How To Keep Your Positive Attitude Throughout The Day

June 9, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

Two friends are walking down the street, and one of them trips on a banana peel. Then he slides into a muddy puddle, and his entire outfit is ruined. The other friend helps him up and tries to make him feel better. Standing up, looking at his muddy clothes, he let out a big laugh. So this morning, I promised myself to enjoy my day even if I slip on a banana and slide into a muddy puddle. And the two friends carried on.

Like most people, you are always trying to make the most of your day and enjoy it as much as you can. After all, today is all we have. We may not have this evening or let alone tomorrow.

Perhaps you are the kind of person that takes a few minutes in the morning to set your intentions and visualize the things you plan on doing for the next 16 hours before you go to bed again. In other words, you plan on having a great day and are grateful for your blessings.

This approach is a great way to start the day; however, something or someone messes up your state of mind every now and then. You went from chill and exuberant to tense and triggered. You lose your groove, and sometimes you don't find your way back for hours, days, or even longer!

As long as things go your way or mostly your way, your peace of mind stays intact.

So if things go off track and you find yourself feeling less relaxed and optimistic, what can you do to get that morning mindset back?

Please think and then read below. What should you do?

Here is a simple and effective idea:

When things in your outer world agitate you, go back inward. Take a private time out. Remind yourself of your morning intentions and affirmations:

Just say something like the following:

I am a happy and relaxed person.

My mind and spirit work for me.

I am resilient and full of potential.

My Creator is with me.

I live in this moment, where everything is just fine.

I am happy, healthy, and peaceful.

Make this a daily ritual. Start your day with your version of setting your intentions and visualize all the things you plan on doing. See yourself being effective, happy, and composed. Then take several personal time-outs to check inwards and replay the morning message to your mind.
To keep your positive attitude throughout the day, even if things fall apart, you got to figure out a way to get back on your feet. Just like you can't randomly exercise and expect to build your best health, you can’t just set your intentions only once at the start of the day.

Try this for the next 5 days, and let us know if you found it to be a helpful idea.

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Write Your Own Ending

June 2, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

“Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.” Seneca

We don’t usually think about it and when we do, we shudder, panic, and generally avoid the topic as much as possible. It’s the question of “How does this end?” and it can be about your job, your professional career in a sport, your business, or your existence here on Earth. You need to think about the End Game to know where you are ultimately headed. It’s going to come one day so why not plan for it as best you can?

Everyone gets injured in sports which causes them to quit or take ‘early retirement from the one thing they have probably been focused on for 15 years or more. Those athletes with successful mindsets, good educational foundations and habits are able to pivot to another phase of life without being depressed, broke, and hopeless. Become like a successful sportsman who knows his days are numbered and the last day of competition for him or her could be as soon as age 30! This could be 10 years or less playing time in the sport they love.

But I’m not an athlete of any kind, you say! Doesn’t matter, the end of days is coming for us all. It can be in mid 50’s when older people at a company are cut because the Sr. Management wants younger talent and cheaper labour. It could even happen in your own business where you are forced to step down from the top job due to personal health issues or perhaps family responsibilities. You could also be voted out in favour of someone else the Board of Directors wants to run the show for the next 10+ years. It doesn’t matter how strong you think your current position, title, job or status in life is. You will face the end so just prepare for it.

What are some of your hobbies and things you wish you had more time for? How many of them can be translated into a coaching/teaching opportunity to help others like younger generations while giving you an opportunity to do what you love? How good are your communications skills today and where could you improve? It could be video calls that is your weak point or perhaps public speaking. Whatever it is, work on that now. What is your current level of savings and debt? Could you handle a pay cut or losing your job/business right now?

By thinking about the inevitable end state we are all heading to, we can be mentally, physically, and financially prepared so it’s less of a shock to our life. We can’t always control the ending, whenever it happens, so don’t think that’s what I’m suggesting will be possible. Doing something about that last day through planning and revising the plan once a year until you need to put it in motion, saves you a lot of stress, time, and energy. It may still surprise you when that unexpected injury or shuffling of staff in your department happens. Isn’t the planning worth the effort and uncomfortable process of thinking about it right now so you are not completely caught off guard? Make time to have an honest conversation about what the various Endings look like in your life and then spend the required energy to make them as positive as possible. It is very likely that they become new Beginnings and Adventures for you to celebrate instead of any kind of last day at all.

How To Get Through Life’s Difficulties

May 26, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

“Just as nature takes every obstacle, every impediment, and works around it — turns it to its purposes, incorporates it into itself — so, too, a rational being can turn each setback into raw material and use it to achieve its goal.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Imagine for a moment that you and a few friends and family members go off on a day trip that goes all wrong. I'm not talking about a country drive and a flat tire but instead being plunged into a situation of survival and impossible odds.

