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Positive Attitude Input Daily Creates Success Foundation

Quick post this morning. First of all, Happy Friday! I trust that you are having a great day . . .

While I was doing my daily reading this morning, I came across a quote that particularly resonated with me at the time. Do you get some reading in each morning, or some positive audio listening? It’s a perfect start to the day to look over your goals and read some positive stuff as you begin your day. Sets you up for success right off.

Anyway here is the quote:

That man is successful who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has gained the respect of the intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

We would do well to have lived like this and look back on our life recalling all the joys we experienced and also all the joys we caused other people to enjoy. Notice it does not say anything about an abundance of material things or money as being necessary . . .

Have a good weekend. See you later.

P.S. — Just found a great article on Affirmations on Tracy Brinkman’s Success Blog. Check it out at:
I Have to Tell You the Bad News about Affirmations (& give you 3 tips to fix them)

Build Your Self Motivation And Assure Your Success

By Al Smith | 7 Comments

If you find that you are not finishing projects, or procrastinating on doing what you want in life, then take a look at what is keeping you from doing what you need to do.

Maybe you need to bump up your motivation level. You need to be motivated enough to push yourself to the finish. Motivation overcomes obstacles!

Do you need more motivation?

Here’s the deal. This is of major importance and you can’t get around this at all. Most people fail on this one step alone.

You must first know what it is that you want. Make a goals statement. And write it down. Read it at least once daily before you start your day. In fact, keep it with you and look it over at various times during the day.

So, what is it that you really want?
Read the rest of this entry »

Can Losing Weight Be As Easy As Changing Your Habits?

By Al Smith | No Comments

Losing Pounds could be one of the Toughest Goals to Accomplish if . . .

You never change your daily habits. If you have to restrict yourself. If you do not set realistic goals. If you do not set yourself up with the proper motivational triggers.

Every day, thousands of people decide to lose weight, to become more fit, to exercise more, and to eat better. Why do so many fail at these honorable goals? Why is shedding those extra pounds so terribly difficult?

There are many reasons why losing pounds could be one of the toughest goals to accomplish. When you think about it, losing weight is a goal that reaches into almost all areas of our lives.
Read the rest of this entry »

5 Simple Steps To Eat Healthfully On The Go

By Al Smith | 3 Comments

Cultivate some healthy habits when your life is on the go. One of the hardest things to do is to stay true to your diet when your life is on the go. Whether you are a frequent business traveler, a busy student or an overwhelmed stay at home mom—everyone has those days where it simply seems impossible to sit down and have a proper, healthy meal.

Here are 5 simple things you can do to incorporate healthy habits when your life is always on the go. The trick is to make them into habits.

1. Keep Your Secret Healthy Food Stash With You

One of the best ways to incorporate healthy habits into your life is to plan ahead for those days when you know that you will not be able to sit down and have a healthy meal. Fortunately, there are now so many different foods that are available to people on the go.

Can’t sit down for a healthy breakfast? Keep your kitchen fully stocked with cereal bars or replacement meal supplements. Although these should not be regularly substituted for a full breakfast, these can help you stay nourished and sustained during a busy day.

Keeping a pre-packaged healthy food stash handy can save you from crashing on those days where you are too busy to sit down for a proper meal. Pre-package your own mixtures for more natural choices.

2. Try Not to Skip Breakfast

Even if your kitchen is well stocked with on-the-go breakfast items, there is really no substitute for a real, sit-down breakfast. Try to make eating a full breakfast your daily habit. There is just something about a quiet focused meal that heals and energizes you.

We all have days when this is not possible, but for the most part, you should try to eat a full breakfast. After all, breakfast is actually “break-fast”, your first meal after not eating all night. You should make it easy to digest and nutrient dense.

Why is this bit of common wisdom so darn persistent? The truth is that after hours of not eating, your body truly needs nutrients to keep you fueled and full of energy for the day ahead.

Recent research studies have also shown that individuals who eat breakfast tend to consume about 100 calories less than those who do not eat a full breakfast. If you are serious about losing weight, you have to become serious about eating breakfast.

3. Keep Your Water Bottle Close at All Times

In order to perform at its best at all times, it helps to stay well hydrated. Water is also important in order to process food nutrients. Drinking water can help you feel and stay full, so that you won’t be tempted to turn to unhealthy snacking as a recourse.

Each individual has different needs but in general, it is good to drink about 8 glasses of water each day. If you are in a warm environment, or if you are experiencing more physical exertion than normal, you will want to drink more.

Here is another helpful tip. If you are trying to lose weight, it will be helpful to add ice to each glass of water. What does ice do for you? Recent studies have shown that you can actually help speed up your metabolism simply by drinking your water with ice each day.

