Balancing Corporate & Homesteading Lifestyles
Eggs & Incubator Photo Gallery
Eggs & Incubator:
Getting eggs shipped is risky but not impossible. Sometimes it's the only way to get a certain breed if they are not available locally. People ship their eggs differently. I have not had the best luck with shipped eggs BUT enough to help build the flock of my dreams. Only once did I have a broken egg (and only 1 egg) ... during a heat wave and not pleasant. Read about our experiences hatching shipped eggs.
And finally our own eggs ...
See More: Our Chicks
Cluck-tastic Capers: Ironman
Ironman. Unlike the other hens, Ironman possessed extraordinary strength 
and resilience that made her stand out from the flock.
sunlight, resembling the fiery glow of molten iron. Her determination and indomitable 
spirit were as strong as the metal she was named after. With each step she took, the ground seemed to tremble in awe. 
over her feathered 
companions with unwavering vigilance.
fox named Reynard decided to test Ironman's legendary strength. Reynard, known for his cunning ways, approached the farm with plans to snatch a few unsuspecting chickens. Little did he know, Ironman was prepared for any challenge that came her way.
wind that startled the sly fox. Reynard, taken aback by Ironman's display of strength, retreated with his tail between his legs.
unity. She taught her fellow hens the importance of standing tall and never backing down in the face of adversity.
hearts.
heart of steel, continues to inspire generations of farm animals with her legendary tale of courage and resilience. 
Creating A Chicken Garden
It's never too soon to start planning your garden ... in the past, I start planning on the fly and always miss or forget something ... or get it planted late ... NOT this year.
Plus thinking of spring, for me, helps beat the winter blues!
For anyone with chickens, here are some chicken safe choices to get you started for a chicken garden:
- Broccoli
- Pumpkin
- Cucumbers
- Any type of berry
- Leafy greens (kale, spinach, romaine, collards, Swiss chard)
- Melons (chickens LOVE melons so much! Watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew)
- Sunflowers
- Corn
- Peas
- Squash (yellow crookneck, zucchini)
Herbs
You could also plant an herb garden for yourself or your chickens. Giving your chickens fresh herbs is so beneficial, and saves a TON of money compared to buying fresh herbs at the store.
Below is a list of herbs that would be wonderful in a chicken herb garden:
- Garlic
- Oregano
- Yarrow
- Mint (any variety)
- Lemon balm
- Thyme
- Basil
- Comfrey (super high in protein!)
- Chamomile
- Calendula
- Chickweed
- Lavender
- Parsley
- Sage
- Stinging nettle
Although I don't have a garden specifically for my chickens, I like to plant lots of herbs around their coop and run for them.
The Value of Organizing Tomorrow – Today
If you want to maximize your effectiveness and the amount you get done each day, organize tomorrow, today. The second that you open your eyes you can already be clear and certain about what you have to do that day.
It’s much more effective than trying to plan your day on the fly!
In the evening, you’re much more objective about the next day than you are when you’re in the midst of it. It’s easy to plan a trip to the gym the day before. It’s not as easy to do so on the same day when it’s raining, and you’re just not in the mood.
The best time to plan tomorrow is today!
Follow this process:
⇒What do you want to accomplish? Depending on your job, health, family, hobbies, and life in general, what you want to accomplish will vary. Make a list of all the things you want to accomplish tomorrow. Include tasks that help you to reach your goals. Your list might have activities like this:
- Make a nutritious lunch for kids.
- Be at the office by 7:45.
- Give a great presentation at work at 2:00pm.
- Eat a healthy lunch.
- Work out for 30 minutes.
- Practice piano for 30 minutes.
- Speak with an employee about frequent absences.
- Call my financial planner to schedule a meeting about my portfolio.
⇒What are the best ways to accomplish those tasks? There are many ways to accomplish something. But there is only one best way. Think of your resource constraints (including time) and determine the optimal way for you to accomplish the tasks you’ve identified as most important.
- What foods will you include in your child’s lunch?
- What is the best route to get to work? What time do I have to get up in order to be at work by 7:45?
- What do I need to do to be prepared for the presentation? Do I need to reserve a room? Who should be present?
- What will I have for lunch? Will I bring it or go out to eat?
- What type of workout will I do? Where?
⇒What are the obstacles you’re likely to face? Consider everything that might get in your way and develop a plan that will address those obstacles. If something goes wrong, how are you going to handle it?
- Make a plan that has the greatest possibility of avoiding the fewest obstacles as possible.
