Persistence…

If you can get real with Persistence, what would it be for you in terms of daily action?

It can be sticking with your plan, no matter how hard it could be during the course. It can be sticking with your goal, and modify your tactics so that you can reach your goal. It can be sticking with your goal, and be on hold for a long while to figure out your next step when you are in dark and don’t know where to put your feet.

……

It does not matter what situations you may face, as long as you have determined to get to the end of your starting journey, you are a persistent person.

And sometimes, the key to be persistent is to do:

Little and Often

And you can Make Much More.

Take yourself seriously

Do you ever take yourself seriously? What did it feel to you?

When you missed an appointment, an assignment, a goal, a promise, what’s going on there?

More often than not that the missed engagements are due to your sluggish, lazy, unclear, unawareness of your responsibilities to yourself. You did not take yourself seriously.

If you want others to take you seriously, professionally, you get to treat yourself the same way first.

Very often, we forget the first and the most important relationship we have is with ourselves.

What is the importance for you, what is your intention, why you will do that… ask yourself questions to get better understanding your role, your responsibility, your intention, and your engagements in that context and the time.

With the good understanding, take yourself seriously, others will take you seriously as well.

Do you really know ‘Who you are’ ?

We are human being. We always search the answer for who I am.

Once we think we know who we are after soul searching. Have you had any thinking that you are still learning who you are?

Knowing who you are is a big achievement for the time being, as long as you know that the content of who you are is a moving target.

Because you are growing and discovering your potentials every day, what you knew who you are yesterday may have new additions today.

‘This is who I am’ can be used for justification, self defense sometimes. This will limit your growth.

So next time, when you tell yourself ‘this is who I am’, think it hard: is this really the case? Does this reflect my values? My believes? Can I give the benefit of doubt and leap forward once?

By doing this, you can enrich ‘who I am’ and know who you really by reflection.

Positive thinking… and?

You know positive thinking is crucial and important for your success.

Is positive thinking sufficient for your success? Do you need anything else?

Positive thinking is the first crucial step for your success. And you need more steps to be successful.

With the positive thinking, you will need be prepared for the bumpy roads ahead physically and emotionally.

You will need to have healthy body and mind to carry your positive thinking and energy through the journey.

Your journey can be an upward spiral, it has ups and downs with many turns. It calls for positive altitude, grit and stoic for your success.

Habit formation

To form a new habit can be challenging. This requires awareness, persistence, clarity, and stoic.

If you decide to form a new habit, you will need be clear why you want to have it, how to get there, what would be the result of it.

Early stage of starting a new habit can be exciting. You are pumped up and start your new journey.

The hard part is after you practice the habit for a little while, say, a month later. You may enter to a stage of sluggish, or confusion. Because this is where your old habit begins to fight with your new habit.

Your old habit may be stronger and nastier, you may lose your battle if you give up to your old “friend”. Or you can become tougher and clearly know what you want and where you wan to be, so you will head on the challenge, get bruises, sore muscles, and end up with new stronger muscles, therefore new habit.

When you decide to form a new habit, you have made an option to grow new muscles. Be prepared mentally and physically. You will be there.

Emotions are for actions…

When you are emotional, what would do?

Say, when you have various emotional situations: happy, excited, sad, angry, jealous, sympathetic, empathetic, fear… What would you do about them?

When Experiencing an Emotion it is a good signal for you to take action.

Emotions are telling you something about yourself. This is the best time to exam yourself and check what is going on inside and do something about it.

Usually emotions are reflecting either what’s going on is resonating with you or discords with your values and believes.

So, when you are emotional, it is the time to reflect again who are you, what you want?

Emotions are for you to take actions.

The most precious gift

What would be the most precious gift in the world one can give to each other?

What would you give to your significant other? to your children? to your parents? to your best friends?

I ask people about this question and I pay attention to the answers from some of the most successful people in the world. They say the most precious gift they receive or give is time – the time being with others, and the time you give each other.

The time being with others means you are there for real, not for a show.

We live in a hectic world with disruptions all the time. It is a challenge for anyone to be present without distraction.

Being there for someone is precious.

When the people you care need your being there, you are there for them, 100% being there, no divided attention. You are present for them: may be to help them physically, may be to give advice, may be simply being a listener, may be just there to share sometime together, may be there just giving them a big hug…

The time giving each other means you have empathy for others, you have respect for others, you have trust for others.

You give others time to think over about things on their own terms, you give others time to do things on their own pace and journey, because you trust them strong and brave enough to learn and do a good job. This is where tough love comes in.

Children learn how to walk, how to talk with different paces. You can’t walk or talk for them and trust them being able to do these themselves after all.

Time is precious. Give this precious gift wisely.

Self development

Self development is a life long process.

When talking to a 30 year old, she says she and her friends in the same age feel really grown up. They feel they are more confident than the time when they were 20 year old. And they can make money and live independently. They think they are in a very good place.

When talking to a 40 year old, she says she feels she becomes more clear about who she is now, and she is confident and has no fear to do anything. She feels she can conquer the world.

When talking to a 50 year old, she says that now she knows what is more important for her in life. She has courage to say Nos to things do not bringing much value. She has a free soul, does things efficiently and yet considerate. She is energetic, full of life.

One of my best friends in her 60s, she had her biggest promotion at the age of 60 years old. Now she grows her coaching business and running the company in full speed at her age of 66. She is one of the most generous people in my life. She says she does not feel retire any time soon…

people always grow, no matter how old you are.

Self development is a marathon.

When you grow your self, remember:

Stope focusing on gaining the approval of others and starting to improve and develop yourself.

Believe in yourself

How much do you believe in yourself now? 60%, 70%, 80 or 90%?

If your boss, or or your colleagues give you negative comments, how much do you believe in yourself?

What about if you just made a huge mistake, or failed to reach your goal?

The tough time calls for your character. It calls for your courage. It calls for your clarity.

You are a whole person – a person who is naturally, creative, resources, and whole.

Therefore, believe in yourself.

A 90:10 rule says: you should dominantly (90 percent) have your own self-acceptance and self-appreciation and only 10 percent from external approval or assigned worth.

Like Lao Tzu said:

“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.”

Believe in yourself majorly.

You will be more creative and you will be happier.

Say too much…

Do you sometimes feel that you’ve said too much?

Then you later on realized you could tune it down a little bit… if you did, you might feel safer for your position at work; you might make a relationship getting better; you might not become the target of controversy… in a word, you might have less hassle and live a quieter life.

Or,

You feel that you have obligation or urge to speak that much… so you can express your opinion; you can live for a free speech life; you may feel you are more yourself – true self. However, you might be living in a spotlight as well.

The choice is yours.

So is the consequence.

When you make the choice, you have to bear the consequence. You are responsible for your action.