A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. - Lao Tzu
Category: 🍏 Life
Tips & habits to make your life better
Wellbeing Scholar • Educator • Motivator
Wellness Student • Learner • Researcher
Begin With The End In Mind
Begin with the end of your task, goal, project, or dream in your mind by mentally envisioning it and creating a written description or picture of exactly what you want the end result to look like when the project or vision is completed.
- To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination.
- It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.
- "Begin with the end in mind" is based on the principle that all things are created twice.
- There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things.
- Take the construction of a home, for example.
- You create it in every detail before you ever hammer the first nail into place.
- You try to get a very clear sense of what kind of house you want.
Hard Truths Movie Takeaway
Have A Positive Attitude
The lives of two sisters and mothers with very different attitudes shows the incredible power of humans and the mind to drastically influence and affect their life and the lives of those around them, negatively for the worse or positively for the better.
A Negative Attitude
- One sister lives in an idyllic and spacious two story home with fences and a nice backyard
- She has one healthy son and a kind hard-working husband who provides everything for her
- She has no job and does not have to work because her husband makes all of the money
- She is very negative, pessimistic, depressed, hateful, fearful, hurtful, frowny, and angry
- She is afraid of almost everything including all living beings, and even nature and plants
- This sister thinks negatively despite an easy life, appreciates nothing, and hates life
The Negative Result
- One sister constantly criticizes and complains to salespeople, doctors, and anyone she sees
- She constantly yells at her husband and doesn't appreciate him or give him any affection
- She constantly berates her overweight son, doesn't love him or accept him or his passions
- She is resentful towards her deceased mother and feels her childhood was very difficult
- She doesn't thank her son at all or want to touch the flowers he got her for Mother's Day
- This sister thinks negatively, acts poorly towards others, so she feels depressed and upset
A Positive Attitude
- One sister lives in a small, run-down, upper floor apartment which she adorns with plants
- She has two healthy daughters and she no longer has a husband or anyone who helps her
- She works hard as a hairdresser and makes all the money to support her and her daughters
- She is very positive, optimistic, content, grateful, hopeful, helpful, smiley, and happy
- She is peaceful with everything and everyone, including upset customers, and loves nature
- This sister thinks positively despite a hard life, appreciates what she has, and enjoys life
The Positive Result
- One sister listens to her friends, her customers, and enjoys providing a service to everyone
- She loves her daughters, who enjoy being around her and are talkative and playful with her
- She supports her daughters, who exercise and help her any way they can around the house
- She is respectful towards her deceased mother and feels that her childhood was enjoyable
- She appreciates the small things like a glass of wine with her plants after a tough work day
- This sister thinks positively, acts kindly towards others, so she feels content and happy
December 4th, 2025
Meditate Every Day
Meditate every day because it improves your wellbeing and your mind by helping you to become more relaxed, focused, and aware of all the unnecessary thoughts in your head, which can make you happier and more relaxed and focused on each day you meditate.
What
- Sit down and breathe slowly and deeply for some amount of minutes at least once a day
- Attempt to clear your mind of thoughts and focus on one thing, such as your breathing
- Focus on your breath, body, surroundings, or close your eyes to focus on one thing
- Don't worry if thoughts creep into your mind, just try to let them go, breathe, and focus
- You can also try saying a mantra like "I'm grateful for today. I'm hopeful for the future."
- You may also spend time focusing or contemplating on single projects, goals, or dreams
Why
- Breathing deeply may provide oxygen to the brain which is key for our brain functioning
- Relaxing our mind may allow it to make new connections, which occurs when we sleep
- It may help us become more focused, improve our concentration, and get things done
- It may help us become more relaxed, improve our happiness, and feel naturally calmer
- It may help us process our thoughts, be more creative, and improve our critical thinking
- It may help us slow down and recognize that the thoughts in our head are not our reality
April 1, 2025
Ask Open Ended Questions
Ask open-ended questions by remembering the acronym WHI and starting with why, what, how, and in what way, in order to become a better listener who encourages longer and more revealing answers from people.
