It´s About The Habit.....Not The Amount

                                                "It´s not the will to win that matters,
                                                            everyone has that.
                                        It´s the will to prepare to win that matters."
                                                          - Paul "Bear" Bryant


Have you ever tried to break a habit or tried to create a new healthier one?

We all know that breaking old habits are very difficult, especially if you have had the same habit for many years.

Creating a new habit is also very difficult. Even if you know that this new habit will be good for you, it will most of the time require some kind of effort and discipline that the bad habit didn´t require.
Bad habits are easy to develop but difficult to deal with in the long run. Good habits will be more difficult to develop but a lot easier to live with.

When people are trying to change something..... whether it is their diet, starting to exercise, starting to save money instead of spending it....
One big mistake a lot of people make is that they try do too much too soon. They want to see some results quickly.
By doing too much too soon they will set themselves up for failure and going back into a relapse.

You decide that on Monday you are going to change your lifestyle. You are going to eat a lot of veggies and you are going to go running 3 miles 3-5 times per week.

Nothing wrong with a great vision of seeing yourself as healthy and in great shape, but the way you go about it might not be the best way. Your vision is great but your plan to achieve it....not so good.
Most great dreams and visions will require smaller goals. Like daily, weekly and monthly goals.
We can call them stepping stones.

If you haven´t been eating healthy in a long time, it might be too big of a goal for you to start eating mostly veggies, fruit, fish and barely nothing else You might be excited for a few days until you realize that you don´t even like broccoli, grapefruit or salmon. Instead a great daily goal can be to replace an unhealthy snack with a fruit and then to drink plenty of water. Add a vegetable to your meal and cut back on potatoes, pasta or rice. Get used to the new routine for a week or two. Then add a few more healthy choices. If you change too quickly you will easily get bored and you might even quit after a few days.

The same thing happens to people that haven´t exercised in a couple of years. They decide to go running a couple of miles because they were able to that distance 5 years ago. If you have been sitting on the couch for a few years you might want to start with walking a mile or two, 3 times per week. When your body gets used to this you can either increase the distance or the amount of times per week that you exercise. People can easily get hurt if they start doing to much. They end up on the couch with a sore ankle and they won´t get started again for another year.
Don´t let this be you. Start small and increase slowly. Build momentum by taking baby steps.
It´s about the habit, not the amount

How about saving money. If you are used to spending all of your paycheck and then some, you might not be able to start saving $500 per month. You might have to start with cutting up your credit cards and open a savings account. Then you start with maybe saving $25-50 per month plus you decide to stay out of the stores, to not be tempted to buy something that you don´t need. Slowly you can increase the amount you save and after a while you will be surprised how much money you will have in your savings account and you will realize that you don´t even miss shopping anymore.
Again, it is about establishing a new habit and not about the amount.

What you are trying to do is to get yourself used to a new habit..... mentally. You are developing self-discipline. Self-discipline is a muscle and a lot of people haven´t used this particular muscle for a very long time. It is easy to plan but it isn´t that easy to actually put the plan into action. That is when discipline comes in. Self discipline is to do the things that you decided that you were going to do, when you are suppose to do them, no matter if you feel like doing it or not.
You have to motivate yourself to get going and to actually do the thing you said you were going to do.

In the beginning it is easy to be excited about a new goal.
You decided to run 3 miles per week even though you haven´t ran for years. How long do you think you will be able to continue to do it when you are getting bored, tired, running out of time and feeling unmotivated and you would rather watch TV?

How about if you decide that you are going to go for one mile walk 3 times per week. Do you think that you will be able to do it during those days when you don´t feel like doing it? I think so.
It is a lot easier to start with a small habit and allow it to grow ......than to do it the other way.

It is more a mental thing. You are creating a habit in your mind. You are creating self-discipline. Nothing much will happen in the beginning with a small habit but if you stick with it .....it will grow and after a while it will be hard to quit your new habit. If you continue your habit of walking and then adding some more miles..... then one day you will wake up and you will realize that you are now a runner. Your life has been transformed. Mile by mile and day by day.

Your future is determined by your willingness to create small habits and then actually following these habits until you accomplish your dream.

