How to Deal With Rejection: A Science-Based Approach

Small shifts in perspective are all it takes to get past 'no' and keep moving forward. An investor isn't interested in your pitch. A distributor won't stock your products. A potential customer says "no" to your proposal. For most entrepreneurs, hearing "yes" is definitely the exception, not the rule. …

* This article was originally published here

5 Ways To Arrange Your Home Office to Maximize Productivity

The idea of working from home is still a huge question in the air with the question of if it is better to work from or at the office. While this is something that goes back and forth, Harvard Business Review dove into explaining how there were some high results with working from home.

Although it can go back and forth on if working from home is better, it is important to understand some great ways to increase your productivity if you are already working from home. Here are five ways to arrange your home office to maximize your productivity.

1. Set your home office area away from distractions

If you are able to find an extra room in your home, it is so important to use it for your office instead of setting up in a common area. Removing yourself from distraction in a separate area is crucial to your productivity.

Most of the time if you find yourself working next to a place where it attracts a lot of gathering you will find yourself distracted a lot more. Using the extra in your home to work will give you the ability to separate your work area from your common area.

Do you live alone?

Living at home alone can grant you the ability to have fewer distractions than someone living at home with four kids. While this is true, there are still things that can distract while at home. So it is so imperative that you select a spot in your home that is away from all distractions.

2. Get necessary supplies to maximize productivity

You may be in the quietest place in your home, away from everything, but if you have a small monitor with a creaky chair and mouse that doesn’t fit your hand you are never going to get work done. I

t is very difficult to be your most productive self with an office setup that doesn’t allow you the opportunity to maximize productivity.

3. How much are you willing to invest in your office space?

If you are lacking the means to invest in a more advanced office set up, that’s okay. There is the saying, work smarter not harder. This could not be more true in finding the perfect setup on a budget. You want to find a few things that will increase your work productivity, here is a list of items that you should find that fits for you:

1. An ergonomic mouse and keyboard can create less back and neck strain.
2. A monitor is a good distance from you.
3. A chair that gives you the correct amount of distance from the ground and great back support.
4. A desk that fits your items well and doesn’t leave you a cluttered workspace.

While it may seem that finding the “perfect” mouse can be time-consuming, you will find that you are able to save yourself so much time when working with the most efficient and productive office setup.

4. Be purposeful on the setup

Now that you have found the perfect supplies to create a great work setup, you now need to figure out how to make the setup purposeful. Meaning that if someone asked you why you put your clock on your right you would be able to explain to them the answer to that. While this may come off at over the top it is very important to create the most productive setting with your supplies.

This could mean a lot of different things but let’s take desk location for instance. If you are looking at a room with a window that shines directly towards one wall. You are not going to want to be set up against the wall where the light is shining because you will find that you may have trouble seeing your monitor. One example of a spot that has a purpose would be under the window where your monitor’s back will be to the window so that there is no glare. As well as, you will be receiving some sunlight, which moves to my next point.

5. Try to get sunlight

When it comes to working in an office it can be very hard to get the amount of sunlight of someone that works outside. Since it is proven that sunlight benefits our health, it is important that we work in a place where we can receive sunlight.

Sometimes working on the same thing all day can be stressful so doing whatever you can to decrease that is beneficial to your workday.

Conclusion

Choosing between working from home or working from an office can be a difficult decision for some people. But, if you are at the point that working from home is the best option, use these five ways to increase your productivity at your home office.

Ben Tejes is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ascend Finance, a platform to help people achieve self-improvement in the area of personal finance.  He helped create Ascend’s debt settlement calculator and enjoys working with this online financial planner. He writes on topics such as Filing Bankruptcy in Connecticut, Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Colorado, and Chapter 13 and 7 Bankruptcy Nebraska to help people get out of debt and experience financial freedom.

The post 5 Ways To Arrange Your Home Office to Maximize Productivity appeared first on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement.

* This article was originally published here

50 One-Sentence Affirmations To Help You Get Through Difficult Times

Tough times are unavoidable. Suffering is avoidable. You may be going through a rough patch in your life, but you don’t have to mean to yourself. Learn to speak encouraging and supportive words to yourself to get you through the tough situation. By cultivating a kind, reassuring, stimulating internal dialogue, you allow yourself to connect to your inner strength; you allow yourself to see through the difficulty, and you provide the tools to get to the other side. Here’s a cheat sheet with 50 empowering phrases to push past your troubles.

