Motivation is a State of Mind: 5 Tips on Making It Work

six pack absalignleft size-full wp-image-2058″ title=”motivation-tips” src=”http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/motivation-tips.jpg” alt=”motivation” width=”320″ height=”221″ />We have all started down the path to a goal at one time or another with the best of intentions. We were highly motivated and virtually shot out of the gate, intent on not only meeting, but exceeding, our goals. At some point, we lost our fire. That motivation that we had at the beginning was simply lost. But where did it go? How is it that we can begin a new project with motivation to spare, only to find it peter out before we’re finished?

The key to staying motivated is to understand that motivation is a state of mind. Though we may have external motivators, ultimately, our motivation lies within. Once you understand that simple fact, you’ll be able to not only get motivated but stay motivated well through the completion of your project or the realization of your goal. Here are five tips to staying motivated:

Motivation Tip #1: One Goal, Not Many

One of the biggest hurdles to maintaining your motivation is biting off more than you can chew. If you discover that your motivation is lagging, look to what you are trying to accomplish and decide if it’s simply too much. If you are getting overwhelmed with all of the things you are trying to accomplish, sit down and prioritize your goals.

Trying to accomplish too many things at once will quickly sap your energy. Concentrate your focus on one goal, moving on to the next when the first is accomplished. For example, if you want to lose 50 pounds, break your weight loss goals into smaller chunks. Make it your first goal to lose ten pounds and then move on to the next ten. Doing so will help you maintain your energy and motivation.

Motivation Tip #2: Find Your Inspiration

How will you stay motivated to meet your goals? Look for varied sources of inspiration! If you want to start your own business, read blogs, articles and books written by successful entrepreneurs. If you want to lose weight, look for others who have achieved their weight loss goals. Don’t expect inspiration to come knocking on your door; get out there and look for it! Finding other people who have not only met their goals, but surpassed them, can be a tremendous source of inspiration and motivation.

Motivation Tip #3: Keep a Journal

Once you’ve decided on what you want to accomplish, keep a journal to track the feelings you experience along the journey. Be sure to keep track of the negatives as well as the positives. Making note of your moods and feelings along the way can help you establish a pattern and help you discover what is sapping your motivation. When you’re feeling particularly underwhelmed, read over your journal and make note of your progress. Reading your journal is a simple activity that can reignite the fire you felt when you started on your journey.

Motivation Tip #4:Surround Yourself with Positive

Believe it or not, one of the quickest ways to lose your motivation is by surrounding yourself with negative people. Whether it’s in real life or on social networking sites, remove the people around you who aren’t 100 percent supportive of your goals. There will always be those people in your life who don’t want to see you succeed, whether they are conscious of that fact or not. You don’t have to ditch these people forever, but you do need to rid yourself of them while you are trying to maintain motivation to realize your dreams.

Motivation Tip #5: Reward Yourself

No matter if it’s our pets, our kids or our spouses, when the beings in our life do something great, we reward them. Do the same for yourself! When you reach milestones along the way to your ultimate goal, do something nice for yourself. Whether you buy yourself a new outfit, give yourself a day at the spa or even spend a day fishing on the lake, do something to reward yourself. Treating yourself for a job well done is a great way to stay motivated enough to meet your goal.

Many people find it helpful to write down the rewards they will give themselves for each milestone. Writing down the ways in which you will reward yourself can keep you motivated when times get tough. If you feel yourself losing motivation, open your journal and see what you’ve promised yourself for the next milestone that you reach. If you’ve made your rewards meaningful, they’ll be enough to get you over any hurdles that you find in your path.

It’s not enough to be motivated; you’ve got to stay motivated! By following these five tips, you can find the motivation that you need to see your goals and dreams to fruition. Set a goal, surround yourself with positive people, find inspiration, keep a journal and reward yourself! You’ll soon find that you’re ready to move on to goal number two!

Jessica Alan is a guidance counselor earning an online masters degree in school counseling while helping children with motivational exercises to prepare them for college.

5 Ways that Leaders Can Listen Better

six pack absalignleft size-full wp-image-2045″ title=”leadership listen” src=”http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/leadership-listen.jpg” alt=”leadership” width=”333″ height=”228″ />

Leadership in an organization is a golden opportunity to influence and drive change. All of us, at one point or another, have had the fortune of working with a great leader, and the misfortune of working with a not-so-great leader.

Although leaders have the lion’s share of the responsibility in change, those who are positioned under someone’s leadership are responsible for communicating desired changes. Leaders have the unique challenge of having to read between the lines and make sense of communication that is not always forthright. Sometimes, leaders have to pick up on many hints in order to figure out what is really going on.

How Leaders Should Listen

“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.” – John Buchan

1. Listen to What Is Being Said

This is the most obvious way of listening. Asking for feedback directly and then listening to it – perhaps by writing it down – is a surefire way of getting in touch with the team and the first step to getting on the same page. There is no more egregious form of disrespect than to ask for feedback and then ignore it.

