Negativity is an infectious disease

I’ll be the first one to tell you that I hate negativity. I hate it with a passion. Why? Because I feel it eats away at our human spirit, it disintegrates the very essence of our potential as people and kills every cell in your body dedicated to progress. I’ve come to realize that people are in fact very delicate when it comes to their thinking. The moment that our thoughts begin to stray is the moment we allow negativity to rear its ugly head. In that aspect, we’re very fragile so that’s why it’s important to surround yourself with a bubble of positivity and do away with everything that threatens it.

Negativity is the kryptonite of success. When you envision success, negativity is the only thing capable of ruining the path that will lead you there. Why bother thinking of the things that can go wrong when you should be focusing on those which you can do right? It doesn’t even make sense. The first thing you should do is control your environment. As they said in my former restaurant business, “86” everything that stands in your way of your goals. If you have to move cities in order to have a more productive work environment, pack your things and go. If you have to cut ties with someone because they’re just not up to par with what you’re doing then wave goodbye. It really is that simple. Surround yourself with an ambiance that will more likely than not take you to where you want to be.

In my case, it’s simple. I suffer from a medical condition that causes paralysis if not treated regularly. As a result, I’ve made it a point to include things in my life that encourage a positive outlook. I’m forced to medicate so I educate myself on the matter. Doctors condone physical activity to prevent atrophy so I’m at the gym everyday. It really isn’t rocket science to tell you the truth. It’s simply applying common sense where it’s needed. Positivity produces positive results. As a matter of fact, I’m way ahead of the curve when it comes to my syndrome simply because I cut out everything in my life that would serve as a negative distraction. My goals and dreams are the focal point of my desires and they should be yours as well. Eliminate negativity by asking yourself one very important question: “Is what I’m doing today getting me closer to where I want to be tomorrow?” If the answer is no, not only are you wasting your time but you’ve found a negative factor that you need to discard immediately.

Bottom line: as soon as you hear the words “that’s impossible”, either keep your distance or walk away. You don’t need to be around that; it’s infectious.

Immediate Stress Relief

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines stress as “a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation”. It can be found everywhere. Screaming babies, honking horns and horrible bosses. What you might not be aware of, however, is that a lot of stress is self-inflicted. Many times we find ourselves stressed out as a result of our own actions. How many times have you found yourself writing a ‘to-do’ list and being overwhelmed by the end of it? Often, right? Now let me ask you something: what words do you think of when writing everything down? If you said: “I have to”, then you’re definitely in the right place and this short blog is for you.

I paid a visit to my Mom the other day and it’s like she didn’t even know I was coming over. She was one hot mess! Thoughts of a headless chicken popped into my head. After catching up for an hour or so, she told me about all the things she “needed to do”. She went through the list and that’s when it hit me: she can relieve stress almost immediately if she just changed her words. I asked her the following question: “What would happen if instead of telling yourself that you ‘need’ to do something, you ‘should’ do something?” Startled, she looked at me with puzzling eyes and asked: “What do you mean?”

Saying “I have to” implies an inherent obligation to perform a task. The brain accepts that unnecessary pressure which leads to stress. Changing your words will have an instant impact on the way your mind accepts challenges moving forward. My recommendation? Substitute “I have to” for “I should”. Why? As opposed to “I have to”, “I should” carries an incentive. Saying “I should” means there’s a benefit to taking action and therefore acts as a motivator. So the next time you have a couple of things that you want to accomplish, change the way you approach them. I guarantee your productivity will dramatically increase.

Be relentless.

It’s all or nothing

If there’s anything I’ve learned in my 29 years of existence, it’s this: it’s all or nothing. I used to think that the law of minimum effort would get me through life just fine but that’s when I realized that there was SO much left in the tank day after day. No wonder I had trouble falling asleep! There was so much energy inside of me just waiting to come out! I came to the conclusion that I was being mediocre in every aspect of my life and little did I know it was taking a subconscious toll on my life.

When I was a collegiate tennis player, I trained harder than anyone else and beat people I wasn’t “supposed” to beat. When I stayed after class, I made the Dean’s List that semester. Suddenly, I was seeing an immediate relation between the work I was putting with the results that followed. I’m not gonna lie: I loved it. That’s when my true passion for life was born. That’s when my “all or nothing” attitude started to surface. Not only was I seeing it but others around me took notice. At first, I thought the world itself was changing but the one thing that changed was my perspective, my outlook.

Mediocrity was slowly and steadily fading away. It’s a disease that holds you back in life and I wanted nothing to do with it. The progress I was enjoying was enough to keep going and that’s what I encourage in all of you. If you get a taste of success, regardless of what it is, why stop there? You’ve caught a glimpse of what’s really important in your life so why not reap the benefits of your dedication? Most importantly, enjoy the journey for it is the true reward.

Be relentless.

Procrastination is the enemy of progress

How many times have you woken up, made a “to do” list and just been overwhelmed at the amount of things on it? If the answer is “more often than not”, I totally understand. I’ve been there. There’s even an e-Card going around Facebook about taking a nap once it happens. Let me ask you something though: is a nap going to get things on that “to do” list done? Unless you actually wrote napping on that list, the answer is no. In life, you won’t progress unless you keep surrendering to the disease that is procrastination.

As a life coach, there are some very important questions that you should ask yourself when make a decision:

1) What are the benefits of doing this?
2) What are the setbacks of NOT doing this?
3) What stops you from making the change?
4) What is important about accomplishing this?
5) What are you willing to give up to attain this goal?

It all starts with you. The decision to change a pattern must come from within. We are creatures of habit. The easiest way to get rid of a habit is to develop a new one. A great way to start would be to figure out the things that distract you and cut them out entirely. For example, if you’ve been meaning to make the most out of that expensive gym membership and keep putting it off because you’re addicted to Facebook, then you’re clearly procrastinating by putting thinks on the front seat that should be on the backburner. Makes sense, right? Thought so. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, folks. Tomorrow isn’t promised today and time is the greatest commodity known to man. What you do with yours tells me a lot about your outlook on life. Make the most of it and don’t waste a second.

Be relentless.