Better You Blog

Enthusiasm is what makes the difference between reaching our goals and giving up before we get started.

Thomas Edison said, “If the only thing we leave our kids is the quality of enthusiasm, we will have given them an estate of incalculable value.” Edison’s research laboratory burned to the ground when he was 67. As the fire consumed his world-famous “invention factory,” Edison told his children, “Kids, go get your mother. She’ll never see another fire like this one.” Edison knew that enthusiasm is the best antidote for tragedy, and it’s the most powerful weapon to use in the war against procrastination.

I have learned that my level of enthusiasm has nothing to do with my feelings; my feelings wake up on a different side of the bed every day. To take control of my life, I must choose the way I feel-I can’t let my feelings control me. Can you talk yourself into a positive frame of mind when you’re discouraged? How do you keep yourself motivated? How do you stay focused when a job is tedious? How do you handle failure when your plan isn’t going well?

Stay away from negative people.

Attitudes are contagious-negative people infect us with negative attitudes. Associate with positive thinkers; their self-confidence is contagious, too.

Schedule difficult tasks for the time of day when your energy is highest.

If you haven’t determined the best time for you to tackle the day’s least appealing jobs, try doing them as early as possible.

Tackle a problem that’s been a thorn in your side.

When you get in the habit of making things happen, your enthusiasm goes through the roof. Inactivity is a major cause of depression and anxiety. (On the other hand, you can increase your energy level without eliminating other forces that cause procrastination; teenagers are particularly adept at expending enormous amounts of energy without getting anything done. Always remember that any technique is only effective when used as part of a total strategy.)

When you breeze through a task with particular ease and competence, make a note of the time of day.

And ask yourself what other factors might have contributed to making you moreproductive. When you start to discover a pattern, you will have found how to operate at a higher  level every day. And when you identify the time of day when you are usually most efficient,  schedule some of your least enjoyable tasks for that time.

We must continue to learn new things as if we were going to live forever, while living each day as if it were the last. Telling myself that “Today is the first day of the rest of my life” doesn’t work for me. If today were the last day of my life, how would I live it? That is the question I ask myself when I must fight against the forces of procrastination.

Always remember that enthusiasm is a choice. Mark Twain said, “Do something every day that you don’t want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.”

• Unlocking Your Self Improvement Power When we look at a certain object, a painting for example – we won’t be able to appreciate what’s in it, what is painted and what else goes with it if the painting is just an inch away from our face. But if we try to take it a little......
• Crash Course 7-Day Program to Self-Improvement I seem to lost count on how many times I've read and heard of celebrity marriages failing almost left and right. Not that I care (and personally I don't), it seems strange that we often see movie and TV stars as flawless people, living the fairytale life of riches and......
• Motivation: The Heart of Self-Improvement Pain may sometimes be the reason why people change. Getting flunked grades make us realize that we need to study. Debts remind us of our inability to look for a source of income. Being humiliated gives us the ‘push’ to speak up and fight for ourselves to save our face......
• How To Overcome Procrastination: It All Depends On You Procrastinators put off all the hard jobs. But they get stuck in a vicious circle of postponing the easy jobs, too. And the longer they put them off, the harder the jobs are when they finally get around to them. Successful people fight the same war against procrastination that we......
• The Best Cure For Procrastination: Your Vision Have you discovered your purpose in life? Do you have long-term goals? Finding and focusing on your long-term goals is a powerful cure for procrastination. A vision is simply a statement of what you want to achieve in life, and how you plan to achieve it. Without a vision, it's......

• Energy Alignment We call some energies positive and others negative. What I would caution any healer is to not assume an energy is to be removed or rejected. There are those who without choice and just by nature are negative. This doesn’t mean they are destructive. They can be a fire wall......
• Online English Lessons' Many Options There are many reasons to look for online English lessons. You may be traveling to the U. S. For the first time, or you might need to improve your own native English skills to prepare for college or a job. Many options exist when it comes to where to......
• Joining Running Groups for Fun and More For many people, there is nothing more they need from running than the shear thrill of running. Others run for the exercise but take no special joy in it. Others still seek to run on a more competitive level. No matter what you are looking to get out of running,......
• A Lesson In Life by Wesley Crites Life gives us many hard lessons, but the hardest one of all is the passing of a true friend.  Harder still is helping load him into the unceremoniously gray van.  The hardest yet will be helping to carry his coffin, but things can be learned from this tragic time.  The......
• Yosemite Trout Fishing Guide (In Full Color) User Reviews Send this to a friend Yosemite Trout Fishing Guide (In Full Color) Manufacturer: Frank Amato Publications Customer Rating: List Price: $15.95 Sale Price: $14.85 Availibility: Usually ships in 24 hours Free Shipping Available Buy Now Product Description Yosemite National Park is no doubt one of the most......