How To Build a Six Figure Content Platform

There’s never been a better time to get started on your entrepreneurial dream, and most can start a business or launch a platform in 24 hours or less. With virtually free distribution in our pockets, attracting and building an audience has never been easier. But with great freedom and unlimited options comes great responsibility: with all the choices available to you, which do you pick? Most people get stuck at this point, sliding into paralysis by analysis with endless options.

Below is the 6 step blueprint and an actionable question designed to give you clarity so you can start creating and launch your platform:

1. Identify What You Love Doing

The first step in building your six figure content platform is to identify the medium you already love —even if you’re simply consuming it. Because you’re going to be committing to this long term, it becomes crucial to pick the one you already enjoy. Otherwise, you won’t last.

Whether that’s a video platform, audio, or the written word —choose the one you already spend time with and want to build your skills with. When I started my podcast, I was already obsessed with consuming podcasts, and knew my voice and personality would be perfect for the medium. I was also deeply interested in learning how to become a great interviewer and conversationalist.

Question: What medium is your favorite, and which can you see yourself working on to improve your skill?

2. Determine Where Your Audience is

Once you’ve determined the place you love spending time in already, it’s time to identify where your potential audience already is. For example, you could have chosen video for the first step, but video can mean anything from YouTube to Facebook Live, or even Instagram with the recent addition of IGTV. Each of these are going to attract a slightly different core audience, so identify where the people you’re looking to communicate with are already spending their time and energy.

Question: Which platform is your ideal audience already consuming similar content to what you’re going to create?

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” – Jeff Bezos

3. Launch and Commit to Consistency

Armed with the two questions above, it’s time to get started and launch. This will be where you make most of your decisions; the name of your platform, what the distribution looks like, the length of shows, videos or episodes and more.

But don’t get stuck in logistics — otherwise, you’ll never launch. Done is better than perfect and your first iteration is going to evolve. The best hack for committing to launch is announcing the release of your first episodes, shows, or blog posts.

The second part of launch is committing to a consistent and regular release schedule. This will depend on your medium and platform, but for example, if you’re launching a blog, how many posts will come out every week and on what days? Ask yourself the same question with any other medium and commit to a schedule to create consistency and momentum.

Question: When are you going to release your content and how often?

4. Sharpen Your Skill Set

The fourth step is all about the power of creating and being consistent. Most people fail here —they don’t see the numbers they wanted to see, so they switch platforms and start over. Even those with pre-built audiences from other businesses struggle early on to build their following.

Instead of focusing on what’s not working, focus on building your skills. This includes your communication, influence, persuasion, teaching, writing, interviewing or any other skill associated with the content you’re creating.

Question: What exactly are you doing to improve your skill with your content creation?

5. Let Your Audience Tell You What They Need

Now that we’ve covered the basics and you’re consistent —it’s time to talk about monetizing. Notice how we waited until the fifth step to bring this up? That was for a reason. Too often, people want to monetize from day one and they have zero clarity on who their audience is and what they want.

This is where the magic of building a content platform comes in: they’ll start telling you what they need. Instead of following the traditional model of you building something from scratch and hoping it connects —you’ll find ways to survey your audience and build something they already need.

This is a win, win. You don’t spend time, energy and money building something they don’t want and instantly increase in value by caring enough about them to fill a need or void.

Question: What are the similar challenged or needs your audience keeps bringing up and what can you create to help them overcome these?

“The most important thing to remember is you must know your audience.” – Lewis Howes

6. Create Multiple Revenue Streams

Lastly, once you’ve done all of the steps and have at least one product or service designed to help your audience overcome a challenge, you can start to create multiple revenue streams. The options here are endless, but include: sponsorship, partnerships, advertising, creating more products and services membership groups, exclusive trainings and masterclasses. This is where the magic happens and you’re able to serve your audience based on where they are and what they need.

What’s Next?

There’s no question you can create a thriving fix figure (and beyond) platform sharing your expertise or message through any of the available mediums today. There are countless examples who are doing it, and yet many find themselves stuck.

