Tuesday, August 24, 2010

bath salts

I used 1 cup of epsom salts, half a cup of sea salt, and a few tablespoons of baking soda for this recipe, adding 8 drops of lavender. (This one was for me, and I adore lavender - it made the bathroom smell heavenly!) Adjust the fragrance, just adding one or two drops at a time until you're happy with it. Lavender is a difficult color to achieve with food coloring, I found, but I managed to get a lavender color that I liked by using far more red than blue.

To decorate the jar, thread lavender ribbon through the openings in an ecru doily, tie in place and make a bow. If this isn't possible, use a rubber band to secure the doily in place, then tie the ribbon over it. Print and cut out our free Lavender Bath Salts Labels then glue in place to finish the jar.

Salt Glow Recipe
Salt Glow

Mix the bath salts together and set aside. Mix all of the oils together and pour the mixture into a glass or PET storage jar (container should have an airtight seal). Slowly pour in the bath salts and mix well.

Your salt glow should be stored in a cool dark place to maximize the shelf life. Adding a drop or two of Rosemary essential oil will help to preserve your scrubs.

Bath Tea Recipe
Bath Tea mixture

Add essential oil to the bath salt and mix well. Add dried herbs and stir to combine. Fill each tea bag with approx 4 ounces of the mixture. If you are packaging the bath teas, pack them individually in plastic to seal in the scent.

To use, simply toss one bag into warm bath water. As the tea bag seeps the salts will melt and the fragrance from the essential oils and herbs will disperse. Dispose of the tea bag after the bath, or the organza or muslin bags can be re-used.

Dead Sea Salt Scrub
Salt Glow

Salt scrubs are incredibly easy to make at home, and a Dead Sea salt scrub will bring you all the benefits of skin exfoliation along with the therapeutic benefits of Dead Sea salt and it's very high mineral content.

Pour salt into a mixing bowl and slowly add the oil, mixing well with a wooden spoon. Add the essential oil and continue mixing. This recipe should provide enough Dead Sea Salt Scrub for three at-home treatments. To use, simply rub into the skin before showering.

Salt Crystal Potpourri
Salt Crystal Potpourri

Making Salt Crystal Potpourri is a simple process—the trickiest part is the coloring of the crystals. You have 3 choices for colorings: liquid-based, glycerin-based or Mica powders. The liquid based colorings will dry the best, glycerin will be a nice translucent coloring and Mica gives you opalescent options. You can also simply rinse the crystals for a "glass like" look (see the Rio Salt Crystals page for more info).

Add the fragrance and color. Crystals out on Parchment to dry. If you're using liquid or glycerin colorants, an easy way to color the crystals is by wearing rubber gloves and rubbing the color on the crystals. Mica's you will have to sprinkle than mist with your fragrance.

Bath Bomb Recipe
Bath Bombs

Mix all dry ingredients. Prepare molds by sprinkling dried herbs on the bottom (if desired). Using a spray bottle, moisten the dry mixture with the witch hazel and essential oils. As soon as the mixture holds its shape, pack into the molds. Use caution and do not over mist! Allow to dry overnight, then remove from molds. Package in airtight plastic bags.



Bubbling Bath Salts

And you thought that bath salts simply disappeared into nothing. Well, these salts certainly don't... they smell great, look all sparkly and they bubble too.

2 cups of kosher salt
1 cup table salt
2 T cosmetic grade glitter
a few drops of sandalwood scented oil

1/4 cup of baby shampoo

Combine the top four ingredients and stir until the texture is smooth. Drizzle with the baby shampoo and then spread onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet until you have an even layer. Allow to dry. This could take up to 24 hours depending on the humidity.

Package in a decorative jar... mason jars will do fine and include instructions for use if these salts are to be used as a gift. (About 1/3 cup should do the average bath).


Scented Salt Scrub

To date, I have provided lots of bath salt recipes for your gift list, but what if everyone on your list prefers showers instead? Bath salts would not be a welcome gift, but a salt scrub certainly would. And it is just as easy to whip up. Here's what you need.

  • 3 cups of salt. You will want different textures so choose a combination of fine to course. These will be layered, so keep them separated.
  • 1 T. cosmetic grade glitter
  • enough light oil to cover the salt
  • food coloring or drops of soap colorant
- Layer the three salts into a decorative jar.
- Combine the oil with the glitter and the coloring agent. Stir to combine.
- Pour into jar until the oil reaches the top of the salts.
- Tightly close lid and you are done.

Directions for use...

Scoop out salt mixture and apply to damp skin, using circular movements. Rinse throughly. All the dead skin cells have been washed down the drain, leaving soft skin in its place.


