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Comfort Zone

persistence

The Power of Persistence

Business, Comfort Zone, Helpful Tips, Self Care
persistence

The Power of Persistence

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I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had someone tell me, “you’re nothing if not persistent.” When I get an idea in my head, I’m like a dog with a bone. I just cannot let it go and will do everything possible to make it a reality. Is this the reason for my continued success? I believe so.

Sometimes the secret to success is simple: just keep trying.

Being highly persistent is something that can help you make all kinds of amazing things happen. Like the little ant that moved the rubber tree plant, truly remarkable things can happen when you just don't give up.

Personally, giving up is not an option for me, seriously. I have serious F.O.M.O. (fear of missing out) and always wonder “what if.” Because of this, I simply cannot quit.

But the truth of the matter is that some people may simply be born more persistent than others – or they may have learned the behavior when they were very young.  So this bears asking, is it too late to 'decide' to be persistent right now?

Whether or not one's personality can be 'changed' over time is a matter that is contentious among psychologists. However, I believe there are things you can do to make being persistent easier for yourself. But before we can learn to be persistent, we must first understand why we are not persistent.

Why We Give Up

Oftentimes, we fail to stick at things after the first or second failure. Many become disheartened when something doesn’t work out just as planned or as quickly as one would like, and they simply give up.

Here are three of the main reasons we tend to quit:

Reason #1: Effort and Time

One of the biggest reasons we tend to give up and stop being persistent is that whatever it is we're doing takes time – too much time. If you're writing client proposals and getting no responses, this can often seem like a big waste of time; the same goes for starting exercise regimes that don't offer up fast results. The world we live in today is instantaneous, and we want the same with our results.

Reason #2: Our Egos

One of the biggest reasons we often give up trying is that it hurts our ego to fail. If you've failed a business start-up five times (raising my hand here), then you'll be putting your ego through the wringer each time – especially when you have to tell your family and friends. Thus we often make excuses to give up trying, so we can protect ourselves.

Reason #3: Politeness

In many cases, we don't persist because we don't want to "be a bother." While this might sound reasonable on paper, the reality is that you're actually giving up on your dream to be less of a nuisance. Like it or not, being a nuisance is often what you must do to make things happen for you!

Flip the Persistent Switch to ON

We're always told how we can achieve anything if we put our minds to it – how if we keep putting in the time and effort, we will eventually start to see our efforts pay off. It seems that the key ingredient to success in all its forms is persistence. So how do you flip that persistence switch on:

Increase Your Energy

Self-care is one of my favorite topics. Proper self-care keeps the body going. If you’re struggling with fatigue or frustration, you will also struggle to flip your persistence switch on. But having the right diet and exercise regime built around increasing your mitochondria count can do wonders for you. If you have more energy, you won’t have to rely on willpower to be persistent!

Clearly Define Your Goals

Being persistent is often a result of having clearly defined goals that you're willing to work tirelessly towards. If you know precisely what it is that you're trying to achieve and you know precisely how you're going to achieve it, then it's just a matter of executing that plan even when it's exhausting or daunting.

Have a Support Network

go you

We derive strength from those around us. When we're at our last ebb, we think of all the people who believe in us and the people we don't want to let down. Just knowing you have people cheering for you to succeed can often be all it takes!

 Practice

And you know what? Persistence takes practice. Even if you find you're prone to giving up, consistently trying to try can help you to develop the persistence you need. Don't give up on not giving up!

Persistence can really pay off. In all kinds of circumstances, you have nothing to lose by trying again and everything to gain if you're successful.

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.

The simple fact of the matter is that the more times you try, the more opportunity you have to win.

The Power of Persistence Read More »

looking for a fresh start

5 Questions to Ask When Looking for a Fresh Start

Business, Comfort Zone, Goals and Business Planning, Self Care, Strategic Thinking
looking for a fresh start

5 Questions to Ask When Looking for a Fresh Start

virtual assistant

That's it. You've had it. Life is just not going as well as you'd like. It's time for a change, a Fresh Start! Sometimes starting over and cleaning off the slate is just what the doctor ordered. I should know; I'm the Fresh Start Queen. But how do you know where to begin? How do you know if you need a fresh start or maybe just a break?

It's simple. You start by asking yourself these five questions:

1. What Do You Really Desire?

Too often, what we think is a change in our life is nothing more than a dressed-up version of the old. To avoid falling into this trap, you must look at real and actual change.

