Ever since the world was put through the pandemic, more and more people are embracing the perks of remote work. But the shift didn’t come with challenges. A recent survey found that 63% of remote workers faced distractions from family members during their workday.

In this blog post, I’ll be sharing with you the importance of setting boundaries, common challenges that remote workers face, and a few effective strategies on how to set boundaries to protect your focus and boost productivity.

Why Setting Boundaries is Important

Boundaries exist for several reasons. They help us to separate different aspects of our life, helping us cope with various events more effectively. Boundaries also protect our ability to be productive, allowing us to concentrate our energy and effort with fewer interruptions.

And individuals who work from home need to develop this skill the most, especially because it’s all that more challenging to separate work and personal life. For people who don’t have a designated work space, you know how easily the kids, your dog, or someone else can take you out of your workflow.

So if you want to reduce stress, prevent burnout, and make it easier to enjoy personal time without worrying about work, set boundaries.

Common Challenges in Setting Boundaries

Distractions from family members

Working from home often means that family members are nearby and may not fully understand how busy our work can get. As such, they’ll barge in with their questions, or simply because they want to chat. 

The best way to approach the situation is to open up communication and let them know that you have no intention of ignoring them or being rude, but that you also have to stress the importance of having uninterrupted work time.

One solution is to maybe establish clear signals to let them know that you’re unavailable, such as a door sign or a fixed schedule.

Difficulty in communicating your needs and boundaries

Do you consider yourself a timid type of person? If so, it may be preventing you from opening up about things that are negatively affecting your work. It’s okay if it doesn’t come naturally to you at first, but it does help to practice communicating your boundaries diplomatically, especially to those closest to you.

Feeling guilty for prioritizing work over family

Just because you want to provide your family with a more comfortable life, that doesn’t automatically make you a workaholic. We all want to find fulfillment in the jobs we do, and there will be moments when it’s necessary to meet deadlines or attend meetings to make progress in our careers. As long as we strive to maintain balance, there’s no reason for us to feel guilty about doing good work.

Strategies for Effectively Setting Boundaries with Family

1. Create a schedule and communicate it with your family

Your family might not be aware of how busy your work can get. Or maybe they see you as a carefree individual because that’s how you are with them outside of work. But it’s still good to let them know what your schedule is like and give them an idea of the responsibilities you have.

2. Set physical boundaries, such as having a designated workspace

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a home office. But having a dedicated workspace, even a small one, can help you create a mental division that helps you switch your “work mode” on and off as needed.

3. Use noise-canceling headphones or put a “do not disturb” sign to signal when you need to focus

Some people prefer to listen to music while working, while others don’t. If you belong to the latter group, you might want to buy or make a sign that automatically tells people to avoid interrupting you during your work hours. But if you do listen to music, then consider buying quality noise-canceling headphones, especially for meetings or online lectures.

4. Have a backup plan in case of emergencies or unexpected interruptions

Wouldn’t it be great if we could control when and where things happen so we never have to be surprised? Unfortunately, that’s not how our world works. And while resilience is a wonderful quality to have, we also need to learn how to plan for interruptions. One example is to have backup internet even if it’s through your mobile internet plan, just in case your home wifi goes out.

Conclusion

Working from home comes with a plethora of advantages, aside from reducing carbon emissions and cutting back on commute expenses and time. Just remember that you don’t need to have all the answers figured out overnight, so don’t worry if you find yourself needing more time to find out which approach works best for you and your family.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if motherhood came with a fool-proof guide on how to do things absolutely right? I have three beautiful kids now, and I admit that the journey has been and continues to be a learning experience.

When I first became a mother, I learned so many things about myself, my babies, and my husband. But it didn’t stop there. I also had new lessons on time management, relationship management, priority-setting, and more.

If you’re a first-time mother, you should be able to relate to these ten truths I’ll be sharing. These truths will also make you feel understood, knowing that your struggles are completely natural.

Truths About Being a First-Time Mom

1. Motherhood isn’t always easy or enjoyable. There will be days when you’ll feel physically and emotionally drained, and it’s not uncommon for mothers to experience frustration, stress, and extreme exhaustion. This is especially common for first-time mothers who are still adjusting to their new situation.

2. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to motherhood. You’ll be surprised to find out that you and your friends will have surprisingly different parenting styles. This is because every mother and child is unique, and what works for your family may not really work for another.

3. It’s normal to feel unsure. No one expects you to have everything all figured out from the get-go. It takes time to learn how to care for a newborn that’s completely dependent on you, so it’s important to be patient with yourself and seek out help when needed.