⇒When are you going to do your tasks? Decide when you’re going to do each of the items on your list. Bill Gates plans his day in 6-minute intervals. You might not have to be that precise. Find a method that works for you.
⇒Evaluate your day and try again. At the end of the day, take a look at your day and look for ways to do better. Use what you learned to improve your planning process.
- What did you accomplish?
- What did you fail to get done?
- When are you going to do it?
- What could you have done better?
Make the most important decisions about your day the night before. The day is for executing, not deciding.
Save your decision-making time for the evening when you can be more objective and thoughtful.
Put your nose to the grindstone during the day and get things accomplished. Living life by the seat of your pants might be exciting, but it’s not the most productive way to live. Make a good plan and then follow it to the best of your ability. The quality of your life will soar!
How to Streamline Your Daily Schedule and Increase Efficiency
Do you feel like there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything you need to do? Sometimes it seems like the laundry or the dishes will just have to wait until later.
As hard as it is, we must do things when we need to. Otherwise, they don't get done at all. Or we find ourselves having to do them when we truly don’t have the time for them. Then, inevitably, something else has to be put off.
This scenario also applies to work. When a project has a deadline, it’s important to devote all of your undivided attention to it, or it won't get completed. Time management is a critical aspect of every job – from planning to executing.
Your schedule needs to be structured to support efficiency and productivity to reach your goals.
If you’ve felt like you need to change your daily schedule and get more done in a shorter amount of time, these tips are for you:
⇒Check your existing workflows and processes. Ask yourself: Are they efficient? Do certain things take too much time or space to complete? Are there things you can do to eliminate steps or streamline your workflow?
⇒Assessing your current workflows is essential in improving and facilitating your productivity. For example, do you need to complete specific tasks in a particular order or time?
⇒If you don't need to do certain activities in the order you listed them, reorder them to streamline your work.
⇒Rank your processes. Once you know your current workflows, you can rank them in terms of both the amount of time they take to complete and the extent to which they streamline your typical workflow.
⇒You'll want to use a scale of 1-5, depending on how time-consuming a process is and how much it changes your routine. If it takes less than five minutes, you can probably nix it from your workflow.
⇒Turn off your notifications. Notifications in apps can be great when you want to receive a notice for something important, but when you're working with flowing tasks, they're distractions.
⇒Turn off your notifications and focus only on the task at hand so that you don't end up losing focus. The truth is, most notifications can wait. You can put news alerts and messages on hold until later.
⇒Tackle the hard stuff first. If you're trying to jam in as many tasks as you can, chances are you're not getting anything done. It might even be the opposite; you're spending more of your limited time on busywork that you don't need to do.
⇒To help yourself become more productive, focus on one task at a time and work on that until you complete it. If you find yourself multitasking, try focusing instead for a single 30-minute period.
⇒Trying to work on more than one task at a time can cause procrastination, which is a whole new level of anxiety. Spend time organizing your tasks in order of priority so that the most important projects have the first slot in your schedule.
⇒For instance, if you tend to procrastinate on tasks that involve creative work, such as writing, brainstorming, and generating ideas, you might find that setting aside 15 minutes a day to write helps you make progress on what you're already doing.
⇒Do your work near an excellent natural source of light. A good source of light not only helps you see better, but it also helps you work better. This tip is handy if you work from home.
⇒Those who work from home can become dependent on artificial light, leading to eye strain, fatigue, and depression. Work in a well-lit area and make sure to take regular breaks away from your desk.
Streamlining your schedule and increasing your efficiency will help you focus on what's important throughout the day. Try to limit the number of distractions you have around you.
When making important decisions, ensure that you get enough sleep, so your brain can function at its best.
And remember that you might not need to make a complete overhaul of your schedule. Many times, you can make small changes to greatly improve your overall productivity.
Eggs: US vs European Standards
Here in the US, we buy our clean refrigerated eggs from the grocery ... but Europe is very different. There are no regulations for cleaning and the eggs are stored at room temperature. Both methods are designed to prevent salmonella but the strategies are very different.
In the US, all companies with 3,000 or more egg-producing hens are required to clean the eggs before distributing them to consumers.
So, how are eggs cleaned commercially?
Cleaning commercial eggs is a process of misting them with water, spraying them with soap or detergent, brushing them gently with brushes, spraying them with an antimicrobial santitizing rinse, and then blowing them dry with air jets. This process is regulated by the USDA, the FDA, and the EPA.
When buying eggs in the US from a farmer’s market or small egg producer, the eggs are often unwashed, stored, and sold at room temperature. This strategy is a small scale version of the European strategy.
