Trouble With Long-Term Goals? Set 30-Day Challenges Instead. Source: Adobe Stock As a psychotherapist, I spend a fair amount of time completing paperwork that convinces insurance companies to pay for an individual's mental health treatment.
To help people get their services covered, I have to help patients answer questions like, "How do you hope your life will be different in 90 days? " article continues after advertisement Asking people with a mental health problem to look that far ahead can feel like torture. People struggling with depression often can't see 10 minutes into the future, let alone three months down the road. And individuals experiencing anxiety are often consumed with the future—they're usually making catastrophic predictions. But even if you aren't experiencing a mental health issue, pinpointing how your life will be different 90 days in advance is tough. Make challenge the new comfort zone, Celebrate Mistakes. Living Through Life's Challenges: An Interview with a Ninja Black Belt. Life is full of ups and downs.
Yes, this is absolutely true. But the question is what can help us live through the difficulties with greater ease and even find the joy in everyday life. Mindfulness is one of those tools, but how about zen practice or ninja training? Dr. Richard Sears is full-time core faculty member of the Psy.D. You can see maybe why I wanted to bring him here today to talk about why mindfulness is helpful for our present day maladies, a helpful tool from Zen practice, and what we can learn from ninja training to get out of our heads and into our lives.
Elisha: Why is mindfulness so effective in working with our personal mental, emotional and physical maladies? Richard: I begin to feel like a snake oil salesman when I talk about all the research demonstrating the benefits of mindfulness, but the key factor is awareness. In this fast-paced world of amazing technology, it becomes so easy to get lost in our heads, stuck in our thinking. Thank you for your wisdom Richard. Hold Your Own Feet to the Fire. By Leo Babauta Lots of us want to change our habits — get healthier, procrastinate less, write a book, save some money, get fit, read more, get good at something.
And when it comes to changing habits, we know what doesn’t work. What doesn’t work: saying you’re going to make a change, intending to, and then failing to do it. You’ve done this, and so have I: you say, “I’m going to start eating healthier and exercising!” And you truly mean to do it. That’s what we all do, repeatedly, and it absolutely doesn’t work. So what does work? Holding your own feet to the fire.
The 30-Day Learning Challenge. By Leo Babauta There are probably a dozen items on your lifelong list of things to learn: a foreign language, guitar, martial arts, yoga, a sport, chess/poker/billiards, programming, html/css, drawing/painting, ancient history … the list is endless!
Now is the time to do it. Learning Tips for the Top 8 Learning Challenges. By Leo Babauta On Friday, I issued the 30-Day Learning Challenge for June, and you responded incredibly: more than 2,600 people have signed up, and the list is still growing!
As a thank you for joining me, I thought I’d write a couple bonus learning articles this month (in addition to what I’m creating for the Sea Change Program) — this one on tips for learning specific things, and another in a week or two from now. Today I’ll look at your top eight most common learning challenges. Before we dive into specific learning challenges, let’s talk about some general ideas for this challenge: Set a specific time for your daily learning session. Now let’s dive into specific learning challenges! Meditation What a wonderful thing to learn!
Find a really simple meditation technique if you’re just starting out. Languages. Self-Efficacy. Stretching Yourself. Commitment. Learning from Success and Failure. Stress Better. Meaningful Feedback. Flow. 30 Examples of 30-Day Challenges That Will Change Your Life. Source: Dirima/Shutterstock When it comes to self-improvement, two of the biggest stumbling blocks I see people encounter in my therapy office are a lack of motivation to get started and a fear that a goal will be too overwhelming.
I often prescribe 30-day challenges as a way to help people tackle both of those issues. But, I don't tell them what to do for 30 days. Instead, I help them design their own challenge. Thirty-day challenges feel doable—you can do almost anything for 30 days. Article continues after advertisement If, however, you decide your challenge isn't helpful—perhaps waking up 30 minutes earlier reduces your productivity—you'll at least know you gave it your best effort for one month.
There are many online groups, courses, and books that tout 30-day challenges for anything from diet changes to cleaning habits. In fact, you may be better off designing your own challenge. 30 Day Financial Improvement Challenges 30 Day Clutter Clearing Challenges Most people own too much stuff. Ambition.