Do I want to attract positivity or negativity towards myself? That is the question that we all must answer every day when we wake up and begin with our day, week, month, year, and the answer that we give largely depends on the answer to even bigger question – What do we truly want for ourselves?

Of course, you are going to say - “Well, of course I want good things happen for me every day,” but did you ever stopped and asked yourself if decisions and choices that you make align with what you think and do? Or, are you hoping for one thing – positive change in your life, your career, your financial situation, but thinking and focusing on all reasons why it’s impossible or difficult to achieve the things that you truly want?

Unfortunately, many of us self-sabotage our goals and dreams. Instead of focusing on all possible reasons why it will happen for us and plans on achieving that one thing we’ve been dreaming about, we look for everything that may not be working out for us today, all problems and obstacles that we may be facing today. But why? Why not make a decision to only focus on what we truly want for ourselves and those that we care about, tuning out the noise of daily problems that we all face in one way or the other? Here’s the thing, if we focus on what is wrong or bad in our life, we will only attract more of the same. So, if we are constantly negative and complain about the things that are not happening for us, we should not expect for things to magically change for a better, because, everything beings and ends in our own mind. Similarly, if we focus on the positive, expecting and truly believing that good things will happen for us very soon, even if we don’t exactly know or see how, then somehow our life begins to realign in a positive direction over time.

Don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself, especially if you are going through some challenging time right now. Try to change and focus your mind, your thoughts, and your actions in the positive direction. If you want to achieve something that you’ve been dreaming about, tell yourself that you will, but more importantly, believe with every cell in your body that you will achieve it, and remind yourself of this every single day when you wake up and before going to bed. Take action, regardless how small that action may seem to help yourself get closer to your goal achievement. So, if you wish to write a book, begin writing, even if it’s just few sentences each day, because, any action is still better than standing still hoping for things to change. Finally, have fun with what you do. If we lack motivation or no longer enjoy what we are doing or pursuing every day in a professional, career, or personal development arena, then we should really ask ourselves – Is this something that I truly want for myself? Do and focus on the things that excite you and bring you a feeling of joy, happiness, and satisfaction, because, if you do what you enjoy every day, you would have no reason but to be happy and appreciate every single moment as you navigate your way through the rollercoaster of life.​

Are you going to wait until December 31st to create and write down your goals on paper, then being acting on your goals on January 1st? Or, you are going to create and work towards accomplishing your goals, bringing your life’s aspirations and dreams closer to their fulfillment and eventually reaching them?

I hope it’s the latter. Because, many of us live our lives hoping to change our circumstances, our lifestyle, our future for a better every day without actually doing anything about changing our present and taking action, whatever that action may be, and regardless how big or small that action is. We wait for a better time to act. But the truth is, there’s no such thing as a better time. We will always be busy, there will always be problems that we must deal with, there will always be people in our lives who will support us, and those that will try very hard to point us in the wrong direction. So, why wait? Why not begin working on changing our present and future today, regardless of how challenging our present situation may be?

Even the smallest and easiest step or action that we can take now is still a progress and change in our present state of affairs. The point here is not completely changing our life in one day, one week, or month, the point is to start doing something that creates a motion, creates energy and drive in creating change. Then, with time and continuous effort, goal-setting and follow-through on goals set, again regardless of their complexity or size, things will begin to change, our life will begin to change and point in the direction where we want to go. It may take a long time to get there, or we may reach our goal(s) much sooner than anticipated. What’s important is to keep moving forward, keep ourselves focused, energized, motivated and focused to stay on the path that we are on, heading in the direction where our dreams eventually become a new reality.

So, how do you stay focused on the path to goals’ accomplishment and not getting derailed and pulled in the wrong direction as we go through life?

1. Create a plan – Create a plan, and not just in your head, but a concrete plan written on paper that you can refer to every day. Such plan should include your short-term (1-day, 1 week, 1 month) goals as well as long-term (6 months, 12 months, 3yrs, 5yrs, etc.) goals. Make sure that your goals are extremely detailed with dates, times, and specific measurable benchmarks/success stories all outlined for you to see and follow-through.
2. Create a daily schedule – Create a daily schedule for yourself, listing action items that you will complete each day – your ‘To Do Checklist.’ Examples of to do items may include: a). Reading or listening to a book for 25-30 minutes each day, b). Listening to an online training of the subject/topic you are interested to learn more about or an area you would like to improve in (ex. negotiation skills, sales, etc.).
3. Create and keep a daily journal – Keep and write in your daily journal every day. Example of entries in the journal could be: a). reflections of your day; b) Plans for the day; c). Something new and interesting you’ve learned; d). An important thought that you’ve had during the day. Journaling is a way to capture your thoughts and ideas on paper, free your mind from thoughts and ideas you’ve been thinking about, brainstorm about everything that’s been on your mind. Remember, your daily entries do not have to be complex or extensive. Make it as long or as short as you would like.
4. Follow your plan and stick to your schedule every day
5. Motivate yourself – Motivate yourself to keep energy and drive in the high gear at all times. Watch motivational videos, listen to motivational speakers, read inspiring success stories and blogs. Remind yourself why reaching your goal(s) is important to you now and in the near future.