2. Listen to What Is Not Being Said

It’s not only important to pay attention to what is clearly being said. It’s equally important to listen to what is not being said. What elephants in the room are being ignored, if any? Why is that? Leaders need to use intuition to grasp hold of communication that is intentionally withheld, whether that’s out of fear, insecurity, or a lack of confidence in a leader’s ability to affect change.

Paying attention to emotion is also critically important to leadership, and leaders must learn to interpret the physical signs of an emotional reaction to both negative and positive communication. In an article published on Forbes.com, author Carol Kinsey Goman writes, “To tap into the power of emotion, leaders must understand how feelings (their own and other people’s) impact and influence an organization’s ability to make business decisions, to negotiate, and to embrace change.” (“Leadership, Emotion, and Body Language”, Forbes.com).

A possible indication that communication isn’t being received well is when employees shut down rather than open up and provide feedback.

3. Listen With Your Eyes

A common leadership skill I learned early on is called MBWA – Management by Walking Around. While the primary tenet of this idea is to influence productivity by being present, this idea lends itself well to leadership, because it encourages the leader to get out from being the desk and see for herself or himself what exactly is going on. A leader cannot make decisions solely based on the feedback she or he receives from team members. It’s important to get out, look around, and make assessments. Also, being present and available can help facilitate conversation that may never happen otherwise.

Some of the greatest and most accomplished leaders are noted as being extremely forward in their approach to face-to-face communication. One such leader, Bill Olsten of Olsten Communication, is recognized in an article on SmartPlanet.com as someone who understood the power of MBWA. “He made it a point to check in and say hello to staff members on a regular basis, and always let each individual know how important they were to the company.” (“How Steve Jobs earned his MBWA degree”, SmartPlanet.com).

4. Listen With Action

Leaders who influence change in a positive way do so by acknowledging feedback and then doing something with it. At the financial software company Intuit, the leadership team asks for feedback from every employee in the entire organization. This feedback is then collected, organized, and sent back to the employees along with actions and tracking. It’s important for the leadership team to communicate that feedback is not just heard, but that it is also acted upon. Leaders who learn to follow up with those who provide feedback encourage trust and inspire confidence. That confidence then leads to more and better feedback.

5. Listen With Trust

A final way leaders can learn to listen better is to trust the people from whom the feedback is solicited.

In the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven F. Covey, habit #5 is to “Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood.” In order to do so, leaders must not only listen but listen with respect and earned trust.

People under the influence of a leader must trust that their feedback will be heard and respected, otherwise, next time, they will not be so forthright with it. What is said in confidence must be kept confidential, and what is said in public must be received with dignity and respect. Leaders are in a great position of authority and influence, but that is entirely dependent upon the level of confidence and trust that followers have in their leaders.

In what ways to do you think leaders can listen better? What are some of the ways that leaders you respected most encouraged and inspired open communication?

This guest post is written by Lior Levin, a marketing consultant for a company that helps businesses with organization using a to do list application, and who also consults for a psd to html company.

5 Great Ways to Overcome Negative Thinking Patterns

six pack absalignleft size-full wp-image-2016″ title=”negative thinking patterns” src=”http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/thoughtful-girl.jpg” alt=”negative thinking” width=”350″ height=”259″ />Negative thoughts get us down, plain and simple. But we all do it, to varying degrees we all have our habits of thinking badly about situations, about other ourselves and other people, and about life in general. And even though we know it doesn’t help, even though we know all too well that it just creates even more negativity in our life, somehow we find ourselves stuck in habitual negative thinking patterns over and over again.

Negative thinking is like wearing dark and dirty glasses; it fogs your vision and gives you a distorted picture of reality. When you are stuck in negative thinking it’s difficult to find any joy in life because your whole mindset has you convinced that happiness and joy are not even an option.

Negative thoughts create a wall between you and other people, because despite how open and kind they may be towards you, somehow you don’t trust them, you won’t allow yourself to open to them because you think their kindness is not real, and you know that in any case it won’t last for long.

A particularly harmful form of negative thinking is sometimes referred to as ‘negative negativity’. This is when you see your negative thinking patterns clearly, you become aware of them and how harmful they are, but that awareness in itself causes you to think badly about yourself, you get caught up in guilt which just becomes a source of further negativity.

Yes, it sounds grim, and it is. Yet we are not so far off as we may think. Negative thinking patterns are learned, and in the same way that we learned how to think badly about things, we can learn to think in more positive light. We can learn to see our negativity clearly, without giving ourself a hard time about it, and then we can learn to change our thinking habits, gradually lightening up the heavy burden.

