Category: The Top 1% Mindset: Optimism, Mental Clarity, Happiness, and Motivation

What are you most worried about for the future? This is a question that many people ask themselves, especially in times of uncertainty and change. Some of the common worries that people have are related to their health, their finances, their relationships, their environment, and their purpose. These worries can cause stress, anxiety, and depression if they are not addressed or managed properly.

Let your worries motivate you to find solutions. Let your imagination turn your solutions into opportunities for happiness and success.

Positive Expectations Create Joy and Power

Positive expectations are powerful tools that can help us achieve our goals and overcome challenges. They can also boost our happiness, confidence, and well-being. In this article, we will explore how positive expectations work, why they are important, and how we can cultivate them in our daily lives.

The Benefits of Positive Expectations

Positive expectations are beliefs or assumptions that something good will happen or that we will succeed in each situation. They influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions, and shape our reality. When we have positive expectations, we tend to focus on the positive aspects of our circumstances, see opportunities instead of obstacles, and persist in the face of difficulties. We also tend to attract positive outcomes, as we act in ways that align with our expectations and create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Positive expectations are important because they can enhance our performance, motivation, and resilience. Research has shown that people who have positive expectations tend to perform better in various domains, such as academics, sports, and health. They also tend to have higher levels of motivation, as they set challenging but realistic goals and work hard to achieve them. Moreover, they tend to have greater resilience, as they cope better with stress, adversity, and failure.

The Steps to Positive Expectations

Here are some steps to cultivate positive expectations in our daily lives.

• Visualize yourself achieving your goals and imagine how you would feel.
• Use positive affirmations and self-talk to reinforce your confidence and optimism.
• Surround yourself with positive people who support you and inspire you.
• Learn from your mistakes and failures, and see them as opportunities for growth.
• Be grateful for what you have and what you can do.

Start Today to Expect the Best for Yourself

By following these tips, you can develop a positive mindset that will help you reach your full potential and enjoy life more. Remember, positive expectations are not unrealistic or naive; they are realistic and empowering. They are not about ignoring or denying reality; they are about creating and shaping reality. So, start today and expect the best for yourself and your future!

Photo by James Day on Unsplash

Living in the Present Moment

Sometimes, people struggle with living in the present moment. They are either haunted by the past or worried about the future. They miss the beauty and joy of life as it unfolds in front of them. They are not fully aware of their thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surroundings. They are not mindful.

Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment with curiosity and openness. It is a skill that people can learn and cultivate through various techniques, such as meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, and journaling. Mindfulness can help us live in the present moment more fully and intentionally.

Benefits

Why is living in the present moment important? There are benefits of being mindful and present. Here is a brief list of those benefits.

Living in the present moment can reduce stress and anxiety. When we are mindful, we are less likely to ruminate over the past or worry about the future. We can accept what is happening right now without judging it or resisting it. We can cope with challenges more effectively and calmly.

Living in the present moment can enhance our happiness and well-being. When we are mindful, we are more likely to notice and appreciate the positive aspects of our lives, such as our relationships, our achievements, our hobbies, and our health. We can also savor the pleasant experiences and emotions that we encounter in our daily lives.

Living in the present moment can improve our performance and productivity. When we are mindful, we are more focused and attentive to the task at hand. We can avoid distractions and procrastination. We can also be more creative and innovative, as we are open to innovative ideas and perspectives.

Living in the present moment can foster our growth and learning. When we are mindful, we are more curious and willing to explore new things. We can also learn from our mistakes and feedback, as we are not defensive or ashamed of them. We can embrace challenges and opportunities as ways to improve ourselves.

How can we live in the present moment more often? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as different people may find different methods more suitable for them. However, here are general tips that can help us become more mindful and present:

Steps to Becoming Mindful

Set aside time every day to practice mindfulness. This can be as simple as taking as focusing on your breath, or as elaborate as doing a guided meditation or a yoga session. The key is to be consistent and committed to your practice.

Incorporate mindfulness into your daily activities. You can practice mindfulness while doing anything, such as eating, walking, driving, and working. The key is to pay attention to what you are doing, feeling, thinking, and sensing in each moment.

Use reminders and cues to bring yourself back to the present moment. You can use anything that works for you, such as an alarm, a bracelet, a sticker, or a mantra. The key is to use them regularly and consciously to remind yourself to be mindful.