By following these steps, you’ll avoid the trap most do: they try to start on every platform at once and end up burning out or seeing little results. Instead, get clear on the above and focus on launching, being consistent, leveling up your skill —and monetizing by caring enough about your audience to fill one of their needs.

Which one of these steps do you need to work on the most to create a self-sustaining business? Share your thoughts below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/how-to-build-a-six-figure-content-platform/

7 Simple Habits That Will Make You More Successful

One of the first rules of success is to have good habits. Do you want to live your life to its fullest? It won’t happen if you just write and rewrite your goals. You have to develop new habits. Start today!

Here are 7 simple habits that will make you more successful:

1. The habit of asking for help

No one succeeds alone. So, make a habit to pay other people to accomplish your goals faster. Do it as often as possible. In exchange, you’ll get their time, skills and services. If you ever tried to build a business or to lose weight or something similar, you probably realized things are harder than you thought.

Sometimes you face obstacles impossible to overcome by yourself. But what if you would’ve had a mentor by your side or someone who could help you solve your problems? If you make it a habit to ask for help, you will get unstuck and move forward more faster.

2. The habit of taking action

You have the potential to make anything of yourself in this world, but if you don’t take action, you’ll just die frustrated. I’m sure you have great ideas, but that doesn’t mean anything. The implementation of your ideas is the key to more success.

And no, you don’t need motivation for this. Taking action is a habit. So, if you call yourself ‘’lazy’’ and procrastinate, don’t worry, you can change this.

Here’s how: Start taking 3 actions steps each day (even if you have no idea of what are you doing). Read a blog post and do something. Watch a video and do something. Read 20 pages from a book and do something.

Or, if you want another method, take one action step for your dreams. If you’ve wanted to do something for years, stop overthinking it. Start today, and do something small every day. After a while, you’ll start to do more. Finally, the habit of taking action will transform you into an action taker and you’ll reach new levels of success because of that.

“One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.” – Michael Korda

3. The habit of living uncomfortable

Contrary to what most motivational speakers say, life is hard. We are humans and all of us have our fears and doubts. Regardless of that, you should form a habit to do uncomfortable things anyway. Why? Because success is not just about doing what you want, it’s about doing what it takes. Let’s face it, you’re never ready to make changes in your life.

That’s why you need to step out of your comfort zone. The more you do this, the more good things will happen to you. Even if you fail most times, you’ll realize things are totally different in reality from what you initially thought. Your mindset will change and you’ll grow as a person.

4. The habit of meditation

Did you know many successful entrepreneurs meditate daily? For years, I believed this habit is just for weird people. But I was wrong. After I started to practice meditation, I’ve seen how important is for my mind. It helped me think more clearly. I also started to live more in the present and be calm in stressful situations. You can get the same benefits, and many others, if you meditate for at least 5 minutes per day. So, why wouldn’t you do it?

5. The habit of saying no

I had many times in my life when I did things I really didn’t want to do. Why? For no other reason than to please other people. I used to say ‘’yes’’ to everybody, often without realizing what I was doing. Because of that, I never had time to take care of myself. Sound familiar? People don’t even respect the fact you do them favors. On the contrary, they ask for more.

It’s better to say ‘’no’’. You’re not selfish for that. Nobody has time to do everything for others. Sure, you won’t be able to refuse everyone from tomorrow, but I’m sure you can do it with a little practice. It’s gonna be one of the best things you ever did.

“When you say ‘yes’ to others, make sure you aren’t saying ‘no’ to yourself.” – Paulo Coelho

6. The habit of tracking everything

Do you feel like you never have enough time in a day for important things? Then, you should start to track what you’re doing. No, cutting things from your to-do list is not enough. Write down how much time you spent on each task and what results you got. Also, write down your daily progress and check what you wrote each week. You’ll find ways to improve your schedule and move faster.

7. The habit of taking responsibility

This is the hardest habit from the entire list. At the same time, it’s probably the most important. Everybody has problems but blaming others will never help you solve them. Instead, you should form a habit to take responsibility for things that aren’t working well in your life. In other words, when something bad happens, just say ‘’It’s my fault.’’