Here are 5 Great Ways to Overcome Negative Thinking:

1. Use Breathing to Interrupt Negative Thinking Patterns.

Throughout your day, frequently pause whatever you are doing and simply be there and breathe. Sit there and feel your body and breath, notice the space around you, and ground yourself in the ordinary goodness of your world. Doing this often can help you to get in touch with your body and also the greater body of the physical world around you. There is tremendous richness and goodness to be found in the body, and it help you let go of and purify negative thinking.

2. Keep a ‘Negative Thinking Journal’.

Take a notebook with you during your day, and whenever you find yourself stuck in a negative thinking pattern, stop and make a note of it. Note what you are thinking, the cause of it, and also how you feel in your body. Then after two or three weeks, or however long it takes to accumulate significant data, sit down for an hour or so to explore what you have in your journal.

Look for common themes, recurring situations where you are often caught in negative thoughts. Make a note of what you learn, and then with your newfound awareness you can gradually change those patterns.

3. Do Things That You Enjoy.

Make time during your busy work week to enjoy activities that you know make you happy and feel good. We all want to be happy but we often forget to actually do it, to do the things that we know make us feel good.

Maybe you like going for long walks around the park or in your city, perhaps you enjoy going out for dinner and a film with a friend or by yourself, some people enjoy a relaxing massage, and for others exercise is the perfect pick me up. Whatever it is, slow down the busy pace and give yourself the pleasure that we all deserve.

4. Make It a Habit to Appreciate the Goodness in Your Life.

Learn to see how fortunate you are, how your life is a gift, and that no matter how difficult things may sometimes become, it is possible to raise your gaze up and see magic all around you. Notice things as simple as the feeling of the breeze on your skin, or the delicate intricacies of a leaf, or how amazing another person’s face it. By becoming attuned with the goodness of life and the world you develop an appreciative heart, and negativity simply dissolves into space.

5. Do Kind Things for Others.

Kindness is the greatest medicine available to ease our aching hearts and minds. Making another person happy is the best way to make ourself happy. Generosity in unsurpassed in its ability to put an end to negativity.

Sometimes we are so caught up in a negative mind set and our negative thinking patterns that we can’t bear to be kind in a person to person manner. In this case you can do kind things in secret. For example leave the best parking spot for someone else, or go the extra mile in cleaning up in the office lunch room even though nobody else will know it was you who did it.

Being kind in this quiet manner is a great way to practice kindness when it’s too much to be kind in person. Either way, being kind will help you cheer up, feel better deep inside, and confront negative thinking patterns at the very source.

Craig Mollins promotes a mindfulness approach to anger management at: http://MindfulnessAngerManagement.com.

6 Ways Exercise Can Improve Your Self Confidence

six pack absalignleft size-full wp-image-2026″ title=”improve self confidence” src=”http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/woman-pilates.jpg” alt=”improving self confidence” width=”245″ height=”350″ />Learning to improve your self-confidence can help you to meet your goals and to find the success that you want in life. Having confidence helps you to take on challenges, to focus on your goals, and to take risks. Without strong self-esteem, you are more likely to take a passive approach to your life, to make excuses for not going after your goals, and to become apathetic about your future.

There are many ways to improve your self-confidence, some of which are explored on this blog. Exercise, while known for its benefits for health and longevity, is another tool that can be used to help promote confidence.

Exercise can help you Improve Your Self-Confidence in a number of ways:

It Makes You Feel Better

When you feel better physically, you feel better mentally. You are better able to take on challenges. You feel more interested in exploring new places and meeting new people. You have the energy to overcome obstacles.

Exercise helps you to feel better physically and mentally, helping you to develop a positive attitude and the emotional stamina needed to take on personal goals.

It Makes You Look Better

When we aren’t happy with the way we look, we develop body image issues and low self-esteem. Therefore, when we aren’t happy with the way we look, we often aren’t happy with the people we are. Negative self-talk can become overwhelming, permeating our thoughts and influencing our actions.

Exercising helps us to build our self-esteem by improving the condition of our bodies. Even if you don’t lose a lot of weight while exercising, you are likely to strengthen and tone your body, making it more firm. Seeing these kinds of results can make you feel better about the way you look and bolster your self-confidence.

It Makes You Stronger

Physical strength can often give you mental strength. When you see what your body is capable of achieving, your self-confidence soars. Exercise shows you what is possible when you put effort into meeting your goals. Every day that you workout, your body grows stronger, giving you nearly immediate results for your hard work. When you are able to lift heavier weights, and achieve harder exercises without as much effort, you start get a feeling like you can do anything!

It Gives You a Sense of Accomplishment

Exercise is all about setting and achieving a series of goals. Maybe you start out hoping to walk for a half an hour every day. Then maybe you graduate to running a mile a day. Soon, you may be running several miles a week and lifting heavier weights. You may be losing weight, or improving your stamina, or developing greater endurance.