- WHI? - Why? - What? How? In what way? - Yes/Open
- WHO? - Who? - When? Where? Would you? - No/Closed
- Asking open-ended questions allows others to share their thoughts
- Asking open-ended questions allows you to become a better listener
- Why, what, how, and "in what way" encourage long open answers
- Who, when, where, and "would you" encourage short fixed answers
March 25, 2025
Organize Music Into 2-4-6 Singles
I organized my entire music library so that every album now has either 2, 4, 6, or 8 singles or picks in it. Believe it or not, I don't think I have OCD, but it was incredibly rewarding and worthwhile nonetheless.
Take Dated Notes
I wonder if it is better and simpler to make sure you always date your notes, and to only take dated notes instead of trying to organize them for reference.
How To Get Things Done
When it comes to completing tasks, finishing projects, reaching goals, achieving dreams, or doing anything else in this world, I think you need to know what steps to take.
I believe we need to focus on exactly what to do, and less on how or why to do something. These are what I have found to be the 8 most important actual steps you need to take when trying to complete any project, accomplish any goal, reach any dream, or make any change in your life. We're talking the nuts and bolts of exactly what to do to get things done. Whether it is a dream as huge as climbing a mountain, a goal as big as writing a book, a weekend project like painting the deck, or a task as small as getting milk at the grocery store.
Introduction
Make separate lists of tasks and goals you want to get done.
Dream big dreams. Believe all things are possible. - Unknown
I have tried many different methods, advice, tips, and tricks to reach your dreams and achieve your goals. I have used trial and error from many amazing writers to find out what really works. The result is that I have found these steps to be the most essential actions to take when trying to reach a goal, complete a task, or make any change in your life and in the lives of others. These are the 8 key steps which have allowed me to set and achieve goals and dreams. I believe and hope they will work for you as well.
How To Get Things Done (Extended)
When it really comes down to reaching goals, or doing anything else in this world, I think you need to know what steps to take. There is so much information out there about how to set and achieve your goals and dreams. But I believe we need to focus on exactly what to do, and less on how or why to do something.
So with that in mind, these are what I have found to be the 7 most important actual steps that you need to take when trying to accomplish any goal, reach any dream, or make any change in your life. We're talking the nuts and bolts of exactly what to do to get things done. Whether it is a dream as huge as climbing a mountain, a goal as big as writing a book, a weekend project like painting the deck, or a task as small as getting milk at the grocery store.
Introduction
Dream big dreams. Believe all things are possible. - Unknown
I have read some important books on reaching goals including Think and Grow Rich, The Alchemist, The Magic of Thinking Big, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Atlas Shrugged, and Getting Things Done. I have gathered a lot of information from all of the books and countless articles I have read on the subject. I've been pretty obsessed with this stuff and enjoy reading and learning about how to reach your goals, achieve your dreams, get things done, and improve your life.
I have tried many different methods, advice, tips, and tricks to reach your dreams and achieve your goals. I have used trial and error from many amazing writers to find out what really works. The result is that I have found these steps to be the most essential actions to take when trying to reach a goal, complete a task, or make any change in your life and in the lives of others. These are the 7 key steps which have allowed me to set and achieve goals and dreams. I believe and hope they will work for you as well.
Goals And Dream For Life Thinkist
I love reading and learning about the following subjects and feel I've learned a great deal about them.
- Life Improvement
- Goal Setting and Habits
- Productivity and Task Management
- Lifehacking and Software
- Simplicity and Minimalism
- Happiness and Positivity
- Physical and Mental Health
- Simple Finances and Independence
There are a lot of great websites and resources out there for learning about these topics. Essentially places for learning about how to live life. One thing I've noticed is that there is so much information out there that it can be hard to find the good stuff. That is a gap that Life Thinkist hopes to at least help fill.
