Inspire Me ThursdaySelf help blog to improve day to day living

Even with our current technological conveniences, it sometimes feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get things done. After a week of work and tending to your family, you might feel like you’ve gotten nothing done: short-term goals like keeping an organized house or indulging in hobbies might seem impossible. And long-term goals, like losing weight or working toward a better career, aren’t even on your radar.

There’s a reason that “one day at a time” is a common mantra: attempting to deal with all of your obstacles at once is overwhelming. But committing to addressing one or two challenges at a time—breaking your day down into digestible bites, addressing your most immediate goals first—you can make real, measurable progress on both your short-term and long-term goals.

Immediate goals

Taking care of yourself can seem like a tough task, but it’s one of the most important things you can do. A healthy diet, a regular exercise regimen, and a steady sleep schedule should be your top priorities every day. You might think you don’t have enough time to get a workout in or make yourself a good meal every night. But the average person watch about 34 hours of television a week—plenty of time that could be used cooking or exercising. Making your body and brain as healthy as they can be will have a positive effect on the rest of your life—so put it at the top of your list.

Mid-term goals

Saving money is harder these days—a less-than-ideal working wage, student loans, or other financial obligations can put a strain on your savings account. But there are things you do every day to save small amounts of money—those small amounts can add up to big money each month. Using online services like Mint.com can take the place of a spending journal, and can help you plan for future purchases both large and small.

Long-term goals

The current job market has forced millions of workers postpone plans to purchase a home, to start a family, or to pursue other goals. Depending on your current job, you might be ready for a move up or a career change. Getting an education is still the best way to improve your chances to land a great job, and there are more options now than ever: distance learning and online degree programs are becoming more popular because they allow students to take classes that fit their schedules, and work at their own pace. Students can pursue a wide range of interests: if you’re in the medical field, an associate degree in nursing could help you jumpstart your career. Considering other career paths can be a good way to get yourself motivated and thinking about your future.

When setting your goals, it’s important to consider both your immediate needs as well as the big picture. Tackling everything at once can be exhausting, so think about your daily tasks and your larger. goals separately—and do what you can to make sure you’re not taking on too much at one time. It might seem like you’re making less progress, but it will add up in the long run.

Thomas Stone is a content-author and life-long learner. He is writing on behalf of AIU, an online university offering an associate degree in nursing for students interested in the learning about the field of health care.

Once upon a time, I was a single, carefree slob whose biggest worry in life was finding a job and paying my rent. That all changed once I used the Laws of Attraction to kickstart my career as a freelance writer. This experience taught me the value of envisioning what I wanted and actively going after it. Not only did this teach me the value of behaving proactively, but of valuing myself and my achievements.

As anyone who has studied and implemented the Laws of Attraction will tell you, once you get started working toward a better you, it is an addictive process that leads you down the path of improvement, one milestone at a time. After I succeeded in starting my own business, I focused on my personal life. I wanted to meet someone and fall in love, but I knew that no self-respecting woman would be interested in me as I was then.

I envisioned the woman I hoped to meet: intelligent, ladylike, funny, confident – these were all necessary attributes in any woman that I was interested in. Rather than going out to bars and seeking out women, or sitting at my desk and wishing I was the kind of man who could attract such a woman, I turned my attention inward, scrupulously taking inventory of every aspect of my personality, character, appearance, and so forth. I was honest and merciless in this process, and in the end, had a fairly lengthy laundry list of my strengths and weaknesses.

Then, I started to “fix” things, one at a time. Some were easy: I joined a gym and worked out with a trainer. This not only improved my physical appearance, but gave me energy to spare. Other things were more intangible, and thus harder to implement, such as my lack of confidence and my overall pessimistic attitude. I simply started pretending that these were natural characteristics, and I eventually started to feel more confident and optimistic without pretending.

Six months after this process began, I met her. Whereas before, I would have awkwardly approached women and either been shot down in flames or taken someone out only to realize too late that they were clingy, psycho, or both, Beth was everything I ever wanted in a woman. She met all of my requirements and more, and because of all of the work that I had put into making myself into the man I knew I needed to be, I was everything she had ever wanted, as well.

Before I knew it, I was shopping for engagement rings on the Internet. I wanted a ring that would symbolize the characteristics I most value in Beth. She is steadfast and genuine, and one of the strongest women I know, so a diamond was essential. However, she is unlike any woman I know, so I didn’t want a ring that another woman would be wearing. I finally settled on buying loose diamonds and creating my own setting, basing my design off of the ring my father gave my mother, which had been passed down to him from my grandmother.

