Tag Archive for goal setting

4 Self-Care Tips For Extra Busy People

June 24, 2020 John Uncategorized No comments

Even in a time of downtime you can find yourself short on time.Here are some GenuLines tips for making sure that self care is one of your priorities.

4 Self-Care Tips For Extra Busy People

Living in challenging times can leave little time to take care of yourself. The constant wail of news and social media take a toll on your physical, mental and emotional health.

If you’re struggling to find time for self-care, try these four tips. They’ll help you work good self-care habits into your schedule.

1. Establish a morning routine

Starting the day right is a good way to maintain your mental and physical health. This might include a healthy breakfast, daily exercise or meditation.

Figure out what works for you and do it every day.

Over time this will become a habit, helping you to take some time for self-care every day.

2. Schedule time off

It’s easy to find yourself in a cycle of continuous activity. You move from one activity to the next until it seems you’re just going through the motions.

Schedule some time off so you don’t get lost in the chaos.

It might be an afternoon away from your normal routine. Then again it could be something more extravagant like a weekend away or a vacation.

Whatever you choose, taking a break will allow you to relax and rejuvenate.

3. Get enough sleep

Don’t underestimate the importance of sleep.Good quality sleep allows your body to heal and re-energize.

Proper sleep helps you maintain good lifestyle habits, too. You’ll be less likely to make bad diet choices and avoid exercise when you’re rested.

Sleep is critical for physical and mental health. Make sure it’s one of your priorities.

4. Set realistic goals

Manage your mental health by setting realistic goals. Why let your commitment to something unachievable cause you to feel like a failure?

Spend some time considering your aspirations.

Make goals that are challenging, but possible for you to reach. You also need to set realistic goals when it comes to your self-care commitments.

Add things to your routine that will work long term with your lifestyle.

We all get 24 hours in a day. Make sure yours include time for self-care.

JohnK 6-24-2020

chiforyourself.com home

Overheard: “Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop”

~Ovid

Article image by Tim Goedhart on Unsplash

Powerful Goals Are Yours If They’re S.M.A.R.T.

May 20, 2020 John Uncategorized No comments

The lockdown gives you time to make plans and set goals. When it’s over you’ll want to resume your life with a full head of steam.

GenuLines offers a list of steps to make sure your goals are powerful- and genuine!

Powerful Goals Are Yours If They’re S.M.A.R.T.

There are smart goals and then there are S.M.A.R.T. goals. The acronym S.M.A.R.T. can help you set better goals.

The letters stand for Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Reasonable, and Timely. Let.s take a look at each one.

S

Stands for specific. Be precise.

Use language that spells out what the goal is.

Why you want to reach it. And how you will get there.

Detail is important here. Take the time to do this part right.

M

Stands for measurable. For example, you want to add 100 dollars a week to your income. So you decide to write 5 articles a week for buyers that will pay you for them,

A

“A” can stand for several things, like actionable, assignable, or achievable. Actionable goals give you daily activity to get you closer to them.

Goals should also be achievable or you will only get frustrated. Be accurate about the time it takes to reach a goal, and what actions it takes to get there.

Also, know who will be responsible for doing it.

R

This can stand for realistic or relevant, and either or both are important and are true. If you want your goal to succeed, it should be something that is realistic or you’ll fail.

It should also be relevant to your life’s vision and match with your values.

T

Various authors refer to the “T” in the S.M.A.R.T. acronym as time-bound, timely or trackable. These are all important parts of the goal creating and setting process.

If you don’t set a time limit and you can’t track what’s happening, your goal will be hard to count as achieved.

There are plenty of words you can use to help you craft your goals. The important thing is that you need to have a process to help you set smart goals.

The ones you know you’ll follow through on and know when you’ve met them.

JohnK 5-18-2020

chiforyourself.com home page

Overheard: “A goal properly set is halfway reached”

~Zig Ziglar

Can You Learn To Be More Optimistic?

March 18, 2020 John Uncategorized No comments

Optimistic outlooks are pretty rare these days. It’s easy to point to everything that’s going on in the world to back this up.

GenuLines takes a look at some optimism building blocks and how you can use them to build a new outlook.

