January 17, 2010
The Challenge:
As we grow older and gain more responsibility, our minds are thinking about the future further and further in advance. For example, a college student may be thinking week by week whereas a career professional is thinking 6-months in advance or more. This continuously extending outlook can make it difficult to be in the moment. When this happens, focus on one aspect (i.e. the sound of a heart beat) until you feel yourself come back into the here and now.
This task is worth 40-points on your scorecards.
Thought Provoking Questions:
What distracted you from enjoying the moment? Was it work, chores, etc.?
What did you focus on that helped to bring you back into the moment?
The Lesson:
There are many moments in life that we glaze over because we are focused on the “to-do” list or something that needs to happen in the future. Although it is good to have ambition, be sure to soak in the moments that are right here and now. What you will likely find is that it is easier to achieve your goals when you give your brain the chance to be calm.
To drive this point home, let’s say that you can run at top speed for a period of 15-minutes before you pass out. Your body will literally collapse. When we “run” our minds at top speed for too long, it too will collapse. We call this “exhaustion” or feeling “burned out” in which it feels like it takes a ton of effort to make any forward progress. This is precisely the time to live in the moment and give your brain a chance to stop and rejuvenate.
“Happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession of little decisions simply to be happy in the moment.” - J. Donald Walters
January 09, 2010
The Challenge:
This weekend marks the first “birthday” of The MindSetGame.com! Looking back at this year, we’ve covered challenges that help us with four key areas necessary to achieve our dreams (discipline, direction, imagination and attitude.) With the right mindset and a little focus on these key areas, we can all achieve huge success. As a birthday treat, we should all take a moment to celebrate something in our lives with a reward to ourselves.
This task is worth 15-points on your scorecards.
Thought Provoking Questions:
What did you give yourself?
Do you make it a habit to give yourself rewards for achieving specific goals?
The Lesson:
When you achieve something, even if you feel it is small, you should always associate a reward to it. Celebrating your wins will give you satisfaction and motivation to keep going. If it’s a small goal, match the reward so you are not giving yourself a BIG reward for something that can be accomplished quickly. This approach will also help you break your larger goals into small ones so that you get to celebrate along the journey to achieve your dreams.
Have fun this week and enjoy your celebration. Also, if you have ideas for future challenges please send them in. Thank you all for your continued support and involvement!
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” - Oprah Winfrey
December 27, 2009
The Challenge:
In the spirit of the New Year, this week we should all take a moment to define our largest resolution for the coming year. Once you are ready, the challenge is let others know about your resolution so that they can support you in the pursuit of your goal.
This task is worth 25-points on your scorecards.
Thought Provoking Questions:
How many people did you tell about your resolution?
Did you choose people that will support you in this goal?
The Lesson:
Defining our goals and dreams is only the first step along the pathway to achieve them. Knowing what we want to accomplish can be tough, but once defined the hardest part is getting started. Depending on the size of your goal, the first few steps can seem quite lengthy and overwhelming. That is where this challenge leads to its greatest benefit; by telling others of your New Year’s resolution you are inviting them to assist you in this journey as you take the first few steps.
The more people you tell the more you are welcoming the encouragements they bring, but be sure to tell only those people that you feel will provide you the proper support. In the best cases, the people you tell may even be able to connect with someone that can directly help you accomplish your goal. Lastly, by making your New Year’s resolution known, you are solidifying them from a hopeful dream to a concrete goal for 2010.
“May your thoughts, resolution and actions unify and become one so that ‘unity’ becomes possible.” - Atharva Veda
December 16, 2009
The Challenge:
This challenge is related to the last one, something that can make finding time for your goals easier to manage is to start with just a small amount of time each day. It’s amazing what can be achieved in just 30-minutes a day when it’s spent focused on your goals and moving them forward. For this challenge, commit to a specific amount of time each day to be focused on your goals.
This task is worth 25-points on your scorecards.
Thought Provoking Questions:
How much time did you commit to? Were you able to stick to your time commitment?
If you still had distractions, what were they caused by?
The Lesson:
If you spend just 30-minutes each day focused on your goals, you will have spent the equivalent of 182-hours over the course of a year. What you will find is that by starting with a small amount of time each day, you will slowly begin to increase this time as the goal formulates itself in to reality. And as the goal begins to take shape, you will become more enthused and those distractions that caused you grief before will have a more difficult time pulling away your attention.
Persistence is also a key to this challenge. The person that commits to taking baby steps will eventually find themselves far from where they started. It doesn’t always feel like you are moving forward until you look back several months and realize just how far you’ve come. Don’t give up on this process, this is truly what separates the successful people in life. These struggles are what make the rewards so memorable.
“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole stair case, just take the first step” - Martin Luther King Jr.
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