(Reprinted with permission from author)

How To Inspire Yourself!

by Kymberlee Simantel, Human Behavior Coach, http://www.winningwaysforlife.com/

Don’t you just hate those days when you need to get things done and you’re in a funk?

Guess what? We all have those days occasionally; they are part of the HUMAN EXPERIENCE!

I’ve been self employed for several years, and now more than ever, I need to stay up and inspired. There is no safety net of an employer giving me a paycheck every week. I have to be out there and productive.

I am often asked “How do you keep motivated, organized and inspired to do what you need to do every day, especially if you do wake up in a funk?

Well, that’s a great question, and it’s not always easy, because, there are days…..!!!

In order to be your own boss, it takes a lot of work on your part. There are days, just like the days that I had when I worked for someone else, that I’m just not feeling my best. So these tips aren’t exclusive only to the self employed.

Here are some effective ways that I have found to combat the uninspired blues cycles that we all have periodically.

1. Planning and Quiet time: Plan your day…. This is something you need to do everyday. A planner or PDA is an essential tool, no matter what you do. Take 15 to 30 minutes of quiet time every morning and jot down the specific tasks of the day and then prioritize them. You will be much more productive. By planning and prioritizing your day ahead of time, you will find yourself with much more time on your hands in the long run, which will in turn create more time for you to do the things you really want to do in your life. As you complete each of these tasks throughout your day, make sure you put a check mark by that task. This may sound silly, but, the very act of checking off your completions, gives you a sense of accomplishment (that always feels good!) and inspires you to keep on accomplishing. Hyrum W. Smith, the founder of the Franklin Covey time management system, says “If you fail to control the events in your life then the events in your life will control you.”

2. Surround yourself with positive people: Call a friend or colleague that is positive!

3. READ… Inspiring books about other people who have done great things against all odds. There are many great books out there.

4. ALSO READ…Inspiring magazine articles, or better yet, pick up a copy of Investors Business Daily (IBD), someone special in my life introduced me to this wonderful source. Let me tell you about Page 3. It’s called ‘Leaders and Success.’ That single page packs more of an inspirational punch than you can get from any other publication and includes powerful positive quotes as well.Think about it for a moment, most newspapers or sources for news are depressing, negative sound bites that can actually de-motivate a person and sometimes just plain make you lose hope in the human spirit. IBD has a different approach; always fresh, always uplifting, always something new and positive to learn. It also reports the news, investments, new technology and trends. In addition to the Leaders and Success page, the Monday edition of IBD offers a page called Managing for Success. Another great publication that I enjoy is the Readers Digest.

5. Get out there… If you are a self employed individual or for that matter employed by someone else, we often get into ruts. In other words we do the same thing over and over again and then begin to wonder why we are bored, uninspired or just plain unhappy. Here are some ideas to help you get out of that rut: Instead of having your morning coffee at home, go check out different coffee shops around town. Check out a different one each time you go out. Take your inspiring book or magazine with you. Do your planning and quiet time there. Take your laptop and answer e-mails or get some work done. Go to different book stores. Go visit a small self owned business instead of the big Wal-Mart type chains. Go have lunch with yourself somewhere new. I find when I go out by myself, I am much more likely to start up a conversation with someone new or run into someone I haven’t seen in a long time. If we continually go out with a partner, spouse, friend or client, we generally focus on that person and aren’t as likely to talk to or meet new people.

6. Lastly, go take a walk. Sometimes we’re too much in our heads and we get stuck. A walk in the fresh air can be just what the doctor ordered. It gets our blood pumping and oxygenates our brain; it also oxygenates our other brain, the one we sit on all day!! In this age of advanced technology, we spend way too much time hunched over the computer. Our derrières are spreading and our posture is getting poorer by the day. If you don’t have time to take a walk, at least get up from the computer periodically and stretch. There are many simple exercises you can do to open up the shoulders and lower back and get the blood pumping again.

“Success often comes from successful environments. If you’re in a dynamic company, school or family, you’ll experience and see success. If you’re not, you need to place yourself in situations in which you can experience and feel success.”

Bob Arnot, physician, author

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