Archives for September 2019

10 Excuses the Mind Will Tell You Before You Take the Next Step

09.30.2019 by Angel Chernoff // 15 Comments

10 Excuses the Mind Will Tell You Before You Take the Next Step

STARTING NOW: NO shortcuts. NO quick fixes. NO blaming others. NO “I’ll do it tomorrows.” NO MORE EXCUSES!

The mind is a wonderful thing. It’s also an excuse-making machine that frequently tries to convince us not to take actions we know are good for us. And this prevents many positive changes from taking place in our lives.

I’ve had to learn to watch these excuses very carefully in order to make the positive changes I’ve made in my life: a healthier diet, regular exercise, meditation, more sleep, daily writing, better planning, less procrastination, more focus, etc.

If I hadn’t learned about these excuses, and how to suppress them, I would never have succeeded in making these positive changes. In fact, until I knew better, I had failed countless times when I was young because my mind’s deceptive tendencies used to get the best of me.

So why does the mind mess with us and make irrational excuses?

Because the mind wants comfort, that’s why. It’s afraid of discomfort, pressure and change. The mind is absorbed in its comfort zone, and anytime we try to stretch that zone too far, for too long, the mind tries desperately to get back to ground zero at any cost—including sacrificing our long-term health, happiness and success.

So let’s expose 10 of the cowardly mind’s most damaging excuses once and for all… [Read more…]

7 Things We Hold On To (Long After It’s Time To Let Go)

09.16.2019 by Angel Chernoff // 38 Comments

7 Things We Hold On To Long After It's Time To Let Go
by Erica Layne, author of The Minimalist Way

“That which you hold, holds you.”
—Tom Robbins

Jeanne Marie had moved her wedding shoes from apartment to apartment, home to home—for more than fifteen moves over thirty-five years.

In her twenties, she’d shopped exhaustively for the right pair, trying on dozens of shoes before landing on the perfect strappy sandals, the pair that would follow her around for the next three and a half decades.

She’d always hoped to wear them again, maybe for an anniversary or a special date. But it had been years since those shoes fit, and on top of that, she and her husband had long since separated.

The day [Read more…]

15 Little Things You Need to Focus on Less to Get Ahead Today

09.09.2019 by Marc Chernoff // 16 Comments

15 Things You Need to Focus on Less to Get Ahead in Life

You become a true master of your life when you learn how to master your focus—where your attention goes.

This morning, after back surgery nearly a year ago, one of my neighborhood friends finally took his first few unassisted steps. His doctor says he should be back on his feet full-time in about two months; he just needs to build up the muscle in his legs again. When I asked my friend what he’s looking forward to most about being back on his feet, he said, “Long walks with my wife.”

His response resonated deeply with me. It’s such a strong reminder that the simple things are often the most important, and that we sometimes let stifling thoughts and ineffective habits get in our way of being happy and productive.

Which is why it’s time to focus less on…

1. All the little distractions.

Focus on the activities and people that make you happy, and filter out the avoidable opposites. Truth be told, we often make our lives complicated when it’s really quite simple: Find what it is that makes you happy and spend more time doing it. Find who it is that makes you smile and spend more time with them.

Living your dream is really just a matter of proper lifestyle alignment. It’s about being [Read more…]

16 Reasons You’re Succeeding in Life (Even If You Feel Like You’re Losing)

09.02.2019 by Angel Chernoff // 15 Comments

16 Reasons You're Succeeding in Life (Even If You Feel Like You're Losing)

A big part of happiness and success is letting go of what you assume your life is supposed to be like right now, and sincerely appreciating it for everything that it is.

At times we all feel less than adequate. We feel like we’re running in place, struggling to make even the slightest bit of progress. And while this is a perfectly normal feeling, you have to ultimately break free from it and see yourself and your life in a more positive light.

The key is to pay attention to the small things. Just because you’re not where you want to be, doesn’t mean you’re a failure. In fact, quite the opposite is true. To be truly happy and successful today doesn’t mean you don’t desire more in the future, it means you are sincerely thankful for what you have already accomplished and patient for everything yet to come.

Train your mind to see the good side of what’s in front of you. Life is a series of thousands of tiny miracles. Notice them. Notice again and again how fortunate you are. The evidence is all around you right now, and it’s beautiful, and well worth gathering into your awareness.

Every morning when you wake up, think of three things that are going well in your life at the moment. As you fall asleep every night, fill your mind with an appreciation for all the small things that went well during the day. Examine your daily successes.

Give the power of your thinking to the positive influences in your life, and they will grow stronger and more influential every day. Remind yourself of what works well and why, and you’ll naturally find ways to make lots of other things work well too. The most efficient way to enjoy more success in life is [Read more…]