It’s called gratitude and it’s scientifically proven to boost your happiness by 25%!

Plus if you have any friends who feel meditation is just too out there (even though, it really isn’t), you can get them into gratitude instead.

Check out this quote from a study by Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis and Dr. Michael McCollough of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas:

The first group kept a diary of the events that occurred during the day… the second group recorded their unpleasant experiences, [and] the last group made a daily list of things for which they were grateful.

The results of the study indicated that daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy. Additionally, the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress, was more likely to help others, exercised more regularly and made more progress toward personal goals. According to the findings, people who feel grateful are also more likely to feel loved.

McCollough and Emmons also noted that gratitude encouraged a positive cycle of reciprocal kindness among people since one act of gratitude encourages another… McCullough suggests that anyone can increase their sense of well-being and create positive social effects just from counting their blessings.

Not bad. If you haven’t already, I really recommend you get in on the gratitude community by joining GratitudeLog. Totally free and it’s like the Facebook of gratitude.

Have a look at the rest of this article from Tim Ferriss (author of the 4-Hour Workweek) below for more details on the perks of being grateful:

Don’t Like Meditation? Try Gratitude Training.

By Tim Ferriss from the FourHourWorkweek.com

Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist monk and zen teacher once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King, Jr., has a knack for making the esoteric understandable.

In discussing what some call “present state awareness”–experiencing and savoring the present—he offers a simple parable:

Let’s say that you want to eat a peach for dessert one evening, but you decide to only allow yourself this luxury after washing the dishes. If, while washing the dishes, all you think of is eating the peach, what will you be thinking of when you eat the peach?

The clogged inbox, that difficult conversation you’ve been putting off, tomorrow’s to-do list?

The peach is eaten but not enjoyed, and so on we continue through life, victims of a progressively lopsided culture that values achievement over appreciation. But let’s get specific.

If we define “achievement” as obtaining things we desire (whether raises, relationships, cars, pets, or otherwise) that have the potential to give us pleasure, let’s define “appreciation” as our ability to get pleasure out of those things. To focus on the former to the exclusion of the latter is like valuing cooking over eating.

How then, do we develop the skill of appreciation, which is tied so closely to present state awareness?

There are a few unorthodox tools that we’ve explored already for state awareness, like the 21-day no-complaint experiment, but the most common mainstream prescription is meditation.

The problem with meditation is that it too often gets mixed with mysticism and judgment (attempting to forcefully exclude certain thoughts and emotions). Who really wants to visualize a candle flame for 30 minutes? It can work, but it doesn’t work for most.

Here’s where we enter the 60-second solution: gratitude training. From Cornell to the University of Michigan, scientists are looking at the far-reaching effects of practicing gratitude just like exercise.

Here is one example from Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis and Dr. Michael McCollough of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas:

“The first group kept a diary of the events that occurred during the day… the second group recorded their unpleasant experiences, [and] the last group made a daily list of things for which they were grateful.

The results of the study indicated that daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy. Additionally, the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress, was more likely to help others, exercised more regularly and made more progress toward personal goals. According to the findings, people who feel grateful are also more likely to feel loved.

McCollough and Emmons also noted that gratitude encouraged a positive cycle of reciprocal kindness among people since one act of gratitude encourages another… McCullough suggests that anyone can increase their sense of well-being and create positive social effects just from counting their blessings.”

Click to continue reading »

And if you haven’t signed  up yet, get your happiness on with GratitudeLog.com. It’s like the Facebook of gratitude that my company has developed. Totally free and a lot of fun.

The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch.

“The 80/20 Principle, like the truth, can make you free. You can work less. At the same time, you can earn more and enjoy more. The only price is that you need to do some serious 80/20 thinking.”

Paulo Coelho

I’ve been a Carnegie fans since I was 14 (yes, I started on self growth early). But oddly, I’ve never read this book despite reading and re-reading his “How to Win Friends and Influence People” seven times cover to cover.

How To Stop Worrying And Start Living by Dale Carnegie.

“Seventy per cent of all patients who come to physicians could cure themselves if they got rid of their fears and worries”

Before you start your discussion, check out this video Brian’s made for today’s Note.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Oh! And one more thing. Twitter users, don’t forget to add #50days to your tweets.