(You can listen to this article by clicking on below or scroll down to read it)

____________________

Can You Learn To Be More Optimistic?

We all know that one person who sees the positive in every situation. Some of us hate that person.

Some of us love that person. And some of us ARE that person.

If you’re not that person, you may be wondering if you can actually learn (or teach yourself) to be more optimistic. While some people are inherently positive, others lean toward the negative.

Are we capable of changing from one to the other?

There are many benefits to a positive mindset. Optimists tend to be healthier and they lead lives that are better in most ways.

Changing the Way you Think

It turns out that optimism is more than thinking things will be better and pessimism means they will not. Instead, we use these words to describe the way a person thinks about what causes adversity.

A pessimist tends to think about these things in a way that makes them feel powerless. For example, a pessimist might say their adversity is due to internal forces.

They’ll say it’s all their fault, and there’s no way they can change it.

It’s possible to change the way that you think about things. When adversity makes your first thought a negative one, take a step back.

Re-examine it from a different angle

Let’s say you’re studying for a test and you’re struggling to understand the material. It’s easy to fall into thinking that you’re going to fail.

Rather, think about ways you might better understand the material. Then work on learning and studying what’s needed to help you toward a good grade.

Re-route your pessimism away from making failure inevitable.

Change your thought process and study the material to boost your chances of success. Our attitudes toward things are somewhat inherent.

But it’s possible to change your thinking and be more optimistic in the process.

Don’t rely on clicking off positive quotations to yourself and nothing else.

Do teach yourself to look at every situation from different angles.

Do that and don’t be surprised when your attitude improves, too.

JohnK 3-18-2020

chiforyourself@gmail.com

Overheard: “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree”

~Martin Luther

Article image by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Patience Is A Virture And It Can Be Yours

March 11, 2020 John Uncategorized No comments

So patience is a virtue. Well, let’s get a definition of virtue.

Merriam Webster defines patience as “the ability to remain calm and not become annoyed when dealing with problems or with difficult people.” Simple but not always easy!

GenuLines drills down a bit deeper to help bring patience a little closer to you

(Listen to the article by clicking on below or scroll down to read)

____________________

Patience is a Virtue And It Can Be Yours

Patience is one of those things that can make life go more smoothly. But, a lack of patience can cause serious problems, even health issues.

Some of life’s irritants move us to squeeze a little harder on the hair-trigger of impatience. But we can learn to overcome and enjoy life one day or even one minute at a time,

Circumstances

What triggers your impatience? For some, it’s certain situations or circumstances, such as a job or a family problem.

Others may lose their patience when they’re driving or cooking. Impatience with job or family situation can be especially tough to address – and even harder to fix.

A good start though is to acknowledge it. Then focus on anything that may help relieve tension.

Seek help

Work toward focusing on pleasant things in your life. If a certain task at your job is causing your impatience ask your supervisor or co-worker for help.

They may be able to offer help or suggestions.

Also, they may have a better way of dealing with it or be able to adjust your workload. The problem with many of us is that we don’t want to ask for help.

We want to be able to take on everything even though we aren’t able to do it.

If it’s a family situation the best way to handle it may be to talk about it, which can be difficult.

Again, many tend to shy away or avoid difficult situations.

But, getting it out in the open and talking about it is often the best solution. Seek outside help if a difficult challenge amps up the impatience.

The problem itself may not cause the impatience. But it may trigger something in you that causes you to be impatient.

Focus on other things

Impatience can affect your driving, housework, or other routine tasks. Be ready by conditioning yourself to relax and focus on your breath.

You could try relaxing before you start or listening to music while doing any of these tasks. This is where gratitude comes in.

Be grateful that you can do routine tasks.

Some only imagine cooking or driving but aren’t able to for any number of reasons. Keep this in mind during the tense moments.

It’ll help you to focus on the task at hand, but it may also make you more patient.

JohnK 3-11-2020

chiforyourself.com home

Overheard: “A man who is a master of patience is master of everything else.”

~George Savile

Article Image by ErikaWittlieb from Pixabay

Five Effective Ways to Find Inspiration

January 28, 2020 John Uncategorized No comments

Inspiration can come to you in a flash. But it can also avoid you when you need it most.

