The Pareto Principle And Your Life

2016-09-212016-09-19 ~ adminlife

Practice the Pareto Principle and Reap the Results You Seek in Your Life

The 80/20 Rule, or Pareto Principle, probably isn’t new to you. The Pareto Principle is the idea that 80% of your results come from 20% of your actions. You wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time. The top 20% of sales people make 80% of the sales. It’s a powerful concept that can be used to change your life quickly.

Use the 80/20 Rule to create the life you desire:

Realize that your instinct is to focus on the 80% of your options that provide minimal results. The Pareto principle isn’t for the weak-hearted. The easy, comfortable actions we prefer are those that provide little in the way of results. The most meaningful actions are less comfortable.

For example, switching to fat-free doughnuts isn’t too hard, but it also won’t lead to a lot of weight loss. Leaving the dinner table when you’re still a little hungry each night for 6 months is more challenging, but will make a huge difference.

It can be applied to nearly any area of your life. 80% of your happiness comes from 20% of your actions. What if you arranged your life so you could spend more time on that 20%? By the same token, 80% of the grief in your life comes from 20% of the people in your life. What if you could limit or eliminate them from your life?
The 80/20 principle saves a lot of time. By focusing on the actions that make the biggest difference, you can save a tremendous amount of time.

It’s all about efficiency. Consider each part of your life and make a list of the most important actions you take. These are the vital few actions that make most of the difference.

Ask yourself the important questions, using the 80/20 principle. Then, you’ll have enough information to make a huge change in your life. You know what makes you happy, who makes you happy, and what creates your success. You also know which things and people are obstacles to these objectives.

Which 20% of my activities cause 80% of my stress?
Which 20% of my activities lead to 80% of my happiness?
Which 20% of my friends do I enjoy the most?
Which 20% of my friends cause the most pain?
Which 20% of my skills account for 80% of my success?
Which 20% of my beliefs cause 80% of my grief?

Begin to apply the principle to your life. What are you trying to accomplish? Let’s imagine that you own a business and want to apply the Pareto Principle.

20% of your employees do 80% of the work. You’d better treat them well to ensure they don’t leave!
20% of your employees cause 80% of the problems. You might want to show them the door.
20% of your customers provide 80% of your profits. Cater to these customers.
20% of your actions created 80% of your customers. Focus on those actions to gain new customers.
20% of the actions you take provide 80% of the value you’re creating at work. Spend more time on that 20%.

The 80/20 principle can be applied to any part of your life you wish to change. You’ll save a tremendous amount of time and get more accomplished. Ensure that you’re spending your time on the activities that can create the biggest impact.

To your success

Michael W

Expand Your Comfort Zone To Grow

2016-09-192016-09-16 ~ adminlife

13 Ways to Expand Your Comfort Zone

You’ve been told countless times that you must go beyond your comfort zone if you want to accomplish anything worthwhile. You may have noticed that’s a scary place to be. But there are ways to expand your comfort zone gently. It doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you complete the journey.

Expand your comfort zone and your life:

1. Start slowly. It’s the bigger changes that tend to stimulate feelings of discomfort. The thought of doing 50 pushups for the first time in five years is daunting. The thought of doing one isn’t a problem.

Create small changes and then increase those changes over time. This is a great way to keep discomfort at bay.

2. Eat something new. Most of us are a little hesitant to try a new food, but it’s a non-threatening way to stretch your comfort zone. Try a new restaurant or a new fruit from the grocery store.

3. Read something completely different than your usual fare. If you’re a man, a book on feminism might be just the ticket. If you’re Christian, a book on the Muslim faith might shake things up a bit. Read something you would ordinarily never read.

4. Take a new route to work. Better yet, don’t look at a map beforehand. Follow your instincts and see where you end up. Hopefully, you’ll make it to work on time.

5. Unplug for an entire day. Turn off your phone, the internet, and the television. This will be more uncomfortable than you think.

6. Sit in a different place. Sit on the couch instead of your favorite chair. Choose a different seat at the dining table.

7. Strike up a conversation with a stranger. It doesn’t have to be a twenty-minute affair. If you can maintain a conversation for 30 seconds, consider yourself successful. There are plenty of people in the world available for practice.

8. Ask your boss for a review. Tell your boss you’d like to sit down with him and review your performance. It might do wonders for your career and will stretch your comfort zone.

9. Apply for a new job that’s a step up from your current position. You might feel like a bit of an imposter, but that’s okay. Worst case? You might get the position and a new career. Your bank account might even benefit.