Start by asking these hard questions:

  1. What do you want out of the change?
    • Probably the most important question, so spend some time with it. Be brutally honest with yourself. Even if it's only to spend Saturday morning watching cartoons as when we were kids, you must understand exactly what you want.
  2. How are you not getting this in your current situation?
    • Remember the saying, "You can't see the forest through the trees," and dig deep here. Take off those blinders and look around.
  3. What would you need to do to attain this?
    • Create your roadmap. Write out a few SMART goals and create your plan to make this change happen.
  4. And finally, what's one positive change you can make right now that will place you closer to this dream?
    • Declare your desires as if you have already obtained them. Speak affirmatively about your needs rather than focus on what you do not have or dissatisfaction.

2. How Many Risks Are You Willing to Take?

Fresh starts will demand a commitment from you, which manifests in how much of yourself you are willing to put into the project. If you are not willing to risk a new way of life or much in the form of change, you will not have much success.

I mentioned earlier that I am the Queen of Fresh Starts. I've never been one to shy away from going after what I want. About fifteen years ago, I made a huge decision to start a new life. As the Little Rascal's song goes, "packed what I could, sold what I couldn't, stopped to fill up on my way out of town," and my next verse was "start spreading the news…" and just like that, I left my job, my family, my home and moved to New York.

I didn't know anyone in New York, but I had accepted a contract position as a network administrator and knew this was the opportunity I had been looking for my entire life. So I took the risk, and those who know me will tell you, it was the best thing I ever did for myself.

3. What is Different About the Life You're Proposing

If you are looking for a new beginning, there must be something 'new,' or you are not starting over. Instead, you are merely continuing what you've been doing all along. So, what is the thing you haven't done before?

For me, it was freefalling. I didn't have a backup plan this time because I never once thought I was making a mistake. 

4. What Are You Giving Up?

A new beginning means something else is ending. So what are you leaving behind? 

I was giving up the stability of my family and friends, of knowing an area so well I could make it home blindfolded. I was giving up my comfort zone. 

Remember that this question doesn't imply you must abandon every aspect of your past. Sometimes we are leaving behind only a small part of our life.

5. Are You Truly Ready to Let Go of the Past?

This last question can be challenging because you might not know the answer until you have begun. Your fresh start will fail if your past baggage is weighing you down. At the very least, it helps to have a positive attitude about letting go and are willing to do the work to make this happen.

In the end, these questions will give you some idea of what to expect as you embark on this journey of letting go. After all, being prepared truly is half the battle.

5 Questions to Ask When Looking for a Fresh Start Read More »

Is Your Comfort Zone Holding You Back? Part 2

Comfort Zone, Virtual Assistant News

Struggling to achieve your goals?

Maybe your comfort zone is the reason.

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We all have high aspirations. However, it can be hard to turn those dreams and goals into a reality. The truth is many of us struggle to reach our goals. The reason frequently involves our apprehension about stepping out of our comfort zone.

It’s true that nothing ever happens in our comfort zone. It’s the place that keeps us in the “someday” mode of pushing our goals to the side until the time is right, for another day or when you have more skills, money, and time.

Unfortunately, “someday” never happens. Eventually the life you dreamed of becomes a memory, a wish-I-would-have thought. Our fear of trying something different, putting ourselves out there and going for it keeps us from taking action. We let our comfort zone keep us safe.

Your comfort zone keeps you paralyzed from attempting what you desire. You may have goals and dreams but are afraid of the what-if’s that might happen when you do try. Instead, it’s safer to stay where you’re comfortable instead of getting hurt or humiliated by attempting your goal.

Maybe you’re afraid of speaking to a large group of people so you don’t go after the next level in your career, even though it is what you desire. You keep to yourself and stay in your current position instead where you’re comfortable.

Maybe you don’t go after your desire to start your own business because you’re afraid of failing. You stay in a job that you hate instead. Maybe you don’t try new adventures because you have an aversion to meeting new people and looking foolish. So you stay at home in your comfort zone.

Some of the reasons you stay in your comfort zone might be from:

  • Fear of the unknown, uncertainty
  • Anxiety over change
  • Negative mindset, pessimistic outlook
  • Lack of clarity and focus
  • Fear of failing (or succeeding)

No matter what it looks like, your comfort zone is keeping you trapped. You stop advancing professionally. You don’t grow and develop personally. You eat the same way, live in the same place, drive the same kind of car, and associate with the same people.

Your comfort zone lets you willingly pass up important opportunities. Because of this, you might lose touch with your relationships, your health may begin to have serious problems, and you end up living a life of mediocrity.

Your unwillingness to take action and step out of your comfort zone, for whatever reason, directly impacts your goals. If you are afraid to take the next step, and never do, you’ll stay where you’re at. If you worry what will happen if you go for your goal so you end up not going for it, then you won’t ever reach it.

When you see yourself struggling to achieve your goals it’s often because you are stuck in your comfort zone. You are afraid of change, of doing things differently and being someone different.

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Is Your Comfort Zone Holding You Back? Part 2 Read More »

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