'Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.' earl nightingale
the how-to guide The basic principles behind this journal
the how-to guide
t h e m o r n i n g pa r t
‘Ea c h mor n in g we are bo r n again. What we d o to day is wh at mat ters mo s t.’
jack kornfield
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Daily affirmations 1
I have the courage to step outside of my comfort zone and embrace new opportunities
2 I am fit, healthy, and filled with energy to do all the daily activities in my life 3 I have been given endless talents, which I begin to utilize today
What are the things that would make today a success if I accomplished them? 1
Block out at least 10 minutes to meditate before going to sleep
2 Call that friend I keep meaning to call 3 Give an awesome pitch for my team
night time
What have I enjoyed today?
What have I learned today?
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i n j e c t p o s i t i v i t y i n yo u r m o r n i n g s t o c r e at e r i d i c u l o u s ly a m a z i n g d ay s
When we arise in the morning we are asking ourselves questions, consciously or unconsciously. When your alarm goes off, what questions do you usually ask yourself? Are they: “Is it 7 already!? Why didn’t I go to bed earlier last night!? Should I hit the snooze button one more time!?" As you shower, brush your teeth, drink your coffee, and eat your breakfast, what questions are running through your head? Are they: “Why isn’t it the weekend already!? Why do I always feel so exhausted!? Why is my to do list not getting any shorter!?” Questions like these generally don’t serve any useful purpose. Lousy questions generate lousy answers, which generate a lousy state. Remember? You probably end up leaving your house feeling rushed and hurried, stress level high, face in a permanent frown, your mind in a million different places. What if every day you consciously started asking yourself different questions? Questions that put you in a more empowered, positive, uplifting state? You see, what you do in the morning is an indicator of how you approach your entire day. It sets the tone and your mood for the rest of the day. So are you choosing to have a stressed, difficult day…or are you choosing to have an amazing, wonderful day? Always remember this:
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‘Now matters more than any other time in your life, because it’s what you are doing today that is determining who you’re becoming, and who you’re becoming will always determine the quality and direction of your life.’ 13 - Hal Elrod, The Miracle Morning So, make the commitment today that tomorrow morning is going to be different. The sun is rising, the day is new and beautiful. It’s the perfect time to dedicate five minutes to asking yourself some power questions. The morning elements in this journal will trigger you to become more intentional with your day and activate a genuine desire and enthusiasm in you to make today ridiculously amazing. Stop with the hectic, negative, rushed mornings and have a peaceful, inspiring start to the day.
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m o r n i n g pa r t 1 : d a i ly a f f i r m at i o n s
‘I t ’s t h e repet it io n o f a ff ir mat io n s t h at leads to be lief. An d o n ce t h at b elief be comes a deep co nvic t io n, thin gs begin to h app en .’
muhammad ali
Guess who is the number one person you communicate with on a daily basis? It’s you! Every one of us engages in an inner dialogue that plays in our minds all day. This is a normal, human process. What most of us don’t realize, though, is that the things we say and repeat to ourselves, our self-talk, has an enormous impact on our level of success in every aspect of our lives – confidence, health, happiness, wealth, relationships, etc.14 What do you say when you talk to yourself? Is your inner voice positive? Loving? Encouraging? Nurturing? Try paying attention to your own internal musings for a day. Do a little tally sheet throughout the day, marking a tally each time you notice a negative thought. You will be shocked to see how many disruptive, negative, unwanted thoughts are entering your mind on a daily basis. We are own worst critic, right? According to statistics, 80% of women have self-deprecating thoughts about themselves (body image, job performance, other people’s opinion of them, etc.) throughout the day.15 This is not just a female thing. Maybe to a lesser extent, but men undoubtedly get caught up in the same negative spiral.
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It has been proven again and again that your thoughts have the power to shape your reality. Imagine how your reality, and your entire life, could change if you started to be conscious of your thoughts and actively decided to think positive, uplifting, and affirming thoughts. Imagine what amazing things that could bring you. Always remember: you are not a slave to your mind. You are in charge. You are responsible for deciding your focus. You decide what thoughts you want to identify with, dwell on, repeat, and believe in. It’s no secret that many of the most successful people in the world have all been vocal about their belief that positive thinking and the use of affirmations has helped them on their journey to success and wealth.16 Who hasn’t heard of Muhammad Ali’s famous declaration: ‘I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.’ Muhammad Ali affirmed these words over and over again and ended up being widely considered as one of the greatest heavyweight championship boxers of all time. His belief was: ‘Don’t wait for someone to affirm you, affirm yourself!’ And Ali did this all the time. Ali said: “If you ever dream of beating me you’d better wake up and apologize.” He said: “I won’t be beat. I can’t be beat. No one can beat me.” He said: “It’s hard to be humble, when you’re as great as I am.”
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Ali made use of the incredible power of affirmations to bring about a desired result. According to Susan Jeffers, author of the famous book Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway, an affirmation is self-talk in its highest form. Affirmations are your greatest tool, and the easiest and cheapest to use.17 What are affirmations, exactly? What do they do, and how do they work? Affirmations are short positive phrases or sentences you repeat to yourself mentally in order to induce a certain state of mind. They describe a current or desired situation or state of being. The classic one being: ‘Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.’ - Emile Coue Try saying this affirmation a few times and see how you feel. Say, “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.” Say it again! And again! How does that feel? Blogger and author Leo Babauta explains that ‘by stating affirmations to yourself in a mantra like way and repeatedly over weeks, months, and years, your mind becomes trained to think in a different way. If you don’t think this works think about your fears for a second or two. People who are afraid of going into elevators have literally used affirmations and visualization to train their mind to produce a state of panic whenever they have to enter an elevator. So it is true in reverse. People who are confident have affirmed, at every opportunity, to tell their mind they are confident in every situation and confident enough to try new situations. We all use affirmations in our lives without ever knowing that we do so, why not put affirmations to good use and consciously train your brain to a better way of thinking.’ 18
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There are many examples of celebrities and other high performers who are known for their use of affirmations to drastically change their lives. At the age of only six years old, Tiger Woods asked his father for a subliminal tape. Tiger listened to the tape every single day, feeding his mind with a steady diet of positive, upbeat affirmations. This technique allowed him to block out any negativity and align his mind to his vision, his goals, and his success. Tiger also pinned the affirmations to his bedroom wall. Both consciously and subconsciously, he focused on the same set of high quality affirmations – affirmations like “My power is great”, “I smile at obstacles”, “I believe in me”, and “I focus and give it my all”. His affirmations became so deeply embedded in his mind that he started to believe them, and this strong belief allowed him to make them a reality.19 Movie star and comedian Jim Carrey shared a similar and pretty amazing story about his rise to fame. ‘I’ve always believed in magic. When I wasn’t doing anything in this town, I’d go up every night, sit on Mulholland Drive, look out at the city, stretch out my arms, and say, “Everyone wants to work with me. I’m a really good actor. I have all kinds of great movie offers.” I’d just repeat these things over and over, literally convincing myself that I had a couple of movies lined up. I’d drive down that hill, ready to take the world on, going, “Movie offers are out there for me, I just don’t hear them yet.” It was like total affirmations, antidotes to the stuff that stems from my family background.’ Jim even went a step further and wrote himself a check for $10 million, dated it Thanksgiving 1995, added the notation “for acting services rendered,” and carried it in his wallet from that day forth. The rest, as they say, is history. Carrey’s optimism and tenacity eventually
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paid off, and by 1995, after the huge box office success of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb & Dumber, his asking price had risen to $20 million per picture.20 Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Anthony Robbins, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many more have also been vocal about their belief in the power of affirmations. You could say that success comes down to your mindset. It’s the habits, attitudes, and behavior that you practice and focus on every day that make all the difference. For the next 100 days, you are going to tap into the phenomenal power of affirmations as well. You will be amazed by the effects it will have on you.
