Self Improvement

Don’t Settle for Mediocrity

True success in life can only come by not settling for mediocrity, we should always strive to achieve and get the most out of life that we possibly can, it is only when we push ourselves and give it all we’ve got can we then give ourselves a pat on the back for a job well done. Success in life depends on self-discipline and not giving in at the first hurdle you come across or going into a project only half heartedly, by pushing yourself that little bit further you will be surprised at what you are capable of achieving, this is what separates the winners from the losers or the successful from the unsuccessful.

All people say that they want to succeed in life at whatever they do but very few are willing to actually push themselves them little bit further in order to achieve their goals, and this is why some of us succeed in life and others fail. How well you succeed is all about how bad you want the success, what it means to you, are you willing to succeed a little or are you willing to go the whole way and beyond to achieve a higher status and be outstanding?

We all start out with the best of intentions when racing towards the goals we have set, we shoot out of the starting gate and run down the straight but many of us fall back at the first hurdle, we don’t push, we run out of steam when the going gets tough and don’t pause to catch our second wind but come to a halt and give up, or stumble on half heartedly and cross the line in second or third place at best.

Those who do have the winning streak in them, who know that with a little extra push and a pause to catch their breath and then a final sprint down the home straight and past the winning post a head in front of their competitors are the ones that end up with the glory and true success in life.

Of course all those who are successful don’t just rely on pushing themselves, all winners have a strategy and are willing to be flexible on their way to success because life has a way of throwing many different spanners into the works along the way. We have to be able to adapt to these unexpected happenings when they occur and not get bogged down, we have to take them in our stride, skip around them and continue in the race.

Never settle for anything less than giving it you’re all

Here are some tips to help you remember never to settle for anything but your best no matter what the project is

• It doesn’t matter how big or small the project put your all into getting it completed
• If you think you have given it your best shot, pause and ask yourself “could I improve”
• Plan our your project but always be willing to make changes and work your way around the unexpected
• It’s ok to pause but get back into the race and carry on until you pass the winning post.

Give yourself a mood boost

There are many little changes we can make in our lives that can give our mood a boost, boosting your mood brightens up your day, brings a smile and makes life that little bit easier to deal with. Just by making the smallest changes and taking as little as 5 minutes from your day you could be surprised with the difference it can make. It doesn’t have to be anything outlandish, just something you wouldn’t normally consider doing. Here are some tips to help give you that quick mood boost and can be done whenever you are feeling out of sorts with the world or feeling a little down.

If you have 5 minutes to spare you can:

• Take out your daily goal planner and write something down that you already completed today and cross it straight off the list
• Take the weight off your feet and eat one of your 5 daily portions of fruit or veg
• Look at yourself in the mirror and pull as many different funny faces as you can in 5 minutes
• Read the comics in the daily paper
• Take a quick shower or at least splash your face with water
• Use some of that expensive perfume or deodorant you had bought and enjoy the fragrance

If you have 15 minutes to spare you can:

• De-clutter your desk or an area of your home
• Treat yourself to a moisturizing mask
• Change into a favorite piece of clothing and admire yourself
• Do a few quick and easy exercises or stretches
• Read a few pages of a book or magazine you enjoy
• Make yourself a big fresh fruit smoothie, sit down and enjoy it
• Make a list of all the people you haven’t been in touch with in a while and schedule a time to call each of them
• Write down what you have enjoyed doing so far during the day in your journal
• Find a comfortable spot, close your eyes and enjoy the silence, sound of rain or chirping birds

If you have 30 minutes spare you can:

• Call someone you haven’t talked with in a while and catch up on all the gossip you missed
• Use your computer to look for ideas for your summer vacation
• Take a soak in a tub full of your favorite bubbles or skin softener
• Listen to your favorite CD
• Go to your local store and treat yourself
• Go for a walk and say hello to everyone you meet
• Turn off the TV, phone and anything else that could disturb you and sit down and enjoy peace and quiet for a half-hour
• Plan a quiet romantic meal
• Write a letter to someone special and mail it
• Discover a new recipe on the internet and plan to cook it for dinner
• Replace any old photographs you have in frames with more updated pictures

Tips for Getting Out of a Rut

Do you feel stuck in your life? Has the world suddenly seemed to have closed in around you? In addition, are you are doing the same thing day in, day out? If this sounds like your life then you are probably stuck in a rut, with what seems to be no way out.

Being stuck in a rut can drag you down, make you feel depressed, or as if life is something you just go through but have long since stopped enjoying. You become this way slowly without even realizing it, until one day you wonder what happened and when.

For many of us our daily life is governed by some form of routine which we cannot avoid, for example going to work 8 hours a day, taking the kids to school each morning, this is daily life and routine which for the most part cannot be changed. Another reason behind routine is the safety barrier; we get comfortable with our lives and feel secure in them, so why change?

However, sometimes routine can start to get us down, leave us with a feeling of dissociation and start causing problems in relationships, work and daily life in general, we gradually become unhappy. This is when a change is needed; this is the time to dig yourself out of the hole you have put yourself in and start enjoying life again.

Here are some tips to help you begin to take back control over you life and get out of the rut.

