What unintentional mistake are you going to make today?

Are you going to give an incorrect answer, take a wrong turn, or break something you’re working on?

Many life changing innovations are the results of mistakes people have made. They attempted to do one thing and as a result of an error in the process they ended up with something totally different.  Studies show that successful people actually tend to be more accepting of mistakes because they know it takes many different approaches to eventually succeed at any endeavor.

Allowing yourself to be more tolerant with your mistakes will give you the courage over time to try different approaches to challenges and problems. So don’t beat yourself up when you make a mistake but take the opportunity to learn from it. At least you know what not to do next time you’re in the same situation.

What are your labels and how did you get them?

Are they self-imposed or are you living up or down to the labels people have given you?

I was given so many labels as a child and decided that since that’s how the world saw me then I had to behave accordingly. Of course as a child I didn’t realize that those labels were only the perspective of people around me, not how I had to be or live.

The labels people give you and you give yourself are like cake pans and you are the batter. If you have any familiarity with baking then you know that the batter will take the shape of almost any pan you put it in and eventually harden in that shape.

What shape have you taken because of labels? Are they allowing you to live a happy fulfilled life, or a small, guarded existence? Unlike the clothing label that states factually what a garment is made from, you have the choice to create your own labels. Choose wisely.

On this day of Thanksgiving I’d like to take the opportunity to Thank you.

Thank you for all of your encouragement and support this year. What started out as a small experiment hast turned in to a blog with over 30,000 words and growing.

Thank you for all the kind words, cards and messages that you’ve sent.

And thank you for sharing my blog with your family and friends.

I look forward to continuing the journey with you.

With sincere gratitude.

Intentionally,

Raj

When was the last time you made something from nothing?

A drawing, painting, writing or even craft work from things lying around your house.

As humans we are all born with the ability to create but the majority of people stifle their creativity because they are quick to judge their creations. They also fear the judgment of others so when asked about creativity they respond with ‘I’m just not the creative type.’

The ability to be creative taps in to feeling of having an abundance mindset; it gives you a confidence that you have the ability to create from nothing, so there is always more. Being creative lends itself to endless possibilities.

Give yourself some time each week to be creative. Draw, doodle, paint, write or just make something. You don’t have to share your projects with anyone, but if you do then you might just encourage them to create too.

How many sound familiar to you?

I don’t want to be mean, but…

I don’t want to rude, but…

I don’t want to be sad, but…

I don’t want to be upset, but…

I don’t want to be negative, but…

I don’t want to be unhealthy, but…

But, but, but…

If you know how you don’t want to act then find ways to combat your behavior. You already know what it takes to be the person you do want to be, so stop being a victim to your ‘but,’ bury your excuses and become the one you do.

You might recognize the title of this post as the gardener’s manifesto; however these are the same steps you need to take if you want to achieve any large goal or change in your life.

Weed. Once you set out on a journey to accomplish anything you will start to doubt yourself and if you make your goal public then you will have others doubt and question your ability too. You will need to constantly remove the weeds of self-doubt from your mind because if you don’t then they will very quickly take over.

Water. This is the life force, the nourishment that you will have to actively seek out to grow your mind. Water is the resources, people, books, information etc. that you will need to apply on a consistent basis in order to create change and achieve your goals.

Wait. This is patience you will need to have as you are on your journey. You see huge trees around you every day but do you ever see them grow? The magic of the tree happens from the inside out and this applies to you too. The magic of change will happen in your mind first and then it will manifest itself in your life.

Repeat. If you’re committed to achieving your goal then you will need to perform these steps on a continuous basis, and you can’t skip anyone of them.

Learn to apply the gardener’s manifesto as it is a simple yet effective tool to create the change you want in your life.

This is the moment that will become your remember when, and your good old days.

This is the day you dig deep and find reasons to move forward and advance your life or you decide remain on the course you’re on.

This is the day you decide to do more for yourself, your community, your world.

This is the moment you decide to stop engaging in toxic relationships because you’re tired of feeling the drain on your energy.

This is the moment you decide how you will define your destiny and summon the courage to pursue it, or decide to live small because you’re afraid express your dreams.

This is it. It is your day, your time, and your moment. Own it. Play with it, create with it and live with it because you will never see today again.

Are the choices you make today going to result in the person you want to be tomorrow?

If yes then carry on as you are, but if not then perhaps it’s time to do something different.

You can be the person you want to be by behaving that way today, regardless of how the world sees you. Your path to changing who you are starts from a small kernel of thought that will eventually grow in to action.

Start focusing on who you want to be known as, how you want to be seen and how you want to feel. Write down a list of adjectives that describe the kind of person you want be and think about the behaviors associated with your words. And then behave accordingly.

Your new behavior will seem strange at first and it’s because your brain and body will be experiencing change, but over time it will become second nature and you will become your ’you of tomorrow.’

Is having your fingers crossed your strategy for getting the things you want?

I know this sounds ridiculous but it really is how many people operate.  They hope that somehow, something will magically happen that will make them happier, healthier, wealthier and whatever other ‘ier’ they want in their lives.

Nothing you want in your life is just going to happen, even if you wait long enough. You have to be the catalyst, the reason for the things, both emotional and physical to appear in your life.

