Stress Is The Enemy of Creativity

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Getting started. Decisions. Stress. Persistence. Taking risks.

‘Don’t think about or talk about doing it, do it.’

Nick Comito • Louder Than Ten

Perhaps the best cure for productivity is to simply get started—even if it’s the worst possible version of what you’re trying to achieve. You can then let the momentum carry you forward. Having a rough cut is far easier and more beneficial than having nothing at all, and it will motivate you to finish. Time is the enemy of starting—the longer you wait to mull over something, the less likely you’ll start, and the more you talk about it instead of actually doing it, the more time you potentially wasted.

What is the one thing you wish you were doing, but are too hesitant to start on for fear of commitment or failure? Better to start and fail than not start and learn nothing; you’ll always learn something in the process of failure or mistakes. As Gretzky said; you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

‘Deciding how important a decision is, is the most important decision you can make.’

Brandon Chu • The Black Box of Product Management

Being able to weigh the importance of decisions in one’s career can be a powerful skill and one that is leveraged by the most successful creatives. To prioritize and confidently determine what is and isn’t important can facilitate more efficiency by allowing focus on the right areas of your work, and even your personal growth—according to your values and what you’re trying to achieve in the long-term.

Always take care in determining which decisions are the most important; that are going to create the most positive effect. This can help you overcome decision paralysis and enable you to see the bigger picture.

‘Stress is the enemy of creativity. Our best work often comes from a state of nonchalance, when our minds are calm.’

Will Meier • The Next Web

Without stress we can produce better work. Some of the best work has come about as a result of nonchalance, or lack of perfectionism; in other words, when stress didn’t play a role. It’s also true that when an idea is over-thought, it can lose some of its original bite. Often, the first idea is the best one. Many famous artists, from Mozart to Picasso translated their ideas nonchalantly into reality with seemingly very little effort—granted from years of experience. With any form of creativity, the harder you try to make something perfect, the more you’ll over think and likely deviate the idea away from what it had the potential to be.

Perfectionism, anxiousness and fear of opinion can lead to stress, and affect creativity in a negative way. It pays to avoid stress wherever possible, so do whatever it takes to reduce it. Whether that’s through a change in focus, or a change in approach, it’s better to be creative from a place of calm.

‘Success takes time and is more of a path made of tiny little stepping stones, not just one big door to be unlocked and then instantly achieved.’

Peony Gent • It’s Nice That

Overnight success is non-existent because even in some indirect way, real success is always the result of a series of small steps—taking the long way up a flight of stairs, not hopping in an elevator to the very top. It can take many years. The point is, you shouldn’t rush success or even consider letting it be your primary focus. It’s better to be patient, yet persistent in an area you care about. To paraphrase Churchill: be persistent, and jump from one failure to the next without lack of enthusiasm.

Success can be scarier than failure—achieving it too early can be a daunting prospect because you’re potentially thrown into the deep end with even higher expectations or responsibilities, but a lack of experience. Sometimes you don’t need to plan your ultimate success. Rather, focus on the work that’s in front of you, one day at a time, and see where it takes you.

‘It will be liberating for you to have the permission to suck.’

Say Kubo • Thrive Global

Once you’re at ease about the outcomes of your passion, you can have the confidence and freedom to pursue your own path and that’s liberating. It doesn’t mean your work will suck, it just means you’ll accept it if it does. Your path is not anyone else’s, and their path isn’t yours. It’s far more rewarding to muddle through and learn in the process than never try for fear of failure. Sometimes it’s better to put yourself at the risk of making mistakes—you just have to learn to make them without fear.

Anyone who’s great at anything started somewhere, and that somewhere was probably full of uncertainty. Those that make their creations look easy have put in many untold hours of failed attempts to hone their craft.

 

See Original:  https://medium.com/attack-the-front/stress-is-the-enemy-of-creativity-bc642639749b

How to Live ON PURPOSE and Maximize Every Freaking Day

Today can be as great as you want it to be.

Your fate isn’t set. You get to decide how much of yourself you’re going to put into today.

Rather than saying, “Well, we’ll see what happens,” you must powerfully state, “Today, I’m going to make it happen!”