Can’t wait to get the discussion going on today’s Note. Talk to you guys tomorrow and if you haven’t got your 100 PhilosophersNotes yet, you can grab them here »

Came across this blog post of a woman who’s doing the PhilosophersNotes Challenge already. Her first day was yesterday and it’s looking pretty good.

Think of this as a sneak peak into your future if you decided to digest a new way of thinking every day.

The results are extraordinary and she even calls it her “Perfect Day”.

This is awesome stuff. If you’re looking to start your perfect day, click here to join 115 of us in the PhilosphersNotes Challenge »

A Perfect Day

By Cindi French from PlanetBi-Polar.blogspot.com

Truly it was.

The morning began with the first of our Philosophers Notes challenge. Jace and I are listening to 1 podcast daily.

The plan is over breakfast so that you start the day with a new thought.

Interesting today was a New Earth.I have the book downloaded and had planned on a chapter a day so it was auspicious that we began there. I came to the realization that what I have been unhappy with is not my life but the way I live it.

I am not being authentically me. I am not inwardly the person I appear to be outwardly and the one I hold in my head.

This only adds to my angst and increases my hyper critical thinking of myself and others. Kinda cool actually, that I got that. I don’t need to change anything about my life I just need to live it at 100%. Quit cheating.

I feel like I actually got it. Understood where the self sabotage, non compliance  comes in.

I will also be doing some work on Ego. I need a better understanding of it as this is what creates anxiety and fear, my mortal enemies,

Haaaa and that was just breakfast.

So with that came the reason I had to hit the gym. I said I was to burn 2200 cal a day and I will not do it sitting on a stool in the kitchen. Now that I understand why I want to do it , doing it becomes much simpler.

I also got the mail and opened it up. No more creating room for fear. DWT.

After lunch I bundled up and walked to get some tasks done. I met a new PT and will start work on repairing my ankle tomorrow.

I walked to the library and picked up new books. I have decided only 3 at a time. Its a great way to burn calories having that walk to do more than once a week. I took the long way home and wandered thru the Bay. I reminded myself I was in no hurry and movement was what I was after.

Picked up some groceries and came home.

Reviewed some client stuff.

I also made some decisions about my diet. I had walked for 2 hours in –20 and wanted hot soup.

I chose the brand carefully watching the ingredient and calories.

I have to learn not to hang on so tight. I stayed within my guidelines but allowed myself to have something I wanted. Progress.

Did my day 4 of Yoga and really worked on being mindful. Its going to be a great place to practice it daily no matter what else happens in that day.

When I returned from Yoga I synced my armband and for the first time had hit all the goals I had set.

I burned 2300w/goal 2200

a 1350– cal defecit

walked 17863 steps w/goal of 15000

2:45 min of physical activity w/goal of 1:50.

All by simply focusing on being present.

It was, a perfect day.

Thanks for posting this Cindi.

Turn a perfect day into a perfect year. Join us in the PhilosophersNotes challenge »

Why? Because according to several studies in the field of will power and New Year’s resolutions, it appears that the more you try to change, the less permanent change there will be.

So surprise, surprise. Humans don’t have the best willpower. Turns out, when we overload our brains with stress and goals, we’re way less likely to follow through on a new habit, lose weight, or quit smoking. When it comes to getting rid of bad habits and creating new habits, it appears that doing one thing at a time is best.

I really recommend reading this article. Even if you’re not planning to go into 2010 with a resolution,  everyone should understand how their minds work. Especially when it comes to personal development and being the best you. The studies alone are worth reading about (some interesting stuff about food, eating, and will power).

And for those who’re planning on losing weight, there’s some really interesting facts and tips in here.

Personally, I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions. My philosophy is, if you have a new practice or goal you want to start working on, why the heck would you wait for the new year? Get started now.

Blame It on the Brain

By Jonah Lehrer

The latest neuroscience research suggests spreading resolutions out over time is the best approach

Willpower, like a bicep, can only exert itself so long before it gives out; it’s an extremely limited mental resource.

Given its limitations, New Year’s resolutions are exactly the wrong way to change our behavior. It makes no sense to try to quit smoking and lose weight at the same time, or to clean the apartment and give up wine in the same month. Instead, we should respect the feebleness of self-control, and spread our resolutions out over the entire year. Human routines are stubborn things, which helps explain why 88% of all resolutions end in failure, according to a 2007 survey of over 3,000 people conducted by the British psychologist Richard Wiseman. Bad habits are hard to break—and they’re impossible to break if we try to break them all at once.