Relax:
1 Cups Epsom Salt
2 Cup Pacific Sea Salt
15 drops Ylang Ylang essential oil
 
Soothing:
1 Cup Epsom Salt
1 Cup baking soda
3 drops Jasmine essential oil
3 drops Rose essential oil
 
De-Toxify:
1/8 Cup unsweetened cocoa butter
1/8 Cup powdered milk
1 Cup Epsom Salt
2 drops Lavender essential oil
 
Golden Goddess:
1 Cup Pacific Salt
2 Cup Dead Sea Salt
½ Cup grape seed oil
¼ cup avocado oil
 
Sensual:
1 Cups Epsom Salt
4 Cups Pacific Sea Salt
10 drops Ylang Ylang essential oil
5 drops Lemon essential oil
 
Fizzing:
2 Cups Dead Sea Salt
1 Cup Baking Soda
½ Citric Acid
20 drops Jasmine essential oil
*add citric acid last
 
Re-relax:
1/4 Cup Epsom Salt
1/4 Cup Dead Sea Salt
2 Cups Pacific Sea Salt
20 drops Lavender essential oil
 
Uplift:
1 Cup Dead Sea Salt
1 Cup Pacific Salt
20 drops Rosemary essential oil
 
Revitalize:
2 cups Dead Sea Salt
4 drops Avocado oil
4 drops Jojoba oil
 
Feel Good:
2 Cups Dead Sea Salt
10 drops Chamomile essential oil
 
Refresh:
1 cup Dead Sea Salt
1 Cup Pacific Salt
5 drops Neroli essential oil
10 drops Lavender essential oil
Calming:
2 Cups Epsom Salt
2 drops Lavender essential oil
2 drops Sandalwood essential oil
2 tablespoons baby oil
Orange:
1 Cup Epsom Salt
1 Cup Dead Sea Salt
5 drops Orange essential oil
 
Lemon Zest:
1 Cup Epsom Salt
1 Cup Dead Sea Salt
3 drops Lemon essential oil
 
The Tropical:
1 Cup Epsom Salt
1 Cup Pacific Sea Salt
2 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
4 drops Lavender essential oil

Romantic:
1 Cup Dead Sea Salt
2 Cups Epsom Salt
10 drops Sandalwood essential oil
10 drops Rose essential oil
5 drops Ylang Ylang essential oil
 
Sensual/Fizzy:
1 Cup Epsom Salt
1 Cup Pacific Sea Salt
1 Cup Baking Soda
½ Citric Acid
8 drops Neroli essential oil
8 drops Ylang Ylang essential oil
15 drops Lavender essential oil
*add the citric acid last

 Uplifting:
2 Cups Epsom Salt
1 Cup Pacific Sea Salt
8 drops Orange essential oil
6 drops Neroli essential oil
6 drops Lavender essential oil
3 drops Lemon essential oil
 
Aches/Pains:
1 Cup Pacific Sea Salt
1 Cup Epsom Salt
1 Cup Dead Sea Salt
5 drops Lavender essential oil
 
Energizer:
2 Cups Epsom Salt
1 Cup Pacific Sea Salt
6 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
10 drops Rosemary essential oil
15 drops Peppermint essential oil
 
Dead Sea Scrub:
2 Cups Dead Sea Salt
5 drops Lemon essential oil
5 drops Orange essential oil
¼ cup Avocado oil






Warmest Regards,


Pamper yourself with out balms and body butter
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MoraINaturals
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Friday, August 20, 2010

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Top 5 Tips for Building the Life You Want

 
 

Sent to you by Gigi via Google Reader:

 
 


Bodybuilding world champion numerous times. One of the most highly paid actors in the last few decades. And now the governor of California. Arnold Schwarzenegger's resume sounds more like the resume of three men rather than just one. How did he do it?

Here are a five clues, success habits and tips from Arnold himself.

1. Believe in yourself.

"I knew I was a winner back in the late sixties. I knew I was destined for great things. People will say that kind of thinking is totally immodest. I agree. Modesty is not a word that applies to me in any way – I hope it never will."

"We all have great inner power. The power is self-faith. There's really an attitude to winning. You have to see yourself winning before you win. And you have to be hungry. You have to want to conquer."

"The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent."

A very strong belief in yourself can be ridiculously useful.

Corny as it may sound, your belief in yourself determines a lot about your journey and your results. But the problem with statements like "Just believe in yourself, man!" is that they don't come with any practical instructions on how to actually believe more I yourself. So you have a hard time getting anywhere.

I have found a few things that have been helpful.

  • First, by realizing that you are able to handle negative stuff that comes your way your belief in yourself and your capabilities grows.
  • You can also work on a similar process voluntarily. By setting goals and achieving them your belief in yourself increases. And by facing your fears and finding that you can indeed survive such experiences your belief in yourself goes up too. None of these options may sound that glamorous, fun or quick. And a lot of the time they aren't. But like with so much else,you have to put in effort to get good results.

But there is also another side to this challenge. Quite a bit of the problem with a lack of belief in yourself comes from internal self-sabotage, self-limiting beliefs and resistance within your mind. It's you holding yourself back.

I have found that reading Eckhart Tolle's books like "A New Earth" – or books on mindfulness in general I guess – to help you realize that you are not your ego, thoughts or emotions and rereading to strengthen and deepen that belief can be very helpful to reduce the inner struggle, over-analyzing and self-sabotage. Over time you can get better control over your mind and you´ll stop listening so much to your own negative inner voices and emotional resistance.

Having a reasonably good handle on that part makes it easier to see yourself doing what you want to do. Because, as Arnold says, you have to be able to envision what you want to do or it will be very hard or just impossible bring that vision into reality.

By getting better control over your mind it becomes easier to hold this vision in your mind day after day, week after week. You'll be less prone to self-sabotage. And your belief will waver less when being questioned or worse by other people or just society in general.

2. See struggle and failure as something positive.

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."