Almost nobody does this but it’s something smart. If it’s your fault, you can do something about it. You take control over your bad situation. Be responsible for your income, relationships and your life in general. You’ll have the power to decide your level of success on your own.

You can’t become more successful if you search for motivation or count on luck. Success is made of small habits practiced daily.

I hope you’ll use some of the habits from this article. Now, I’d like to hear from you. Which one of these habits have you found most useful? Do you have any other habit that you can share? Leave a comment below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/7-simple-habits-that-will-make-you-more-successful/

The Problem Is Not Your Website Or Your Product.

Follow This 2-Step Process to Stay Motivated When You Feel Like Nothing Is Going Right

The dialogue in your mind is the battleground where your motivation lives and dies every day. In every moment, your words are either lifting you or sabotaging your success. Unfortunately, most people are losing this battle within themselves. They are using their most powerful asset — their mental energy — to beat themselves up, play victimization games, or stop themselves from sharing their passion.

The amount of time and energy that is wasted on self-doubt and self-sabotage is way higher than the amount of time and energy it takes to take action and share your gifts with the world, and yet still we continue to talk ourselves out of it.

You can see when a person is full of self-doubt. It shows across the contortion of their eyebrows, pursed together in a pool of worry. It screams of insecurity in the way they slump their shoulders forward, covering their heart from possible pain whenever they are asked to speak about their ideas.

Self-doubt haunts even the smartest, most conscious and most awake business individuals and thought leaders on the planet. Unless you know how to free yourself from the prison inside your mind, you will never fulfill the deepest desires of your soul or make the impact you want to create on the planet.

There are a lot of books and seminars on motivation. While you’re reading them or attending them, you’re filled with the state of euphoria which takes you out of your patterns of self-doubt and insecurity. In this state, you feel no fear or worry. However, what happens when the book is done and the seminar is over? You go right back into your old patterns of self-defeating self-talk.

If you’re looking for others to lift you up when you aren’t motivated, then you’re on an endless loop. According to an article I read in Psychology Today, “when you can make yourself whole, you stop looking to others to validate your self-esteem.” Making yourself whole and being kind to yourself with the words and images you play in your mind is a worthy endeavor. You will find that your motivation skyrockets.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs

When you catch yourself beating yourself up or playing out a nightmare over and over in your mind, follow this simple 2-step process to talk to yourself back into a state of positive motivation:

Step 1. The Mystery Behind Forgiveness

When you catch yourself in this self-sabotaging loop, don’t beat yourself up even more. Many people are trapped in this net. They try to force themselves to stop thinking the self-defeating thoughts, which only makes the fear and anxiety more powerful. It’s essential to stop and be kind to yourself about where you are in your relationship with yourself.

Forgiveness is one of the most powerful forces known to humankind. It’s up there along with words like love and faith regarding how the power of forgiveness can transform even the darkest thoughts into a portal of light.

The practice of forgiving yourself can be as simple or as complex as you need to make it. The key is that you honor the ritual of forgiveness as a sacred practice whenever your self-doubt or insecurity comes up.

You may find there is some part of you that does not want to receive forgiveness. Perhaps you have a past traumatic experience of putting yourself out there only to not get the reaction you wanted, or maybe you spent your entire life struggling without getting results.

The frustration described above is an even greater opportunity for self-healing. As the philosopher and poet Rumi says, “The wound is the place where the light enters you.” See this wounded part of yourself as an aspect of your personality, your heart, your psyche, or your body that is calling out to be seen and recognized at this moment.

Go deeper into the practice of forgiveness. Write on a piece of paper what emotion is coming up for you — fear, worry, judgment, loneliness — whatever you’re feeling. Then say out loud, “Even though I am feeling [insert name of emotion here], I still choose to share my authentic gifts with the world.”

Releasing these emotions will give more power to the intention of your honest self-expression — to reach more people, share your products and services at the highest level of your talents with the people whom you are meant to serve.