4. Guilt is a natural part of motherhood. You’ll often be plagued by feelings of guilt and inadequacy, and it’s usually because you’ll feel like you’ve fallen short, unable to do everything you think you should be doing, or feeling like you could have done things a lot better or differently.

5. Being a mother is not your entire identity. I’ve come across mothers who say that their entire identity is defined by being a mom. That’s an amazing thing. But motherhood is just one aspect of your life. It’s still important to find time for yourself, your interests, and your hobbies.

6. It’s okay to ask for help. Some strong moms think it’s a sign of weakness to seek out support and help from friends and family. Some even avoid seeking out professionals because they don’t feel comfortable voicing out their struggles.

7. Motherhood can often feel isolating. Don’t be surprised if you find it more and more challenging to find time to socialize and connect with your previous circle. But maintaining relationships is an important part of emotional health, so make an effort to do so.

8. Know when to prioritize your own self-care. Being the best mother you can be will require you to practice self-love. Take the steps necessary to nurture your physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

9. You don’t have to sacrifice your goals and aspirations. There’s nothing wrong with being a mother and pursuing your own dreams and passions. You owe it to yourself to make your life in this world as fulfilling as possible. It may require you to structure your days very intentionally, but it’s absolutely possible to have the best of both worlds—being your own person and being the mother that your child needs.

10. The expectations placed on mothers can be unrealistic. Don’t worry about being perfect. You can’t please everyone, so give yourself grace and patience when you don’t do everything right the first time. We all make mistakes and the responsibilities of motherhood are heavier than most roles.

Final Thoughts

From experience, I can say with confidence that moms can give their best to their kids when they also feel happy and purposeful. So, be patient with yourself, practice self-love, and reach out to others when you’re feeling stuck. We’re all learning as we go!

You’ve heard these words mentioned several times by wealth gurus and Fortune 500 CEOs: mindset is key.

These are not hollow words.

Mindset is the tool used by the greats such as Abraham Lincoln, Oprah Winfrey, and Steve Jobs. The subject of mindset is so broad that one blog post isn’t enough to cover the topic in its entirety. For the sake of this article, however, there are two key points that are relevant to what we’ll be discussing today:

• Mindset sets apart the people who are “committed” from the people who simply “want” to achieve their goals.
• People with a growth mindset are more likely to succeed than those with a fixed mindset.

The Connection Between Mindset And Giving Up

There’s been countless research done on mindset and goal achievement. In fact, it’s shown that only eight percent of people are actually able to achieve their goals. What about the rest of the 92%? Well, no surprise. They give up.

And while different factors are responsible for this, most researchers would agree that the biggest culprit is having the wrong mindset. To be more specific, they have a fixed mindset which keeps them from taking the necessary action to accomplish their goals. And everyone is guilty of this, even me.

Four Fixed Mindset Behaviors That Cause People to Give up on Their Goals

Preferring to Stay Inside Their Comfort Zone

Most people, myself included, want to avoid feeling vulnerable and insecure. Whenever we do something new or take risks, knowing that rejection and failure could be looming at the corner, our first instinct is to run back to our comfort zone.

But goals can only be accomplished when we take action. And often, it will involve us doing something that is far beyond our comfort zone. This means being brave enough to do the things that our old selves would have never done.

Here’s another tip. Once you’ve taken action, keep moving, and don’t drop the ball. Leave the overthinking for another time. This way, you gain momentum and confidence, and you’ll need that last one to help you power through on the days when you don’t feel like doing anything.

Lack of Perseverance

Some people who set ambitious goals aren’t actually prepared to make sacrifices to achieve them. There can be different reasons why. It could be that they have a sense of entitlement, especially if they grew up with their needs effortlessly provided. 

People who are used to a privileged lifestyle will find it more difficult to put in the grunt work and face hardships. I’m not trying to generalize people here, but it happens a lot, and it will take a lot of willpower to fight this attitude of complacency.

The thing with ambitious goals, however, is that the bigger they are, the more prepared you should be to face setbacks and challenges. You may have to contend with a few sleepless nights, dozens of rejections, and criticism from friends and family.

If you really want it, and you’re committed to accomplishing your goals, all that fades into the background. You dive in knowing it won’t be easy, yet you face challenges head-on.

Putting Too Much Importance on What Others Say or Think

Have you ever been ridiculed for sharing or talking about your goals? Do they doubt your vision, talk about you behind your back, or worse, openly criticize and judge you for being too ambitious and different?