The two real-life incidents that I want to quickly point you to is the Antarctic Expedition in 1914-1917 that imperiled the crew of Ernest Shackleton. The second one is the unfortunate plane crash of an Uruguay Ruby team in 1972, where 16 survivors made it out of the Andes mountains by their fellow team member Nando Parrado. In the first case, the survival story spanned over 2 years, and in the second instance, it was 72 days. Unfortunately, both groups were assumed dead, and the search efforts by authorities were suspended.

A movie about the Andes plane crash survivors is available and came out in 1993. You can find the link here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P95R76Mstg4

Legend has it that Shackleton had posted an ad in a London newspaper looking to form a crew that described the ill-fated discovery expedition: "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success."

So, what was the common thread in these two stories of survival? What drove these two men to take the lead and keep their friends alive long enough to be saved? How did they face the fear and the continuous disappointments they endured while trying to survive? How did they make the choices they had to make when their future looked so bleak, and their physical condition was worn down to skin and bones?

The resounding quality is RESILIENCE!

I recently listened to a keynote speech on Resilience by Dennis Mosely-Williams. You can find the link here http://www.seriousshiftsummit.com/dennis-free

(I think you will thoroughly enjoy it and profit from it all your life.)

My question to you is, what does the word RESILIENCE mean to you? What picture comes to mind? What experience might you identify with?

Here is the definition according to the dictionary: the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

But, as Dennis said, and I also wonder, did the definition match what you thought the word meant?

Resilience is not just about being strong or tough; it has more to do with bouncing back and not giving up when the tough gets going. When life's events don't go your way, you have two choices, and the best one is to not give up.

You have to have the ability to withstand adversity. It’s not a matter of not experiencing stress, sadness, difficulties, or bad luck; it’s simply getting on even when these things happen!

As the author of Warrior of Light, Paulo Coehlo, mentions: “Try to live with the same intensity as a child. He doesn’t ask for explanations; he dives into each day as if it were a new adventure and, at night, sleeps tired and happy.”

The good news is most of us will never be in a situation like Shackleton or Parrado; however, we do face our own challenges like the one the whole world is going through these days.

In the scheme of things, if you are on safe ground and can get out of your bed each day to face the world, regardless of your woes and difficulties, you should have the capacity of RESILIENCE if you dare to summon it. You can overcome hardship.

As always, here is a quick hit list of things you can do starting now to make yourself more RESILIENT

5 Things to do so you can have RESILIENCE in your life!

Believe in your capabilities and remain flexible to acquire more skills
Call on your Higher Power; the weight of the world does not need to be on your shoulders.
Reflect on your Purpose: As Dr. Alan Zimmerman, coach and author of Pivot, says: “the purpose of life is a life of purpose.” Plan your life out and go back to your plan when you feel lost!
Be future-based and grow. Don’t think about the past. Think about the Immediate next step and see yourself doing that thing. Keep doing this for every stage and keep making progress. Sing your songs while you work. Remember to live fully till the final curtain call.
Remain hopeful; “he/she who has hope has everything.” So fill up your gas tank every day with hope!

As we go collectively through this global challenge and become tired of it, rest assured that the antidote to getting on the other side is to be RESILIENT!

And remember, we DO need resilient societies and resilient support structures and it starts with you as an individual, developing your grit, persistence and endurance on a daily basis.

The Benefits of Small Experiments

May 19, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

“If I experiment enough, I get a deeper understanding.” Terence Tao

Have you ever felt something lacking in your life like a puppy/kitten, sports car, or a family cottage? Are you tempted to jump in and make the purchase tomorrow to fill that void in your existence? STOP! Don’t do it…yet.

Reflect and write down the reasons you really want something. What value do you think having this thing adds to your life? Can you achieve some or all of the gains through some other way such as renting a sports car or weekend cottage when you need to? How about playing with a relative’s dog or neighbour’s puppy to see what the experience is like? I strongly suggest you slow down and run a small experiment or place a ‘small bet’ to start testing the waters.

It can be as easy as spending a day with a cooperative neighbour and their pet so you can see what the experience is like to feed, walk and clean up after a pet. Do this a few times to make sure you don’t just have a ‘lucky' day’ where everything goes perfectly. You want to know what a bad day in the life of a puppy owner is like. What’s the worse thing they have experienced so far and how did they handle it. You need to know the good and the bad of taking care of another living thing such as a dog.

