Tag: Gratitude

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Five Boosts 12/1/20 – Be Thankful for Imperfections

Written by Steven Ray Marks Leave a Comment on Five Boosts 12/1/20 – Be Thankful for Imperfections
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Five Easy Ways to Make Your Life Better for 12/1/20

Before getting to this week’s boosts, I want to thank Lynn DeLong for her lovely review of The Weight Loss Habit. Please do check it out.

5 Reasons to Embrace Your Imperfections

(Josh Spector | For the Interested | 700 words)

Imperfections make us unique. They make our creations interesting and relatable. And give us room to grow.

Perfect is boring.

Moreover, there’s no such thing as perfect. It’s an unattainable standard. Chasing perfection is an excuse to avoid finishing our work.

Related: Perfectionism Paralysis Can be Beaten by Half-Assing It

The Power of Thankfulness: 5 Essential Tips

(Henrik Edberg | Positivity Blog | 725 words)

Gratitude hugely increases your happiness.

  1. Think of three things to be thankful for today, and 3 people to be thankful for in life.
  2. Tell people you’re thankful for them.
  3. Think of 3 aspects of yourself you’re thankful for.
  4. Be thankful for things you take for granted.
  5. Start and end your day with thankfulness.

Delightful December Can Make You Happier

(Steven Ray Marks | Self Helping Yourself | 825 words)

Delightful December is a month-long challenge to dramatically improve your mood.

  1. Avoid posting anything negative on social media.
  2. Instead, every day in December, post:
  • Something you’re grateful for.
  • Something that made you happy.
  • Something you’re looking forward to.

5 Tools to Manage Anxiety When it Arises

(Kristina Hallett, PhD, ABPP | Mind Body Green | 875 words)

A certain amount of anxiety is normal. To manage it:

  1. Stop with the “what-ifs.”
  2. Return to the present moment.
  3. Engage your senses.
  4. Practice progressive muscle relaxation.
  5. Go for a walk.

What Successful People Know About Failure

(LaRae Quy | laraequy.com | 1300 words)

Everyone experiences failure. It’s naturally unpleasant, but it’s also an opportunity.

  1. Failure feeds the starving brain. Is this a challenge to keep pursuing, or should we shift focus to something else?
  2. Failure gives us humility.
  3. Failure leads to new discoveries.
  4. Failure gets our attention.

Bonus Boost

15 Ways to Avoid Gaining Weight Over the Holidays

(Steven Ray Marks | Self Helping Yourself | 1750 words)

The holidays are an especially difficult time for those of us who struggle with weight.

Here are some tips to avoid common pitfalls, without relying on willpower. Including:

  • Skip less exciting dishes.
  • Serve yourself tiny portions.
  • Compliment people while declining their food.
  • Use a smaller plate.
  • Don’t sit or stand near food.

Self Helping Yourself Tweet of the Week

Be sure to follow @YourselfHelping on Twitter.

Enjoy Five Boosts By Self Helping Yourself? Be sure to Subscribe and check out the Self Helping Yourself site.

Enjoy Five Boosts? Please consider buying me a coffee.

I work hard reviewing hundreds of articles a week to find five that contain the best advice on easy ways to improve your life.

As well as writing the posts for Self Helping Yourself, and Rockstar Excel.

If you can’t donate, you can always help by subscribing, recommending Five Boosts, Self Helping Yourself, or any articles to your friends, or by rating/reviewing The Weight Loss Habit on Amazon. (If you’ve read it.)

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Memory, Perfectionism, and Gratitude – Five Boosts 7/19/20

Written by Steven Ray Marks Leave a Comment on Memory, Perfectionism, and Gratitude – Five Boosts 7/19/20
Splotchy Brain

Five Easy Ways to Make Your Life Better for 7/19/20

Accepting Your Memory is Unreliable Will Make You Happier
(Self Helping Yourself | Steven Ray Marks)
Humans have unreliable memories. Since you’re a human, that means you shouldn’t have confidence in your own memories. But realizing this can make you much happier, by increasing your willingness to compromise, forgive, and grow as a person.