Failure is seldom the end of the world. It's a part of the journey, a part of the learning curve. The problem is just that if you have a scarcity mentality then every failure or potential failure may seem as the sky falling. This can hold you back from performing well. Or from taking action at all. The key to overcome this is to develop an abundance mentality that tells you that there are always more opportunities. This allows you to not take the setbacks too seriously.

One way to help yourself to develop such a mentality is to replace some of the usual input – news, advertising – with information and the vibe from personal development authors/speakers. Another way is just to hang out more with people with an abundance mentality. Or just people that are positive and enthusiastic about life.

Now, most of the time you only really fail when you give up and surrender. If you keep going you'll build your inner strength to live and move through rough patches. And if you are able to look at your setbacks and learn from them you can also deepen you knowledge, perhaps avoid some mistakes and find a better course towards your goal.

Remember that to succeed you need those failure. They make you stronger and smarter and that build-up of yourself is vital to success.

3. Go the extra mile.

"The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain no matter what happens."

Going the extra mile. It's not easy. Personally I think this has often been because I have just thought too much. Overthinking often leads to negative thought spirals where you use your mind to decrease your own strength through self-doubt. And if you add up all the overthinking you can waste months or perhaps even years of your life.

It's more useful to just stop thinking when all then thinking that is needed is done. And to then just go and do what you choose to do. And then to learn from your experiences and to keep going.

4. Go work out.

"Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body."

Yep, working out is very useful in more than one way. I have found that one of the best ways to turn an anxious, negative or weak mood fully around is simply to go exercising. It is also reliable because it is not so dependent on your mind. You just have to drag yourself wherever you need to go and make your body do certain movements to get the desired result.

And, anyway, how are you going to be able to go the extra mile without extra energy? Over the last few years I realized that many problems are simply based in a lack of energy. So working out or not isn't much of a choice really. If you aren't naturally a bouncy, high energy person then you have to exercise in some way to create that energy you need to achieve whatever it is you want in life.

5. Go and help others.

"Help others and give something back. I guarantee you will discover that while public service improves the lives and the world around you, its greatest reward is the enrichment and new meaning it will bring your own life."

Helping others is valuable in so many ways. Beside the wonderful upsides that Arnold brings up – like the fact that you are helping people out and at the same time enriching and adding meaning to your own life – you also create a lot of relationships.

And the Law of Reciprocity, the urge to give back is strong in people. If you provide value and help to them then they will often be inclined to give you a hand when you need it. Or feel the need give back by paying it forward and helping other people.

This creates big, expanding upward spirals of positive actions and thoughts. And that can be very useful for us all.

Image by d_vdm (license).

If you found this article helpful, please share it with someone on Facebook, Twitter and Stumbleupon. Thank you very much! =)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Copyright 2006-2010 Henrik Edberg.


 
 

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Divine Influence: My Interview w/Lisa Price of Carol's Daughter

 
 

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via Moptop Maven - Deliciously Opinionated Musings by Mop Top Maven on 8/20/10

Good Afternoon Dream Chasers!

Yesterday I had the honor of interviewing who I deem the Godmother of All Mixtresses; Lisa Price of the wildly popular Carol's Daughter brand. Lisa surprised me with her down-to-earth friendly demeanor, and willingness to divulge her recipe's to success. Lisa's honesty was truly refreshing, and her business acumen impressive; so it's no fluke she's landed coveted partnerships with HSN, Disney, and Sephora.

Read this interview and get inspired, empowered, and uplifted! -

MTM: Tell me about how Carol's Daughter started?
LP: Well, it started out as a hobby; initially I was making fragrances for myself, I have always been a fragrance lover and still am to this day. When I first started to do this as a hobby, I decided I was going to make my own fragrances because I didn't want to smell like everyone else on the train [laughs]. I found a place to buy oils, and I started blending fragrance oils, then I found essential oils, and I mixed those in with them. And initially I would put the oils into things that I would buy at the drugstore; bottles of lotion, baby oils etc. I would just shake the bottles up and try to make products with them, because fragrances last when you layer them; when you put the moisturizers on, when you use the shower gels, then you spray the perfume on, that's how it [fragrance] stays with you. I was trying to recreate that layering experience, yet it didn't always work when I was buying these pre-made things; they weren't always that moisturizing, and I always had dry skin so when I started, I started making body products, and adding my fragrances to them so that I could layer them.

My mom suggested that I sell at a flea market that her church was having one Saturday, and that was the beginning of it. I started by selling at flea markets and craft fairs, just earning some extra cash; then eventually my hobby started to turn into a second job. Through going out and doing these flea markets and craft fairs, women started to ask me for hair care products, and at first I didn't have any. Everything I did initially was body and fragrance related. I couldn't even get them to stay at the table; they would ask if I had hair care, I would say no; and they would leave. So then I said; "well at least if I make some hair care, they'll stick around a little bit longer" [laughs], so I started to make hair care in order to get the customer to stay.

MTM: How did you make the transition from mixing scents and products on your kitchen table to having a full fledged operation?
LP: Well, that took a lot of years, it started out with me in my kitchen making things. Then it grew from me making things by myself to having someone help me, then it grew from two somebody's, to three somebody's, to four somebody's; and at one point I think I had 10 people working in my home. Then I got a warehouse in order to produce more effiencetly, and I set up an industrial kitchen in the warehouse to have more space to produce bigger batches and have more people involved.

