Does The Time of Day Affect Your Motivation?

July 14, 2025 John Uncategorized No comments

Does The Time of Day Affect Your Motivation?

Do you get more done in the morning? Or are you the type who likes to work during the mid-part of the day?

Then again are you one of the night owls who does their best work in the evening or night? I worked late nights and even overnights for many years, though I didn’t always have a say in the matter.

GenuLines looks at this in light of these crazy times that might influence your choices.

Is there an optimal time for your motivation or does it vary from day to day? People who claim to be morning people say they love that time because it is serene and gives them time to think.

During the early morning hours, say before 6:00 AM, the phones aren’t ringing. The rest of the household is asleep unless there’s another morning person in the house.

But hey, they get it too! They’ll leave each other alone.

Different Strokes

Others need the hustle and bustle to get motivated. These are high action types who like to get thrown into the situation.

They love solving the problems that arise and the challenges they face. These types are often at their best in the afternoon.

The night owls wait for people to go to bed then retreat to their sanctuary. It’s a long wind-down period for them, and in fact, many of them will fire up the coffee to make it last even longer.

These are usually the light sleepers who believe they can get by with only three or four hours of sleep.

Believe The Science?

None of this is scientific. Most of us think it’s natural to give our best at the time of day most comfortable for us.

But it seems like there’s something to it, science aside. Think about the people in your living space.

Which periods are best for them? Ask your co-workers which period they prefer.

How about the people who live in their homes?

Some companies offer flexible schedules. So, people will try to get the time slots that fit the time of day they enjoy.

They feel they can get the most done. This is why you’ll find people swapping with each other when they don’t get the preferred time.

Whether there’s statistical evidence to support this is not the point. Most people find the period that works best for them, and they tend to stick with that for a good part of their lives.

This is the one time when going outside your comfort zone may not be a good idea. If the time of day is right for you then go with it and don’t fight it.

JohnK 7-14-2025
chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “The bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation” ~A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Can You Learn To Control Your Behavior?

June 30, 2025 John Uncategorized No comments

Can You Learn To Control Your Behavior?

You want to change and control your behavior. This is a big part of personal growth and development.

Or you might want to learn more self-control.

You want to better manage your time, lose weight, or manage your money. You can do any of these things when you change your behavior in some way.

But changing your behavior is harder than most people think. which is why so many people have a hard time sticking to New Year’s resolutions. So, what’s the best way to learn to control your behavior?

Let’s take a closer look at all the things that influence your behavior.

What Controls Behavior?

We know certain things are bad for us or not in our best interest, but we keep doing them anyway.

There’s not a person among us who doesn’t know that getting enough exercise is important for our health. Yet we’re currently facing an obesity epidemic.

So, knowing what you need to do is not enough in itself to change our behavior.

A Goal

Having a goal is an important component to changing behavior. Without a goal, there’s no clear destination to work toward.

A goal provides you with motivation and a clear path forward. Having a goal makes your behavior more important to you and helps it clarifies what you want to achieve.

Goals should be realistic and attainable. And you should set a time frame for achieving them.

A Plan

Now that you have a destination, which is your goal, it’s time to develop a route, which is your plan. To get to where you want to be, you need to determine the precise steps you’ll take.

Your goals dictate your eventual, final behavior change. And your plan includes all the incremental changes you’ll put into your life to form a daily routine.

This is the game plan toward changing your behavior.

The Right Mindset

A realistic and specific goal and a plan for achieving it are both necessary for behavior change. But without the right mindset, you’re not likely to reach permanent change.

You have to believe that you can change your behavior. Know that you have the power and will to make this change that you believe to be important.

Controlling Your Emotions

Your emotions also play a significant role in your behavior. When you’re upset, depressed, or stressed, you can neglect the behaviors you know are good for you.

You’ll lean toward the ones that make you feel better. We use our behavioral choices to help overcome negative emotions.

Learn to identify and then control your emotions. This is essential for controlling your behavior.

Otherwise, you’ll find your best efforts at behavioral change sabotaged by negative emotions.

Putting it All Together

So, if you want to change your behavior long-term and enact real change in your life, here’s what you want to focus on. First, you need a decisive, realistic goal about what you want to change.

Then you need a plan for a gradual working toward this behavioral change.

You need to track and adjust your attitude and mindset about this new behavior. Be sure to keep your thinking positive and goal oriented.

Also pay attention to your emotional state.