Create the life you want to live today and stop waiting for a better or ‘right’ time. Actions that you take each day are either help you to build the strong foundation for the future of your dreams or weaken that foundation piece by piece at a time should no action be taken. The route you take and the choices you make each day are the decisions that we all have an opportunity to make as we go through life.​

Unconditional giving is giving something of value to other individuals or a group of people without expecting anything in return or expecting a payback at a later date.

I personally believe that many of us often forget about the possibility of giving something unconditionally just to help another parson that we want to help and care about. We often wait for something in return, because, in our mind that is how things are supposed to be. However, it’s far from reality. If you are giving something and expecting a payback, it’s not unconditional giving, that’s called a loan or intentional giving. So, be sure that you fully understand the difference between the two before acting, as you always want to make sure that perception that you are fiving of yourself to others is the one you intend to give, the one that represents the real and honest you. Be honest with yourself always. If you truly, genuinely want to help someone in need, then please do so, as even the smallest gift of generosity could often help another individual to change his or her life for a better, even if it is only for a short period of time.

Many of us go though some tough times in our lives, and many face difficult times today. But, by being aware of people around us and their unique wants and needs vs only focusing on what is going on in our own personal world, can help us to be that source of hope and positive energy that other people are seeking every day. When someone reaches out to you offering help and/or support when you are going through some challenging times in life is a very powerful feeling, it is uplifting, motivating, and encouraging. It gives us that needed step to try harder, push ourselves to improve, develop, and grow personally and professionally. So, why not help? Why not offer your genuine unconditional help today to those in need, give someone else a reason to smile and create a happy future? You are awesome! Know it and believe it, because, you are!​

How many of you who are reading this enjoy planning? You don’t have to raise your hand, just kindly check off ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in your mind. I hope that most of you have checked off ‘yes,’ because, I certainly did. I love planning every project, every trip, every vacation or road trip must be planned. Why so, why do I so strongly believe that planning is something everyone must do before taking on an important action or project? The answer here is surprisingly a very simple one – planning helps us to make what initially seemed as a complex task into a very simple one.

Let’s take vacation planning as an example. How many of you plan your vacations? Ok, make another note in your mind. I plan my family’s vacations to the smallest detail, from transportation to food, lodging, entertainment, finances, etc. You may be thinking why go to the extreme? Why not just go and see what happens? Because, peace of mind and mine and and my family members’ happiness is very important to me. The last thing that I want is to find myself trying to do is figure out the logistics during the vacation, which often causes frustration, confusion, unhappiness for everyone involved in the absence of a clear plan.

Take for example a family trip to a Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Many people would find it a very complex and often anxious experience, especially when you are traveling with little kids. I have personally observed several families with kids having a very difficult time, being upset, disappointed, and frustrated while at Disney World. Why? I would say that the biggest reason would have to be the lack of planning before the trip. However, when you plan everything out well in advance, know where you are going, the attractions you want to see, rides you want to ride, reserve fast passes to the rides and shows that you absolutely must see and experience, purchase meals well in advance, securing transportation and lodging, then the entire Disney experience will be very enjoyable for the entire family. So, that is why I view planning as a very important key to a success and happiness for all involved.

By the way, planning does not only apply to vacations, it applies to virtually all aspects of our personal and professional lives. When you are assigned a large project at work, the very first step that one should take is to break down this project into smaller sub projects, and then create a plan of action – how will you tackle each sub project along the entire timeline to ensure that complete product is delivered before the deadline, while meeting and often exceeding quality controls and expectations set by the business. Remove planning out of the equation and you are stuck with big unknown, with a challenge that you do not know where to begin in handling, or if you can even complete it before the requested due date. This creates unnecessary stress and pressure placed on our shoulders. So, why not planned it out and tackle the task or project in smaller, much more manageable chunks?

I would challenge you to look at each task, project, or event as a planner. Have a plan clearly outlined listing step-by-step action items to be completed over time without preestablished guidelines or requirements should they be present in your specific situation. Write down you detailed plan on a paper, and if you choose not to user paper and pen, then have it typed up on a pc/tablet/phone, where you can easily access it at any time. Remember, if you are working on a project for your employer and you happened to run into an obstacle or a roadblock along your project journey, be sure to raise your concerns to the appropriate individual(s) proactively, especially if/when you are at risk of missing a deadline. Do not wait until the very end, as it may be a very difficult and often impossible to address any of the concerns near or at the ‘finish line.’

So, if you have previously viewed planning as a non-important or unnecessary task, hopefully you now see how important the process of planning is in all aspects of our lives and will begin viewing planning as necessity and part of everything you do in your personal and professional lives.​

​ hope you enjoyed reading this module as much as I enjoyed writing it, and hope that you found it to be very useful for you or someone else that you may know. Please feel free to share this post if you know someone who may benefit from reading it same way you did