Are You Following Your Own Path, or Someone Else’s?

2019-01-172019-01-17 ~ adminlife

It’s not easy to find your way through the world. You might have interests that don’t coincide with the values of your parents or with those of western society.

It’s important to remember that everyone is different, and while the status quo might work for the majority of the population, it doesn’t work for everyone.

To have a truly fulfilling life, you must live it on your own terms.

There are plenty of forces willing to tell you what your path should be:

Parents. Your parents want you to be happy and successful. Many of them also want to be able to brag to their friends about their children. They also don’t want to be supporting you financially when you’re in your 30’s.
- Parents tend to be practical in their advice. Just remember that you’d have a similar life to them if you followed their advice. That might be good or bad.
- Keep in mind that you are not the same as your parents. You also have your own life to live.
Educational system. The educational system wants to turn out productive people into society that conform to their ways of thinking. This might be great for society, but it might not be in your best interests.
- What if you want to be a rockstar, or take a few years to travel and write a book, own a llama farm, or become a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka? Your school guidance counselor might be less than supportive.
Society as a whole. We live in a society that values achievement, financial resources, and personal possessions. We’re supposed to get married to a beautiful partner, have a few kids, and live in the suburbs.
- It’s natural to want to play that game, even if it doesn’t quite suit our true nature. It’s nice to have the admiration of society. Our egos crave this type of recognition.
- But the type of life dictated by society isn’t a good fit for everyone. There are plenty of people that are highly successful by society’s criteria that are absolutely miserable.

Plenty of people are willing to influence your choice of lifestyle and career. It’s unlikely their advice will be optimal for you. Be an individual and find the path that works best for you.

Find and follow your own path with these strategies:

Ask yourself what you really want to do. Don’t say that you don’t know, because you do know. You’re just afraid to allow it to see the light of day. You might be concerned what others think, or you might be afraid that you’re not capable of doing it. Deep down, you know what you want.
- Ask yourself what you would do if you could do anything, and then listen to the answer.
Decide that you’re going to follow your path. One of the biggest obstacles to success is failing to make a true decision. A decision only occurs when you shut yourself off to other possibilities. If you frequently change your mind, you’re not making true decisions.
Make a plan. Set up a schedule of daily tasks that will bring you closer to living the life that you have chosen. You’re practically guaranteed success provided you don’t give up.

Your life is your responsibility. If you find yourself stuck living someone else’s definition of success, you’ll find yourself all alone. The people that influenced you to live this way will be off living their own lives.

Take control of your destiny and find your own path. Your life will be more interesting, more satisfying, and uniquely your own!

To your success

Michael W

P.S. If you are looking for a confidence program that can help you with your self development. Send me an email at michael@youaresuccesslifecoach.com to request a copy of my “Maximum Confidence Transformation Package”. Afterwards we can arrange a discovery telephone call to discuss the package and how you can benefit further from developing your confidence level.

Feature photo used under CCO and available at https://pixabay.com/en/crossroads-path-choice-road-997123/

What Are the Benefits of a Positive Self-Image?

2019-01-132019-01-13 ~ adminlife

With all the negativity that exists in the world, it’s difficult to imagine any other way to be. But the benefits of having a positive self-image are numerous. Following are some of the major benefits.

Get More Done

When you have a positive outlook, you are more likely to find ways that work rather than look for reasons why they won’t. If something doesn’t work the way you wanted, you have the right attitude to try something else without getting discouraged. If you eventually get a little down, it won’t last because of your positive attitude.

Get More Out of Others

Did you ever notice people who maintain a positive attitude? They likely have no trouble getting others to participate and are typically the leaders of a group. This is for good reason. It’s because they are approachable and will help you find ways to solve problems. And they do this without any complaints. There will be a few negative people but most of the group will be on board and helpful.

It’s Better for your Health

Positive thinkers are less stressed out, all things being equal. Even if they come across stressful situations, their attitude will get them through it much quicker than those that insist on being negative. When there is less stress in your life, you will naturally be healthier than those who are constantly stressed out.

You Will Be a More Pleasant Person

People gravitate towards positive people, even if it is on a subconscious level. It simply feels better to speak to people who continuously are positive. You gain more friends and they tend to be lasting relationships. Negative people may still develop friendships but they usually won’t last as more people realize they are a drag to be with.

You Tend to Be More Satisfied

When you solve more problems by being positive, you are likely to get more done which will get you noticed by others. This is satisfying as more will jump on board to people who show they get things done. In many instances, this can lead to more promotions which usually includes higher salaries. Yet, your positive attitude will show others that this is not your true motivation.

With all the benefits associated with having a positive attitude, the right course of action should always be to strive to become more positive. It takes practice and won’t happen overnight but is well worth pursuing.

To your success

Michael W

Feature photo used under CCO and available at https://pixabay.com/en/businesswoman-organization-chart-2636735/

Consider Doing a SWOT Analysis on Yourself

2019-01-092019-01-09 ~ adminlife

When people create case studies on businesses, they often include a SWOT analysis. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. If you can do this for business, why not consider doing one for yourself? It can help you gain insight about yourself and reinforce the idea of believing in yourself.

