Tag: read

Stacking wins to feel better

Do you agree that if you eat healthier, you feel healthier? Or if you are already a healthy eater, would you agree that when you eat poorly, you feel worse?

The same thing can be said about any good decision – it puts you in a better mood and a better position to continue succeeding…take exercise habits, for example. You may not enjoy exercising, but once you finish working out, don’t you usually feel better? Don’t you feel like you’ve accomplished something? That doesn’t even Include the actual health benefits. You’re also likely to feel less stressed, sleep better, and have an improved mood.

I like to stack as many wins as I can to start my day. It gets me off on the right foot and makes me want to continue building momentum. To do this, the first thing I do is wake up early. When you wake up earlier, nobody is vying for your attention. You have time to yourself. You can choose to get ready for your day, you can read and try to improve your mind, you can practice deep breathing or meditate, you can pray…You can do so many things when you wake up early and, usually, it will decrease the stress in your life. By checking off all of those items that you wanted to get done, you would also decrease the anxiety that you may suffer from.

Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers

“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” – Harry Truman

Why do you think this is? Well, it’s because if you’re taking the time to read, you’re doing the following:

⁃ Working on self-improvement/learning…books are condensed versions of life lessons taught by others more experienced than yourself (or at least with different experiences than yourself). If you can read about someone else’s failures, you do not have to suffer that same hardship and can propel yourself to greater heights more quickly.

⁃ Making your mind work…a lazy mind will not go far in life. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

⁃ Dedicated enough to read when you could be doing something easier (like watching tv or napping). Those with enough dedication, determination, and will-power to do what they know will help take them to where they want to go are far more likely to succeed.

– NOT all readers are leaders partially because it also depends on what you’re reading. If you’re reading romance novels, that is less likely to translate to a position of leadership compared to if you’re reading a book on business, relationships, leadership, parenting, etc.

Protecting your time

Be intentional with your time. Protect it…not just from others asking you to do things, but also from yourself. It’s easy to binge watch a show. Be careful so that the 30 minute show doesn’t become a two hour watch session. It’s easy to consume social media. If you keep a social media account, make sure that you’re not mindlessly surfing through their carefully crafted content specifically targeted at delivering the most compelling stories to keep you on their website.

How can you be intentional with your time where you’re doing something to improve your knowledge AND what would make you feel better (long term)? Instead of consuming shallow, surface level content (including tv shows, social media posts, and even many magazine articles), try reading something with more depth.

Start small. Try reading 10 pages per day (from a book). Over the course of the year, this will equate to 3,650 pages per year. If an average book is 250 pages, you will have read between 14-15 books for the year! If you do this for ten years, you will have read 140-150 books.

So many people quit reading or only occasionally read after graduating high school or college. Be different. Set yourself apart from the collective average. Use your time intentionally. And then use your newly acquired knowledge to further yourself in your career or change your life for the better.

Keys to happiness

I find that I’m happiest when I’ve lived a fully balanced day. Living a “full day” includes the following:

1) Doing something challenging mentally (consuming/creating content, working on a project, etc.), physically (working out or using my hands/body to create something), and financially (setting my family up for future success by doing a money-creating or money-saving activity).

2) Spending time with family and friends.

3) Resting…taking time to relax, preferably in nature. Imagine watching the morning sunrise, going for a hike in the woods, or looking up at the stars at night. If you could do one of those three (let alone, all three), that would add to a great day

4) Doing something nice for others.

Most people think that not working is the key to happiness, but I disagree. You don’t necessarily need to have a “job,” but you should always be working hard towards a goal. You need to have exciting goals that give purpose and meaning to your life. If you sit around and do nothing all day you’re going to feel lazy. You won’t find lasting happiness after binge watching movies and eating too much pizza and ice cream. It might give you temporary satisfaction, but that will quickly fade when you regret making those decisions.

If you take care of yourself and spend time with those you love, it will be a great day.