Don’t Make Resolutions – Set Goals

2022-12-222022-12-22 ~ adminlife

Over 80% of New Year’s resolutions are abandoned within a week. If change were easy, we’d all be wealthy, fit, and happy. It’s frustrating when you know what you want to do, but you can’t get yourself to do it consistently. If the new behaviour would obviously be of benefit, why isn’t that change easy to make?

Resolutions are really difficult to keep.

Setting goals and developing the plans to achieve them is a much better method to create success in your life.

You can find out more information and register for the group program at Coach Michael W – Group Program

Change is challenging for several reasons:

Habits are strong and pervasive. The average person has far more habits than they realize. Each morning, you wake up and follow the same routine. You take the same path to work. You think the same thoughts as you did the day before. Much of your day and night is a repeat of the last 500.

When you feel bored, you soothe yourself in the same 2-3 ways each time. You only eat a few foods regularly. You talk to the same people.
Habits avoid thinking. They’re done automatically. Anything that minimizes thinking seems to be your brain’s preference. The fewer decisions, the better.
To change, you must be certain that change is in your best interest. Otherwise, your habits will always win.

Change is hard because it’s uncomfortable. You already know how to lose 25 pounds or how to find a better job. But the thought of taking the actions necessary to accomplish those goals creates discomfort.
What you’re doing is already working, sort of. Your brain is preoccupied with your survival. Our brains are programmed to resist change, because what you’re doing is allowing you to live. Any change could potentially lead to death. You might be unhappy today, but you’re still alive!

Most of us prefer misery than facing uncertainty.

You’ve tried to change in the past and failed. You’re no dummy. If you’ve tried to change several times and failed, part of you says, “Obviously, I can’t change. What’s the use in trying?”

It isn’t easy to change, but change is possible. The primary issue keeping you from following through on your plan to change is attempting to change too much, too soon. Smaller changes are easier to accomplish and to maintain.

How You Can Change

Change is possible with an effective approach:

Be prepared to change. Expect that change will be challenging. Your odds of success improve if you’re prepared. Have a plan.
Start small. To minimize the discomfort that change creates, only change a little each week. Meditating for two minutes each day is easier than starting with 60 minutes. The key is to get in the habit of doing the new behaviour each day.
Have patience. It can take months to make a change permanent. It’s often quoted that a new habit requires 30 days to instill. That’s not true. Studies show that it can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the habit and the person.
Be willing to change yourself and face the consequences. Changing yourself is scary, because you don’t know what the results will be. Accept that your life will change in some way. Discomfort isn’t always a bad thing.
Expect to relapse. Falling off the wagon is to be expected. Attempt to enhance your approach and keep going. Aim for 90% compliance. That’s all you need. Perfection is an illusion that will only serve to destroy your confidence.

Change requires patience with yourself. Understand why it’s so challenging to change and choose to make changes slowly and incrementally. Imagine how much you could change over a few years if you changed just a tiny amount each week. The results would be staggering! How much have you changed over the last few years? Give slow change a chance.

To your success.

Michael W

P.S, The Group Coaching program information and registration mentioned in the video is at Coach Michael W – Group Program

Victim of Circumstances or of Your Own Thinking

2022-10-12 ~ adminlife

Your circumstances are impacted by your inner world. Your thoughts, emotions and actions are affected by your beliefs. Your life is created by your actions. Many of your thoughts and your emotions are habitual and some of your beliefs may be unfounded. You can affect your experiences when you change any of your internal components.

Your inner world is under your control but it can still be challenging to make changes.

If you would like to listen to these types of articles, you can visit my podcasts atThese are short, usually under 5 minutes but they can enable you to listen to confidence and motivation advice and tips while driving or relaxing.

When you make changes in your mind, changes in your life will follow.

Experience gratitude at the start and end of your day. You can easily focus on those things you don’t have, but you should spend some time in the morning and before going to bed thinking about the blessings in your life.

