagination loose.

8. Spend time with family/friends

One of the best ways to combat stress is to spend time with your loved ones. The smiles, the belly-aching laughter, the sincere joy that you feel when they’re around is what you should aim to feel daily.

Who are you thinking about right now as you’re reading this? Give them a call or text to meet up later or during the week and have a good laugh. You deserve to enrich your life with positive and encouraging people around you.

Don’t underestimate the power of having a solid support system around you. It makes going after your goals even easier and allows you to celebrate your wins both big and small with the ones that matter most.

In Summary

Following a daily routine can help you establish priories, keep track of goals, limit procrastination and make you healthier. It helps lower your reliance on self-discipline and motivation due to the repeated action causing the right habits to be formed.

Since creating and following a routine of my own, I have more drive and motivation which makes reaching my goals a lot easier. I show up every day with more mental and physical energy which get me through my tough days.

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Remember: What works for someone else, might not work for you. This is why it’s vital to pick activities that resonate the most with you and put you on the path to task and goal completion. The key is to create regular and consistent daily patterns that will take you to where you want to go in life, helping you maximise yourself on every possible level.

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There is a whole module in the How to set goals and achieve them mini-course dedicated to creating your ideal 24 hours! Learn how to create a morning, afternoon and evening routine that gets you closer to completing your life-changing goals. Don’t wait any longer to get what you want out of life. You are deserving of that dream life. Let me help you get started > How to set goals and achieve them mini-course

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Related blogs:

How to improve your life one day at a time

How to raise your standards and live your best life

How to find and live your purpose in life

“If you want to change your life you have to raise your standards”

Tony Robbins

Do you know what it means to raise your standards & what it takes to do so, so that you can live a life that you can look back on and say “Damn! I did that”?

No?

Well, keep reading Sis.

How you’re currently living your life is a reflection of the standards you hold for yourself at this very moment. They are the SET behaviours that you regularly choose to do all the time.

Sadly, a lot of people say “I SHOULD” do this a lot more than they say “I MUST” do this. There’s an endless list of all the things you SHOULD do in your life to make it better, but usually, it gets left to slip through the cracks and be forgotten about. When you make something a MUST in your life you will be willing to cut off any liabilities and distractions that will get in the way of you succeeding and will 100% find a way or make a way to get there. No excuses made.

High standards are what separates high achievers from everybody else. If you have high standards, you are more likely to achieve the goals you set out for yourself, this is because with every goal comes a certain set of requirements that you have to meet in order to achieve it. These requirements are reflected in the personal standards you uphold in relation to that goal.

When you have high standards you have a higher expectation of yourself, you are naturally willing to do more than the average person, which subsequently raises your standards of performance.

Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom in order to feel that you have to shift your should into a must. Maybe you said “I really should make more money” then a couple of months pass and you experience some hardship on the way and you realise that you’re left with £1.09p in your bank account with no savings, in debt up to your eyeballs and about to lose your flat. A situation like this can finally make you think enough is enough and convince you to make lasting drastic changes to the standards you hold to yourself.

Finally acknowledging that something must change is an essential first step to change. The change won’t be easy as there’s no quick way to change your current beliefs. Just how it took time to create them (both good and bad) it will take time to build new ones. Even if you try to fake it for a while you will eventually go back to your core limiting beliefs. Rushing internal work will never work.

Jim Rhon: “The things easy to do are also not easy to do” – In Layman’s terms, the things you should do are things that are easy to do, hence why you don’t do them.

Your appearance: Are you happy with your weight? Are you happy with the condition of your skin?(  If it’s in your control of course)

Finances: Do you pay your bills on time? Does your salary reflect the value you give to your employer? What does your spending habits look like?

Relationships: How do you allow others to treat you? Do you allow people to not treat you how you deserve?
Accomplishments: How often do you achieve the goals that you set? Are you currently settling for an average life because you don’t think you can achieve more?