Some simple tricks can help. The first step is self-awareness: The only way to fix willpower flaws is to know about them. Only then can the right mental muscles get strengthened, making it easier to succeed at our annual ritual of self-improvement.

The brain area largely responsible for willpower, the prefrontal cortex, is located just behind the forehead. While this bit of tissue has greatly expanded during human evolution, it probably hasn’t expanded enough. That’s because the prefrontal cortex has many other things to worry about besides New Year’s resolutions. For instance, scientists have discovered that this chunk of cortex is also in charge of keeping us focused, handling short-term memory and solving abstract problems. Asking it to lose weight is often asking it to do one thing too many.

In one experiment, led by Baba Shiv at Stanford University, several dozen undergraduates were divided into two groups. One group was given a two-digit number to remember, while the second group was given a seven-digit number. Then they were told to walk down the hall, where they were presented with two different snack options: a slice of chocolate cake or a bowl of fruit salad.

Here’s where the results get weird. The students with seven digits to remember were nearly twice as likely to choose the cake as students given two digits. The reason, according to Prof. Shiv, is that those extra numbers took up valuable space in the brain—they were a “cognitive load”—making it that much harder to resist a decadent dessert. In other words, willpower is so weak, and the prefrontal cortex is so overtaxed, that all it takes is five extra bits of information before the brain starts to give in to temptation.

This helps explain why, after a long day at the office, we’re more likely to indulge in a pint of ice cream, or eat one too many slices of leftover pizza. (In fact, one study by researchers at the University of Michigan found that just walking down a crowded city street was enough to reduce measures of self-control, as all the stimuli stressed out the cortex.) A tired brain, preoccupied with its problems, is going to struggle to resist what it wants, even when what it wants isn’t what we need.

Click to continue reading »

It scares me how fast time flies by and I’m often left wondering, “Where did it all go?”

So I came across this article that I think would help out anyone who’s ever felt like there just wasn’t enough time to get everything done.

Check it out and if you’ve got any tips, just drop a comment below. Can’t wait to read them.

10 Ways to Gain an Hour in Each Day

by Christine L. Hohlbaum

The stack of books tumbled from my arms onto the floor. One look from the librarian told me I had better slow down or else. She even uttered the words, “Sometimes doing things slowly can actually be faster.”

Should I tell her I wrote the book on it? I opened my mouth, then thought better of it. I had, after all, potentially damaged her property. What she didn’t know was that I was conducting an experiment. I had decided to see what would happen if I actually went against the principles of the “power of slow.” I left the house in a busy state of mind and tried to cram five errands into 30 minutes so I could be at the auto mechanic by 11 AM. The librarian’s words proved the point.

You are more productive when you go slowly.

I breathed in the slow, releasing the cloak of busyness I had purposely donned, then drove the speed limit to the mechanic’s. I arrived right on time.

The power of slow says time is your friend, not your foe. When you embrace time with an abundant attitude, you actually have more of it. You expand your experience of time itself simply through your mindset. Time savoring raises your awareness of what you have in the here and now. By enjoying the moment, you make decisions informed by that abundance. Time abundance, much like time starvation, is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

When asked if I would want one more hour in the day, I say, “No. I have more than enough time.” It seems like an oddball answer to a question most people answer with a resounding “yes!” The truth of the matter is time is a construct we designed. It is an organizing principle to help us make sense of our lives (and to meet up at the same moment at Starbucks). So if it’s not real, why do we treat it like the monster under our bed? Oh right. He’s not real either. Maybe, just maybe, time starvation is in our minds.

Our collective urgency, fear and yearning to stuff more into our day are merely symptoms of a much larger issue: how we relate to time itself. Establishing a positive relationship with time is a lot like investing. You have to give something to get a return. Investing a little time on the front end can give you a surplus at the end. Whether you’re a working woman, retiree, stay-at-home mother or single, here are 10 simple ways to gain more time in your day.

1. Manage expectations. Have you ever seen the look on the person’s face whose expectations you have improperly managed? It’s not pretty. To avoid mismanaged expectations, use the feedback method of communication. Essentially, you feed back to the other person what you think you’ve heard, then ask that person what they heard you just say. Once you have reached an agreement on what has been said and heard, you can be assured both sets of expectations are in alignment. This method can clear up potential misunderstandings on the spot. In addition, it will save you hours of cleaning up the mess you could have prevented had you managed those expectations properly in the first place.