Learn to handle emotions in a productive way. Don’t let them get in the way of your efforts

Combine these points and move closer to making lasting behavior changes.

JohnK 6-30-2025
chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “To change a habit, make a conscious decision, then act out the new behavior”

~Maxwell Maltz

You CAN Break Bad Habits

June 16, 2025 John Uncategorized No comments

You CAN Break Bad Habits

Have you been trying to break a bad habit for a long time? You read about how to do it and give it a try.

But, time and again, you keep repeating the same bad habits.

Are you eating the wrong foods? Are you smoking and can’t seem to kick the habit.?

Before you start working on how to break your bad habits, GenuLines suggests you think back to how you started them.

What kind of mindset did you have at that point? Were you a teenager who wanted to fit in?

You could also be overeating because you’re stressed out about your job.

Once you’ve identified how your habits started, it’s time to determine how important they are in your life. The correct answer would be, “they’re not important.”

But, they are important, or you wouldn’t continue those habits.

Try to list why they’re important. In other words, why do you need to continue with your bad habits?

If you get to this point of clarity you’ve turned the corner on breaking the habit. The reasons are important but don’t dwell on them and beat yourself up.

You can’t do anything about the past. It’s best to move on and try to stop continuing the habits.

The Key to Change

Stop bad habits by replacing them them with good ones.

If you’re a smoker and you have a craving for a cigarette, go out for a jog. Jogging can work for bad diets as well by taking your mind off your cravings.

You can deal with poor eating habits by having accessible fruit and vegetables.. Ideally, you want to have these ready-to-eat, and place them right next to junk food.

Of course, getting rid of the junk food in the first place is a great way not to have it within reach.

The next step in breaking habits is to realign your mindset. You need to focus on what you’re gaining by not continuing the bad habit.

For instance, if you’re having a problem with alcohol, try to keep focused on the way you feel without alcohol. For most people, that’s better.

You can break bad habits. It does take some effort.

But, your life will change for the better, if you’re willing to put in the effort.

JohnK 6-16-2025
chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “Don’t let your sins turn into bad habits”

~Saint Teresa of Avila

Article image by Artem Podrez: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-holding-burger-smiling-4728880/

Prioritizing Your Life 101

May 5, 2025 John Uncategorized No comments

Prioritizing Your Life 101

When living your life for obligations and commitments, it can be difficult to prioritize what is truly important. Without priorities, everything becomes essential and urgent, or nothing does.

Learning to prioritize is an essential life skill that you need to learn, regardless of your age or what you’ve already accomplished in life.

Without priorities, life becomes a series of reactions and aimless wandering. With a focus on what’s important, though, you can achieve your goals and live the life you want.

For active prioritization to help your life, GenuLines suggests envisioning what you want and where you want to go. Without a clear goal, it’s difficult to know how to get there.

Vision, therefore, becomes an essential first step to prioritizing.

A popular way of prioritizing your daily and weekly tasks is to rank each regarding urgency and importance. These are two separate qualities that are important to understand.

Urgency means how quickly it needs to get done, while importance is what is meaningful for your happiness.

Here’s how tasks might look using these categories:

• Important and urgent tasks are meaningful to you and have time constraints that require immediate action. These types of activities are often unexpected, which contributes to the urgency factor.

Without proper planning, though, lots of things can end up in this category.

• Not important but urgent tasks are usually the mundane tasks that keep life moving forward. Emails, meetings, and appointments that represent obligations end up here.

Having a lot in this category means your life may be running you instead of you running your life.

• Tasks that are not important or urgent are ones you can consider eliminating from your life. If your job or personal obligations fall primarily in this category, it may be time to reevaluate how you’re spending your time and what is important for you moving forward

• Not urgent but important tasks represent areas where you should be dedicating your time and prioritizing tasks best. These represent tasks that say you are in charge of your life and doing things that matter to you.

Being clear about your goals and values will help you spend more time in this last category and remove the clutter in your life that’s leading you astray from your goals.

And understanding how to categorize your activities can help you recognize how you are spending your time to determine if it is in your best interest.

Yes or No

Remember that everything you choose to say yes to in your life is a potential opportunity for you to say no to something else. Saying no to unnecessary obligations in your life gives you more time for those things that are important to you.

Saying yes to what matters means you are spending your time on things that are a real priority for you, not something else.