For objects like sports cars, vacation houses/cottages, and other expensive objects, you can run similar experiments. Ask a friendly relative or friend to use their fancy car for the day or the weekend. You could just rent your desired car for some time to see what it’s like to live with for at least 3 days to 1 week. Know what kind of maintenance and general care it needs as well as how it handles in different weather. Similarly for a property like a cottage. Ask to rent in someone else’s place for the weekend a few times. What is it like and how much does it cost them to actually own this? How many people do they have sharing the responsibilities of this property and can you afford it in your situation?

For many people, ownership is NOT the right answer for these desired things. You’re probably going to get as much or more joy from simply having occasional access to a sports car or cottage in a rental scenario. Your puppy fascination may be fulfilled by simply having exposure to a friend’s pets to play on the weekend or to take for occasional walks. You may also like to volunteer at a local pet shop or animal shelter. This saves you from the bigger responsibilities of actually owning and caring for the pet 7/24. The bigger the animal like a horse, the more time you want to give your experiment to truly realize what the responsibilities are in the day in the life of an owner. You may change your mind about ownership altogether.

“Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Don’t stop aspiring to do or have meaningful things in your life. Just make sure you truly explore the real experience in those things so you don’t take on too much and overburden yourself. Make sure you try small experiments when it comes to big-ticket items and life changes like owning pets. You’ll be glad you did. If you do move forward with actual ownership of these things, you’ll be much more prepared for that experience because you had a taste of what it can be like through your experiments. Isn’t that a better way to decide if you really want something?

Are You Getting In Your Own Way?

May 11, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

“Don’t Overthink it!” - Ahsan

I love the quote above from my brother from another mother, Ahsan Khan. It’s so simple and reminds me to not trip over myself on a daily basis. So many times in life, we are our own obstacle or impediment to getting something done. How do we do this and what can we do about it?

“If you can tune into your purpose and really align with it, setting goals so that your vision is an expression of that purpose, then life flows much more easily.” Jack Canfield

The first way we stumble and go off track is to forget our purpose and why we started to do something. So the fix is as simple as this: Remind yourself about your purpose and get back on track! When you reflect on WHY your goals matter, you push forward with a strong motivation to succeed.

"The problem human beings face is not that we aim too high and fail, but that we aim too low and succeed." Michelangelo

The second way we sabotage ourselves is to be pessimistic and negative about achieving things. To tackle this one, we need to remember that if someone else can achieve our goals, so can we. We are all just human beings and if someone has tried to do what I’m doing and succeeded, I can do it too! If it’s something completely new to the human experience, somebody has got to be the first to do it so why not me?!

“If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress. “ Barack Obama

The third way we lower our chances of success is by being weak in our thoughts and actions. We fear discomfort in the journey or shame if we don’t make enough progress as others expect. We may feel that it’s not worth the struggle to even try and accomplish a difficult goal and worse to miss the mark. The antidote for this is to act as if you are stronger than you believe you are today. To realize and accept the discomfort as part of the process and keep moving forward every day, even it is a few inches at a time. Realize there will be hurdles and tension but do not accept defeat and know that victory will be yours if you persist. Align your thoughts, actions, and words with your purpose and true desires.

So, now it’s your turn. Take my advice and get moving to overcome the obstacles in your way every day. You can achieve what you really want and what you believe you MUST become in life. Live Awesome!

What Is Paradise On Earth?

April 28, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

“The ultimate goal of the architect...is to create a paradise. Every house, every product of architecture... should be a fruit of our endeavour to build an earthly paradise for people.” Alvar Aalto

The concept of paradise is a part of every major faith in the world. It is meant to be a reward for believers and a place of peace and happiness.

I am no scholar and can only offer my thoughts about paradise from the perspective of my own understanding and faith.

My central understanding is that, as a Muslim, paradise is described in ways that refer to things we see and enjoy here on earth. For example, gardens, streams, rivers, mansions, tasty fruits, meats, and the company of loved ones.

There is also the concept of continuous personal growth and higher spiritual advancement levels, and nearness to God.

Keeping this in mind, we might take inspiration that paradise is not only a place in the hereafter that we strive for but can be a place in the here and now that we strive for.

In my opinion, we are free to make a heaven out of life rather than its opposite.

“A happy life is but an earlier heaven.”

So how might we be the ‘architects’ of our own paradise, starting now?

As with anything, look at your life and what makes it meaningful. Take some time to think about this.

Next, do the following:

Draw up a list of those things that equate to Paradise for you.
Work on them to make them real and or improved if you already possess/experience them today.
Focus on these efforts with all your heart and life-long struggle.
Pray for acceptance of your efforts.