What is the European strategy? And why?
As you probably know, eggs have microscopic pores in their shells and are naturally protected by a thin exterior barrier known as a “cuticle” or “bloom.” This barrier protects the egg from bacteria and contamination, seals the egg, and preserves moisture. When eggs are washed, this barrier is removed.
In Europe, eggs are not washed so that it preserves this natural anti-bacterial cuticle. Unwashed eggs can be safely stored and sold at room temperature, but consumers must wash the eggs at home before using them or wash them and store them in the refrigerator.
Just note: Washed eggs must be either refrigerated or cooked immediately to reduce the risk of salmonella.
When an egg is washed in water that is not hot enough, it can cause the contents of the egg to contract and create a vacuum which results in the egg sucking any salmonella or other bacteria that was on the shell inside the egg. Some believe that due to the potential increased risk of washing eggs improperly compared to the risk of not washing the eggs at all, that the overall risk is reduced by not washing the eggs to begin with.
A few of my thoughts
When my chickens lay their eggs, they have clean nesting boxes to choose from. They have 6 boxes although they routinely use 2.
A couple lay in the early morning, then more in the late morning, with one or two in the mid-afternoon. All their eggs come out looking clean ... in other words there is no poop on them. Poop covered eggs are often a sign that you need to do some coop cleaning. Although the egg and poop come out of the same place, they have different pathways and the intestine is pinched closed when the hen lays ... so she doesn't poop and lay an egg together. Typically poop gets on an egg when the hen has a messy bum.
So the whole point ... I know my hens are in clean conditions as they are laying clean eggs. The same goes for European eggs, since they cannot be washed, they must be clean ... I mean, who is going to buy poop covered eggs?
More: http://nwedible.com/clean-poop-free-eggs/
Another consideration for me is the wash process itself. Spraying eggs with an antimicrobial sanitizer is a step I prefer to skip if possible. Because the egg is porous, the bloom has been washed away, and anything on the egg can potentially go into the egg. I'd prefer to stick to natural as possible and avoid unnecessary chemicals.
If you want to read mere, here is a good article: https://www.hobbyfarms.com/egg-storage-sales-handling-europe-united-states/
12 Practical Ways to Practice Gratitude
Gratitude isn’t a common habit, but without gratitude, life is more challenging than it needs to be. Feeling grateful resets your perspective, and this is a gift you can give yourself each day. If you find yourself feeling pessimistic or overwhelmed, a little gratitude can get your attitude back on the right track.
Gratitude is free, enjoyable, and effective.
Practice gratitude each day with these actions:
⇒Write it down. Make a daily habit of writing down a few things that you can be grateful about. Ideally, you’ll do this early and late in the day. It gets your day off on the right foot and sets you up for a good night of sleep.
⇒Be grateful for the little things. There are plenty of small things you can be grateful for each day. A great cup of coffee, the sound of birds in the morning, or the fact that you have a new set of tires on your car can all uplift your mood.
⇒Go for a gratitude walk. This is a great way to get out of your head. Go for a walk and look for things that you can be grateful for. A beautiful tree, a child playing in her yard, a friendly dog, or a nice, cool breeze are all things you could choose to feel gratitude about.
⇒Avoid making comparisons. When you compare one thing to another, you demean it. Be grateful for something exactly as it is. This applies to people and things.
⇒Tell people you’re thankful. Show people that you’re grateful for thanking them. Whether it’s your neighbor for keeping his yard so nice or the cashier at the store. Be thankful and let them know about it.
⇒Enjoy your pet. Pets give us plenty of reasons to feel gratitude. Give your pet some extra attention. You’ll both feel great.
⇒Donate your time or money. Give your resources to something that you think is valuable to the world. It could be a charity or other organization. Time and money can have a great impact.
⇒Make a list of things that impress you about yourself. Have a little gratitude for yourself, too. What are you impressed by when you take a long, hard look at yourself? You’ll not only be expressing gratitude, but you’ll also be doing wonders for your self-esteem.
⇒Write a positive review for a business you appreciate. Business owners love positive reviews. It makes them feel good and can boost their business. Be supportive and express your gratitude.
⇒Meditate on the things that you’re grateful for. Put your focus and attention on those things you’re most grateful for. You might develop an even greater appreciation for them.
⇒Minimize judging and complaining. Judging and complaining are the opposite of gratitude. People that do this aren’t enjoyable to be around, either. Keep your negative thoughts and opinions to yourself. Avoid judging others and you’ll find that you’re happier and less stressed.