Exercise promotes a sense of accomplishment by helping you to meet small, successive goals. There is always opportunity to set your sights higher and to meet new goals. Each time you succeed, you get a sense of accomplishment and improve your self-confidence.

It Reduces Stress

Have you ever experienced the runner’s high? If you have, you understand the stress-busting properties that exercise has. Exercise releases feel-good chemicals in the brain like dopamine and endorphins, and it helps to regulate stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Regular exercise helps you to relieve stress and anxiety, helping you to relax and to focus better.

When you feel less stress, you feel better able to manage the challenges that you face every day. You feel calm and able to concentrate on the tasks that you need to accomplish. All of this helps you to feel more confident — knowing that you are not overwhelmed by stress and anxiety and are fully in charge of your own feelings and actions, guiding your own success.

It Makes You Smarter

Exercise feeds your brain. It helps to feed valuable oxygen and nutrients to your brain to improve cognitive functioning. Think about it: How do you feel after you exercise? Are you able to concentrate more, or do you feel groggy? Do you feel energized and alert, or do you feel sluggish? Of course, exercise makes you feel alert and focused, better able to understand and complete the task at hand.

Improved mental function and focus will help you to complete your goals more efficiently, thus helping to improve your self-confidence.

Exercise helps you to feel mentally and physically prepared for the challenges before you, so that you feel better prepared to achieve your goals. Knowing that you can take on the tasks that you set for yourself helps you to feel confident in any situation. Feeling good about the way you look and the physical achievements you have made only further enhances this self-confidence.

Do you exercise regularly? Do you feel that exercise helps you to improve your self-confidence and the way you feel about yourself? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Sarah Rexman is the main researcher and writer for bedbugs.org. Her most recent accomplishment includes graduating from Florida State, with a master’s degree in environmental science. She loves to stay confident and spiritual in every aspect of her life.

10 Easy Strategies to Lose Weight and Slide into Those Skinny Jeans

six pack absalignleft size-full wp-image-1948″ title=”strategies-to-lose-weight” src=”http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/strategies-to-lose-weight.jpg” alt=”weight loss” width=”350″ height=”244″ />We all know 2 main strategies to lose weight: eat less, exercise more. Easy, right?

Not so much.

No one wants to starve. No one wants to exercise ad nauseum. If you’re a celebrity, you can afford a personal trainer, a private chef, a nutritionist. You can even hire someone to mesmerize you to lose weight – but what about us “normal” folks? Is weight loss without misery a lost cause?

Not necessarily.

Below are 10 reasonably Easy Strategies to Lose Weight and improve your eating habits.

You won’t necessarily get to size Super Model, but hopefully, you can trim your belt line enough to fit into your favorite skinny jeans.

Strategy to Lose Weight #1: Shop the walls

Everything you need to survive and thrive is on the outer edges of the grocery store – fresh produce, meat, dairy. On the other hand, where are the Oreos? Down an aisle. Potato chips? Same. Ice Cream? Yep. Now obviously, there are some healthy foods scattered in there as well, but if you are prone to temptation, it is best not to walk the aisles.

Strategy to Lose Weight #2: If you want something “bad,” make it for yourself

A good measure of a craving is what you’re willing to do to satisfy it. If you really want a cookie, force yourself to bake one. If you want French fries, slice and dice those spuds yourself. Not only will the result be unquestionably “healthier” (I doubt you’re adding preservatives), but you may find you don’t want that caramel corn as much as you thought…

Strategy to Lose Weight #3: Tweak your diet a little

Swap white bread for wheat, white rice for brown, regular potatoes for sweet. These easy substitutions are healthier than their counterparts, saving fat grams and keeping you full longer.

Strategy to Lose Weight #4: Buy the expensive hamburger

Many of us grab whatever’s cheapest, but an easy way to save on fat is to buy the leanest ground beef you can find (usually it’s 7% fat compared to the 20% fat of “regular”). The difference in taste is minimal and your heart will thank you in the long-run.

Strategy to Lose Weight #5: Spice it up!

Growing up, the only spices used in my house were salt, sugar and more salt. Imagine my surprise when I discovered rosemary! Spices are amazing. They can take a fairly bland meat like chicken and transform it into culinary magic. Your skinny jeans will thank you – and so will your palate.

Strategy to Lose Weight #6: Say “No” to mayo!

Mayonnaise is The Enemy. It is ultra-fatty and often gets lost on the plate anyway – especially when sandwiches are slathered with multiple condiments. In most cases, unless you can really taste it, mayo’s not worth the calories. (Beer is also The Enemy, but I think some would agree it’s worth it!)

Strategy to Lose Weight #7: Eat before you go out

If you’re anticipating a long day of shopping, eating prior to leaving the house is a good idea. After all, unless you’re planning to have a sit-down meal, there are very few nutritious options in fast food joints.