We are all here for a brief time. Live bravely and go for it. And most of all do your best to find paradise on earth.

Be A Leader and Not Just Another Follower

April 25, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

“The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. The manager has his eye on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.” Warren G. Bennis

Once again and forever onwards, the world needs leaders. People who will step up and figure out what the right thing to do is. The world is dynamic and constantly challenging us to be bold. It’s not the same thing as being reckless or careless. The role of a leader starts in the smallest group of friends, the family, and the local community. It’s not a title or special appointment that you need to wait for. Take responsibility in your personal life and you are a leader of the most important person in your life - you! When you can demonstrate self-discipline and good decision-making in life, you are likely to be asked to lead others.

How do you start? Just look around you for people who need guidance, mentorship, or counseling. Ask to participate on their journey and you have become a collaborator they will come to for help. Take on responsibilities in your family or community circle to make things better. Take on a special project at work to launch a new product or service or simply improve a process. This is the genesis of how leaders rise up over time.

There will always be many who are willing to follow but a special few will be asked to lead them. Get out there and be known for your leadership skills.

How Do You Look At Things?

April 21, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

Wayne Dyer

This quote is my inspiration for this post and I think it’s very timely given our current situation with the pandemic, the hardship of lockdown, the uncertainty of the future, and life in general. How are you looking at things right now? What thoughts came across your mind today about what kind of day or week it’s going to be? Why did you think that way?

We all want things to be different. To be better than they were yesterday. Sometimes, it’s as simple as changing the way we choose to look at life and opportunities in front of us. Are you scanning for problems and more trouble coming your way or are you preparing for a better version of the future? How about a better version of yourself because you learned how to be more resilient or patient? It comes down to the way you look at things and the story you tell yourself about what you see.

How Do You Define Your Legacy?

April 14, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

When I’m gone, I want my legacy to be a combination of what I’ve earned, what I’ve learned, and what I’ve yearned for. I want my family to celebrate the life I have lived and I prefer we start doing this while I’m still alive. In fact, all of us should reflect and design our lives to live intentionally with a focus on learning more rather than earning more. It begins with having a strong desire which moves us forward - the very definition of yearning.

Don’t go through this life half-awake. Don’t focus on others or what society tells you about what’s important. DO ask yourself what you think is important and what you really want out of life. How much you EARN will be closely linked to what you LEARN about as you design your life based on what you sincerely desire or YEARN for.

Don’t delay, figure out how to live your best life based on what you truly want while you are still able to make decisions and choose a path.

It Was Always Up to You

April 7, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” Eleanor Roosevelt

You could blame your parents, society, your friends, or someone else for where you are in life. You could also say it’s ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’ and that you are just a passenger or unwilling participant in someone else’s grand plan for your life. That would be the easy and childish way to look at things.

Great people do great things because they realize they have a responsibility to step up and become who they were supposed to be. We are all potentially great people from birth. The difference is that only some of us realize this and even fewer people take the necessary actions to transform the potential into reality.

Stop blaming, making excuses, and looking for someone else to change your life. Take hold of what time remains and write your story each day. Let your Awesomeness manifest itself in your thoughts and words. This is what it means to be a Leader. No one is coming to make things happen for you. There is no superhero rescue or Divine revelation you need to wait for to move forward. This is both terrifying and emancipating at the same time. The choice has always been yours to figure out. It’s your move.

Where Does the Time Go?

March 31, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”

Marcus Aurelius

We’ve all thought it and said it many times. hours, days, and even entire weeks are flying by. It seems like just yesterday that the New Year started and today, the first 3 months of 2021 have officially gone forever into the history books by the time you read this.

Are you just trying to keep up or hold onto time? It’s about as likely as trying to contain water with just your two hands cupped together. You might capture some of it but eventually, the water, just like time, will slip through your fingers. So what CAN you do about this? What SHOULD you do about this? Well, if you are like me, you do an audit of how you have spent your time since the beginning of this month and the beginning of the year. Write down the things you did repeatedly and those tasks that took the most time. Next, check back with your personal goals for the year and life in general. Is your written list of time spent matching with actions that actually move you forward to actually achieve your goals? If not, time to make some necessary changes.

Maybe you are lined up with your goals but you are going the equivalent of first gear speed in a car that has 8 speeds to choose from. It’s probably time to change into higher gear for Q2, Q3, and Q4 this year. Don’t count on momentum to keep moving forward. It’s more likely the friction of things to come and unexpected headwinds just around the corner will slow you down even further. Plan for it. Adjust and keep moving forward in a controlled way at a higher speed to achieve your goals. Keep pushing forward to achieve what MUST be done and what you intended to BECOME by the end of this year.