When the day came for me to propose, I wasn’t nervous. All of the confidence I had worked to build and nurture flooded me, and I knew I was ready. I arranged an intimate dinner at my apartment, and as I waited for her to arrive, I pulled the ring out of my pocket and stared at it. It shone in the palm of my hand, sparkling like I imagined Beth’s eyes would when I put it on her finger. She arrived, and although I had intended to wait until dessert, I only lasted five minutes before I dropped to one knee and pulled the ring out of my pocket.

I had a speech prepared, but all of that went to the wayside and I spoke from the heart. I promised to be the best husband I could be and to love her for the rest of my life, if she would only agree to be my wife. Of course, she agreed. As I slipped the ring onto her finger, I reflected back on the last eighteen months, starting from the day when I made the conscious decision to work toward this goal. Even though the process was a long and painstaking one, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

We are now planning our life together. I told her the story of my transformation and explained the Laws of Attraction to her, and she understands the importance this process has in my life. She has begun to implement it into her life, and the results are nothing short of spectacular. One day, we will tell our children how we met, and they will understand the true meaning of perseverance and dedication, both to oneself and to others, and how the Laws of Attraction can bring these characteristics to the forefront of your life.

Throughout college, I bartended and worked odd jobs to accommodate my class schedule. Upon graduation, I found that I could not find a job in my chosen profession, and was forced to continue working what was beginning to feel more and more like a meaningless job. Apparently, there’s not a need for writers when unemployment is in the double digits and the economy is unstable.

Despite my personal disappointment, I continued to plug away at my job. Thankfully, the hours were conducive for job hunting, and I spent long hours on the Internet looking for writing positions. I applied at newspapers, online writing websites, and various companies that were hiring ghost writers, only to be turned down time and again. I even resorted to using a resume service to critique my CV, despite the fact that I pride myself in my abilities of articulation and presentation. Insecurity can breed paranoia, which can breed nervousness, which can breed incompetence. That’s when ‘outside help’ comes in handy!

It was around this time, during my many hours spent online, that I stumbled across the concept of “Laws of Attraction.” By coincidence, my roommate had been talking about it, so I grilled him about it. It seemed too simple to be possible. Think something into existence? I have always been a skeptic, and this was no different.

All of this changed last November. After my shift, my spineless manager pulled me into the office and informed me that I was being fired. I was offered no explanation, other than that I was no longer a good fit for the company, and was escorted out to avoid trouble. When I finally made it home, I sat at the computer, as was my habit, and stared blankly at the screen.

It was at that moment that I remembered the conversations that I’d had with my roommate. I was feeling really desperate, so I searched the Internet for information about how to implement the laws of attraction. When I didn’t find enough information to satisfy my curiosity, I awoke my roommate and asked him question after question.

Essentially, what I learned was that it was possible to think about something so much and in such a way as to make it happen. My roommate attributed this to mystical explanations, but I think it has more to do with the power of the human mind, and untapped potential. I decided to put the knowledge I had gained in my overnight session into practice the next day.

I decided I wanted to put my education to use. I had no desire to punch a time clock everyday and work in an office setting. Instead, I envisioned working from home, writing about things that I was passionate about, and creating my own schedule and work environment. Since I am a writer, I wrote out the exact scenario that I wanted, and read it over and over, committing every detail to memory. I posted this narrative on the bulletin board over my desk and read it every day.

Thankfully, due to the way I was fired, I was eligible for unemployment; this enabled me to not stress about money as I gathered my resources and started working to make my dream a reality. Since my goal was to write, I started doing just that. Every time I ran out of things to write about, I would look up at my bulletin board, re-read what I had written, and return to my writing. Within a week, I began submitting my work to various blogs and writing outlets on the Internet.

I decided I had to take a realistic approach to my goal, and offered to post my work for free on most of the sites I contacted at first. Because I was able to humble myself in this way, I soon found many blogs that were willing to accept my writing, and my portfolio started to grow. I continued to visualize myself as an established, professional writer, and was eventually able to start submitting my work to sites that paid.

It has been seven months since I lost my job, and I am freelancing steadily enough that I am now able to support myself without the aid of unemployment. I am pleased to report that I have a positive balance in my checking account and a more or less constant demand for my work. I still read my statement every day, and what I have noticed is that, thanks to the laws of attraction, I have pretty much fulfilled my dream to the letter.

Photos courtesy of Google Images