⇒Be thankful at meal times. Since you eat at least one meal each day, this a great way to develop a habit of expressing gratitude. Be grateful for your food and the people sharing it with you.
Be grateful for everything you have. Even if you’re struggling to survive below the poverty level, you’re still living better than the vast majority of the world’s population. That doesn’t mean you have to be satisfied with your current situation, but you can still be grateful for what you do have.
Practice gratitude. Your mood and perspective will be lifted. Your opportunities for success will increase. And you’ll receive even more good things to be grateful for!
Free Ways To Start Making Money Online As An Affiliate
Many new and even some experienced affiliate marketers feel lost and overwhelmed by the quantity of information out there. They run around like a headless chicken until they give up, or find another product to buy and emotionally invest in, until they don’t see results then give up, and repeat.
Before spending thousands on software, websites, etc ... I believe getting a result (any result, even one sale) via free methods is huge. It proves that this whole game actually works. It builds confidence, and it helps to spot where others are going wrong in their efforts. Meaning you can help them! Meaning you can start gaining a following (no matter what your experience levels are).
Here’s how to start with no website, or resources other than your computer and internet connection...
In principle, affiliate marketing is an easy concept, but sometimes putting it into play can throw people off a little. Following a few guidelines can ensure that you give yourself the best opportunity for success.
Affiliate Marketing really comes down to three basic components:
- The offer you’re trying to promote;
- Traffic;
- A way to direct that traffic via a website, or email (or both);
The Offer
This is where the fun starts!
Choose a niche:
To find an offer, first, you must choose a niche. What is a niche you ask? A niche is an area of interest or expertise that offers products for you to promote. Some examples of niches are; investing, make money online, health and fitness, dog training, woodwork, dating, and technology to name a few.
If you’re promoting physical products, your niche could be almost anything.
If you get stuck at this point, don’t stress too much. You can choose different niches at any time. My advice would be to go through an exercise to help you determine where to start.
- Think of something you are passionate or at least interested in. It can be anything at all. From music to crochet…There’s no wrong answer. If you don’t have anything you are particularly interested in, or passionate about that’s cool too.
- Perhaps just think of a skill you have that you could comfortably chat to a friend about.
Don’t overthink this step. It’s just to get the ideas flowing. Once you have something in mind, keep reading…
Here’s an example to help get you started.
Let's imagine that you have a dog (if you don't) and let's say that dog was a difficult and often naughty pup. You know what I mean ... he hung out with the naughty dogs from down the street, pee’d on your carpet, ate your flowers, and barked at everything that moved.
As a result, you started learning about dog training. You read so much that, generally speaking, you actually became quite good at training dogs.
If you had to spend five minutes telling a friend about dog training could you do it? Yes? Cool….now you have your niche: Dog Training.
Okay, so you’ve chosen your niche – now what?
At this point, you should have chosen your niche. If not, no problem – but you might want to pause and think on it a little more. If you’re still with me at this point then read on. Let’s dive into how to start an affiliate marketing business series.
Personally, I love the ‘how to make money online’ niche. It is huge, it’s evergreen (i.e there is always someone wanting/needing to change their life by creating an online income), and there are always new techniques and skills to be taught.
I also prefer this as the vast majority of products that hail from this niche are digital. That means that people aren’t waiting on shipping for their products to arrive, and can get started immediately in most cases. I also just like the fact that (aside from the occasional not-so-great product), the whole niche is designed to help people.
Where to get your affiliate links?
There are now many networks that you can join to promote a multitude of offers. As a beginner, it makes sense to go to some of the larger ones to start with.
Clickbank is one of (if not the) largest affiliate networks in the digital space. They also offer physical products as well, but their digital range is huge!
The major benefit for newbies in this space is you don’t need approval for each offer you are looking to promote.
Click here to check out Click Bank
Warrior Plus is also up there as being one of the larger players in this niche. They specialize in the MMO (Make Money Online) niche and have thousands of products to choose from. You have to apply to each vendor to get approval to promote a product.
I recommend you create an account with Warrior Plus to get started in the ‘make money online’ niche.
JVZoo is another huge affiliate network, and once again they specialize in digital products. They seem to have everything from how to make money online offers to more advanced training and software available.
One of the awesome aspects of both of these networks is once you’ve built up a few sales, you can get instant payouts to your Paypal account. This is basically getting instant gratification for all your hard work. Pretty cool huh!