You will brighten up your mood and increase the good things that will come into your life when you focus on the positive.

Look for solutions. You make a mistake if you focus too much time on your problems. You feel helpless and terrible. This also doesn’t help you to solve the challenges that you are facing. When you find something going wrong in your life you should move to solution-finding mode.

You have many options available to help you make a positive change.

Take care of yourself. A common cause of depression has been identified as undiagnosed heart disease. You look at the world differently when your body is not right. Your feelings guide your life. Your emotions can mislead you when your health is compromised.

Keep yourself grounded in reality. Many people are living in a fantasy world. You may be thinking about your past or you may be speculating about your future. By living wisely and well in the present moment, you will have a joyous future you are hoping for.

Life is going by 24/7 and the actions that you are taking now will determine your life in the future. If your mind is somewhere else, you can’t act today.

Positive affirmations should be used. Throughout the day give yourself a great gift by using positive self-talk and having positive thoughts. Negative emotions come from negative thoughts while positive emotions will fill you when you have positive thoughts. You can change your world when you have positive thoughts.

Know your beliefs. List the beliefs that you believe are holding you back and question them. Where did this belief come from? Do you know it is accurate? Could this belief be false? What information do you have to support this belief?

Keep track of your thoughts. Set an alarm for 60 minutes and when it goes off, go over how you were using your mind over that hour.

What were you thinking about during that hour? Did you remain focused on your work? Were you focusing on a personal item? Were you using your mind to help you plan a better future?
You can help yourself to stay focused by measuring yourself every hour. If you only check yourself once a day, it is very easy to get back into your old patterns.

Meditate. There are many physical and mental benefits to meditating. Meditation can reduce your stress and strengthen your health. It can also help to correct your false beliefs and let you focus and gain clarity. There is a huge and positive effect on your life when you meditate. Each day you should schedule some meditation time.

Many people think that they are victims of circumstances whereas they are actually victims of their own thinking. It doesn’t matter how bad your life is now, there is someone who was in an even worse position at the start and ended up leading an incredible life. You can change your outer world by changing your inner world.

When you learn what is controlling you it is possible to change your world. You must take control of your inner thoughts.

To work together to help you get moving in the right direction in your life, click on the blue button below to book a 30-minute, no obligation “Get to know you” call.

Going alone on creating a better life is difficult. Find out how working with a Life Coach can make the journey to success and a better life easier.

Book the call now.

To your success

Michael

P.S You can get a free for life subscription to my new biweekly newsletter: “Helping You to Live A Better Life” by visiting and registering at Newsletter.

This free offer expires on January 1^st 2023. After that there will be monthly subscription fee.

P.P.S. you know that living a life that is in balance is important. When you can balance your work, family, health, relationships, fitness and money, you feel better and can achieve your goals. You have the support of your family and friends which makes life worth living.

Check out my programs at Confidence and Life Coaching by clicking on the logo below:

Photo by Arif Riyanto on Unsplash

Your Inner Critic Needs to be Silenced

2022-06-02 ~ adminlife

You have an inner critic that seems to be focused on making you miserable. Your life can be much simpler and more enjoyable if you can silence your inner critic. If you really listen to this critic you will be amazed that it can be so negative.

You listen to your critic as if he was an expert. This could not be further from the truth.

Look at your inner dialogue differently

Be dispassionate when listening to your inner critic. Listen for a minute and notice all of the things that you hear. Before too long you will realize that your inner voice is not really sane. Imagine you are sitting next to someone who lets their inner voice out and rambles on about unrelated things.

You would probably be looking for an exit if you were sitting next to this person. We speak to ourselves this way. You need to realize that you are listening to a type of person that you would probably avoid in real life. You listen to this self-talk a lot even though you shouldn’t take it seriously.

If you would like to listen to these types of articles, you can visit my podcasts at

These are short, usually under 5 minutes but they can enable you to listen to confidence and motivation advice and tips while driving or relaxing.

