Do Daily Success Mantras Actually Work?

What gets repeated gets ingrained into your habits. What become habits becomes your life.

Reinforcement in any manner is a powerful tool to reinvent yourself. As Benjamin Franklin says, "your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones."

Be careful of whatever you're doing or not doing right now. Warren Buffett warned that "chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken."

So how can we utilize this nature-gifted mechanism to become successful? One popular way is to use something called success mantras or daily affirmations.

These are the sayings, expressions or phrases that you repeat to yourself every day so that the ideas become part of who you are.

However, there's a lot of noise as to whether repeating something that might not be true yet really works.

Well, my take on it is that if you don't at least remind yourself something you truly desire or the kind of person you want to become, it's unlikely you'll behave that way. Human beings easily forget things and anything worthy of pursuit worth our repeated attention.

Therefore, why not investing just 5-10 mins a day to quickly recap your big audacious goals, your grand vision, your exciting dream, your values and your ideal self?

The potential benefits far outweigh the drawbacks of time investment.

Bear in mind though, there are couple of things you need to do to make this positive self-reinforcement work.

Tip #1 Engage As Many Senses As Possible

The more fully engaged you're when doing affirmations, the deeper the message can be encoded in your entire nervous system.

Say it aloud with your strong, resonant, confident voice.

Use as many hand gestures and body movements as you want to communicate your certainty.

Arouse your emotions as deeply as possible so that you feel much more motivated to take actions to reach your goals.

When you play your affirmations full-out, your brain will capture and process the info much quicker and stronger.

Tip #2 Do This Every Day For At Least A Month

A lot of people quit before budding results come.

Don't give up after a week when you don't notice any difference. Commit to it at least for an entire month so that you have a better reference period to compare and contrast the difference in your life.

For bonus point, feel free to change your mantras every 30 days or so. You want to keep the process fun, engaging and inspiring.

The key is to be consistent with this new transformation. You've built enough bad habits in the past and it takes a while to let new empowering ideas to sink in.

Be patient with it to make this work.

Tip #3 Don't Let Naysayers Stop You

Your family members, friends, coworkers or even some online forum acquaintances may think you're crazy repeating something unproven every day.

Well, do you harm them when you have fun affirming the kind of ideal self you want to become? Hell no!

You're building a stronger frame, a stronger personal reality, a stronger lens to perceive the world in an empowering way that serves you the most.

Let go of the need of getting everyone's permission and pleasing them with your acts.

YOU are the most important person of YOUR life. Just do whatever benefits you the most and stick with it.

At the end of the day, when you perform these insane habits and weirdly succeed, everyone is going to benefit from your effort and the world will thank you for that.

So go out there, find your personal mantras to use, repeat them every day for the next 30 days, and experience the mindset shift that propels you to succeed!

http://ezinearticles.com/?Do-Daily-Success-Mantras-Actually-Work?&id=9520433

Renewing Your Character Daily

If we were born selfless and centered, strong and virtuous character would be perfectly natural for us. We wouldn't have to think about it at all. But we were born just the opposite - selfish and self-centered. Strength and virtue will have to be acquired and developed over time and tribulation. The more stubborn and lazy we are the longer it takes, and the more we suffer guilt, regret and injured or failed relationships. The laziness refers to an aspect of human nature that's loathe to do the maintenance part of the work. Everyone "wants" to build character and integrity but few want to do the required maintenance.

Doing something that's against your ego or self-centered nature requires diligent attention. You can't just do it once and forget it. That's because your self-centeredness is still operating. And until that's overcome, you have to remain in maintenance mode indefinitely. It's like an alcoholic who can't heal his disease or change his genetic makeup - but he can stop drinking!

How frequently must this "renewal maintenance" be practiced? Every New Year? We all know that doesn't work. How about every new month - perhaps to coincide with the full moon? No. The full moon has too mystical a connotation. You may be a little eccentric but you're not loony! How about at the beginning of every new week? No. That's too infrequent to work. But at least we have the new part right.

How about starting your life anew every new day? Now thats doable - and most effective. A new day is always so full of promise and anticipation. Wipe the slate clean daily. Start fresh with the rising of each new sun. Yesterday is in the history books. Recreate or reinvent yourself every day in the image of your ideal.

Made a mistake? Said or did the wrong thing or in the wrong way or at the wrong time? No problem. Think nothing of it. Tomorrow you can correct it and it's like it never happened. That's the magic of living one day at a time. If the person you offended continues judgment against you beyond the day, that's his or her failing. Not yours. You move on to do the next right thing in the next present moment, while the "offended" person remains indefinitely stuck in his misery.

