Month: May 2020

Where Next?

Photo by Ashley Batz

We all have small accomplishments that we can pride ourselves with and patting ourselves on the back can be helpful and reassuring. But what if we think that that’s the best we can do? One college degree, landing a ‘safe’ job, providing for our family. By falling into the patterns of success that others, generations before, laid out for us, can prevent us from being truthful to ourselves and prevents overall progress.

The job, the car, the house. A circle of expenses where we produce just about enough to get by while holding on to our tokens of achievement. So many of us can’t seem to see outside of this vicious circle. The businesses are dehumanized, as if they’re not built by fellow humans. And we fall for the illusion that others will know what’s best for us, even after experiencing pain from a young age while sitting through classes in school for four, six, eight hours a day. Even then we still believe the narrative that that’s all that life has to offer.

What do you have to offer? What are your wants and needs? Your unexplored skills, waiting to be developed? And what value can you bring into the world?

AndreeaLeave a comment

Self-Worth. Who Can Give It to You?

Photo by Zulnureen Shariff

Let’s be blunt – no one can. Self-worth is the result of decisions and actions that lift us up and allow us to be more than we used to be. If we didn’t exercise at all and we started doing 5-10-15 push-ups a day, that will contribute to our feeling of self-worth.

Self-worth is not a one time type of purchase, it’s more like getting an item that gets out of fashion the next day. We need to reinvest time every single day to be able to experience self-worth every single day. The good news is that the activities that make us feel worthy, also help us grow. And given that we have a set of values that encourages kindness, compassion and positivity, our own growth will reinforce our values and with that, build a stronger sense of self.

AndreeaLeave a comment

How Decisions Dictate Our Actions

Photo by Miguel Bruna

If we decide to be successful or come up with a plan and don’t implement it, we can be tricked into thinking that decisions and actions have little to do with each other. However, making the decision of planning and the decision of implementing the plan are two different things. They are both actions, which is a positive, but plans are probably only useful in jobs where we are in for the hours and the ‘free time’ weekend reward – meaning, we couldn’t care less.

Not caring is not something that we can switch on and off as we please. Not at first. If we are in the mindset of making tasks appear like that they’ve been dealt with, postponing deadlines and dragging our feet around, that’s a setback that requires a huge shift. If you are an entrepreneur ‘after hours’ and are still in a job to support you while you are taking your business of the ground, you’d be impressed to hear that you have the ability to deliver high quality of work throughout the entire day.

You have the power to change into a person that gets things done without being conditioned by the threat of a deadline or rewards. That’s an attitude that we need to take into each area of our life – finances, relationships, health. Decide to care at every single level and you will experience impressive growth. You will master the power of decision.

AndreeaLeave a comment

Navigating Through Life with a Beginner’s Mind

Photo by Ben Mullins

Staying humble about what we think we know might sound unnatural and it definitely can be challenging, considering that we are spending our lives trying to prove ourselves from a young age, but it’s a must. Why? A flexible way of thinking allows us to welcome new information with an open mind. It helps us grow and it helps us adjust.

If you ever worked on a project and found it challenging to adjust to change or to update the plan, then you have an idea as to what the ‘always right’ mind is capable of. A beginner’s mind does the opposite. It allows us to receive new information assuming that the information we already hold might not be the truest representation of the current reality. Our mind has a tendency of staying stuck in the past. Accepting reality as ever-changing is a way of staying present. When we are open to learn, nothing will surprise us.

AndreeaLeave a comment

Where Should We Be on the Path to Success?

Photo by delfi de la Rua

Time can easily go unaccounted for, but we all have dreams. The most important question when pursuing our dreams is looking at where we are versus what we should be doing. Time unaccounted for is time that hasn’t been maximised to grow the skills we need that will help us in the long run.

Thinking small will keep us small. If we can uncover the big dreams and expectations we had from life and from ourselves from a very early stage, we can use discipline to get there. We need a purpose in life, may it be a housework project, career or personal development, we need to know where we want to reach. The road will always be unknown, but ensuring that we are on the right track will bring familiarity into our journey. Success feels familiar when we’ve projected it in advance.

AndreeaLeave a comment

Perfection Isn’t Real, Consistent Effort Is

Photo by Milan De Clercq

There are times when we are fearful to even start a process. This can be because we are setting unrealistic expectations. We mistake perfection with a perfectly newborn baby, forgetting the effort and care that the mother has put in not just during the nine months of pregnancy, but in the time before also.

Doing constant exercise, changing our eating and sleeping habits, introducing reading, journaling, meditation, affirmations and gratitude in our routine will change our life in tiny chunks, so much so that over a 12 months period we will be able to recognise massive improvement.

We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.

– Jim Rohn

It’s okay to strive for perfection as long as we understand that it is our effort that will get us as close to the highest expression of ourselves as possible.

AndreeaLeave a comment