What would you tell a friend? If one of your friends were in a similar situation as you are, what would you say? You would probably say things that are a lot different than what you are saying to yourself.

When you are listening to your inner critical dialogue, ignore all of the criticism and focus on being gentle as if you would be to a friend.

Think about past successes. It is believed that to overcome one negative experience you need ten positive experiences. Take time each day to remember everything amazing that you have accomplished.

It can become a habit when you do this regularly. When a negative thought arises, you can immediately change it to something positive.

Write down your inner self-talk. Don’t just listen to your inner critic, write down what was said. When you read it aloud, it will seem less credible.

Test the criticism. Does this negative self-talk have any supporting evidence? Are there any past times when this statement proved false?

How would this situation appear if you were more positive? What are the gains you could have from the current situation?

Think about today. Today the past has no value and tomorrow is not predictable. Make the most of today and don’t worry about tomorrow, it will take care of itself.

Show gratitude. Being grateful is the easiest way to uplift your mood and make your self-talk more positive. You should make a list of all the things that you are grateful for.

You get very little from your inner critic. You would never be a good friend to someone who spoke the same silly talk that your self-talk was about. If they were your friend, you would never take them seriously and probably stay far away from them.

Using these tips will help you to keep your inner critic under control. You will begin to develop the habit of talking positively to yourself which will help your self-confidence and success to rise to new levels.

To work together to help you get moving in the right direction in your life, click on the blue button below to book a 15-minute, no obligation “Get to know you” call.

Going alone on creating a better life is difficult. Find out how working with a Life Coach can make the journey to success and a better life easier.

Book the call now.

To your success

Michael

P.S. you know that living a life that is in balance is important. When you can balance your work, family, health, relationships, fitness and money, you feel better and can achieve your goals. You have the support of your family and friends which makes life worth living.

Check out my programs at Confidence and Life Coaching by clicking on the logo below:

Photo by Alysha Rosly on Unsplash

Top Tips for Reducing Stress

2022-04-27 ~ adminlife

There’s not a single person on earth without stress. Stress is as natural as breathing, whether it’s a major crisis or some minor issue. That’s why we need to learn how to deal with it.

Stress is part of everyone’s lives, and there’s no escaping it. Even the happiest people on the planet have it in their lives.

The body’s ability to experience stress isn’t bad, but it can become toxic if you don’t handle it correctly. The best way to manage stress is to analyze it calmly. There will always be stress in your life, so it’s up to you to learn how to deal with stress and get rid of it.

So what can you do to manage it? Try these tips:

Do some physical exercise. While it might seem contradictory to combat stress with physical exercise, exerting your body can help you deal with mental stress. You’ve probably realized that people with a good exercise routine are healthier and happier.

- Exercise can relieve brain fog, relieve stress, and help you feel more in control of your emotions. A good exercise routine can also support quality sleep, a fundamental for stress management.
- To begin exercising, you might try taking a 30-minute walk in the evening or attending a karate lesson. Then, stick to it for at least four weeks.
- You’ll find that the positive effects on your health, mind, and mood will make exercising a regular part of your routine.

Focus on your breathing. A simple task like focusing on your breathing can quickly calm you down. Focus on breathing in and out. Count how many seconds it takes for one inhalation and exhalation.

- At first, this might sound like an easy goal. But you may be surprised that it can be difficult to concentrate on your breathing. However, it gets easier the more you practice.
- The best thing about breathing is how you can do it by yourself. It won’t bother you if people are around because they won’t know what you’re doing.

Limit the amount of caffeine you ingest. Drinks like coffee are causes of stress for most people. Caffeine has a stimulant effect that creates anxiety for some and causes them to feel jittery.

- Instead of drinking coffee, try drinking green tea in the morning or herbal tea at night. The herbs in tea have calming properties, helping you relax and fall asleep.
- And although you may feel tempted to drink several cups of coffee during the day, ensure that you do so in moderation.

