It is impossible to change your career, get in shape or learn a new language overnight. Whatever you strive for, the safest, the smartest and the least time-consuming way to achieve it, is by setting clear short term goals.

Benefits Of Setting Short Term Goals

Whether you are trying to excel personally, succeed professionally, prosper financially or grow spiritually, properly set and executed short term goals can help you do that.

Here are just a few benefits that you might want to consider when setting smaller goals:

• They are simple and easy to accomplish
• They do not require long-term commitment
• It is a great way to create momentum
• They allow you to stay on track and keep your motivation high
• They help to boost your self-confidence
• They provide you with instant feedback to measure your performance and progress
• And they guarantee something we all love – quick results!

If you have never set short term goals, I suggest you start today, because it could be the quickest road to a huge, positive life change.

What Are Short Term Goals?

While the name seems pretty self-explanatory, many people still have a lot of questions when it comes to setting and achieving short term goals:

• What is the time frame for the short term goals?
• Are short term goals more important that long term life projects?
• What is the difference between short term goals are New Year’s resolutions?
• How to properly set short term goals?

Let’s start at the beginning and bring some clarity into the whole Goal Setting Concept.

1. Short term goals are associated with specific time frames.

They can range from simple tasks that you can accomplish in just a few minutes to more serious objectives that last up to one year.

2. Usually short term goals serve as stepping stones to a larger, long term dream.

For example, “Triple my income by the end of 2015” is a realistic, but rather overwhelming goal. And that’s where short term planning comes in handy, because any difficult, time-consuming goal can be always broken down into smaller, do-able steps.

If I want to triple my income in three years, there are plenty of things I can do. I can give myself 6 months to find a better, more gratifying job. I can turn one of my hobbies into the source of income (e.g. start my own blog, write a book, or teach someone else how to do something I already enjoy doing). I can take a 3-month course to learn more about finance. I can implement a business idea that I had and see if it will take off.

Some of these goals can be chunked-down into even smaller tasks and objectives that will take only few hours or few days to complete.

3. Short term goals are not the same as New Year’s resolutions.

The resolutions that we set for the upcoming year are usually on-going, like “go to the gym 3 times a week”, “stop smoking”, “giving up diet coke”. Short-term are not. They have a clear deadline and are directed towards specific result – “lose 10 pounds by March 31st”, “read Allan Carr’s book ‘The Easy Way to Stop Smoking’ by the end of the month”, “create a healthy eating plan for the next week”.

If you are new to Goal Setting, it is probably better to start with short term goals rather than on-going resolutions. That way you will not feel like you failed if you skipped just one day of a workout or had a chocolate chip cookie, while being on a diet.

How To Set Short Term Goals?

There are two easy ways of setting any type of goal and double-checking it. One is SMART goal method, another less known is what I call 7 P’s method.

Following 7 P’s System your short term goals should be:

Prioritized: You may have several different goals that you would like to achieve, but ideally you should concentrate only on one goal at a time. Write down everything you would like to achieve by the end of the year. Now look at your list at start with the high-priority, but lower-difficulty goal. Start with that one!

Present: Write your goal as if it is currently true. From psychological standpoint goals that are stated in the present tense create a sense of urgency and motivate us towards their achievement. While goals that begin with ‘I will…” leave a lot of room for procrastination.

Positive: It is always much better to work towards what you want than trying to avoid something that you want to leave behind. Always start your goal with a positive statement, “I am…”, “I have…”, “I feel…” It is a lot more effective and inspirational.

Precise: When setting goals try to be as specific as you can. If the goal is stated in way that is too general or too vague how will you know what steps to take and more importantly when will you know that you have achieved it?

One way to ensure that your short-term objectives are precise is to make them measurable. For example, a statement “I want to earn more money” sounds more like a wishful thinking than an actual goal. “I increase my monthly earnings by $500” is a much better way to phrase your objectives, but even this goal can still be improved. Which leads us to the next point…

Performance-based: Any well-set goal should have a clear and realistic deadline that allows you to measure your progress and your performance. Having a timeline for your short-term goal takes it from the realm of “I will get to it someday” to a commitment that you have promised yourself to keep.