                                     Karin Glannstam - Personal Success Coach
                                                   www.karinglannstam.com

You Can Do Anything That You Want To Do

                                 "Aerodynamically the bumble bee shouldn´t  be able to fly,
                            but the bumble bee doesn´t know it so it goes on flying anyway."
                                                               - Mary kay Ash


Did you know that that according to the known laws of physics, the bumble bee shouldn´t be able to fly?

The bumble bee´s weight and wing area would not allow the bee to lift off the ground. The bee is to heavy and the wings are too light.

The good thing is that no one told the bumble bee that it can´t fly. So it keeps on flying

Often in life we will allow the world to define who we are.
We are told by our parents, siblings, teachers, friends, spouses, bosses and co-workers what we can do and what we can do.
Who we are, and who we are not. What we should do, and should not do.

If you have listened to the same thing over and over again..... that you are.....
too old/young to do something unique with your life, you don´t have the right education or no education, you are born in the wrong country or town, you don´t have enough money to start a business, you are a woman/man, you have no experience, you won´t amount to anything.....it is no wonder that we feel like our own wings won´t allow us to fly.
And we finally throw our hands up in the air and say.....I Can´t!

A lot of people feel like they are in a hopeless situation and that challenges have left them feeling that there is little hope for them to ever accomplish anything in life.

Don´t let the world or anyone convince you of who you are.
Sometimes we also allow too many voices from our past and also from our present to interfere with our dreams and our plans. Don´t allow these old recording to continue to play in your head. Create a few new recordings and start playing them in your mind.

You are the only person who knows who you truly are and what you are capable of doing and not doing. What works of you and what doesn´t work for you. What you want and don´t want.
Don´t allow other people´s limitations to limit you. Allow you own light to shine. Dare to be yourself. Dare to be different. Show the world the real you.
You are good enough and you can do it.

Take a chance on life.

You can fly.....just like the bumble bee can. Even thought you might sometimes feel like your wings are not strong enough to carry you.....you can fly.
Practice every day and your wings will get stronger. Fight for what you want. It won´t be given to you. You have to fight for it every day..... but it will be well worth it.

It is never too late to be who you were suppose to be.

It might not be easy at first, but anything important to you is worth fighting for.

Create a dream and a vision. Get a plan together and take action.

Live a life that you are proud of.

If you feel like you are not living the life that you want, I hope that you have the strength to start over again.

Ultimately we are responsible for what we are and what we want to become.

You can do anything that you want to do..... if you put your heart, mind and soul to it.

                                          Karin Glannstam - Personal Success Coach
                                                        www..karinglannstam.com

The World Is Changing - Are You?

                                     "A mind that has been stretched by a new experience
                                                can never go back to it´s old dimensions."
                                                     - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

The more you are doing the same thing.....the more you will get..... of what you have already got.

In today´s world everything is changing so fast.

Are you also changing or are you doing the same thing over and over again?

Are you open for new ideas?

When was the last time you tried something new?

If you haven´t tried anything new lately? If the answer is no..... how can you know that there isn´t a better way of doing what you are doing right? You just haven´t found it yet.

Have you ever run into people that will say to you......."This have worked in the past, it is working now and we will continue to do it this way. We have always done it this way and we are not going to change now."
In other words they are not open for anything new.
It´s like doing the same thing over and over again.....expecting a different result.
If you are living with that attitude..... you will be left behind.

I remember back in 2013 when I was telling people that I was coaching my clients via phone or Skype, they looked at me and funny and said......"But how can you do that? Are you telling me that you don´t have an office?"

I told them how it worked and they had a hard time understanding, that it would work. No office to go to. No office for the clients to come to. They looked at me like I was a little on the crazy side.

Fast forward to today 2017....I think most people have gotten used to the idea, and they don´t think it is that strange anymore. You can talk to all kinds of professionals online and on the phone to get advice and tips.

We must learn to be more open to new ideas.  Don´t get me wrong.....I don´t think all new ideas are good. Some should be tossed straight into the garbage. But we must try to open our minds a little more often to ideas that might help us better our lives and to move us into the future more prepared.

One thing that I have notice with a lot of people is that they seldom ask any questions. I don´t understand why....because that is how you find out new things. I am so curious myself that I don´t get it when people don´t have any questions.

