positive thinking

Turn your to-do list into a list of achievements

Have you ever had the feeling that no matter how much effort you put in, your to-do list keeps on growing and is getting out of control? The clock is ticking, the deadline is looming, yet there is still so much more to do. You are juggling tasks in a desperate attempt to complete them. You do not feel like you are making progress. Panic sets in. Have you ever thought about flipping your to-do list on its head? Rather than spending the day looking at what you have to do, how about looking at what you have already done whilst focusing on the task at hand? Intrigued? Read more to find out one of the technique I use to save the day.

I am a big advocate of starting the working day or week with a to-do list. It is an efficient way to make sure that you have a clear direction. You are in control, you are on track. And then the dreaded emails, phone calls, discussions by the water cooler happens! It is even worse when they include the phrases: “I want it done today”, “I need this done by the end of the week”. Yes but we are already Thursday and I have other things that need to be done by the end of the week! Slowly but surely, your sense of being in control dissipates. Your to-do list morphs into a huge slab of stone that you need to crack. Glancing at your to-do list and then at the clock makes you nervous. You spend valuable time worrying about not finishing off your commitments rather than actually working on them. You do not feel like you are making progress.

Remain motivated throughout the day or the week by using a list of achievements alongside your to-do list. Next time you get in the office: Continue reading →

Turn your subconscious into your personal coach

Positive thinking, is it a myth? With all the best intentions in the world, how can you remain positive when your brain is constantly attacked by negative and discouraging thoughts? Have you ever tried “literally” rewriting the scripts that play in your mind?

When everything is hunky-dory, it is somewhat easy to keep a smile on your face. However, how can you keep smiling when life keeps on throwing you curve balls? I started this year with a plan, a smile and a determination to challenge myself every month in order to become more resilient. In January, I worked on learning self control through veganism. It wasn’t long before a spanner was thrown in the mix. Yikes! In a nutshell, men! You think you can trust someone but then you find out that it has always been a lie. Needless to say that it was a struggle to remain positive, to smile. After the mandatory period of dwelling on what happened and feeling sorry for myself, I decided that enough was enough. As Gloria Gaynor said “I will survive”. But how do you do that when you lose your motivation and question your confidence and belief in yourself and the people that you have allowed into your life?

When I was at primary school, one of the punishments for misbehaving was to write a certain sentence a hundred times. Yeah that’s right, hundred times! The sentences were designed to reinforce positive behaviours such as “I will remember to bring my PE kit”, “I will always do my homework”, “I will not be rude to my teachers”. Trust me when I said that, at that age, this was worse than detention. Weirdly enough, when I was thinking about techniques to use to get me back on the positivity wagon, this once dreadful experience came to my mind. Would it be possible to change the way I think by writing down a positive mantra based on the negative thoughts that I have been fighting all day? Challenge Accepted! Throughout February, before going to bed, I will write down a sentence that will help me fight my negative thoughts and beliefs. Rather than hundred, I will write the same sentence fifty times. Continue reading →