How To Be Productive At Home During Uncertain Times

by vanessa | Apr 1, 2020 | Blog, Entrepreneurs, motivation, personal development

HOW TO BE PRODUCTIVE AT HOME DURING UNCERTAIN TIMES

The easiest way to become productive is by using a routine to help you out.

.As more people are staying at home it has become harder to be productive at home. These are uncertain times over the world. More people are losing their jobs and it is hard to start something or to be productive at home.

Fear has a way of making us emotionally unprepared for the next steps we should take. The thing is even though everything is uncertain life goes on and if you have to do your job here’s how you can be productive at home. If you want to start something then you also need to learn how to be productive at home.

I have been working at home for over a year now and I have learned what helps in becoming productive. That is why I want to list all the ways you can be productive at home.

Yes, quarantine might have pushed you back, but it doesn’t have to remain like that. You can be productive at home. The excess time you have makes it easier for you to start your own business, work on your projects or even work on assignments you left hanging.

I do understand how all of this can mentally weigh you down. In the last few weeks, things have gotten so out of hand and it feels as if you have no control over what happens. Yes, you might not have any control, but you can look at this time as an opening. You can develop a new skill set, work on your dreams, become more productive or take this time to reflect.

I wrote this blog post to help you in these difficult times that we are going through.

Your Reason

As a kid, you had a reason for everything you did and you made it known. You stole from the cookie jar because you had the munchies. You didn’t sleep in your bed because you had a nightmare. You worked hard on that speech so your parents and friends could be proud of you.

This is no different. Why do you want to be productive? I know it sounds stupid because you wouldn’t be reading this blog post if you didn’t have a reason. You want to be productive at home because it is difficult to do.

When you have so much time on your hands, you can do anything and you have all these big ideas of what you will do. At the end of the day, you then realize you did none of them. Absolutely zero. Not because you are lazy or anything like that, but because you got distracted.

There are fewer distractions in an office setting. Another thing that could have happened is you procrastinated.

It is important to know why you are doing something because it makes all this less hard. It is easier to endure the long day and the isolation when you have a big reason why you are doing something. It could be that you want to make more money in the long run with a side-hustle or you want to develop a new skill. Whatever it is, remind yourself daily. This is a motivation booster.

Use tools to help

There are dozens of tools out there that help with productivity. Find the one that works for you and use that to help you be productive at home. These tools were created to help people manage their time better and that is the issue. Most people struggle to manage their time wisely. I was the same way when I started.

It used to take me forever to get something done. For example, writing a blog post would take me hours to do because I wasn’t doing it the right way. I didn’t plan and prepare before I wrote the blog post so my thoughts were everywhere. When I mastered that it became easier to write a blog post.

The tools you end up using depend on you. You could use slack or other time management tools to help you get the work done. What counts here is using something to help you out. Bear and Evernote will help you jot down notes that speed up the writing process. Todolist helps with writing a clear concise to-do list to get you through the day.

You don’t need to figure everything out all at once. Take your time to figure out what works best for you. What works for person A might not work for you and that’s alright. Our brains all work differently and embrace that, don’t try to do something that might not work for you. This is where research helps. Research tools and test them out to see which one suits your personality.

Write down your goals the night before

If you want to be productive at home you need to write down your goals the night before. This makes it easier to jump in and start working on your goals. Unfortunately, many of us don’t do this and the problem is that often it leads us to not doing what we planned on doing in the first place.

The day runs away from us and we forget all the things we needed to do. It is so much easier knowing what you need to do at work because you already know if you don’t do something you can lose your job. At home, we have no one telling us what we should do and that is why we are less productive at home.

There’s no urgency and it is scientific that human beings respond better to urgency. This is why when you write something down it sends signals to your brain telling you that you need to complete the tasks because they are important. When you are first doing this start with three tasks. It is important you get everything done that you list down. If you add too many things you won’t complete it in time.

You set the precedent so that is why you need build this skill up by starting small. Complete those three tasks and you will shocked by the amount of progress you make. And if you finish the tasks you can start something else or learn something.

Write down your goals the night before

If you want to be productive at home you need to write down your goals the night before. This makes it easier to jump in and start working on your goals. Unfortunately, many of us don’t do this and the problem is that often it leads us to not doing what we planned on doing in the first place.

