Persistence is the Key to Achievement - Or is It? By Dr. Larina Kase

According to research, we’re more likely to carry on when we’re losing than when we’re winning. We try to recover our losses. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.

As a stubborn achievement-oriented individual I have a tendency to be invigorated by a challenge. Failure means keep going, you’re only getting stronger. I sometimes, however, become so focused on the destination that I lose track of the journey.

We become cheerleaders for ourselves (others may do this as well) and get so riled up with “Go, go, go!” that we forget to stop and ask, “Where am I going again?” and “Why is it important?”

What if all of those difficulties along the way are yellow flags? Or even red flags? We ignore them because we are passionate about our goal and want to prove to ourselves and others than we can do it.

Maybe persistence, in some cases, is ignorance. We get goal obsessed and lose track of the bigger picture.

So how do we know when persistence is our most important key to success and when it’s obsession and useless?

Of course the answer to that gets at the real art of decision making and personal achievement, which is tough to cover in a short article. I will, however, share some ideas based on the science of decision-making and perseverance.

Learn From Those Who Came Before

Interview people who have a similar passion and purpose to you. Ask them about persistence: How did you know when something was the beginning versus a dead end?

Take the Fork

The challenges may not be a sign of a dead end, but rather a fork in the road. You may be able to learn from the rocky path you were on and use it take the fork or to forge a new path altogether.

Listen to Intuition

We reason, think analytically, and weigh decisions and future possibilities with a part of a brain called the frontal lobe, and in particular, the prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain is distinct to humans. On the other hand, we inuit with a deeper, primitive part of the brain (the basal ganglia). It’s survived through evolution for a reason. Listen to it.

Proceed Slowly

You’ll be better able to gather information and make decisions about whether or not to persevere if you proceed slowly at times. Don’t go so slow that you get stuck, but don’t jump the gun and rush into action when it may not be the best idea.

Put Your Idea on Hold

Putting something on the back burner to simmer can allow you to come to new conclusions and insights. You know how you remember something as soon as you stop trying? It’s like that.

Persevere in a Completely New Way

Most great inventions have been the product of persistent efforts. But the great inventors were not trying the same thing over and over. Ask yourself, “What additional resources can I use to do this totally differently?” This is like stopping your hike down a rocky path, changing out of your flip flops and into hiking boots, getting a walking stick, getting a guide or a map, and changing your mindset (from “This is horrible!” to “This is an adventure!”).

When you persevere with a purpose, your passion, and a strategic plan, you’ll know whether to stick with it or scrap it and find a new direction.

Larina Kase, PsyD, MBA is a business psychologist and New York Times bestselling author. She helps service professionals and information experts to build their businesses using the psychology of marketing. Get additional tips on how to stand out at http://www.pascoaching.com

Sponsored by: http://www.Indiainfotech.co.in

Book Mar This

What You Must Know For Achieving Success By Brian Turk

Anyone who is anyone really wants to achieve success. Then why do very few people achieve such success? Well, it is because of one very important factor. This is known as people trying to hold you back from reaching your dreams and your true aspiration. You might say why would someone want to hold me back? The simple answer to that question is they are afraid of success themselves and don’t want to see you succeed and leave them behind.

See many people are afraid of true success and even the thought of success scares many people. This is why when you talk about achieving any type of success with these scared individuals they will instantly try to steer you away from it. It is a real shame that this happens, but it is the truth, and it occurs all of the time.

In order to achieve the pinnacle of success you need to do the following things. Don’t buy into someone telling you any different when it comes to what you want in life. You need to tune these negative thoughts and people out of your life if you want to achieve massive success in your life. I know that many of these people may be close friends, or even relatives. However, you can’t allow them to knock you off of your game plan. This is the key to stay on track and follow your dreams. Be nice about it, and tell them if they don’t have any positive or encouraging things to say about what you want in life, then don’t make any comments at all.

Sometimes avoiding negative thoughts from other people can be quite challenging. However, the more you do it, the easier it will be. Then when someone makes a negative comment about something that you want to do, it will be brushed off rather quickly. This my friend is the key to anyone’s success. Do what is right for you, and avoid any and all negative talk from people that try to bring you down.

In conclusion, most people are afraid of being successful, because there is work involved. They will try to do whatever they can to knock you off of your game, because they are insecure and afraid themselves. Don’t buy into this, and continue to pursue what you want in life. The more passionate and determined you are the quicker you will see true results of success in your life.

If you wanted to learn more about True Success, visits Brian’s Success Coaching website.