4. And Don’t Skip Lunch Either

You have heard how important breakfast is, but if there were another meal that is nearly as important and which should never be skipped, it would have to be lunch. Many dieters are often tempted to skip lunch. They think that skipping lunch is an easy way to avoid consuming calories.

But take a close look at what happens to your body when you do not eat lunch: your blood sugar levels drop, your metabolism becomes languid, and you will probably be tempted to overcompensate come dinner time. Packing a light sandwich and some raw vegetables can save your body and your diet.

5. Don’t Avoid Snacks – Just Choose Healthier Ones

We all know that snacks can often be the bane of the willful dieter’s existence. The trick is in choosing the right kind of snacks – low fat yogurt, an apple, orange, trail mix, wheat crackers with cheese, celery and peanut butter – rather than a stale candy bar from the vending machine.

Snacks are not the enemy, several smaller snacks or meals a day keeps your metabolism running strong and burning calories.

Make sure you practice these five simple steps daily and you will consciously begin to eat more healthfully, and with the right amount of exercise you will lose weight if that is your goal.

How To Get Motivated To Achieve Your Goals

By Al Smith | 14 Comments

The key to successful goal setting is your ability to motivate yourself and stay motivated until you have achieved your goals. Getting and staying motivated is not as difficult as it may seem. It just takes discipline and some will power in the beginning.

First, let’s take a look at what motivation really is, and then see how you can get motivated to achieve your goals.

• Motivation is not a product of outside influence. It is a natural product of your desire to achieve something and your belief that you are capable of doing it. It increases in direct relation to how strong you build your desire and belief in yourself.

• Positive goals that are geared toward your pleasure and happiness are much more powerful motivators than negative ones that are based on fear. The right combination of both is the most powerful and motivating. Use both positive and negative motivators to your advantage.

Now let’s look at some ways that you can actually motivate yourself and stay highly motivated until you get your goals.

1. Start with visualizing your future successes and imagine the feelings you’ll experience when you achieve your goal. Intensify the feelings of accomplishment you’ll enjoy when you achieve your most important goals.

2. Mentally walk the path towards your success. Concentrate on how you will feel at different milestones on the way. Imagine how great it will be as you accomplish every step and expect each success to materialize. Celebrate your successes in your mind every morning and evening.

3. Assign a high priority to each task that you must achieve that will give each task a priority in your mind. Affirm to yourself that you will do what is necessary without fail.

4. Set a target for the amount of work you will do each day toward your goals. Schedule that amount of time in your planner and don’t allow distractions.

5. Visualize the desired outcome: Create a picture of what the desired final outcome will look like, and have this vision in your mind at all times during the day. Make up goal cards and carry them with you for extra motivation as you flow through with your schedule.

6. Set intermediate goals of the things you like to do, the things that you are good at and the person you want to be. Decide to make them happen. Make them a must have them in your life. Commitment improves motivation.

7. Use visual indicators to monitor progress and complete the task. Take pictures of your goals and create a “Vision” or “Dreams” board. Look at it, and monitor where you are with it. Write up progress reports.

8. Give yourself several affirmations to remind yourself of how capable you are and how commited you are to reaching your goals. Internalize and emotionalize each affirmation strongly. Affirmations work better when you intensely feel them as you positively speak them into your existence.

9. Watch movies that motivate you and move you to action. Visualize yourself as the hero.

10. Listen to music that motivates you, that excites you. Employ music that causes different responses for each emotion you need when you need them.

11. If you work better with competition, make a deal with a friend or family member to compete for the goal! Or, have them monitor your progress and present you with rewards for reaching them, or penalties for not reaching them. You must take it seriously for desire and motivation to kick in.

12. Get help and support from people around you or from professionals in the field you are working in, for example a career councillor, personal trainer, finance manager, trusted business associates, etc.

13. Define your own version of success, don’t let others define success for you. Your goals must be your own for them to motivate you. You have to be mentally invested in them.

14. Ignore or discount any negative influences or responses to your efforts. Put on your blinders and ear plugs to these negative people. Always only take council with people who have succeeded in your area before. Persist!

15. Make a conscious effort to do better than you have ever done. Solve problems and accept challenges as they appear. Plans will always change. What is important is that the planning process is implemented so that you have clear direction without hesitation.

16. Focus on your positive achievements and not the negatives. All people have some things they are not happy with. Concentrate on the things or people who empower your progress. Stay positive and enthusiastic about your journey and the results you are going to make happen.

17. Share your successes with trusted others as this will help keep you focused and voice your accomplishments. Celebrate early and often! There is nothing so motivating as a completed task that you had to rise to the occasion to succeed in it.

18. Acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses and work on them both, but work on improving your strengths mostly. Strengths motivate you and make you feel good at the same time. Highly motivated people use this to their great advantage.