The day runs away from us and we forget all the things we needed to do. It is so much easier knowing what you need to do at work because you already know if you don’t do something you can lose your job. At home, we have no one telling us what we should do and that is why we are less productive at home.

There’s no urgency and it is scientific that human beings respond better to urgency. This is why when you write something down it sends signals to your brain telling you that you need to complete the tasks because they are important. When you are first doing this start with three tasks. You must get everything done that you list down. If you add too many things you won’t complete it in time.

You set the precedent so that is why you need to build this skill up by starting small. Complete those three tasks and you will be shocked by the amount of progress you make. And if you finish the tasks you can start something else or learn something.

Strengthen your mindset

If you want to be productive at home then you need to strengthen your mindset. What I mean by this is that it will take time to get a handle on things. It will take time to change course because when you are doing something that isn’t part of your routine it is hard. For example, if you decided that you needed to eat more protein in the morning instead of cereal it doesn’t happen overnight.

It takes time to put everything into practice. This is the same thing. You need your mindset to change so that you can take on the day. What I mean by this is becoming productive at home is a way of life. Your habits need to change and that is a hard thing to do. You need to mentally prepare for everything and take charge.

In the beginning, it won’t be easy but if you believe you can do it then you will. If you don’t believe you can change your mindset then you won’t. This is why it is important to feed your mind things that strengthen it from podcasts to reading self-help books and watching interviews about successful people.

I know it is hard to do this when fear is outside knocking our doors, but don’t allow fear to push you aside. Don’t let fear stomp on you until you surrender to it. Everything before the quarantine was uncertain and yes, this is far worse than what has happened in recent times, but you survived that you must believe you will survive this.

I want you to believe that you were created for a reason and keep reminding yourself of that. Keep feeding your mind positive information and this will help strengthen your mindset. This is one of the best ways to be productive at home. It all starts with how your mindset views the world. If it is based on negative notions then it will be difficult moving forward.

Also Related: Is A Success Mindset Still Key to Success?

Set boundaries

You are doing great. I need you to know that, but so that you don’t burn out or get distracted set healthy boundaries. Tell the people at home how many hours you will be working for and at what time. You must also keep a note of the time, don’t extend yourself. Sure, you can say you will work for five hours straight, but we all human. It is okay to take breaks.

Even successful people don’t work for five hours straight. They take breaks in between so that they don’t burn out. Don’t burn out because that won’t help anyone if you fizzle out trying to be superhuman. Be gentle on yourself. Love yourself. One way you can do that is by not pushing yourself to the point where you start seeing double. Even if doesn’t get that bad, take breaks after every two hours.

Even if they are twenty-minute breaks that can still help you relax your mind. We all need to get better at setting healthy boundaries and the reason why many of us don’t is that we believe we don’t need to. When you first started your job you had to set boundaries in the way you dealt with your co-workers and everyone else. The difference here is you are doing it at home.

If you don’t set healthy boundaries then you won’t be productive at home and this isn’t what you want. You want to be productive at home so you can achieve more in your free time and the way you do that is by knowing your limits.

What strategies do you think will help you be productive at home? Comment below

KEEP PUSHING

VANESSA

Who Says You Can’t You Do Book Review

by vanessa | Mar 19, 2020 | Entrepreneurs, personal development

Who says you can’t, you do book review

Who says you can’t, you do carries a lot of nuggets of truth and that is why I decided to do a book review on it.

I am being honest, this would be the first time I have ever written a book review on this website. The truth though this less of a book review and more of pointing out the value nuggets I have learned from this book. Okay, so yeah, I guess it is like a book review. If you are wondering why I decided to do a book review if I have never done before.

That is a great question? When I was writing my second book, the one thing that popped into my mind continuously was to do with how I wanted to inspire people in this book like Daniel Chidiac. His book helped me overcome hard times and it was almost like a guide for me how possible it was to be a successful author. This book is one of the best I have written because of how raw and honest it is. What it does that most self-help books don’t is it is honest without making you feel as if you are a failure.

Most self-help books hit you so hard that you easily give up. The aggressive tone makes you squirm and question whether the book was even your cup of tea or if it will help you get out of the runt.