It’s important that your priorities are not just for your long-term goals but also for the day-to-day activities that drive our lives.

It can be hard to avoid distraction, but being clear about your priorities each and every day will help you achieve your dreams in the long run.

Reflect often on areas where your activities are not matching with your outlined priorities, and make adjustments to eliminate distractions in your life.

By choosing your priorities, you are designing your future, your vision for yourself. If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will do it for you, and that’s no way to control your life.

If you want to start living the life you want to achieve the goals you most want, make yourself and your tasks most important.

JohnK 5-5-2025

chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “Action expresses priorities”

~Mahatma Gandhi

Taking Chances On Your New Career

April 21, 2025 John Uncategorized No comments

Taking Chances On Your New Career

When you were starting out, you might have believed you landed the right job. It seemed to match your goals, your interests—your idea of success.

But now, you’re starting to wonder if it was the right call.

You think about changing careers, and GenuLines knows that often means starting over. That’s a scary proposition.

Especially if you’ve been in a certain position for several years.

After all, you’re moving up the corporate ladder and earning a pretty decent salary. Starting over is sure to mean a cut in pay and that can be a negative for you and your family.

And there’s more to consider than the pay cut. It also means starting over as far as the pecking order or seniority you gained over the years.

But, I’m Too Old

Another factor for a career changer is age. Say you decide to switch in your forties or fifties.

You’ll have as little experience in your new career as someone starting out and younger.

It can be a tall challenge, but there are positives that you should consider too. The first is that money isn’t your only consideration.

Sometimes, getting out of a bad situation is enough to overcome a smaller paycheck.

You can make extra income, either by selling online or doing work for others. And It’s not necessary to work at a physical location to earn some cash.

If your new career is completely new for you it can be exciting as well as scary.

Think back to when you started your original career. Any new achievement made you feel like you could rule the world.

If you don’t have experience, remind yourself that you do have work and life experience to bring to the table. If you have any management experience that can carry over, too.

And you know how to handle adverse situations better than your younger colleagues.

Staying in a career that you’re tired of can make you bitter and take years off your life. While you think about switching, remember others have done it and they’ve made it work.

JohnK 4-21-2025
www.chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “It’s not too late to be what you might have been”

~George Eliot

Article image by JONATHAN PAGAOA: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-a-pair-of-dice-on-the-black-background-14997903/

Success Takes Longer Than You Think

April 7, 2025 John Uncategorized No comments

Success Takes Longer Than You Think

Big Goals. Large visions for your life.

Any major success you move toward. It’s no doubt going to take a lot longer than you think.

It’s part of life.

You get a good idea about something you want to be, do or have. And the idea captures your mind and emotions.

The honeymoon phase is awesome.

You daydream and brainstorm your exciting new idea and its world of possibilities. You’re energized and GenuLines is ready to help you take on the world.

But if you’re new to all this keep in mind that you have some work ahead of you. Scaling a mountain isn’t quick and easy.

Looks Are Deceiving

Sure, from a distance, the mountain may not look that big. It looks like pretty smooth terrain and a manageable grade when you stare at it from a distance.

So you sprint to your starting point.

That’s when the work begins. And reality starts to sink in.

MOST people don’t make it far enough up the mountain to put skin in the game.

They quit early enough that the pain of investment isn’t harsh enough. The sting of quitting isn’t harsh enough.

But if this goal is something that you REALLY want then your first step is the “investment phase”.

You have to put in enough effort to reach a point where quitting would be more painful than continuing.

Once you reach this point, you gain a whole new perspective. The struggle doesn’t go away, but it takes on a new form.

You find a sort of peace and “sense of knowing” during your struggle.

You know you’ll make it to your goal though you don’t know how long it’ll take. But it almost doesn’t matter because you no longer count the cost.

You’re only focused on the path.

This is an easy metaphor to understand. But it applies to anything in life.

Make it a point to nurture your dreams. Have big visions and give yourself permission to dream even bigger.

Then, make CERTAIN you stay with it. Get to the point where turning around is no longer an option.

Even though it’ll likely take far longer than you think to reach your peak.

JohnK. 4-7-2025
chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out”

~Robert Collier

Article image by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/yelling-formal-man-watching-news-on-laptop-3760778/

You Can Define Your Perfect Morning

March 24, 2025 John Uncategorized No comments

You Can Define Your Perfect Morning

As I sit down to prep this GenuLines blog post a new morning is starting. I have my own way of approaching each day.

