There is a reason I have listed the three together. I am being practical here. I cannot expect you to exercise and meditate daily in the morning. So try one of the above.

Regular exercise is good for you. Exercise releases feel-good endorphins and other natural brain chemicals. The morning is the conclusive time to energize your muscles through, weights, stretching, cardio, or walking.

The Mayo Clinic states that meditation gives you a sense of tranquility that is good for your physical, and mental health and emotional well-being.

The John Hopkins Institute states that listening to music exercises the brain and reduces blood pressure, anxiety and pain.

Research has shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and pain as well as improve sleep quality, mood, mental alertness, and memory.

The habits of exercising, meditating, and listening to music regularly will empower and transform you and result in better health, sleep, and mental alertness.

Check your emails, Read up on Your Industry

Stop looking at your smartphone first thing in the morning. Get up early, exercise, meditate, have a healthy breakfast and now look at your emails. Read up on what is happening in your industry. Watch a motivational video to prepare you for the day. This will transform and empower you to get ready for the day and give you the power of how you want to feel. Do not focus on social media to validate yourself.

Be around positive people. Remember I did not say, perfect people. It is essential to surround yourself with positive people because this habit will empower and transfer you to lasting success. Positive people are the catalyst to encourage you to become better and to deal with your daily challenges.

Positive people are in touch with reality. Positive people have your best interest at heart and want you to become better daily. This daily encouragement allows you to achieve your goals. You feel better about yourself and are full of energy.

Positive people are like honey. Everyone is drawn to them. Set yourself up for success. Surround yourself with positive people and become empowered and transform yourself to become a successful person.

Self-care is empowering and can transform you

What is self-care? Self-care is the intentional and concerned process of taking care of and improving your mental, emotional, physical, financial, and spiritual health with a balanced lifestyle. Self-care is taking care of yourself and it is very important. Self-care means taking good care of yourself. It is also about being kind to yourself and practicing self-compassion. However, not everything like drugs, alcohol, over-eating, or risk-taking that feels good is self-care. There is a big difference between self-care and unhealthy coping mechanisms. Self-care is good for you and has long-term benefits for the mind and the body.

The moment we align our goals, values, and ethos with our job, friends, charitable giving, and the various organizations that we are part of, cognitive dissonance disappears. We are happy. We live purpose-driven life. Everything makes sense.

Allow time for your body and brain to recharge. Reward yourself by relaxing, going for a massage, visiting a spa, or going for a swim and this will empower and transform you.

Have a few close and trusted friends

The post 11 Habits that will transform and empower you appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

New Year’s resolution…..

I am sure we will all remember 2020 for the rest of our lives.

The holiday season is over, and 2026 is here. As you indulge in introspection and look at some of your life choices, New Year’s resolutions are the perfect opportunity to start making changes. As human beings, we create habits. Changing those habits is not easy. It becomes even more difficult if we are not motivated or have a circle of friends who are not positive. To become a beautiful butterfly, it has to go through the egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages.

If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living – Gail Sheehy

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future – John F. Kennedy

New year’s resolutions are not an incentive or stimulus to make across the board changes in character. I suggest you reflect on 2020 and make some positive lifestyle changes. If you recognize a change is required, here are some suggestions on sticking to your new year’s resolutions.

Write It Down

By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands – your own – Mark V Hansen

If you write down your New Year’s resolutions and remind yourself daily, you have a better chance of accomplishing them. If you log it in a journal, it helps you keep track of your progress.

Make It Small and Realistic

You have to find out what’s right for you, so it’s trial and error. You are going to be all right if you accept realistic goals for yourself – Teri Garr

Lose weight, exercise more, eat healthy, change jobs, earn more, and travel. These are amazing New Year’s resolutions. However, these are huge goals and you are setting yourself up for failure. Focus on only one goal. Make it realistic and go for it. Do you have the discipline, focus, and commitment to achieve the goal? Remember, you are not trying to overhaul your whole life. You will set yourself up for failure and disappointment.

Make It Exact

A goal properly set is halfway reached – Zig Ziglar

A New Year’s resolution needs to be doable, meaningful, and aligned with your goals and values. Research shows that people fail in their resolutions when it is based not on their choice but on the choices of society or their friends and they do not have a plan.

I love SMART goals. It should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Have an Accountability Partner

Most goals people set are not achieved because they are not held accountable for them. When goals are made in private they tend to fall off because people stop being motivated, stop focusing, and stop prioritizing – Bola Onada Sokunbi

You will be more successful in achieving your New Year’s resolution if you share it with someone and be accountable. You have written the resolution on the fridge, it is in your diary, now it is time for someone to know about it and keep you on track.

Reassess Your Goals

Self-awareness requires us to reassess where we came from and where we are going – Kilroy J. Oldster

You have made one or two New Year’s resolutions. As time goes by, re-evaluate the resolution. Is it still unrealistic? Make some changes. Perfection is not the goal. You will stumble along the way. It is normal to have ups and downs in our lives. Always focus on getting back on track.

Enjoy the Accomplishments

Make time to celebrate your achievements no matter how big or small – Unknown

If you set a goal to save 3,000 dollars for the year. After two months, you have only saved $300. You need to celebrate the fact that you are getting better at saving money.

A goal needs to be doable, meaningful, and aligned with your goals and values. Research shows that people fail in their resolutions when it is based not on their choice but on the choices of society or their friends and they do not have a plan.

Find a Support Group

Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much – Helen Keller

There are many real-life and online support forums and groups on social media that are aiming for similar goals. When you join a group it is a community, a sense of belonging, a belief in getting things done, and the willingness to change.

Stay Away from Negativity

Don’t walk away from negative people – run! – Mark Twain

There is a chance that the very people you hang out with are stopping you from changing. If you want to quit smoking, drinking, or any other behavior it is important to stop hanging around an environment that encourages that behavior.

Have a Time-Frame

And the reason for focusing on that time frame is that it’s going to take us a considerable period of time to develop the new capabilities – Stephen Cambone

To be and stay motivated, have a time frame. In a diary have a plan of action for the next 12 months and you decide how often you want to evaluate.

Never Ever Give Up

Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine – Jack Ma

No matter what happens, you should never give up. Stay on the course and stick to your New Year’s resolution.

We have been through so much in 2020. The collective pain will last for a while.

I admire you for making a New Year’s resolution. I admire you for reading this post. Now I want you to meet your goal of achieving your New Year’s resolution. Go for it. Finally, here are some New Year’s resolution ideas:

Exercise more and lose weight

Eat Healthier food

Save money

Be Happier

Get out of debt

Volunteer and give to charity

Forgive

Be more responsible

The post 10 Secrets on How to Achieve Your New Year’s Resolution appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.