“Who Says You Don’t, You Do,” was written way back in 2012. No matter how you spin it, that was ages ago. Though, one thing I can say with confidence is that it is so relatable. Even years down the line, it makes you question everything about your life. What I have learned is that books that can make you question the direction you have taken make it possible to change the way you look at the world. This book is a gem among stones. This is why I decided to do this book review because I hope that this book will help you as much as it has helped me. So here are five things that I learned from this book.

Neuroplasticity

I know what you are thinking or rather I assume. If you were like me I thought this was gibberish and I was so confused. I had no idea how powerful that word was until I was tested and I realized that it affects us more than we like to believe, Here’s a little context, neuroplasticity is all about rewiring your brain.

No, it has nothing to do with magic, but it is all about neuroscience. The reason I wrote this as the first thing in this book review is because of how important it is. In “Who Says, You Can’t You Do,” it goes into detail about the importance of rewiring your brain and who the brainchild was of this concept. Even though I already knew about neuroplasticity, it helped me understand it more. It helped me understand how something like rewiring your brain can change how you see the world and sure you might not want that.

You might think that you don’t need to rewire your brain because you are fine the way you are. I was a negative person for years, but when I started to rewire my brain everything changed. When I focused on what I could do instead of what I couldn’t then it hit, I could change the outcome based on how I saw things.

Most successful people have rewired their brains and that is the reason why even when they fail, they keep going at it. Most of us are too terrified to leap, but when you rewire your brain then you can focus on the positives instead of the negatives. “Who Says You Can’t, You Do,” goes into more detail about how you can achieve success by rewiring your brain.

What you believe, you create

This chapter had to be mentioned this book review because well, I do believe that what you believe, you create. Our beliefs have more power over our lives than we believe. They can shape the way we see people and things. If you believe you will never be successful, that is the reason you will never be successful.

If you were to read a lot of book reviews, a lot of them say I believed this book would be good or bad. When they believed it was good, it met their expectations and when it wasn’t, it fell short. Our minds are powerful enough to create art. Think about that. How can they not be powerful enough to shape the way we see the world.

What we believe, we create and that is why if you want to live a life of freedom, you must first believe. I know how that sounds, but it is so true. Keep reading to find out how to change your life.

The Action Trilogy

As a kid, I loved action movies like most kids. Maybe, it was because it was never boring. There was always something happening. From random people jumping out of airplanes to someone beating a bad guy and winning. In the movie, the hero is always victorious. Often at times, we attribute his physical appearance as the reason why he always wins.

That is true, but his emotional and mental state are aligned. I wanted to mention this in the book review because Daniel Chidiac makes sure that we understand how important it is that our emotional state is strong. He mentions often that the reason why some people are successful is due to this factor. They believe they can win. He also talks about often people never speak highly of themselves because of jinxes. Even if you are not superstitious they must have been a time when you believed that if you spoke positively over your life you would be jinxed.

I was superstitious, so much that I used to walk around looking for three-leaved cloves and trying not to walk under ladders. I blame Cartoon Network. However, when I became an adult I was convinced that if I spoke positively I would attract negative forces and fail. In the book, Daniel Chidiac talks about how because you believe something bad will happen it will.

The action trilogy is important because it encompasses your emotional, physical and mental state. When they have all aligned the chance of success is greater than it isn’t. However, he does point that what makes them align is your mental state. He explains if you believe you can achieve anything you will. It all starts with belief.

The importance of peers

I wanted to mention this in the book review because relationships are important. They make us who we are and our friends are important. There’s an analogy Danial Chidiac uses in the book concerning friendships. “Fish will only grow in proportion to the size of their environment.” This chapter is all to do with the good, the bad and the annoying part of friendships. It depends on how you look at it.

No doubt, that friendships are important, but they can also push you back. The reason why he gave the analogy of the fish is that human beings are the same. We adapt to our environments and the people we surround ourselves with. So, if you hang around people with different opinions than you then you are likely to do your best to appease them so you are validated. We all talk like that. We all want that. It is a natural response except when you have to change your personality or do something criminal to make everyone happy, but you.

This chapter moved because we can all relate to it in one way or the other. One thing to note is that a true friend can act like a fool around you, but who will always be there to support you and lift you. The book goes into more detail about friendship.

