The new year of 2019 is here!
A good time to thank you for choosing GenuLines and Chi For Yourself.
Also a good time to send you “good chi” toward living your Genuine Life.
All the best!
JohnK 1-1-2019
Tag Archive for emotional well-being
Failed To Reach A Goal? Move On And Learn From It!
So your goal(s) for 2018 failed. You’re looking for a better 2019.
But you’re not really sure how you’ll do it. Maybe it’s how you’re looking at it.
Today GenuLines looks at failure and offers some ideas on how to re-frame it.
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Failed To Reach A Goal? Move On And Learn From It!
We tend to think of missing our goals as something shameful, undesirable. Failing to realize our intentions can cause negative feelings.
No matter how big or small the goal.
The way to overcome those feelings is by changing the way you understand failure. It’s part of the success process and it teaches valuable lessons if we know how to learn from it.
Ways to redefine failure and learn from it
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Learning from your mistakes is about more than just thinking about what went wrong.
The first step towards using failure as a tool for success is to stop seeing mistakes as shameful.
Think about it – a mistake is not only a natural part of embarking on a new project; it is also part of the human experience. Accept it as a necessary step towards achieving your goals.
In her article “Strategies for Learning from Failure”, Amy C. Edmondson classifies mistakes:
Preventable
These are the mistakes we often think of as bad. They result from a lack of focus or attention to the procedures needed to achieve the goal.
Complexity-related
These mistakes happen when the goal is the product of various factors. They include:
- your own motivation
- previous skills
- your environment
- support network
- your resources
If any of these fail, you might be unable to reach the goal.
Intelligent mistakes
According to Adam Mendler, having the freedom to make mistakes increases creativity. And it boosts work performance.
Mendler looks at the pressures to avoid mistakes and the shame that comes with them. Minus those, he found that employees contribute more often.
And they’re able to express more original ideas.
For example, many inventors stumbled upon some of the great inventions. Think Post-It notes or penicillin.
There is a beginning step toward learning from the setback, whatever its source. Remove any negative feelings about it and re-frame it as a source of new knowledge.
What’s next?
Rethink your approach to your goal
Now that you’re looking at the mistake without judgment, think of how you got into the situation.
Guy Winch* suggests you analyze your motivation levels, focus, and mindset.
Did you feel less motivated to achieve your goal at some point? Did something else distract you from it?
If your dedication and focus decreased at any time, make note of it and try to find the cause. Identify the internal and external causes that affected your resolve.
This helps you prepare for them in the future.
At times you can discuss the failure with someone you trust. This might help you see the issues from a different perspective.
Rely on your support network to pinpoint what went wrong and how you could’ve prevented it.
Plan ahead
Identifying what caused the mistake is not enough to prevent it in the future. You need to take steps to prevent that mistake from happening again.
Say your goal was to write a novel in six months. You’ve identified a few reasons why you couldn’t achieve it.
They include lack of time, insufficient planning, or lack of motivation.
But what can you do to prevent those issues from getting in the way of your goal in the future? In our example, you could scale down the scope of the novel.
Spend more time planning the story. Or set a specific time to write undisturbed.
Bottom line?
Failure is not permanent.
“Accept” failure. Analyze its causes. And look at how you can by-pass those causes.
Now you’re on your way to achieving your goals.
JohnK 12-20-2018
chiforyourself.com home
Overheard: “The errors of great men are venerable because they are more fruitful than the truths of little men.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
* “The 4 Keys to Learning From Failure”- Guy Winch
* “What Sales Executives Can Learn From Failure”- Adam Mendler
Prioritizing: A Key Stress Management Skill
We’re into a stressful time of the year, and prioritizing tasks may not be top of mind for you right now. But it’s worth thinking about, especially if the stress is really starting to build.
Since wellness is a high priority around here, GenuLines offers a tip “yule” be glad you used!
ARTICLE:
The skill of prioritizing can be a key tool in your ability to manage stress. It allows you to look at a set of tasks and determine which are the most important.
You’ll put your focus on completing those first at the expense of those lower on the list.
It isn’t about working smarter, it’s about dedicating your time to the correct tasks.
When you have a list of things to do you think that you won’t have the energy (or the time) to get through them all. So, a lot of it will get left undone and you’ll be left feeling guilty about what you couldn’t get to.
But when you take the time to prioritize them you ditch the guilt. You’re more efficient.
It seems as though there’s an 80/20 rule in every aspect of life and prioritizing is no different. In this case, the rule states that 80% of your activities contribute under 20% of your value of work.