When you go into the gym, you get to decide how hard you’re going to work out. But one thing is for certain, you’ll feel far better if you walk out 30–60 minutes later having given it everything you’ve got.

The same goes with your day.

It’s actually far more exhausting to not work than it is to work. It takes far more energy sitting with internal conflict and justification than it does to just get to work. Said Steven Pressfield, “Most of us have two lives: the life we liveand the un-lived life within us. Between the two stands resistance.”

If your life feels out-of-whack or out-of-balance, you’re likely avoiding the very thing you should be doing. It’s only in doing that thing that you’ll regain balance and peace. Avoidance leads to busyness and distraction.

The Invisible Difference When You Fully Live

When I give everything I’ve got at work, I’m a different person. I’m happier. The world is a more beautiful and abundant place. Other people smile at me as I walk past them and I have no idea why.

Seriously.

On days I’ve actually done what I intended to do, it seems like more people look me in the eyes and smile at me as I walk past them. And I’m certain I’m not initiating those smiles. Yet when I receive one of those smiles, I look at that person for a few moments after they’ve looked away from me. I feel love toward them and wish them happiness in their lives.

Moreover, on days I’ve actually lived my purpose, I leave my work more energized than before I started. When I walk through my front door, my kids often run up and hug me, and ask me to play with them. As I look at them in such moments, I see only perfection. Love fills my heart and I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and humility for my life. To adapt a quote from Goethe, “The way you see [a child] is the way you treat them and the way you treat them is [who] they [will] become.”

Conversely, on days I’ve spent my working time in distraction and self-sabotage, I come home feeling like a fraud. My family still loves me all the same. Yet, it’s so much harder for me to give them the attention and love they deserve and need. On wasted and un-lived days, I end up sucking more energy from those around me than I emit. I see only the problems in my children and am highly irritable.

You can’t see the energy-field around you, but it’s there.

You Can Make the Shift

I know what it feels like being stuck and without momentum.

You can feel absolutely powerless to change your life and circumstances.

But that’s a complete lie.

It’s garbage.

I know it feels more real than anything else.

But it’s not.

Feeling guilty about all the time you’ve wasted won’t help.

If you make a few tweaks to your approach, you’ll be surprised at how quickly your perception of the world and yourself will change. As your perception changes, everything around you will change.

Start small.

Give one or two of these a try and watch what happens:

1. Have a weekly reflection and planning session

“The game is won or lost before it begins.” — John Wooden

One day per week (my preference is Sunday), take 10–30 minutes reflecting on your past six days. How did they go?

Try asking yourself the following questions:

· Who did I not meet this week that I should have?

· What did I not do?

· What did I miss?

· What should I tighten up?

Getting down on yourself isn’t the purpose. Rather, being aware of how you’re doing is the purpose. Awareness facilitates empowerment to change.

After assessing your previous week, make better plans for the next six days. Then, in six more days, do it again.

This need not take long, but it can dramatically improve the quality of your weeks and the days within those weeks.

2. Weekly goals > Daily to-do’s

“Most people overestimate what they can do in a day, and underestimate what they can do in a month. We overestimate what we can do in a year, and underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade.” — Matthew Kelly

The more mature you get about your time and results, the less you view things in isolation. In reality, it’s quite easy to have one good day. It’s harder to have a good week, a good month, or a good year.

Yet, most people prefer thinking in shorter time intervals. Why? Because most people lack the confidence to go big. They prefer the dopamine boost of getting lots done, even if they aren’t making any progress.

Thus, most people focus on quantity over quality. They’d rather write 5 mediocre blogs in one week than 1 or 2 really good ones. They’d rather have 5 or 6 mediocre workouts than a few that actually build their long-term strength or endurance.

However, the only way to make big progress is to think in longer intervals. You’re far better off trying something awesome over a week than just chipping away day-by-day. Swing for the fences. Take risks. Go big.

Every week, you should be trying to do something you’ve never done before. You should be elevating your game. It shouldn’t look the same as last week. Hence, the weekly planning sessions. What are you going to strive for this week that will change the game for you?

Are you experimenting, or just going through the motions?

Are you courageously embracing fear and risk?

Are you humbly embracing further education?