Also Related: 13 Habits of Self-Made Millionaires

It’s Not Just Your Life

This has to be one of my favorite chapters that’s why I wanted to mention this in the book review. Daniel Chidiac mentions how we can learn a lot from children and when I read that I realized how true it was. Even though we think that our life experiences have made us wiser, the question is has it? As adults, we make the same mistakes over and over again.

Daniel mentioned that the problem is that a lot of people have to go to reach a low point to wake up. As sad as that is, it is so true. I had to hit rock bottom for me to realize that I had to change my life and if I didn’t I would die young. That was a scary thought, if I had realized this sooner before the low point I wouldn’t have gone through an uphill battle. Children are different if they get burned once then they won’t do it again. Their pain points are more prominent than ours and therefore, they are aware of what not to do.

I believe this chapter is important because many of us are asleep. We don’t realize what we want and we make the same mistakes over and over again. As kids, the one thing that irked us was when adults would say that we would understand when we were older. That’s true, but the problem is that nothing changes if everything remains the same. Clueless children grow up into clueless adults who go into debt because that’s what we’re taught. We aren’t taught about making money in school and therefore, we fail to catch up.

Daniel goes into more detail about the ramifications of thinking that life is all about you, when it is so much more than that.

What I didn’t like?

I wanted to be as fair as possible. “Who Says You Can’t, You Do,” isn’t a perfect book, but show me a perfect book. There’s no such thing. I think its pros outweigh the negatives. It has gotten a lot of praise and changed lives. So to me, that is far more important. It is human nature to find what is wrong. I didn’t find anything wrong with it. The chapters were actionable, the analogies moving and relatable. This book is one of my favorites because it doesn’t sugar coat that the journey to success will be hard, but it all comes down to what you want out of life.

I believe you should give it a try because you would be shocked at how your life will change.

What strategies do you think will help you crush 2020. Let me known in the comments section.

KEEP P USHING

VANESSA

5 Proven Ways to Get Up Once You’re Down And Out

by vanessa | Mar 4, 2020 | motivation, personal development

5 proven ways to get up once you’re down and out

Getting up once you’re down is not the easiest things to do and that’s why these proven ways will help you out.

Confidence is one those elusive qualities we strive our whole lives to get only to be down the rabbit once again. We curse at how we there, on top of a mountain staring down at all those who are below. It’s almost as if life has pushed us far too many times to push back. We’re beaten past recognition and when it’s night the silence fills the void in a way we never anticipated.

So, if that’s the case then why do we try our very best to get a hold of it. Why is confidence the one quality we have to have to get out of bed in the morning or to smile at that woman who always sneers at us. What’s the point of all it, because there’s to be something we’re missing right. Someone who has an answer to the importance of confidence.

Most people won’t ever tell you that to make it in life you have to have confidence. To get out of the house you need confidence. To smile even when you don’t want to you need confidence. Life is brutal, let me repeat it is brutal. The kind of brutality action movies have gotten right, sure no one is beating you to pulp. At least not physically, but that doesn’t mean that you’re still not pushed down time again.

Here is the reality life is about surviving, about being strong despite the stronger. And at the end of the day you have to be have enough self-confidence to not be beaten down. If you don’t, you’ll come up with some illness so you can survive the day. Or a reason or excuse not to do something. I’m camera shy. That’s my excuse for not taking pictures.

The truth is I don’t believe enough in myself to appear on photos. We all have insecurities, but they become a problem when we let them. It pushes us to the ground, we eat dirt so we can hide from the world. The world has enough problems that it doesn’t really think twice about our insecurities. Sometimes our problems are manufactured and we believe because that gives us assurances.

Unfortunately, here comes the real issue when we allow this to build up we never go anywhere in life. We will constantly hide so we protect ourselves from the world and maybe ourselves. And the most important thing that we forget is how far we have come.

Past Successes

When I was in fifth grade to make all the kids feel welcome, we were all give certificates. Many of my classmates were given certificates of excellence in sports, academics and art. My parents were shocked because ten-year-old kids often don’t need certificates. I guess that’s a millennial problem. I digress, I got a certificate for being energetic. I remember how that moment made me feel despondent. Everyone got something of value and I did get that.