Eventually we outgrew the warehouse space, and we had to outsource the manufacturing of the product. So we started off with a certain number of products at a time, and over a two year period we were able to outsource everything. At the time we started outsourcing, the only preservatives that company's would use were parabens, so it took us a while to get the manufacturers to agree to alternative preservatives which was kind of like pulling teeth then [now it's a lot easier] because they didn't have enough history with alternative preservative systems. Once we started the outsource process, it was just a matter of time to get the fragrances perfected, and get the recipe's perfected; it took about to years to do that. 

MTM: Once you realized you could turn passion into profit, did you have any fears along the way? If so, how did you work to overcome them?
LP: I definitely had fears along the way, and still do to this day; they just change shape, change color, and change form. What I find is, as you overcome each one, it makes you stronger for the next time. Sometimes the challenges, and the fears becomes stronger as well, however in the end it all goes towards making you a stronger person. For me, I feel like my journey in entrepreneurship has been one that's been very, very personal; it involved me becoming a more stronger person, and more confident person then the person that I was before I started doing this. However that's isn't necessarily everyone's story, I think there are some people who go into entreprenuership and are extremely confident, and whatever it is that they are supposed to learn from their business is different. For me it has definitely about building confidence, because most of my obstacles are driven be me; my own fears, my own insecurities, my own doubts, and each time I overcome them I am better equipped to handle the next challenge. 

MTM: What were some of the challenges you faced initially?
LP: Learning things! You don't really get a manual per say when you start a business; you make accounting mistakes, you make employee mistakes, you didn't know about the Worker's Comp that you were supposed to pay for, so you get a letter, and have to pay a fines etc. Sometimes I wish there was a kit that arrived in the mail with all the boxes that you have to check because if you don't know, you don't know [laughs].

I remember I had a really funny conversation [well it's funny in retrospect] with a potential wholesaler, and she said; "we would love to carry your line, and I just need to know if you have insurance". I said; "insurance?" and she said: "yeah, do you have insurance?", and I said; "well, I have home owners insurance". I really didn't know what she was talking about, and she finally said; "General Liability Insurance, like for your products, in case someone sues you, you don't have insurance?". I was like 'Oh My God' [laughs], I got off the phone with her and I called my insurance agent to find out more about general liability insurance; and 10,000 later, I had insurance [laughs]. 

MTM: How involved are you in the Carol's Daughter operation today?
LP: Extremely involved, I am more involved in a creative sense, and in a product development sense; I am also in the office everyday except for when I'm traveling. When it comes to marketing the product, my team always comes to me for the story behind the product; they want to know why I picked particular ingredients, why I pick certain fragrances etc. I'm not necessarily involved with operations on a day-to-day level because that's not my area of expertise, so I can't tell you what happens when an order goes into the system; however I can tell you the ingredients in our products, why they're in there, and what we're going to be selling next spring. 

MTM: What is the Carol's Daughter Philosophy?
LP: We have few philosophies. However what first comes to mind is providing products to people that just make their lives better. A lot of times people think that someone in my business lives at the spa, yet I never get to go to a spa. The closest I get to a spa is our Hand & Foot Spa in Harlem to get manicures and pedicures, however going to get a salt scrub, or a hot stone massage; I never have time for that kind of stuff.

Whatever I can do in my own bathroom to have a spa experience, is so important to me. My shower is my spa experience, and I am sure there are tons of women just like me whether it's because of time and or finances that just don't have time to pamper themselves. Sometimes that 5-10 minutes that it takes to apply a salt scrub/sugar scrub, deep condition your hair, or apply a 3-step process on your face, represents that 'me time'. I thinking having 'me time' makes you more sane when you go out into the world, you are better able to function. To me that's something that's hugely important, because if you don't take proper care of yourself, you can't take care of anyone else.

MTM: Your story is very inspiring to a lot of us out there who wish to create our own destiny, what advice do you have for those future entrepreneurs out there?
LP: Finding that very delicate, and sometimes precarious balance between knowing what your vision is, and at the same time being open to change and direction from other places. Sometimes as entrepreneurs we can get very stuck in how we feel, and were not necesarily relevant with the rest of the world. For example; I'm 48 years old, I could care less if I tweet, but I know that tweeting is something that is important so I tweet, not as much as I should, but I'm getting better. You have to be open to the way that the world is changing, and what's going on so that you can remain relevant. You can have who you are at your core, but you always have to remain relevant within the world or eventually your brand will die.

MTM: For those of us that are new to the Carol's Daughter brand, what are some of the must-have products to get acquainted with the line?
LP: Our haircare is most popular; and most loved in haircare I would say is the Black Vanilla Shampoo & Smoothie, and the Hair Milk Lotion [this is the number one sku and has been for the past two years]. On the body side, I would say the Body Jelly is extremely popular; it's a non-petroleum, petroleum jelly. There's no petroleum or mineral oil in it, but it serves the purpose that a petroleum jelly would serve without the bad stuff!

We also have a Peppermint Foot Lotion that's very popular, and a bath salt called Body Ache's Bath Salt that's also very popular.