Practical: Is your goals realistic or does it come in conflict with any of your other goals? Is it challenging enough so that you are motivated to work towards it, but reachable so that you can still achieve it? Is it within your control to make things work or do you rely on other people to meet your objectives?

Sometimes just a few small tweaks are necessary to bring your goal in line with reality.

Personal: Whatever goal you will choose for yourself, always make sure that it is something YOU really want, not something that your parents expect of you, something you would like to prove to your friends or something that sounds good. If your goal is not aligned with your inner values, beliefs and heart-felt desires, your subconscious mind will sabotage your conscious efforts, setting you up for a failure. On the other hand, if your goal is something you truly dream of, just re-reading your goal statement will be enough to motivate you into action.

Properly-rewarded: Ok this point is not a part of 7 P’s System, but this does not any less important. Goal Setting should not turn into something you procrastinate against. It should be something that you enjoy doing, something you eagerly work towards almost every day. One way to make the whole goal setting process more fun is by celebrating your smallest accomplishments and rewarding your efforts with little surprises and gifts. It does not necessarily have to be something expensive. There are plenty of ways to celebrate your successes without having to spend a dime!

Your action step:

• Think of something you wanted to achieve for a long time.
• Write your short term goal down, keeping 7 P’s system in mind.
• Now think of the smallest step that you can take to set the whole goal-getting process in motion and do it TODAY!

 Set short term goals and you’ll win games. Set long term goals and you’ll win championships!

You don’t need to be part of the vast majority. In fact, 2012 can be the year that you separate yourself from the masses and keep every resolution you make.

Here are five ways to help you stay on track:

1. Set realistic objectives.

You probably can’t change jobs, launch a nonprofit organization, revamp your kids’ parent-teacher organization and start a community garden all in one year. You can always keep certain goals on the back burner, but chunk down your goals into just a few that you can realistically meet within a year’s time.

For longer-term goals, such as how to plan for retirement, choose a few to-do items that get you closer to your goals. For example, you can commit to putting more money in your 401(k) and creating a retirement planning guide with your financial planner. Establish time frames that are believable to you, and monitor your progress regularly.

2. Get an accountability partner.

Find someone who has similar goals with whom you can check in frequently. If you want to run a marathon, find a running partner and schedule regular runs. You’ll be more likely to show up for a run if you know someone is waiting for you. Keep track of your progress together, and share the results of your training.

3. Establish a reward system.

Even small rewards will help to keep you motivated. The reward should be tied directly to the goal. So, if you make an extra few hundred bucks in your business, rather than going on a spending spree or blowing every extra dollar on a latte, put some of that money in a savings account that will let you save up for a larger purchase. Post a picture of the item on your refrigerator. You’ll stay motivated to obtain that reward and will work that much harder to get it.

4. Revisit goals as needed.

Your goals may shift with the economy, life changes such as a new home or a new baby, a big move or other key events. Revisit your goals every few months to be sure they still encompass everything you hope to get out of life. Make any necessary tweaks to ensure you achieve the desired outcome.

5. See yourself succeeding.

Use your imagination to visualize yourself with your goals realized. Get a journal and log your thoughts and feelings about your accomplishment. Post photos of images that symbolize your success. Mentally associate with people who have what you want — not the naysayers who doubt your potential.

Bit by bit, you can meet all the goals you set forth in 2012. As long as you commit to specific action steps, you’ll not only keep your New Year’s resolutions, but also finish the year better off than when you started it.

Felicia Gopaul helps consumers understand how to plan for retirement, save for college and plan for the future. With insightful articles and advice featured at FeliciaGopaul.com and College Funding Resource, she offers easy-to-understand tips for consumers seeking better, smarter ways to manage their finances. As part of her New Year’s resolutions, Felicia will be sticking to a new fitness plan, reading motivational books and spending plenty of quality time with her daughters.

Between teaching, attending seminars, writing papers, lab hours, and, oh, yes, bathing and eating, it is hard to find time to both pursue a master’s degree or doctoral degree and have a life. But there is hope for the harried: with a set routine and some tolerance for imperfection, you could make time management look easy.