Study and research the things in life you want so that you learn how to bring them in to existence. And resolve today to uncross your fingers and commit to making a plan to creating the life you want.

Are you familiar with the phrase ‘first mover advantage?’

Essentially what it means is that if you have a product or service and are first to market it with then you have an advantage because you have little or no competition.

There’s also a ‘second mover advantage’ which you might have heard of. In this case you get to learn from the market leader, copy what they did well and beat them at their own game. It’s also known as the second mouse gets the cheese because the first mouse got smacked by the mousetrap.

And yes, there’s even a ‘last mover advantage.’ This is where there have been so many improvements that the last mover can take advantage of all the combined learnings and save time and money from avoiding the mistakes that the first and second movers have committed.

However, there is not a ‘no mover advantage.’ And you might think this is obvious, but how much are you moving towards what you want?

Are you actively taking steps physically and mentally to gain your advantage or are you sitting, stagnant, waiting?

Start moving today towards the life you want. Make a plan and work on it. Move, move, move and you’ll see the advantages come your way.

What can you be grateful for today?

Actively seeking opportunities to be grateful can shift your entire perspective about your day, especially if you learn to be grateful for the little things in your life, the ones you usually take for granted.

Be grateful for things like running hot water and electricity on demand because there are still billions of people that don’t have reliable or in some cases any access to these luxuries.

Be grateful for your health. Even if you do suffer from the occasional ailment, the fact that you are alive and still experience life is definitely something to be grateful for.

Be grateful for family, friends or any other relationships that add to your life.

Being grateful allows you to build a foundation of positive feelings for all that you currently have and experience. Begin to actively practice gratitude and you will find that it will help you deal with the challenges and problems you face in everyday life.

What are you really good at?

I mean so good at it that people tell you that you’re good, or they say that they wish they were as good as you at this one particular thing. Do you embrace what they say or do you discount or negate it as anyone can do it?

More than likely you have a handful of skills that come to you naturally; these are your natural talents, your gifts. However, because they are second nature to you, you take them for granted and assume that everyone has them too. So you neglect to leverage them for your benefit.

Somewhere in the world there are successful people that have similar gifts as you and the only difference between them and you is that they have learned how to leverage and ultimately capitalize on their natural gifts.

Make a list of things that people have told you that you’re good at and identify the ones that come the easiest to you. These are your natural gifts and you should spend time improving them because then you can design your life around doing what you’re good at.

How do you handle pressure?

The pressure that comes from dealing with relationships, work, finances etc. can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially if you’re the kind of person that tends to combine them all in your head as one big ball.

However, pressure and stress are a natural part of the growth cycle. Everything you see in nature that has existed over time has undergone tremendous amounts of pressure and stress. Pressure and stress are the twin forces that have been responsible for the fittest and the most adaptable to continue to survive and thrive.

Journaling can be a great way to deal with stress because you are able to get the things that are causing you stress out of your head and out on to paper which can very often lead to giving you a new perspective on your problems and lead to new solutions.

The twins are never going to go away they will just change over time depending on your stage in life. So, instead of wishing that you have less pressure it’s wiser to spend your time developing coping mechanisms that can help you deal with it.

Where will you spend your energy today?

Will you spend it on things that really matter to you or will you give it away to every request and distraction that comes your way?

The majority of people remain in a reactive state just waiting for the next demand on their energy until their too tired to do anything else and they’re off to sleep. If at the end of the day you took a few minutes just to evaluate how you spent your energy you’d probably see that very little of it was actually spent on you.

Taking just a little time out throughout the day to focus your energy on yourself will give you sense of control over your own life, and can also prevent you from feeling like a victim of circumstance. Make it a daily practice to carve out a few minutes during the day to focus your energy on what you’re doing and how you’re feeling.  After all, it is your energy so shouldn’t you spend some of it on you?

Will owning one more thing really alter the trajectory of your life?

If you gave away some of what you currently own could it change someone else’s life?

Owning possessions just beyond what you need is understandable because it provides a sense of security, but when you get to the point where you no longer remember or even use what you currently own then perhaps it’s an opportunity to ask yourself if you really need more.

Creating a practice of continuous contribution will not only help you declutter your home, it helps shape your identity as a person that is also willing to give to others. Contribution can give you a deeper fulfillment that buying rarely does.

Make a regular practice giving away things you no longer need or use. Take a step today and find 3 things that someone else could use and give them away. Your home and your mind will feel better for it.

How much time do you spend being angry at a person or an event?

How do you justify the length of time of your anger?

Do you have an equation in your head that tells you to stay angry for a minute, day or even years based on the thing that made you angry?

Anger is a funny thing because although it is a healthy emotion and there is a reason for its existence, staying angry indicates that you are either re-living the incident that made you angry or thinking about an event that might happen in the future.

If you choose to continually re-live events from the past then I strongly suggest you choose the ones that made you happy. For no other reason than they are better for your overall well-being. And if you’re choosing to be angry about something that might happen in the future, well that’s as ridiculous as it sounds.

Grab a pen and paper and make a list of all the reasons you’re angry at a person or event. Now eat the list! Just kidding! Study the list and ask yourself if there might be other ways to express how you’re feeling or even if it’s worth spending any more of your energy being angry.