If not, you’re plateau’d. And in many ways, it doesn’t really matter what you do with your days. You could do the same thing every day and not get any better.

3. Three month energy cycles

When it comes to your future, you have three vantage points.

· Your vision (your WHY) = 10–25 years’ out

· Your long-term goals (AKA your wild guess) = 36 months’ out

· Your actual goals (AKA your realistic game plan) = the next 90 days

In the 20th century, it was a solid practice to have five year goals. Things were more stable back then. Today, things are changing too abruptly to realistically determine where you’ll be in five years.

Framing your goals in three month increments gives you a clear and realistic future to sprint toward. Of course, these goals are based on your longer-term goals. However, your 3-month goal cycles are your main focus.

Just like your weekly planning sessions, every three months spend a few hours or even a full day reflecting on your previous three months. Make any adjustments you need and make better plans for the next three months.

4. Organize yourself

“Happiness lies in the cultivation of the garden.” — Voltaire

Your life is a garden, cultivate it.

Organize yourself. Clean out the weeds. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. The very act of cultivating your garden will enliven you. You’ll never be finished. But every day, week, and year, you can make your garden a little more beautiful and fruitful.

Clean up your finances.

Clean up how you use your time.

Clean up your relationships.

Cultivate.

Just a little bit every day. Once you start to get things organized, the soil of your life will be better suited for what you plant in it.

5. Always choose the harder right or “higher road”

Perfection is not the goal. However, consistently making better choices is the only way to get momentum. And momentum is exactly what you need. If you’re stuck, momentum is working against you.

It takes some work pumping the water-well to get it going. But it’s worth it.And it really only takes one great day to get it moving.

You are one great day away from having a breakthrough. Steven Pressfield tells of “resisting” what he wanted to do for years. Then one day, he forced himself to write. He threw everything in the garbage he wrote that day. None of it was any good. But when he walked away from that work session to clean a pile of dishes sitting in the sink, he felt changed. “The water felt warm,” he said. He knew that he had just had a breakthrough.

That’s all you need.

Don’t worry about the output when you’re trying to build momentum. Instead, just get yourself to do whatever you feel you need to do.

Regardless of how you feel during the experience, you will feel hope and optimism when you’re done.

You can get to the point where you consciously make solid choices in every situation you’re in.

Consistency = confidence.

Consistency = momentum.

Conclusion

When you woke up today, how did you feel today was going to go?

I challenge you to wake up tomorrow with this feeling, “Today can be as great as I want it to be.”

Having that feeling won’t come out of nowhere. You’ll need to set yourself up to have that feeling. However, setting yourself up isn’t all that hard. It may be as simple as spending 2 minutes the night before writing a plan. It may be spending 15 minutes the Sunday before making a plan.

Whatever it is, you have a reason to live your life to the fullest. You may not know exactly what that reason is, but you’ll find it once you get moving. More than likely, you’ll realize that everything in your life is actually far more beautiful that you could previously perceive.

From this level of joy and purpose, you’ll be empowered to consciously create a future you are worthy of.

Originally posted at ThriveGoal by Benjamin P.Hardy: https://journal.thriveglobal.com/how-to-live-on-purpose-and-maximize-every-freaking-day-f89e43950e74#.rvfz49blg

Men’s guidelines to end their girlfriends Valentine’s Day in seventh heaven

 

 

No more than two weeks before Saint Valentine’s Day. Some men already have plans how to make that day unforgettable and special (at least for them) and also there were some who until now clueless of how are they going to celebrate this so-called lover’s day (because people usually celebrate it with their partner) with their girlfriends. Just in case, you’re one of those men who haven’t planned anything yet this guidelines to wrap-up her Valentine’s will, I think, help you figure out what would be the perfect date or To-do for your girlfriend consider the coming Valentine’s day UNFORGETTABLE.

 

So here it goes.