Click here to check out JVZoo
On a final note, as a ‘next step’ I recommend signing up for all three of these networks.
How To Promote Your Offer
I am guessing that you are looking to start your business with a little-to-no budget. In this article, I’ll cover how to start promoting your offers with a few free methods.
Youtube
Youtube is a monolithic media platform (no surprises there), and is growing at an amazing rate. One incredibly relevant fact to note here is that ‘How to’ video searches are growing by 70% year on year. As marketers, this is absolutely massive!
This is not necessarily the fastest way, but it does work. Having chosen your niche, hopefully, you have some level of understanding of your topic and can talk about a few tips to offer your viewers.
By setting up a channel, and offering value to your viewers, you can start to build up a following. By that stage, you can simply promote a product at the start of your video, or do a full product review. Simply leave your affiliate link in the section below the video and offer an incentive for your viewers to buy through your link. i.e offer a free bonus of some kind.
The operative word here is ‘value.’ The more value and free stuff you provide your audience, the more they will get to know, like and trust you. Meaning when you go to send out a recommendation, the audience is ten times more likely to take an action. This write-up is a great example. I am providing as much value as I possibly can to you. I could have just as easily said...Nope, you need to buy all these tools, get a website, etc and put my affiliate links in throughout. I chose not to do that because...
I truly want to help people out. Help them avoid the absolute sh*tstorm of bad advice out there. Help them navigate from newbie to money-making machine as soon as possible, and to build trust. I have no need to ‘burn’ people in my group or on my email list.
Lastly, in order to scale your business you will need tools. It is my hope when I recommend one that I use in my business, you may also wish to use it, in which case I make a small commission. Everyone wins. This is secondary to me though.
No real surprises here right? The landscape across Facebook has changed in recent years. Once upon a time, you only needed to have a fan page with a few likes to get decent traction with your affiliate offers. Now due to the volume of people on the platform, the number of other pages, and the sheer fact that Facebook also needs to slot into your feed their ads, you can no longer slap up a page and hope for the best.
You can however have up to 5000 friends on Facebook. I’ve seen people make $20-$50 per day by simply posting comments on their own wall asking if anyone is interested in their product etc.
You can join groups related to your niche. Again the trick is to add value to the group and not be like every other marketer spamming their crap out there. Once again I’ve seen posts go viral with over 1400 comments simply by saying something like:
“I’ve just created (insert something that will help your audience related to your niche and related to the product you’re promoting), who wants a copy? Comment below!”
Of course, there are a vast number of free ways to promote your offers, but I really think when you are starting out it is more important to stick with one or two and get some traction before moving on.
Additionally, you can utilize these platforms:
- Pinterest - you can pin anything and add your affiliate links to the images.
- Quora - become an expert. Answer questions and refer people to your links/back to your bio where you can place a link
- Forums - Add value, and place a link in your signature.
- Instagram - DM people. Provide value first
- Free blog sites such as blogger.com or wordpress.org
That’s it for now. If I may make a suggestion, it is to stick with one platform to start with.
Remember that the results will be a reflection of the effort you put into it.
Of course, if you want to fast-track any of this information, stay tuned as I will be going over everything.
Lastly, here is a good video about organic marketing mistakes by Jamie Gardiner - click here to watch on YouTube. As an experienced and successful affiliate marketer and a truly kind person, he provides a lot of free tips to get you started.
I hope this helps! For more tips, join us on Facebook.
Effective Goal-Setting: Step-by-Step
Most of us have a vague idea of what we’d like to accomplish, but few have true, concrete goals. A goal is analogous to a target. Without a goal, you’re just drifting along hoping for things to improve. With a goal, you have a definite direction and purpose.
Though we’ve all been told how important targets are, few of us have ever been given specific directions regarding how to formulate an effective goal.
Give your goal these characteristics and you’ll be on your way to success:
⇒ Specific: Acquiring a new car isn’t specific. Acquiring a 2015, silver Honda Civic with the navigation package and luggage rack is specific.
⇒Be as specific as you need to be, but not more. If your goal is to meet the man of your dreams, does he really have to be over 6 feet tall and have a dimple in his chin? It’s important to have a clear target, but too much specificity limits your options. Stick to the important characteristics.
⇒Time-bound. Without a timeline, you might find yourself waiting for a long time because you’ll be unlikely to ever get started. Having an endpoint date creates focus and urgency.
⇒An effective endpoint date is no more than 12 weeks into the future. If your goal will take longer than that, break it into smaller goals. Anything beyond 12 weeks will cause your focus to wane. It’s far too easy to procrastinate with goals set too far in the future.