Step 2. Reframing Can Make You Invincible

Your self-talk has the most significant impact on your motivation (or lack of motivation) than even the smartest psychological tactics or most cutting-edge self-help rituals. It’s imperative that you get your inner world handled so you can make the impact you want to make with your life.

According to another article in Psychology Today, how you talk to yourself can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, so it is imperative you become aware of this right now to prevent the disastrous effects on your motivation.

In the field of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) there is a tool called “reframing” where you put an idea in another frame just like you were to reframe a photo or a painting. When you can see your words in another frame, it changes the meaning you have about the image in the frame. Play this reframing game with yourself. Once you have forgiven yourself, it’s time to replace the negative self-talk with something that is positive and uplifting. You can play a game where you say, “If I were me, what would I say to motivate myself?”

Now, of course, this is an absurd question. You are yourself. The way the question is phrased is akin to Zen Buddhism riddles which play a game on the mind to twist it until it releases, bringing freedom and space inside the brain. When you can turn your mind into another state, you will find there is freedom to see things in a whole new way.

“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson

Imagine you are giving yourself advice on being motivated. Haven’t you noticed how easy it is to always advise other people on what to think, say and do when it comes to their motivation?

Well, that’s what you’re doing here with this simple mind game. Give yourself advice as though you are the one receiving your words of motivational wisdom. What would you say to yourself at this moment? When you can reframe your perspective of who is talking and who is receiving, you will find that your words of negative self-talk no longer have power over you.

By practicing this 2-step cycle of forgiveness and reframing, you will see that you can stop damaging self-talk from destroying your ability to implement. Your desires to move forward in your life and career start by sharing your gifts and talents with the world.

All great leaders have discovered that it’s not the elimination of self-doubt, but the courage to act regardless of what self-limiting thoughts are present. The action is what accomplishes your goals.

With this 2-step cycle, you will find you have more motivation to move forward with your intention because you’re no longer using all your mental energy on self-doubt, self-defeat, and self-sabotage. When your mind is free of this negative self-talk, you will discover the unlimited power inside of you to achieve all your dreams and desires in life.

How do you motivate yourself? Share your tactics below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/motivation/follow-this-2-step-process-to-stay-motivated-when-you-feel-like-nothing-is-going-right/

The Secrets to Mastering Goal Setting According to Tony Robbins

Tony Robbins emphasizes simplicity when it comes to effectively setting goals for himself and for others. In his understanding, goals are fundamental to life direction and by setting them in the right way we’re able to grasp control of our futures and grow how we want to. He identifies most of the problems people face in setting goals are setting too many, not taking goals seriously enough and setting the wrong kind of goals. His solution to all of these issues is clear and simple.

Here are a few of his thoughts on how to take control by effectively setting goals for yourself:

1. Identify What You Want

It may seem obvious but one of the biggest issues for people when they set out trying to find the key to success, is knowing what they want in the first place. Defining your goals, or your “Dreams with a deadline” as Robbins puts it, is absolutely crucial to figuring out how to begin to go about creating the future you want for yourself.

A good way to get started on figuring out what you want is to write down your ideas. Somewhere along that process your brain is able to pick out the goals which are most achievable and most desirable. By establishing what you want, you can set out to make that a reality with clarity and discipline.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” – Tony Robbins

2. Justify Your Goals

Understanding the origin of your goals, once you have identified them, is important in sticking to the task of making your goals a reality. Sometimes you might think you want something in the heat of the moment, but on further reflection, you realize that you were simply drawn to an idea on a temporary basis.

Justifying your goals can be a good moment to discuss what you want to do with others in your life; a spouse, a parent, a coach, whoever it might be. This isn’t to say that they should be able to decide whether you follow through or not, that is up to you. But it adds some outside perspective to an otherwise very personal process.

3. Be Specific

Specific goals are far more likely to get completed, so says Robbins. It’s one thing to say something like ‘I want to lose some weight’ or ‘I want to learn how to sing’. But to translate those generalized desires into action requires something more specific as your goal. You could say instead that you want to lose 25 pounds or that you want to join a competitive choir. These specific goals keep you motivated when the going gets tough and make it easier to remind yourself what you’re aiming to achieve.