Strategy to Lose Weight #8: Low-fat mozzarella sticks are your friends

These tasty treats are only 60 calories, portable and fun to pull apart, which makes them one of the tastiest strategies to lose weight. Make sure they’re the low fat ones, however. You wouldn’t want to cram ‘em in thinking they’re healthier than they are (see: Caesar salad).

Strategy to Lose Weight #9: Yogurt and pudding can be a dessert

OK, neither is a red velvet cupcake, but they’re something sweet that can satisfy the post-meal dessert urge. Both come in a variety of flavors and are largely fat-free.

Strategy to Lose Weight #1o: Eat your food in order of healthiness

This is probably the easiest tip of the bunch because it isn’t about denying yourself anything – just eating what you already have in a different order. The goal here is to fill up on the healthier, lower fat foods before charging on to the good stuff. Now, obviously, this doesn’t really work if you’re a member of the Clean Plate Club OR if your entire plate is covered in French Fries.

Katie Fetting-Schlerf, like most Americans, would prefer to eat macaroni and cheese for every meal. Unfortunately, as soon as her jeans start to complain, she realizes this dream will never come true…
For more amazing strategies to lose weight, check out 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet – a trio of sisters committed to dropping Lbs in a healthy way. 

Speaking Up: Confidence in the Workplace

six pack absr from a fear of public speaking (glossophobia) or public speaking anxiety, you may ?nd yourself participating less in team meetings or keeping quiet during brainstorming sessions.

Don’t let your thoughts and ideas go unnoticed. Maintaining a con?dent demeanor at the workplace is vital to your growth and success, especially when it is time for performance reviews. You may be completing and even excelling at your tasks and goals, but your hard work could be overshadowed by more vocal members of your team.

There are a few strategies you can use to speak up and make yourself known in the workplace.

You Can Start Outside the Workplace

Are you the kind of person that doesn’t say something when your restaurant order is wrong? Do you keep quiet when a product rings up at the register for a higher price than marked? When your friends ask for suggestions of what movie to see, do you not make a suggestion?

There’s nothing wrong with politely speaking up.

Start using these situations as an opportunity to practice being more vocal. If you make it a part of your daily lifestyle, it will be easier to speak up in the workplace. But during the process be sure to remember the difference between assertive and aggressive. You can make yourself known without being rude, loud, or condescending.

Ask Questions

You can start by asking questions. If during a meeting you have a concern, make your question known to the audience. By asking thought-provoking questions you can steer a discussion, make others aware of your presence, and highlight potential issues of a project. Questions will also get you thinking, helping you come up with new ideas that you can suggest later.

The best questions ask for further information without belittling or dismissing other ideas.

The examples below are general, but you can ?nd creative ways to apply them to your current position.

• “I see how this project would attract new customers. Do you have estimates on how many?”
• “Is there a way we could make this process more ef?cient without lowering the value of our product?”
• “That idea may work well during this quarter, but what about long-term?”

Make Suggestions

Of course asking questions isn’t enough. Eventually people are going to expect you to provide answers for them.

Before meetings, or even as part of your daily ritual before work, make a list of at least ten strategic ideas or thoughts on improvement based on what you’ll be focused on.
They don’t have to be groundbreaking, even simple suggestions guide projects and people towards success.

These lists will prepare you to speak up throughout your day, especially if you’re put on the spot during a meeting.

Your suggestions may lead to additionally responsibilities or projects, so be prepared to aim for new goals.

Possible suggestions could include everything from minor details to major changes. Perhaps it would save resources to print a document in black and white instead of color, or to print double-sided. Other possible suggestions are listed below.

• “This report is great, but a graph could organize the information in a more visually pleasing way.”
• “Have we researched the results of when we send our company e-mail? Sending it a different day of the week may yield a better response.”
• “Our current advertising campaign focuses on young adults, but I see a market for families as well.”

How many ideas can you come up with for your workplace projects?

Attend Social Events

Lunch with coworkers, the company picnic, the annual holiday party. You may dread these events, and if you do, you may just dismiss them altogether. Besides, they’re not mandatory, right? You just want to do your job without the socializing and politics.

But no matter what position you hold, showing a friendly face is important to your success. There are always safe topics (your personal work, the weather, sports, hobbies) that you can use to guide the conversation to a safe place away from gossip and of?ce politics.

Getting to know your coworkers in social settings gives you an additional opportunity to share ideas, which will bolster your own strategic thinking. Being more familiar with coworkers will also make you more comfortable speaking with them about professional matters in the workplace.

You can start slow, maybe a brief exchange or some small talk at the water-cooler, and eventually grow into being comfortable sharing lunch with workmates, joining a company softball team, or participating in a social planning committee.

And maybe, just maybe, you’ll have some fun at the same time.

Speaking with a Professional

If you ?nd these methods don’t work for you, or that the anxiety is too overwhelming, it may be time to speak with a therapist, career coach, or public speaking consultant. It’s important to do research before making this decision and learn which option best suits your needs.