One theory is that people don´t want to ask question because they don´t want to appear stupid. We have to get over that. We can´t know everything and besides that asking questions is perfect for finding out.

I also believe that a lot of people are not curious. They are so wrapped up in their own little world and they only care about themselves.

So what can you do about this?

First is to become curious. Be curious about other people and what they do, their experiences and what they know. A lot of people are like treasure chests..... filled with years of wisdom, insight, knowledge and experiences.

Second is to ask. Don´t be shy.....ask questions. And a lot of them. People usually love to tell you about their lives and share what they know.

Third is to flood your mind. Read books, articles in the paper and online. Listen to seminars live or online. Join a new group.

Fourth is to be flexible. Have a mind that is open to new ideas, new ways of doing things. Try some new and different experiences. Shake things up a little. Get out of your comfort zone.

If you change nothing - Nothing will ever change

                                          Karin Glannstam - Personal Success Coach                 
                                                      www.karinglannstam.com

See Problems As Opportunities For Growth

                                                      "Complaining about a problem,
                                           without posing a solution is called whining."
                                                             - Theodore Roosevelt

When you encounter a problem, setback or obstacle in your life.....do you have a tendency to focus on the problem or do you quickly shift your focus onto trying to find a solution to the problem or obstacle?

I run into so many people that have had the same problem for months and sometimes years and they continue to focus on the problem without even trying to find a solution. They are stuck on complaining and discussing their problem day in and day out.

Why do so may people continue to behave this way?

I believe a lot of people like the attention they get when they are complaining and griping. Because complaining is infectious. They will attract like-minded people who also like to complain about similar things. Now ....you have a small group of people that are complaining together. Than after a while as they continue to talk, meet regularly and in between meetings, send text-messages to fuel their misery ...they will eventually attract an even larger group. Then to top it off, some people will even take to social media with their complaining, whining and their problems.....and now you have a large group of people following them.
Yes....a lot of people seek attention and the want followers on FB , Twitter and Instagram....but is this the kind of following you are looking for?
Will this solve any of your problems?

It doesn´t matter if you are complaining about your spouse, your children, your boss, the weather, politics or the economy....you will never find the solution by complaining and venting your frustrations on social media or anywhere.
So my next question is....do you really want to solve the problem? or do you just like to complain?

I have come to realize that change is very difficult. Most of us really hate change. And the change we hate the most is..... trying to change ourselves for the better.
Complaining and focusing on your problems without trying to find a solution is really just a bad habit that you formed years ago.
And as we know any habit can be broken.....but YOU have to be willing to do the work yourself.

And here is where the biggest problem comes in. We don´t mind things "out there" to change. We gladly want our spouse to change, or the boss or the economy. But when it comes to changing ourselves.....most people are not interested.
They want other people to change. They are often not willing to change themselves and they are not interested in trying to look for a solution. Simply they have become so used to complaining all the time that they don´t even notice it anymore.

Maybe if you are having problems with you spouse you might need to start a conversation with him/her to let them know that you are unhappy and see if there is something that you both can work on. If the other person isn´t willing to do the work, then maybe it is time to call it quits because you have outgrown the relationship and you don´t have anything in common any longer. You both have changed. But spending your time talking bad about your spouse will not solve anything. All you do is wasting your valuable time.
You can never make someone else change....but you can change yourself.

A lot of people complain about their job and about their boss. What are you trying to solve with constantly focusing on the problem and discussing it with everyone that is willing to listen? You will not accomplishing anything but feeling bad about your situation. Maybe you have outgrown your current job and you are bored out of your mind? Maybe it is a new job opportunity that you are looking for? but instead of going out of your comfort zone trying to find a new job....you settle for complaining and griping. Think how much time you are wasting on focusing on the problem instead of trying to find a solution.....or maybe a new job?

I truly believe that we all want to grow. We want to learn new things but sometimes we are too scared to act on anything new. So instead we remain stuck where we are and we find some people that also are feeling stuck and unhappy to complain with. Because you would never find a growth oriented, busy and happy person hanging out with a lot of complainers. They simply don´t have the time because they are busy producing, living their lives, growing, learning and expanding.