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Every morning, list three daily affirmations. You can look at them again during the day. If you like you can read what you wrote out loud. This gives them extra power. Some people even like saying them out loud while looking in the mirror. See what works for you. Susan Jeffers, bestselling author, who is a firm believer of the power of affirmations, recommends to: 1 State your affirmations in the present 2 Phrase your affirmations in the positive, rather than the negative21 We’ll explain why. 1 State your affirmations in the present Wrong: I will attract my dream partner 56
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Right: I am attracting my dream partner Wrong: I will get a fit and healthy body Right: I am getting a fit and healthy body You could even say: I have a fit and healthy body, even when this is not yet your reality. Here’s why: Your affirmations will do three things: - Activate your creative subconscious, which will start to generate creative ideas to help you reach your goal. - It programs your mind to more readily perceive and recognize the resources you have or will need to bring you closer to the achievement of your goal. - It feeds your internal motivation to take the necessary and relevant actions to make your goal a reality.22 So don’t hold back. Write down all that you desire even if it sounds unrealistic to you right now given your current situation. Some people also believe that by putting out these positive statements into the universe you will start to attract the right people, resources, and events that you need to accomplish your goals.
2 Phrase your affirmations in the positive, rather than the negative Wrong: I am no longer feeding my body with junk Right: I nourish my body with nutritious, healthy food
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Wrong: I am no longer going to talk negatively about myself Right: I am strong, confident, and beautiful Although the affirmations above boil down to the same thing – they have a completely different impact on the way you feel while stating them. Words have a physical power. By stating your affirmations in the positive, you instantly lift up your mood. Don’t underestimate the power of daily affirmations. They’ll make your inner voice “chatter” about empowering, uplifting, positive things. And that will push you to a new level of thinking, a new level of energy, a new level of control, a new level of you. A new level of life. Your daily affirmations allow you to set the tone for your day, rather than outside circumstances. Here are some examples of affirmations you can tell yourself to get you in the right mood for the day. 1 I love and appreciate myself just as I am. 2 I feel happy and blissful. I am relaxed and centered. 3 I posses all the qualities needed to be extremely successful. 4 My relationship is becoming stronger, deeper, and more stable each day. 5 My body is healthy; my mind is brilliant; my soul is tranquil. 6 Everything that is happening now is happening for my ultimate good.
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7 My business is growing, expanding, and thriving. 8 I forgive those who have harmed me in my past and peacefully detach from them. 9 I choose love and I surround myself with positive people who appreciate me. 10 My ability to conquer my challenges is limitless; my potential to succeed is infinite.
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m o r n i n g pa r t 2 : w h at a r e t h e t h i n g s t h at w o u l d m a k e t o d ay a s u c c e s s i f i a c c o m p l i s h e d t h e m ?
' D o wh at yo u h ave to do u ntil yo u can do wh at yo u want to do.'
oprah winfrey
Have you ever had a day where you went to bed with an amazing sense of pride and accomplishment because you got so much done? You were like wow! I absolutely crushed it today. Here’s another question: Have you ever had a day where you were incredibly busy and literally running yourself ragged, and at the end of the day you felt guilty and frustrated because you realized you had done nothing of real significance? You undoubtedly want most of your days to be like the first one. Yet, in reality a lot of people go to bed at night feeling like a failure. Either they didn’t get done what they wanted to do or what they got done felt insignificant and unfulfilling. We feel unproductive, and then become anxious because of our lack of productivity, and then become stressed and overwhelmed by all of our anxiety, and then crash into bed feeling drained and exhausted. Not the ideal way to end your day, right? We each want our days to be successful and productive for very personal reasons – to accomplish our goals and ambitions, to make more money, to satisfy our boss, to have more time for ourselves or our families and friends. Whatever the reason, with this journal you are going to use a simple 60
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productivity hack that will do the trick. These are the core principles behind the productivity hack that you will use in this journal. 1 You have to be intentional World’s leading high performance coach Brendon Burchard believes that a lot of people need to get more intentional about their day, to create their ideal lives; not to have an ideal day once a millennium, but to have a string of ideal days. According to Brendon: ‘You have to have aim and intention to have a phenomenal day.’ 23 2 You have to be definitive According to blogger Josh Christophersen, many of us are plagued by a vague sense of guilt that we’re not doing enough. He believes that until we define “enough”, the voices will never be silent. And until we define “success”, we will never get focused on what needs to be done, much less accomplish it. He says: ‘Defining success makes success possible. Defining the specific action items necessary to accomplishing success is what makes it practical.’ 24 3 You have to be specific You probably have a vague definition in your mind of what you call a successful day. Yet, if you never make your definition of a successful day concrete, then any attempt at determining whether you’re successful (or not) will also be vague. As Christophersen states: ‘A vague definition of success robs you of the satisfaction of knowing you ended your day well.’ 25
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4 You have to be realistic It’s very important that your definition of a successful day is realistic. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for failure. The more unrealistic, the higher your hopes and the higher your hopes, the greater the letdown. Time to put it all together.
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Every morning, ask yourself: what are the things that would make today a success if i accom plished them ?
Think of the minimum that needs to be done to make today a success. Write these specific things down in your journal, first thing in the morning. Try limiting the list to three things. If you have more than three things, use the blank page in the journal to list those as well, but remember, you need to be realistic. The things you write in this list will depend on your definition of a “successful” day. For some this may include getting some important work-related to-do’s done. For others the list may include more personal things such as going to a yoga class or spending quality time with someone close. This is not just a to-do or productivity list, this is also a list to support your well-being. Having said that, don’t skip this question on the weekends. To indulge in your favorite cocktail is also a small win! 62
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Let’s say you’ve asked yourself what will make today a success and there are 4-6 great candidates. How do you know what three to pick? Consider this question: What matters most to you? Don’t consider what seems most pressing, but what will make the biggest impact on your life. If you’re not sure, just make a gut pick – don’t dwell too much on it. It doesn’t have to be a perfect pick – you just want to pick it. If you still can’t choose, pick the ones you’re most excited about. Or the ones that are most fun. If all that fails, pick randomly. If you accomplish these three things today – that draft design, that call, that exercise – it feels like a successful day. But if you don’t nail those three things, it doesn’t matter how many little jobs you get done, you know in your heart you could have done better. Will you get a lot more done than these three things? Of course. But the idea is that no matter what else you do today, these are the things you want to be sure of doing. And since you picked a minimum number of tasks you must accomplish, you create small wins during the day that create momentum. These empower you to get way more done with whatever is left in the day. What’s the result? Picking out the three things that you want to accomplish today means you have thought through your priorities, and you know what makes the biggest difference in your work and life in general. It’s an amazingly rewarding way to start your day. And the best thing: you go to bed at night with a great sense of pride and accomplishment, because your day was a success. Do it all over again tomorrow. 63
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If you fill in this question in your journal every day, then when you look back at the week you’re like, ‘Wow, this was just an amazing week! I focused on the essential, I created amazing things and I felt balanced and happy.’ You deserve to have amazing weeks like that, amazing months, amazing years, amazing decades. You deserve to have an amazing life. That was it for the morning part. It will only take five minutes of your precious morning time. Excited already for tomorrow morning? Let’s continue with the night time part.