19. Train yourself to finish what you start by refusing to quit until you are done. Cultivate the habit of determination and persistence.

20. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and if you make any, don’t punish yourself for making them. Understand that it is all in the process of succeeding. Successful people expect some failure on the way. They just carry on with their plans, or adjust and make new plans. The goal stays the same.

Now . . . that’s a list. Even if you just start practicing some of them you will see tremendous results in your goal setting program. You will get motivated and stay motivated all the way through life, while successfully achieving your wildest dreams!

See you next time!
P.S. – More Self-Motivation Articles:

Eating Healthy And According To A Preset Eating Plan

By Al Smith | 1 Comment

Hi again. Just following up on another post I made the other day about weight loss. I have started eating healthier and according to a plan. I have begun walk/jogging again starting at 1-1 1/2 miles daily and this will increase gradually.

I have big goals this year and in order to make them happen, I need all the energy I can create by losing weight and exercising regularly. So I have been reading a lot on healthy food and driving my energy supply up the roof! Here are some tips for healthy eating.

Eating for a Healthier Me

Most people know they need to improve their diets in one way or another. They also recognize how difficult this is when you drive down the street and you see a McDonald’s on every corner or a line of fast food restaurants.

Our lives have all become about convenience and in exchange for convenience we have become the most obese country in the world. With our instant gratification lifestyles we also know that eating healthy can be a challenge.

However, it doesn’t have to be this way and there are steps that we can take to balance the good and the bad, so that we can enjoy a Happy Meal with the kids on occasion.

Making our everyday diet healthier will allow us to improve the way we look, as well as the way we think. It’s never too late to change our eating habits, we need to have the personal motivation to do it.

Is Your Diet Healthy Enough?

Everyone wants a healthier diet, but with all of the conflicting nutrition information in the media it is hard to determine what type of diet is healthy. There are many factors that contribute to a healthy diet. It is important to evaluate the current diet that you eat before you embark on a plan to become a healthier eater.

Begin by asking yourself these simple questions:

o Do I eat a variety of different foods? Variety is one of many important parts of a healthy diet. It is important to eat foods from all of the food groups. If you find yourself avoiding certain food groups, such as fruits and vegetables, then it may be time to adjust the way you eat.

o Do I eat fruits and vegetables? It is important to choose from a variety of different fruits and vegetables. In fact, you want to get all of the different colors of these foods in your diet because each offers their own unique vitamins and minerals that are essential to your diet. Eat dark greens, reds, oranges and yellows.

o Do I eat breakfast? The absence of breakfast is a good indicator that you are not eating very healthy. If you don’t eat breakfast you need to begin working on that aspect of your diet, as your body may think that it’s starving.

o Do I choose low fat foods over high fat foods? There are low fat alternatives in a variety of foods including all dairies and meats. A great way to avoid a lot of fat is to prepare your own meals instead of eating prepared foods such as TV dinners.

o Do I drink a lot of water? Water is the foundation to life. Your body needs plenty of water and is important for maintaining a healthy diet. If you drink a lot of soda or coffee, you may be dehydrating yourself.

o Am I able to maintain my ideal body weight? Gaining weight without trying is a sign of a poor diet. Following a healthy diet and getting regular exercise is the best way to lose weight and keep it off.

o Do I limit the amount of salt, sugar, alcohol and caffeine that I consume? These are okay in moderation, but a lot of people use these in excessive amounts. These four elements can wreak havoc on a healthy diet.

I find that by making notes of what I eat, and analyzing and adjusting my eating plan, I can ask myself these questions and more often than not come up with positive answers of late. My weight loss plan demands it.

Hope I am not boring you with my new challenge, but writing about it keeps my focus sharp and on my goals.

See you next time.

12 Weight Loss Secrets To Successfully Lose Weight

By Al Smith | 2 Comments

I have begun my own weight loss journey. One of my high priority goals is to drop 60 pounds, yes, you heard that right! I have stepped up my writing and my computer usage, and my diet and my exercise routine has suffered.

And so, here I am going to write about weight loss secrets and such, just because this will be a main focus in my life for the next 3-4 months.

Almost everyone has gone on a diet at least once in their lives. It can be hard to change your eating habits, but the desire to shed those pounds steels your resolve. Ironically, many a diet fails due to this steely resolve. Just because you want to lose weight doesn’t mean you have to administer punishment to yourself to accomplish your goal.

Set up a reasonable program based on your goals. Make it a lifestyle change you can live with. If you get too extreme in your diet program, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

No one is going to stick long term with a diet that consists of a glass of juice and a container of plain yogurt for breakfast, a couple of saltines and a cup of soup for lunch, followed by a dreary dinner of a tiny piece of meat and a dinner salad. BORING!