All you have to do is be aware of the error in the present moment. Once you clearly recognize the flaw or shortcoming in what you think, say or do, it's much easier to not do it again. Mistakes are not the problem, but repeating them due to lack of detached awareness is the problem, is the sin. Simply notice your denial when you're in denial. Notice your procrastination while procrastinating, your complacency, your fear, insecurity, resentment, anger, impatience, and so on - while you're in that mode.

Asking is key to getting. The first thing you do each morning is get on your knees - literally or figuratively, and ask your higher self or higher power - which is located in the subconscious part of your mind, to remove that particular defect of character by name. And depending on your degree of sincerity, humility and gratitude - it will and must do so. It's amazing! Remember that a person of character and integrity doesn't do what he wants to do; he does what he has to do. And daily renewal is what you have to do!

http://ezinearticles.com/?Renewing-Your-Character-Daily&id=9447741

Start Strong Or Finish Strong - Which Approach Do You Think Is Better? (By a Public Speaker)

And your opinion is...

Since I'll wager you already have an opinion the real question is - are you open and receptive to another viewpoint? If not - get back to work or play - whatever - but if you are, read on.

During the early years in my career as a speaker I was told by many of my peers that I needed a strong start as the end of my career was many years into the future - "Don't worry about that now" they would all say. Then as the years passed people started telling me it was how I finished that mattered. OK so which is it - or is it both?

In sports they call it the "quick start" approach. In other words, the team that scored first tended to win the game - call it momentum or whatever. Many coaches still teach this concept. Now, I'm not saying they are wrong but if you start strong and your competitor regains momentum - then what?

Yes, starting strong will tend to create positive momentum but the real challenge is keeping it going. But, here's the issue - if you start strong and then stuff happens; a recession, economic uncertainty, buyer trends, new products or technologies, new competitors etc. are you able to overcome these and keep moving strong?

Since the beginning of my speaking career in 1973 - yes long gas lines if you are old enough to remember - I have weathered four recessions or whatever you want to call them. I started strong but four times my momentum slowed down and even almost came to an end on two occasions. Keeping momentum wasn't easy or in some cases took everything I had just kept plodding along. So, my strong start at this stage meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. So, now what? Well, all I have left is to end strong. Does that mean starting over? No. But it does mean a "reinvent" mindset or mentality? Yes.

OK, so you are in the sunset years but not quite ready to call it quits as you still have some years in front of you. Can you still finish strong or even finish at all? It depends. On what you ask? It depends on courage, confidence, skill, perseverance and a willingness to "reinvent" yourself, your life, your career and/or your business.

Or, you are in the early stages of your career or a business and filled with hope, optimism and big plans. Trust me - sooner or later you will have to deal with some kinds of obstacles that can derail you or even cause you to consider quitting. It's a choice folks and often not an easy one.

So the answer to the title question from my perspective is - both. Start strong and end strong and in between - just keep evaluating, revisiting, improving, growing, changing and never letting go of your goal, dream or desire no matter how the years may change or modify it or how circumstances cause you to consider a "reinvent" option.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Start-Strong-Or-Finish-Strong---Which-Approach-Do-You-Think-Is-Better?&id=9416007

Top of Mind: This Is How to Reinvent Yourself

Reinvention is scary, but anyone who wants to change can. Here are 5 ways to do it. 

Reinventing yourself can sometimes be a conscious move, or it can be something you just stumble upon. The best advice I can give is take advantage of that opportunity. The biggest difference between people who “do” and those who “don’t” is a matter of simply going for it.

—Chris Vaughn, CEO and founder of Saucey

When people want to reinvent themselves or move forward, they need first and foremost to be brave and know that they can do it. If they work hard, network, hustle and continue believing in their vision, it’s absolutely possible to make pivots and bring ideas to life. When people tell me they “don’t know how I do it” (which happens all the time), I tell them that anyone who wants to can do it. Just commit and dive in.

—Catherine Merritt, CEO and co-founder of MUMZY

I think it’s important to recognize that reinvention, whether personal or professional, can be scary. Often people think it happens overnight. Let me tell you, it happens over many sleepless nights. Most people have some level of fear of the unknown and stepping outside their comfort zones. I believe being honest with yourself about strengths, weaknesses and what you’re truly passionate about are keys to making big life changes.

—Kerry O’Brien, founder and designer of Commando

It’s very much about with whom you choose to surround yourself. It’s no mistake that I spend time with people who love to learn, share and build. They don’t settle for anything less than great. They’re organized, open-minded and have high standards for everything they do. So seek out peers who solve problems, remain positive through challenges and take risks.

—Heather McGough, co-founder of Lean Startup Co.

Follow your bliss! Think about what’s not working in your current job and think about all the things that would be ideal for you. Make a list and live with it. Soon you’ll start to figure out how to make money off of the things that genuinely excite you.

—Chris Young, author

http://www.success.com/article/top-of-mind-this-is-how-to-reinvent-yourself