• Do at least one thing everyday that is different to your normal routine, this could be something as simple as taking a short break and going for a walk, sitting down to read a chapter of a book or any other hobby or pastime you once enjoyed.
• Take up a new hobby, make sure that you give yourself some times throughout the day to just enjoy something you like doing.
• Shake up meal times by having something different, you can either try a different recipe or order different take out, try foods from different cultures.
• Get out and meet new people, there are many ways you can achieve this, join a gym, club or attend a self-improvement class or hobby class.
• Drive a different way to work or if possible walk or start bicycling, not only will this break the rut you are in but also get you fitter.
• Take up a new sport; there are many types of sport with something for the fitter to the more moderate forms of exercise.
• Do something each day that is totally out of character for you, start off with small changes and work your way up to bigger ones.
• If you are stuck at home with children then change your routine throughout the day, don’t always do the same chore at the same time, shake up the way you do your housework.
• Make small changes around the home or work area.
• De-clutter your home or work area; it is surprising how being surrounded by clutter can get you down.

Excellent Self-care

While the majority of people do actively try to take care of their physical health by exercising and eating a sensible diet most don’t stop to think about the other side that completes a happy, healthy individual, their mental health. Here are some tips for excellent self-care:

• Treat your body – while we exercise to take care of our body we should also remember to give it a treat, pamper it a little. This could be by way of a massage after a hard days work when it is tired and stressed or something as simple as standing up and giving it a stretch to ease knotted muscles.
• Take time out – refresh your body and mind by giving yourself some space, some time just for you, this could be as little as five minutes where you find peace and solitude by closing your eyes and deep breathing. The longer you can take time out from your busy day just for yourself the better.
• Let your inner child out – can you remember how much simpler life was when you were a child; go back to your childhood for a short while. Do something you used to enjoy doing as a child, this could be anything from rollerblading, lying on your back and finding shapes in the clouds, making a daisy chain or playing on a swing.
• Comfort yourself – we all have something that comforts us in times when we need it, something that make us feel safe and secure. Take time out to comfort yourself every now and again. This could be sitting in front of a roaring fire and watching the flames dance, relaxing in a hot bubble bath surrounded by candlelight, snuggling up in a favorite blanket or a particular smell that relaxes you.
• Relax in fantasy – take time out to go out of your world and into another, this could be by way of a book, magazine or film. Or better yet visualization; go into your own fantasy world, created by your own mind.
• Treat yourself to a mental health day – treat yourself to a whole day of just doing whatever it is you enjoy doing, don’t do any work or even think or feel guilty about what you should be doing. Just make the day all about you.
• Rediscover nature – reconnect with the world around you by taking a long walk through the park, notice how green the grass is and how blue the sky and marvel at the weird and wonderful shapes of the clouds drifting over the sky.
• Do something you keep putting off – take time out to do something you have been meaning to do for a long time. Don’t keep putting it off, make today the day to do it.

These are just some of the ways you can help to improve your health by taking care of your mental health, just open your mind and be more aware of your body and mind and you will discover many other ways to take care of your mental health which ultimately leads to a happier and healthier you, overall.

Taking Care of Yourself

Taking good care of yourself means eating a healthy diet, getting exercise on a daily basis and learning to relax and take care of your mental health. It is only when our bodies and mind are in union can we feel and be totally healthy and fit, there are many ways that you can ensure you take good care of yourself and which can enable you to live not only a healthier lifestyle, but also a much happier one.

• Learn to let your feelings out, a problem shared is a problem halved, so find someone you can trust and in your times of need lend their shoulder. At the very least get your feelings out by writing them down in a daily journal.
• Never put anyone above yourself, by comparing yourself to others you are frequently putting yourself down and this can lead to low self-esteem or feelings of envy.
• Take time out of your day to just do something which you enjoy doing. By taking a half-hour from the day and just devoting this time entirely to yourself, you are telling yourself that you are worthy.
• When things are getting you down remember to smile, always look for the funny side of any situation no matter how bad it is.
• Use whatever self-help methods work best for you to help you to relax more easily. There are a variety of methods you can use, including audio CDS, books, DVDS, exercise classes, meditation or yoga classes. In order to be happy and healthy you have to be able to release stress before it builds up.
• Don’t allow anyone to put you up on a pedestal; this will lead you to believe you have let someone down when things don’t go right.
• If your work is getting you down then ask yourself, are you in the right work? It is also important to remember that there are always some thing’s that every one dislikes about their work. Take the good and bad into account and weigh them up.
• Remember to take short breaks throughout the day, if at work then this could be something as simple as stretching your arms, legs and back by taking a walk to the coffee machine.
• Practices developing a more positive attitude towards everything in your life, if there is something you are not happy about, ask yourself what you need to do to change things.
• Get some form of exercise everyday, exercise helps to ward off diseases, makes us feel better, sleep better and is a great form of stress relief.
• Eat a sensible diet that includes plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables while cutting down on fatty foods, salt and starch.
• Keep a journal; this can benefit you in many ways by allowing you to get your thoughts and feelings out.
• Make goals that you work towards to achieve what it is you want out of life.