Focus on completing 20% of your tasks (the most important ones of course). This way you’ll achieve more.
This should make your working life run a bit more smoothly and allow you to spend more quality time with your family (or yourself!).
The Trick To Prioritization
Well, there actually isn’t a trick. It’s all about choosing what you should be doing and what you shouldn’t be doing.
High priority tasks should be taken care of first. No doubt you’ll have more energy to do them at the start of your day anyway.
To achieve this, though, you need to be able to see what tasks or projects are of greatest importance. These jobs will help you achieve long-term goals, or have a consequence for not completing.
You might be thinking that everything on your list is important – they’re all urgent. But in the big picture many of the activities you consider urgent are not.
Good prioritizing lets you finish the most urgent/important tasks early in the day. Then you can shift your focus to the non-priority tasks.
These are more than likely the jobs you find most rewarding. It’s human nature to put off tasks that aren’t enjoyable and instead indulge your enjoyable tasks.
You can put tasks in order of importance to keep yourself on track or categorize them. The choice is yours and you should choose whichever method would serve you best.
You can have a list of A tasks, B tasks, and C tasks. Of course, anything in the A category should be completed first and then you can move onto the B’s and then the Cs.
While you make your list question yourself about tasks you can delegate or remove.
Wrenches In The Mix
What about unplanned activities? They can throw a wrench into the works. These types of tasks crop up all the time and often throw your day out of whack.
You have to rely on your instinct in these situations. When you’re better at prioritizing, you’ll be more confident making judgment calls.
But consider your goals and determine how best to fit in unplanned activities.
How effectively you handle these situations will depend on how clear you are on your goals.
JohnK 12-11-2018
Overheard: “Action expresses priorities.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
Feeling Hungry? Get A Plan!
Picture this. You come home from work stressed, exhausted, and hungry. You decide that tonight might be a great night to order in.
Do you find yourself doing this two or three times a week because your life is so busy? The scenario isn’t meant to shame, Most of us have been there.
Life doesn’t stop because your day has been crazy busy.
The kids still need to eat. The laundry still needs to get done. And you still have a night of balancing your checkbook ahead of you.
Let’s be honest, who would have time to even think about cooking with a schedule like that? This is where the importance of planning comes in.
When you’re able to plan your meals ahead of time you won’t need to hit that drive-thru window. You’ll already have your dinner ready, all you need to do is heat it. With everything already in place, you can focus on other things while your food is cooking.
Taking one or two hours a week to plan your meals might seem like a hassle. But this can save you hours in the future.
Doing something once a week is a lot easier than doing it several times a week. One trip to the grocery store and one afternoon in the kitchen. This can produce an entire week of meals for your family.
But planning your meals is only the beginning. You can also plan your trip to the grocery store.
What was once a headache can be a breeze when you have a categorized list in front of you. Make an Excel spreadsheet and list your grocery categories in bold, (frozen, produce, meats, etc.).
Then put each item under the appropriate category and print it out. Now you have an easy-to-use, focused list that will keep you on track.
And, your printout can be a template for your future grocery lists.
JohnK 5-2-2018
Overheard: “True healthcare reform starts in your kitchen, not in Washington” ~Anonymous
Bringing Change To Your Life: Ya Gotta Want It!
Bringing change to our lives is great conversation fodder. But, are we really doing what it takes to bring about change?
Today’s article will give you some ideas to kick-start the process of changing your life.
While we’re on the subject of change, I hope you had a chance to hear the CHI FOR YOURSELF interview with Julie Simon. Our topic was emotional eating. Getting an upper hand on that tendency can bring major change to your life.
You can listen to the show by clicking on below:
Some of the talking points from the interview:
- Emotional eating defined
- Julie Simon’s experience as an emotional eater
- Re-wiring the brain for better eating
- Weight loss as a New Year resolution
- Emotional eating: women and men
Subscribe to GenuLines- get CHI FOR YOURSELF guest information and more!
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ARTICLE
People often say that they have at least one wish or desire to change something about their lives. Unfortunately, they often don’t move to change this.
They’ll say that their reason for not attaining their goal is lack of motivation. Then there are those who would say this is a lack of effort rather than a lack of motivation.
Let’s take a look at some reasons why people don’t put the effort into making a lifestyle change.
1. Lack of a reason
To make any type of change in your life you need to have a good reason to do so. Having a goal is wonderful but the reason you have to reach that goal fuels your decision.
Those reasons could include attracting more money for a move to a new location. or for funding more opportunities.