About The Author: Brian Turk is a well known top income earner in the home business industry. Brian works with entrepreneurs around the world. He devotes his time and energy helping and mentoring his team, so they can also be successful in this business.

Sponsored by: http://www.Indiainfotech.co.in

Book Mar This

Wise Words From Yoda! By Merna Throne

As I was kicking around topics this week, I kept going back to a quote I ran across in school.

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
-Yoda

Fear is such venom in our minds and hearts and it leads us to create much more hurt in life. Hurt that we carry around with us daily and it is often ‘unknowingly’ projected on everything or everyone we encounter. Often, we do not visually see this part of us….but, it is festering inside. Fear has many different faces that we wear: Anger, upset, frustration, sadness, judgment, boredom, and many more. However, we do not always see the clear picture of what is really beneath our current feelings. In the end, Yoda is accurate with fear leading to our personal suffering. WE are the ones that suffer from our unresolved fear.

With that said, it is scary to look inside because what if we don’t like what we see? What if we are not who we hoped we are? Do not worry, you were born with a very caring, loving soul and it is still in there. We just have some dusting to do of the years of life you have lived. Life is not perfect and we all have had moments in life that has hurt and disappointed us. These are the ‘unresolved’ items we have in the way of feeling peaceful again. Therefore, let us do some housework and start dusting everything!

Do you want to feel less annoyance, frustration, and confusion? If so, the answer lies right in front of you or should I say inside of you! It takes small stepping-stones to begin finding more peace. One-step at a time. If you take a huge leap and go from one extreme to the other it really is not healing, it is another mask. If you put on a ‘fake’ smile and do not look inside and care for yourself this is just another mask and one that will not last long.

I have been there many years ago before I realized soul searching is the key to happiness. You are not alone here at all! I have worked with countless people over the years that desire more peace in their life and find it! It takes some hard work to get there, but it is so worth it.

Please remember, it is much more exhausting to live suffering each day with unresolved hurt and fear than it is to work through it. I know this from personal experience and the people I have coached.

Therefore, your choices are starting today or continue waiting for life to magically change. Hmmm…I must add that the journey may be a little rough from time to time and it can be grand at others…..

It is so worth it!

How are you going to change your path of life in 2009?

Sponsored by: http://www.Indiainfotech.co.in

Book Mar This

Watching the Chatter Clears Clutter By Stephanie Bennett Vogt

Have you ever stopped whatever you were doing to simply observe your thoughts? Yes, to do nothing else but watch the nonstop activity of the mind–without doing anything to fix or change what’s going on in there?

If you took that experience and multiplied it by 24 hours and then again by 14 days, that basically describes two weeks I spent on the island of Patmos in Greece this past May. For practiced meditators like my husband, it’s called a meditation retreat. Depending on the day you ask me, a relative newbie to these closed-eye marathons, it’s called being-with-a-mind-that-won’t-shut-up… or, just plain hell.

This is not your typical ascetic experience where you sit in a lotus position for hours on end. This retreat is the deluxe version held at a beautiful hotel with sweeping views of the Aegean. Every day is a feast of fabulous 70-degree weather, gourmet vegetarian dinners, fun-loving participants, inspiring teachers, soul-feeding lessons in human consciousness. Two whole weeks where I am given permission (instructed, actually) to do absolutely nothing…and take nothing seriously.

Heaven, you might say, except for the fact that I feel completely consumed by the orgy of thinking that is taking place in my mind. Watching the gluttony of self-importance churning in my head is exhausting, even nauseating sometimes. And my whole body hurts. The fact that I happen to be on one of the most beautiful places on the planet is lost on me.

So why do something in paradise that is so not pleasing? I ask myself this question countless times, while I thrash about like an addict in rehab, ready to bolt at any minute. The answer: “Week two.”

Disarming the monkey mind (ego) and unwinding from a lifetime of spinning–”very important”–thought-bulletins like; “I need a cup of coffee…Caffeine is bad…My back hurts… I hate this…I love this… I signed up for this?! …Thirteen-and-a-half days to go… Everyone is ‘getting this’ but me…My back hurts … ” takes time.

It’s not the thoughts themselves, I discover, but the constant chewing (identifying, personalizing, feeding, attaching to) them that is so tiring. When I stop chewing, the relief is instantaneous. Like the relief you feel in your mouth when you finally remember to spit out the tasteless wad of gum.

