Reaching Out for Help

August 29, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

You do not need to know all the answers. Admit it when that is the case.

No one person can know everything she needs to know.

One of the reasons we build communities, develop friendships, and even marry; is because we are social beings. We need to be with others. That is not just a “comfort thing,” it is also a “support thing.”

There is no shame in learning. As a matter of fact, whom do you respect more; someone who doesn’t know what he’s doing and refuses to get help, or someone who recognizes she needs help – and asks for it?

If you don’t know how to do something, reach out to someone who does. Be respectful of her time. Thank her for it when you’re done.

And then make sure to pay it forward for the next person.

Note: Every Monday, a new motivational memo is posted. Subscribers to ThisTimeIMeanIt.com’s coaching service get this – and many more benefits – sent to them directly. If you’d like to know more, follow this link.

Stop Worrying so Much

August 15, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Worry is interest on a debt not yet owed.

We get confused. We think if we can just worry “hard enough,” we can make things go better.

Logically, that doesn’t make sense. But this isn’t about logic. It’s about emotion.

If something is worrying you, follow this simple plan:

1) Ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” If the answer is minimal, refocus your thoughts on something else.
2) If it’s severe, ask yourself, “Can I do anything about this?”
3) If the answer is “no,” it’s time to get support and let go. If the answer is “yes,” it’s time to do something.

No path leads to more worrying.

Worrying depletes your ability to solve the tough problems, and ruins your mood the remainder of the time.

Note: Every Monday, a new motivational memo is posted. Subscribers to ThisTimeIMeanIt.com’s coaching service get this – and many more benefits – sent to them directly. If you’d like to know more, follow this link.

This Too Shall Pass: Optimism is the Key

July 28, 2011 by Featured Author

Sometimes we start thinking that it doesn’t matter what we do, instead of having desired results we will always be having opposite effects. And then we become hopeless beings and start giving up.

How to come out of it?
How to remain positive during tough times?
How to be an optimistic?

These are the questions we would be trying to answer through this article.

Life does not always work the way we want.

Ups and downs are part of life. Sometimes we feel like whole world is against us. Whatever we want to do others won’t let us. It looks like nothing is working in our favor. But that’s not the end of the world. Life is full of surprises and unexpected turns. This makes life more beautiful. You just have to open your eyes to this beauty and embrace it with full heart.

Optimism is about to be happy. It’s about believing in your abilities. Believing that you can make things happen even when circumstances are against you.

There are some tips which can help you to stay positive during negative times:

[Read more…]

Food as an Addiction: How to Handle Slip Ups

July 20, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

He was celebrating four years of sobriety.

When I asked how he knew it was time to initially seek help, he said, “I finally realized I had no control over alcohol. I thought about it all the time. I couldn’t wait to drink. I was obsessed with it. I needed a place to get help.” As I listened, I thought, “Substitute the ‘food’ for ‘alcohol,’ and that’s me.” It was one of the triggers in getting me to lose my weight.

It was also the instant I realized that overeating is every bit as much of an addiction as drugs or alcohol.

We don’t like to think of overeating as an addiction for several reasons. First of all, it’s part of the norm to eat too much. That would make us a country of addicts, and true as that might be, we sure don’t want to admit it. Moreover, there are no age restrictions, you can do it in public, and it’s legal. Eating too much might make you fat, but a cop won’t pull you over for a 300-triglyceride level, it won’t cause you to black out, nor do unwise things you’ll regret with morning’s light.

Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary defines addiction as, “persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be physically, psychologically, or socially harmful.” Let’s be clear; when you’re hiding goodies in your purse, lying on the bed to tighten your belt, or avoiding social gatherings because you’re afraid of the reactions; it’s a safe bet you’ve met the entry qualifications for addicted.

The bigger problem is, unlike the more nefarious addictions, we cannot “just say no.” As difficult as it might be, an alcoholic can swear off booze, and a smoker can refuse cigarettes. We, however, must continue to indulge while learning to set arbitrary, always shifting, sometimes ill defined limits about what constitutes “too far.”

Sure, a half-gallon of ice cream is a pretty clear violation of self-control. One could say the same for a quart, maybe. But where do we draw the line? Is a cup all right? What about two? To the alcoholic, an ounce is too much. For us, where does it start?

[Read more…]

Six Ways to Motivate Yourself Each Day

July 15, 2011 by Featured Author

There are plenty of things working against you when it comes to staying motivated.

With laptops, tablets, and smartphones, there are millions of online distractions at your fingertips. Many people feel discouraged by the economic recession, especially when it comes to career and financial goals. But, at the end of the day, staying motivated is

up to you. With these six strategies, you can keep yourself motivated to do achieve your dreams.

1. Read a list of your short-term and long-term goals daily.

It’s easy to get derailed when you lose track of your goals. To remind yourself why you want to stay motivated in the first place, make a list of your short-term and long-term goals. Then, keep it in a place you’ll see each day.

Your short-term goals cover what you want to do within the next few days, weeks, or months. Your long-term goals are what you’d like to do within the next few years or decades. For example, paying off your credit balance early this month might be your short-term goal, while earning an excellent credit score might be your long-term goal. Choosing challenging but realistic goals will give you a reason to keep on truckin’.

2. Write a to-do list with prioritized items each morning.

Writing a to-do list each morning is a classic way to keep yourself motivated. Number the items on your to-do list according to how important they are. Don’t start the items at the bottom until you finish the items at the top. If you find your to-do list is too long, crop out the least important items to keep yourself focused.

3. Split big jobs into smaller jobs.

Once you have your to-do list, you may be put off by just how hard the items at the top seem. One way to get yourself going is to break these tasks into smaller sub tasks. For example, let’s say your task is to clean up the garage. Depending on how messy it is, that could take all day!

So, split that job into bite-size chunks. Step one could be “pick up all items on the floor.” Step two could be “sort unneeded items into piles to either be donated or thrown away.” You get the idea. Often, when you have a big task, the hardest part is getting started. Once you get going, you’re more motivated to continue.

Another related way to divide up a big task is to work on it ten minutes at a time. For example, you could go to the garage, set the timer on your cell phone for ten minutes, and work on only cleaning up the garage for those 10 minutes. When the timer rings, you can work on another task. That way, instead of thinking “it’s going to take forever to fix this mess,” you can focus on doing the best you can for those ten minutes. [Read more…]

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