Your appearance, how much money you make, what your current relationships look like right now and your accomplishments are all examples of your current standards for yourself. Having low standards will only take you so far in your journey towards living your best life. With low standards, you will struggle to put in the energy and find the resources needed to achieve what you want in life and subsequently you will end up with sub-par results. When you raise your standards you raise your expectations of yourself and from the people around you.

Where does the motivation come from?

To raise your standards you need to have a strong WHY. In other words, what is your reasoning to raise your standards? For example, saying you want to lose weight because everyone you know is trying to lose weight isn’t a strong enough reason. However, saying you want to lose weight so that you can live a longer, healthier life and see your children grow up and be there for them is a prime example, as the reason resonates with you personally, meaning you’re more likely to stick with it.

In order to raise your standards, the first step you would need to do is ask yourself “What are my standards right now?” What are you allowing to happen in your life? Sometimes we fall victim to letting ourselves off the hook because we set ourselves goals that never become a need.

Additional questions to ask yourself:

> What will I accept and no longer accept of myself?

> What standards do I have for the roles that I play in life (Parent, friend, Partner etc)

> Did I set these standards myself?

> Given the goals that I would like to achieve are my current standards hindering me in any way?

> Are my current standards getting in the way of me developing in any of the 8 core areas of my life?

The biggest reason people hate commitment is that when you commit to something (especially when you commit to other people) you HAVE to deliver. When you settle for just “trying your best” you give yourself lower expectations, making it “alright” if you don’t follow through with it because you gave it your “best shot”.

You’re unlikely to ever sink below your standards but how far are you willing to rise above them?

Raise your standards in these 4 areas of your life to help drastically improve the way you live:

Health
Improving the state of your health is so important. Being healthy isn’t all about drinking green juices and eating kale 7 days a week. Imagine being energetic in the morning, ready to take on the world with a spring in your step and a smile on your face. Raise your standards on how much sleep you get, how well you take care of your body and how well you eat and it will take care of you.

Your Focus
Distraction is the absolute worst, it steals both your time and energy – your two greatest assets. Be more focused on what you want, every minute, every hour, and every day. Bring your awareness to this very moment right now. What do you want to be experiencing and doing? Being more focused allows you to be more conscious of your surroundings and make it easy to spot distractions.

Relationships
As much as talking to new people and creating new friendship groups are awesome it’s important to be careful with who you spend your time with. Who you socialise with will have a great impact on what kind of life you would like to have.
As Jim Rhon once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”.

Attitudes are contagious, be really picky with who you invest your time in. Your friends should shower you with support, exude positivity and have ambition.

Nobody’s perfect and everyone has bad days and flaws, learn to accept them if you feel that you both will help each other grow and are compatible with each other. When you free yourself from negative people, you are free to be you.

Mindset
Healthy thoughts = Healthy actions. If you want to put quality thoughts into your mind you must create an environment that outputs positive energy.
If you raise the standard of your mindset you will be mentally strong enough to deal with failures and setbacks allowing you to conquer anything you put your mind to.  

What happens when you commit to keeping your standards high:

> You increase your sense of self-efficacy

> You begin to believe in yourself more because you’re starting to achieve the goals you set yourself

> You attract more opportunities because you have more clarity behind your actions

> You become more self-aware of your current reality, allowing you to make clear and conscious decisions on your next step

> A higher chance of succeeding at anything you want

When you take steps towards becoming an enhanced version of yourself, you ensure an increased level of confidence, self-respect and self-discipline.

When you’re committed to being all in, you will see through whatever you set out for yourself no matter what obstacles or bumps happen along the way. Your high standards and WILL to succeed in your goals and objectives will be the motivation needed for you to continue on your journey.

Take away,

You don’t get what you WANT in life. You get what you TOLERATE. Once you raise your standards, your life will rise to meet them.

No longer will settling be part of the norm. You will achieve ALL of your Plan A’s because Plan B’s are for people who aren’t willing to sacrifice and give up who they currently are for who they need to be.

This is the year of the breakthrough. Act like it.