1. I allow myself to be afraid; it’s a feeling, not a sign of weakness.

2. I allow myself to worry about things that matter.

3. I allow myself to think optimistically.

4. I allow myself to feel enthusiasm and motivation.

5. I allow myself to have a healthy dose of doubt.

6. My fears don’t define me.

7. I can be angry, but I don’t need to lash out.

8. I allow myself to hope for the best.

9. I choose to focus on solutions instead of just problems.

10. I can’t calm the storm, but I can calm myself.

11. Breathe in, breathe out.

12. I know how I feel, but I can’t control how the other person is feeling.

13. I take the time I need.

14. I allow myself to take a break and regroup.

15. I allow myself to stop and think about how I want to respond.

16. Every tough situation makes me stronger, wiser, and more resilient, and I am grateful for that.

17. We are to feel our feelings and not suppress them.

18. I don’t waste explanations on people who deserve my silence.

19. I respect myself.

20. I believe in myself.

21. I am a smart and competent person.

22. I don’t need to invest time and energy in people who don’t appreciate me.

23. I allow myself not to have all the answers; I learn as I go.

24. I may fail and that’s okay.

25. I may succeed and it’s okay to celebrate my success.

26. I can’t always control what’s happening, but I can control the way I respond to what’s happening.

27. If I try and I don’t succeed, that doesn’t make me a failure.

28. I am the energy I want to attract.

29. I allow myself to focus on my character strengths.

30. I have the ability to change.

31. Today is a new day.

32. Today I am not the person I was yesterday.

33. I don’t like being pigeonholed.

34. I am enough.

35. I am my own unique and authentic self.

36. I am more than one thing, one description, one definition.

37. I allow myself to say “no” to things that don’t nurture my spirit and soul.

38. I allow myself to say “yes” to things that don’t nurture my spirit and soul.

39. I allow myself to set healthy boundaries.

40. I will show myself the same kindness I show to others.

41. I choose to stop worrying about being perfect; there’s no such thing as perfection.

42. Being self-aware is a superpower.

43. I allow myself to accept the help and support of the people who love and care about me.

44. I choose not to downgrade myself.

45. I believe in my self-worth.

46. I love and accept myself the way I am.

47. I want to try one more time.

48. I take one step forward every day.

49. Today I saw the seeds for the kind of life I want to live.

50. I choose to make small positive changes every day.

* This article was originally published here

5 values that lead to a happy life

When the going is good in life, we tend to have this feeling of invincibility. Nothing can stop me! Then, reality hits: that feeling never lasts …

* This article was originally published here

Highly Successful People Follow This 1 Rule

On the outside, successful people tend to look like they don’t have a care in the world. Everything is going according to plan. They have what they …

* This article was originally published here

Sometimes The Best Thing To Do Is Walk Away

A few months ago, while I was on the phone with my mom explaining how the couple of weeks before the call were difficult, she told me, “Sammy, we are fighters. We never give up.” She is right. I was the girl who got into her dream school after being rejected just one year before. I was the girl who got back on stage after forgetting all of her lines earlier in the show. I was the girl who saw how resilient her parents are and decided that she was going to be just like them. I never give up.

But recently, this idea challenged me. I grew up with the notion that I am just the way I am, and that everything leading up to the present has made me that way. However, after life changing events that led me to work on my mental health, I realized that I have been holding on to who I thought I was. The girl who always needs to feel comfortable. The girl who is quiet, so she can let other people express themselves freely while they don’t know anything about her. The girl who keeps certain people in her life because she doesn’t think anyone else would put up with her. I am not that girl.

By walking away from who I thought I was, I am running toward who I really am. I am done hiding myself from people and ready to be unapologetically who I am. I am leaving relationships that might have been good for who I thought I was and welcoming ones that make the real me feel alive. I am allowing myself to be brave and vulnerable, even if it feels uncomfortable. I am leaving everything I don’t want anymore, because sometimes the best thing to do is walk away.

Think about who you really are, how you want to live, and what makes you want to get up in the morning. And for everything that doesn’t align, say thank you for what it taught you, be glad that you know what you want now, and walk away. No matter how scary it can be, walk away.

So maybe I do give up. But I’d rather be a quitter than look back and realize that I never allowed myself to grow. That I never allowed myself to shakily walk away from what was comfortable and run and run until I made it to a place I really wanted to be. Because I can give up on many things in my life, but I will never give up on myself.

* This article was originally published here

Highly Successful People Follow This 1 Rule

On the outside, successful people tend to look like they don’t have a care in the world. Everything is going according to plan. They have what they …

* This article was originally published here