Tag: neil panosian

MY OLD FRIEND MOE

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I’m here to talk to you about a dear old friend we share.  Our friend moe. Not this moe who happens to be the leader of the comedy group the 3 stooges. No I’m talking about a different moe, one who can and does have a great impact on our lives. This moe was brought to my attention in a conversation with my good friend Bret.

So who is this friend? This friend’s name is motivation. Have you ever noticed how hard it can be to get motivated some days? Have you ever noticed how easy it is to get things done when you are ‘on a roll’? Even if you experience challenges you seem to just find your way through our around them. 

Here is some great news, you can to a large extent control your motivation.  In fact, if you are not you may find yourself fall victim to our friend moe. Yes it’s true motivation can be negative. It can seem to turn against you.  Perhaps you may have heard this in sports.  The talk about teams losing motivation, or that the motivation has switched teams.

So how can we not only get motivated,  but stay motivated? Again more fabulous news.  In this day of modern technology it is all around us.  Viewing motivational videos on YouTube is something I do daily.  You can download or purchase these for your mp3 player as well. There are books on motivation as well.  Don’t have time? They are even on audio book as well.

Still the best motivation doesn’t come from outside it comes from inside. How can we develop inner motivation? Some people refer to it as ‘drive’. Here are some quick ways to develop yours. First, learn your why.  Knowing what has to be done is only part of the job. Knowing why you need to do it gives you motivation.  Be it ‘negative’ motivation such as if I don’t get my job done at work my boss may fire me, or ‘positive’ motivation such as if I surprise my wife by doing the dishes she will be happy and more loving. Knowing why gets you moving. Second, find a reward for you in it.  It’s great if you can get that externally such as my wife will give me more affection if I help her. More often than not, however the reward misty come from within.  Whether it be the feeling of accomplishment you get, or something more tangible such as “I’ll treat myself to ice cream if I can make it to the gym 3 days this week”. Then you also meet moe’s friend discipline.

So put our old friend moe to work for you! Feel free to tell anyone you like about your old friend by sharing this post. Also feel free to share your secrets to getting and staying motivated in the comments below.

RISE FROM THE ASHES!

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This is a picture of the Phoenix the mythical bird that dies by bursting into flames, but then rises from it’s own ashes to be born again.

This is an important symbol to those of us who have had our lives figuratively burst into flames. Perhaps we have worked a good portion of our lives at a job only to watch the company, and our retirement burst into flames and disappear. Then finding ourselves to old to begin a new career our life feels like we are standing in a pile of the ashes of the hopes and dreams we once had.

Much like the Phoenix we must use those Ashes to rise again! So this weekend if you find yourself at some point in your life where you feel like you are standing in the ashes of your hopes and dreams and everything you wanted to accomplish rise again like the mythical Phoenix and Chase those dreams harder than ever feel free to even print out this blog post and this picture to inspire you and feel free to share this blog post to inspire others as well as to leave your story about how you Rose From the Ashes

ALL ENCOMPASSING P WORD

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Today’s P word as you may have figured out by the picture is perspective. This word, as we are going to use it, is close to attitude. It is, however, a little more. Perspective is how we view the world. What many fail to understand is how vital it is to have a healthy perspective on life.

So let’s ask ourselves what perspective is healthy? The first word that comes to mind is grateful. Having a grateful perspective can change the way life appears to you. In my own life i have constant reminders of this. When my hours at my job were cut from 45 a week to ten it seemed I had been left up a creek without a paddle. Then I went down to help at a homeless shelter.  Not only did these people not have jobs, many did not have homes.  Today as I write this i strained a muscle in my arm at work. The man who served me my coffee had only one arm.

I was explaining this to a man I work with at the post office and his response was “so what it doesn’t change anything”. After inquiring what he meant he explained my arm still hurt and my hours were still cut even if others had it worse. He was right of course, the reality of my situation did not change. What did change was how I felt about it
How important is that? As we discussed earlier in this blog feeling good about our life is one of the major indicators of a successful life.