Be compassionate and gentle with yourself. You may not be able to live in the present moment all the time, and that’s okay. You may get distracted or forgetful sometimes, and that’s normal. The key is to acknowledge your lapses without judging or criticizing yourself, and then gently bring yourself back to the present moment.

Living in the present moment is not easy, but it is possible and rewarding. It can help us live happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. It can also help us make a positive difference in the world around us. So why not try it?

Photo by Sean Oulashin on Unsplash

Life is a lot less stressful when we stop worrying about what other people are thinking.
~www.jaywren.com

 

 

Photo by Fernando Paredes Murillo on Unsplash

Feeling Anxious? Try Smiling. ~www.jaywren.com

Is Anxiety Killing Your Career?

Anxiety can make you avoid opportunities for work, fun, and networking.  It can cut your opportunities for leadership roles.  Your anxiety can generate signals that make it harder for people to reach out to you.

Smile

There are many things that you can do to calm your jitters.  Perhaps the most overlooked way is simply to smile.  People smile when they are happy.  And equally important is that smiling can help you feel happy.

The smiley face emoji says to other people you approve of what they have to say.  Smiling has a similar effect.  It tells people you approve of them.  It creates trust and helps people open up to you.

You are generating charisma.  People find your presence attractive.  Your smiling helps people feel more confident and comfortable being around you.  In turn, they smile and you feel confident from their signal of approval.

A frown will chase away friends.  Ah, but there is something about a smile that attracts people and draws people to you.

So, let it go.  When you see people, start with a smile.  As people approach, nod and smile.  When you are shaking hands with people, look at them and smile.

Photo by Jacqueline Munguía on Unsplash

Helping Others is Rewarding

Some of the best things I have done for myself involved helping other people.  Giving my time to help other people in turn benefited me mentally and emotionally. Helping other people increased my self-esteem as a person of value. I had activities to plan and anticipate. I got to know as many new people as I did in high school. This work introduced me to professionals outside my specialty. My personal network expanded to include friends in medicine, law, education, technology, broadcast media, politics, religion, and so on across the spectrum of professions. I was able to use the leadership skills I develop as a Navy officer and as a businessman. Then, from my experience in volunteering, I learned from other people how to create new programs and build volunteer teams. Moreover, I had the positive feeling that I was making life more fun and rewarding for other people.

Here are places where I had so many personal benefits from helping other people. Perhaps my experience can benefit you.

Schools

If you have kids in school, you may find that volunteering in your kids’ schools has many benefits.

In Sacramento public schools, my wife and I created a program to increase school safety in a way that benefited the faculty and students.

I had the privilege of working with education experts in understanding and creating a forum for communicating across different cultures and ideologies.

With my wife’s support, I started the High School Safety Summit, a district-wide program to introduce students, parents, teachers, staff, administrators, and members of the community to programs for higher student engagement and higher graduation rates. To create pride in students for the school my own kids attended, I created the annual Cornell West Distinguished Award. In the first year, one of the school’s alumni, Dr. Cornel West, returned to speak to 700 students on the John F. Kennedy campus in Sacramento. Using this program, the school continued in future years to honor influential alumni.

At the request of a high school administrator, I worked with the school district’s facilities manager and a cell phone company to build lighting for on-campus nighttime football games.

Adult Recreational Sports

Never an elite athlete, I did enjoy playing adult softball and soccer. At first, I played on teams that friends organized through city parks and recreation. Overtime, my wife and I worked with the City of Sacramento to create new adult softball and soccer teams.

Teen Sports

One of the most rewarding experiences I had was coaching my second daughter’s teen soccer team. I recruited two adults to help me with training the team skills and stunts.

One of the most important things that I did was to hold a parent meeting before the beginning of the season. Given the freedom, at youth soccer matches, parents will set their lawn chairs along the touch line and yell instructions at and criticize the players. I instructed the parents to set up their chairs ten yards away from the field. Additionally, I told them not to speak to individual players directly during the game. No one could raise their voice or criticize one of my players. However, I did encourage cheering.

Personally, I never yelled coaching instructions or criticized my players during a play. I used the games to learn the things I needed to teach the players in the next game.

My method of coaching is not for everyone. However, from a personal point of view, I found it distracting when coaches yelled at me during a game. My focus went from the game to the person yelling. I didn’t want my players to have that distraction.

At halftime, I did make adjustments and helped my players see how they could take advantage of the weaknesses of their opponents.

More on personal growth:

Anxiety and Emotional Intelligence