Remember: Obstacles will equal opportunities to grow.

Heather’s top tip: Demand excellence from yourself. You’re a force of nature that deserves nothing but the best. Never give up and most of all raise your standards and never settle.

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Related blogs:

How to improve your life one day at a time

The ultimate guide for coping with change

How to build lasting self-esteem

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We all want to be and feel successful. People chase money, fame, power and hundreds of other things without taking a step back to think: What does success mean to me?

Take the quiz here > What does success mean to you.

If you take a look at social media for a few minutes, you’ll realise that most people have a narrow view of what having a successful life is like. They think it’s about having a large social media following, luxury cars and owning a business worth millions. There’s nothing wrong with striving for these things but being like them won’t necessarily make you successful in the same area.

Success is subjective but the overall consensus is that you create a happy life for yourself. It can hold monetary and non-monetary value, failure however is more of a one-size-fits-all. If you set out to achieve something and don’t reach it, bam it’s considered a failure.

People often stay for years in thankless jobs and unfulfilling relationships while achieving marginal happiness at best. They tolerate complacency in their lives despite having the ability to create beneficial change. How sad.

Have you ever wondered why some people reach success and others don’t, no matter how hard they try?

Here are the top 10 reasons why some people don’t reach success and others do:

1. They stop learning

Successful people refuse to be in the same person they were yesterday. They continue to grow and expand their knowledge every day. They have the know-how of what’s happening in their city, country, the world and the universe around them. 

In today’s fast-paced world, if you don’t keep learning, you’re not standing still, you’re falling behind. Successful people are outstanding performers and to remain an outstanding performer you need to become a lifelong learner. Begin your lifelong learning journey by working on your strengths and improving them every day.

What can you learn this week to put you ahead for next?

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”

Ben Franklin

2. They don’t understand the value of time

Time is not a commodity that you can buy. So, if you do not value your time you’ll spend it doing both everything and nothing because you lack the ability to dedicate your time to what really matters to you.

Most people let others dictate how to use their time (Big thumbs down). It’s easy to give somebody else control of your time because if you waste it, you have someone else to blame. This is why it’s easy to be stuck in the same place for years because you’re just continuously wasting time that could be spent bettering your craft/setting and completing goals/ networking etc. Successful people on the other hand guard their time and use it wisely because they know that time is one thing that you can’t buy or make more of.

Want to learn how to value your time?

– Learn time management skills
– Learn how to say No (saying yes all the time sucks up your energy and time)
– Understand what commitments are necessary for you to improve

3. They let failure defeat them

Being successful is tough. We assume the road to success is linear but in reality, it is full of setbacks, failures and detours. Failures and setbacks deter people from their dreams because they give up when the going gets tough and everything seems to be going wrong. Mental and emotional resilience is essential to overcome these obstacles.

Without setbacks and failures, you are unable to develop the fortitude and mental strength needed to meet your dreams when they arrive because if you think it’s going to be easy, you are sadly mistaken my friend.

Do not wish for better conditions or an easier path because you will become complacent. Power through and endure challenges to come out a better person.

4. They question their ability to succeed

When we fixate on what might go wrong when we venture on new endeavors we are consumed with self-doubt and will often not reach a desired standard of performance.

If we believe we have the power to achieve what we want, we pursue our goals relentlessly. People who believe in themselves take an active role in seeking new opportunities to better themselves because they want to be and achieve the best.

Even high achievers struggle with thoughts that they are a fraud and that they are incompetent despite their accomplishments. This psychological phenomenon is called Imposter Syndrome. No one is immune from self-doubt, it’s how you deal with it that separates you from being average to being successful.

Approach uncertainty as a skill and embrace a growth mindset and understand that it’s something that can get better with time and practice.

5. They don’t embrace change

Successful people embrace change and adapt to the circumstances around them. They choose how they will allow it to affect them. One of the most pivotal steps on your journey to success will be your decision to embrace change for the opportunities it presents. Even if the change appears to be negative.

