Monthly Featured Article (May 2018)
Introduction <
Chapter 1 - The Fear of Change <
Chapter 2 - The Power of Change <
Chapter 3 - How to Embrace New Beginnings <
Making A Fresh Start: Embracing New Beginnings
Chapter 4 - Enjoy Your New Beginnings
by Susie J. Briscoe
Take pride in the fact that you’ve taken the first steps in making positive changes in your life. Sometimes it’s difficult for people to accept change and realize that without it, none of us would ever grow.
Some parts of the world discourage change and have been living in the same way for thousands of years. If you can choose to change and have all the help and support you need to make it happen – consider yourself very fortunate.
Even though the changes we make or desire to happen are good for us, we still may approach them with doubt and trepidation. Keep in mind that each day you wake up as an entirely different person than the day before. You’re always changing – and you can choose how you accept the changes.
Here are some ways you can begin to enjoy the changes you’re making deliberately and those which come naturally and as a matter of passing time:
- Focus your energy and time on things and people that make you happy. It’s difficult to be happy and productive when you’re involved in a job or project you don’t like or hang around with negative people and those who are putting you down.
- Choose books carefully -- television shows and any other thing that could lift you up or let you down. A healthy and well-thought out environment is a must if you continue to enjoy your new beginnings.
- Visualize success with your new beginnings. Whether it’s losing weight, going to college or starting a new career, visualize how your life will change when you succeed.
- Plan your strategy. What will you have to do to make your new beginnings succeed? Will you need to quit your job, arrange a different schedule or take courses in a particular area?
- Leave the past behind. Don’t let regrets and old issues cloud your happiness for the present. Don’t even think about the future unless it’s positive thinking rather than fear of failure.
- Think of change as a process and enjoy it. If you think of the journey as a drudge and too much work, you’re not living in the “now” and enjoying life as fully as possible.
When you enjoy your process of change, you’ll begin to love it and look forward to all the positive things that will come your way when you succeed. But, it’s important that you live fully in the present.
Life doesn’t always provide the perfect path for you. Circumstances may be beyond your control and you may think you don’t have a chance to succeed. But, the truth is, you do have the choice and the power to create your own path to success.
The World is Your Oyster
An oyster spends its life in the sea enjoying the environment in its cozy shell. Types of oysters include those who become delicacies for human consumption, those that produce pearls for highly desired jewelry – and those which are gathered for the luminosity of their shells for decorative purposes.
The changes that take place within the oyster shells over a period of time make them highly desirable objects. When you consider the world to be your oyster, all types of grand changes await you that will make you as well-rounded and complete as an oyster.
An oyster doesn’t have a choice in how its life is going to turn out, but you do. The world offers all types of knowledge and opportunities – and if you choose to take advantage of them, you can successfully plot the journey of your life to whatever you want it to be.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Continuing with the theme of a Fresh Start, let's take a look at Kaizen...
Kaizen is often used to describe the process of continuous improvement. That means making lots of small changes on a regular basis in order to ultimately improve on a larger scale. It can be applied to your life areas like Financial, Business, Personal Goals, Relationships, and Health.
Below, you will find a list of quick tips to get you thinking about kaizen and help you identify areas where you can begin to implement small, but powerful, changes in your life and continue with your desire to make A Fresh Start.
Finance:
- Adding Small Income to Your Income
- Decrease spending, investing and increase income
- $100/week with a side job totals $4800 in a year
- Look around for supplemental income opportunities
- How Tiny Savings Really Add Up
- Create the habit of saving $1/day
- If a couple did this that equals $730 in a year
- A couple at $5/day equals $3650 in a year
- How to Afford Anything You Want with Kaizen
- Think of any purchase in terms of how much you need and by when
- Now divide price by the number of days to make it real
- It may be far less than you think in this perspective
- How to Save a Little Bit of Money When You Go Out
- Look for ways to spend less on nights out
- Take cash and leave your card at home
- Research free activities that are just as fun
- Small Ways You Can Start Saving Money That Will Really Add Up
- Look for ways to save money so your income goes further
- Skip the $2.50 on coffee per day to save $600 per year
- Lowering heat by 1 degree can save $100
- Your Life With a 10% Discount - How to Enjoy Better Things for Less
- Try to save 10% on everything you buy
- Many products have vouchers or cash back deals
- Purchase items with high value retention
Business
Multipliers and Automation Can Save Your Business Money
- A force multiplier is anything that amplifies output, i.e. a hammer
- Automation means work gets carried out without human interaction
- Both are valuable because they increase output without increased input
- Be careful to only apply multipliers and automation to "good" processes
- How to Encourage Kaizen in the Workforce
- Improvement in the workforce works best at the individual level
- Giving staff the space and tools for improvement is motivating
- The sense of ownership over their own improvement works best
- Kaizen 101 - Fix Your Computer's Boot-Up Time
- Computer boot-up time can cause wasted time over the long run
- The problem intensifies as more workers are delayed by bad boot times
- Investing into computer efficiency will save time and money
- Kaizen and Sales - How to Measure the Effects of Very Small Changes
