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Create the Positive Mindset

Edited by Garshepp, DifuWu, Krystle, Eric and 14 others

Have you ever made excuses for sitting around waiting for things to change and getting nowhere? With all the benefits of getting into condition, seeking desired education, training, a job, or a career change, why would you still hesitate? You can “cure” much of that by scheduling your priorities so that you make urgency your friend instead of merely prioritizing your schedule. So, get your big objectives (most important goals) and best ideas in line first for working -- and playing. Here are some helpful ideas.

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Edit Steps

  1. 1
    Set a goal and prioritize it. List all your excuses for why you have not, or cannot, accomplish a particular goal. Now, go through each one, and find ways to get around, or solve, each one. There is always a way, but as long as those excuses sit in your head without being addressed, they remain obstacles.
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  2. 2
    Check into your opportunities. Don't accept any reasons to procrastinate (like the weather or your environment). If you find yourself acting like the world is against you, almost as if the world is trying to stop you from getting ahead, you may be a pessimist.
  3. 3
    Stop procrastinating using self talk. The way that you view a task and describe it to yourself has a big impact on how you'll approach it, or whether you'll do it at all. The good news is that if you can become aware of these mental dialogues, notice the patterns, and turn them into productive statements, then you are empowered to overcome many unwelcome feelings and behaviors.
  4. 4
    Write personal long term goals. Also, set short term goals you need to do to get them done. Be Responsible, accountable (help yourself and your employer to do better), and adaptable to your situation. The most important thing when setting long term goals, however, is to be as detailed as possible. Many people find it helpful to visualize themselves accomplishing and living the goal, almost like a movie playing in their minds. Some people even use self-hypnosis to help with achieving goals.
  5. 5
    Set priorities. Use your time, talents, and resources with the people, activities, or things that are meaningful to you. Stop wasting any of those on (unnecessary) things or people that are not helping your life -- or that keep you from moving forward into what you want to be or do. Take a big task, and break it down to the smallest number of steps you can, and tackle each step one by one, like a to-do list.
  6. 6
    Question your priorities. If deciding to change a habit does not work within three or four weeks of honest trials, ask yourself what interfered. Sometimes it takes many failed trials to reach a pattern that works because you may run into unexpected obstacles - good valid reasons for the old habit that must be understood and accepted in order to make the change. Ask why you are making the change - if you are not doing it for yourself but to please someone else, it may not bring any benefits at all. Realistic, practical goals broken down into smaller steps that build on small successes to reach a long term goal are the patterns that work.
  7. 7
    Stop Hesitating. If you find yourself analyzing, maybe even agonizing over some decision or task, there are some underlying fears that need to be addressed. For example, maybe you imagine the worst case scenario. Or maybe you're simply scared of failure.
  8. 8
    Check off things on your list as you do them: including doing needed work or chores, etc. Perhaps keep a "goals" journal. Feel the sense of accomplishment from getting started. Sometimes when you feel unmotivated, it helps to look back and see all the things you have already accomplished, no matter how small their are.

EditCreate the Positive Mindset

  1. 1
    Admit and learn from your mistakes and from those of others. Don't let errors hold you back. Sometimes we are harder on ourselves than anybody else is on us. You need to give yourself the flexibility to make mistakes, because much of life is trial and error, and you need to know how to forgive yourself.
  2. 2
    Get out of the trap of blaming your lost years: lacking education, wealth or prestigious positions. Get your dream education. Start planning how you will do it. Overcome family excuses where they don't provide for you, and your families needs.
  3. 3
    Do you excuse yourself with, "I need to motivate myself"... Whether you need an education, a job, or a career, find something you like to study, or to do as a job, such as starting your own service business. Network to find out from different businesses if they know anyone that is hiring.
  4. 4
    Don't say "I'm too out of shape and overweight." Improve your health and conditioning by exercising. You can get in shape by starting with 10 minutes per day of starter level exercises -- even if you are really out of shape, you can still fix that. You can make a diet plan to include eating more green and yellow vegetables and eating salads with oil and vinegar or low carbohydrate dressing, cutting out carbohydrates like white foods (bread, noodles, cream sauces), desserts and ice cream. Use high fiber tortillas or thin wraps to make a kind of Chinese or Mexican style meat wrap (tacos, enchiladas). Avoid eating greasy or breaded fried foods. Drain stir fried foods. Drain unbreaded (non-battered) pan grilled meats, perhaps on paper towels.
  5. 5
    Avoid excuses such as "I don't have anything to wear." Get some necessary work-clothing. Get clothing at a thrift store, or a service like Goodwill Industries in the USA, Salvation Army Store or other charity. If necessary, ask for assistance at churches for some serviceable clothing and shoes. This may be a problem, especially if you want to keep up with the latest fashion. Choose clothes that make you feel comfortable.
  6. 6
    Use your experience, challenges and your difficulties to create opportunities. Your experience is a strength even if it does not fit the situation perfectly. Learn How to Be Resourceful and How to Be Proactive. Make extra effort to overcome in your area of excuses. Do something You will be much happier with yourself if you actually are proactive.
  7. 7
    Take care of yourself. Take charge and make advancements in all areas of life without making excuses:
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Edit Tips

  • Relax and rest a little when feeling listless or lazy, and then pop back up and get busy no matter what the excuse: "I'm always tired." -- get a drink of water or some coffee or tea.
  • If you are depressed or ill, take care of yourself. See a physician...
  • Learn about company profit sharing and other benefits including stock purchase or special benefits. Sometimes the employer will match your investments in their profit sharing/retirement plans.

