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Developing a personal mission statement can be powerful and rewarding. Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, promoted the idea of crafting a personal mission statement. He remarked, your mission is “ defining the personal, moral and ethical guidelines within which you can most happily express and fulfill yourself.” Corporations have utilized their mission statements as a tool to help guide the business through decisions, provide direction for corporate goals and develop their corporate culture. Individuals who create a personal mission may find that it helps them develop more focused goals and achieve more in their lifetime. [...]

Why is it important to have gratitude for the progress you’ve made? Highly motivated people always seem to be moving forward. They use goal-setting to map out their future, and challenge themselves to achieve more. The tendency to push forward comes naturally; psychologists call it action bias. It’s the instinct to act in order to have control over one’s life. This instinct is necessary and results in progress being made. However, according to researchers, taking the time to look back can have an astonishing positive effect on your forward motion. Why Reflect? Reflection is an instrumental part of making progress. When [...]

Long term success is the result of a series of consistent wins. Whether it is in your personal life or professional career, “overnight success” is actually the product of many consistent small victories and good choices that led to a big win. When you set goals for yourself and are driven to succeed, it can seem as though you must work relentlessly towards the end result, not stopping until you reach the finish line. While in some regards this is true, it is important to allow yourself time for reflection along the journey. Why is reflection such a crucial part of [...]

Where were you on 9/11? What were you doing when you got the news of a close friend or family member’s unexpected death? Chances are good, if you have lived through traumatic events, you remember vividly the circumstances surrounding the episode. Ironically, you may be able to detail what you were wearing when you got bad news, but may not be able to remember your best friend’s birthday. What makes bad news so much easier to remember? Scientists have studied the phenomenon, and have classified it as the result of activity in the region of the brain responsible for emotional processing. [...]

It shows up unexpectedly in the inbox. You knew it would happen, but it doesn’t lessen the shock nor eliminate the slight trepidation you feel as you open it. Mind racing, you may already be making your excuses about why you won’t be able to make it to your school reunion/industry gala/insert other event that makes your heart race for the wrong reasons. Maybe it is not so much the event itself, but the “What have you been up to?” questions that make the reunion brutal. When you think about what you’ve done in the last few years, you come to [...]

At various points in your professional life, you’ll have an opportunity to take stock of the things that you’ve accomplished. For some this is updating your resume, others this is when applying for a board seat or applying to speak at a TEDx talk. Anytime you are asked for an updated biography is a chance for you to reflect on the accomplishments of your career. A new promotion, a change in responsibilities or receiving an award are also key moments where you may reflect on the achievements you’ve enjoyed. Studies show that gratitude can have a positive effect on a person’s [...]

“The wonderful thing is that vision is greater than baggage.” - Stephen Covey “Setting goals allows you to paint a vision of what you wish your future to be.” - Catherine Pusifer Much has been said about the idea of having a vision. Companies often have vision or mission statements that summarize the overall goal of the organization. What about individuals? Is it important to have a vision for your professional life? Creating a vision for your career may seem too theoretical - after all, shouldn’t you just do your job and not have a larger ‘mission’? Your mission, however, can [...]

Relationships are tricky. Spend any time on social media and you’ll notice an alarming trend: people are lousy at relationships. But they are great at talking about them. Stories and personal posts are full of caustic, angry words that are used as weapons. You will quickly realize that there seem to be an inordinate number of unhealthy relationships in the world. It may cause you to wonder about the health of your own relationships. Do your relationships bring you joy or pain? What does a healthy relationship look like? According to Psychology Today, a healthy relationship has some specific traits. #1 [...]

Lose weight. Save money. Write a book. Read more. When you think about goal-setting, you most likely think about targets like these. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence attesting to the success of setting goals. If goal-setting is so powerful in other areas of your life, what would happen if you applied the same principles to your relationships? Can goal-setting improve your romantic relationship? What about friendships? Could goal-setting change the dynamics in your family relationships for the better? Research indicates that using goal-setting in relationships can be just as powerful as it is in other areas. As you evaluate [...]

Gratitude allows you to recognize the good things that you have in your life. Simply by saying ‘thank you’, you are connecting to the world at large and acknowledging the impact others have on your life. Gratitude comes from the Latin word gratus. It means thankful or pleasing. All the derivatives of the word reference grace or gratefulness, which reinforces the beauty that can result in both giving and receiving. Gratitude should be the natural response to something positive that happens in your life. But what about your mental health? Should you be grateful for your mental health? Absolutely. Gratitude is [...]