⇒If you don’t believe you can achieve your goal, you won’t pursue it. What would be the point? Start with a goal small enough that you believe it can be done within the time frame you’ve set.
⇒Do you have the necessary resources and time to reach your goal before the deadline?
⇒If you can’t measure it, how will you know if you’ve achieved it? How will you know if you’re making progress? Goals that deal with money or body weight, for example, are easy to quantify. A goal to take a trip to Hawaii is also easy to measure, because you either did it or you didn’t.
⇒Goals that deal with less quantifiable characteristics, such as money, can be a little more challenging. You might have to develop your own measuring scale. Ensure your goal can be measured before you get started.
⇒Reviewed regularly. One of the most effective ways to prioritize your goals is to review them at least daily. With so many thoughts and ideas flying around in your head, a daily review of your goals will help them to rise above the noise. Take a few minutes each day to review your goals at least once.
⇒Take enough time to re-write, read, and visualize your goals.
After you’ve created your goal, make a list of actions that will lead to attaining your goal. Too many of us spend too much time in our head to be successful. Things only change when new actions are taking place. Start at the end and work your way back to the present. What step could you take today toward reaching your goal?
When you’ve completed all of the steps, your goal should be a reality!
Goals are the key to reliable achievement. Ask your successful and unsuccessful friends about their goals compared to their results in life. Those with goals regularly outperform those without. If you don’t have any goals, hurry up and make a few! If your life isn’t fulfilling, a few goals can make the difference.
For more information on our next 5 Day Goal Setting Challenge and a free copy of Effective Goal Setting tips, click here!
Join us on Facebook, here!
Simple Strategies To Harness The Power Of Positive Thinking
Every self-help guru on the planet will tell you that the way to experience happiness, prosperity, and health is through the doorway of positive thinking. And while that's easy to talk about when all is going great in your life, it may not be much comfort to you if things are crashing and burning all around you.
But the self-help gurus are right about the power of positive thinking. You can begin to take control of your thoughts and guide them in the direction you want your life to go. Your thoughts are the driving force toward your destiny.
Use these simple strategies to head toward the happiness you crave:
⇒Smile and be thankful. Much of what you experience in life depends on what you pay attention to. Each day, some things will go right and some things will go wrong. If you pay more attention to the things that go right and dwell on those things, you'll experience more happiness.
⇒Smile and greet everyone you meet warmly. Smiles are contagious, and you'll instantly begin to feel a difference inside yourself.
⇒Pause throughout the day to think about things that you are grateful for. The more you practice gratitude, the better you'll feel about life and about yourself.
⇒Surround yourself with positive people. Most people who soar to incredible heights of accomplishment in their lives do so because they surround themselves with positive, encouraging people. It's hard to have a positive outlook when everyone around you is complaining all the time.
⇒If you surround yourself with people who routinely seek the good inside of you, you'll begin to do the same. Spend less time with negative people and more time with those who speak words of support into your life. If you do, you'll experience greater power, self-confidence and joy.
⇒Think constructively. For positive thinking to truly make a difference in your life, you must replace negative thoughts as they occur. Most important, however, is the need to get whatever benefits you can out of the negative thought before you erase it from your mind.
⇒Instead of ignoring your negative thought and hoping it will go away, ask yourself if the critic inside of you is trying to teach you something valuable. Take note of the lesson, and then quickly discard the negative thought. Replace it with a positive perspective on the same situation.
⇒Whenever you experience negative thinking, ask yourself: "What else could this mean?" If someone treats you unfairly, it could mean that they don't like you very much. But it probably means they're just having a bad day. How can you help? Do you see how this question can change your entire outlook?
⇒Use positive affirmations. Often, when faced with a stressful situation, we resort to a pattern of thinking and behaving that has become a habit. How do you create new habits that support your success instead of sabotaging it? Positive affirmations are the key.
⇒Write out the things you want in life and the qualities you want to possess. Write these statements in the present tense, and use positive language. Repeat these statements to yourself over and over again. Do this every day, and before long you'll strongly believe the words of the affirmation you've created for yourself.
⇒If a habit of thinking is holding you back, what's stopping you from creating a new habit? Try this today and experience its power for yourself.
The negative thoughts of the critic inside of you serve a valuable purpose. Things aren't always rosy, and it's important to learn from your experiences so that you don't make the same mistakes. However, you can begin to harness the power of positive thinking today. Apply these simple strategies to move closer to the joy and success you deserve.