At ten I felt like a failure. I know ridiculous, but that moment I wanted to prove everyone wrong. The next year I trained for sports, tried my best to win an award and I got a certificate for track. It was an accomplishment. It was a moment I still remember, my friends cheering me on. My confidence was lifted, the next year I struggled getting into a good high school. It was almost as if the whole world was conspiring against me and I was angry. My confidence wavered for many years. It took time to get over many of insecurities, to rise up and gain confidence in myself.

Once you start doubting, it’s a never end cycle. When that happens, it’s easier to sink into quicksand and not get up. Your past failures don’t determine who you are. When you focus on your past success stories, it will be a lot easier to get up and keep going at it.

Past Failures Don’t Define You

How many times do we think more about our failures than successes? That has been the story of my life for a long time. Dwelling on where I went wrong rather than what I did right. Here’s an interesting truth, when you forget about your failures there’s always someone around the corner to remind you. No one remembers your audacity, your persistence or tenacity. Nor they focus on the negativity.

Unless you refuse to listen to the naysayers you will always live a life less than. You’ll always be too terrified to do anything. And too unsure of yourself to risk something. And that will always be the predominant voice. The one that tells you that you’re worthless, pitiful and not worth a single breath of air. As a kid that was the voice I listened to more, the one that said I couldn’t do anything and I always wrestled with the voice.

I would do things that scared me, but until I believed I could achieve it that’s when my confidence grew. Confidence is like a flower, the more water it gets, the more it grows. No water and it wilts away. Flowers should be protected at all times because with it, the world is normalized.

Failures are there to teach you a lesson. Often we’re too blinded by our pain to realize what the lesson is. I used to have stage fright and every time I got onto the stage my knees shook. No trick in the book worked, I was laughed off stage. Cried after it, but I made a promise I would conquer it. I’ve done almost every act on stage. I was in debate club and we had to do it on stage. I sang on stage, did public speaking. After two years of doing that, I conquered stage fright. Was it easy? Nothing in life is easy and that’s what failure teaches us.

Past failures will never ever define you. They’re as an obstacle, a roadblock and a minor annoyance. That’s it and until you realize this past failures will always define you. Your past failures don’t define you and once you understand this you will be able to get up and focus on the now. You will be able to move forward with your life.

Your Strengths

We live in a society that loves pointing out weaknesses. Often it’s with a snicker or a gleeful look. That oh you do this and that. Sometimes it’s constructive criticism, but most times it’s destructive. It depends on who the person is, are they saying it to build you up or tear you down.

At the end of the day, you are your biggest supporter and if you don’t remind yourself of what you can do no one will. I had to take a year off school because my parents couldn’t find money to send me to school. For one year, I had to watch as people moved forward with their lives. Many graduated from university, others got great jobs and I was at home. I was so despondent, depressed that the thought of getting a job in the meantime never crossed my mind.

In that year I lost myself, who I was and what I wanted to become. I kept thinking of my weaknesses and it’s recent that I have started to think more about my strengths. Life is unpredictable, to remain steady you need to remind yourself of who you are. Keep thinking about your strengths. When you do this, you’ll conquer every obstacle you face. When you use focus on your strengths this will help you to get up and keep moving forward.

Gratitude

This one will sting a bit. We’re so lost in our own world that we never think of what we have or how far we have come. There are people in the world who have more troubled lives. Literally a life were they’re not sure when the next meal will be. It feels good to wallow in self pity, to be down and that’s why a lot of people do it.

When you do that it’s almost as if you’re patting yourself on the back for a job well done. You have opportunities that a lot of people wish for. Taking that for granted is a slap in the face to your parents, God and the people in your life.

We all do it, I do it. That’s why it’s important to remind ourselves of what we have and not we don’t have. You might not have a six figure job, but you have people who love you. You might not have a BMW or Mercedes, but you do have a car. Even if you don’t have a car, you have legs.

I’m not trying to make you feel terrible, but there’s always going to be something we don’t have. When you’re grateful, life gets a whole lot brighter.

Also Related: 5 Habits That Will Change You For The Better

The People You Have in your corner

This is one of the most important things to remember. I’m not going to say anything corny or cheesy, but it’s important to remember you’re never alone. That you have people who will help you if only you ask. And at times we forget this or we are too proud to ask for help.

