How To Set Goals For The Life You Actually Want It’s a commonly accepted sentiment that setting goals will lead you to success. Many of us believe life will be better by reaching those goals, so we make our plans, put our nose to the grindstone, and work our butts off until we’re there. Many high achievers I’ve worked with over the years reach their goals, but they end up missing their lives in the process--and not in a trivial “I’m-working-too-hard-to-have-friends” kind of way. No, they reach their goals and discover they were the wrong goals and the wrong path to get there. Here’s how to set the right goals for the life you actually want: 1. The first step to setting goals that will bring you an awesome life is to stop setting goals that will bring you a sucky life. Most goals are about a destination. 2. Instead of setting life goals, think about setting a life direction. Ask yourself: How do I want to spend my time? Now set your goal. Any number of goals could send Chris on a different journey. How do I want to spend my time? 3.
77 Ways to Learn Faster, Deeper, and Better If someone granted you one wish, what do you imagine you would want out of life that you haven’t gotten yet? For many people, it would be self-improvement and knowledge. Newcounter knowledge is the backbone of society’s progress. Great thinkers such as Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and others’ quests for knowledge have led society to many of the marvels we enjoy today. Your quest for knowledge doesn’t have to be as Earth-changing as Einstein’s, but it can be an important part of your life, leading to a new job, better pay, a new hobby, or simply knowledge for knowledge’s sake — whatever is important to you as an end goal. Life-changing knowledge does typically require advanced learning techniques. Health Shake a leg. Balance Sleep on it. Perspective and Focus Change your focus, part 2. Recall Techniques Listen to music. Visual Aids Every picture tells a story. Verbal and Auditory Techniques Stimulate ideas. Kinesthetic Techniques Write, don’t type.
4 Lean Strategies You Can Use To Innovate Your Life Wouldn’t it be great if we could extract the strategies that go into developing the world’s greatest technological advances and use them for our own personal development? The most common methodology used today to bring about these advances is the lean innovation strategy. When Eric Ries released his book The Lean Startup in 2011 his approach to product development created a global movement. Everyone from startups acquired by Google to corporate giants like General Electric and Dropbox have adopted it. Here are four tips for innovating your life by going lean: 1. When Apple first thought of the iPod, Steve Jobs didn’t specifically set out saying he wanted a device with a stainless steel back, a navigating scroll wheel, and storage for your entire music library. As humans, we often disregard our long-term goals because we want immediate benefits for our actions. Like Apple, your vision is the most critical part of achieving what you want in life and enjoying it along the way. 2. 3. 4.
Mind Modifications What is a Ganzfeld effect? The Ganzfeld (German for “complete/full field”) effect happens when the sensory system is steadily overloaded with a uniform signal. For example, a uniform, steady and all-encompassing soft light to the eyes will cause a “loss of vision”. This happens because, essentially, there is no change in the signal going to the brain, so the brain stops processing the signal. The Ganzfeld is interesting because it is a simple, yet effective tool which provides a mild form of sensory deprivation. Mild sensory deprivation through the Ganzfeld effect gives mild effects. Anyway, to enhance the effect, the basic idea is to extend the Ganzfeld idea to other senses than vision. While trying out the Ganzfeld with a big blank wall in a darkened room, for a short period of time I saw myself in a snowy parking lot. Experimenting with the Ganzfeld Effect A simple “Ganzfeld device” is easy to build; first, cut a uniform colour ping-pong ball in two. Uses of Ganzfeld
8 Things Everybody Ought to Know About Concentrating “Music helps me concentrate,” Mike said to me glancing briefly over his shoulder. Mike was in his room writing a paper for his U.S. History class. Mike made a shift about every thirty seconds between all of the above. Do you know a person like this? The Science Behind Concentration In the above account, Mike’s obviously stuck in a routine that many of us may have found ourselves in, yet in the moment we feel it’s almost an impossible routine to get out of. When we constantly multitask to get things done, we’re not multitasking, we’re rapidly shifting our attention. Phase 1: Blood Rush Alert When Mike decides to start writing his History essay, blood rushes to his anterior prefrontal cortex. Phase 2: Find and Execute The alert carries an electrical charge that’s composed of two parts: first, a search query (which is needed to find the correct neurons for executing the task of writing), and second, a command (which tells the appropriate neuron what to do). Phase 3: Disengagement 1. 2. 3. 4.
50 Life Secrets and Tips Memorize something everyday.Not only will this leave your brain sharp and your memory functioning, you will also have a huge library of quotes to bust out at any moment. Poetry, sayings and philosophies are your best options.Constantly try to reduce your attachment to possessions.Those who are heavy-set with material desires will have a lot of trouble when their things are taken away from them or lost. Possessions do end up owning you, not the other way around. Become a person of minimal needs and you will be much more content.Develop an endless curiosity about this world.Become an explorer and view the world as your jungle. Read “Zen and the Art of Happiness” by Chris Prentiss.This book will give you the knowledge and instruction to be happy at all times regardless of the circumstances.
10 best competitive intelligence tools from 10 experts Posted on October 19, 2014 by Rob Petersen inShare117 Sun Tzu’s wisdom in The Art of War is as true today as it was in 500 B.C. Competitive Intelligence is the gathering of publicly-available information about an enterprise’s competitors and the use of that information to gain a business advantage. The goals of competitive intelligence include discerning potential business risks and opportunities and enabling faster reaction to competitors’ actions and events. If Sun Tzu were with us today, he would probably be using digital competitive intelligence tools to understand his adversaries. Here are 10 experts giving us their best competitive intelligence tools: GOOGLE TRENDS: Measuring individual sites (yours or competitor) is good but the real fun in this is comparing trends. COMPETE: Has a useful interface, speaks the right language (unique visitors, visits, etc.), offers the ability to compare multiple sites, and its data is easy to understand and well presented.