For most people, a fear of change is rooted in insecurity. They prefer the devil they know. Successful people take risks and overcome obstacles with those risks. Hard work, preservation, preparation and overcoming failure can condition you to face anything life throws at you.

Read: The ultimate guide for coping with change

6. They don’t self-reflect

Self-reflection is an essential key for success. Self-reflection is about taking a step back and reflecting on your life, behaviour and beliefs. 

When you don’t self-reflect you keep grinding the gears on autopilot not being sure of where you truly are in your life. This is the world we live in. I’m not saying to stop working hard and change your mentality on how you work. I coach people to work daily on creating the life they want to live. However, in our society we get so wrapped up in what we’re trying to achieve that we never take a step back to and reflect on what we’ve been doing and how well you’ve been doing it.

The key is to enjoy the journey and not just only focus on the destination. Look back and reflect on the growth you have achieved and celebrate your small wins.

We can only achieve a percentage of our possible success if we don’t evaluate the work we’re putting in.

7. They surround themselves with the wrong people

It’s known that one of the best ways to improve upon a skill is to practice it with someone who is better than you. That’s why it’s important to surround yourself with winners, especially the winners who are in the same field as you.

Surrounding yourself with people who are constantly living in turmoil, love to include themselves with drama and don’t try to elevate themselves is only going to put you on the same path as them. A path that leads to misery and dissatisfaction.

Find and focus on relationships with those who can share their wins and positive vibes and help you realise that you can achieve the same. Life is too short to surround yourself with negativity and people who secretly want to watch you fall. You deserve to have uplifting people around you who hype you up and make you feel good about yourself.

8. They don’t have a to-do list

Most people find that general to-do lists do not work for a number of reasons such as:

– They don’t know how to prioritise the tasks on the list.
– They feel as if they are continuously adding to the list and not reducing it.
– They get so overwhelmed just by looking at all the things that need to be done.

The benefits of a to-do list are:

– You have clarity on what needs to get done.
– You feel more organised.
– It helps prioritise your actions
– Having a to-do list takes away the burden of having to remember everything.

I personally have a daily, weekly and monthly to-do list. This way I can see how everything is broken down. Only having a monthly to-do list can make you feel overwhelmed by the mammoth tasks you have to do. BREAK. THEM. DOWN. And turn them into daily actionable steps that make you question why you were even worried in the first place. 😉

While a to-do list alone will not get you to accomplish your list of tasks, integrating a strategically prioritised to-do list creates a sure-fire system for being super productive.

9. They don’t focus on long-term value

Successful people know that what they put their time and energy into grows. If you’re only focusing on your problems, your problems will grow. If you want your success to grow, you’ll focus on that.

Highly successful people focus on long-term value. They do not worry about things that deem to have no value even if it’s something that society tells them they should care about. These people are individualists and free thinkers. They do not let their lives be dictated by what the rest of the world is bogged down by.

What can you invest in today that you will thank yourself for in the long run?

10. They seek validation from others

Successful people don’t need approval from others because they know their own self-worth. They only do things that they know will advance them in life. They don’t concern themselves with the opinions of others and don’t live up to anyone’s expectations besides their own. Successful people simply concentrate on the tasks that promote personal and professional growth.

Trust your gut and your instincts. Not everyone is going to know what is best for you even if they give you advice with the best intentions. Value your own opinions and life experiences and don’t seek the approval of outsiders.

In summary

Even if you know you do some of the things on the list, don’t feel defeated. Nobody has ever succeeded by giving up. The people who succeed and live their dreams are those who work hard, work smart and persevere through troubled times. If you want to succeed, then you can’t quit. You can take a break, but you can never quit. Continue to work on yourself and surround yourself with like-minded people who want you to succeed and you’ll be closer to that that you constantly dream of.