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t h e n i g h t t i m e pa r t
‘N e ver go to sleep wit h o ut a re q uest to yo ur subco n scio us.’
thomas edison
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Daily affirmations 1
I have the courage to step outside of my comfort zone and embrace new opportunities
2 I am fit, healthy, and filled with energy to do all the daily activities in my life 3 I have been given endless talents, which I begin to utilize today
What are the things that would make today a success if I accomplished them? 1
Block out at least 10 minutes to meditate before going to sleep
2 Call that friend I keep meaning to call 3 Give an awesome pitch for my team
j o u r n a l e x a m p l e o f t h e n i g h t t i m e pa r t
What have I enjoyed today? A walk outside during lunch break with a colleague Yoga class with Anna
What have I learned today? Eating healthy gives me tons of energy and helps me to do more work and be more effective and productive throughout the day
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t h e i m p o r ta n c e o f e s ta b l i s h i n g a n i g h t t i m e r o u t i n e
If you read the first part of this section, you are probably already convinced that mornings don’t have to be disastrous, stress-filled affairs. Mornings are a beautiful time of day, when all is quiet and the word sleeps. A great time to activate a genuine desire and enthusiasm in yourself to make your day ridiculously amazing. But there’s another part of the day that is truly magical, and that can have great benefits for you at a cost of only 5-30 minutes each day: the time right before you go to sleep. What you do in the last hour of your day has a significant impact on your mood and energy level the next day, as it often determines how much and how well you sleep. What are your bedtime rituals? Do you enjoy watching YouTube? Or do you find it relaxing to scroll through Twitter some more? Why is the world controlling your last hour? High performance coach Brendon Burchard believes that we should go on a digital diet in the last hour (and the first hour) of our day: ‘Looking at our posts is like cocaine today for the brain, so what we have to do in that last hour is, don’t look at it.’ Burchard guarantees that this one simple habit will completely change your life.26 What can you do instead? Pre-bed rituals are personal and each of us has different rituals that work the best. Most importantly, it takes time to unwind the body and mind. 67
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In that last hour, start slowing down. For some people, that means practicing meditation. For others, reading a book works wonders for a good night’s sleep. Michael Kerr, an international business speaker and author, says she knows numerous successful people who block off time at night to reflect on, or to write down, the things they are appreciative of that happened that day.27 Taking time to reflect on your day is an extremely valuable practice that you will learn to integrate into your night time routine as well. Over the course of 100 days, challenge yourself to put your phone on airplane mode a bit earlier. Use that last golden hour to unwind. Make yourself comfortable and grab this journal.
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n i g h t t i m e pa r t 1 : w h at h av e i e n j o y e d t o d ay ?
‘E njoy t h e lit t le t h in gs in life be c ause o n e day yo u’ ll lo o k ba c k an d realize t h ey were t he big t h in gs.’
r o b e r t b r a u lt
At nightfall, when we are tired from our day, we often fall into the trap of replaying negative experiences from the day that we wish we handled differently. Regardless of how badly their day went, successful people typically make an effort to avoid this pessimistic spiral of negative self-talk. They consciously redirect their focus to something positive. Michael Woodward, Ph.D., organizational psychologist and author says: ‘The last thing you need is to be lying in bed thinking about an email you just read from that overzealous boss who spends all their waking hours coming up with random requests driven by little more than a momentary impulse. Remember to take some time to reflect on the positive moments of the day and celebrate the successes, even if they were few and far between.’ 28 Transformational expert Marci Shimoff explains that by “registering the positive” you are triggering ‘the reticular activating system (ras ), a group of cells at the base of your brain stem, responsible for sorting through the massive amounts of incoming information and bringing anything important to your attention. Have you ever bought a car and then suddenly started noticing the same make of car everywhere? It’s the ras at work. Now you can use it to be happier. 69
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When you decide to look for the positive, your ras makes sure that’s what you see.’ 29 In the next 100 days, save the treasures of your day and look forward to the treasures of tomorrow. Your brain is wired to notice what you focus on. Your brain is also wired to notice what you expect to find. In other words, if you decide to register your happy experiences more deeply during your day, you’ll notice more happy experiences the next day, and eventually every day. ‘By scanning the world for little positive moments and savoring them, like a jewel or a warm light entering us, we can kick off changes in the brain that will make us happier not just today but down the road as well. ’ - Rick Hanson
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At the end of the day, ask yourself: what have i enjoyed today ?
- Make the conscious decision to look for the positive experiences during your day and write them down in this journal. Make it a game you play with yourself. Even if you had a bad day where you just couldn’t catch a break and nothing seemed to be going right – there is always something (even if it is a tiny, tiny thing) that went well. - Set the intention of registering the positive moments of your day. It can be a positive thought that enters your mind, something you see, feel, taste, hear, or smell that brings you joy, a breakthrough in your understanding about something, an object of beauty, something in nature, a smile from a stranger, a great coffee you enjoyed, how you helped someone with a problem, an unexpected good conversation 70
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with someone – the list goes on and on. - Some days you may feel like you want to elaborate a bit more on your experiences that day. Use the blank page for that. - At the end of the day, ask someone close to you what the highlight of his or her day was and share the highlights of your day. This is a simple, quick, and fun practice that yields amazing benefits to you and those close to you. If you stick to this simple happiness-affirming little practice over the course of 100 days, you will notice a complete shift in your life. - What you focus on expands. By focusing on the positive, good things in life, you experience more positive, good things in life. - You will teach yourself to become a life-long optimist. - You will end your day in a place of gratitude, which will help you fall asleep more peacefully and easily. Most importantly, this simple question that will only take a couple of minutes to answer is a great way to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, known as the number one shortcut to finding peace of mind and happiness inside. Almost twenty years ago, Oprah Winfrey started a gratitude journal and, every day, began writing down things she was grateful for. From fresh flowers to the kindness of a stranger, Oprah says acknowledging these things made her more receptive to the goodness in her life. Need inspiration? Here’s what Oprah was grateful for on October 12, 1996: 1 A run around Florida’s Fisher Island with a slight breeze that kept me cool. 2 Eating cold melon on a bench in the sun. 3 A long and hilarious chat with Gayle about her blind date with Mr. Potato Head. 71
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4 Sorbet in a cone, so sweet that I literally licked my finger. 5 Maya Angelou calling to read me a new poem. Oprah made practicing daily gratitude a priority.30 You will be amazed by what it will do for you, too. Not just in the moment you practice it, but in your life. Research has shown that recording experiences for which one is grateful for only two consecutive weeks has lasting positive effects that are sustained for up to six months. And you know what? By consistently becoming mindful of the beauty in your day, you will gain tons of self-knowledge. You will start to see a pattern in the things you write down at the end of your day, and all of a sudden it will all come together like a puzzle and you will know what an ideal day, and an ideal life, look like to you. You will know what you want to create, what you want to contribute and whom you want to connect with – in order for you to create the life you truly want and deserve. And that, in itself, is an extremely valuable life lesson. ‘Document the moments you feel most in love with yourself - what you’re wearing, who you’re around, what you’re doing. Re-create and repeat.’ - Warsan Shire
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n i g h t t i m e pa r t : w h at h av e i l e a r n e d t o d ay ?