I call it my daily regimen.

How about you? Is there something you want to do that would make a big difference?

A habit you can do on a daily basis?

It could be in any area of your life. From exercise and healthy eating to working on your relationship with your kids.

Sit back and imagine your perfect morning. It isn’t stressed or rushed.

Best of all it’s a day when you have time for everything on your list.

This could mean having time for a long shower. Or going for a run before breakfast.

Or having a few minutes to connect with your spouse over breakfast.

There are a lot of “maybes” but the key is to start with what’s most important to you. Then think about how you could fit it into your morning routine.

Dream On

Remember, you’re only dreaming and imagining at this point. You’ll work on figuring out where to find the time to fit it in and how to make it all work out later on.

For now paint a vivid picture of what your new morning could look like. Get very clear on what you want that perfect morning to look like.

Imagine it in as much detail as possible. (And I would suggest you keep all this to yourself)

Write it down somewhere so you can refer to it as needed. In short, define your perfect morning.

Why is this so important?

Because you can’t start to make any meaningful changes until you know what your goals are.

You need to know your destination before you can start to pick a route and figure out how you’ll get there.

That’s what today’s task is all about.

It’s figuring out where you want to get to. Don’t stop until you have it figured out and firmly pictured in your mind.

JohnK 3-24-2025
chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it”

~Richard Whately

Live a More Fulfilled Life- Choose to Accept Yourself

March 10, 2025 John Uncategorized No comments

Live a More Fulfilled Life- Choose to Accept Yourself

You want a fulfilled life. But do you wear a mask of perfection?

Beneath that facade lies a whirlwind of strengths and weaknesses. It’s the messy reality of being human.

Even the most benevolent among us can’t escape the occasional dark cloud; So, what happens when your best intentions get sidetracked by your demons?

How do you navigate those turbulent moments that test your genuine self? Today GenuLines will dive in to the topic.

The truth is, all of us are a mix of strong points and weak ones.

That’s to be expected. It’s part of the human condition.

Usually, it takes just one bad day for the demonic side of a person to show up. What do you do when those days come your way?

How do you deal with that?

My point is that your flaws are what give you character. They’re actually what make you special and unique.

If people wanted to date you based on your good looks you’re going to be in trouble. Why?

Looks fade. What happens when the wrinkles appear?

What gives you character is your weird laugh, your quirky sense of humor, your off-beat way of looking at situations. These are things that people hang on to.

Crazy High Standards

Unfortunately, if you keep on focusing on impossible standards, you become blind to the flaws that give you character. Now, a lot of people can accept this, but they would try to rework their flaws.

They would try to reshape their flaws.

You could try this. Flaws can be reshaped, but understand that they never go away.

This is all part of the territory. Learning to accept yourself is really the first step in learning to live in a flawed world.

That’s how things work. That’s how they are.

You’re actually tapping into a deep reservoir of personal power if you accept your flaws. This means you choose to stop running away from them, apologizing for them, justifying them, pointing the finger at others, or otherwise avoiding them.

Instead, you acknowledge them. Acknowledgment is the first step.

Next, you learn to live with them. Then you take ownership of them.

Eventually, you’ll get to the point you need to reach: making your flaws work for you instead of against you.

JohnK 3-10-2025
chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life”

~Robert Louis Stevenson

5 Essential Tips for Managing Frustration

February 24, 2025 John Uncategorized No comments

5 Essential Tips for Managing Frustration

Let’s be real: frustration is a part of life. But managing it?

That’s a whole other ballgame. It’s not a subject they cover in the classroom.

And our parents? Well, let’s just say they weren’t always the best teachers on the subject.

If you’re struggling to deal with your own frustration, that’s understandable. But managing frustration is possible.

And these five essential tips from GenuLines can help to help you keep your cool.

Even in the most frustrating of circumstances.

Take a Step Back

A smart thing to do when feeling frustrated is to take a step back. Breathe.

Don’t react.

Take a minute to distance yourself from the situation. This way you can ask what happened and try to figure out an answer.

By stepping outside of the situation, you can see it with less judgement.

Ask if there are pros or cons to this situation. Remind yourself if you’ve been here before, and you’ve gotten out of it unscathed.

Even if this is new territory for you, chances are it wasn’t for someone else. Just know that you will survive this. .