We believe it makes us look weak or scared. But isn’t that the reality, we’re terrified of something, be it hairy eight-legged creatures that make you jump or drowning in the ocean. We all go through problems. Sometimes in order to rise up your loved ones need to lift you up. Doing life alone is not only lonely, but petrifying.

What steps do you take in order to get your confidence back? Let me known in the comments section.

KEEP P USHING

VANESSA

What I’ve Learned Risking It All To Chase My Dreams

by vanessa | Feb 26, 2020 | Entrepreneurs, motivation

What I’VE LEARNED FRom risking it all to chase my dreams

The below are a few things I learned from risking it all.

Over the last couple of years, I have learned a lot from risking it all to chase after my dreams. It wasn’t easy, that is for sure, but along the way I realized how much I had to give up to chase my dreams. There’s this notion that staying in a 9 – 5 jobs saves you from all the problems that come with chasing your dreams. Well, it depends on a lot of factors. The truth is nothing is certain, when you go after your dreams, it takes a lot out of you. More than it would if you were in a 9 – 5 job. Here’s the thing, you aren’t sure that you will make it in the end. You aren’t sure you will keep your job.

I don’t have a story about doing a corporate job and losing it or quitting. Most millennials are told they need to go to university and get a job. Then once they do, everything will be settled. I went to a great university and graduated at the top of my dream. I got three internships and I was ready to take on the world, but I didn’t get a job. All I heard was crickets, but I am not the only millennial who has gone through this.

You might be wondering if I am not risking a stable job then what is the point of this article. Risk can come in so many different shapes and forms. It all depends on the way you look at it.

I have realized that most times you have to do things that seem like they won’t work out so you can be certain they will. You can’t be successful if you don’t try. Even if the odds are up against you then you have to keep trying in order to make sure that you go after what you want. I have learned a lot of things from risking it all. You can use my examples as a way to understand what you will learn from risking it as well.

Risking the chance of being employed

I once listened to a podcast by Pete Voogd, in it, he said that they are two types of people; those that build other people’s dreams and those who build their own. He said often people work so hard to build someone else’s dream and that hit home. I realized I was doing that, not everyone can do the 9 to 5 thing. I certainly couldn’t, sure I was an intern, but it wasn’t even a really bad internship. I wasn’t sent on errands, it was more like a proper job with less pay.

I have never been so bored in my life. There were days when I would stare at the computer screen wondering why I was doing it. My family thought I was crazy, jobs are meant to be boring and that’s what growing up is all about. That might be a valid point, but the journey for me has been filled with so many roadblocks that I just couldn’t deal with doing a 9 to 5.

It was a stable career path. I always got paid every two weeks and I could do what I wanted with my money. Being an entrepreneur is unstable, for one thing, I can’t be certain I will have money this month or the next. At least this is how it is in the beginning.

However, I feel so alive doing this even though I know that it requires me to do a lot of work. Working on entrepreneurship means spending less time working on looking for a job. I learned this from risking it all. You can’t avoid it so you have to decide what you want. To be employed or unemployed for some time. It also depends on your circumstance, for some people they already have a job when they are working on their business. Remember, not to compare yourself going forward.

Also Related: Why You Should Break Out Of Your Comfort Zone?

Risk of failing

This would be the third blog I have done, but it gave me an opportunity to understand how to set up a website. I know more about websites than I did two years ago. I wasn’t techno-savvy and yet, because I had to learn I became one. I learned about Photoshop, how to do graphics and the list goes on. I am not bragging, but the little I knew about computers was basic.

Grade level kind of basic and with time I no longer say I am not techno-savvy. Not because I am a genius because I am not. I have failed so many times that it’s strange I didn’t quit. Here’s the thing that I have learned, we all fail. It is a lot easier to swallow when our friends know about it and that’s it. When people outside of our circle know it stings. I published a book and it flopped so hard. I was miserable about it for a while, hesitant to do it again because I failed.

I realized with time my strategy sucked and that is why I failed. It still hurt, I posted it on Facebook. Thinking I would at least get a couple of dollars, it didn’t even earn a hundred. I want to be honest with you because most bloggers don’t share their pains just their gains.