‘ We do n o t lear n f ro m exper ien ce…we lear n f ro m re flec t in g o n ex per ien ce.’
john dewey
We are learning creatures. The lifelong practice of learning is what makes our lives worthwhile and meaningful. Learning is essential, because it allows us to survive, evolve, and succeed in life. Everything you have gone through so far – from the moment you were born until now – has taught you how to survive better, how to evolve better, and how to succeed (better). You could say that we are a product of our experiences. Each event, each piece of knowledge, each interaction in your day leave footprints in your dna and in your brain. Each of these experiences impacts the way you are and who you will become from that moment on, sometimes in profound ways and sometimes in subtle ways. Nonetheless, we are, and will always be, subject to change, each moment of our existence in this world. When you go to sleep tonight, you do that with new knowledge and experience. Tomorrow night again, and the day after tomorrow again, and the day after that, and on, and on, and on. No matter how simple or complex your day was, you learned something new and continued to refine yourself.
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If you think you didn’t learn something today – you just didn’t keep your eyes open – you just didn’t pay attention. The sum of all these experiences, all of these learnings, are unique to you. No-one else in the world shares the same exact set of experiences. Like your fingerprint, of which there is no other, the lessons you learned during your lifetime are unique. There may be aspects which may be similar to other people’s lives, but the specific mix of experiences you had, places you’ve been to, people you met and ideas they shared with you – that is one-of-a-kind. This means that you are valuable. You have a superior quality of worth. You have something to give to this world that no one else will ever be able to give in the same way. The thing with experiences is, you only learn from them if you reflect on them. You will never become the super hero of your own life if you never reflect on your experiences. Reflection is the most important part of the whole life-long learning process. Always remember: ‘Self-reflection is the school of wisdom.’ - Baltasar Gracian You will never reach your highest potential, become your very best self, if you do not reflect on what you have learned in your day-to-day life. Successful people do this all the time. They reflect on their successes, their failures, their dreams, and their hopes. They understand that the only person who can change their life for the better is the person they look at every day in the mirror. They see each day as a new opportunity for personal growth and learning. They understand that each day is full of lessons, for every aspect of their lives. Yet, most of us get so caught up in our busy lives that we forget how 74
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important it is to simply sit still and reflect a little. ‘We rarely take the time to pause, breathe, and think about what’s working and what’s not. There’s just too much to do and no time to reflect… [Learning] only takes a few minutes. About five actually. A brief pause at the end of the day to consider what worked and what didn’t.’ 31 In the next 100 days this journal will challenge you to take a few minutes every day to reflect on what you have learned that day. Asking yourself this simple question every day has tons of benefits, but these three are the most important ones: 1 By reviewing the things you’ve learned before you go to sleep, you increase the chances that you will remember them the next day. This is because ‘declarative memory is enhanced when sleep follows’.32 If you don’t take the time to stop and reflect, you quickly forget important occurrences, successes and failures you had, and important lessons you learned; memories don’t have a chance to form. Without reflection you are doomed to make the same mistakes again. However, if you reflect on those mistakes, figure out what went wrong, and see how you can prevent them in the future, you can use your mistakes to get better. Mistakes, then, are valuable learning tools, instead of something to feel embarrassed or upset about. Reflection is an important way to do that. 2 Reflecting on what you’ve learned makes you happier. On the flip side, if you don’t reflect on what you did right, on your successes, your new amazing insights - how on earth are you going to remember them so that you can repeat them in the future? Don’t trust your memory on this. Reflection allows you to celebrate every little success. It allows you to realize how much you’ve done right, the good 75
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things you’ve done in your life. Without reflection, it’s too easy to forget these things, and to focus instead on our failures. If you want your future self to be awesome, register what you’ve learned – the blunders, the errors, the tears, the wounds – and the wins, the successes, the aha-moments. 3 Reflecting on your daily learnings will give you perspective. According to blogger and author Leo Babauta, reflecting daily gives you perspective. ‘Often we are caught up in the troubles or busy-ness of our daily lives. A mistake or a high-pressure project or something like that can seem like it means all the world. It can overwhelm us sometimes. But if we take a minute to step back, and reflect on these problems, and how in the grand scheme of things they don’t mean all that much, it can calm us down and lower our stress levels. We gain perspective, and that’s a good thing.’ 33
Enough said. Just try it out yourself and you will quickly reap all of these benefits and many more.
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At the end of the day, ask yourself: what have i learned today ?
- Check in daily. What have you learned today? If you find this question hard to answer at first – ask yourself some warm up probing questions first. How did your day go? Did you have an experience that may help you in the future? Or with similar situations? What successes did you have? What challenged you today? What did you learn about yourself? Who did you interact with? What did you learn from them? 76
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What did you learn about others? About the world? - Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind. It can be something significant (mastered a new skill, learned a new process, gained new understanding about the essence of life) or something trivial (conversation with a colleague, a new taste you liked, how to do or not to do something, how to crop a photo). If you can’t think of something (hardly possible), jot down a quote that you find inspiring. - Try to stick to one, max two things per day. This forces your brain to look for the things that are most valuable to you. - Be open and honest with yourself. Don’t feel ashamed to write about a mistake. This is your private space. Do this for yourself. To better yourself. Remember: ‘Failures are a part of life. If you don’t fail, you will never learn. If you never learn, you will never change’. Writing about your mistakes is the fastest way to benefit from them, move forward, and improve your performance in life. - This little exercise will already help you reinforce the new life learnings that come to you on a daily basis. Yet, some days you may feel like elaborating a bit more on your daily learnings. You can use the blank page to ask yourself what you are planning to do differently (or the same) tomorrow – based on your learnings. That’s it. Every day is full of beautiful new lessons, if you only keep your eyes open. Some days these lessons are small, some days they are more significant. Checking in with yourself to see what you learned today – even if it seems not worth writing about – is an essential life skill you’re about to gain with this journal. The very best aspect of this simple daily question is that it will deepen your character and make you more inspiring to the people around you. Don’t underestimate what a profound impact you can have on other 77
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people by sharing your life lessons. And don’t forget: ‘Knowledge is power. When you have knowledge, you have the power to achieve many things. You gain something important. One of the most crucial reasons to learn something new daily is that you gain power when you do.’ 34
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t h e d a i ly b l a n k pa g e
‘A blan k p age is n o emp t y s pace. I t is b r immin g wit h pote nt ial… I t is a master p ie ce in wait in g – yo urs.’