100 Reasons to Mind Map 100 examples of how you can use mindmapping whether completely new to mind maps or a seasoned pro. I hope the list helps generate ideas for you. 100 Reasons to Mind Map 1. Want to share your Mind Maps with others? Here are the 100 reasons on one page: Beating Procrastination It's Friday afternoon and the clock is ticking. You're working furiously to complete a task before the five o'clock deadline, while silently cursing yourself for not starting it sooner. How did this happen? What went wrong? Well, there were the hours that you spent re-reading emails and checking social media, the excessive "preparation," the coffee breaks, and the time spent on other tasks that you could have safely left for next week. Sound familiar? Procrastination is a trap that many of us fall into. In this article and video, we look at why it happens, and we explore strategies for managing and prioritizing your workload more effectively. Do you choose more enjoyable tasks over high-priority ones? Is Procrastination the Same as Being Lazy? Procrastination is often confused with laziness, but they are very different. Procrastination is an active process – you choose to do something else instead of the task that you know you should be doing. How to Overcome Procrastination Warning: Tip:
21 Habits of Happy People Contributed by Cindy Holbrook “Happiness is a habit – cultivate it.” ~ Elbert Hubbar Happiness is one aspiration all people share. No one wants to be sad and depressed. We’ve all seen people who are always happy – even amidst agonizing life trials. 1. Be thankful that you woke up alive each morning. 2. Surround yourself with happy, positive people who share your values and goals. 3. Accept others for who they are as well as where they are in life. 4. Keep up to date with the latest news regarding your career and hobbies. 5. Don’t wallow in self-pity. 6. Some statistics show that 80% of people dislike their jobs! 7. Take the time to see the beauty around you. 8. Don’t take yourself – or life to seriously. 9. Holding a grudge will hurt no one but you. 10. Develop an attitude of gratitude. 11. Always make sure your loved ones know you love them even in times of conflict. 12. Honesty is the best policy. 13. Meditation gives your very active brain a rest. 14. 15. See the glass as half full.
Is This a Morning Task? Scheduling Important Activities for the Right Time of Day When are you at your most energetic? © iStockphoto/LP7 Like many of us, Alys's job has a mix of regular, routine duties that are usually urgent – as well as longer-term, more important tasks that are usually less urgent. She spends her mornings on the urgent tasks that she must get done. The problem is that she's a morning person. In this article, we'll examine how to find your best time of day (or week), and how to schedule tasks around that. Note: OK, some things do have to be done right away. Step 1: Find Your Peak Times Each one of us has a different "peak time" or highest-energy time during the day. Most people know instinctively when their "up" times are and when their "down" times are. If you're not sure when your peak times are... ... for the complete article: Mind Tools Club members, click here. Join the Mind Tools Club to finish this article AND get 1,000 more resources Join now for just $1, first month
Improve Your Concentration Achieving Focus Amid Distractions Learn how to improve your concentration, in this short video. How many times have you sat at your desk and tried to focus on a task, only to find that your mind is wandering? Despite your best intentions, you just can't concentrate. We've all been in this familiar, frustrating situation, and it's something that can really undermine your performance. In this article, we'll review strategies to improve your concentration and reduce your daily distractions. Environment Your personal work environment plays a large role in your ability to concentrate. Here are some ideas for improving your physical environment: Make sure you're comfortable – Start by ensuring that your chair and desk are at the right height for you to work comfortably. Nutrition Follow some simple nutritional tips: Drink water – Many of us don't think about drinking water while we're at work, yet dehydration can make us feel tired, irritable, slow, or even sick. Mindset Key Points
Effective Scheduling Planning to Make the Best Use of Your Time Google Calendar is a trademark of Google Inc. MS Outlook is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Hard work doesn’t always equate to a job well done. © iStockphoto/SumikoPhoto It's the end of another busy working day and, even though you came into the office early and left late, you don't feel as if you've accomplished anything significant. It's all too easy for this to happen. That's why it's so important to know how to schedule your time properly. The Importance of Scheduling Scheduling is the art of planning your activities so that you can achieve your goals and priorities in the time you have available. Understand what you can realistically achieve with your time.Make sure you have enough time for essential tasks.Add contingency time for "the unexpected." Time is the one resource that we can't buy, but we often waste it or use it ineffectively. How to Schedule Your Time There are a number of different tools to choose from. Key Points
25 Killer Websites that Make You Cleverer It’s easy to forget that we have access to a virtually limitless resource of information, i.e. the Internet. For a lot of us, this is even true at our fingertips, thanks to the ubiquity of smartphones and an ever-increasing push for online greatness by tech engineers all over the world. As a result, there are countless websites out there that are geared to make you smarter and more brilliant for either a low or no cost. Here are just 25 killer websites that may just make you more clever than ever before. 1. This isn’t the first time I’ve recommended this language-teaching website (and app), and it certainly won’t be the last. 2. Have you ever wanted to pick up a subject you’re not well-versed in, but you didn’t have the money to invest in a college course? 3. Guitar is one of the few instruments out there that’s actually pretty easy to learn if you’re a little older, making it one of the most accessible instruments. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.