Speak with several professionals before making a decision and see which one best ?ts your goals.

Best of luck in making yourself known and reaching your career goals. Until then, speak strong!

Mike Jousan is an internationally recognized speaker and consultant. Since 1988 he has been leading Clear Communication Company, a consulting firm specializing in all forms of person-to-person communication. He is the author of three books on public speaking and communication. Mike can also be found on LinkedIn.

Be Healthy on the Inside and Look Great

six pack absalignleft size-full wp-image-1918″ title=”healthy-on-the-inside” src=”http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/healthy-on-the-inside.jpg” alt=”health tips” width=”266″ height=”393″ />Outward health needs to start on the inside. All too often we focus on trying to improve our outer appearance when it won’t do any good if we forget to take care of what is going into our bodies. So, before you start to work on what you look like, focus on what is below the surface.

Think About What You Put Into Your Body

There are many different ways in which you can feed your body. In order to get the best benefits of what you eat, consider what is in the food you are putting in your body. The best to do this is to keep a food journal. Once you have determined what you are eating and what that food contains, then you can see where you need to make the appropriate changes.

Food isn’t the only thing that we put into our bodies. Some of the things to consider are beverages (alcoholic and nonalcoholic alike), cigarettes, supplements, the air you breathe, and sun exposure to name a few. If you need to examine the health effects of what you are putting in, ask your healthcare professional and research it for yourself.

Make the Right Changes

It can be easy to get caught up on changing everything about the way you eat. Unfortunately, this is a recipe for disaster. If you are someone who likes to eat “junk” food, making a drastic change to eliminate your favorite foods can set you up for failure. Instead of changing everything at once, start with a few things at a time. Find substitutes that can become your new favorite foods.

When substituting, take a look at the health benefits of the substitution. Examine what you eat and figure out what you need to eat to benefit your body the most. If you are looking at changing your eating habits for weight loss, eat those foods that contribute to helping you body to lose weight. Same rules apply if you are trying to gain muscle, improve your skin, help with hair loss or make other improvements in your appearance.

Think Natural Foods

Did you know that all of the nutrients that most people need are already in many of the foods that you eat or should be eating? The vitamins and minerals that you need to put into your body to become healthy in and out can be found in natural foods.

The following are just a few things that you need in order to help you with such things as weight loss, improving your skin, helping your immune system, and even making your hair healthier, stronger, and creating growth:

- Calcium – found in blackcurrants, dates, mulberries, amaranth leaves, okra, seaweed, almonds, among others.

- Vitamin A – cantaloupe, grapefruit, passion fruit, amaranth leaves, butternut squash, carrots, kale, sweet potatoes, to name a few.

- Vitamin C – Brussels sprouts, blackcurrants, guava, strawberry, chestnuts, pineapple, for starters.

- Vitamin E – avocados, butternut squash, seaweed, almonds, and even hazelnuts.

- Vitamin B’s – these include B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, and B12. A variation of these can be found in just about every fruit, vegetable, and nut that you can find.

Put into your body what it needs in order to get out of it what you want. Using nature to help you succeed can be the best way in which to get the greatest results. Remember to do your research as well as discuss any changes you want to make with your healthcare professional.

Kevin Greene studies and advises those in need on how to make your hair grow faster to battle the effects of alopecia .

Teaching Your Children How to Set Goals

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Learning how to set goals and accomplish them is a valuable skill that serves us in all aspects of our lives, from our emotional and physical health to our relationships to our careers. Teaching children how to do this will ensure that they have the skills to become happy and successful adults.

However, goal-setting concepts can be too abstract for many children. Their impulsive natures can run counter to the planning, hard work and dedication required to reach many goals. There are many things you can do to help your children learn this skill, starting when they are very young.

Here’s how you can teach your children to set and reach their goals:

Start Early

Even very young children can begin practicing goal setting with daily tasks. Encourage your children to accomplish different chores and other tasks by presenting it as a goal, such as getting dressed for the day or making the bed.

Start by announcing the goal – “Today, our goal will be to get dressed” – then announce each of the steps leading up to its accomplishment – “First, we have to choose what we want to wear. Next, we have to put on our pants…” and so on. These small goals are easily and quickly accomplished, and this process helps your child understand the steps required to identify and achieve a goal.

Let Them Lead

It may be tempting to tell your children the goals they should try to be achieving (and this will be a temptation you will fight throughout their lives), but it will be easier to get them invested in the process if they determine their own goals. Talk to them about what they want – besides more candy or a later curfew. Don’t dismiss their goals as frivolous or not worthwhile.

Even if their goal is to get an Xbox, talk to them about how they can accomplish it by doing more chores and saving. If they aren’t excited about their goals, they won’t accomplish them.