a . a . patawa r a n
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Each day of this journal comes with a blank page. The possibilities of using this page are endless and the page may serve a different purpose every day, depending on your mood or needs. What will you use this space for? Be bold and embrace the beauty and versatility of a blank page. If you need inspiration, here are some suggestions: - The best ideas come from the unconscious. When they arise, immediately write them down. If you don’t, you’ll forget them. Don’t trust your memory. - Make sense of your innermost thoughts and feeling about the day by writing them down. If you have negative feelings about your day, writing about them will make these emotions lose their grip on you. - Write down the memorable moments of the day; you don’t want to let those treasures slip away in your memory. - Record the things that made an impact on you: an idea or philosophy you relate to, events, a person, experiences, articles, quotes, ideas etc. - Elaborate on your answers for the daily questions on the left page. - Use it for answering your own daily questions. - Scribble out little reminders and notes to yourself. - Sketch something or draw random doodles. Again, the possibilities are infinite. The value of recording our inner lives is amazing and extremely powerful. Some of the most famous people, some of the highest performers in the world, artists, writers, scientists, and other celebrated minds – they all kept journals. And now you will too.
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t h e t i m e o u t pa r t
‘ Th e st ar t in g p o int o f d i scover in g wh o yo u are, your gif t s, yo ur t alent s, yo u r d re ams, is b ein g co mfo r t abl e wi th yo urself. Sp en d t ime alone. Wr ite in a jo ur n al. Tak e long walk s in t h e wo o ds.’
robin s. sharma
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This journal comes with 100 undated daily pages so that you have the flexibility to start the journal whenever you like. 100 days is the perfect length to develop a new habit or routine, and to see positive changes occur. To make an effective change in your life, it is important to periodically check in with yourself and reflect on your progress. In the next 100 days, you will be encouraged to have such a check-in meeting with yourself every ten days. A little time out moment from the daily hustle and bustle of life. The time out pages are planned every ten days, but feel free to fill them in whenever you want. As long as you consider the questions in this part from time to time. Every ten days, you will be encouraged to: 1  Practice gratitude 2  Turn your dreams and goals into a reality Let’s go over each of them.
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t i m e o u t pa r t 1 : p r a c t i c e g r at i t u d e
‘ We do n o t see t h in gs as t h ey are, we see t h in gs as we are. I f yo u can rememb er to be gratef ul, t h e t h in gs yo u see wi ll ref lec t t h at, an d in t h e long run , yo u will be h ap pier, he althier, an d mo re p ro duc t ive fo r it.’
anaïs nin
If there is only one thing you take from this journal, let it be this. Practice gratitude. And no, that is not something that only monks, longhaired free spirits, earth mommas, or yogis do. As psychiatrist Keith Kesler says: ‘It’s tempting to dismiss the idea of gratitude as fluff, or newagey hokum, but that would be a huge mistake. Western culture is distinctly uncomfortable with gratitude. We pride ourselves on being ‘self-made’. We perceive gratitude as weakness. Best advice? Get over it.’ 35 It may seem cheesy and cliché, but consistently reminding yourself about some of the things in life you can be grateful for is one of the best things you can do for yourself. The measurable benefits of gratitude are actually backed up by hard science. Philosophers and spiritual leaders have been preaching the importance 83
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of gratitude for centuries, but just recently researchers started testing gratefulness in laboratories, and the results have been pretty remarkable. There have been various studies utilizing functional mri ’ s and brain imaging techniques to map the effect of gratitude on our brains. The effects are significant. It turns out that gratitude affects our brain in two ways: Biologic: Researchers found dramatically increased activity in the hypothalamus when participants were asked to evoke feelings of gratitude. The hypothalamus, a tiny part of your brain (about the size of a walnut) is responsible for many of the body’s day-to-day functions. Increased activity in your hypothalamus correlates to better selfcare, less stress, and overall better health.36 Cognitive: Consistently turning your focus toward gratitude is powerful because it engages your brain in a virtuous cycle. A research article in Psychology Today, called ‘Grateful Brain’, explains this concept very clearly. ‘Your brain only has so much power to focus its attention. It cannot easily focus on both positive and negative stimuli. It is like a small child: easily distracted. Oh your tummy hurts? Here’s a lollipop. So you lost your job? Isn’t it wonderful we’re having kfc for dinner? On top of that your brain loves to fall for the confirmation bias, that is it looks for things that prove what it already believes to be true. Once you start seeing things to be grateful for, your brain starts looking for more things to be grateful for. That’s how the virtuous cycle gets created.’ 37
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So you are sort of hijacking your emotional system – in a good way! That’s the fascinating neuroscience of giving thanks. But gratitude changes more than just brain chemistry. It’s amazing how one simple, easy, positive action can have such an incredible impact on our physical health, psychological well-being, and on our relationships with others. Robbert Emmons, the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude, has been studying the power of gratitude for more than a decade. In a series of studies, Emmons helped people systematically cultivate gratitude by letting them keep a gratitude journal in which they regularly record the things for which they’re grateful. Emmons says that keeping a gratitude journal often seems ‘so simple and basic; in our studies we often have people keep gratitude journals for just three weeks. And yet the results have been overwhelming.’ Emmons studied more than one thousand people, from ages 8 to 80, and found that people who practice gratitude consistently report the following positive effects, which are incredibly far reaching.38 Physical benefits - Stronger immune systems - Less bothered by aches and pains - Lower blood pressure - Exercise more and take better care of their health - Sleep longer and feel more refreshed upon waking Psychological benefits - Higher levels of positive emotions - More alert, alive, and awake - More joy and pleasure - More optimism and happiness Social benefits - More helpful, generous, and compassionate 85
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- More forgiving - More outgoing - Feel less lonely and isolated You are probably already jumping up and down from excitement. But this is an added bonus: Being grateful is sexy. Really. People who have a positive, grateful outlook on life are extremely attractive. It’s a blessing for the people around you. It makes you charismatic. What are you waiting for? Let’s start!
how
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Gratitude is one of humanity’s most powerful emotions. Being grateful makes you happier and changes your attitude about life. Think of it as an emotional reset button, psychologists say.39 Every 10 days, you will be encouraged to push this reset button by answering the following question: what am i most grateful for in my life right now ?
