Just remember! No one is perfect!!!

A New Year has come, and I want to share with all of you my experience, it’s the perfect time to make some change in our lives and leave the bad habits behind. If you’re like most of us, you’ve made ambitious New Year’s resolutions and maybe even started to already implement them. Unfortunately, following through with those resolutions is much harder - according to some studies, only 9% of people fully achieve their New Year’s goals. But stay strong my Friend – today I will teach you three key self-improvement techniques, which will get you on your way to achieving (and exceeding) your goals, and becoming the best version of yourself!

Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals

The first step after setting your foot on the self-improvement path is having clear, measurable goals that you can track during your process. Nebulous goals without concrete details, like “I will get a job” are a productive person’s worst enemy since they prevent you from having a clear overview of the next steps you need to take on the road to success. During the last few decades, the so-called S.M.A.R.T. approach to goal setting has become the gold standard, for individuals and companies alike. So what does the S.M.A.R.T. acronym stand for?

– Specific
– Measurable
– Attainable
– Relevant
– Time-bound

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1.Specific: if your goal is specific, it provides more motivation and a clearer sense of urgency. When defining a goal, you should answer your self the five “W” questions:

What am I trying to accomplish?

Why is it important?

Who is involved?

Where is it located?

Which resources do I need?

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2.Measurable: setting a measurable goal means answering the questions:
-How much?
-How many?
-When will I know when it’s complete?

This will allow you to track your progress and feel a sense of accomplishment with each step you get closer to the goal.

3.Attainable: setting overly-ambitious goals can often be unproductive and lead to low self-esteem if they aren’t achieved. Taking into account multiple factors, such as external constraints and possible setbacks, will prepare you for the most likely scenario and get you over the finish line.

4.Relevant: it’s also important to reflect on your goal and ensure that your goal really matters to you and that it aligns with other relevant goals, as well as to determine whether it is the right time and place to pursue it.

5.Time-bound: in order to structure your short-term and long-term actions, your goal should have a target date, as well as actions you can make today, six weeks from now, and six months from now.

Using the S.M.A.R.T. approach in goal setting, you’ll have a clear plan of action and a strong foundation for achieving any (realistic) self-improvement goal.

Increasing willpower

Having clear goals, however, is only one part of the self-improvement puzzle. In order to implement your plans into action and avoid procrastination, you will need a strong willpower. Since our brain isn’t much different from our hunter-gatherer ancestor’s brains, it tends to default to “automatic mode” as much as possible when it comes to familiar situations and habits (e.g. driving home from work and not remembering the trip itself). The more we indulge ourselves in this „autopilot mode“, the more likely we are to procrastinate and the more difficult it is to break a bad habit. Luckily, many scientific studies have identified a few simple routines you can use to retrain your brain to favor conscious rational decision making rather than habitual functioning, and vastly improve your willpower in as little as two weeks:

• Using your non-dominant hand: ✋The brain is used to doing things with the dominant hand, so switching to your non-dominant hand for an hour every day will create a habit to be in a focused and productive state of mind during the day.
• Maintaining good posture: Another great method of improving your willpower is setting a time of the day when you'll adjust your posture each time you realize you're slouching. Many studies have proven this method to be highly effective for increasing willpower and concentration.
• Keeping a food journal: 🍲 In one study, participants were much more persistent in their tasks after keeping a food journal for only two weeks. This is another way of keeping your brain alert and conscious throughout your daily routine.
  After doing these mental exercises for a month or two, you’ll likely shrug off any bad habit or procrastination much more easily, which will help you immensely on your self-improvement journey.

Practicing mindfulness meditation

If someone told you there was a scientifically proven technique to vastly reduce depression, stress and anxiety, holistically improve various cognitive skills and boost your immunity and overall health (and that it only takes 10 minutes of your time a day!), you would probably think that it’s too good to be true. And yet, many scientific studies and millions of practitioners worldwide have attributed all of these effects to mindfulness meditation (also known as vipassana meditation). Although it takes years to master the technique of mindfulness meditation, the essentials steps are rather simple:

• 1.Find a peaceful place where you won’t be interrupted.
• 2.Take your seat – it can be a cushion, a chair or anything that provides a stable seat. If you are sitting on a cushion, cross your legs in a way that doesn’t create discomfort. If you are sitting on a chair, your feet should be touching the floor.
• 3.Put your hands on the tops of your legs and relax them completely. Adjust your upper body so that it’s straight, but not stiff.
• 4.If it suits you, you can close your eyes completely, or simply let your gaze fall downward without focusing on anything in particular.
• 5.Relax, and bring your attention to the sensation of your breath. Observe the sensations in your nose, lungs or stomach as you inhale and exhale.
• 6.If your mind wanders (which is completely normal), bring it back to the breath.

You should try to bring your mind into a state of observation without explicit thoughts, such as „I am now exhaling“. Various thoughts may distract you in this process, but as soon as you notice your mind is wandering, slowly bring it back to the breath. A good technique is to count your breaths, counting both inhalations and exhalations. Once you reach ten, start from one again and repeat the process until your mind is no longer wandering. This practice should help you overcome everyday problems much more easily, as well as improve many aspects of your physical and mental health, including general motivation and discipline.
Now you have the knowledge necessary to start your self-improvement journey, it’s up to you to apply it!

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