Make a Plan

Once your child is used to setting and achieving smaller goals, start identifying larger goals and make a plan for achieving them. Help your child to identify each of the steps required to meet the goal. For example, if the goal is to get a higher grade on a math test, the steps could include setting aside an hour each night for study, taking a certain number of practice exams, meeting with the teacher for extra tutoring, and reviewing previous tests to identify mistakes.

Creating a plan makes achieving a goal more accessible by breaking it into smaller steps, each of which can instill a sense of accomplishment when they are achieved. Creating this type of plan also helps to illustrate the difference between long- and short-term goals (as many of the steps towards completing the larger goal are short-term goals themselves).

Be Realistic

Children often do not understand the amount of work or other requirements necessary to meet some goals. Learning how to ride a horse may seem exciting and easy to do, but in reality, it requires a lot of training. Your child may want to attend an intensive summer camp, but doesn’t realize how expensive it is.

Help your children understand how to be realistic about goal setting, both in the goal they choose and in the plan they set for achieving it. For example, learning to ride a horse is not unrealistic, but learning to do so in a weekend might be. Don’t dismiss your children’s goals, but help them to understand the steps required to achieve them, and then be encouraging and offer your help where you can.

Be a Cheerleader

As your child works toward achieving a goal, monitor progress and celebrate success. Offer your support where necessary and encourage the good work that is being done. Your child will thrive on the positive reinforcement and will feel all the better about the success achieved. In the future, your child will want to set and achieve more goals based on this positive reinforcement.

Learning to set goals is not intuitive. Children must be encouraged to develop this valuable skill for success later in life. Starting early and offering guidance and encouragement can help them to learn short- and long-term goal setting for success.

 

Heather Green is a freelance writer for several regional magazines in North Carolina as well as a resident blogger for onlinenursingdegrees.org. Her writing experience includes fashion, business, health, agriculture and a wide range of other topics. Heather has just completed research on associates in nursing online and online nursing degrees in ny.

Graduate School – Now is the Time

six pack absces (HR) professionals who are thinking about getting a Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree should generally base their decision on their personal goals for career advancement, rather than by job market conditions; but, in these difficult economic times it is natural for anyone to consider whether further education will improve their chances of employment.

Graduate school is a major undertaking for all students, particularly for working professionals, but if there was ever a time for HR professionals to get that coveted MBA degree, that time is now. Here’s why:

The Boom-Bust Cycle and the Job Market

In every iteration of the endless boom-bust cycle of developed nations, employment and wages are two of the most deeply affected economic factors. The current landscape of American unemployment is a grim reminder of just how competitive the job marketplace has become for professionals. During these times of historically high unemployment rates, job seekers are left scratching their heads as to why they all of a sudden they have become unemployable.

Analysts who enjoy citing statistics claim that there are approximately five applicants to every job posting these days. Those figures are down from the six-to-one ratio in 2009, and significantly higher than in 2007, when there were just two job seekers vying for an opening. The opposite is being observed in the booming economies of Brazil and Germany, where economic prosperity is making it difficult for employers to find qualified applicants. Those countries are now enjoying historical low unemployment rates and will soon begin outsourcing some jobs thanks to the current trends in globalization.

The Need for HR Professionals

While private enterprises in Brazil and Germany may be venturing overseas to look for qualified workers, they aren’t likely to outsource their top HR managers. Outsourcing is currently a major field of study within the HR profession around the world. Globalization and free trade are expected to form part of the new commerce paradigm, something that will only increase the relative incidence of outsourcing. Top HR managers are now expected to stay close to the company headquarters to administer and report on outsourcing efforts.

Since high-level HR professionals aren’t expected to become outsourcing casualties in either Brazil or Germany, competition for open spots and retention in those countries is expected to increase. Global trade and outsourcing are subjects that aren’t typically taught to HR professionals at the undergraduate level, but they are often the focus of HR MBA curricula and academic dissertations.

What an Economic Recovery Means to HR Professionals

The so-called “green shoots” of the economy that have been talked about in financial news circles since 2010 are beginning to mature in the United States. They still have a long way to go before they fully develop into giant beanstalks, but the first signs of economic recovery are being felt in the job market. Millions of job hunters are still without a job, and HR professionals and hiring managers are buried under a deluge of resumes and applications, but some improvement is being noticed.

Just like in Brazil and Germany, there will be a strong shift in terms of employment once prosperity and financial optimism return to the American economy. HR professionals will once again be in high demand to manage the growing workforce, and many industries will be expected to outsource significantly. In other words, American companies are poised to look for the most educated and better prepared HR professionals. The bar will be raised, and this means that they will be looking for HR professionals who are MBA graduates.

If there is one thing that can be learned from the economic rebound of the Brazilian and German economies is that recovery usually comes at a very fast pace. For this reason, it is incumbent on HR professionals to adequately prepare themselves now, rather than later.