GenuLines invites you to read on for some ways to get access to this thing called inspiration.

(you can listen to the article by clicking on below or scroll down to read)

____________________

Five Effective Ways to Find Inspiration

At a loss for inspiration? Here are five techniques you can use to try and coax something new and exciting out of your brain.

They won’t always work, but give them a shot. They may just surprise you!

Go for a Walk

Walks are inspiring for many reasons. For starters, they allow us to take a break from what we’re doing and to change our environment.

In turn, this leads to new input. This can help us to gain a new perspective on whatever problem or task we’re wrestling with.

At the same time, walking is a monotonous task that allows our default mode network to kick in.

You could end up daydreaming, which is often, a source of great inspiration.

Ask the Right Questions

Sometimes, inspiration is merely asking the right questions. This can help to re-frame the problem and see it in a new way.

Let’s say you’re wondering how to solve a problem and you can’t come up with an answer. Make up a name.

Then try asking yourself how ‘Johnny’ would approach it. Likewise, instead of thinking about what you want something to be, decide what you don’t want it to be.

Take a Break

Sometimes, the best thing you can do to spark some creativity or solve a problem is to take a break. With a time-out, you stop trying to force the idea.

You ease your stress, and that lets ideas come to you much easier. This is why we’re often encouraged to sleep on big decisions.

Listen to Music

Music can be a great inspiration. It alters our mood and energy level and takes us to different places.

Often, you’ll find that music can leave you lost in thought. So try listening to some tracks while you mull over a subject, and see if that helps.

Talk it Over

You’ve seen ideas depicted as light bulbs. Or, as lightning strikes that show up in a flash, fully formed.

When you ask them most people admit that their best ideas formed slowly. They’ll tell you that they gestated for days, months, or even years before showing up.

Often, the best ideas come to us when we discuss them with other people. Even if we’re just thinking aloud, this can help us to see new perspectives.

And it can lead to new breakthroughs.

JohnK 1-28-2020

chiforyourself.com home

Overheard: “Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out”

~John Wooden

Happiness Is More Than Thinking Positive Thoughts

December 24, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Your happiness level isn’t what you’d like it to be. Someone in your circle suggests that you should think positive thoughts. That’s the answer, or so it seems.

Today GenuLines looks at happiness as more than just staying in a positive mindset.

Happiness Is More Than Thinking Positive Thoughts

The dictionary defines happiness as “the state of being happy.” Not a lot of information to go on there.

Let’s look at some different things that happiness can be. But realize that in truth, happiness is in the mind of the beholder.

Your Needs are Met

When a person is happy, they usually aren’t wanting for much. It doesn’t mean that they’re not having a tough time.

Rather, they’re making what they have fill their needs.

You feel satisfied

When you’re happy you tend to feel satisfied with your life. You think about your life and feel good about your good fortune.

This could include your living space, your life partner, or the fact that you live alone.

Contentment is a hallmark of happy people. Whether it’s their job, home, health, or things in general.

Happy people do experience stress. But they have a way of drawing on their contentment when things are less than perfect.

You Are at Peace

A happy person often feels a lot of peace surrounding their life and family. They tend to know that everything will turn out okay.

They’re pretty good at turning negativity into positivity.

Your Definition

You can set your own definition of happiness. It’s not necessarily about getting tons of stuff.

It’s not about finding a spouse unless you want that. Or about having kids, unless you want that.

It’s a Journey

Happiness isn’t a destination where you’ll forever dwell. It’s a lifelong journey that will have many ups and downs and struggles.

Still, you manage to feel good about it.

In the 1989 movie “Parenthood”, one of the main characters is a struggling mother. She says she loves “the roller-coaster” of life.

Her husband, though, is struggling and not as happy. He focuses on the downs instead of the ups.

It’s How You Act

When you’re happy your actions lean toward the positive. You eat better, you move more, you think better thoughts.

Know that you have it in your power to be happy where you are in your life right now.

Thinking positive thoughts is not the be-all and end-all of happiness. It’s having your needs met, yes.

But it’s not about having everything, or even the best. It’s about being satisfied with what you have while also being able to work toward the things you want.