Another conversation I had with this gentleman explains it perfectly. He had informed me we are all like the lemmings who eventually jump off a cliff to their death. We are all just slowly marching towards that cliff. Shocking him, I agreed. While he saw this as a ‘why bother’ I saw it as the importance of making every moment count.  We never know where the edge of our cliff is. He further informed me whether the “lemming” was focused on all he had to be grateful for in his life or just thinking about the fall, he is going to die. Again, I agreed, but added “which one do you think will have more fun on the way down?”

It was the famous speaker Les Brown who said “you can’t get out of life alive, so you might as well have fun while you’re here”. Isn’t that the whole reason we are here? If you are not enjoying your life, you are wasting the life that has been given to you.  So do yourself a favor and develop a positive, healthy and grateful perspective. It may or may not change your reality, but it is certain to change how you feel.

Feel free to not only share this post, but share your ideas for keeping a healthy perspective in the comments below.

WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING?

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The question in the title of title of this post is what we are going to think about today.  If you were to approach a ships captain in a harbor and ask his next port of call he could tell you in one sentence. Now at the moment the captain cannot see his destination, nor can he forsee the challenges of the journey to get there. Still he knows where he is going and can picture it in his minds eye. He also knows if there are challenges such as weather he will make adjustments to his heading and continue on. It is even worse for an airline pilot. They are of course a full 80% of the time! Making constant slight adjustments they arrive most of the time on time.

What is the point of all this? The reason why both people can arrive safely and on time is simple – they know where they are going. Do you know where your life is going? What is your life’s destination? Quite often people are afraid to think of one, or to set a goal. Why? They are afraid. Afraid of failure. Much like our two people above your course will take detour after detour. Still without a port of call in mind your journey can often feel hopeless and senseless. A ship or aircraft would never set out and say “who knows where we are going, but let’s hope we end up somewhere nice”. The odds say they would both end up in tragedy. Would you get on a plane that did not list where it was going? Of course you wouldn’t! Still this is what most of us do with our lives. Sure we have wishes and things we want, but know concrete goals or destination. So take some minutes today and sit down with a pen and paper. Write down what you want your life to become. Who you wish to become as a person. List every detail. Then look at that list at least weekly. If you find you are failing or seeming to be drifting off course,that’s great!  At least you know and can make adjustments. Your life will have direction. You will feel as though you have a purpose. When someone asks you where your next port of call is you can answer them in just one sentence.

Feel free to share your goals in the comments below.  Also feel free to like and share this posts with others. It is always more fun to be around others with goals.

BACK IN THE SADDLE

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The day I am writing this marks my return to the gym after dislocating my shoulder. It will have been 2 months. 

It is amazing the changes that have happened in that time.  My energy had disappeared, my clothes are a lot tighter, and things hurt that didn’t before.

With all of those pain issues in my life and all the pleasure in stand to gain by going you can understand how excited I am. I can’t wait to be more energetic, more flexible and look better.

Still there is one thing I am dreading. Is it the soreness the day after?  No. Is it getting ready, driving there and going through all of that?  No again.  Is it wading through the sea of new year fitness people? Nope.  They are usually gone by now.  So what is it?

The hardest thing for me is having to start over.  Before I injured my shoulder is was lifting certain weights, running for certain time and distance. Now after two months off I will have to start from below that. It is hard not to be a little discouraged. Being a motivational speaker this is both a great challenge and opportunity.

So how am I tackling this?  How am I going to stay motivated and not feel discouraged and quit? Several things.  One I’m enlisting help.  My lovely lady is going with me. She is a great source of both encouragement and accountability. I’m also employing anger and frustration. These are emotions I always caution using. Here however, I am going to keep looking in the mirror and seeing how far I have regressed. Doing this will help me keep that fat crying like in the picture above while also being able to note the improvements.