When this year is over, I want you to say that you know exactly how much time, effort, and attention you spent to achieve the next level of your existence. I want you to say that you had an Awesome Time doing it!

How To Have An Organized Mind

March 24, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

The other day I walked into my bedroom and got excited. I had been so busy with this, that and the other, that my room was a complete disorganized mess. I immediately got into a cleaning spree.

The best thing about a messy bedroom is the feeling you get after you clean it up.

The room feels clean, and you feel like all is well in the world.

A similar phenomenon occurs with our minds. That is every now and then, just like your bedroom, it needs a clean-up session, and it needs to get organized.

Consider this little-known theory.

A well-organized mind offers you three things: greater peace, a sense of well-being and more joy. Although these words sound similar in meaning, they are not. You will appreciate their subtle differences if you keep your mind open.

Imagine if this theory is true. What if you could have lived the rest of your days with joy, with peace and a sense of well-being!

Let’s begin by considering that our mind is where we live and experience life itself. Two people can attend the same family picnic, and one may come away feeling happy and the other feeling angry. The angry one interpreted events to set off their anger. The happy person interpreted things that made them feel happy.

How we experience any event or interaction with people or things is a matter of our mental interpretation of what happened.

Here is another way of thinking about your mind. When you don’t fully understand who you are, you get caught up in the mental process.

You are not your thoughts. If you get angry, it is really because you let something irritate you, and your angry reaction took over. You may think that you got angry because someone or something caused you to be angry, but this is not true.

Your anger was really the result of having an unorganized mind. A mind that is organized will create just enough space to pause and choose to not get angry. A disorganized mind will get triggered instantly. The mind can only be organized with a regular commitment to be cleaned like your bedroom needs to be cleaned regularly.

If you believe and understand what I am saying, your organized mind will cause you to have peace.

Peace is about having the awareness that things are happening outside of you and that you are the conscious "entity" observing what is happening outside and choosing your inner feelings.

Your organized mind will cause you to have a sense of well-being.

Well-being is a state of knowing that you have the resources both internally to be happy and externally because you have life endowing sustenance. Internally you feel just right, and externally, you recognize the air you breathe is a blessing in itself.

Your organized mind will also create a feeling of joy.

Joy is the practical experience of being content with how things are happening in your life. An organized mind recognizes that people and things are not in our control. Everywhere life is happening and unfolding. Sometimes life goes our way, and it is easy to feel joyful. Other days life does not go our way, but the organized mind sees this as an acceptable reality. Joy to the organized mind does not depend on people or things. Why should it, and how can it?

So, if you are wondering what can be done to achieve an organized mind, do not worry.

Here is the formula:

Mind your MIND: Meditate, Investigate, Navigate, Deliberate

Meditate: Take at least 5-20 minutes every day to quiet yourself and slow your thoughts down. Sit up straight so you can breathe deeply and exhale deeply. Focus on a sentence that you like repeating, like: I am not my thoughts; I am the awareness observing my thoughts. Or, I am relaxed and in control of an organized mind.

Investigate: Knowing that you and I are not perfect, the next time you let yourself get carried away by your emotions, try to pinpoint what and why it happened. If you practice this, the next time the trigger appears, don't be surprised if your reaction was in your control.

Navigate: To navigate is to set a direction towards a destination. Your mind should lead you to where you want to go. Get used to giving your mind instructions. Turn left, go right. Be chill. Enjoy this sunset. Be one with the world.

Deliberate: Make sure you fully buy into this advice. Your organized mind is where you live to attain peace, a sense of well-being, and joy. Think about this theory and challenge its truth. Just like a goldsmith inspecting a piece of gold, you should make sure what you hold is indeed gold. Melt down the concept and put it to any test necessary.

Get going because your best life depends on this theory. And hey, if you need to, go clean up your bedroom while you are at it!

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Make 2021 The Year to Level Up!

March 17, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

So what did you think of 2020? How did you get through it and what did you learn? Don’t just make 2021 a year of surviving another year or enduring some hard things. Make this a year of advancing in a meaningful way. You, me, everyone has been tested in many ways in 2020 and the many previous years of our lives. Let’s make sure these big and small tests keep moving us forward.

Each year of my life, especially the 5 and 10-year milestones is where I think deeply of how much I have, or should have ‘leveled up’ in life. If you think of this life as a game of many levels all the way up to 100 or beyond then each year you complete is actually one more level higher you have achieved. How? It’s all about the “experience points” and life skills you have acquired. As I approach “Level 50” in my life’s journey, I’ve been thinking of how I’ve improved in some things and where I need to hustle to make some meaningful gains in other areas. I don’t want to be stuck at Level 42 or 35 in some aspects. It’s very important to me to be moving higher in skill, practice, and understanding each year so that the birthdays are not just about blowing candles and inhaling copious amounts of cake. I need to feel that I’m improving my life by refining myself as an authentic person making the most of this Awesome Life!