4. Understand Your Own Potential

This is quite simple. You’ve got to know what is reasonably achievable and what isn’t. People are susceptible both to setting goals that are far too lofty and goals which are far too easy to achieve. Use past experiences, the opinions of others and your own sense of self-awareness to set goals which are a real challenge but not ones that will leave you feeling defeated and a failure.

5. Don’t Stop When You Reach Your First Goal

Following on from the point above, if you succeed at reaching your first goal it’s extremely important that you are able to capitalize on that success to continue with shaping your future. In all likelihood, the boost you receive when you achieve a goal will inspire you to go further and further, shaping your future with even more certainty. Don’t stop when you tick your first box, push harder and achieve more. If you can meet one target, why not meet more? See each goal as a single stepping stone in the path towards an overall sense of life success.

“The most important thing you can do to achieve your goals is to make sure that as soon as you set them, you immediately begin to create momentum.” – Tony Robbins

6. Don’t Worry If You Fail

With so much advice geared towards succeeding and success, it seems strange to end on this note, but it’s important to recognize that if failing at achieving a goal was a waste of time then you’ve either got the wrong perspective or the wrong goals. It’s crucial that when you are looking to yourself to establish what you want, that you choose goals the process of achieving which will push you and help you to grow regardless of what you achieve. It’s all about learning and moving forward.

Tony Robbins’ advice is strict and straightforward. Have clear, well thought out goals, take something out of the process of chasing your dreams and, if you fail, get up, brush yourself off and refocus yourself on your next step towards achieving what you want to achieve.

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/the-secrets-to-mastering-goal-setting-according-to-tony-robbins/

How One Empowering Mindset Shift Can Elevate Your Entire Life

To become a successful entrepreneur, I had to radically shift the way I thought about myself, my life and success. Taking that long look in the mirror can be a painful process. Most people don’t like what I’m about to say but I need to say it because internalizing this is critical to success. This is the hardest truth I had to face and I imagine it’s going to be tough for you too.

You’re exactly where you want to be, your life is exactly as good as you feel you deserve it to be. Right now – in your career, in your relationships, in your life – you’re exactly where you want to be. “Wait,” you protest.  “But I read articles on successful morning routines and the power of persistence! I want a better life. I want out of this cubicle. I want more money & more freedom.” I know how you feel, I’ve been there too.

The Wantrepreneur’s Dilemma

You’ve probably heard the term “wantrepreneur.” Basically it’s someone who wants to become an entrepreneur – they read about it, they talk about it, they listen to podcasts about it – but they struggle to take any real action. There’s a good reason for this – wanting isn’t enough.

You have to feel, down in your soul, that you also deserve the things you want. If you want more money, more freedom and a better life, you have to feel that you deserve those things too. Because if you don’t know it in your soul, your internal thermostat will kick in and push you right back into your comfort zone.

Escaping Your Comfort Zone

We all know how a thermostat works. When things get too cold, it turns on the heat. When things are too hot, it turns on the air conditioning. A thermostat regulates your environment to keep you comfortable. Most people, however, don’t know that we also have an internal thermostat that regulates the comfort zone of our life. When things get bad, or “too cold,” it kicks in the motivation to get you moving. You take action and solve your problem, which warms you up and settles you back into your comfort zone.

This is great when life is “too cold.” Unfortunately, the internal thermostat also works at the other end of the spectrum. When you earn some success and life begins to heat up, your internal thermostat will cool things off and bring you back down into your comfort zone.

The thermostat’s job isn’t to help you reach new heights of success, it is to just keep you comfortable. Since comfort isn’t what we’re after – we want success and happiness, we need to reset our thermostats.

“To move to a new level in your life, you must break through your comfort zone and do things that are not comfortable.” – T. Harv Eker

How to Reset Your Internal Thermostat for Success

The only way to change your comfort zone is to change the settings on your thermostat. The only way to change the settings on your thermostat is to change your beliefs. It was this realization that I had to change my beliefs, in order to raise the upper limits of my comfort zone – that radically transformed my life.

