Be the Best Version of You

“I need to stop trying to become perfect and just try to become better.”

Sasha Cohen, U.S. Figure Skater

How often do you want everything to be just right?  To be the best?  To excel?  While they are all good aims, sometimes aiming for perfection stops you from even starting.  Why not just aim to take action, learn, improve and get better?

A mentor of mine often spoke about how she aims for 80% and above.  That she deliberately makes mistakes in what she does to teach others – her message is that it’s all about taking action and not being perfect!  She has an extremely successful business so that is when I decided it was time to drop aiming for perfection and just focus on taking action - no longer waiting for the ducks to all line up – no longer waiting for everything to be perfect.

The difference this one step made to me, my life and my results is amazing.  Think about where you have been chasing perfection.  Change your focus from perfection to daily improvement.

*Photo courtesy of Figure Skaters Online

Abandon Fear This Year

Fear of what might happen is a waste of time and energy. If the thing you are worrying about doesn’t happen, you have wasted all that time and energy for nothing.

Take a moment to think about what it is you fear. Now think about what is the worst thing that could happen. Is it really likely to happen? Is there something you could learn from it if it did happen?

What things did you used to fear? I was walking to school with my daughters today, aged 11 and 8, and we were talking about how we used to fear monsters under our bed when we were young.

Now we are more mature, we know that our fear and the energy we put into it was wasted time and energy.

Think about some other things in the past that you may have feared and how do you feel about them now?

Fear can stop you from trying new things.

A great way to overcome fear is to imagine yourself after you have done it. How do you feel now that you have tackled and overcome your fear?

This way, you get to visualise yourself doing whatever it was you are afraid of. You also get to feel all the emotions of success.

Designing Your Morning Routine

How do you wake up of a morning? Strange question, I know, but something you may want to think about is your morning routine.

Do you struggle to get out of bed unmotivated by the day ahead? Well perhaps this year, change the way you wake up. Try something different if it will serve you well.

When you first wake up, take a moment and stay in bed and be thankful. Be thankful for the wonderful night’s sleep, be thankful for the comfortable bed, and be thankful for the warm blankets. Just be thankful.

Then take a moment to say to yourself, “Today is going to be a wonderful day.” Smile and you are ready to rise - happy from the start.

I heard about one lady who, every day when she wakes, says to herself – “This is a day that has never been lived and a day that will never be lived again. It's my day."

Isn’t that a wonderful way to start the day?

Enjoying Christmas – Final Countdown

The house is cleaned, the gifts are wrapped, the decorations are up, most of the functions are out of the way. Wow – we got there. It is now the week before Christmas and it is time for the little details.

It is time to:

• Buy some flowers
• Wrap the last presents
• Buy final perishable foods
• Check your camera and videos are charged
• Buy some batteries [we always need these at Christmas]
• Have your last few days planned out so your head is clear

Things to include in your final plan:

• Defrosting any meats
• Preparing the table
• Preparing any food that can be done early
• Make sure you have enough cutlery and crockery
• Get your clothes out and organised
• Get your sleep

Plan Your Christmas Eve

• Spend time with the kids in the park so they are tired and will go to sleep early
• Have an easy meal or go out for dinner
• Watch a Christmas movie or read a Christmas story
• Deliver gifts to neighbours
• Open one special gift each
• Take photos by the Christmas tree
• Put out milk and cookies for Santa

Please make every effort you can to enjoy the day. It is special. You are with people who mean a lot to you.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, enjoy the festive season with the ones you love. Thank you for being part of the LifeStyle Refocus Community.