It occurred to me that I did fail, but that is the only way I could learn how to do it better next time. In the beginning, it will be a lot harder to gain momentum, but with the time that is what will happen. What I learned from risking it all is that failing is one thing that you cannot avoid.

Also Related: Five Ways To Make Peace With Failure

Donating personal time

When you chase after your dreams it means you donate your time. That is what happens because you are focusing on pushing yourself so that you get to where you want to go. It sounds crazy, right. In the beginning, you might not have enough time, to begin with, and that is where it gets even weirder. Doing all this means I have had to go to bed early.

Often, I joke about how it has aged me because my bedtime went from 12 am down to 9 pm and then now it sits at 7 pm. A lot of people either think that I really love sleeping or I am delusional. I have had to learn to wake myself up really early because if I want to get all my things done then I have to work like a crazy person. I have three side gigs I am doing besides this blog so I never run out of cash flow. Sure, it is hard, but whoever said that this was easy clearly was lying.

I have realized that if I want to be successful, I need to work hard now so I can get to where I want to go. It may seem like I have always had self-discipline, but I will be honest with you that wasn’t the case. I was lazy. I was the type of person who watched television all day and never got bored. I would sleep at 5 am during the holidays just watching television. Nothing else seemed to matter.

Now I dedicate my time to working on my dreams so that in the next couple of months or years I have achieved my goal. If I can do this then you can. You just have to believe you can. Sounds corny I know, but the word has been changed simply by having faith that you can make it. I learned from risking it all that sometimes giving up your personal time is something you need to do if you want to be successful.

Being misunderstood

As a kid, the one thing that I hated was being misunderstood, but I welcome it now. Not because I am a crazy person, but I have realized that people will always have an opinion on you and it sucks. It sucks when your family thinks that you are a workaholic or your friends see you as someone who is chasing a dream that will never be fulfilled.

A lot of people won’t support your dream, they have their own reasons and it is valid to them. You will lose friends along the way because they will misunderstand you. That is something you can’t avoid. I have learned that the hard way, but it is your decision what you do next. Even your parents might not support you the way you want them to.

What I have learned is everyone is doing the best they can and sometimes they are wrapped up in their problems. So, they can’t support you the way you want them to. Does that mean they are terrible people, no? But when you are dealing with your own problems, you can’t be someone’s support system.

When you go down a different route then most people will misunderstand you. The hard realization is that you need to learn to be okay with it. Being okay with it makes you stronger.

As Kelly Clarkson said once upon a song, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

Whatever happens in your life it will make you stronger, but in the end, we all risk things every day. The stakes are a lot higher for people who go after their dreams. There’s fear, failure seems imminent and you aren’t sure what tomorrow will look like. Does that mean you should give up? The thing is you can’t avoid risk, it will always be there, but it is far better to risk it all going after your dreams. You cannot avoid being misunderstood. Your family will think you are being childish, but you need to ask yourself what is important. I learned this from risking it all. Sometimes you have to deal with the heart ache for a little while to achieve what you want in the long haul.

What risks are you willing to take to chase after your dreams? Loved to know. Comment below.

Keep Pushing

Vanessa

The Reality Of Finding Your Calling

by vanessa | Feb 19, 2020 | creativity, motivation

THE REALITY ABOUT FINDING YOUR CALLING AND HOW TO FIND IT

Best way to find your calling

Finding your calling is not as easy as it seems. That is why people have written books on the subject so that people can find their calling. If it was easy, we all

would be living out our purpose. Nope, if you are like most people you did the normal thing. Graduated from high school, went to college and decided not to

dropout to pursue your own thing.

You graduated from college, your parents were proud, but there was this hollowness in you. You couldn’t explain, four years working on your degree and it

all came to this. Your moment, yet there’s something missing. All your friends told you their brilliant plans about what they were going to do after graduation,

the jobs lined up and then there’s you. Still confused on what you are going to do just like what you experienced when you first came to college.

If you didn’t experience this, that’s alright, but if you did then you aren’t alone on this journey called life. I experienced this. I was happy about graduating, but

there was something missing. I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t feel as excited to graduate compared to my friends who were filled with all these

ideas of what they wanted to do.