Let me give you an example of a limiting belief that was holding me back:

“Working hard means you’re working long hours.”

When I was a kid, my dad owned a deli. He left for work at 5:00 in the morning and most nights didn’t come back until after 9:00. Most weeks he worked six days. He often got called in for an “emergency” on his days off. A normal work-week for my dad was 80 hours, easy.

As a child and a young man I thought the way my dad did it was the way it was supposed to be done so the belief that working hard means you’re working long hours was crystallized into my soul, my thermostat was set. A lot of us develop beliefs this way.

When I graduated college, I turned down a 9-5, corporate job to work in hospitality. For over 10 years I worked “in the business” as those in hospitality refer to it. Long shifts, working holidays, weekends, and nights, are all the norm.

I let my limiting belief of “working hard means you’re working long hours,” set a low ceiling on my comfort zone. There was a piece of me, without me consciously realizing it, that forced me to work ridiculously long hours. It wasn’t until I started to explore my limiting beliefs that I even uncovered this and started to raise the upper limits of my comfort zone.

Destroy Your Limiting Beliefs

I never felt so empowered as the day I discovered that my subconscious beliefs were holding me back. The path forward seemed so much clearer, I just had to destroy these limiting beliefs. I encourage you to explore, and destroy, the limiting beliefs that are holding you back. The next time the voice in your head says something like “rich people are selfish,” or “a steady paycheck is secure,” or “you need to be jerk to get ahead” – stop yourself and recognize that these statements aren’t true, they are just your limiting beliefs.

Awareness of your limiting beliefs is the first step to destroying them, and raising the upper limits of your comfort zone. Once you discover a limiting belief, ask yourself – is this always true?

“You begin to fly when you let go of self-limiting beliefs and allow your mind and aspirations to rise to greater heights.” – Brian Tracy

If it’s not always true, then ask yourself why you believe it to be true. And if you can’t discover any good reasons to continue believing it to be true, then challenge yourself to replace your limiting belief with an empowering belief instead. These empowering beliefs could be “Working hard means caring about my clients,” “Rich people worked hard and I admire their success,” or “Helping others makes me happy and proud.”

When those empowering beliefs replace your limiting beliefs as the regulators on your thermostat, you’re comfort zone will expand to include all of your wildest success and dreams. Your internal thermostat won’t be turning on the air conditioning to sabotage your success.

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/how-one-empowering-mindset-shift-can-elevate-your-entire-life/

7 Things You Need to Look Out for When Trying to Experience Happiness

Peak experiences. We all get excited about fulfilling our current craving be it planning a trip, being invited to a special party, finding the perfect shoe to wear or having our latest crush call for a date. This is not shallow. It’s fun and I’m all in. I love it all, but I am here to tell you true happiness is not about hitting the peak now and then.

It’s about maintaining the life’s peak experiences. Momentary fulfillment is fun but it is situational happiness. If this, then that. How do you feel when nothing special is happening? I’d like to address a happiness that lasts a lifetime. A default state of happiness and appreciation when it seems like nothing is happening.

You could say that what exists between peak experiences is the gap. How do we all feel about the gap? Dull? Uncertain? This is where true happiness is experienced. You could call it ease and peace and joy on a low simmer.

Happiness, like a bicep, needs to be worked on and once you have developed the strength of consistent well-being, it takes little effort to keep it strong. Without working on it, your happiness will be as flaccid as the muscles you don’t tend to. Sometimes it is easier to get at happiness by looking at what corrodes it.

Below are 7 things you need to look out for because of their ability to sabotage your happiness:

1. Our Emotions

Even though they appear to come out of nowhere, they don’t. We allow ourselves or others to stir them up inside of us until they take over our mood and, eventually, our life. If we don’t learn how to control our thoughts, our emotions will run over us and our dreams. Happiness is not an emotion, it is our home base only with lots of clutter on top of it.