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Related blogs

How to find and live your purpose in life

The power of setting goals and objectives

How to create the best daily routine

How different do you think your life would be if you were able to move the needle on your dreams every single day? 🤔

It’s tempting to believe that focusing on one big goal that’s going to make us happy is the answer but in reality, it forces us into inaction. It’s knowing how to improve your life one day at a time that’s going to have a huge impact on us.

Think about it, how often do you get overwhelmed when you think about all the things that you have to do?

You get annoyed and are riddled with anxiety because you think “ How on Earth am I going to get all of this done”. When really you should be asking yourself “ What first step do I need to take in order to get to my end goal?” – The better quality questions you ask yourself, the more quality answers you will receive. 😌

“If you start out with £100 at the beginning of the year and you were able to increase what you have by 1% every single day, at the end of that year, you would have £3,778.34 = £100 * (1+1%)^ 365. That is 37.78x what you had at the beginning of the year. Get that 1% every day”

Zappos

Focus on that 1% each day. Read those 5 pages, do that extra rep, drink that extra litre of water. It may not seem like much at the moment but these small moments accumulate over time.

*This posts contains affiliate links, meaning I make commission through qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Please read my disclaimer for more info*

“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement” – James Clear. Just as money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them.

Impatience often calls for small changes to be dismissed because they don’t seem to matter as much in the moment of doing them.

Making changes and not seeing results fast enough can cause us to slip back into bad habits. Instant gratification is a killer. I think patience is one of the most underrated skills out there. If a lot more people were patient there would be a lot more successful people out there. 🤷‍♀️

Remember: If you practice yoga for 10 minutes every day that doesn’t mean you’re flexible. If you save £30 a month that doesn’t mean you’re a millionaire.

However, the accumulation of habits you implement will put you in better standing of becoming the type of person you are aiming to be. Here are a few ideas to implement daily into your routine that covers a few of the core areas of your life.

(Health, Family, Finances, Career/ Business, Recreation, Relationships, and personal growth)

1. Give yourself a reward

Too often people get hung up on the idea that self-care has to be a huge deal that involves weeks of planning or some sort of special occasion.

You don’t need to complete a huge milestone in your life in order to reward yourself. It’s much healthier mentally and physically to give yourself time off. Indulge once in a while, go to spas/retreats and holidays. 🏖️

You deserve a break, don’t glorify “The grind don’t stop” life where you’re working all the hours God sends and you have no clue when the last time you ate was.

Consider rewarding yourself as an emotional equivalent to hitting that refresh button. Try not to hit it only when you desperately need it, get into the habit of pressing it every day and give yourself something to look forward to. 😍

The more you acknowledge and reward yourself for all your successes (yes even the small ones), the more success you’ll have.

When you take the time to acknowledge the little actions you took toward your goals you are strengthening those actions. In doing so, positive emotions become associated with those actions making them more likely to turn into daily habits.

2. Start an exercise program

Want to feel healthier, have more energy and add years to your life? Then exercise.

The benefits of exercising are hard to ignore. Everyone benefits from exercise regardless of age, sex or physical ability.

An exercise program that is tailored to you specifically to your needs is a great way to stay physically and mentally fit.

The Department Of Health and Human Services recommends getting at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week or a combination of the two.

Do you want to lose weight, build muscle or gain flexibility? Set clear S.M.A.R.T goals so you can gauge your progress.

RELATED: Ready to make your health a priority? Check out our Health Bundle

Make exercise a daily habit by giving it a cue, routine and reward.

Cue: What is the cue for you to start exercising?

Is it passing the gym on the way to work every morning? Is it boredom?
To figure out your cue to exercise write down these five questions the moment the urge hits.

Where am I? (e.g. at home)
What time is it? (e.g. 9:15 am)
What’s my emotional state? (e.g. bored)
Who else is around? (e.g.no one)
What action proceeded the urge? (e.g. wanting to eat the pizza in the fridge)

Write these questions out every day for 7 days, it will then be pretty clear what your cue is to exercise. The next step will be to make that cue more “attractive”. E.g. if your cue is walking past the gym equipment in the living room, put some gym equipment in more rooms that you frequent in. This will increase your chances of working out.