You’ll be down at the convenience store getting a bag of cookies by the second day. You do want to count calories, but be reasonable,. Many people fail simply because they get too radical, cutting calories to 900 a day, in hopes of losing weight quickly. Nine times out of ten, this strategy does not work.

You didn’t pick this weight overnight and you surely are not going to lose it overnight (healthfully). Start your new program with enthusiasm knowing that you are beginning a new life, a new way of living.

Here are the top 12 weight loss secrets successful dieters practice:

1. Setting realistic goals and following a consistent program is the first weight loss secret of every successful dieter.

2. Keeping a food diary is a proven technique in keeping dieters honest. Get a small, 5 by 8 inch notebook, or use you PDA device and carry it everywhere. Whenever you eat something, jot it down. Review your notes at the end of the day, and plan any changes for tomorrow.

Food seems to go into our mouths, unnoticed, unless you use this method of keeping track. Many studies have shown that dieters that keep a food diary, lose more weight than those who don’t, and also tend to keep the weight off.

Keeping a food diary also helps you discover certain eating patterns which contribute to those unwanted pounds. When you log your weight, once a week, you’ll also start to notice foods that work for you.

For example, you’ve been adding more fruits and veggies to your menus, while cutting back on sweets. Your taste buds and appetite adjust over time. Now you prefer the produce and lo and behold, you’re losing the weight at a steady pace.

3. Spreading your food consumption out with more frequent, but smaller meals works well for many people. Five or six small meals can help you feel satisfied, while gradually shrinking your stomach and improving your digestion.

4. Another technique is to eat meals, one course at a time. Take your time eating your salad and chew your food slowly. You’ll know when your full, you’ll get more enjoyment from eating and your overall digestive system benefits as well. This simple conscious change in your eating patterns is one of the best weight loss secrets.

Gradually change your eating habits. If you have a voracious appetite, you may not be satisfied with that well-known and recommended 4-ounce portion of meat. If it now takes a 12-ounce portion of meat to make you happy, cut it down gradually over the first three weeks. New habits generally are recognized to be set in 21-28 days.

Start increasing the veggie content of that meal. You should feel satisfied with the 4-ounce portion and a load of veggies by the end of the first month. Choose lean meats you like, eating fish a couple of times each week, as possible.

Broiling or grilling reduces fat and calories. Olive oil, with no saturated or trans fats, is a no-cholesterol and heart healthy choice for salad dressings.

5. If you like to butter your veggies, wean yourself away from this fattening habit. Try substituting good oils or a sprinkling of herbal seasoning mixtures to add interest and taste.

6. Too much salt causes water retention, so check out sea salts, or salt substitutes, including herbal blends which are reminiscent of salt, without containing salt. Any spice that adds zip to your food will help you reduce salt intake.

7. So many dieters never eat breakfast thinking this should allow for a larger lunch and dinner. While it’s true the calories not consumed at breakfast may be divided between lunch and dinner for a net target calorie intake, this is a self-defeating technique.

Breakfast, like Mom always said, is the most important meal of the day, supplying fuel to get you going. By the time lunch rolls around, you might well have burned all the calories consumed at breakfast!

Burning calories is good! Breakfast is also a good time to get your fiber in a whole grain cereal or bran muffin. A glass of juice and some yogurt completes this nutritious and low calorie meal. You’ll be happily surprised as you discover that the best, truly effective, weight loss secrets are really common sense.

8. Lunch should be a good meal, made with wholesome good food. Again, you have a much better chance of burning those calories in the course of your work day than you do settling down to a big dinner meal, and then laying down on the couch in front of the TV.

9. Dinner should be light. Taking a walk, after dinner, weather permitting, is a good exercise strategy. You burn calories, relax and avoid that sluggish feeling.

10. Snacking between meals can help you avoid overeating at mealtime. This weight loss secret works only if you choose healthy snacks, such as a piece of fruit or nuts and seeds. The secret here is to choose a snack that is low in calories and takes a long time to eat.

While a thoughtful diet plan should steadily reduce your intake of forbidden foods – we all know what they are – there’s no need to get on a total guilt trip over a pastry. Occasional treats are allowed. Just be sure to log these in your food diary!

Our last weight loss secrets are well known, but not well received by dieters.

11. Yep, you guessed it: drink lots of water and

(12) exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. If you don’t like water, jazz it up with a teaspoon of lemon or lime. Do your chosen exercise, without fail. Make it a priority.

If you put all of these weight loss secrets to work for you, you’ll lose the weight! Secrets are meant to be shared with all your friends. Be a hero or heroine to everyone to whom you share these common sense weight loss secrets.

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