Now it’s your turn. Evaluate your life today and consider what “Level” you are at compared to where you want to be. Age is just a single number. Levels of achievement are a better representation of how you can advance in life by gathering experience, memories, some assets and most importantly, wisdom!

Do You Know Your Numbers?

March 10, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

Metrics, Quotas, and Numbers are everywhere in our lives. Some define our attributes like how tall we are, our weight, our BMI, etc. Others define our income, net worth or amount of debt. Do you know your numbers? Do you know the key numerical values in your life of things that can be measured and periodically reviewed?

Do you know the metrics of your health as well as you do your financial portfolio? Do you know how much minimum income you need to be consider yourself a “Rich Person”? Have you been tracking how much sleep you get and how active you are during the day? All of these things matter, to some degree so it’s worth knowing about them.

On the other hand, not everything can be measured in numbers such as how much you love your family, the beauty of a sunset or the satisfaction of doing a good day’s work. Develop your awareness to all the non-quantifiable things in your life that you can’t live without. Do you know what they are and how each of these makes you feel on a daily basis?

Life is made up of many numbers but it’s more than just formulas, equations and charts. Make it a habit to know your key numbers and then learn to ignore most of these to focus on all the many things that you cannot count but mean the world to you.

What Is The Better Thought?

March 3, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

Have you ever been stuck in stinking thinking?

When you talk to yourself, and the conversation is disempowering, what can you do to turn things around?

What have you done in the past to turn things around?

If you look back, you will likely find that you started to make a comeback by turning your back to the "weak thought" and instead chose a "better thought."

This, my dear friend, is the way to accelerate your mojo, to put some pep in your step, to sing your song and bit adieu to stinking thinking.

Whenever you feel like you are in a funk and would rather be at the disco, you've got to change the radio station in your head and go to "Better Thought" FM.

In fact, here is a Top Ten list of “Better Thoughts” for you to listen to:

Make sure to save them to your playlist:

"I've been through tougher situations, and I will get through this too."
“All things are possible with the blessings and skills that I have, with God’s grace.”
"I have friends that I can rely on, including myself.”
“Ain’t no mountain high enough. Ain’t no valley low enough. I will keep on trying!”
“I think I can, I think I can. I know I can, I know I can”.
“Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love you Tomorrow. Tomorrow is just a day away.”
"Don't stop believing. Hang on to that feeling."
“A little less talk and a little more action.”
“ Doe a deer, a female deer. Ray, a drop of golden sun. Me, a name I call myself.”
"We are the champions, my friend. We'll keep on fighting to the end."

How many other better thoughts can you come up with?

Drop us a line, and let's build this together.

Let's get up to 100 Better Thoughts and share them with the world

Please send us your Better Thoughts at: shazad@kingsquillpublishing.com

What's Your Story?

February 22, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

“Story, as it turns out, was crucial to our evolution -- more so than opposable thumbs. Opposable thumbs let us hang on; story told us what to hang on to.” Lisa Cron, Wired for Story

We all have one and we keep repeating it in our heads on daily basis. Some people experience a life event that causes them to change or enhance their story. Sometimes it’s good embellishments and positive explanations. For many, their story has very negative tones and beliefs like they are some kind of victim” or hopeless “sinner” that cannot be redeemed. This is very damaging to their lives and unsurprisingly, makes them very unhappy.

When you realize that you are telling yourself a story all day long, you can change it. We all need better stories to appreciate and enjoy. Need proof? Why do we enjoy movies and fictional stories in books? There is something in the way the characters are presenting something to our brain that compels us to keep watching or reading that book. Even with the best actors, a poorly written storyline will not be a good movie. It’s the same with our lives. We cannot be happy and have fulfilling lives if we are telling ourselves poorly written stories of despair and a lack of control over the quality of our lives. The ‘script’ running in your head needs to be better. This is, after all, your life philosophy, your “mission statement” and has to be aligned with your values. You cannot let someone else write it for you and you cannot let it be random events that shape how you feel each day.