One of the hardest things to reconcile as a graduate student is the nontraditional schedule. While 9-to-5ers might have some late nights at the office or even some weekend workdays, a student’s work is truly never done. Finish reading for seminar? Then you could be working on next week’s presentation. Lesson plans set for the week? What about grading those exams that have been weighing down your desk for the past couple days? Found time to squeeze in some visits to the gym this week? What about checking your OkCupid account? And even when the semester is over, you can’t help but think of the independent reading you should be doing for your qualifying exams even as you reach for Mom’s homemade pumpkin pie.

Find balance

The first step in finding balance in your life is balancing the very driven attitude that has gotten you to where you are today with a more relaxed approach. This won’t just make your life easier, but could also save your health.

Adjust expectations

Adjusting expectations is key to time management, and I’m not suggesting slacking off—I’m promoting being realistic. For example, when you create a weekly schedule, factor in mundane tasks such as eating breakfast, taking a shower, and walking from your classroom to the library. A realistic schedule will not only allow you to set reasonable goals, but also permit you to enjoy a sense accomplishment at the end of the week rather than one of desperation.

Give yourself a break

Another way to be realistic with your time is to recognize that you are a human being. This means acknowledging and addressing your physical, mental, social, and spiritual needs. Try getting yourself to the gym, or to the park for a run, or even around the block for a walk most days. Give your mind a break and watch your favorite TV show or go to the movie on discount night (just be sure to pencil it into your weekly schedule). Schedule time with friends at least once a week. Practice meditation, join a religious group, or write in a journal. Taking care of yourself will not only benefit your sanity, but might give you an edge over your exhausted classmates.

Graduate school is not easy, but seeing it as part of your life rather than consuming your life will help you to get the most out of it.

Emily Matthews is currently applying to masters degree programs across the U.S., and loves to read about new research into health care, gender issues, and literature. She lives and writes in Seattle, Washington.

1. Get that healthy weight

Walking is an amazing exercise. It helps you burn those extra fats on your body. Burning fats and building muscles is what everyone wants. This is the right exercise for you as it will help you build and strengthen your muscles. Now, you know the secret to tone your body and get back in shape. Just follow your low fat diet and walk for 5 miles daily, and you will get back in shape. Cancel those daily schedules of your gym, it is not required anymore.

2. Walk for a healthy heart

As you walk, your heart beats faster in order to pump blood a little harder to the muscles of your body parts you are using. Pumping blood hard to other parts of your body is a serious exercise for your heart, which is supposed to be a good exercise to strengthen your heart and keep it strong. Maintaining the health of your heart is very important, every step you take for a healthy heart will definitely be beneficial. When you walk, you not only use your legs but also swing your arms, which means you are toning the muscles of your legs and your arms at the same time.

3. Enhance your cardiovascular system

Walking is a wonderful cardiovascular exercise. As you walk, you breathe harder and your lungs pump the oxygen. Your heart pumps this oxygen to the other parts of your body. Good supply of oxygen is very important for your body, and walking fulfils it. A good cardiovascular health will definitely help your body health. To breath in fresh oxygen, choose morning times as your walking hours. Mornings are usually free of pollutions and dirt, this is how you get to breathe in fresh oxygen.

4. A fresh stress free start

Again morning times are the best times to walk or do your walking exercise. This is when oxygen is pumped to all the parts of your body including your brain. Inhaling fresh oxygen is very good for your overall health. Fresh oxygen supply to your brain makes you feel fresh as well. A fresh start to your mornings triggers a fresh and energetic day.

5. Activate metabolisms

Health experts say that as you sleep in the nights, your entire body rests including your metabolism. If you get up early in the morning and take a walk, you activate your metabolisms and charge yourself up for a heavy. A healthy breakfast on time keeps you charged up all day followed by the same.

6. Inexpensive and affordable

Walking does not need investments such as a gym fee, or investments for exercising equipment and an instructor. All you have to do is buy yourself a comfortable sports shoe and sacrifice on a little sleep of yours. In return, you get an amazingly toned body, a beautiful healthy life and fresh days.