MTM: Do you have any advice out there for women who are natural or transitioning?
LP: Yes, we sell two products that together form this recipe we call the oil infusion. Right now if they went to the website they wouldn't find oil infusion, but we're working to change that. The oil infusion is Khoret Amen Hair Oil and Khoret Amen Smoothie, you apply them to the hair as a pre-shampoo/pre-conditioning treatment, and it really helps to improve the elasticity and moisture level of the hair. By doing this oil infusion process, your own hair grows in a bit softer while you're transitioning. It isn't going to relax it or take the kink out, it's just a deep conditioner that hydrates the hair, makes it easier to detangle, and easier to manage.

MTM: Carol's Daughter has a new product solution on the market [The Hair Milk Curl Collection]; Tell us a little more about it!
LP: The Hair Milk line is one of the biggest launches we've ever done, and definitely one of our most successful launches to date. The Hair Milk Lotion was one of the products I made for myself to define my curls, as I have always worn my hair curly but didn't necessarily have a product that helped me achieve a great look everyday. Hair Milk has been in our top 5 products for over 15 years, and we knew we could build a franchise out of it. Since the original Hair Milk Lotion was tailored to curls, we really wanted to explore the whole curl market. This also gave us an opportunity to get the product to more people because when you think of curly hair, it doesn't just pertain to African American hair, it can be anyone who has curly hair.

When we were working with the chemist to create the line, we wanted it to be sulfate free, we wanted it to detangle, we wanted for the conditioner to really boost the curls, as well as hydrate and detangle the hair. I got to test it for about 6 months before it hit the market and I loved it; even though I have always worn my hair curly, and people know me in the market for my curly hair, my hair is even easier to maintain having the system vs just having the lotion. My curls just keep longer, it's easier to revive them, and when I fall asleep and wake up in the morning my hair isn't as destroyed as it used to be. I also like co-washing with the Hair Milk Conditioner because I don't like to wash my hair a lot, and the conditioner makes a nice co-wash.

MTM: The Carol's Daughter brand is already associated with major companies like Disney, HSN, and Sephora respectively, where do you see your brand 10 years from now?
LP: Oh boy! It's always hard for me to say that because whenever I say where I think it's going to be, the brand surprises me, and surpasses that. What I always like to say is; "where I see it in the future is still relevant" which I think is really, really important.  I think we have done a really good job at continuing to evolve and grow, so I see us being around, still relevant, and with more legs.

This year we got to launch a sub-brand with Mary J Blige and the My Life fragrance, so My Life is it's own brand within the Carol's Daughter umbrella. It has it's own shows on HSN, it broke all kinds of records, [it launched on July 31rst on HSN], it's the first time that a fragrance was launched on television, and a celebrity fragrance at that. She [Mary J Blige] sold close to 52k units in one day, so it was a tremendous success. It was great as small as we are, to be able to launch a brand under our umbrella.

In November on HSN we'll be launching a line called Lisa's Kitchen which will be at home kits where you can make your own products. So I see us having more legs, where we aren't known just for one thing.

 
 

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Leonardo Da Vinci’s Top Six Tips for Getting Things Done

 
 

Sent to you by Gigi via Google Reader:

 
 


"A well-spent day brings happy sleep."

If you want tips on how to become more productive, one awesome source would be Leonardo da Vinci.

He painted a whole lot of classic paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. His journals contain ideas for inventions like hydraulic pumps, steam cannons, helicopters and hang gliders. He was also, among other things, an anatomist, sculptor, botanist and musician.

Da Vinci got stuff done. A lot of stuff.

How did he do it? Well, here is a guide with his tips for getting things done.

1. Do.

"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do."

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things."

If you want to get things done you have to do things. If you want big results you often have to take massive action. There is no way to get around taking action if you want real life results.

But it's easy to get stuck in a mindset where you in a way substitute thinking for action. You think and think and take action just once in a while.

One thing that gets you stuck in this mindset is that you may see other people doing the same thing. And so your habit of taking action once in a while gets reinforced since it feels like the "normal" thing to do. The fear of failure and what people might say if you try, fail or succeed are powerful factors too.

But to get what you want you need to break out of that. You need to take a lot of action. And if you are an overthinker or procrastinator like I was then there is probably room for a lot more action every week.

I think the first step to taking more action is just to be aware of how much action you are actually taking. To be aware how much time you are spending thinking or planning. And catch yourself when you get stuck in unproductive thought patterns. And then adjust to take more action.

How can you snap yourself into action? Two tips that works well for me are:

  • Pump up your enthusiasm. One way of doing that is to see what's positive in any situation. Then build on that to get your enthusiasm going. Perhaps it's just a thing or two. But that glimmer of positivity can be a starting point to change your perspective to a more positive one where you can find enthusiasm. And whatever the situation you are in will often be easier and more pleasurable to handle. Another way to pump up your enthusiasm is to get an enthusiastic vibe from other people. Listen to CDs with enthusiastic people – Brian Tracy and Wayne Dyer are two helpful guys – for perhaps 20 minutes. When you are done listening you'll probably feel a lot more enthusiastic. Or hang out with enthusiastic people and get them to talk about what they are enthusiastic about. Enthusiasm is contagious, so use that fact to help yourself.
  • Just do it anyway. If you don't feel like you could pump up your enthusiasm, just go and do what you want to do anyway. You may not want to go to the gym. But you do it anyway. And after you've been there for a while you are glad you went there, because now you are getting your workout done. And you are feeling proactive, enthusiastic and good about yourself.

2. Do. Experience. Understand.

"Experience does not ever err. It is only your judgment that errs in promising itself results which are not caused by your experiments."