Take Back Five Minutes of Your Day With the 5-Minute Challenge
(joshspector.com | Josh Spector | Subscribe)
Pick one thing to do for five minutes a day. Set a timer, and don’t allow any distractions, and don’t stop early. You’ll be amazed how much you get done in those five minutes, and how many ideas you come up with for whatever it is you’re doing.

I’m a huge fan of Josh Spector, and I highly recommend his For The Interested newsletter.

How to Overcome Perfectionism: 6 Powerful Habits
(Positivity Blog | Henrik Edberg | Subscribe)
Perfectionism holds you back, by preventing you from ever completing things. To stop it:
1. Go for “good enough.”
2. Realize you hurt yourself and those around you by buying into myths of perfection.
3. Accept you’re human, like everyone else.
4. Compare yourself to yourself.
5. Do what you think is the right thing.
6. Shape an environment of human standards.

Related: Perfectionism Paralysis Can Be Beaten By Half-Assing It

The Surprising Benefits of Unconditional Positive Regard
(Nir and Far | Nir Eyal | Subscribe)
Unconditional Positive Regard is when you offer someone support, empathy, and compassion, and refrain from judgment, even when they’ve done something wrong. It still acknowledges any sort of bad behavior, but makes clear that we care about the person even if we don’t approve of the behavior. You might say something like “You must feel awful,” or “We all make mistakes.”

Adopting this attitude toward those you’re trying to train, those you care about, and yourself will result in more happiness and better performance.

67 Mood Enhancing Gratitude Affirmations
(Live Bold Bloom | Barrie Davenport | Subscribe)
Practicing gratitude, especially through a gratitude journal, is one of the easiest ways to increase your happiness. But many people who are unhappy or depressed struggle finding things to be grateful for. Here are 67 suggestions to help you.

Self Helping Yourself Tweet of the Week

Being kind and polite to people, whether or not they “deserve it,” will only make you happier and your life better.

It will make the world a little bit better as well.

Be sure to follow @YourselfHelping on Twitter.

Enjoy Five Boosts By Self Helping Yourself? Be sure to Subscribe and check out the Self Helping Yourself site.

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Win Allies, be More Persuasive, and Get the Most Important Things Done – Five Boosts 6/14/20

Written by Steven Ray Marks Leave a Comment on Win Allies, be More Persuasive, and Get the Most Important Things Done – Five Boosts 6/14/20
Win Allies

Five easy ways to make your life better for June 14, 2020.

How to Win Allies (Part 1 of 2)
(Self Helping Yourself | Steven Ray Marks)
It’s better to win allies than create enemies. We ought to view discussions with those who have different views as an opportunity to learn and/or persuade. But most use it to try to score points in an imaginary game of “Who’s the Worse Person,” which only turns people into enemies. Here’s how to win people over instead.

Stop Confusing Habits For Routines
(Nir and Far | Nir Eyal)
A routine is something you do regularly. A habit is something you do automatically. If a routine is unpleasant, difficult, or cognitively demanding, it may never become a habit. Expecting a routine that fits into this category to eventually become a habit will only lead to frustration.

How to get Your Most Important Work Done Today
(Medium/For The Interested | Josh Spector) [soft paywall*]
Pick what matters most, do it first, make it painful to not do it, make a list of things you won’t do, and treat the morning and afternoon like separate days.

Four Words to Make You More Persuasive
(Ladders | Michael Thompson)
Adding, “You will probably refuse” to a request makes people much more likely to agree. It piques their curiosity, and makes them more comfortable by establishing that there’s no pressure.

Five Lessons to Remember When Lockdown Ends
(Greater Good | Jill Suttie)
Being with others is key to happiness. Reducing stress is good for everyone. Showing gratitude matters. We need less stuff than we think. We are stronger when we act together.

[* Medium lets you read a limited number of articles per month, but you can always open the link in an incognito window.]

Self Helping Yourself Tweet of the Week

Some of the best ways to feel happier:
– Be kind, friendly, and genuine, whether or not people “deserve” it.
– Acts of charity.
– Believe in self-efficacy.
– Avoid negativity.
– Celebrate achievements/forgive mistakes, for you/others.
– Recognize the positive in the world.
– Forge connections and community

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