2. Setting too large a goal
Weight loss is a perfect example. If you want to lose 70 pounds don’t focus on this amount.
Instead, you can set smaller goals, say 7 pounds a month. That can help you stay on task.
If you meet this goal in less time that’s great. If you’re struggling, don’t give up. Refocus and set your next monthly goal at 5 pounds.
3. No vision
Having a vision of what you want is a great way to stay motivated. This is why it’s smart to keep track of your goals.
You can do this in various ways, depending on your goal. If that goal is to lose weight then keep photos and images of your progress.
If it’s another type of goal you might want to keep a journal or blog about your journey.
This way you can see what you are struggling with and what you’re accomplishing.
4. Lack of Support
Not having a support network can hurt your efforts to bring change to your life. Getting support from family and friends can be a big boost toward realizing your goals.
Put these four factors into practice. You’ll find that you have both more drive and more commitment.
And, you’ll finally start making those lifestyle changes you’ve dreamed about.
JohnK 4-25-2018
chiforyourself home page
Overheard: “There is no man living that can not do more than he thinks he can.”
~ Henry Ford
Subscribe to GenuLines- get CHI FOR YOURSELF guest information and more!
Sending You Peace In The Season of Peace
It’s the time of the year when the word “peace” makes its big appearance. We see it on greeting cards, on holiday wreaths, and in department store display windows.
CHI FOR YOURSELF has its own take on peace. This graphic pretty much says it all.
Enjoy the season!
Be well,
JohnK 12-25-2017
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“Big Ups” For Big Love And Scott Stabile
The CHI FOR YOURSELF interview with Scott Stabile offered us plenty of inspiration with a nice helping of humor. If you weren’t with us on the call you can hear the conversation by scrolling down the page to the audio player. Scott Stabile is the author of BIG LOVE: The Power of Living With a Wide-Open Heart.
Talking points from the show:
- Why Scott chose the name “Big Love” for the book
- The most important lesson from his parents’ death
- His compassion showed early in life
- Scott’s emotions today
- Forgiving his parents’ killer
- An example of “Genuine Living”
- Scott’s big “flop”
- Takeaway from the book
JohnK 12-18-2017
Overheard: “Enthusiasm moves the world.”
~ Arthur Balfour
Subscribe to GenuLines- get CHI FOR YOURSELF guest information and more!
A few “de-Stressing” Tips For a More Relaxed You
CHI FOR YOURSELF wants to help you reduce your stress levels. This week in GenuLines we looked at some “stress-busting” tips. Today we get some actionable steps that are easy to do and will help you nurture good chi! 🙂
***Stress is an overwhelming force that interrupts our body’s natural ability to fend off disease. Use the following actionable ideas to help reduce your stress:
Write down two places that you consider your happy places. Think about these whenever you feel stress is getting the better of you.- Plan your next vacation even if you have a bit of time before you can take it. Just the act of doing research for it can put you in a better mood.
- Find an organization that will allow you to give your time as a volunteer. Try to do it at least once a week or if you can’t swing that, do it twice a month.
JohnK 7-8-2016
Overheard:
. “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”
~ William James
“The Stress Solution and More “De-Stressing Tips
Todays CHI FOR YOURSELF scheduled guest (Arthur Ciaramicoli-The Stress Solution) will help us lower our stress levels. This week is a great time to get you to thinking about some ideas you can consider to begin the process. Each day this week GenuLines is posting several “stress-busting” tips. Tomorrow, you’ll get some actionable steps that are easy to do and will help you nurture good chi! 🙂
TOP TIPS
Stress is an overwhelming force that interrupts our body’s natural ability to fend off disease. Use the following tips to help reduce your stress.
7. Diet:
Because stress is an energy-robbing force, maintaining a diet that can
replenish our energy is an important part of combatting it. Avoid foods that
make you sluggish and sleepy. Eating fruits and nuts are great energy foods.
Drink lots of water to stay hydrated as well.
8. Take a Vacation:
Companies offer vacations to their employees for a reason. It gives the
employees the ability to live life outside the company. It also helps the
employees get away from the situation that may be causing stress and lets
them see that there is more to life than just work.
9. Visit with Family:
Even if you choose not to take a vacation, spend more time with your family.
You can plan day trips here and there or you can just all be with each other for
short periods of time each day. If schedules are scattered, try to set up, at
least, two days a week where the whole family must be together for dinner.
JohnK 7-7-2016
Overheard:
“Keep your temper,” said the Caterpillar.”
~Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
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