2. Set your priorities. Make a note of your top items each day. Include even the “little things” such as “take out the trash” that would otherwise simmer in your subconscious as a stress point. Create a success chart in which you log the things you would like to accomplish, then move each one to the complete column as you fulfill each task. (Excel is great for this). At the end of the day, you’ll be able to have a visual for all that you’ve managed in your day. Remain flexible in case your priorities shift (leaving a burning building, for instance, is more important than finishing that report on your desk).

Click here to continue reading »

And how many times did you get a high when you completed the program … a powerful sense of feeling on top of the world, feeling focused and strong … but soon after—maybe a few days or even a few hours later—the feeling was gone and nothing really changed?

Why don’t these courses produce lasting change? Based on the hidden theory of change most of us believe, they should.

What is this “hidden theory of change” and why is it so wrong?

Here’s the hidden theory most people believe is true:

Information + Motivation = Change

I know that formula may seem a bit cryptic so I’ll explain it below. When you understand this idea and why it doesn’t work, you’ll be able to identify and avoid the self-help approaches that will never produce results … and more easily identify the ones that do.

First off, people basically think that if you know what to do and are motivated to do it that you’ll change.

So you might read up on the benefits of exercise (Information) then decide that you’d like to have those benefits for yourself (Motivation) and then you join a gym and begin working out (Change).

So it worked right? The information and motivation produced change.

Well, for a short while.

Because you and I both know how this story ends for many people.

They start going to the gym but soon after the feeling of motivation fades and instead of going to the gym three times a week, they end up going two times. Then once a week. Then skipping a week all together. Then it’s been a month or two since they’ve been.

At this point the gym membership is only a drain on their finances.

Why does this happen? And not just to you and few others.

Why does it happen to millions of people?

And not just with exercise. It happens when they set a New Year’s Resolution. It happens when they pledge to stop procrastinating and be more productive. It happens when they say they won’t erupt in anger at their spouse or child the next time there’s a disagreement.

The failure to make lasting changes is happening all around us.

Why is the Information + Motivation = C formula so unworkable?

Here’s why:

It’s not an accurate description of why we are unable to change.

The Complete Formula For Change that really works is:

Information + Motivation – Limiting Beliefs = Change

Sure, to make a change you do need to know what change you want to make (Information) and why you want to make that change (Motivation) but you also must eliminate the internal barriers to change: Limiting Beliefs.

Or no matter what you do you’ll be pulled back into your old behavior every time.

Here’s an example of how one client of mine used the Complete Formula to make LASTING change in his behavior.

The Complete Formula In Action

When Manny called me he told me that he procrastinated a lot of the time. He almost always left work projects until the last minute. As a result, he was often anxious and sometimes would turn projects in late, which caused his boss to get upset with him.

Because of the problems he was experiencing (Information), he decided he must change, and he really wanted to change (Motivation).

I asked him what strategies he tried to help him change. Here’s what he told me:

• I prioritized my activities, because I thought it’d help me focus on the most important stuff and keep me from avoiding those important tasks.
• I made a schedule to help me allot time during the month for work on the most important projects.
• I put up reminders in places I’d see them so that I wouldn’t forget to actually use the schedules and lists I’d created.
• I created rewards to give myself when I finished a project.
• I asked my friends to help me by gently reminding me if I fell off the wagon.

As you can tell, this guy was truly committed to change. He’d tried all the self-help advice out there and still he was calling me for help as his last resort.

Here’s what I told Manny.

It’s not your fault you’ve been unable to change. The strategy of Information + Motivation = Change that you’ve put so much effort into just doesn’t work.

You’ve got to eliminate beliefs to make lasting change.

Beliefs are ideas we have about reality that we are convinced are “the truth.” Because we are guided by what we think “reality” is, our beliefs about ourselves and reality mold our behavior, our emotions, and our attitudes.

Because the Lefkoe Institute is in the belief elimination business, I asked Manny what thoughts he had when he was about to do what he knew he should do at work, just before he put it off and did something else instead.

He gave me the following list.

1. What I do might not be good enough.
2. People might judge my work badly.
3. I feel uncomfortable when I think about doing the project.

Can you see that these thoughts and feelings were keeping him from acting? That most people with those thoughts and feelings probably would procrastinate, especially with important projects?

But where were these thoughts coming from?