 

First of all, we both know there are different types of women in this world: the chic, the geeky-woman, the one-of the-boys, the conservative type…just to name a few. If you’re following my site, you are probably familiar with my blog “What other people think on a boyish chic?” from there, I mention the types of women not to mention the blog really focus only to what are those boyish chic. Who are they, what they do and what they feel towards people who bad-mouthed them due to misinterpretations. https://thestrayrussianblue.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/what-other-people-think-on-a-boyish-chic/

•  Walking, strolling on a park enjoying the beautiful and captivating scenery of nature around you would be the perfect Valentine’s date for your nature-lover girlfriend. Simply because this type of women appreciate the beauty of her surroundings just as how she appreciates your presence. If you’re going to ask me between day and night of roaming around the park, I prefer during the night not only because I am not used to bunch of people but also because I do not like the brightness of sun.

• Watch all the hot and trending showing movies in cinemas talk about Fifty shades Darker, everybody’s waiting for that controversial movie and surely you’re movie enthusiast girlfriend will enjoy it, knows all the movies to watch on that day and if you’re lucky, she’ll be the one to choose it for you and you’ll never have to worry choosing which of them she’ll like.

Want some suggestions? John Wick, The Space Between Us, Havenhurst, The Lego Batman, The Great Wall…

• A day of food-trip. Oh yes! Food! , says your foodie girlfriend. It is not that she’s a glutton maybe she just adores food that much. Obviously, a date with all the food that you’ve been longing to taste around you is the best Valentine’s date ever for a food-lover lady. Surely you won’t be surprise if you get yourself broke just for a day. It’s good to have back-ups, right?

• Valentine’s Day filled with extreme adventures is what your fearless and outgoing girlfriend would definitely enjoy. Let her try the next levels of zip lines, bungee jumping, sky diving or maybe go hiking as well, end your date night pampering yourselves on a spa to relax.  Why not try the wine bath at Aire Ancient Baths in New York City (I just saw this featured on Insider travel)

• A stroll to book museums bounded by collections of classics and modern books, miniatures and exhibits matches your geek and artistic girlfriend who appreciates arts and literature of all ages. It doesn’t matter if you do not feel the same (because I could sense a little violent reaction from men out there) by just keeping yourself occupied through exploring the place, checking out the pieces would surely eliminate your mind from being uninterested to the place. Look at your girl; if she enjoys it, aren’t you supposed to feel the same? Don’t forget to buy her a new book before the date ends!

• Stay-cation: movie marathon, games enjoying your Xbox or Playstation, eating whatever you both feels to buy, a simple and gamer girlfriend will surely mark the coming Valentine’s day fun and already special most especially if you let her win in all the games that you’re going to play. (Silly.) But seriously, gamers love to play all the games it doesn’t even matter if it decades old if it is still fun to play, they will play it. So if you wanted to make your girl exuberant and glad make sure to buy a new game earlier by now, you never know how much it’ll surprise her especially if you get to buy those that would squeeze her enthusiasm so much.

 

And lastly,

 

• A collection of new make-up kits: lippies, the limited edition mascara or whatsoever, the widespread black mask that could remove her white heads… etc. will absolutely make your beauty-conscious girlfriend’s heart leaps. She takes care of her looks very much that she always wanted to look good in front of you. So when the time that you’ll buy her those that I’ve mentioned, she will probably thinks you appreciate her effort for that and I surely think you guys really do.

 

There you go the guidelines in making your girl perfectly fine this coming Valentine’s Day. I hope you get to take ideas from it if not, then you’re completely in trouble because YOU ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME TO PREPARE!

I always love this quotation saying that once a person loves you, all the imperfections of him/her will all become beautiful. At the end of day, no matter how much time you consumed or the efforts that you exerts just to make that day special, little or not, your girl will surely appreciate it because it’s you who made it. I’m pretty sure she’ll do the same effort to make you happy on that day. Just appreciate her as well.

 

Good luck!

BAKIT HINDI KA NAGTATAGUMPAY?

 

Kasing-aga ng unang araw natin sa paaralan ang pagtuturo sa atin na dapat tayong mag aral ng mabuti upang guminhawa ang ating kinabukasan. Batid natin na sino mang magulang ay dakila at mabuting magulang kung sinabihan nya ang mga katagang ito sa kaniyang anak. Gaya mo, nagsumikap di siya at narrating ang kanyang katayuan sa buhay na iyong napagmamasdan hanggang sa mga araw na ito. Ano man ang kanyang ipinunla noong kanyang kabataan ay siyang kaniyang inani at napakinabangan. Ngunit alam mo ba na sa likod ng mga pangaral na ito ay may nakatagong mali na kung saan ay kung hindi nakasanayan ay masasabing mas mataas ang kaniyang narating? Ibibigay ko ngayon sa iyo ang anim sa mga pangaral na posibleng naipangaral na sa iyo ng iyong magulang ngunit hindi garantisado ang iyong pagtatagumpay.