Conclusion

Maintaining a healthy life is all up to you. You can decide what method of exercising you need to live healthy. Remember, exercising does not mean spending bucks while it means health, in fact your overall body health. Practice brisk walking daily, walk for five miles to fulfill your exercising needs. Choose the right location and the right time to walk so that you can breathe in fresh air to live healthy. Indulge yourself in your household work and quit using the elevator, instead use the staircase.

Bethany is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she is fond of gadgets. Recently an article on Stomach Cancer Symptoms attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on soup recipes.

From the very day we are born, we’re subjected to social conditioning from our parents, teachers, the government and the media. We’re taught that in order to succeed in life and be happy we must get good grades at school, go to university and get a well-paid job. If we’re to be accepted within certain social circles we are expected to drive expensive cars, own a big house in an exclusive area, and wear designer clothes.

It an unfortunate reality of the modern world, that in order for a girl to feel beautiful, she’s led to believe that she must look like a model on the cover of a glossy magazine. It’s no surprise then, that gradually over the years, many of us begin to lose our sense of identity, struggle to understand who we really are, and feel misplaced in life.

The sad truth is that we often hide our dreams and true values in order to be accepted by others. By the time we reach adulthood, we’ll have created a whole belief system based on what we’ve been told as we’ve grown up, and instinctively we find evidence to support these beliefs. However, many of them are incredibly limiting such as “I’m not good enough” or “I always fail” etc.

Find Out What You Truly Want

We carry the burden of these beliefs with us throughout our lives without ever questioning whether they are really true, or if they even serve any useful purpose. It’s these limiting beliefs that are the ones that hold us back in life. They keep us boxed in, and make us scared to shine. They make us fearful of what others might think if we reveal who we truly are.

You may want the fast car, a glamorous lifestyle and a big house. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that as long as it’s what you REALLY want and you’re being true to yourself; not what you think you need in order to be happy. If you find yourself being an entirely different person at work to when you are at home; ask yourself: “Is this what I really want, or is this what others expect of me?” “Why can’t I be myself?”

Let Your Personality Shine

The most beautiful people in the world are those who allow their true selves to shine through; they exude confidence, poise and radiate warmth. In doing so, they naturally give others permission to feel beautiful also.
The happiest, most successful people are those who follow their heart, pursue their dreams and have such an indestructible belief in themselves and what they’re doing, that others can’t fail to believe in them also.

So as the start of another year looms, ask yourself if you are really happy and living the life that you want. Life is precious and the sands of time are ticking. This isn’t a dress rehearsal; this is your one shot. Life may be short, but it’s also far too long to be living it by someone else’s standards or ideals.

Stay true to yourself; follow your dreams and never, ever, be afraid to reveal the amazing person within you.

Author’s Bio

Gerry Henderson is a Personal and Professional coach. She has a passion for working with people to improve confidence, put the fun back into life, and to find their passion and true purpose.

One of the goals set by millions of people every day is the loss of weight. Our goal should be the loss of weight that can be achieved through a healthy way of living and this can be definitely achieved by setting SMART goals.

SMART Weight loss goals

Setting goals is an art. In order to see the best results, the goals must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely, SMART. The weight loss goal cannot be an exception to this rule. Following the SMART guidelines enables us to achieve our goals, feel happy and repeat the exercise setting higher and more ambitious goals.

How can a weight loss goal be SMART?

In order to explain the idea let us assume that at the end of the summer period after a lot of abuse, you have gained 11 pounds and you are now 187 lbs. You want to lose 11 pounds, this is Specific. You do not state I want to lose weight. Can you Measure the goal? Yes, you can. Every Monday morning you get on your scale and measure your weight, noting it down on a board so that you can easily see it. Is it Attainable? This depends by when you want to lose those 11 pounds. If you say by tomorrow this is impossible, if you say in a month almost impossible but if you say by next summer, that is in 8 months then this is achievable and attainable by anyone. It is at the same time Realistic because 11 pounds out of 187 is 6% of your weight but if you were 100 lbs then 11 lbs would have been 11% of your weight, which is less realistic. Surely, this goal is Timely. It should be completed in 8 months for a specific reason.