- You may think that this question is similar to the daily question: what have I enjoyed today? They are similar in the sense that they’ll make you cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Yet, whereas that question is more focused on the events in your day that made you happy, this question is more focused around the main areas in your life in general such as:
- The good things you do have in your life
- The wonderful things that have gone on in your life lately
- The people in your life, whether they’re loved ones or just a stranger you met who was kind to you in some way 86
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- Life itself
- Feel free to interpret this question the way you like it. Fill in big things, small things, significant things, or trivial things. Fill in things that haven’t yet manifested in your life yet but that you want to manifest. Thank in advance. There are no rules. Include everything you feel like. If you like the warm and fluffy feeling you get from answering this question (‘What an incredible feeling, give me more!’) you can make it a daily question and write down your daily gratitude list on your blank page. - Remember: there is always something you can be grateful for. If you can’t immediately think of something (‘I am not grateful!’) – force yourself. What if you really, really wanted to be; what could you think of that you could be grateful for? Still can’t think of something? Be grateful for being able to breathe. - It’s easy to be grateful when everything seems to be going your way, right? When you are going through a difficult time, and the last thing you want to think about is being grateful – push through this resistance and do it anyway. We all have difficult times. We are stressed out from work, we lose a loved one, we hurt a loved one, we perform poorly on a project, lose a job, etc. It’s OK to feel bad about the bad things in your life or the things you are missing in your life. Remember that even the bad things make life as complex and interesting as it is. You will learn from these challenges. It will make you a stronger and wiser person. - If you make a gratitude list, despite your struggles, you will soon be reminded of the positive things in your life that are still there. It’s hard to complain about the little things when you give thanks that your family is alive and healthy. It’s hard to get stressed over a rude client at work when you are grateful there is a roof over your head. The negative things that didn’t go your way are now put in perspective. - Don’t rush through this little practice, and don’t do it mindlessly; re87
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ally try to feel gratitude for everything you list. Feel the amazingness of the things and people in your life. And there you go. The things you were maybe taking for granted are now put front and center before you. You just utilized your brain’s inherent ability to see what it wants to see. Neurons that fire together wire together. If you fill in your gratitude list regularly, you keep adding gratitude into the neural connections of the brain. You are developing that gratitude muscle. And things won’t only feel or look better because of that – they actually get better. Anthony Robbins has dedicated his life to modeling the most successful people in the world. He coached people from every walk of life, including some of the most powerful men and women on the planet. He worked with presidents of the United States as well as owners of small businesses. He found that virtually every moment, we make a key decision that dictates the quality of our life: the decision of what to focus on. ‘At every moment, millions of things compete for your attention. You can focus on things that are happening right here and now or on what you want to create in the future. Or you can focus on the past. Where focus goes, energy flows. What you focus on and your pattern for doing so shapes your entire life. Which area do you tend to focus on more: what you have or what’s missing from your life? I’m sure you think about both sides of this coin. But if you examine your habitual thoughts, what do you tend to spend most of your 88
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time dwelling on? Rather than focusing on what you don’t have and begrudging those who are better off than you financially, perhaps you should acknowledge that you have much to be grateful for and some of it has nothing to do with money. You can be grateful for your health, family, friends, opportunities, and mind. Developing a habit of appreciating what you have can create a new level of emotional well-being and wealth. But the real question is, do you take time to deeply feel grateful with your mind, body, heart, and soul? That’s where the joy, happiness, and fulfillment can be found.’ 40 What Tony Robbins is saying here is that it is not so much the conditions or circumstances that control our destiny. It is our attitude and the decisions that we make on a daily basis that control our lives. You have the power of choice. You can control what you focus on. Consciously utilizing the power of gratitude is yet another essential life skill that you’re about to learn and master in the next 100 days. You will be amazed by the results.
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t i m e o u t pa r t 2 : t u r n yo u r d r e a m s a n d g o a l s i n t o a r e a l i t y
‘ The f ut ure belo n gs to t h o se who believe in t h e b eaut y of t h eir dreams.’
e l e a n o r r o o s e v e lt
Each of us have dreams and ambitions. We all have a picture (sometimes vague and blurry, sometimes crystal clear) of how we want our life to be in the future. You may have ambitions to build your career, to become an amazing person, to get into a better shape, to gain financial freedom, to contribute to the world, to travel, to find your life partner, to start your own business, to get good at something, to give, to grow, to create, to love. We all have our own definition of what it would mean to be an awesome human being and succeed in life. But so many times, life has a way of getting in the way of fulfilling these beautiful dreams and ambitions. We can get wrapped up in the day to day busy-ness of life, handling our normal daily routine, without accomplishing anything new, special, or significant. Sometimes we feel like we have too many balls to juggle with too little time. Crazy-busy weeks flash by and it seems like we just can’t catch a break. Life throws us disappointments and heartaches and struggles and pain. We face adversity, and things don’t turn out the way we wanted. Sound familiar?
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We all face resistance in our quest for health, happiness, and personal excellence. We all have to deal with this beautiful thing called life. Yet, there will always be those who do live their dreams. Those who do manage to pull it off. Why is it that some people’s dreams come to fruition and others’ do not? What differentiates these people from others? Are they more special? More talented? More skilled? Do they have more time? Are they luckier than others? Is it magic? Spoiler alert: it’s none of that. Here’s what sets them apart: More than anything else, what differentiates people who live their ultimate vision for life from those who don’t is their pursuit of their dreams. Successful people don’t wait for opportunity to fall into their laps. They don’t wait for the perfect timing or desirable circumstances. They don’t wait for motivation or the right mood. They don’t wait for fate or luck to shape their future. They don’t wait for permission to be great. While others simply dream and wait, they dream and pursue. And keep in mind, these people deal with the same stresses and the same craziness of life. Here’s the key: People who make their dreams a reality are intensely goal91
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oriented. They know what they want and they have a laser-sharp focus on achieving it, every single day. As bestselling author and success expert Brian Tracy states: ‘Your ability to set goals is the master skill of success. Goals unlock your positive mind and release ideas and energy for goal attainment. Without goals, you simply drift and flow on the currents of life. With goals, you fly like an arrow, straight and true to your target.’ 41 Whatever it is that you desire to accomplish, all of that is impossible without setting goals. Goals are what makes us advance and progress in life; they are the oxygen to our dreams. And is time to set yours. It’s time to act and start living your dreams. Don’t call your dream a dream. Call it a plan.
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how and why it works
' Pe ople wit h go als succeed becau s e they k now wh ere t h ey're go in g.'
earl nightingale
Thousands of books have been written about the incredible power of goal setting. Successful people throughout history have proclaimed goals to be the number one contributor to their success. Experts in the field of personal development, life coaches, business coaches, success strategists, they all agree: goals are a powerful tool for creating positive change.42 Goals allow us to manifest some pretty magical things in life. And you are about to unleash this power as well. This journal will inch you closer to making your dreams a reality.
how it works
Setting goals and working towards them is a statement that you are taking charge of your own life, rather than reacting to life, and waiting for things to happen. You are the master of your life; your reality. Right now at this very moment, you can choose to become one of those very few who follow through to make their dreams a reality.