Routine: What is the outcome of the cue?

In this case, our subject matter is exercise. However what type of exercise will come from this cue? E.g. placing a yoga mat in your room will cause you to do yoga in this particular place.

Reward: What is your reward for after you exercise?

Rewards are powerful because they satisfy the craving. Is it your favourite smoothie after each workout? Then think about that smoothie and how you feel when you drink it and how satisfied you feel after. Eventually, that craving will it easier to push through your routine.

3. Watch a TED talk/ Listen to a podcast

TED talks are short, inspiring and entertaining lectures from some of the world’s most inspiring thought leaders. Watching TED talks and listening to informative podcasts help broaden your perspective, thinking and attitude. When you watch people sharing their ideas on what worked and didn’t work for them you can instantly connect yourself with the life of the speaker.

TED talks/podcasts are easily accessible on any device and free. Meaning there are literally thousands of hours of inspiring content waiting to flow through your ears.

Next time you’re feeling deflated or stuck in life pop out your headphones and try out a podcast or TED talk.

Here are a few of my favourite TED talks for when I have a motivation drop:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmfikLimeQ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sxpKhIbr0E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sxpKhIbr0E

4. Pick out a new healthy recipe

Hands up! Who has an issue with eating healthy at least 90% of the time? I know I do. Healthy eating matters even though staying on top of it can be difficult, especially with the convenience of junk food around every corner and the availability of it on apps.

When we eat well we sleep better, have more energy and better concentration. Overall, you will live a healthier and happier life. Contrary to popular belief, healthy eating isn’t about cutting out food – it’s about eating a wide variety of food in the right amounts to give your body what it needs.

Picking out a new healthy recipe that you want to try daily will put you in better standing of becoming a healthier person since you have already planned what you’re going to eat and when. This helps eliminate convenient junk food eating.

5. Have family time

Family is forever. However, it’s important to remember to keep the relationship with your family healthy. We often think that it’s about the quantity of time that we spend with our family when in reality its more about the quality of time we should be focusing on.

Having family time is important because you develop ties and bonds with your family members. Everyone wants a sense of belonging and security and by spending quality time together ensures that a deep, strong, family bond develops.

Here’s a list of activities to do with your family whether you have children or not:

✔️ Cook/ bake together
✔️ Confront family member’s fear together as a family ( whether it’s getting a spider out of the house or a fear of clowns, do it together)
✔️ Build a fort in the living room
✔️ Play a board game ( Try not to flip the board over if it’s Monopoly)
✔️ Do a science experiment
✔️ Have a movie night with homemade pizza
✔️ Go outside and have a water balloon fight
✔️ Make a collage of all your dreams and goals

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Learn how to improve your life one day at a time by checking out our printables that focus on improving the 8 core areas of your life.

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In summary

Don’t wait to be happy. Life is happening right now and there’s so much for you to be grateful for in this very moment. Your life is not just about one big goal that you need to accomplish in order to be happy and feel fulfilled.

Doing any of these points daily will lead to an increase in either a healthy body, healthy mind or healthy relationships which contribute to the core areas of your life. If you manage to do all 5 then good on you! I would love to know how well this impacted your life in a few months’ time.

Which Idea are you going to take action on today? 

Pin this post for a reminder! 📌 👇

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I can’t be the only one that has numerous amounts of notebooks, planners and journals that include daily, monthly and yearly goals that are scattered everywhere… can I? 🤔

Well, I can definitely say, that lack of organisation life is far behind me and I recite and look at my goals daily to remind myself why I work so hard. Ultimately it reminds me of my purpose.

Now I want you to be completely honest with yourself.

Do you write your future goals down and reflect on them daily to remember why you do what you do?

If not, why?