I’m also interested in any motivational techniques you use for working out.  How do you stay focused? What keeps you coming back? Feel free to share with all of our readers in the Comments below. If this post inspired you or you think it would inspire someone you know please feel free to share it with anyone and everyone

MAKE IT A POSITIVE GOAL

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When people make resolutions for the new year it is surprising how many are negative. By negative I do not mean we are looking for bad things to happen, but we may too focused on what we wish to get rid of. Such as “I want to quit smoking” “I want to lose 10 pounds” while these are goals are good in and of themselves, they way we have worded them is in the negative. We are quitting smoking. Who wants to be a quitter? We actually want to be no longer controlled by an unhealthy addiction. We want to begin a smoke free lifestyle. Lose 10 pounds? Why? Because we wish to live a healthier life. Some people tell me “I want to stop being depressed all of the time” really they wish to add more joy to there life.

This may seem like splitting hairs, but it is not. All of our motivation comes from two sources. We either want to reduce pain,or increase pleasure. I think using a little of both tends to work the best. I encourage you to write down the reasons WHY you are working towards any goal. Try adding lots of statements including things you will gain by this goal.

If reading this has inspired you, or you have found it useful please feel free to share this with all of your friends

THE RICH GET RICHER . ..

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We have all heard this expression, “the rich get richer while the poor get poorer”. This works for a lot of different situations other than money. At first glance this may seem and sound unfair, but upon closer examination it is actually very helpful.

This was brought home by a conversation I had with a new coworker of mine. We were discussing his online classes and he mentioned how one teacher only dictated and there was no interaction. I asked him what he liked least about that. What he told me really got me thinking. He said the part he liked least was the inability to perceive emotion. He said the lesson could really be interpreted differently depending on what mood he was in. He then gave me the example of how if someone sends you and email and you open it in an anger mood some of what they say could seem confrontational where the same email opened in a pleasant mood would not draw those same conclusions.

Here is the interesting part of all this. The same is true on the opposite side. What really is powerful is the fact that this is a self-fulfilling lifestyle. What do I mean about this? Let us play this situation out. You wake up in a bad mood. You start the day by checking your emails. A friend sent you an email letting you know they can’t make the dinner you had planned later in the week. Great you think, he can’t even call me? You feel a little rejected. You grab your coffee and go off to work. “Damn why can’t the car be warm already?” you find yourself thinking. My coffee won’t stay warm for long you think. You begin to think about everything you dislike your job. Suddenly you just want to turn around and go back home to bed. By the time you reach work you are in a less than pleasant state. As you walk in a coworker greets you with a nod. “can’t even say good morning?” Nobody has time for being pleasant you say. This is just the beginning of your day.

Now let’s look at the opposite. You wake up after a good nights sleep in a pleasant mood. You start your day by checking your emails. A friend sent you an email to let you know they can’t make it to the dinner you planned next week. Nice of them to let me know and not just show up, you think. I really must plan something with Joe you say. Feeling grateful your friend let you know ahead of time. You leave feeling thankful for having such considerate friends. You grab your coffee and head off to work. “Damn it’s cold out here, glad I have a car to drive to work” As your driving you are thankful for your hot coffee until the car warms up. By the time you reach work you are feeling pretty good about how many amazing things you have in your life. A coworker greets you with a nod. “Nice he noticed me” you think. feeling you have friendly coworkers. This is just the beginning of your day.

Notice, none of the situations on the outside changed. Just your perception of them and how they made you feel. This may seem extreme to you but it really is not. Being in a bad mood does more than just color your view of the world, it also may cause you to miss out on certain opportunities that may present themselves or friendships that may be available. This is why some of the most successful people tend to be the happiest. It is not because they are grateful they have everything it is because they are grateful for everything they have! This is why it is important to foster an attitude of gratitude and happiness as soon as we are able. Feel free to use the tools presented in this blog as well as discover your own. Also feel free to share any you have in comments below for other readers.

This is why the happy tend to get happier. If you enjoy what you read here please feel free to let us know and to share this with all of your friends.

WHY YOU NEED HAPPINESS NOW

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Yesterday we talked about fighting the battle within. This is why the time to do so is now. Why happiness is not a decision to be made later or thought of only when we lose it.