One main goal of Life Thinkist will be to find links to the best articles out there. Life Thinkist may not provide really long commentary other than maybe a paragraph or a sentence to many links and articles. It's a place to come to in order to find the great news and resources out there on life improvement written by many great writers. We still may provide some longer features written here because I also have some ideas myself that I may sometimes feel inspired to write about. But these longer features will probably be infrequent, and the main goal will be to provide the best news and links that are out there.
Keep Notes In Text Files
Why would you choose to use text files for notes and lists instead of using a notes app? There are a number of advantages to writing your notes in simple .txt files using a text editor.
Keeping notes and lists in text files might not be everyone's cup of tea. But here are a few of the key reasons why I have kept a lot of notes, lists, tasks, journals, and other information in regular old text files.
1. Open Anywhere and No Data Lock-In
What's great about using .txt files for notes and lists is that you can open the files literally on any device. You don't have to worry about having the app or web app to open your files and read your information. You don't have to worry about your information being locked into a file format, operating system, or website that you can't get it out of. With Evernote, you need to use their apps and their apps only. They hold your data hostage, and if they decided now not to offer a free version, you'd either have to pay whatever they said to pay for it or be out of luck with all of your data.
2. Future Proof and Company Independent
You can open text files on any device, both now and way in the future. Text doesn't depend on a single company or piece of software existing to support a file format or web service. Plus, if you ever find or build a working time machine, you could even open a text file on a computer from 30 years ago. Though I don't know why you'd want to go back to the 80's. Before Google Keep, Google had Google Notes and they completely terminated it leaving people kind of helpless if they had used it. They came out with Google Keep, an extremely similar product, years later.
Spiritual Values List
- Hopeful - Feeling what is wanted can be had or events will turn out for the best
- Grateful - Warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful
- Content - Satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else
- Present - Being, existing, or occurring at this time or now; current
- Positive - Emphasizing what is laudable, hopeful, or to the good; constructive
- Kind - Of a good or benevolent nature or disposition, as a person
Work Without The Spotlight
The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. - Muhammad Ali
Give Sincere Appreciation
Give honest and sincere appreciation. - Dale Carnegie
- Lincoln once began a letter saying: "Everybody likes a compliment."
- William James said: "The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated."
- He didn't speak, mind you, of the "wish" or the "desire" or the "longing" to be appreciated.
- He said the "craving" to be appreciated.
- Let's try to figure out the other person's good points.
- Then forget flattery. Give honest, sincere appreciation.
Be Who You Are
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. - Bernard M. Baruch
Decide Who You're Going To Be
At some point, you got to decide for yourself who you’re going to be. Can’t let nobody make that decision for you. - Moonlight Movie
Adjust To Improve The Situation
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. - William Arthur Ward
Take Hourly Breaks To Refocus
Take a quick break every hour to evaluate what you have done and refocus on what you should do next.
- STEP 2 (1 minute every hour) Refocus.
- Set your watch, phone, or computer to ring every hour.
- When it rings, take a deep breath, look at your list and ask yourself if you spent your last hour productively.
- Then look at your calendar and deliberately recommit to how you are going to use the next hour.
- Manage your day hour by hour.
- Don’t let the hours manage you.
An 18 minute plan for managing your day - Harvard Business Review
Respect People Outside Groups
People may often do inconsiderate things when they are in groups, and people who strongly affiliate with one group of people may naturally want to harm outsiders who are not in that group.
- When people get together in groups, unusual things can happen — both good and bad.
- Groups create important social institutions that an individual could not achieve alone, but there can be a darker side to such alliances:
- Belonging to a group makes people more likely to harm others outside the group.
- In a study that recently went online in the journal NeuroImage, the researchers measured brain activity in a part of the brain involved in thinking about oneself.
- They found that in some people, this activity was reduced when the subjects participated in a competition as part of a group, compared with when they competed as individuals.
- Those people were more likely to harm their competitors than people who did not exhibit this decreased brain activity.
Do Something Despite Fear
Courage isn't the absence of fear, but an urgent impulse to do something despite fear. - Grant Cardone