It starts with your thoughts. And it manifests with your actions.

JohnK 12-24-2019

chiforyourself.com home

Overheard: “If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.”

~Epicurus

Article Image by Gino Crescoli from Pixabay

Make a List of Everything You Are Grateful For

December 3, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Business magnate Richard Branson says he’s “passionate about lists.” What’s on your lists?

GenuLines suggests making a list that proclaims your gratitude.

Make a List of Everything You Are Grateful For

You may forget the little things that you’re grateful for in your life. But, if you keep them in plain sight, it can help you reinforce your gratitude.

So why not write them down, and keep them close by?

If you find yourself overwhelmed by negative feelings, refer to your list. It can serve as a way to reset your negativity.

Think of all the things you’re grateful for and start listing them. If you get stuck, think about the people in your life.

Who gives you happy thoughts?

List the aspects of what those people do to make you happy. If you love the way your spouse smiles at you, write that down.

It can be something simple, such as reading the newspaper on the train. The point is, no item is too small to add to the list.

Do you love the jokes that the server tells you when you get your cup of coffee and your muffin? That goes on the list, too.

Your list should never be complete as you will find new experiences and people to add to it. Each day, there is potential for people to make a small difference in your life.

But, remember that you make differences in other peoples’ lives as well.

Try to make those experiences more positive than negative. If people around you bring you down either avoid them or try to help them to be more positive.

If you are the one bringing people down, you need to try and reverse this.

The list will be a big factor in helping you. Negative and bitter feelings stem from not appreciating your life and all the things in it.

That’s one reason why keeping a list is so important.

You can choose to write this list on a piece of paper, or keep it on an electronic device. It doesn’t matter how you store it, but you want it to be accessible.

Commit to reading it and make regular updates to it. Add to it as you find more things that you are grateful for in your life.

Maintaining this list could be the basis for a book that you write about appreciating your life. By publishing your list, you may help others do the same.

Reading your ideas might spark them to be grateful, too.

JohnK 12-3-2019

chiforyourself.com home

Overheard: “Lists today are a way of trying to get through the day because we are losing a sense of time”

~David Viscott

Article Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Does Your To-Do List Work For You?

November 19, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

A to-do list can help keep order in your life. But does your list make the grade?

This GenuLines overview will help you get up to speed.

Does Your To-Do List Work For You?

The to-do list is a helpful tool. Something is satisfying about checking off an item when completed.

It can also be a reference when a boss wants to know employees’ progress. But, are you doing the right tasks to meet your longer-term goals?

That can leave you feeling as though you aren’t progressing.

Worse, you’ll be going through the motions of “doing something.” This will make the process of not getting anywhere that much more frustrating.

To-do lists are a good idea. But, you need to make sure they’re in-line with your goals.

You should consider taking a top-down approach to your tasks rather than bottom-up.

Start with your long-term goals

Where do you see yourself in a few years from now? If you can’t answer that question, you need to do some soul-searching.

Find what you want to accomplish at a high-level. Then, you can use that to break it down into granular tasks.

Finally, you use the mid-level tasks to help define the to-do list that you use daily. People put off setting long-term goals because the time frame seems so far in the future.

How can you be expected to know what’s going to happen five to ten years from now? It’s much easier to choose the shorter-term time frames.

You can measure what happens two weeks from now as it’s going to happen soon.

Commitment

Some people believe that declaring a long term goal and chiseling it in stone commits them to it. Remember that circumstances can change, and goal adjusting may be called for.

Don’t be afraid to commit to your goals. You may want to create a few long-term goals.

As you’re working on what it will take to reach those goals, you can decide which path makes the most sense. You can take into account both feasibility and costs.

Some goals become unattainable for one reason or another, so prepare to change course. In fact, if you can project these possibilities, you can put them on your list of goals.

Set your goals and break them down into sub-tasks. Creating your to-do lists will become easier.

And, they’ll get you closer to accomplishing your goals.

JohnK 11-19-2019

chiforyourself.com home

Overheard: “The best cure for a sluggish mind is to disturb its routine”

~William H. Danforth

Make Your Exercise Routines Less Routine

July 2, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Your exercise routine is so, well, routine! GenuLines has a few ideas on making it less so.