You have set your SMART weight loss goal and now you need to monitor it and ensure that you are within this goal. Since a goal cannot be achieved once in a big chunk, it has to measured and monitored so that we achieve it in small but steady increments. Therefore, we measure our weight, week after week and we record the readings in our computer or a board where we can see and monitor the progress.

Healthy Living

Once we set our weight loss goals, we have to find the way to meet our targets through healthy living. By healthy living, we mean taking care of what we eat and by being physically active. The tools we have in our disposal are no other than a natural diet and exercise.

What is a natural diet? A natural diet consists of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grain and cereals. Other foods like low fat dairy products and fish should be consumed many times a week, white meat in less frequency and red meat a few times a month. A natural diet is not restrictive but rather selective in the sense that you have to select what you eat and in normal quantities rather than restrict whole food groups from your daily meals.

Exercise: You cannot live healthy without exercise. Daily, or almost daily, physical exercises like walking for about 30-45 minutes a day is necessary. You should stand up and leave the couch for a couple of hours per day and deal with activities that keep your muscles moving. This is the only way to burn calories but refresh your spirit at the same time.

Do not forget that it is important to have a healthy body but it is equally important to have a healthy mind. There are many ways to get active and this is not limited to joining a gym but you can do sports (basketball, football etc) or engage into other outdoor activities alone or with friends.

Finally, do not forget that having a healthy weight is not only good for your appearance and health but is important for your self-esteem and confidence.

Author’s Bio

Alex writes about the Mediterranean diet for a long time. His latest article includes a Mediterranean diet plan for weight loss.

Never Stop Learning

If you have a life filled with learning new things, chances are your creativity and general intelligence will be higher, too. Taking a college class in something you’re interested in, or something you don’t know much about can help your mind expand in new directions.

Reading is also an important component of learning. Those who read a variety of things, from biographies and fiction to trade publications and newspapers, are more likely to have the creative areas of their brain stimulated. Reading on your own is always a positive thing, but you can also take a literature course at a local college or join a book club if you enjoy discussing what you’ve read with others.

Take Risks

It’s well-known that taking risks in your daily life can make you smarter and increase your creativity. When you get out of your comfort zone, you’re more likely to learn new things, interact with people who challenge your assumptions, and see problems from a different, more creative point of view. Consider getting a new, more challenging job, traveling somewhere you’ve never been before, applying to get a master’s degree in a new field of study, or taking a course in a language you don’t speak.

Go Somewhere New

It’s said that your environment can greatly affect your creativity and intelligence. If you’re in college or will be in the near future, consider studying abroad. The change in environment and all the little things associated with being in a completely foreign culture is a great way to expand your mind, making you smarter and more creative. If you can’t make such a bold move, think about moving to a different part of town, or taking a new job in a different city. The increase in your intelligence and creativity from such a small change could be surprising.

Take Good Care of Yourself

Sometimes, your brilliance and creativity will suffer because of your physical, mental, or emotional health. To achieve greater intelligence and creativity, it’s important to take care of your body. This means getting enough sleep, drinking enough water, exercising regularly, and eating food that is healthy and nourishing. If you have mental or emotional issues that are causing you problems, it’s important to address them with a licensed therapist or counselor who can help you deal with those issues. If your body and mind aren’t healthy, then it’s difficult to make yourself smarter or more creative.

Author’s bio

Terry Southerland is a career counselor and content contributor for thebestdegrees.org, a site featuring lists of accredited online degrees and specialty field endeavors such as early childhood education degree programs.

Nourishing Your Mind Through Exercising

Since young, I have always had a passion for sports. Any opportunity I got, I would be out there pitching on the field. Exercising regularly has more benefits than sculpting an attractive body; it helps you become the person you want to be. It is through exercising that I

• Know I can achieve what I want

• Build my confidence level

• Enjoy success in all aspects of life

• Channel others’ negativity into a trigger to achieve something productive

• Count myself among the ranks of an elite group of Americans who exercise every day

Jumping Through Hoops

Of course, setting aside time for exercise when you have to work (which incidentally hastens the aging process: just watch as the strands of gray hair sprout with every new deadline), is a challenge. However, there are several ways around it. Instead of driving to work, walk to your office every morning! Taking 10,000 steps a day can significantly reduce the risk of a cardiovascular disease!