It’s time for a better narrative to Live an Awesome Life. You want to change but how can you do this? Study the voice in your head and write down what you believe about yourself. Next, write out what you want to be the story of your life while you are still alive. What have you been through and seen in the world? How many people do you know and what are your favourite things in this world? How do you want to be understood and what qualities do you want to shine brightly for all to see? Third, start thinking, acting, and telling your new story every day. You can start by repeating positive quotes, affirmations, and “plot” lines in your mind. Make your personal story bold, genuine, and truly engaging with a touch of humour. This is how you become the hero of your own life and save the day, every single day! What will your story be?

Resolve to Have an Awesome Identity in 2021

February 17, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

Every year, especially around January, people are trying to develop new or better habits. People want to change their life by improving their health or knowledge. Maybe you want to have a more productive work or business life. Lots of people want to have better relationships as well and that may be the focus for many at the start of the year. The question is, How Do You Actually Achieve these CHANGES and make them stick?

I’ll tell you the one way that usually fails for everyone. It’s the idea to add some good habits or remove some bad habits because it’s that time of the year and everyone else is doing it. Simply adding or removing an activity does not equal meaningful life changes. It is very shallow and ineffective over time. So what works? What can actually cause people to adopt meaningful transformations that last? What should you be doing instead? The answer is tying your habits to your identity. A better identity than you may have today. How do you do this? Ask yourself these 3 questions:

What KIND of Person Am I? Write out your key attributes and preferences.
What Kind of Person do I REALLY want to be? Describe the characteristics of your ideal personality that you want to be like.
What are the habits, thoughts, and STORIES of the person that I want to be like? Study the daily routines, quotes, and milestones in life that your ideal person has.

Once you know the kind of person you want to be, changing your habits and sticking to the good ones will be so easy. You have to repeat your new identity to yourself each day to remind yourself who you really are and want to be. Why does this work? It’s because you are clearly defining and frequently reinforcing a new identity that will stick in your mind. This will test everything you do, say, and think against that identity. It’s automatic and you can’t really control this part of your personality. Use it to your advantage and force yourself to align with your desired identity. If you try to do something contrary to it, it will be like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard or the feeling of rubbing sandpaper on your face. It will get your attention and cause you to stop!

Our brains are wired to be CONSISTENT with our story and identity of who we are. If we develop an identity of a healthy, strong, and intelligent person who doesn’t smoke or doesn’t waste time, we will do everything in our power to live up to this kind of Awesome identity. Our thoughts, habits, and daily routines will be in sync with this idea of ourselves. Likewise, if the identity in our head is a person who is lazy, not very bright, smokes, and lacks willpower, our habits will match that image of ourselves because we can’t fight who we think we are in our minds. Why? Because that’s how we are wired. To change the wiring to do the opposite is simply not possible in the long run. The only lasting life changes come when you develop that Awesome Identity and live every day according to that identity in all your actions and thinking. It’s much easier to do this and becomes automatic after a short time of actively reminding yourself what kind of person you are.

Resolve to be Awesome in 2021 and watch all the good habits develop within you.

How To Encourage More Courage And Finally Crush It In Life!

February 10, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

What’s that noise? As I walked through the forest, the sun was setting quickly. The crinkling sounds of my footsteps began to fade as I hurried back to my campsite. Instead, my mind became more alert to every sound other than my footsteps. The darkening forest began to envelop me. A low growling sound came from a bush to my right that was about fifteen feet away. I never thought this could happen.

Hey, did you feel that sense of fear as you read the paragraph above?

It's ok to be afraid. You and I are wired to be alert to danger. We are descendants of people who survived lions on the savannah, storms, famines, and misfortunes since ancient times.

We are also descendants of people who used their faculty of courage to survive!

It’s all about courage.

If you think about it, the difference between those who take a risk in life and those who play it safe determines a large portion of personal success.

You have to have the courage to love someone and get hurt.

You have to have the courage to set out on a BIG goal and risk failing.

You even need the courage to build more courage.

The challenge is to be courageous when your instincts want to push you to safety.

How to overcome this instinct is crucial. Now you may be wondering how to do it, and here is my five-point plan:

Action Plan:

Define Your Purpose for being courageous and define your purpose in life.
Recall past success, find your defining past success, and relive it mentally in vivid detail.
Assess the risk you need to take and the potential reward.
Count on some luck, aka blessings, because fortune favours the bold.
Act; Act Courageously Today!

Be brave when others are fearful, and you will inherit what rightfully belongs to you.

Fortune favours the bold and courageous.

Courage breeds results!

Do You Have Awesome DNA?

February 3, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid and it is the genetic blueprint for all living things. Our DNA defines what we look like and is a significant part of our life as a foundation to making us who we are at birth. DNA also defines something about what can happen to us as we grow older but it’s not capable of predicting who we become as human beings. A big part of our success, fulfillment and happiness in life is based on our behaviors, thoughts, and movement as I’ll explain in this post.