10. Call someone you haven’t spoken to for at least six months. Just pick up the phone and do it. You’ll feel great about it afterwards.

11. Travel out of the country. If you’ve never travelled outside your home country, you might be in for quite a shock. The food, people, and culture can all be different. Apply for a passport and consider where you’d like to visit.

12. Give yourself a thrill. Tackle something that makes you a little fearful. Go skydiving or ride a roller coaster. Give a speech. Take a dance class.

13. Sit by yourself in silence. This can be tougher than you think. Turn off all your devices and just sit alone with yourself. Avoid allowing yourself to daydream. Just stay with yourself for at least 30 minutes.

Expanding your comfort zone opens up numerous possibilities. Think about how your life would change if your comfort zone were larger. It’s possible to accomplish this without the pain you might imagine. Stretch your comfort zone a little each day.

To your success

Michael W

Why Self Awareness Matters

2016-09-182016-09-15 ~ adminlife

Self-Awareness: Why it Matters

What is self-awareness? The dictionary defines self-awareness as “knowledge and awareness of your own personality or character.” When you’re self-aware, you have an accurate and clear understanding of your personality, strengths, weaknesses, and beliefs. You know what makes you tick. Self-awareness also includes an understanding of how others perceive you.

Lacking self-awareness can lead to a very confusing and frustrating life!

Your level of self-awareness can influence your relationships, career, and happiness:

Self-awareness is necessary for taking control of your life. The direction of your life is determined by your thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and reactions. Self-awareness is the principle way of understanding and manipulating these things.

Self-awareness highlights faulty beliefs and emotional reactions that stand in your way and gives you the power to make adjustments.

Self-awareness illuminates the real reasons for past failures and challenges. We often dismiss our failures as bad luck or a lack of proper timing. It’s much more likely that you failed to perceive the situation, others, and yourself accurately. It’s much easier to see the reason behind relationship, work, and other struggles when you can look at yourself clearly.

Do you consistently struggle at work or in your relationships? It’s only logical to conclude that you’re doing something ineffectively.

Those who lack self-awareness are puzzled by their negative outcomes or blame others exclusively.

Self-awareness is a critical quality for leaders. One study concluded that a high degree of self-awareness was the best predictor of success for executives.

Executives that have an understanding of their weaknesses are able to build a team composed of members that fill those weaknesses.
A lack of self-awareness puts a limit on your leadership abilities.

Self-awareness is the foundation for personal progress. Without it, any personal development efforts will be severely hampered. Building greater self-awareness won’t happen overnight, but it can be developed.

How to Develop Self-Awareness

Build your self-awareness one step at time:

Write your own manifesto. Think about and then document your views on life, your goals, and your intentions. You might be surprised by what you write. This is a great first step for understanding yourself and your beliefs.
Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. How do you know? Are you certain? Avoid jumping to conclusions. You may have always believed that you’re a hard worker, but are you? To whom are you comparing yourself? Provide yourself with proof before you make any decisions.
What would others say about you? Consider how your partner, children, friends, family, co-workers, and boss would describe you. What would they suggest you improve about yourself? Then ask them and see how accurate you are. Do you know how others perceive you? Find out how perceptive you are.
Meditate. Meditation is all about developing a better awareness of the present moment and yourself. Meditation is an ideal activity for enhancing self-awareness.

Meditate at least once each day. Spend the rest of the day paying attention to yourself, others, and your surroundings. You can develop a higher degree of self-awareness by just paying attention.
Question yourself throughout the day. “What am I attempting to achieve?” “What emotions am I currently feeling and why?” “What are the people around me feeling?”

Self-awareness is the cornerstone of success and self-improvement. Without self-awareness, the knowledge you possess can’t be applied effectively. It’s necessary to understand your beliefs, habits, strengths, and weaknesses to make a personal change. Avoid assuming that you’re self-aware. Give it some time and thought.

Life is easier when you’re self-aware. You can start building your self-awareness, and reaping the benefits, today!

To your success

Michael W

Enhance Yourself – 14 Methods

2016-09-162016-09-14 ~ adminlife

14 Practical Ways to Enhance Yourself

You probably worry about improving your finances and your landscaping, but do you ever give time and attention to improving yourself? Are you as knowledgeable, capable, and healthy as you can possibly be? Time spent on self-development is never wasted. Since time is limited, it’s essential that you spend that time wisely.