"Although nature commences with reason and ends in experience it is necessary for us to do the opposite, that is to commence with experience and from this to proceed to investigate the reason."

If you take little action it's easy to overestimate the value of the results. A failure or a mistake might feel like the end of the world. You may perhaps you beat yourself up about it for the rest of the week.

That won't help much though. As you learn to take more action, the results contain less emotional power. You don't get overwhelmed or lost in a sad funk. You also realize that the world doesn't revolve around you. People will probably not care as much as you think if you try, fail or succeed with something. They have their own lives to worry about.

So instead learn to take the lessons from a mistake or failure. Do not take the failure so seriously but instead see it – just like everything else – as a valuable experience.

So dive into life. Get experiences, because it is only here you will get some real understanding.

3. Be consistent.

"Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind."

It's easy to get riled up and get going with something new on an enthusiastic high. But that initial enthusiasm tends to dissipate. That's when you hit a plateau. That's when you need to keep moving. Doing everything in small spurts and then turning to the next thing when something loses it "newness" makes it hard to get what you want.

You have to be persistent. And consistent. Then you can get pretty much anything done. One of the big reasons why people don't get what they want is simply that they won't keep going. Or that they go, stop, go, stop. Persistence and consistency isn't exactly the sexiest things in personal growth. But they are ridiculously helpful.

Because the results you want may not come to you tomorrow or next week. Improving your life is often hinges on the ability to not go running around for new magic pills all the time or choosing the instant gratification option every time.

So, how do you become more consistent?

  • Be aware. Just by being aware of what you are doing – and not doing – you can stop and change how you think and act in your everyday life. This will take time, but little by little you can avoid your own pitfalls – such as for instance the instant gratification route – more and more.
  • Set the context for your day. What you do early in the day often sets the context for your day. And your days are your life. We have a tendency to want to be consistent with what we have done before. One thing that can give you a good start is to do the hardest and/or most important thing first. If you start your day like this then you don't have to worry about that special task for the rest of the day. Taking this route makes the day feel easier and you'll have less inner resistance to getting the rest of the tasks of the day done. Another way to use this tip is to work out early in the day. It will make you feel energized and more alert for the rest of the day.

4. Move over, through or around obstacles.

"Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind."

Obstacles are tricky. They can easily discourage you. But they are seldom as scary as they look. If you actually start to smash them or move around them you may find that it is easier than you may have thought. The biggest obstacles are often the ones you put up in your mind. Not just in the way that you perceive external obstacles and make them bigger than they are. But also in how you create obstacles that aren't even out there. They exist solely in your mind.

So be careful and reconsider your assumptions and perception. Realize that you may be making things a lot harder than they actually need to be. Realize that you to some part decide how hard or easy something is.

By diving into reality and taking action you get real life experience of how things are. Then you may see how the obstacles were just in your mind. Or how you can move over, under or through the obstacle by learning and adjusting. Or just by being persistent.

Look at an obstacle as a way for the world to test you and teach you. Instead of a solid brick wall.

5. Know what's important (for you).

"Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it."

There is always enough time. You have the same amount of hours in the day that da Vinci had. But the thing is to know what is important to you. And to take action based on that.

Knowing what you want and following that path is vital for the rest of the tips above. To be able to take all that action, to do it consistently and to crush internal or external obstacles you need to know what you want. That will give you the motivation to keep going. And I'm talking about what you really want. What is most important to you (not what your parents, teachers or society may tell is important).

How do you find out what you really want? I think you need to really think about it. But more importantly, I think you need to just experiment and try things. From all that doing and all those experiences you learn things. Not just about the world but also about yourself.

Experience makes it clearer in your mind if what you thought you wanted is really what you want. Over time your map of yourself and your life becomes more accurate. And by doing things you not only find what is most important to you. You also find the things you really enjoy doing and that makes it so much easier to keep going.

6. Focus.

"As every divided kingdom falls, so every mind divided between many studies confounds and saps itself."

You need to know what's important for you. You also need to focus on it. And focus on it consistently.

And this is not just about keeping your focus on what you are doing and what you want each and every day. It's also about the focus of your attitude. To for instance keep your focus on the positive, on your curiousness and your enthusiasm. On what gets you where you want to go.

Instead of negative doubts, beating yourself up or other things you may focus on from time to time for some reason. That stuff will seldom help you. Of course, if there is a real problem then that needs to be handled. But oftentimes it's easy to get stuck in negativity because of old habits, what other people may say or just to strengthen a victim identity and get a strange sense of satisfaction and familiarity out of the negativity.

So finally, here are three practical tips that I have found to be very helpful to improve my focus.

  • Exercise. This is so key. Regular exercise makes me more focused, positive and energized. The best way to make exercise a consistent part of your life each week is to try different things and find what you like doing and what fits you and your situation.
  • Singletask. Do just one thing at a time to get things done quicker and with less stress. For me at least it works a lot better than multitasking.
  • Work in a cone of silence. Try to minimize possible distractions. You could do that by for instance unplugging your internet cable, shutting off your phone and closing your door.

If you found this article helpful, please share it with someone on Facebook, Twitter and Stumbleupon. Thank you very much! =)

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Copyright 2006-2010 Henrik Edberg.