Spend time with your family and close friends. Your social support system can have a major positive effect, helping you deal with your stress. If you don’t currently surround yourself with loving and supportive people, reach out to them and build stronger connections with them.

- A research study found that when women (especially) spent more time with their children and close friends, that bond released oxytocin. Oxytocin is a hormone that promotes feelings of calm and relaxation.
- That does not mean women are the only people who benefit from spending time with their loved ones. Men also experience similar health benefits when they spend time with their spouses, children, and friends.

Managing stress is about building solid relationships with those around you. It involves putting your needs aside for the needs of others.

Also, remember that physical exercise is a great way to reduce stress, which can help you build and maintain healthy relationships with the people you love. Let this circle of positivity work for you!

To work together to help you get moving in the right direction in your life, click on the blue button below to book a 15-minute, no obligation “Get to know you” call.

Going alone on creating a better life is difficult. Find out how working with a Life Coach can make the journey to success and a better life easier.

Book the call now.

To your success

Michael

Check out my programs at Confidence and Life Coaching by clicking on the logo below:

Photo by Ian Stauffer on Unsplash

Creating Your Ideal Self

2022-04-13 ~ adminlife

What would it take for you to start living your ideal life? It doesn’t have to difficult to achieve.

Here are some steps you can follow and start living your dream lifestyle.

Where do you want to go?

What do you see as your ideal life? What goals do you have? You need to know where you are going so you can define your ideal life. When you know what you want, you will be able to create your ideal life.

Define the person who can quickly reach your goals.

When you know what type of life you want, you need to start thinking about the type of person who can make this life happen.

What do you need to do to go from your present state to where you want to be quickly?
What would this person be like?

If you would like to listen to these types of articles, you can visit my podcasts at

These are short, usually under 5 minutes but they can enable you to listen to confidence and motivation advice and tips while driving or relaxing.

What are the habits of your ideal self?

You need to consider many different things and areas. Here are some suggestions.

How often does this person brush their teeth? Does he floss after every brushing? When does he floss?
When does he go to bed and when does he get up? Does he read when in bed? What types of material does he read? Does he read regularly at other times during the day?
Describe his morning routine.
Does he work out and for how long and how often? What is his workout routine? What is his weight and what does he eat?
Does he journal daily?
When waiting in traffic, what does he think about?

What are the traits of your ideal self?

There is more to a person than just their habits. Here are some traits you should consider.

What does your ideal self wear, drive, their hairstyle?
What attitudes does he hold towards dating? Would he easily approach an attractive stranger? Would he only date one person or many at a time?
Is he calculating, bold or cautious?
Is he a giving, selfish or practical person?
What about spiritual or religious feelings?
What values and beliefs does he hold?
Does he have specific skills?

You can ask about anything at all. Think that you are creating a movie character.

Use the SWISH technique

This NLP technique is powerful for encouraging you to start behaving like your ideal self.

Create a clear visual of your ideal self. Include all of the habits, characteristics and the qualities the ideal should have. There should be no background for this image, only a blank screen with your ideal self image standing in front of the screen looking out at you.

When you are not behaving like your ideal self, quickly bring up the ideal self image and start to immediately behave as the image would.

Start

From the characteristics and habits that you have listed, pick a couple of the easier ones and start to include them into your life. After they have been incorporated, pick a couple more from the list and repeat until the list has been exhausted.

Find Supporting Evidence

Draw attention to yourself and your actions when you are behaving like your ideal person.

Journal

A journal helps you to keep track of how you are progressing. You also get into the habit of focusing on those parts of your life that are important. You will stay motivated when you are aware of how far you have progressed.

Get started today in becoming your ideal self as you will experience joy and greater life satisfaction.

To work together to help you get moving in the right direction in your life, click on the blue button below to book a 15-minute, no obligation “Get to know you” call.Going alone on creating a better life is difficult. Find out how working with a Life Coach can make the journey to success and a better life easier.

Book the call now.

To your success

Michael

Check out my programs at Confidence and Life Coaching by clicking on the logo below:

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