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Steve Jobs called them the ‘crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes’. T.E. Lawrence called them ‘dangerous men’. But both of these legends recognized that ‘those who dare to live their dreams are powerful outliers’.43 No single person knows the true limits of human potential. But what we do know is that most people only use a small fraction of their natural abilities. You are not one of those, right? You are a powerful outlier, right? A crazy one. A rebel. Yet, to achieve anything great worth having, we must constantly question what we focus on and how we spend our time and energy. The quote below says it all: ‘A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.’ - Colin Powell This journal was designed for the sole purpose of putting you into a peak state of mind. The chances of you creating the life you want is incredibly unlikely if you’re constantly plagued by negative thoughts and worry. You can have the most wonderful uplifting dreams and goals, the best resources available, and the greatest willpower of all, but if you feel stressed, restless, and overwhelmed all the time, you won’t get any far. Having a positive attitude impacts your success rate significantly. In his book, The Happiness Advantage, Harvard professor Shawn Achor 94
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points to a mountain of evidence showing that happiness fuels success. ‘When we are positive, our brains become more engaged, creative, motivated, energetic, resilient, and productive at work. This isn’t just an empty mantra. This discovery has been repeatedly borne out by rigorous research in psychology and neuroscience, management studies, and the bottom lines of organizations around the globe.’ One of the scientific studies outlined in the book showed that doctors who are put in a positive mood before making a diagnosis consistently experience significant increases in their intellectual abilities, more than doctors in a neutral state, allowing them to make accurate diagnoses almost 20% faster. The same study found that optimistic salespeople outsell their pessimistic counterparts by over 50%. Students primed to feel happy outperformed their neutral peers. So it turns out that our minds are literally hardwired to perform at their best not when they are negative, or even neutral, but when they are positive.44 The basic principles behind this journal – the daily quotes, the questions, the blank pages – they are all designed to put you into a positive frame of mind. They direct your mental focus, and therefore shape the way you think and feel, and thus how you experience your life. The greater you feel about yourself and your life, the greater your inner drive and desire to accomplish the “big stuff”. The stuff that gives our lives true meaning and purpose. But still: Words and wisdom mean nothing if there is no action. As John Maxwell taught us: ‘Dreams don’t work unless you do.’ 95
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It’s easy to fall into the trap of getting caught up in the day to day busyness of life. People will sooner find reasons not to do something, not to move, not to act, than to action the one compelling reason to sacrifice and work diligently toward a goal. On top of that, research shows that we defer working on things depending on how distant we perceive their deadlines. If we decide that something falls into the “future” category, we simply file it in our “someday” folder and eventually those goals are tossed aside.45 It’s time to move your goals out of the “someday” folder into the “today” folder. Successful people don’t wait for “someday” to come. They recognize that a good plan executed today is better than a perfect plan executed someday. So even if their plans are not perfect yet, they move forward because they know their resistance to moving forward is solely based on fear. They take action here and now, today – because they know that’s the only way to achieve real progress and breakthrough. Sitting around, waiting for the best possible moment, only delays that progress.46 How can we turn our goals into action, not words? Put differently: how can we make sure we walk the walk, not just talk the talk? Brendon Burchard, one of the most influential leaders in personal growth and achievement, shares his vision on this: ‘If you don’t have routine and structure set up in a way that will keep you on track, then you’ll fall off. And having new goals without new habits is kind of like having a new car without wheels. The habits are the wheels. They’re the things that make you able to achieve the goals. 96
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So, you've got to have good habits. But the challenge for most people isn’t that knowledge. You know you need to have good habits. It’s you can’t keep the habit going.’ 47 Enter the 100-Day Journal. In the next section you’ll be inspired to set goals based on your dreams in life, and then write them down. Then, every ten days, over the course of 100 days, you will be asked the following question: what actions can i take in the next ten days to move me closer to accomplishing my goals ?
Asking yourself this one simple question, on a consistent basis, can be an excellent boost to your productivity – i.e. making inroads on your goals, despite life’s incoming demands, (digital) distractions, and responsibilities. If this sounds like too much of a commitment to make, ask yourself this question: How bad do you want it? Let’s say you want to have a better quality of life. You want to eat healthier, get fit, switch jobs, create better relationships, or feel more balanced. You want to see things changed in your life. …But you haven’t yet, because life got in the way.
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You had the intention, you truly meant to do it. You felt pretty excited. And you started out trying your best. And then things just kinda faded away, fizzled out, flopped. That’s what we all repeatedly do and it absolutely doesn’t work. So what does work? You must make a commitment. You have to decide that you really want to make a change. And that you want it badly enough. This journal keeps you on track by providing a routine and structure. This journal is about really committing to your goals. Every time you find yourself deviating from this commitment, when you drift away from your goals and begin to fall into a pattern that leaves you feeling unfulfilled and alienated, remember to ask yourself: How bad do you want it? If you want your dreams to become a reality bad enough, then use the next 100 days to move the ball forward. Create your future. (You’re already molding it as you read this). Simply wishing for your goals to manifest, or saying you’ll do it “someday,” doesn’t make it happen. Always remember: ‘Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.’ - Robert Kiyosak Hold your own feet to the fire. Take action and make it happen. This journal is your guide. 98
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why it works
Writing down you goals, and regularly asking yourself what you are doing to reach those goals, is not only an (ultimately) rewarding process, it just works. Here’s why. Commitment Committing to goals invests ourselves into the target as if we’d already accomplished it. If you set a goal (small or large, near or far in the future), part of your brain believes that desired outcome is an essential part of who you are. Your brain will want to close the gap between your present situation and your goal, pulling you upwards to achieve it. Your brain does this by setting up the conditions that drive you to work toward your goals.48 That’s the science of setting goals. Accountability & focus World-class goal achievers have a secret weapon in their arsenal: accountability. And now you do, too. This journal will give you a reminder and focus boost every ten days as to what you are trying to accomplish. It will force you to regularly sit and think of a set of specific and concrete actions that will move you towards your goals. This type of accountability is not only a real motivator, it may be just the thing you need to make your goals a reality. Pleasure Working towards your goals releases dopamine, the pleasure hormone. Dopamine acts as a motivator, creating a sensation of pleasure when the brain is stimulated by achievement. Every time you do something that is moving you in the direction of your goals, dopamine rewards our attention and achievement by elevating our mood. As a result, you will gain renewed motivation again.49 Put differently: this journal is a perpetual motivational machine on paper.
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The power of writing down your goals Amazing things happen when you write down your goals. Writing down your goals switches on your Reticular Activating System, or ras , for short. The ras works as a filtering system for the brain. Writing down your goals sets up the filter. It tells the ras what to look for and all of a sudden things and opportunities start to appear - it’s a matter of your filtering system. Have you ever had the experience of deciding to buy something, say a certain type of car or a denim jacket, and then suddenly seeing it everywhere? This is the ras in action. The cars and the jackets were always there; you were just not paying attention to them. Putting a goal in writing sets up a filter that helps you be aware of certain things in your surroundings. Your brain will be working overtime to pay attention to relevant details, signals, and signs that will help you reach those goals.50 That’s the beauty of your brain. And here’s a bonus fact: Research has shown that people who write down their goals are 50% more likely to achieve them51 – just by writing them down! Imagine how likely you are to achieve your goals if you write them down and take action. Excited already? Your turn.
w h at a m a z i n g g o a l s w i l l y o u a c c o m p l i s h i n t h e n e x t d ay s ?