What we do with our lives is what determines how things turn out and it can be explained by another kind of “DNA”. The choices we make every day is the D which stands for Decisions. The story in our head about our life, the world, and our relationship with everything around us is the Narrative denoted by the letter N. The execution of activity or Actions represents the A in this version of “DNA”. Actions are the everyday things we do and are based on the combination of decisions and narrative in our heads. It’s not enough to make good decisions and have the right attitude in our minds about things. We need to take the right actions to actually move forward.

If you tell me the Decisions, the Narrative, and the Actions of a person over the course of a week, a month, or a year - I can accurately predict the kinds of success and satisfaction the person will have in life. Success leaves clues. A person’s life CAN be understood to see where it’s going even before success is actually achieved. It is a combination of understanding human psychology and the collective wisdom of large groups of people over many thousands of years.

You can’t dramatically change your facial features, eye colour, height, or other aspects of your physical design. What you can always change is how you apply yourself in this world no matter how you look on the outside. You have the power to make the best impact on the world with all that you have been born with and all that you have learned so far in life. That’s where my definition of DNA comes into play.

Just like our biological DNA defines various basic features about us, this “DNA” defines the quality and likely path we are going to be on in this journey of life. Isn’t it satisfying to know that you have significant power to become the best person you can be regardless of what your biology is? You have the power to remake yourself into something Awesome so exercise your Decisions, Narrative, and Actions wisely every day!

The next time someone pays you a compliment, thank them and say, “It’s in my DNA”.

Here Is Why You Are Okay Even If Other People Say You Are Not

January 27, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

If you want to make someone’s day, give them a compliment. On the other hand, if you want to make someone feel lousy about themselves, all you need to do is give them a well-intentioned comment of “constructive criticism.”

Why do words of criticism, fault-finding, and chastisement bother us so much? What’s going on here?

For starters, we feel bad because there may be truth to such comments. We also find ourselves facing a bit of reality¾we are not perfect!

So you feel bad because deep down inside, you know that you are not okay. The approval of others is what has power over how we feel about ourselves.

Don’t blame yourself too much because this was taught to you. You were taught to feel good about yourself when others give you praise and bad about yourself when you get the other stuff.

As Anthony De Mello, author of Awareness, said, this approval acts like a drug. It makes you addicted like an addict is addicted to their drug of choice.

There isn't anything wrong with praise and approval except for needing it to feel okay about yourself.

Social media showing the perfect lives of everyday people just adds to this phenomenon. The richer you are, the more popular, muscular, successful you are, the happier you should be about yourself.

This issue can be solved once and for all if you look at criticism and your abilities differently.

One solution is to block out the comment made against you and ignore it because you have come to be aware that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." That might work, but it may not be as good as the next idea you are about to read.

Here is a little known solution to handle the feelings of inadequacies, shame, and frustrations instead:

Accept the critique with a smile and care less about it because you do not focus on your weaknesses. Instead, smile because you are being reminded to focus on your strengths.

The land of strengths is where all your joy, self-esteem, and purpose in life is waiting!

When you get away from the drug of approval and its impact on your sense of self-worth, you live an extraordinary life. By ignoring the ignorant who do not understand that we should all focus on our strengths and extraordinary talents to live triumphantly, you will be a more effective and well-adjusted human being.

Don’t dwell on your weaknesses and try to improve them! This will only lead to more frustration and a low opinion of yourself.

You can’t be good at everything? Embrace your strengths instead!

When you allow criticism to bother you, you limit your growth because you don’t see your strengths.

Don't ask a fish to climb a tree. He can't do it, and he will only die trying to.

Major in your majors. Find your strengths and build those.

When a person focuses on their strengths and uses them to produce results and value for others and themselves, the product is a healthy level of self-esteem, and who doesn’t need that?

So how do you do this? Just spend some time doing a bit of reflection and personal action:

Actions:

1. Make a list of your strengths. And make a list of your weaknesses.

2. Then scratch the list of your weaknesses with a big red X.

3. Get some help from a friend, co-worker, or coach to help you identify your strengths as an added measure if needed.

4. Think about those strengths and imagine how your life could change if you polish them up. Working on your strengths won't feel like work; it will feel like heaven.

5. Spend time doing things that involve your strengths and extraordinary talents, so you live like a happy and productive human being that makes life look easy and are helpful to others in your orbit.

6. Live from now on, thinking about how good you are at things and not how you need to fix yourself. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

7. Lose the addiction of approval and teach people why this addiction is messing up their enjoyment of who they are and what they can be.