Mindset & Motivation Archives - The Art of Improvement

Turn Your Life Around in 7 Steps

Have you ever felt stuck, lost or overwhelmed in life? If so, you’re not alone. Some research shows that up to 75% of people have felt that way at one time or another.

When best selling author and speaker, Timber Hawkeye, realized he needed to make a big change in his life, he did some serious thinking about what he needed to do. He had been living a traditional life in Corporate America, with plenty of success and material possessions, including designer clothes and a sports car. But inside, he just knew something wasn’t right.

Stop Letting People Walk All Over You

Start here: Browse the Self-Improvement Guides and pick the path that fits your situation.

“No.”

It’s a simple word. Powerful too. Yet it is often met with a less-than warm reception. There are many people who say “yes” to most things thrown their way, often in fear of saying “no.”

In reality, saying “no” isn’t anything other than being assertive. Not abrasive, confrontational, or anything in between. It’s an important but small part of assertive communication. Mastering it means to know your boundaries and communicate them in an effective, non-confrontational manner. If you don’t honour your boundaries, then you are giving someone else the opportunity to take advantage of you. By setting and enforcing what you’re comfortable with, whether that’s in your work, social, or personal life, you form your character and establish a social image (even if the social circle itself is small).

Minimalism for Overthinkers

Start here: Browse the Self-Improvement Guides and pick the path that fits your situation.

Imagine yourself sitting in a room filled with all kinds of things that cover all of the bookshelves, furniture, and floors. A small table in front of you is scattered with stacks of magazines and digital devices, like a laptop, phone, and ipad.

Now try another scenario, but this time imagine sitting in a room that is clear of clutter. The shelves contain personal items that are meaningful to you. The floor is clear and clean, and the small table in front of you has only a vase of flowers and a book that you’re currently reading.

Rewrite Your Identity, Rewrite Fate

Start here: Browse the Self-Improvement Guides and pick the path that fits your situation.

“You idiot”

“Why did I do that?!”

“How did I get here?”

The things we say to ourselves matter. Even if you have people around you describe who you are and compliment your traits, if you don’t believe them, none of it matters. After all, no one is going to steer your ship for you – the person you want to be is a product of the actions you take and the choices you make.

Think of it this way. A car needs your hands at the wheel. Without your input, it will veer out of control. Your identity, and subsequently your future, require your hands at the wheel. Otherwise, you may end up feeling like you’re stuck living a life that isn’t yours, straying down a path you never intended to take.

“Anti-Procrastination” – 8 Moves to Get Unstuck

Start here: If procrastination is the problem, begin with the Procrastination Guide (then come back to this post).

“You’ve got to wake up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” — George Horace Lorimer

Procrastination isn’t a character flaw. It’s a system problem. Build a better system, and delay stops winning.

Most people don’t lose to laziness. They lose to drift. They open a tab. They take a “quick” scroll. They tend to a dozen low-stakes fires and call it a day. The cost of this is compounding regret, stalled income and fragile confidence.

How to Achieve Your Most Ambitious Goals

What if I told you that achieving your most ambitious goals can be simpler than you think? If you believe that big goals are harder to achieve than smaller ones, you may be underestimating yourself.

The truth is that making big things happen doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task. For example, if you were wanting to get a new job to make more money and improve your lifestyle, it wouldn’t help to settle for the first job you came across. What steps would you take to create the outcome you’re hoping for? It all comes down to having a clear vision of what you want, having a plan of how to get there, and not giving up.

Your Focus Survival Guide 3 Traps, 3 Proven Fixes

How to Avoid Focus-Stealing Traps

“Work is hard, distractions are plentiful, and time is short”, wrote Author Adam Hochschild.

In today’s world, there is so much pulling us in every direction, making it hard to focus. Other obligations, entertainment, and interruptions of all kinds can grab our attention away from our intended task. With too many things to think about, it can be easy to lose track of what you’re really trying to accomplish.

4 Time Management Tips I Use Every Day

You’ve likely heard the phrase “time is relative” before. As each year passes and you grow older, it becomes shockingly more true. It’s strange, if you watch a clock ticking, you’ll note that – obviously – time is always the same. A second is a second, a minute is 60 of those. Yet it’s the way you perceive time that makes it relative. Some months fly by, while others are akin to walking through thick custard. There’s no way of pinning it down or understanding it at all, really. Time passes through us.

It can often feel as if there is nothing stopping time. The scary thing is there isn’t – it will always plough ahead, leaving everything and everyone in its wake. In amongst this sense of existential dread, there lies you, searching for an ounce of control over this celestial force. We, as humans, tried to understand time by creating clocks and calendars. Our understanding comes from the barriers we have made, the same barriers you can use to improve your time management and put the seconds back in your hands.

How To Get Ahead of 99% of People

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to reach exceptional levels of success, even if they seem average in other ways?

Not everyone is born with an innate talent for something, but that doesn’t mean they can’t cultivate skills that can take them to their highest level of achievement.

How to Stop Getting in Your Own Way

“You need to stop getting in your own way.”

How many times have you heard that before? More to the point, how many times have you heard that before and truly understood what it means?

It’s a simple, well-used slice of advice yet its true meaning can feel quite alien. It makes sense, sure, but to embrace its sentiment, you must first dig deeper. Let’s use a real-life, common example.