And in the process making it less likely that you’ll abandon it.

Make Your Exercise Routines Less Routine

It’s difficult to get into an exercise routine, and for the few who do, it starts to become too routine. In other words, it becomes too easy to stop doing the routines and give up on exercising altogether.

When you do the same routines with exercise, you get fewer benefits from it after a while. Your muscles get used to the routine.

And they’ll reach plateaus that are difficult to break through.

By mixing up your routines, your muscles will have new plateaus to reach and will develop faster. This is why trainers vary their clients’ exercises.

They switch up the sets of routines to keep the muscles from not getting the benefits from new exercises. Then, over time, they bring back the previous sets to once again break up the routine.

Routine exercise is still better than no exercise at all. Without exercise, your muscles will start to break down and become out of shape.

But, once you start changing your routines, your muscles will develop quicker.

Also, your mindset about exercise will stay fresh. That’s one of the best ways to keep going with it.

Anticipation

You can look forward to trying something different. Of course, your muscles will hurt when you give something new a try for the first time.

But, it doesn’t last forever. In fact, it should be a reminder that those muscles haven’t been getting the proper exercises.

Most people break their exercises into two major categories, cardio, and weight training. You can do cardio exercises more often than weight training. In fact, you can do cardio every day.

But work the weights every other day or every two days. The rest period gives the muscles time to rebuild.

Even though you can do cardio training every day, it is still beneficial to break up the exercises. You can do the same exercise for a few weeks and then change to something different.

Or, you can alternate between two or more cardio exercises. If you use a treadmill one day, use a cycle the next.

If you jog one day, then swim on the next day, etc. Shaking up your exercise routines will give your body the most benefits.

And you increase your chances of sticking with exercising. You’ll be happier as well as healthier because of it.

JohnK 7-2-2019

chiforyourself.com home

Overheard: “Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart”

~Gene Tunney

Knowledge, Trust and Being a Know-It-All

June 25, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Question: When is knowledge not a good thing?

Answer: when it goes to your head!

This GenuLines offering is aimed at keeping you grounded while acquiring and using your knowledge.

(Image by Tumisu from Pixabay)

Knowledge, Trust and Being a Know-It-All

It’s said that knowledge is power. It gives you the power to make decisions and even keeps you from making the wrong ones.

But, trouble comes into play when you get to the place where you believe you know everything. That can hurt your ability to make those decisions.

At that point, you’ll lose trust in your abilities.

You’re one smart cookie. After all, you went to a respected college.

You landed a great job after graduation.

But once you start working, you come to believe that you know everything there is to know. That’s when you’re in danger of losing your edge.

You’ll start to make bad decisions which could end up costing you a job or two.

It’s important to trust yourself with the knowledge you’ve learned. Just remember, times and technologies change, and you need to be ready for those changes.

Too many people get left behind by getting comfortable in their current positions.

Companies have been trying to help by offering training or tuition reimbursement. It’s a step in the right direction.

But without appropriate corporate or college training it’s a waste of money.

There’s another danger with companies that offer internal training. They can blame employees when those employees don’t learn from the offerings.

Even if employees learn their knowledge may not boost the bottom line.

These companies don’t rate the effectiveness of their programs.

What’s worse are broad claims that their training makes them leading-edge firms.

There are some great training programs online. These include websites such as Udemy.com, SkillShare.com, and others.

Keep in mind, though, that anyone can submit training modules. This can make your selection process hit or miss.

There are good offerings with these programs. But, you’ll want to get feedback from others.

Expired knowledge

No matter where you find training there’s a chance it will be out-of-date.

And sometimes courses get high ratings based on the fact that they’re well-presented. That gives you a false sense of security.

Be selective when choosing training for the current work environment. Be critical, but don’t let it stop you from seeking training.

Good training exists. Ask people you know for suggestions.

Stay in learning mode, no matter where you went to school or how much knowledge you think you have. In a world that keeps on changing, you’ll be way ahead of the curve.

And you’ll have the tools you need to trust your decisions.

JohnK 6-25-2019

chiforyourself.com home