Antidote: The clutter is our thoughts. Happiness demands we see things clearly.  Emotions are more like a cloudy cup we drink from. Thought precedes emotion. Learn to control your thoughts and the emotions will no longer run the show.

2. A Default Identity

We construct our world through what we say to ourselves and what we choose to accept from what others say to us. Untamed, our minds are reckless, random, and reactive. It doesn’t occur to us that we have control over our thoughts because we assume they are all true.

Even our beliefs are just thoughts we either never examined or thoughts we keep thinking. Yet one day, we choose to exercise control instead of reacting and find we do indeed have choice. Choosing happiness is equivalent to being free.

Antidote: Emotions come from thoughts and we can learn to control our thoughts. That is the happiness muscle at work. Off with the negative weight.

“Happiness is a choice. You can choose to be happy. There’s going to be stress in life, but it’s your choice whether you let it affect you or not.” – Valerie Bertinelli

3. Living Conditionally

Much of our day to day happiness relies upon other people acting a certain way and conditions being “perfect” in the world according to us. Since we can’t control others, we should drop the “shoulds” and embrace the “coulds.” What could be? The mood of your life is at stake here.

Antidote: To get the shoes, or the Rolex, or the house on the hill is a short-term thrill. The shoes will get scuffed and out of date, the Rolex may get stolen, and maintaining the unreliable notion of perfection will make you uptight. Happiness lives between your ears. To live unconditionally is to choose happiness over your “shoulds” and other people’s opinions and actions.

4. Being In Control

That you can exercise control over others is a myth. Even if they seem to go along on the outside, you don’t have control over their thoughts and feelings. You’ve got to give up trying to control other people. They are not animals to be tamed.

The only control I recommend is taking control of your thoughts and therefore, your perspective. We try to control people out of our own insecurity. Insecurity is also a thought. Control is too small a pen to play in.

Antidote: Catch yourself when you want to exert control over another. No one has successfully changed anyone else. Don’t threaten or pout when things don’t go your way. When you take responsibility for your mood, life will be sweet.

5. Judging

It is not possible to be happy when you are judging yourself or another. Happiness requires equilibrium. Judging keeps you off balance. It is a signal of seeing yourself or another as superior or inferior.

Judging is the product of a foolish ego who likes a short lived win until the next “challenge” to itself comes along. Happiness doesn’t come from comparison any more than it comes from being taller or shorter than someone.

Antidote: Change the thought. Silently wish them (or you) well and compliment them in your mind and move on.

“Judging a person does not define who they are. It defines who you are.” – Wayne Dyer

6. Complaining

Most of us regurgitate the same complaints to our friends, therapists, and bartender. Our lives seem to revolve around a few complaints. Think of it this way: Inside every complaint is a request. The complaint is asking you what you really want? Focus on the positive action or your complaints may come to define you.

Antidote: Get up and get out. Put your attention on creating something new. You can’t have a fulfilling life through an unfulfilled journey.

7. Being Right

This certainly is the booby prize and a lonely place. The ego loves little wins, acknowledgement from others, but there is generally little peace to be had in such an interaction. I would love to convince my husband of the value of a certain program I listen to. He wants none of it. While I would love to share it with him and see him grow from it, he has said “no.” I respect that. What’s “right” for me may not appeal to you.

Antidote: Allow things to be this way and that way. They usually are. No one is in this world to live up to your expectations, and for sure, you won’t live up to theirs!

There is no gym for happiness outside of you. By divesting yourself of the automatic reactions you have to things, you will come to realize that a change in attitude, moving a few thoughts around is all that is required. Only by exploring what is driving the negative into our lives, dropping the drama, the funk, and beliefs that don’t serve us will we free ourselves to be filled with joy.

Joy is the outcome of the happiness muscle workout. Flex that muscle wherever you go. It’s stunning and contagious.  

Which one of the above 7 things do you need to work on most in order to enjoy a more fulfilling and happy life? Let us know below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/7-things-you-need-to-look-out-for-when-trying-to-experience-happiness/