Lifestyle Choices and Habits of Confident and Successful People
It looks as though some people in life are playing their cards right. Most of us know someone in life whose confidence and outlook we admire. They are happy, self-assured, successful, energized and they appear as if they haven’t a worry in the world. Cruising through life looking like everything is a breeze, they can whip a five course meal together without stress or complaining. They bring you course after course with a smile on their face looking the whole time as if they didn’t lift a finger. You may find yourself intrigued and relaxed in their presence. They are in charge – but what is their secret? And what are they doing to make you think that their life is perfect? If some people can go through life feeling like this, why can’t we all? A great quote from one of these people comes from Benjamin Franklin: “Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of the mind than on outward circumstances.” Our relationships, how we feel and our success all starts with our perception. Ever notice how negative people are always blaming something other than themselves and have a hard time relaxing?
Many years ago I attended a seminar by a motivational life coach/speaker Raymond Aaron. Raymond coaches people to be their best, expect the best and never ever give up. He is an amazing mentor who shines a light on all of our dark places. His goal is for his clients to become successful and gives them the tools and techniques to do just that. One of my first sessions with him was quite fascinating. He said that to be the best we can be we need to clean up our messes. What on earth did that mean? He literally wanted us to clean up the physical messes. His reasoning was that to create the life you want you cannot clutter it with mess, because it clutters your mind. If you are disorganized in one area of your life you are probably disorganized in all areas. Having clutter in our physical lives doesn’t allow for our true potential to shine through and fogs our decision making and motivation.
I took a look in my purse after the session and it was a mess. No wonder I couldn’t find anything. So I began cleaning up mess after mess. First the purse then the kitchen drawers, the garage and finally my office. Bam! I was finally organized. Once I cleaned up my outer surroundings the internal impact was immediate; I felt clear, organized and left with only one thing to do – continue bettering my life. I finally knew where everything was and I felt renewed. Raymond reminded me that to be creative you have to make space both inwardly and outwardly. I felt like I had a fresh start. Start by donating and throwing away things you don’t need – just get rid of it! When we have too many useless things in our lives we are much more likely to feel out of control and hopeless. Ask yourself if you truly need those boxes that have been sitting in storage for years.
Once I cleaned up my outer messes I got hooked on finding ways to improve my life. I then turned my focus inwardly and decided to clean up something else; the people in my life. This may sound harsh but in life there are many people who detract from our positive energy, slow us down, or simply waste our time. You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Just like airplane safety procedures; you must take care of yourself before assisting others. And so I began. I used my personal motto and that is: “You have to help me grow or you have to go!” Your friends are a reflection of you. I wanted people to challenge me, love me and support all of my endeavors. If you only hang out with negative people, how can you ever expect to have a positive outlook? I needed to weed the garden of my life and water those special flowers. This exercise helped me truly appreciate the relationships and amazing people in my life.
Once all of the inward and outward messes got cleaned up I felt like I was brand new and full of energy and love. Most profoundly, I was motivated. If you could take care of the things on your mind right now, what would that entail? It all starts with one step at a time. Clean up the mess!