Article Round-up: Advice to a Younger Me, Mini Habits, Protect Your Energy

January 7th, 2014

I come across so many informative and interesting posts on social media and in my RSS reader. I share them on Twitter and Facebook and have collected some of my favorite articles from the last few weeks in the post below.

Advice to a Younger Me

“If you look at your life, and your career as a long winding river, you can get to your destination.” Stacy Snider

It is truly inspirational to hear these four female leaders  share their motivational stories of success. These women rose above being underestimated and didn’t allow the challenging aspects of life to hold them back. The advice they would give to their younger selves is empowering and life giving.

Stacy Snider, CEO of DreamWorks, was pregnant with her second when she became the Chairperson of a large studio. She advises other women, “Don’t hold yourself back, people won’t help you… You just do it, assume it’s your entitlement.”

When I reflect upon my journey through life thus far, I see that some of the obstacles I once faced were essential in shaping me, and getting me to where I am today.  The advice I would give my younger self would be to care less what others think of me. To be my own true authentic self. Shakespere said it best “ To thine own self be true”. I would also tell my younger self to not let fear hold me back from pursuing my heart’s desires. I would also tell myself that it is OK to fail, in fact failure is really necessary to reach success. And probably most important I would tell my younger self to embrace every moment.

The Eight Acronyms of Success

Getting from where you are, to where you want to be can be a tough, but rewarding journey. I have learned over the years that there are principles, and strategies that can help you get closer to success. As I’ve mentioned before, I am a huge fan of Robin Sharma. He has compiled a comprehensive list of eight acronyms of success, which I think are very helpful principles to follow, in reaching any goal.

Although I consider all of Sharma’s acronyms of success to be important, I consider APR, Absolute Personal Responsibility, to be one of the most crucial acronyms. Absolute personal responsibility means that you need to stop blaming everyone else for your current situation, and understand that you have shaped your own reality.  The moment we stop blaming others for our reality, is the moment we take the power to radically change our circumstances.

7 Ways to Protect your Energy

Protecting my energy is essential for being there for my loved ones and being an efficient leader in my practice. I have found that some of the times in my life when I was the most tired were because I had allowed boundaries to be crossed. It is imperative that you know what drains you and what gives you energy. If you are aware of these things, you will know how to protect your energy.

Dr. Susan Biali gives seven great ways to protect your energy and put up healthy boundaries. One of the most important of these seven is to know the difference between obligation and enthusiasm. Don’t go out and do something, if you don’t want to. This is especially important when it comes to social functions.

How Mini Habits Change your life

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” ~Alan Watts

This article starts with an inspirational quote from Alan Watts that I certainly can relate to. Life is full of making changes and it’s important to make those changes in order to grow and to live a healthier life. However, did you know that only 8% of New Year’s resolutions succeed? Why is change so difficult especially when people truly want the change in order to better themselves?

Stephen Guise gives a clear and concise reason as to why it can be so difficult.  He says that “the reason people fail to change their lives, and fail to instill new habits, is because they try to do too much at once.” He encourages us to start with what he calls, “mini habits”, which actually trick your brain into doing the full task.  He gives some great and practical advice which I think are important aids in helping reach your goal.

There have been times in my life when I have wanted to make a particular change, but I tried to do it all at once. The end result was failure, because the task was too daunting.  We need to learn start simple, and to make small enough goals that we feel are easy to attain. Eventually, when we begin to reach this small goal, we will be motivated to continue on, and complete the big goal we had initially set out to accomplish.

It Is Possible To Think Yourself Well?

“What if you had the ability to heal your body just by changing how you think and feel?” – Health.com

This is the opening quote in Dr. Lissa Rankin’s article called, “It is possible to think yourself well”.  It’s a statement that can raise a lot of skepticism. As Dr. Rankin explains in her article, physical symptoms can often be the direct effect of emotional turmoil experienced in one’s life. She says, “The lifestyle choices you make can optimize your body’s relaxation response, counteract the stress response, and result in physiological changes, leading to better health.”

Dr. Rankin has not only witnessed this, but experienced it personally. Her health issues disappeared when she made some significant life changes. I think there is so much more we have to learn about the mind and body connection and in the mean time we have to do our best to live a life true to ourselves.