Is it because you see writing goals down as pointless because life has a habit of slapping you in the face every time you make a little bit of progress? Or is it because you’re scared to write what you really want to achieve because you don’t want to get your hopes up in case you fail? 😬

These points are excuses I’ve heard in the past (yes you read that right, excuses) and they end up crippling the person with anxiety because they have no clue which direction to go in and feel stuck. Not to mention the added pressure of knowing that their family and peers are ahead of them in the core areas of their life.

Does this sound like you?

Well my friend you’re in luck because in this blog post I’m going to give you the low down on all things goals and objectives and the positive impact it will have on your future. By the end of this post, you’ll learn how to set S.M.A.R.T goals and use them to your advantage. 😁

There’s a reason why high achievers in all fields set both big and small goals and use objectives to achieve those goals.

Without knowing what you want to achieve you’ll lack focus and attention which can make life feel like a chaotic whirlwind. Want to know how to eliminate this process? Learn how to set goals and achieve them.

How? You ask

Well, let me show you. 😌

INTRODUCING… How to set goals and achieve them mini-course

The “How to set goals and achieve them” mini-course is designed to get you from idea to execution with all the tools in-between.

Goal setting helps us to create and visualise our desired destination in life. Could you imagine your life without goals?

🤔What would motivate you to get out of bed?
🤔What would drive you to work on yourself?
🤔What would be the purpose of doing anything?

Sounds scary huh? But that’s not what you’re about. You’re about creating a life for yourself that you envision every day. You just need a little help getting there.

Throughout this mini-course, you will learn practical exercises that will provide you with all the essential tools you need to start making positive changes to your life.

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Let me give you an overview of what you’re going to learn:

Module 1: Small steps big changes

What small actions can you take every day that will help you complete your goals faster and more efficiently? Sign in to find out more 😉

Module 2: Small steps big changes. –  implementation week

Put what you’ve learned from module 1 into action by implementing these small changes into your day so that these small actions can turn into daily habits.

Module 3: Daily routine

Learn how to create a morning, afternoon and evening routine so that you have an intentional plan on how to turn your dreams into reality.

Module 4:  Daily routine implementation week

Let’s see how your daily routine works out in the real world.

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Are you excited as I am right now? (ahhhh) 😀

Get the complete rundown and enroll in the mini-course by clicking the button below

Okay, now let’s get back to the rest of this blog.

So, what’s the actual difference between goals and objectives?

Goals are long-term achievements that are future-focused but don’t include the actual steps needed to accomplish that said goal. For example, a personal goal could be “be more confident in myself” which is a great goal, but it doesn’t outline how you’re going to achieve it.

An objective for the goal could be “I’m going to do one thing that brings me out of my comfort zone every day for the next 30 days to gain more confidence in myself”. This objective sets out one of the ways to help achieve your goal.

Just stating what you want without planning out the steps is pointless. You’re essentially just making a wish that you hope will someday come true without doing much about it. 🙃

You’ll forever be disappointed and feel unaccomplished if you never do what you say you’re going to do. You will eventually stop believing in yourself which will result in lower self-esteem.

So to help stop all of that from happening let’s dig deep into how to set S.M.A.R.T goals. It’s a strategy I use in both my personal life and business life and it works wonders.

How to set S.M.A.R.T goals?

After establishing your goals you need to bring structure and trackability to them, if not, you’re more likely to not act on them or even worse, forget about them.

S.M.A.R.T goal setting allows you to have clear milestones and an estimation of the goal’s attainability. Think of the plan as creating a series of objectives that will ultimately allow you to accomplish your goal.

To make your goals S.M.A.R.T it needs to be: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. 😌

This is where we get to the core of what you actually want to achieve, the more descriptive and specific you are the more likely you are to get there.

S.M.A.R.T goal setting clarifies the difference between “ I want to make more money” and “ I want to earn £15,000 a month by next year July through my current passive income channels”. See the difference?

You can be even more specific than that. What are your passive income channels and how much money do you want to make from each one? The deeper you dig the more you understand your current situation and the steps you need to take in order to live your best life. 😊

Specific: What is the specific goal you’re trying to accomplish?