The concept of SWOT is usually diagrammed in quadrants or squares, representing each of the words of the acronym. It’s up to you as to which squares to place each of the words. By convention, the upper-left square is for Strengths, while the lower-left square is for Opportunities. The upper-right square is for Weaknesses, and the lower-right square is for Threats.

Fill up each quadrant with appropriate items relating to the heading of the quadrant. To take this a step further, ask family and friends to help you fill up the quadrants. After you have them all filled, you can evaluate them to see what needs improvement.

Don’t let the negative aspects (Weaknesses, Threats) trip you up when creating your analysis. You are listing them to gain perspective in areas that you need your focus. In fact, some weaknesses you may not want to tackle because it doesn’t interest you. Threats are merely items to be aware of and may help you try to overcome them.

The key to success is to be as honest as possible with yourself about all the items included in the analysis. If you aren’t, it isn’t going to help you much, and you may focus on the wrong items to improve. Further, you may not be as strong in some areas as you believed, which can lead you on the wrong path as well.

A representative SWOT analysis will give you a great foundation for your life, both personally and professionally. You can use it as a tool to advance your goals. You will learn about yourself and who you are. Don’t rush this process. You want it to be as representative of yourself as possible. It’s better to take several days or even weeks than to try to list items for the sake of filling up the quadrants.

Once you feel comfortable that you have the right items for your analysis, you can use it to help you believe in yourself. It’s all there for you to reference, and it can help you to refine your goals and tasks further.

To your success

Michael W

Feature photo used under CCO and available at https://pixabay.com/en/plant-computer-using-person-mouse-2798849/

Become a Negative-Thinking Turnaround Factory

2019-01-082019-01-08 ~ adminlife

Negative thoughts bombard your life. They are all over the television. The news or your favourite television shows contain negativity. You face it at work and even at home. You will see enough of it online as well. It invades your life.

What if you could picture your brain as a factory that takes negative thinking as input and processes it to churn out positive thoughts? Perhaps this seems a bit abstract as you are not indeed a factory. But, if you can think in these terms, you may be able to combat the negative thinking.

On your transition to factory status, you need to stop yourself from overreacting to what people say. When someone says something you don’t agree with, take a moment to consider what they are saying. When you get annoyed at others, you stop listening to them and only want to get your point across as to why they are wrong. Instead, after he or she speaks, take a moment and consider what the message is.

The next stage is to try and see the other person’s point of view. If you have a difficult time doing this, calmly ask questions of the person making the statement. You can say that you don’t understand the reason for the statement and would like to know more about why they said it.

You don’t have to agree with the other person, even after you start to process what they say. But, the act of listening and considering their point of view will transform you. You may start to challenge your belief system. Sometimes, you can get so focused on a belief even when the reason why you feel that way has changed. When you start to question your beliefs, you will consider what others have to say more openly. The process will help you turn negative thoughts into positive ones.

Negative thoughts seldom lead to believing in oneself. You will end up challenging what everyone says as wrong if they don’t agree with your way of thinking. You will become bitter towards others and eventually towards yourself. You won’t believe that anything is possible because you shoot down every suggestion. This type of thinking doesn’t make people happy.

When you start to open yourself to others, you will learn more and be accepting of different beliefs. You will become enlightened when this happens.

To your success

Michael W

Feature photo used under CCO and available at https://pixabay.com/en/insecurity-fears-aversions-cube-1306280/

Build Confidence with Competence

2019-01-062019-01-06 ~ adminlife

Confidence and competence are crucial to ultimate success no matter what your endeavor is. The more competence you have in a given career, sport or personal goal, the more confident you’ll become that you can complete the task giving it all you’ve got – mentally and physically.

Competence means that you have unwavering belief in yourself to meet and complete any challenge. Your competence comes from the understanding, knowledge and willingness to perform whatever is needed to become successful in a chosen field.

Confidence is more of a state of mind that you have the ability to go forward with a goal or task. With competence added to the mix, you’ll be able to present an image to others that you’re strong and have the qualities needed to undertake a task.

The two traits, confidence and competence, are powerful components in your life and with them, you can achieve beyond your wildest dreams. Those who are confident in their abilities feel competent to seek more challenges, push themselves to new heights, even though they’ve already succeeded.

Most people who are confident and competent enter each challenge and set and perform goals with much enthusiasm and determination to succeed. They don’t dwell on failures and mistakes, but turn them into learning experiences which spur them on to bigger and better things. Challenges become opportunities and obstacles become challenges.

Confidence is something that’s difficult to fake. It must be gained from the learning process which makes you confident in your abilities – and that is competence. Competence is also derived from seeking knowledge and putting into action certain goals, organization and preparation that will lead you toward completing a goal or competition.

It’s important to set goals that, step-by-step, lead you to a competence you feel and a confidence you exude. Be sure you learn how to set goals and follow the steps needed to get there. The more goals you set and the better you become at the tasks, the more competent you’ll feel to go on to bigger and better things.

When you develop confidence that comes from competence that was learned and practiced, you’ll become the person who instills trust in others. Confidence communicates with others by the role model you create for yourself. When others see that image, they’re either put-off, intimidated or encouraged by what they experience. You communicate the image you’ve derived from the confidence you’ve created and that ability can help you soar to success.

To your success

Michael W

Feature photo used under CCO and available at https://pixabay.com/en/motivation-live-courage-enjoy-life-1389126/