Avoid Home Loan Problems

  • Avoid Foreclosure by Knowing Your Mortgage Type. Learn about home purchase options such as different kinds of mortgage loans that are available.
  • Learn how to Talk to Mortgage Lenders about a potential home purchase. There are problems that could cause you to lose your house at the time of a balloon coming due, for example -- or if an adjustable rate is being adjusted to a high rate for another example (They don't ask you about it before raising rates. It happens when it is provided in the contract that you signed.). To avoid those:
    • If possible only accept a fixed (permanent) rate of interest. A fixed rate cannot be changed without a newly negotiated mortgage. That protects you against being forced to accept whatever is available at that future date which unfortunately does happen with the ARM mortgage explained here in another tip later.
    • Do not accept a balloon note type of mortgage because the loan will be coming due and forcing reapplication for a new loan in a few years. A balloon note means that the financing is only for part of the price (to get a lower payment at the beginning of the loan, which tricks people into thinking only of the present short term) and when the balloon (the rest of the loan) comes due you may be foreclosed upon if you cannot get financing at a good rate and at a payment that you can afford to pay.
    • Refuse any kind of N.I.N.J.A. mortgage such as "no income, no job, no asset", "liar loans" or any similar loans -- if they are available, because the rates of interest will be high, and there may also be a balloon payment after 5 years for example. One exception for using some of these mortgages would be if you have your own business as an entrepreneur, and so you cannot prove your income.
    • Avoid any ARM or refinance it if possible to get out of it -- if you already have the: "Adjustable Rate Mortgage" which has lower interest rates only at the beginning, but then there could be much higher (adjusted) interest rates after a few years which can make house payments much too expensive.

Begin a Small Business Service

  • Can you Successfully Begin a Small Business or offer a service to make extra income -- or to a living? Many of these can be rewarding work which might be fitted to your schedule.:
    • Learn to do servicing computers to improve the speed of a computer. For instance, download a completely free basic computer care program like IObit ASC (Advanced System Care) -- "CNET's - #1 most popular system utility." and also "MajorGeeks' - EDITORS PICK: A Click A Day to Secure, Clean, Repair, and Optimize Your PC". You might use this to learn how to use such tools for free and so you can:
      • Clean Your Registry, also remove junk files like temporary files,
      • Removing spyware, doing privacy sweep (removing unnecessary computer history and unneeded cookies).
      • You can list in the IObit program in the options any desired cookies to keep -- such as from you online bank, email service, wikiHow, and internet provider, etc. to expedite or personalize the system.
    • DTweak free complex tweaker and optimizing tool will find many problems and remove them that IOBit (free version) does not find. It is especially designed for Windows (Win7, Vista, and XP). With DTweak you can - clean file and defragment registry systems - tune computer performance - optimize and increase the speed of your Windows system.
    • There are, of course, several other free programs that clean (remove old or leftover registration traces from) the Registry. For example, one called RegScrubVistaXP is quite thorough. After it is installed restart the computer, then use the RegScrubVistaXP which is very fast! RegScrubVistaXp finds and fixes hundreds of problems that IObit ASC does not find; and, the older "RegScrubXP" (before Vista) found only a few dozen problems. You can download such programs from an established freeware/shareware and information website with freeware downloads like this www.majorgeeks.com established freeware/shareware website:[1]
    • You may secure your PC after you get the utility freeware, shareware or trial software that you need or want from the download website.
      • Caution: The Microsoft program called RegClean is no longer supported by Microsoft because it removes registrations of unused Microsoft Office Software that "install on first use". This problem is for the MS Office XP/2000 and afterward according to Microsoft.[2]

Do Odd Jobs

    • Wash a Car by Hand -- washing; cleaning the tires, wheels, chrome or aluminum, etc. -- and possibly waxing. This is the detailing (polishing-up) of automobiles, as a service.
    • Succeed at Any Home Improvement Project
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    • Run a Landscaping Business
    • Earn Money to Buy an Expensive Bike.
    • Earn Money (For Kids)

Edit Related wikiHows

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How to
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Do It Yourself

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Be Responsible

How to
Get Better Health in 10 Minutes a Day

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How to
Write a Personal Mission Statement

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Sort Your Life Out

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Use and Improve Your Abilities


Edit Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ www.MajorGeeks.com MajorGeeks.com - established website, freeware, shareware, free downloads
  2. ↑ problem for MS Office XP/2000 & after that

Article Info

Featured Article

Categories: Featured Articles | Goal Realization & Problem Solving

Recent edits by: Ron D, BR, Snow Wolf

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Español: Cómo parar de dar excusas

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