I also believe that every problem or obstacle that we encounter is an opportunity for growth. I think it has a message within it. It is here to wake us up and to move things and people out of our way that don´t belong in our lives any longer and that are not part of our destiny.

Stop fighting these things. The Universe is trying to move things out of the way that are blocking your happiness and purpose....But you keep hanging on to it. WHY?

How can you go to the next level when you are hanging on to old stuff? Let it go and start moving.
You can not be taken forward by leaving everything the way it is.

But first you have to make a commitment to yourself to stop complaining and start looking around for the solution. It will come to you.....if you are willing to look and if you are willing to change when you discover the solution to your problem, obstacle or setback.

                                               
                                             Karin Glannstam - Personal Success Coach
                                                            www.karinglannstam.com

Why Going To Sleep With The TV On....Is a Bad Idea

                                                         "Your mind is a garden.
                                                       Your thoughts are the seeds.
                                         You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds."
                                                                    - Ritu Ghatourey

The other day I was scrolling through the feed on FB and I came across a question that someone had posted for anyone to leave a comment on.
The question was.....
Do you allow a TV in the bedroom and do you leave it on while you go to sleep?

Some people answered that they always leave the TV on while they go to sleep. Some said that they set a timer so if they fell asleep the TV would go off by itself. Someone said that they won´t allow a TV in their bedroom.

Today I want to write about why it is a really bad idea to leave your TV on after you fall asleep.

I believe most of you know that we have a conscious and a subconscious mind. They are responsible for totally different things.

The conscious mind is the part of the mind that is thinking, planning, calculating and it is responsible for the reasoning. The conscious mind can accept and reject anything. If you don´t like something or disagree with something..... it will simply reject it.
On the other hand it can accept anything that you like and that aligns with what you feel and believe is true.

Think of the conscious mind as the gate-keeper of the subconscious mind. Before you are going to allow anything to enter the subconscious mind, it has to get passed the gate-keeper.

The subconscious mind has a perfect memory. It will remember anything that you have ever smelled, heard, seen, tasted, touched, thought and felt. All this information has been stored in your subconscious mind. Think of  the subconscious mind like a giant filing-cabinet. Information will always be there for you to refer back to.
When something happens you can just go back to the filing-cabinet and pull the information back out.

The subconscious mind is always awake and responsive. 24 hours per day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. It never sleeps. It accepts without question anything. Good or bad.....it goes to the subconscious to be filed forever. The subconscious accepts a command or instruction without analyzing it and it doesn´t reject it either. It has unlimited power potential and it also has unlimited storage capacity.
The subconscious mind is estimated to be about 30 000 times more powerful than the conscious mind.

Since the subconscious mind will accept anything and everything that we feed it and it has a perfect memory it becomes extremely important that we feed it the right stuff. We must stand guard (be the gate-keeper) at the door of our own mind.
If we allow our minds to be wide open to everything it can be very detrimental to us.

This is the reason why we should not leave the TV or radio on after we have fallen asleep.
Anything that is being said can slip right on by the conscious mind and the sleeping gate-keeper and it will go strait back to the subconscious to be filed. The thing is..... you don´t even know what information and ideas that just slipped by.....do you?
If you had been awake you might have rejected them, but since you are now sleeping and the gate-keeper is also sleeping..... anything and everything will pass through the gate.

You are asleep together with the gate-keeper..... but your subconscious mind is wide awake and ready to take in anything that you are feeding it from a TV or a radio.

Do you know what kind of information and ideas that is being given to you by the TV or radio while you are sleeping?
Remember..... good or bad..... the subconscious mind will accept it as true and it will file it away for later references.

It isn´t smart to turn our minds over to just anyone or anything.
Don´t let anyone just dump a lot of ideas and information into your mind, because you are the one that gets to live with the consequences of it.

Guard your mind. Be the gate-keeper.
And when you are tired and sleeping..... make sure that it is quiet around you

                                       Karin Glannstam - Personal Success Coach
                                                    www.karinglannstam.com
                                                  

Time To Re-Charge My Batteries

It is time to take a break for a few week to re-charge my batteries.
During my break I will not be writing any new blogs and I will be spending limited time on social media.
I will return again on May 22nd.

Karin Glannstam - Personal Success Coach

www.karinglannstam.com