You must have noticed how some people just seem to have the knack of getting things done. They will say something like, ‘I am going to start exercising next year’, and they do! Yet when you try, it’s another story.

You stick to it for a bit and then somehow it all falls flat. It can very easily make you discouraged and frustrated. You need to develop good habits that stick, to motivate you. Look at these helpful tips and apply them to see how you fare:

Start Small

Most people want to plunge in at the deep end and change things overnight, but if you want to be successful, it is best to start small and build up because sustaining positive habit does take a lot of willpower. Research shows that willpower is like a muscle, once you use it, it gets tired, and when it’s tired it wants to stop. Continue reading →

Negativity affects your life on every level. It has the power to ruin relationships, decrease work performance, and increase stress levels. The good news is that you can fight it by changing your mindset.

Not sure where to start? Check out these smart, effective ways to protect yourself from negativity:

1 – Don’t Take It Personally

Most people act in a certain way based on their previous experiences and current circumstances. Perhaps someone took credit for your colleague’s work in the past, so now he doesn’t trust his team anymore. That doesn’t mean he has something against you. He simply doesn’t trust people in general.

Stop taking things personally. If someone is misjudging you, prove to them that they are wrong. Be kind and authentic rather than stressing over it. Continue reading →

You might be surprised to hear that optimism is not an innate quality. Optimism and pessimism are ways of looking at yourself and the world through a positive or negative filter.  Once you think of them as reflections of your mindset, it becomes much easier to believe you can change.

Like any new behavior, you need to practice every day for it to become a habit. Try these six suggestions to cultivate your optimism every day.

1 – Keep a Journal

Journaling or keeping a diary allows you to process events and to get a different perspective on them. It encourages self-reflection and captures insights into your thinking and behavior. You can write down what happened during your day and document, not just the bald facts but how you did it, what you did to make it happen and what you did right.

And, importantly, how it felt while you were doing it. Don’t just record the good things (a promotion, a presentation or meeting that went well), remember to write down the thing that didn’t go so well and reflect on what happened, how you dealt with it, and what you might do differently next time. Continue reading →