Posted on by Raj Daniels

Wish others happiness

Do you spend any of your time consciously wishing others well? Wishing them happiness and sending them good thoughts? Or are you so focused inward that the well-being, happiness and success of others never crosses your mind?

Wishing others happiness is not a natural behavior for everyone, but it can be learned with practice. I know you might be thinking ‘what if someone has done something to hurt or betray you, how can you wish them happiness?’ And this is a valid question. But how much time and energy can you spend being upset with them and what was your role in the situation?

Wishing others happiness can actually improve how feel about yourself because it shifts your mind, even if temporarily from thinking about your own problems and challenges.  Practice today to send thoughts of happiness to people you know and random strangers and experience how it changes your day.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Unlimited Resources

 

If you had unlimited time, money and energy what would you do with your life? Would you really be motivated to do anything productive?

Working within resource constraints naturally forces you to be more creative. It pushes your mind to find new and unique ways to produce results. Nature itself is designed to work and produce against constrained conditions and the strongest of any species are those that learn to adapt and thrive with limited resources.

Nothing you need to or want to start doing requires unlimited resources; in fact having limited resources forces you to be more resourceful.  Whatever you want to do, start today and remember, the only place you need to have unlimited resources is in your mind.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Superpower

What is your super power? The thing that you are so good at that you always feel confident when you do it? The skill that when you look back on your life you know you could always rely on?

If you don’t know, or are not sure what your super power is then think of a time when someone asked you ‘how do you that? You’re so good at that? Or, ‘that comes so easily to you? These are all clues to what your super power is. You can also think about activities that you really enjoy doing, productive activities that you would do for free.

Once you identify your super power then you can learn to nurture and grow it. You can design your life around it. You can find roles or jobs that leverage your inherent talent and when you do you will ultimately do and feel better.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Break your routine

Break one of your routines today. Choose one thing you do every day and change it just for today. It doesn’t have to be huge change; in fact it can be a small as using a different cup for coffee, using the opposite hand to brush your teeth or sitting somewhere else at work. Just something that feels a little different.

Making a small change to a routine will engage a different part of your brain and spark new connections. You’ll see the world differently and experience different emotions.

Breaking a routine can be a great gateway for creating new habits. It can give you the courage to eventually make bigger more drastic changes because you learn to get comfortable with change. Try it today, because you have nothing to lose. If you don’t like the change you can always go back to your routine.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Conventional Wisdom

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Are you living your life according to conventional wisdom? Doing or acting in a certain way because it fits within the box of ‘the usual.’ If everyone lived according to conventional wisdom then the following would never had happened.

Conventional wisdom = No automobiles

Conventional wisdom = No airplanes

Conventional wisdom = No space program

Conventional wisdom = No organ transplants

And this list could go on for pages.

Stop relegating yourself to being constrained by conventional wisdom. As you can see by the items on the preceding list, conventional wisdom is very often just wrong and based on outdated information.

Conventional wisdom will happily provide you with all the reasons you cannot and will not do something. Pay careful attention to your thoughts and actions so you can see how much of what you’re doing is just because you’ve accepted the path of conventional wisdom.

Posted on by rajdaniels

I Quit

After 3 months of writing every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have decided to shut down this blog. I want to thank all of you that have supported me but I just can’t do it anymore.

Here are some of the reasons I have decided to quit.

Thinking of things to write about is really hard.

Worrying about what people are saying or thinking about my writing is a lot of pressure.

I get scared every time I hit publish button.

Not enough people like or follow me.

I think that I have terrible grammar.

I think that my ideas are not special so why should I share them.

As you can see, so many fears and concerns that I have written about in the past are the same concerns that I too have on regular basis. So as I shut down this part of my brain the last thing I ask you to do is check your calendar. Did I get you? I’m not quitting! I’m just getting started. Your feedback and support has been overwhelming. I love all of you for following, sharing and commenting. Thank you again and I’ll see you on Monday.

Intentionally,

Raj

Posted on by rajdaniels

Not What You Imagined

Reality is almost never how you imagined it would be.

You probably have this idea in your head about how your life should be. A version of life that is stitched together with highlight reels of your dreams and thoughts, a version of how things ought to be.

The thing is that your brain is wired to propel you to a better future. Regardless of if you openly admit to it or not you are an eternal optimist, and that’s a good thing. You see it’s this vision of a better future that keeps you moving forward. It’s your brains survival method.

The challenge is how do you reconcile what you imagined and what actually is. How do you maintain a sense of peace knowing that there will always be the parallel existence of what you imagined and what really is? Take solace in knowing that there is no perfect version of life. There will be times when you will be in awe of how great your life is and also times when you will have to be content with how things are.

Don’t stop using your imagination to drive your life forward and create in your mind the world you want to live in. It might not turn out exactly as you imagined, but just imagine if it turned out better.

Posted on by rajdaniels

Be Creative

Do something creative every day.

As humans we’re all wired to be creative but you may have decided that creativity is not something you’re good at so you neglect this core part of who you are. You may associate creativity with something you once made or did that didn’t turn out the way you expected it to. Or you may look at creativity as an activity for children or artists but not something you want to indulge in. The fact is that creativity can be applied in all areas of life.

One of the easiest ways to be creative is to doodle, yes doodle. Just put a pen to paper and let your mind go with it. The key here is not to seek an outcome but just draw or write the first thing that comes to your mind. Not judging what you’re doing is very important because the minute you do your brain will tell you that it’s not good or you’re wasting your time.

Being creative doesn’t have to take a lot of time. You can take a five minute break from almost any activity and just let your mind wander. Eliminating distractions is very important to creativity so, if you’re on a computer close the browser and open paint or a similar program and just scribble and color. Putting pen to paper is even better because the physical act of drawing stimulates different areas of your brain.

Regardless of your profession realize that everything you see and use in your daily life started out as a creative endeavor. So spend a few minutes today allowing your creativity to flow and see where your mind takes you. Who knows what you’ll create.

Posted on by rajdaniels

Be Kind

Be kind. I could just stop here but then I wouldn’t hit my minimum of 100 words commitment so please stay with me as I complete my goal.

According to the dictionary some of the words used to describe the opposite of kind are cold, cruel, thoughtless and uncaring. I’m sure that you probably would not use any of these words to describe yourself, but what if this is how the world sees you?

Being kind and saying kind words can sometimes be a challenging task, but it is possible. Right when you’re at that moment of anger, frustration or just taking for granted the person in front of you, stop and be kind.

The practice of conscious kindness will take some time to develop and you will be tested daily, however, over time it will begin to be your first response.

Take time today to:

Be kind to strangers, you never know their struggles. Make an attempt to not be transactional with them. A few kind words to the person behind the counter or anyone else you encounter could be the best thing that happens to them all day.

Be kind to your co-workers. Saying something nice to them will not change the pressures of work, but it might improve their day.

Be kind to your family and friends. Memories tend to be selective so give those closest to you the warmth of knowing that time spent with you will be filled with kindness.

Most important of all, be kind to yourself. Practice saying words of kindness and affection in your mind. Give yourself the gift of kind thoughts throughout the day.