Trudy Stapleton is a career counselor who also writes for humanresourcesmba.net, a site which lists all the top distance MSHR degrees and explores various HR Masters programs.

2 Powerful Health Habits to Create The Life You Want

Hindsight is powerful, we all know that, but so is foresight.

When you are stuck in a corner emotionally, financially, physically or mentally, you have moments of foresight. You have a mini epiphany and you decide that from now on you won’t take any more setbacks in what part of your life.

When it happens physically, you try on a new outfit in the store and you are disappointed because everything makes you look big, you vow to do whatever it takes to get back into that body you used to have, or never had but always wanted.

Today I am going to guide you through some health habits you should cultivate if you wish to live a long, healthy and fulfilling life.

Think with me for a moment…

• What do you want your life to look like for the rest of today?
• Do you have anything that you really want to get done?
• Are there things you know that you should be doing, things that are important, but will probably get procrastinated on?
• What things do you want to do, but probably won’t do?

When you develop good habits, you are giving yourself the power of control, to control what you want your life to look like.

What do you want your life to look like?

Whatever your answer to that, if you are healthy and fit and strong, you will have the time to do whatever you want.

Shedding excess body fat and getting lean and strong is one of the best things you can do for your health, your confidence, your future and your happiness.

The great thing about getting into great shape is that it doesn’t have to take long at all either. With just 20 minutes every second day you can perform exercise to get into great shape, and eating healthy takes just as long as it does to eat unhealthy.

Often eating healthy is cheaper, not just in the short term, but in the long term also.

Think about how much it is worth to you to be healthy, sexy and confident, every time you step out your front door…

You can’t put a price on that, so without any more mucking around, let me show you,

Health Habit #1 – Food Control

Even if you don’t want to lose weight, you still must control what you eat most of the time. Yes, you can have cheat meals some days, and even a whole cheat day once a week if you like.

However you will get best results if you have a cheat day, rather than cheat meals sprinkled throughout the week.

Here are some tips to create a healthier lifestyle and ensure that you lose any excess body fat, have plenty of energy and are free from any constraints that a diet would put you under.

Fasting

This is an important part of life, but somehow Westerners just don’t practice it. Look through the books of history and most people worth their weight in salt fasted. I have found through personal experience as well as my own research and coaching that avoiding breakfast is one of the best things you can do if you wish to lose weight and have more energy.

You are so focused on what you are doing if you are not worried about food. I like to eat my first meal about 2 pm if I get up at 8am, then have my last meal around 10pm. This gives your body 16 hours of being empty so it can detox and actually burn fat.

Drink as much coffee, tea and green tea during your fasting times. Drink more water than you normally would too.

Ingredient focus

The massive corporations who sell packaged food are focused on one thing – profit. NOT your well being. Pretty much all packaged and food altered too far from its natural state is going to be bad for you, give you an energy spike then a following crash, and will now allow you to burn fat.

The way to combat this is to focus on the ingredients (or lack of) in foods.

If a food has more than one ingredient (itself) then it would be best to second guess it.

For example, meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts, oats, eggs and fish are all just the way that they are naturally. Oats are a bit different, but they are still healthy and good for you. Dairy products are not too bad for you, but eat in moderation compared to the main foods described above.

Health Habit #2 – Exercise Control

Too much exercise is a bad thing, this is why I say exercise control – you have to know how much is good and how much is too much.

When you are first starting out exercising, you should be doing short sessions of around 20 minutes, 5 days a week if possible.

Whatever your goals are, choose exercise to achieve those goals.

General health exercises

Jogging, walking & exercise bikes are all general health promoting exercises, but you won’t get any special strength, muscle gain or anything from these. You will lose weight if you do these often enough, but for more specific results you have to do more specific exercise.

These are the exercises that the average person does, and they seem to get average results.

If you are wanting some exercise that gives you stellar results such as lean muscle building, strength gains, six pack abs, extreme fat loss and if you are wanting an incredible body, then these will be far more beneficial to you:

• Kickboxing
• HIIT
• Stair sprints or climbs
• Calisthenics circuits
• Compound weight lifting workouts
• Swimming intervals
• Treadmill HIIT training

These are the types of exercises that will transform your body and you life. When you perform exercise with high intensity and you are feeding yourself the right foods you start to become a new, more powerful and energetic version of yourself.

Energy creates energy and you end up becoming yourself 2.0.

When you are the super-version of yourself, your life will look a lot better, you will have more energy, sleep better but need less sleep, feel unstoppable, enjoy life more and be a more friendly and fun person to be around.

What are you waiting for – get stuck in right now.

 

Johnny Palmer is a trainer & coach, as well as a practitioner of all things strength and fitness. Kickboxing, calisthenics training, weight lifting and HIIT are all favorites of his. For advice on how to get abs visit his site. Johnny also runs through the best weight loss programs and offers you free advice on his blog.