I had no clue. Years later, I realized I chased someone’s calling. We all have a calling, but the shape differs for everyone. Chase Jarvis, author behind

Creative Calling. Understands that chasing your dream matters. You might think it doesn’t. From experience, I have seen that the way you look at yourself

and the world differs when you chase after your calling. First you need to find your calling. If you want to understand more about your calling, keeping

reading.

You will be happier

In 2015, I graduated from college. It was supposed to be the best day of my life and yet it wasn’t. The next day, I had no clue what I wanted to do. I had no

prospects or job interviews lined up. One day on a sunning afternoon, I was walking to my mother’s office and I stared at the sky.

I asked myself a question I hadn’t asked myself in a while. Was this supposed to be my life? Waiting for the phone to ring for a job interview and hoping that

someone would fix my life. Then I realized I had to fix what was wrong with me. I didn’t want to work for anyone. The thought of doing that made me sick to

my stomach and I was at crossroads.

My family wanted me to find a job, my siblings wanted me to work any job that I could get and I had no clue what I wanted. I was so used to people telling me

what I should do with my life. I was miserable. A few years later, when I started following my dreams I became happier. Chirpier even and that happened

because I found my calling. When you find your calling your life changes for the better and it shapes the way you look at life.

You will become self-disciplined

One thing that I discovered is that when it comes to finding your calling the one thing that works is to discover what area you are disciplined in. When I was

wasn’t following my calling, self-discipline was one of those things I struggled with. I only ever did what I was required to do when it was too late then I found

my calling and everything changed.

I struggled with waking up early before, but it became easier to do that. When I was doing something that made me happy then my outlook changed because

I wanted more than anything to build up my calling. If you are like most people, you are probably skeptical. Can finding your calling change you that much?

I can tell you that it does because I went through it myself. Things that I struggled with before, I started working on them because I had a reason for why I

was doing it. The reason why most people struggle with self-discipline is because they don’t have a strong enough reason for why they are doing it. If you

want to wake up because you want to be ready for work that’s not a strong enough reason to do it. However, if you want to wake up because you want

to start working on your business. That’s a strong enough reason.

The reason why is because you understand that to start working on your business that requires more time. If there’s a big enough reason behind why you

are doing something you will find that self-discipline won’t be as hard as it was.

Also Related: 10 Ways to Master Self-Discipline

Your big reason

When I was a kid had a lot of dreams that never stood the test of time. The older I got, I lost interest in them like most kids do. The truth is most of them had

no big reason behind them. It was easier to give up on them then to continue pursuing things that didn’t fuel me. We all go through this. Growing pains as

you call it.

Many of us have these lavish dreams that we wish we could follow through with. Finding your calling is hard, but what is hard is finding a calling that has a big

reason because often at times your calling could be a fluke. For example, I believed my calling was to become a singer. Then I had to face the harsh reality

that I wasn’t keen to go through all the hurdles that comes with pursuing singing.

I was more attracted to the glitter more than anything else and when that dream disappeared, I had to find another calling. Your calling must have a big

reason, if you can’t come up with at least five reasons why you want to do it then it is a fluke. And if you can then you have found your calling.

The Burden

Finding your calling and going after it will be met with some resistance. Not just from you, but from a lot of people in your life. Heck you will be met with

scrutiny as well. People will think that you think that you are better than everyone else. As strange as it seems, many of us are too terrified to go for our

dreams and we are also terrified if someone goes after their dreams.

It could be that makes us feel small or as if we are not living up to our full potential. The burdens you will face will be plenty. That is why most people don’t

find their callings. Too concerned about forces that they can’t control. You can’t control whether people will support you or the challenges you will face.

Though, you can control what you feel.

That is another thing about finding your calling. You will feel as though you are a fraud, your confidence will slip from your reach and you will start comparing

yourself more than you did before. For some people, it isn’t worth it. But from what I have realized there’s far more benefit from finding your calling then not

doing it.

What you need to realize is that anything worthwhile will take more effort. Think of the relationships that have made you who you are, they are worth it

because you care what happens to them. Once you do put more effort then you can enjoy the benefits of it.

Also Related: 7 Life Skills to Skyrocket Success

What risks are you willing to take to chase after your dreams? Loved to know. Comment below.

Keep Pushing

Vanessa