In this section you will be asked to fill in your goals for the next 100 days. This may be very new for you. That’s OK; here’s a simple guide to kick-start your goal-setting. 100
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how to se t life goals
There’s never a ‘perfect’ time or moment to sit down and think about what you really want in life. Life is busy and even when we get some time off during the day, we might just feel more like zoning out in front of the TV or checking our feeds, than thinking about the rest of our lives. Why not do it today? It may require some serious thinking, but it makes all the difference in the world. How do you choose your life goals? There is no perfect answer here. Some people know exactly what they want out of life, they just haven’t yet pursued it. For them, it just takes a little contemplation to define their goals. Others will have a more difficult time, as they have never figured out what their dreams are, or what they’d like to achieve in life. If you are one of the latter category, these suggestions are for you: 1 Set aside some time for quiet contemplation Setting goals can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. 2 Make goal-setting a priority Don’t be content with living a life of mediocrity if your heart aches for so much more. Be courageous enough to take the first step; lay the first brick. 3 Think about what’s important to you We each have our own definition of ‘success in life’ because we all have different definitions of what is important to us. Some may find that money, power, or status is most important to them. Some may believe that it is making a positive difference in the lives of others. Others believe that it is doing what you love or being around those you love. For others it is beauty, intelligence, spirituality, influence, acceptance – the list goes on. The truth is that there is no single correct answer as to what is or should be most essential to you.
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But the beauty and importance of answering this question – is that it allows you to simplify your life goals. Understanding what is important to you equals understanding what is not important to you. If you identify the essential it is easier to cut out all the rest that distracts you and keeps you from doing what’s important. 4 Think about what you’d like people to say about you at your funeral This comes from Stephen Covey’s bestselling book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People – the habit called ‘Begin with the end in mind’. Covey invites us to fast forward to the end of our life. Imagine yourself looking back. What would you like to have accomplished? What is it that you would like to be remembered for, by family, friends, colleagues, community members, and everyone else? What kind of person would you like to have been? Imagine looking back. Will you say, “I have lived my life! These were the things I found important. These were the kind of relationships I build. These were the things that gave me happiness. This is what I contributed.” That is called vision. Here’s the key: live up to this vision, every moment of every day, starting right now. Work towards becoming that memory. If you don’t you are sure to wake up one day and wonder, “Where the heck am I and how did I get so far off my intended path?” Think about how your priorities in life would change, if you re-centered your mind and re-focused your heart on your vision. Start living 102
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by these priorities. Your vision of your ultimate life will help you set goals. 5 Now that you’ve reflected on that, get a piece of paper and jot down some ideas for life goals that you’d like to achieve This can be in many areas, but here are a few to start with:
health
relationships
career
personal growth
fun
finance
Think of all the things you want to accomplish in these areas. Things that sound fulfilling, exciting, and wonderful. You can probably think of a lot more, and you don’t need to have goals in all of these areas. These are just some areas to get you started. 6 Refine or expand your list After your initial brainstorm, you may want to trim it down to the essentials. But you may also want to expand the list. Dare to dream big. Remember to always compete and compare against yourself, not with other people or their goals. 7 Choose the best of the list Take a look at your list and ask yourself: What goals could I accomplish in 100 days if I really went for it? Maybe you have to refine your life goals into sub-goals. Whatever you do, make sure to pick the goals that you are most excited about because that’s were your focus is going for the next 14 weeks. You’re really going to commit to them. 103
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It’s completely up to you, but try not to pick more than three. There are only 24 hours in a day, and we sleep for about 8 of them. Subtract the hours we spend eating (3), showering and dressing and fixing up (1), cleaning and running errands (1), on the go/driving (2), working (8) … and you’re left with an hour or two at most. Often less. It’s just not realistic to tackle more than 3 goals at once in just 100 days. Besides, it’s hard to maintain focus on a whole bunch of goals. Why not focus on making progress on 1-3 instead of overwhelming yourself with wanting to accomplish them all at once? You can focus on the others in your next journal. Some goals are bigger than others and it’s just not realistic to be able to achieve them in just 100 days. But you can inch yourself closer to making them a reality. So pick them anyway. If you are ever going to transform your life and realize your dreams, it has to start someplace. Make sure your goals are specific and have clearly defined outcomes — you should be able to visualize what it looks like when you’ve accomplished the outcome. Take a look at your finished list – are the goals realistic, but still challenging? Will accomplishing these goals improve your quality of life? Do they feel good? Are you excited to commit to them in the next 100 days? If you can answer yes to all of these questions, then congrats! You have your final list of goals. Now take time to write them down at the end of this section. Feel free to be as specific or as general as you like in describing them. But remember – the more detailed you are, the easier it is to measure 104
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your progress after 100 days.
t i m e t o wa l k t h e wa l k
‘ Th e smalles o f ac t io n is be t ter t h an t h e greatest o f intent io n s.‘
mohammed imran uddin uddin
You can set the most amazing goals, and have the greatest intentions in the world, but unless you take action to reach that destination you will never arrive. Those who succeeded before you didn’t achieve success overnight. The famous, Harry Potter author JK Rowling suffered a dozen rejections before a publisher saw the potential in her book. It took her 14 years to become the first “overnight” billionaire author, ever. Mark Zuckerberg, founder and ceo of Facebook, went through years of development and had a yearly net loss of $3.63 million before becoming an “overnight” success. It took Steve Jobs over 20 years to become an “overnight billionaire”. Look, the truth is you won’t get the kind of success you desire without persistence and massive, massive amounts of action. It’s not magic, it’s action. So think baby steps, not overnight success.
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Use the next 100 days to commit yourself to taking action. Every ten days, ask yourself: Is what I’m about to do in the coming days moving the ball forward? Be intentional. Remember: There is always something you could be doing to inch closer to making your goals a reality. Always. List the actions required to make progress with the goals you set up for yourself. Be realistic, but optimistically bold. Push yourself. Sometimes you may fail to live up to your intended actions. And that is frustrating and disappointing. This will happen and that’s OK. That’s how it works – constantly adjusting and renewing. Consider it a learning opportunity. Don’t let yourself back down when things get tough. Set some more realistic expectations for yourself next time. Even if you list baby steps (e.g. make a phone call, sign up for something, schedule a coffee date, submit that resume, buy a book on that topic, attend that meeting, do some research on the internet) it is a victory. Remember: ‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.' - Lao Tzu Be courageous enough to commit to using this journal. Identify what actions are really essential to your success in achieving your goals and allow the power of momentum to propel you into a future where you live the life you want. Always remember: the journey is all. The destination is beside the point.
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May you be blessed during your 100 day journey, but may you busy your butt too. As high performance coach Brendon Burchard says: ‘I don’t say, “good luck.” I say, “Make it happen. Earn it. Be excellent.’
w h at i f y o u d o n ’ t wa n t t o u s e t h i s j o u r n a l t o t r a c k y o u r g o a l s
That’s OK. Maybe you have a different system set up that makes you succeed in making progress with your goals. Maybe you are content with your life and don’t yearn for much more. This journal just offers a science-based tool that will help you take your life goals to the next level. But it’s up to you. Use what works for you and what makes you feel good. But make sure you do use the other parts of this journal to condition your mind to think positively and to focus on the positive things in your life. It is the number one positive habit that will make a daily difference in your life.
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m y g o a l s f o r t h e n e x t 100 d ay s
Goal 1
Goal 2
Goal 3
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Notes
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