Though the mind has no concept of this (and never will)–and employs a spectacular array of stealth tactics to charm us back into our old habits–the alternative to a “grasping” way of life is pretty darn sweet. It’s the magic that happens when we choose ease. Or take nothing personally. Or surrender to that deep silent space within us that simply knows.

By the end of my second week of mindful non-doing, something begins to poke through the noise and clutter of my mind. Nothing fancy or earth shattering, really. No fireworks or big revelations.

What comes into focus is me. Like those three-dimensional puzzles where the image pops in fully-formed when you soften your gaze: It’s the “me” that has been there all along. The me who hangs out in that timeless space where everything feels sparkly, uncomplicated, and clear.

Sponsored by: http://www.Indiainfotech.co.in

Book Mar This

Successful Resolutions By Carrie Fleharty

The ultimate success formula begins with clarity. Now that the New Year is upon us, many of us have made resolutions or have written down what they want to attract for the year. In other words you have determined what you want and desire. The question is why do you want that? What purpose does it serve? Once that is foreknown you will need to devise an action plan to develop strategies to obtain or accomplish your goals.

Your goals are just those very things you want and desire. We often flounder right here at this specific time and place. We forget to set up and develop our action plans. Those action plans are the make or break of a successful endeavor; whether it’s a New Year’s resolution or something you want to accomplish.

I firmly believe that the reason so many people who break their resolutions is because they left out the how to’s or the action steps. For example if you want to lose weight, you decide that going to the gym would be a good plan. This goes well, until you decide to stop going. You forgot to write down the steps that need to be taken in order for you to show up at the gym three-four times a week. By not setting those action plans, you have set yourself up for failure.

Here’s the way to help you become more successful in all of your endeavors:

1.     Look at your resolutions, your desires, or your goals; decide which one is the most important at this time. Imagine doing or having exactly that. Does it feel good? Do you still want it? If yes, then go to step two if not then look again and make another decision.
2.    The decision to have what you want and desire is yours and yours alone. So, list out the steps that you would need to take in order to have or achieve said goal. (This is the important part, because this is what is lacking.) This list doesn’t have to be in any order, just listed.
3.    Decide which of these steps will become the first, the second and so forth. This is the beginning of success, and achievement.
4.    Look at all that you have put down so far. What is lacking? What is the major aspect missing from you becoming successful? Now is the time to make a commitment to yourself, and take the first step.

Clarity is the first step in becoming aware of what you truly want and desire. Purpose or reasons will give the answer to the question of why you want that specific experience, or that specific goal. Without clarity and purpose why would you set a resolution or goal? This would mean that you are setting yourself up for failure; failure to adhere to your goal. Let’s take the weight loss example: If you plan on losing weight and the reason you want that weight off is because you are being made fun of at the office, then you will fail. Now, if you take the weight loss, and decide you want to lose the weight because you want to live a healthy lifestyle then chances is you will lose the weight easily. You’ll also set some action steps in accordance.

Before the action steps can be taken, you will need to know how to take those steps. Which step comes first, and which comes second, and so forth. Look at the strategy of how you will achieve your goal. When looking at these strategies you will find obstacles in your way. Those obstacles as well keep us from becoming successful. Our strategies will enable us to develop a plan to overcome those obstacles when they arise. Back to our example of weight loss: The obstacle might be time, so you will need to write yourself an appointment in your calendar for the gym. The other obstacle is eating unhealthy foods. You now will be able to choose your food more wisely because you have set up a plan.

As the famous Nike ® commercial states: “Just Do It.” That’s all it will take for you to become successful and achieve what you want and desire. This means work for you, because if you want something badly enough to go through this process then you will have to work hard for it. My theory is that if you plan, do the work, then you will reach your goal. Your goals will not manifest themselves by magic. That is our wish, not our reality.

Carrie Fleharty is a mild-mannered school librarian, who loves moonlighting as a writer. She has written many articles, and is currently fine-tuning her craft. She has taken many workshops and classes on the art of writing, and has a modicum of success. She continues to work very hard in learning her craft. While not writing or playing with books, she’s home with two Boston “Terrors” and recently added two adopted kitties.

Carrie practices a deeply spiritual life, and attempts to incorporate her spirituality among the experiences of being human. She uses her spiritual teachings to impart her hard learned knowledge to others through her writing. Her articles will reflect her hobbies of bicycling, birding, hiking, nature, sports, her spirituality and her joy of living. She is currently working on a book that exposes the aspects of changing her focus from half-empty cup to a full cup.

Sponsored by: http://www.Indiainfotech.co.in

Book Mar This