Enhance yourself and live a life you love:

Try a new hobby. Try something outside your normal scope of activities. Join a ping-pong league or learn how to paint with water colors. Stretch yourself beyond your current boundaries.
Contribute to your community. Consider volunteering a few hours of your time each week. You’ll help others, feel good about yourself, and make new friends.
Get at least seven hours of sleep. Science has shown that everyone performs better after seven hours of sleep than they do on less. Create evening routines that contribute to sound sleep and get to bed at a reasonable time each night.
Take on one of your fears. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a fear of clowns, spiders, public speaking, or heights. Get a book on phobias and try to help yourself. Get professional help if necessary. Conquering one fear can bring you a new confidence that forges through anything.
Read something new each day. Reading is convenient, useful, and economical. There’s little that can’t be learned from reading. Schedule your reading time and develop a reading list. Most importantly, make an effort to apply what you learn. Knowledge is useless if unused.
Learn a new language. You could be practical and learn Spanish or attempt something more exotic like Japanese or Persian. People that know more than one language are fascinating. There are many free language exchanges available online. You can help someone learn English while they’re teaching you French.
Use your artistic talents. Make time for writing, photography, music, painting, or other artistic pursuit. Even if you believe you have zero artistic ability, it’s still worth the time. What form of art interests you the most?
Create a new habit that supports the life you desire. It might be eating a healthy breakfast or going for a walk after work. Maybe you want to read or meditate for 15 minutes each day. Focus on one habit and make it permanent.
Make a new friend. You can never have too many friends, but your life rarely changes when you hang around the same people every day. Find a new friend outside of your normal circle of people.
Take a class. Learn something new from an expert and surround yourself with like-minded people. You’ll broaden your horizons and increase the size of your social circle.
Start a blog. Share your experiences and expertise with others. You might even make a second career out of it.
Get in shape. Make small improvements to your diet and exercise habits and finally get the body and confidence that you deserve.
Learn how to meditate. Mindfulness and meditation are all the rage. There are many benefits, both physical and psychological, for those that meditate regularly.
Take a trip to someplace new. Why are you waiting to take that trip of a lifetime? Time is ticking away. Get online and book a trip today.

Self-development can be fun! Increasing your capabilities doesn’t have to be like studying for a calculus test. It’s as much about having experiences as it is about gaining knowledge. Give yourself the attention you deserve. The more life skills and talents you develop, the more you’ll be able to appreciate and enjoy everything life has to offer.

To your success

Michael W

Self-Talk

2016-09-152016-09-13 ~ adminlife

What is Self-Talk?

Do you know that inner voice that always seems to be going? It is constantly “telling” you what you should do, what you might do, and reflecting on things you have already done. It evaluates what you do while you’re doing it, providing opinions and suggesting possible ramifications and outcomes. This is one type of inner monologue which psychologists have identified and labeled as “self-talk”.

To get a better idea of exactly what self-talk is, psychologist Susan Krauss Whitbourne likens self talk to the “equivalent of sports announcers commenting on a player’s successes or failures on the playing field.” Unlike athletes that never hear a television or radio sports commentator’s voice, you definitely “hear” what your self-talk is telling you.

Unfortunately, this voice you seem to have no control over can be negative sometimes.

Think about the last time you did something embarrassing. You may have experienced self-talk telling you how stupid you were. Sometimes it is critical even if you haven’t done anything wrong. It reminds you that you are probably going to mess something up, because you’ve done it in the past.

As it turns out, you can respond with negative and positive self-talk to the same situation. It all depends on how you lead your thoughts. For instance, pretend that you have just eaten at a restaurant that all your friends think is amazing. You thought it was overpriced, the food was average at best, the service stunk and you had to wait too long for your food.

You find yourself at a party with your friends, when several of them corner you and excitedly ask you what you thought about the restaurant they recommended. You tell them your feelings, holding nothing back. They all say you are crazy, that it is the greatest restaurant of all time.

Your inner dialogue can respond in 2 different ways.

Perhaps you tell yourself, “Why didn’t you just keep your mouth shut!? Now you look like an idiot.” In response to the exact same situation, you could choose positive, constructive self-talk instead. You could say, “Good for you, for sticking to your beliefs. You reported exactly what happened, you didn’t overstate the situation, and it’s okay if your friends disagree with you about this unimportant topic.”

Psychologists believe that consistently driving your self-talk in a positive, constructive direction can train your mind to respond that way. At first you will not find yourself able to redirect your inner voice. It will simply blurt out a subconscious response. However, by continually appraising dysfunctional self-talk and turning it around, you create less stress in your life, boost your self-esteem, and feel good about your inner dialogue.

To your success

Michael W