If you are constantly pressed for time and always knock off work after the gym’s opening hours, then purchase a set of “dumbbells”. This way you can do your strength training exercises in the comfort of your own home. With dumbbells, you can also work the different muscle groups, compared to the limitations of the machines at the gym.

While I may ‘look good for my age,’ I certainly am not getting younger. While I am not discouraged, I am very mindful of my limits. I cannot train as hard as I used to. If you are in the same boat as I am, I would advise you to regularly seek medical advice from your physician. Go for a yearly checkup and speak to your doctor about your medical conditions. Then, plan your exercise routine while keeping in mind your health status.<

A Lifelong Commitment Requires Motivation

Committing to the ideologies of healthy living takes work and also motivation. There are two forms of motivation:

1. Intrinsic motivation is the enjoyment you derive when you sweat it all out; this is when exercising is second nature to you.

2. Extrinsic motivation is when you work out in the hope of getting something out of it – be it a trim physique or monetary incentives from competitions.

Whether you are young or old, there are days when you just do not have the motivation. Here are some tips to keep yourself motivated all year long:

• Wear comfortable sportswear when exercising

• Prevent injuries by equipping yourself with the right safety gear

• You enjoy the sport or workout more when you can do it better, so acquire the right techniques to advance your skills

• Don’t let your routines become dull; change it up!

If you are about to embark on an exercising journey, you can reap a lot of benefits with a personal trainer at your side. Their knowledge and expertise will help you achieve your goals more efficiently. However, there are many errant trainers on the loose, so always check that your trainer is registered with agencies such as ACE, AFAA, ACSM or NSCA. Check that your trainer has attended first aid and CPR courses as well.

Combat Stress!

Stress is part and parcel of our lives, but undue stress can be detrimental to your mental health. When you exercise, you trigger the release of endorphins — the happy chemicals in your brain. This is why you often feel positively about yourself after a good workout. Before a workout, you can also do simple inhaling exercises to keep your mind focused. With every exhale, let out your stress and think positive thoughts when you breathe in.

Three Components of Exercise

Exercising brings about many benefits, but when not done correctly, it can do more harm than good. Very often, the cause of many injuries can be attributed to neglecting to warm up and cool down properly.

Why? As you warm up, blood and oxygen flow to the different muscles you are activating. Your muscles are prepared for what’s to come. When you do your proper warm up, you are less prone to muscle cramps and spasms. Warming up comprises a series of simple exercises: you can get your heart pumping with a slow and short jog, followed by some light stretching.

The day after an intensive workout can be likened to a hangover: just sheer misery. To avoid this, always do a proper cool down. You might have unknowingly damaged your fibers or ligaments while exercising, and a cool down helps to repair them. Stretching your muscles after exercising will help speed up the recovery process.

Diet is What Counts

Even a huge amount of exercising will not do you any good if you are bent on ingesting junk food every day. There is no need to phase out junk food entirely; in fact, allow yourself one day a week to indulge in moderation. This way, you satisfy your cravings and you do not risk falling prey to binge-eating, which deals a lot of damage.

A good diet is a well-balanced meal that has carbohydrates, protein and fat. You can also take in vitamins and minerals to strengthen your constitution. After a hard workout, you will need to replenish your body’s glycogen, which gives you the energy to do stuff. Have a sports drink or even chocolate milk to recharge. Finally, drinking plenty of water throughout the day is critical. This will help you to remove the toxins in your body.

Author’s Bio

Derek Carroll loves it when he finds great deals and products. What he loves even more is getting to share them. He recently did reviews of P90x DVDs, and Bowflex dumbbells, on his blog at Wise-Buyers.com. Offline, he spends most of his time with his wife and two children, as they go on new adventures and explore the finer things in life.

Were they right?

As odd as it may sound, other people often are much better judges of our character and our talents than we are. The reason is that our self-image is greatly distorted by our unconscious beliefs, past experiences and most importantly our level of self-esteem.

The tricky part is that most of us are sure that our self-esteem is high and healthy, yet we consistently under appreciate our skills, over doubt our decisions and under act when opportunities present themselves.