Embrace the Emotion – Then Let Go

When you’re frustrated, you put a lot of emotion into a situation. Your first reaction might be to suppress these feelings. Instead of pushing down and trying to ignore them, identify what you’re feeling.

Then allow yourself to feel it before letting it go. That keeps emotions from controlling the situation.

Act When Calm

When you think you’re outside your emotions act in a rational way. You should make all decisions from your logical self, not the emotional one.

The goal is to respond to a frustrating situation, not react.

Identify What You Wanted in the First Place

Frustration tends to happen when you’re not getting something you want. What triggered this frustration?

Was this a want or a need? If it’s a want, is it practical or reasonable?

Or is this something you need to let go?

Make a Choice

In the end, frustration only leaves you with two choices. Accept the status quo, even If it’s painful, or change the situation to ease the frustration.

Decide which it’s going to be.

If you’re going with the status quo, you have to accept the frustration as being part of this decision. and learn to live with it or let it go.

Managing frustration isn’t hard so long as you can stay out of the emotions of the moment. Keep a handle on yourself and take the time to think things through.

Then act as needed.

JohnK 2-24-2025
chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment”

~Dale Carnegie

Article image by Ba Tik: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-punching-gray-wall-3754243/

Why You’re Not Happy (And How to Change This)

February 10, 2025 John Uncategorized No comments

Why You’re Not Happy (And How to Change This)

So you’re reading this while you grapple with feelings of discontent in certain areas of life. Especially when it comes to being happy.

I get it.

Quick fixes and hacks don’t deliver and don’t help your mood. The changes they bring don’t last.

Their temporary highs don’t give you genuine fulfilment. Enter GenuLines and our ways to point your life toward fulfillment.

The truth is, your life isn’t a circumstance beyond your control. Your happiness and fulfillment are not accidents or the result of external factors.

They/re a direct result of the choices you’ve made in the past.

The law of cause and effect is undeniable: every decision you’ve made has led to where you are today. Your thoughts, more than anything else, have shaped your life.

Your thought patterns and the way you choose to think have created the circumstances you’re in. And here’s the good news: you have the power to change your thoughts and, in turn, change your life.

As humans, we’re incredibly adaptable. We can thrive in most any environment, no matter how challenging.

But we often forget this power and allow our circumstances to define us.

We become victims of our own expectations and standards. We forget that we created those standards in the first place.

One key to happiness and fulfillment lies in recognizing that you have the power to choose. You can choose to focus on what you can control and scale up from there.

You don’t have to be held back by your current circumstances.

So, where do you start? Focus on the areas of your life where you’re doing reasonably well – the areas where you have control.

See if you can improve them, broaden them, or expand your area of control. From there, you can tackle the more challenging areas that may be holding you back.

Remember, your life isn’t a fixed landscape. It’s a dynamic, ever-changing environment that reflects your choices and decisions.

Choose to focus on what you can control and adapt to your circumstances and you can create a more fulfilling and happy life.

Don’t wait for external circumstances to change; change yourself by changing your mindset. You have the power to choose.

And with that power comes the ability to create a life that truly reflects genuine living.

JohnK 2-10-2025
chifoforyourself.com

Overheard: The habit of being happy enables one to be freed, or largely freed, from the domination of outward conditions”

~Robert Louis Stevenson

Article Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/yellow-cube-on-brown-pavement-208147/

« Older Entries

Chi For Yourself

Raising Consciousness..Living Genuinely!

Does The Time of Day Affect Your Motivation?

Different Strokes

Believe The Science?

Share this:

Can You Learn To Control Your Behavior?

What Controls Behavior?

A Goal

A Plan

The Right Mindset

Controlling Your Emotions

Putting it All Together

Share this:

You CAN Break Bad Habits

The Key to Change

Share this:

Prioritizing Your Life 101

Here’s how tasks might look using these categories:

Yes or No

Share this:

Taking Chances On Your New Career

But, I’m Too Old

Share this:

Success Takes Longer Than You Think

Looks Are Deceiving

Share this:

You Can Define Your Perfect Morning

Dream On

Share this:

Live a More Fulfilled Life- Choose to Accept Yourself

How do you deal with that?

Crazy High Standards

Share this:

5 Essential Tips for Managing Frustration

Take a Step Back

Embrace the Emotion – Then Let Go

Act When Calm

Identify What You Wanted in the First Place

Make a Choice

Share this:

Why You’re Not Happy (And How to Change This)

Share this:

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