 
 

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Sunday, July 4, 2010

How to Simplify When You Love Your Stuff

 
 

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via zen habits by guest on 7/2/10

"It all depends on whether you have things, or they have you." ~Robert A. Cook

Editor's note: This is a guest post by Barrie Davenport of Live Bold and Bloom.

Simplicity. It is a lovely ancient spiritual tradition that has seen a recent resurgence in popularity.  As we try to make sense of our erratic economy and the accompanying financial anxiety, it is natural to leap to a less risky lifestyle extreme — stop spending, scale back, live lean.

If you are a regular reader of Zen Habits, you are probably intrigued by the idea of simplifying. In fact, you may have even given up many material things and actively live a very simple life. People who have adopted this level of  simplicity, especially in the land of consumerism, are incredibly inspiring and fascinating.

But let's be real here. In spite of embracing the concept of simplicity, most people really love their stuff, and they love acquiring more stuff. Like our attitudes about a healthy diet, our feelings about material things are complicated. We know what's good for us, but we just don't want to give up what we like. Our stuff makes us feel good.

Is it possible to live a simple life and still love stuff? How much letting go of stuff really counts toward simplifying anyway?

Living simply and detaching from material things will make you happier. There is real research and lots of anecdotal evidence to support the truth of this. But is it possible that some material things can add to our happiness, sense of contentment and joy in life? If so, how do you go about deciding what's good stuff and what's bad?

Perhaps the deciding factor is motivation. Do the things that you own or wish to buy support your ego, or do they enliven your soul? Some material things can afford you a sense of warmth, coziness, beauty, fond memories, or comfort. There are other things that offer only that fleeting rush of acquisition.

If you infuse mindfulness into your ideas and actions around material things, you can create a gentle balance between loving stuff and living simply.

Here are some thoughts that might be useful.

1. Look around your house now.

Walk from room to room. Do you see things that you never use and don't really care about? Why not give them away or sell them? Clear physical and psychic space by removing the "dead wood" in your environment. Someone else might really need these things.

2. Examine why you are hanging on to something.

Is it truly useful or meaningful, or does it feed your ego in some way? Are you holding on to it just to impress others or to make yourself feel better or more important?

3. Look at how you spend your time.

Do you have things you own for hobbies that you never pursue? Do you have a kitchen full of gadgets but you rarely cook? If you truly think you will come back to a hobby or activity, box things up and put them out of sight until you do. Be realistic about how much time you have to use your extraneous stuff.

4. Are you in a career that is thing-focused?

Decorators, car dealers, retailers and others involved in creating, buying, selling and marketing merchandise, can have a hard time detaching from material things because they are always surrounded by the newest and best. There is beauty and art in many things, but consider this: you don't have to own them all to appreciate them. Eckhart Tolle once suggested to Oprah Winfrey that she not buy everything she likes or wants — just savor it for the moment in the store.

5. Consider experiences rather than things.

On the whole, experiential purchases provide far more pleasure than material purchases. The memory of experiences improves with time, but material purchases are harder to think about abstractly. Experiences also encourage social relationships which provide long-lasting happiness. If you are itching to spend, spend on a great experience with someone you enjoy.

6. When you think about your things or want to purchase something new, consider these parameters:

  • It brings beauty into your life and stirs your soul.
  • It supports a passion or hobby.
  • It helps bring family and friends together in a creative, meaningful way.
  • It educates and enlightens.
  • It makes life profoundly simpler so that you can pursue more meaningful things.
  • It helps someone who is sick or incapacitated.
  • It is useful and necessary for day-to-day life.
  • It's part of a meaningful tradition or a reminder of a special event.

7. You will know you are buying mindlessly if you:

  • Buy on a whim.
  • Buy to impress others.
  • Buy because you feel you deserve it.
  • Buy when you can't afford it.
  • Buy just to update something that still works or looks fine.
  • Buy because someone else has it and you want it too.
  • Buy because the advertisement seduced you.
  • Buy because you are bored.
  • It's purchased because buying soothes you.

It is possible to balance a simpler life with owning and acquiring material things. You can enjoy stuff without living the life of an aesthetic. The exact balance you create is a matter of personal preference. But realize there is a diminishing point of return with accumulation and materialism that undermines authentic joy and fulfillment in life.

Apply mindful purging to your current lifestyle and belongings, as well as thoughtful consideration to your future purchases. Carefully examine your motivations for keeping possessions or buying new things. Once you allow things to serve your soul, rather than you being a slave to your things, your life will evolve into an artful harmony between what you have and who you are.

Read more from Barrie at her blog, Live Bold and Bloom and download her free e-book, How to Live a Meaningful Life.


 
 

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Monday, May 3, 2010

9 Simple Tips for Getting Rid of a Bad Habit

 
 

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Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nerdegutt/ / CC BY 2.0

"Bad habits are easier to abandon today than tomorrow."
Yiddish Proverb

"Men's natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them."
Confucius

Most of us have one or a few habits that we consider bad and we'd like to get rid of. But how do you do it?

I have a few suggestions that have helped me and people around me. Here are 9 tips that can help you to finally get rid of that bad habit once and for all.