• Hindi pag-gamit ng ibang paraan

Ang labis na pagtitiwala sa isang paraan ay may hindi magandang epekto rin. Walang taong pareho kaya naman bawa’t isa satin ay may natural at unique na abilidad upang magamit. Ang abilidad na ito ay ating magagamit sa maraming bagay upang maging isang paraan. Ngunit kung hindi epektibo ang paraang ito, maaari naming humanap ng ibang paraan upang mapagtagumapayan ang isang bagay.

• Mag-aral mabuti at maghanap ng magandang trabaho

Kung aalalahanin ko, mahigit dalawampung beses na ito sinabi sa akin ng aking ama. “Anak, mag-aral ka ng mabuti para baling araw, makakahanap ka ng magandang trabaho.” Walang masama sa pagiging mabuting empleyado at lahat ng taong maginhawa ay nagsimula sa paghihirap. Ultimo mga kilalang tao ngayon ay nakaranas ng sobrang pagsasakripisyo, lait, duda, at diskriminasyon bago nila nakamtan ang tagumpay. Sa pagkakataong ito, pinangaralan ka ng iyong magulang na siya naming naging sandigan mo upang makamtan ang iyong layunin at pangarap sa buhay…ang maging isang mabuting empleyado? Sa bansang Tsina, Pinapangaralan ng mga nakakatanda ang kanilang mga anak at apo ng kagaya nito; “Anak, mag-aral kang mabuti upang balang araw, makapag-tayo o manahin mo an gating negosyo.” Nakita mo ba ang pinagkaiba? Bata palang ay tinuturuan na ng mga tsino ang kanilang mga anak na maging boss ng sarili nilang kompanya.

• Sobra-sobrang positibong pag-iisip

Hindi mabuti sa sarili ang masamang pag-iisip ngunit anu mang labis ay nakasasama. Sa labis na pag-iisip ng positibo ay nakaliligtaan ng mga tao na dapat silang magsumikap. May kalamangan din ang sobrang pagiisip ng negatibo. Lumalakas man ang iyong duda sa iyong sarili at sa ibang tao, nababalaan ka naman nito sa mga posibleng maganap upang iyong mapaghandaan.

• Negatibong pag-iisip

Hindi mabuti sa kahit kanino ang pag-iisip ng hindi mabuti. Nasisira nito ang iyong motibasyon at paniniwala. Ibinababa nito ang respeto sa sarili, motibasyon, at sigla –mga aspetong mahalaga upang magtagumpay ang mga taong nagsusumikap. Kaya’t huwag magpa-apekto sa mga taong negatibo at huwag ka’ng maging “Negatron”.

• Sana Biyernes na bukas sa araw ng Lunes

Isa itong kaugalian ng marami sa atin na madalas nangyayari sa mga unang araw ng linggo. Umaasa ang iba na sana ay Biyernes na bukas sa araw ng lunes upang mapagpatuloy ang kasiyahang nahinto sa araw ng pahinga. Sa ganitong klase ng pag-iisip, nasasanay ang utak na manatili sa pahingang estado kaya’t humababa ang resistensya at kapasidad mag-isip.

• Umaasa sa swerte

Madalas na lumalabas ang kaugaliang ito sa mga taong labis na positibo mag-isip. Ang negatibong epekto ng pag-asa sa swerte ay pagkabigo kapag hindi natupad ang kanila inaasahan at dahil dito, aasa sila sa tulong ng iba na siya namang magiging kaugalian. Hindi sila matututo dahil alam nila na may taong sasalo sa pagbagsak nila.

Ano man ang ating layunin sa buhay, paghingi ng kaunting tulong, edukasyon at kaalaman, pag-iingat, pagsusumikap, at gabay  ay ang mga susi upang tayo ay maging isang matagumpay na tao.