Sunday, October 19, 2008

Ten Ways To Re-motivate Yourself

The past few weeks have been sort of unproductive for me, mostly because of certain distractions that for the most part were beyond my control (scheduling problems, personal things that needed attention, the usual). Now I look back and say “how could let myself do this?” I feel as if I accomplished very little, and it’s time to buckle down again, put nose to the grindstone, and get some serious work done! But, how do I do it?

What I need is a way to get “super-motivated”, so I came up with a list of ways to really pile on the motivation. I came up with 10 pretty good ones, most of which I already was utilizing at least some of the time. Let me know if you have some more, I’m always trying to extend this list!


#1 – Change your routine - wake up earlier and be more productive. I usually try to get up at least one hour before l must leave for work, in order to do some quick exercises, go over my plan for the day, and make sure I’m ready to rock n’ roll first thing. I like to change this routine occasionally, so I don’t get in a rut. Even making an extra 20-25 minutes to prepare can leave you in a better mood to start the day.

#2 – Listen to motivational audio on the way to work. Or, if you work at home as I do sometimes, listen as you get ready to work. There are many motivational CD recordings out there, I use ones from Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, or Bob Proctor, but there are many good ones out there.

#3 – List to inspirational music! I don’t know about you, but nothing gets my blood pumping faster than great music that I love, such as some good Eric Clapton, Green Day, or other hard rock. But anything you have an emotional connection with will work, it’s like magic to pick up your mood.

#4 – Utilize self-talk or affirmations. I do a whole list of affirmations in the mornings, and usually at night as well. But any kind of positive self-talk can really motivate you if used correctly, it’s what you say to yourself that makes the difference.

#5 – Stay away from negative people. This may sound kind of cruel or unkind, but hey, let’s be honest. If you any friends that are really bringing you down, you must either let them know about it and hope they change, or stay away. Life is too short to hang around negative people, and don’t’ think it won’t affect you because eventually it will!

#6 – Take a positive action. Think about what you have been meaning to start, or stop recently. Something you have been putting off, maybe? Take that trip to the gym, start that new diet, finish that book you started 6 months ago, anything really. Just taking a positive direction towards something makes you feel more in control of things, which boosts your self-confidence and self-esteem.

#7 – Start an exercise routine. Ok, I kind of covered this in the last point but it’s really important. This is critical to your physical and mental health, exercise is not an option it is a mandate. If you exercise regularly you will automatically add many years to your life and improve your outlook on life.

#8 – Try zero-based thinking. This is a simple but powerful concept to change your thought process. Is there anything in your life that you would stop doing, looking at the big picture? If you had to go back and do it again, would you? This can apply to a business, a hobby, a girlfriend/boyfriend, a choice you made on something that takes your time and energy. If you wouldn’t do it again, stop doing it now!

#9 – Reevaluate your schedule. Take a serious look at every little thing you do every day for a week. Are you wasting a significant amount of time doing something of little value? Either eliminate if from your life, or drastically cut down on this task or habit. Sometimes just rearranging your schedule can save you time as well, such as doing a “high-value” task early in the day while you’re wide awake and full of energy instead of after lunch when you’re tired.

#10 – Reward yourself. Sometimes it really helps to reward yourself after making a great effort. Why? Because psychologically a reward gives us a boost of pleasure after something that takes extra effort, which will encourage us to do it again. Sounds like “psyching” yourself out, right? Yes, you can fool yourself, although don’t take it to extremes or you will be doing more rewarding than working on moving forward.

These are just a few suggestions, I’m sure you can get creative and think of more. In fact I would encourage it! The more you can get in the habit of boosting your motivation, the more you will accomplish. In turn, you will boost your confidence in reaching the goals you have set for yourself and move faster and farther than you ever thought possible!

To your continued success and happiness!

By: Doug Hart

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Doug Hart, CHO of GetPassionForLife.com I've spent many years studying psychology, philosophy, NLP, and motivation. My particular focus is on the biggest question in life - what makes us happy? Join me and maybe together we can discover more about what makes you happier in life. I think it's more of a journey than a destination, and I would like to make your journey much more exhilarating, passionate, loving, and unforgettable! Take the time to visit us at getpassionforlife.com and find out why "you are what you think about most", and how critical your success is to happiness!

Friday, October 3, 2008

CATATAN RAMADHAN (2)

Bulan suci Ramadhan telah pergi meninggalkan kita dengan kesucian dan keagungannya. Meninggalkan bekas yang dalam kepada setiap insan ALLAH yang bertqwa. Maka dengan usainya Ramadhan adalah kembalinya jiwa-jiwa yang fitrah karena ampunanNya. Gema taqbir idul fitri adalah symbol kebesaran ALLAH. Semua isi alam ini memuja kebesaranNya. Pada saat itu api taqwa dalam jiwa menyala, membakar semua sendi-sendi, relung-relung dan setiap jengkal pori-pori dan pembuluh darah semata-mata hanya untuk memuja kebesaran ALLAH. Merdunya gema taqbir idul fitri, indah dan manisnya senyum-senyum jiwa yang fitrah serta halus dan ramahnya uluran tangan maaf adalah symbol kedamaian dan ketentraman yang tercipta pada hari suci itu. Kini semuanya usai sudah berganti seiring dengan hari-hari yang terlipat sementara itu perjalanan kita masih jauh. Sebulan sudah kita tunaikan peribadatan puasa Ramadhan untuk menunaikan perintahNya : “Wahai orang-orang beriman diwajibkan atas kamu berpuasa seperti diwajibkan atas orang-orang sebelum kamu agar kamu sekalian bertaqwa” (QS 2:183).
Selama sebulan itu ALLAH member kesempatan kepada hamba-hambaNya untuk meningkatkan ketaqwaannya. Selama sebulan itu berlangsunglah proses pencucian jiwa-jiwa yang kotor penuh daki menjadi jiwa-jiwa yang bersih. Penggojlogan selama puasa itu telah melahirkan figur-figur yang baru yang fitrah yang penuh dengan cahaya taqwa dan iman yang ikhlas yang yakin dan tawakkal. Figur yang senantiasa merasa bertanggung jawab atas tegaknya agama ALLAH. Figur yang optimis bahwa sudah digariskan ALLAH hanyalah Islam harapan masa depan umat manusia.
Kebangkitan Islam adalah satu-satunya jaminan penyelamatan umat manusia dari ancaman perang ideologi dewasa ini. Figur yang menyadari bahwa kemenangan Islam berarti tidak akan adanya kehancuran yang mengerikan dan lenyapnya peradaban dunia tetapi terciptanya negeri yang berbahagia, sebuah dunia yang damai dan sejahtera. Figur yang akan membawa cirri Islam yakni keselarasan yang serasi antara pribadi dan masyarakat, antara akal dan intuisi, antara kerja dan do’a, antara bumi dan sorga, antara dunia fana dan akhirat berpadu demikian indah dan harmonis. Figur-figur inilah yang teramat sangat dirindukan hadir ditengah-tengah kita. Namun kebangkitkan Islam menjadi tidak ada artinya jika kita tidak pernah berusaha untuk membangkitkan nilai-nilai Islam yang ada dalam diri kita.
Esok adalah langkah kita berikutnya. Lusa adalah harapan-harapan. Sementara Ramadhan berikutnya masih merupakan do’a dan do’a. Mampukah kita kembali bersua dengan Ramadhan di depan?. Insya ALLAH.

Bandung 3 Syawal 1429 H.