Think about it – Have you ever been in situations where you could have acted with a little more boldness, but at the last minute you chickened out and let the opportunity pass right in front of your nose?

I know I have and I actually do not believe myself to suffer from low self-esteem.
It is not poor self-esteem that is the problem, but the occasional ‘mental friction’ that arises at the worst possible moment in the worst possible place.

At the base of this friction lie three psychological factors that largely contribute to dampened self-confidence, occasional self-doubts and groundless shyness:

Self-Esteem Factor #1: Locus of control

This strangely sounding psychology term has a lot to do with personal responsibility and feeling of being in control of our destiny. As a rule people with an internal locus of control see their accomplishments and failures as a direct result of their actions. People with an external locus of control believe that “things just happen to them”, therefore, they attribute their successes and failures to forces outside their influence (e.g. luck or fate).

Depending on the circumstances our locus of control can shift either inwardly or outwardly.

For example, when we start blaming other people or external factors for our problems, we give away our right to improve the situation and this decision impedes our self-confidence and empowers a “victim mentality”. On the other hand, taking the decision to take responsibility for everything that happens to us, both good and bad, we gain power to change what we do not like and work on those areas of our life that need improvement.

Self-Esteem Factor #2: Self-Validation

Self-esteem is not something we are simply born with. It is an opinion and a number of beliefs that we form about ourselves and our abilities over the course of our life. These self-beliefs are based on: an objective feedback that we get from our environment, conclusions that we make about ourselves and our perception of how other people view us.

When these three factors are in balance, our self-esteem is strong and healthy. But as soon as we start placing higher importance on what others think of us (or what we believe they think of us) we lose our center to the point of conforming our personality and goals to other people’s desires.

This type of behavior creates inner friction between what we would like to do and what we feel we “must do” in order to be liked and to feel good about ourselves. To eliminate this friction and boost our self-esteem we should know when to listen to someone else’s advice and when to follow our own heart, even at the cost of disapproval.

Self-Esteem Factor #3: Sense of Competence

The third factor talks about how good we believe we are at what we do. My 6-year old nephew, for example, firmly believes that he is great at things he has never tried in his life, like ice-skating or ghost-hunting. And to my outward amazement he learns new skill with remarkable speed.

You and I may be more careful about making claims of our mastery. We rely on our experience, our accomplishments and actual results of our actions before deciding whether we are skilled at something or not.
When we do not feel we are making any progress, our level of self-esteem decreases and we start having doubts about our abilities.

But in order to improve and develop our talents, we need to learn how to separate our performance from who we are. A setback or a single mistake does not make us a failure. It simply makes us human.

Here are some reasons to consider online tutoring as a second job:

Work When You Want

Just like any other Internet job, you can work when your schedule allows you to. If you want to work from 8am to 10am you are free to do so. If you want to work from 9pm to 10pm, go ahead and knock yourself out. You control your schedule and can work whenever you feel like it.

Tutor Whatever Subjects Are Interesting To You

Your college degree might be in English, but perhaps you are talented in history as well. You can put your talents to good use as an online history tutor. Most sites will require nothing more than passing a test to prove that you are competent and know what you are talking about.

This is great for people who want to make extra money just sharing the knowledge that they have and want to get some extra hours out of it. The more subjects you can tutor, the more opportunities that will be available to you to work.

How Much Do You Get Paid

Working as an online tutor will pay you close to what you might make in most retail situations. A lot of online sites will start you out around 8 dollars an hour, but will increase your pay over time. You might be able to max out at around 12-15 dollars.

This isn’t nearly as much as you can get as a private tutor, but you also don’t have to find the clients and worry about not getting paid. You also have the benefit of working at home and whenever you have the time. This isn’t something you can always dictate as a private tutor.

Online tutoring is a stable field that has many job opportunities. If you are looking for a second job, or a source of income while unemployed, working online as a tutor is a great way to share what you know while making an income. It might even be a resume boost if you hope to work in education someday.

Francine Gomez is a career consultant and loves giving stay-at-home moms new ideas for how to make money. There are many opportunities to bring needed funds into the home — learn how to make money writing articles to earn extra spending money or to fully support a family.