✨ Where will I accomplish it?
✨ How will I accomplish it?
✨ When will I accomplish it?
✨ Are there any limitations?
✨ Why do I want to achieve this goal?
✨ Are there other routes I can take to achieve the same goal?

Measurable: Are you able to measure your goal?

How can you measure your success and know when you’ve accomplished your goal?

This is can be only based on facts and usually stated in terms of quality, quantity, time or cost.

For example, if you’re goal was to lose 1 stone in 2 months and you never weighed yourself at the start of the two months you wouldn’t be able to know if you achieved your goal or not. 😶

Trackability in goal setting is important as you can keep track of the progress you’re making toward your goal. It always helps if you’re able to keep a journal to write notes on your progress.

Achievable: Is your goal achievable?

This is where you break your goal into smaller steps and list every step as your goal needs to be realistic and attainable in order to be successful. When you set an achievable goal, you may be able to identify previously overlooked opportunities that can even bring you closer to it.

Ask yourself these questions:
✨ How can I accomplish this goal?
✨ How realistic is this goal based on limiting factors such as finances?
✨ Are there factors beyond my control that need to be considered?

Realistic: Is reaching your goal relevant to you? How realistic is it?

Do you actually want to lose 1 stone? Do you really want to be more self-disciplined?

If you lack skills in certain areas to achieve your goals start planning to get training to boost your confidence in that area to make your goals more realistic to achieve.

Also, remember to reflect on your daily routine when setting goals. Setting a goal of waking up at 4am when you regularly go to bed at 1 am isn’t really going to work long-term. 🤷‍♀️

 Ask yourself these questions:
✨ Why do you want to reach this goal?
✨ What is the objective behind the goal?
✨ Is this the right time?
✨Will this goal truly achieve what you want it to?

Time-Bound: When do you plan on completing your goals?

Every goal needs to have a deadline as it makes most people switch to action, if you don’t have a deadline the likelihood of you ever achieving that goal is pretty slim. 🙃

It will become one of those “ I’ll work on it later” goals that we all fall victim to but in the end we know it never gets done.

So, let’s say a big fat NO to those type of goals and slap a deadline on it and show it who’s boss.  A time-bound goal usually consists of these questions:

✨ When does the goal need to be completed?
✨ What could you do each day to get you closer to your goal?
✨ Are my deadlines realistic?

Using this S.M.A.R.T method is an effective way to provide you with focus, clarity and the motivation needed to achieve your goals.

It’s time to ditch the vague and unrealistic goals that aren’t getting you anywhere in life and replace them with detailed, achievable, and intentional goals that help you get from A to B.

The top benefits of setting goals and objectives:

👉 Accomplishing the goal will lead to personal satisfaction and further motivation and dedication to complete further goals.

👉 Goals help motivate us to develop strategies and become more resourceful which will enable us to perform at the level needed to achieve that goal.

👉 When you set goals you are actively thinking about what you want/need which helps break you out of autopilot, allowing you to become more intentional with actions that align with your values.

👉 What gets measured gets improved. Tracking where you were from the beginning to your current situation will show you the progress (or relapse) you’ve made.

This vital information gives you a greater indication of what your next step should be. (+ If you have made progress remember to celebrate it! If you’ve relapsed, look at what went wrong and what you can do to move forward. Don’t beat yourself up about it 😊)

👉 Having goals gives you a laser beam focus on what you should spend both your TIME & ENERGY on (two things you definitely don’t want to waste) this helps eliminate low-impact tasks that contribute basically nothing to your vision.

Did you know you’re 42% more likely to accomplish a goal if it is written down? Doing this allows you to visualise the goal, see how you will achieve it and what steps you need to take in order to get there, so get all those goals out of your head and into a journal!

“It’s not about achieving the goal. It’s about who you have to become in order to achieve the goal. The juice is in the growth”.

Tony Robbins

Are you now ready to start writing awesome goals and smash them out? Let me know in the comments what you’re working on!

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