Why is happiness so important and what is the hurry in putting it into practice? Simply put, life challenges do not call ahead. How often has your phone rang and a voice on the other end tell you “please enjoy this week because next week you will get a flat tire, oh and in the near future your job may be downsizing so you might want to stay looking. Thank you”. Doesn’t happen. Quite often life and it’s peaks and valleys catch us off guard. That is why it is so important to work on increasing the joy in your life right now!

So what can we do? Start putting to together some lists. Movies that make you happy when you watch them. At my seminars I recommend everyone create a “happy cd” or “happy playlist” they can listen to when life gets them down. Think of places you enjoy going, people you enjoy talking to,great blogs by bartender/postal workers you like reading. Seriously, know what makes you happy so when life gets you down you have something that turns it around.

These things may not fix your problems but they will help put them in perspective. If challenges takes you down a few rungs on the ladder of life, at least let them find you standing on the top.

As always please feel free to share this post and tell your friends about it.

THE POWER IS IN YOU

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Last post we discussed focusing on the positive possibilities and how that can transform your life for the better. We also touched briefly on something we could do to start that process. I highly recommend you go back and read that post. Ok, we discussed starting a gratitude journal, writing five things a day that you are grateful for and why then reading them as a bedtime story. Here is what that does, it begins to have you focused on the good things that are happening in life. Another fun exercise I have seen online lately is a happiness jar. Where once a day for an entire year you put inside the jar one good thing that happened to you. Then at the end of a year you have 365 good memories. When you consider that means 365 good things happened in  your life you may begin to shift your thinking. try it for a month and review it. I am going to begin doing this myself and I am sure it will add a sense of joy and gratitude to my life. It adds something else as well. I force that will aid you in accomplishing your goals, that will render obstacles powerless.

What is this power? Faith! Every religion on earth will tell you about the power of faith. They may kill each other over their differences, but they all agree on the power of faith. Now I am not here to tell you what to believe. There are other blogs for that. So whatever your faith is in, be it a higher power, the universe or even yourself, faith is worth it’s weight in gold. What is faith? Faith is a sense of certainty. When you are certain things will work out you do not fret that there seems to be a delay or obstacle. You see them as the temporary things they are. It provides you the reason to keep going. It provides comfort when things seem upside down.

So how does one develop faith? This is a personal issue and one I work on daily. I suggest focusing on things you have already overcome. Also recall situations when a solution showed up where none seemed possible. Once again I refer to a tool mentioned in my book A Happy Life for Busy People that is a  journal. If we do not record these memories they may  be lost to time and not able to recall.

I invite you to do your own research on developing faith. Also if you have practices you are currently using or are going to try, feel free to share them here for the benefit of our other readers.

THE BIG DIFFERENCE

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Several people I know live life with a certain sense of  foreboding. I have even heard them say “I’m just waiting to see what goes wrong next”. My thought is always why?  When I tell them why not look for what is going to go right next,  they mumble something about living in a fantasy world,  or how things always go wrong for them. When I mention it could possibly be because they are looking for them to go wrong I am faced with often disbelief and sometimes anger and indignation.
Truth is whatever we focus on we create.  Now I am not going to go into the science behind the law of attraction,  as there are sites dedicated to just that.  Here is the truth  – in life there will always be ups and downs, positive and negatives – when we are looking to notice what is going wrong that will be highlighted and seem more prevalent.
So what happens,  what changes when we look for, and believe in the good that is going to come?

Two major things happen when you begin to expect and look for good things to happen. First, you start to feel better. You are filled with excitement and joy. People may even begin to comment on how you have changed, or what is different about you. Second, you start to notice the good things. Not only things that are happening, or did happen, but things that may happen, or will happen! You start to notice opportunities that may have slipped passed you before. As an added bonus, the bad things may fade from view. They will still be there because any life has it’s challenges, but they will seem less intimidating and overwhelming.

So there are plenty of reasons to switch to focusing on the good. How does one do this? We will focus on that in depth in future blogs, but for right now begin to write down and note when good things happen in your life. One fun project you can do is start a gratitude journal. write down every day at least 5 things you are grateful for and why a day. Review your list right before you sleep. It will change your life. Feel free to share any ideas you may have for staying on the ‘sunny side of the street’