  1. Tell your friends and family. If you tell people around you that you will stop smoking or start working out three times a week then they will check up on you. And you will feel a social pressure to keep up with your promise now that it is let out into the world. I would recommend only telling people who you think will support you or be neutral. Negative people make things so much more difficult.
  2. Make it painful to not go through with it. This may not be for everyone but you could consider making a promise to someone. For example, if you stray off the path to better health by having French fries or a cigarette then you will give your friend 100 or 500 dollars. The point is to add some possible pain to keep yourself in check on days when you may feel a bit tempted.
  3. Listen to those who have gone where you want to go. Not to people who have no practical or real idea about what your challenge entails. It is important to get the best advice that actually works in real life. Seek it out in people around you, in the best books on the topic (check for the number of stars and read reviews on a site like amazon.com) and on blogs and forums that seem reliable.
  4. What will this lead to in 5 and 10 years? See your future self vividly in your mind. Where are you going? Towards massive debt, a heart attack, serious illness and severe restrictions in your future? Do you want go to that place where it is very likely that you will wind up if you don't make a change? Then see your future self where you have made the positive change. What positive and awesome things has it brought you in 5 years and in 10 years? See it all in your mind. And remind yourself of the positive and negative consequences by writing them down and reviewing them whenever you feel like quitting and going back to your old ways.
  5. Avoid temptations. Know what usually triggers your bad habit. Places where you are likely to spend too much money. Things in your cupboard that will not help you to get healthier and you should not have at home at all. And people that drag you down and back into your old ways.
  6. Replace it. If you stop doing one thing then it can leave a vacuum in your life. It's easier to not relapse if you replace that space with a new habit. If you had chips and candy at home to snack on then have fruits and nuts to snack on when you feel the cravings. If you stopped checking social media and the internet for many hours each evening then replace that habit and space with reading more books or joining a club, sport or evening class.
  7. Don't remove more than one habit at a time. It may seem like a good idea to overhaul your life all at once. When regular life, stress and lack of energy interfere it usually leads to failure. Don't try to be Superman or Wonder Woman. Take it easy and remove one habit at a time to increase the odds of real life success dramatically.
  8. Don't make a huge deal out of it. If you think about it and talk about it all the time then it will feel like a huge deal to get rid of that habit. This will make each day much harder mentally and you may feel overwhelmed. Instead, keep it simple and realize that whatever habit you want to get rid of thousands if not millions of people have done so before. Yes, things do get tough from time to time. But there is no need to create a lot of extra drama around it and in the longer run make things more difficult than they need to be.
  9. If at first you don't succeed dust yourself off and try again. You will probably not succeed the first time you do it. It took me perhaps four tries before the habit of regular exercise stuck. You fail and you make mistakes when you make changes and try new things. That's just life and nothing to feel bad about or see as a reason to give up all together.

If you found this article helpful, please share it with someone on Twitter and Stumbleupon. Thank you very much! =)

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Copyright 2006-2010 Henrik Edberg.


 
 

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

8 Small Habits That Make My Daily Life Simpler, Easier and More Effective

 
 

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Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/notsogoodphotography/ / CC BY 2.0

"First we make our habits, then our habits make us."
John C. Noble

I often write about making big changes in your life. So today I'd like to mix that up and just look at eight small habits that make my life simpler, easier and more effective.

Feel free to use the comments section below to share your own small daily or weekly habits that you have found improves your life, even if it's just a little bit.

  1. Keep everything in its place. If everything has its own place then it is whole lot easier to keep your home reasonably ordered and decluttered from day to day. This also helps you with your inner stillness as the outer environment affects how you feel on the inside. I also find it useful to always keep things in their place on me when I'm out and about. The wallet is always in the same pocket and my cell phone is always in the same place. If you have forgotten something and have this habit you'll quickly notice if something is not as usual and you can go back to fetch what you lost.
  2. Go food shopping once a week. You'll save time, perhaps some money and I find that I do less impulse buying of unhealthy things too compared to if I go shopping when I am getting hungry.
  3. Cook more food than you'll eat. I usually make two or three servings of what am about to eat. This cuts down on time that you spend on cooking and you'll have to do less washing up in general. Plus, it's good to have portions of food to bring to work to save some money. Or to have a meal that you can quickly reheat when you come home from school or work and you are starving.
  4. Declutter for a few minutes in the morning. Keeping everything in its place works for the most part. But there is still usually a bit of clutter. You can spend a few minutes in the morning (or after your work day is done) to clean up your workspace, remove old coffee cups and clean up papers and books and put them in their proper place.
  5. Write everything down. Otherwise you'll forget about your goals, great ideas or perhaps something funny or fascinating you heard. By writing things down you don't have to occupy your mind with having to remember everything. This lowers stress levels and gives you a clearer mind to use.
  6. Pack your bag the night before. This very simple habit can alleviate quite a bit of stress in the morning. If you pack your bag before you go to bed then you don't have to run around in your house half panicked tomorrow while looking for your books or some important papers.
  7. Reconnect each day with what you should be doing. On my wall there is a small white board. On the white board there are things written like "keep things extremely simple" and "stick to the schedule". These two reminders and a few more are always there. Whenever I lose my way during my day I can always just look at the wall to center myself and reconnect with what I should be doing and how I should go about it. I highly recommend doing this to stay on course.
  8. Be 10 or 5 minutes early. This is a very simple tip that transforms those traveling times during your day into relaxing breaks instead of passages of time and space that only up your levels of stress and other negative feelings.

If you found this article helpful, please share it with someone on Twitter and Stumbleupon. Thank you very much! =)

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Copyright 2006-2010 Henrik Edberg.


 
 

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