- Take the example of a business lead generation (squeeze) page
- Tracking conversions becomes critical to sales success
- Split testing headlines, button colors, and designs can yield huge benefit
- Small Tweaks to Your Products and Services That Can Make All the Difference
- Creating the appearance of value is very important
- Consider color, font, design for products
- Consider speed and attitude for services
- What Saving a Little Money Regularly Can Do for Your Business
- Saving money means keeping more cash in the business
- Small opportunities to save $5/weekday will lead to $1200 saved per year
- This small change may lead to other potential efficiency improvements
Health
Little Changes to Make You Instantly Feel Healthier and More Energetic
- Energy, focus and good mood are key
- Lots of small healthy choices add up
- e.g. Learn to drink tea/coffee without sugar
- Lower the Pass Rate to Achieve Your Fitness Goals
- The best program is one you stick with
- Focus on small wins and progress
- Ensure you feel successful with your training
- Small Purchases That Will Easily Make You Healthier
- Some small purchases will make a huge difference
- e.g. Daylight lamp creates sunlight-like effects
- e.g. Fitness trackers remind you of progress
- Turning Your Everyday Activities into Useful Workouts
- Try micro workouts to get started
- e.g. Every time you bend to get something, touch your toes
- e.g. When you walk, power walk instead
- Want to Get into Shape? Then You Need to Change EVERYTHING but Slowly
- Changing everything at once never works
- Make one short-term choice to promote health
- Stick to it and add more change later
- Why 'Small Health Changes' Sometimes Fail
- Be aware that making small change sometimes means it gets forgotten
- Make sure the change is big enough for measurable benefit
- Create a routine/alarm to instill your changes
Personal Goals
A Blueprint for Continuous Improvement
- People resist big change so start small
- e.g. Buying shirts that don't need ironing saves time and adds up
- e.g. Saving $1 is a great place to start to develop saving habits
- An Introduction to Kaizen for Personal Goals
- Kaizen means taking small steps that add up to big change over time
- Small changes indicate progress which is motivating
- Don't allow the small nature of the change to lessen its overall importance
- Kaizen and Personal Goals - Where to Start
- Your currency for goals is time, energy and money
- Look for areas to make small improvements in all 3 areas
- Start by removing something small that buys you either time, money or energy
- Write Your Personal Goals Daily and Make Anything Happen
- Having vivid goals is vital for having the desire to persist
- Take 10 minutes every day to write/remember your goals
- Keeps your focus on your goals long term and long lasting
- Step-by-Step Approach to Writing Your Personal Goals
- You must break big goals down into chunks
- Kaizen means small is good - pick short-term targets you can hit
- Pick mini-goals you can succeed or fail at in a week
- Why Big Goals Fail
- Big goals are such an undertaking that most people abandon them
- Instead, try making one small change to enable the goal long-term
- Once that change is in place, add your next small change
Relationship
How Small Things Can Really Build Up in Relationships
- Small annoying habits can add up to tension over time
- Communicate your feelings to correct the source of problems
- Recognize any habits you have that may cause issues
- How to Build a Relationship with Kaizen
- Take a long-term approach to increase your time with someone
- Start small by asking to be introduced
- Over time, you can invite the person to see you more
- How to Change the Dynamic in Your Relationship with Small Changes
- Remember that people are creatures of habit
- Take a gradual approach to making change in agreements
- Sudden/drastic changes may lead to arguments
- The Small Details That Might be Ruining Your Dates
- Remember that first impressions count
- e.g. Improve your sense of dress
- Work on body language and communication skills
- Small Changes to Your Relationship Will Help You to be Much Happier
- Small things often matter the most
- Take note of small things that make your partner happy
- Develop a habit to do them often
- Kaizen to Improve Your Life and Your Relationships Will Improve Too
- A happy couple requires happy individuals
- Recognize areas in your life that may cause unhappiness
- Work to improve those and in turn be happier around your partner
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Every positive change you make in your life can lead to new beginnings you may have never thought possible. The key to enjoying the changes is to take control so that very little is left to chance.
By being in control of your changes – and your future - you are choosing happiness or unhappiness, success or a life of regrets. Take the leap of change and you’ll find yourself soaring with ease.
Main Points of Chapter 4: Enjoy Your New Beginnings
Chapter 4: Enjoy Your New Beginnings helps you to celebrate those changes which bring you fulfillment and happiness and to make powerful choices that best serve you. Some main points included in Chapter 4 include:
- Even though the changes we make or desire to happen are good for us, we still may approach them with doubt and trepidation.
- Each day, you wake up as an entirely different person than the day before.
- You’re always changing – and you can choose how you accept the changes.
- You can begin to enjoy the changes you’re making deliberately and those which come naturally and as a matter of passing time.
- Focus on that which makes you happy; visualize success with your new beginnings.
- Leave the past behind and think of change as a process to enjoy.
- You have the choice and the power to create your own path to success.
- Applying Kaizen helps you to make small, but powerful, changes in your life.
- Every positive change you make in your life can lead to new beginnings you may have never thought possible.
- The key to enjoying the changes is to take control so that very little is left to chance.
I hope you have enjoyed, and benefited from, Making a Fresh Start: Embracing New Beginnings!
Don’t forget to share with me what you discovered during this month and let me know if I may share it within this newsletter next month.
