Bad Days

-by Matt Leedham

I have to be honest. I’m a little surprised you’re even reading this post right now because I could barely get out of bed to write it. Yesterday I developed a fever that spiked at 102.5 degrees and after hardly moving all day, I popped some Nyquil before going to bed at 9pm. I woke up this morning, still battling a fever, but feeling a little bit better and am willing myself to write this.

What do you do with bad days? Like yesterday, sometimes they knock you on your butt. Other days aren’t quite as bad. Sometimes you are ill. Sometimes you are blue. Sometimes you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Sometimes you receive news that isn’t so great, and sometimes people do things that aren’t so great. And sometimes your motivation meter is registering low.

Speaking from experience, one bad day can snowball into multiple days, a week, and sometimes get you completely off track. When you have big plans to achieve big goals, these disruptions can be devastating.

Here are some tips to get back on track:

1. Be honest with yourself. Recognize and acknowledge what is happening. Many times, this alone will end the vicious cycle.
2. Make a plan for tomorrow. Jot down your ideal day for what tomorrow will look like. Review it before you go to bed and prime yourself to succeed when you wake up.
3. Talk to someone. I find that just being honest with someone else about how you feel reduces the perceived size and importance of what’s holding you back.
4. Re-center yourself. Whether you meditate, pray, exercise, or do yoga, spend some time bringing yourself back to center. For me, a simple 5-minute breathing exercise is enough to ground me and bring clarity to the day.
5. Write and write often. If you don’t already have an outlet for writing, consider journaling or blogging. This can be done in many ways. For example, I have committed to keeping a gratitude journal in 2011. I plan to jot down 3-5 things I am thankful for each day. If you’re just getting started, start with one thing a day and go from there.

For more tips on overcoming material and emotional obstacles, join us for our special New Year’s Resolution Workshop on January 8, 2011. You can sign up here, and use the coupon code “GoalGift” to take 60% off the registration fee!

Power of Positivity

-by Matt Leedham

The power of positivity on personal happiness, fulfillment and achievement is astonishing. We’ve already touched on positivity in three recent blog posts, but there’s more to uncover. And if you’re not sold on the concept yet, we’ve got more convincing to do.

There is a burgeoning field of study known as positive psychology that is putting science to work in what was once just a theory. Ultimately, positive psychology is meant to compliment other forms of proven psychology and is being integrated into many professional practices due to the power of positivity on conditions such as depression and anxiety.

This isn’t “new age” stuff. Let me bring in an expert. Shawn Achor has spent over a decade at Harvard, first graduating Magna Cum Laude, then earning an advanced degree before accepting the role of Head Teaching Fellow for Positive Psychology. Shawn then founded Good Think, Inc., and authored the book “The Happiness Advantage.” If you have time, watch his 21 minute speech on his findings at Harvard – don’t worry, it’s quite entertaining.

BUT, if you don’t have time, let me sum up his findings on how to “change your baseline” – in other words, how to inject positivity into your life:

Gratitude – he suggests taking 30 seconds each morning to jot down 5 things you are thankful for. Do this once, he says, and you’ll impact your happiness for the next 24 hours. Do this for 21 days in a row, and you’ll impact your happiness for the next 6 months. (hmmm…we’ve blogged about gratitude too!)

Journaling – write for just 3 minutes a day on a positive experience and research indicates that doctor’s visits drop by 50%

Simplifying vs. Multitasking – simply put, our brains can only focus on one thing at a time. Multitasking causes stress and anxiety.

Utilizing Strengths – by finding ways to use your strengths each day, research indicates higher levels of energy and more productivity.

Exercise – exercise has been proven to be as powerful an anti-depressant as prescription anti-depressants. Enough said!

Meditation – simply focusing on your breathing throughout the day results in increased gamma waves in your brain which have been indentified in research to impact insight and “eureka!” moments.

Final thought: invest in your own positivity. You will feel happier and achieve more.