After a short discussion we found a number of beliefs that were causing the thoughts and feelings, including these three.

1. I’m not good enough.
2. What makes me good enough is having others think well of me.
3. Mistakes are bad.

These beliefs (and several others) led to the thoughts and feelings that caused Manny’s procrastination.

After I helped him get rid of the beliefs, the procrastination stopped … for good.

Now, if you’ve done any work on beliefs before, some of that work may have been effective … but you may find some really important beliefs that are still there despite the work you’ve done.

Why are some beliefs so difficult to eliminate?

Because most programs designed to eliminate beliefs do not address how a belief was learned … and therefore they cannot show you how to quickly unlearn a belief.

Back in 1985 I stumbled upon a way to bust beliefs that only took me 5–6 hours of difficult work to get through.

This process helped me to unlearn a belief that had been stopping me all my life … and after it and several other beliefs were eliminated I was free to build a million dollar a year company … maintain a blissful relationship with my wife despite having been twice divorced … and raise two happy and healthy daughters in a world in which so many young women lack basic self-esteem.

After over 20 years of trial and error I’ve created a 6-step formula for eliminating beliefs quickly and permanently. Now it only takes 30 minutes or less for you to eliminate a limiting belief.

How to break a belief in 30 minutes or less:

I thought about describing all 6 steps in this article but then I decided you’d get a lot more value if I offered you a chance to try my belief elimination exercise at no cost to you.

Then you could see it work for yourself.

So I created a special page for Finer Minds readers so you can try my process out.

To visit that page click here.

When you see what happens to your life when you bust a belief, I know you won’t be able to get enough of this method until your mind is entirely clear of limiting beliefs.

Cheers,

Morty Lefkoe

Discover your deepest negative belief and ELIMINATE it in 30 minutes or less with Morty’s exclusive belief-breaking technique FREE for FinerMinds readers only »

…

The Power is Within:  How To Tap Into Unlimited Supply Of Riches

By Camillo Loken

He went from being homeless, broke, an alcoholic and paralyzed at the age of 17 to become the 25th richest person in the USA. Bill Bartmann discovered the Power within.

He only earned $4,000 a year, had no business experience, no business network, no education, 
but then he discovered LIFE CHANGING information and tapped into unlimited riches.
 In his first year after studying this information he earned $175,000 and then he earned over 
a $1000,000 the following year. Today he is a multi-millionaire. Bob Proctor discovered The Power Within.

Bill Bartmann and Bob Proctor are just two out of thousands of people with similar stories. These are people who either consciously or unconsciously is tapping into the Power within.  They are enjoying a great life. Their success is based on a certain 
way of thinking.

These people are not born with a certain gift for success or just been lucky. They are like you and me.

 You too can tap into this source of infinite riches, knowledge and power, but 
how?

Here is a list of steps that will help you on your way

You MUST keep an OPEN MIND. Realize that your outer world is created by your inner world. Your current results and situation is a reflection of your past thinking.

Beware of your thoughts. We become what we think about. Man is thinking substance. Think only the best in every situation

Forget about competition – focus on creation. We are all part of One Universal Consciousness and its sole purpose is to create MORE LIFE FOR ALL – less for none.

Forget about getting – concentrate on giving. Always focus on what you can give 
in terms of your time, money, smile, kind words, gestures and more

Meditate twice a day – get into alpha brainwave levels and start visualizing what you want in life

Have faith in yourself and your idea. Never give up. Never let other people’s 
opinion kill your dream.

If you follow the steps above you will receive help in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.

How is this possible?

It is possible because we live in a vibrating, thinking universe filled with energy and with universal laws that govern our lives.

Everything is energy – it’s omnipresent

In the last 20 years science has into sub nucleus levels to discover that the universe is structured in layers of creation. At the lowest level there is a fundamental unity — what Professor John Hagelin calls the Unified field.

At this level we are all connected. We are all part of ONE UNIVERSAL MIND.

The Universal Mind

Our individual consciousness is a hologram of the universal consciousness.

Your thoughts matter and by changing the way you think you change your own life and the life of others.

Your every thought make ripples in the universal sea of energy like a stone thrown into a pond.

Follow your dream and leave your mark.

Make a ripple — make a difference.

Best regards,
Camillo
Founder One Mind — One Energy

Warning. You might be faced with some questions you don’t want to ask yourself.

Click here to view the embedded video.