I do agree that all these situations are uncomfortable. But here’s an even bigger question you should be asking yourself:

Do you want to live your life, or do you want to live theirs?

We can’t control what other people say or do, but we always have a choice on how to operate our lives. And if we truly only have one life to live, why would we want to spend it obsessing over the opinions of others?

Not Being Willing to Adjust or Pivot

No established company or powerful figure has reached wherever they are now without making adjustments and compromises. They’re willing to make changes. Most people are too attached to their original expectations—they become rigid and inflexible—so much so that they end up passing up on opportunities that could have helped them get to their goals faster.

This doesn’t mean that you have to constantly yield to the demands of others. However, it’s important that we be willing to evolve, grow, gather feedback, and adjust.

It’s Time for a New Mindset 

If any of the above resonated with you, then you’ve probably thrown in the towel earlier than you should have, too. We are all guilty of that at one point in our lives. No one wants to belong to the 92% who give up, so shouldn’t we be doing something about it?

The challenges will come, and sometimes they’ll come in waves, compelling us to submit to its overwhelming force. To accomplish our goals, we need to be committed and not just interested. We have to be willing to put in the hard work. And more importantly, we need to believe that it IS possible.

I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve encountered the words “self-love”. It’s a trending topic, especially after lockdowns started and millions of people were experiencing bouts of depression.

Our world is slowly transitioning into a post-pandemic lifestyle, and people are taking the lessons from the last three years with them, especially when it comes to mental health.

Self-love isn’t just a fad word. You might read or hear about it everywhere, but it’s a valuable concept to understand, especially for moms (and dads too).

What is self-love?

In a nutshell, it means treating the self with kindness, respect, and compassion. It includes not just the actions you do for yourself, but the words you use to talk to yourself, too.

Being a mother is one of the most challenging jobs in the world, a daily journey that tests our limits and ability to cope with multiple challenges at any given moment. Trust me, I’m a mom, so I know how it feels, even if our stories are different.

Amazing Self-Love Quotes to Remember

“You were born to be real, not to be perfect.”

“Be proud of who you are and not ashamed of how someone else sees you.”

“That person you’ve b een waiting for to change your life? 

Take a look in the mirror, that’s the person you’ve been waiting for.”

“You don’t need to be perfect to inspire others. 

Let others be inspired by how you deal with your imperfections.”

“Loving yourself is about fully accepting all the experiences that shaped who you are today.”

“Be the love you never received.” – Rune Lazuli

“I know what I bring to the table… so trust me when I say I’m not afraid to eat alone.” – Unknown

“Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves.” – Pema Chodron

“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.” – Jean Shinoda Bolen

“Even when it seems that there is no one else, always remember there’s one person who never ceased to love you. Yourself.” – Sanhita Baruah

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of life, but define yourself.” – Harvey Fierstein

“We can’t be so desperate for love that we forget where we can always find it; within.” – Alexandre Elle

“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” – J.K. Rowling

“Breathe darling, this is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story.” – S.C. Laurie

“Life tried to crush her, but it only succeeded in creating a diamond.” – John Mark Green

“Most of the time I am doing the best that I can, and that is okay. It means I have not given up on myself and that I am slowly becoming the person I’ve always wanted to be.”

How quotes can help moms learn self-love

Quotes may be just words, but the greatest people in history were known to memorize and use quotes all their lives, borrowing wisdom from those who came before us. 

Because it’s so easy to get sucked into the daily grind and chaos of being a parent, we need to learn how to tap into that endless source of wisdom. We shouldn’t let our negative self-talk overpower our capability to do amazing things. 

And more importantly, we shouldn’t let the negativity of the world drain our ability to love. When we embrace and love ourselves, truly and completely, we are better able to extend that love to others, especially to our families.  

We often hear or read about research on the power of words, especially the words that we repeat to ourselves every day. If we’re not careful, these words can create situations that we didn’t necessarily want for ourselves. But because we’ve unknowingly been using negative self-talk, we end up attracting unpleasant situations.

In the same way, mantras can be used to rewire our brains so we create the state of mind that we want using words. They can be repeated during meditation, or we can chant them to ourselves throughout the day when we need to tap into their mind-altering power.

Mantra for Seeking Truth

“From unreal, lead me to what is real. From darkness, lead me to light. From death, lead me to transcend it.”

Mantras like this serve the purpose of helping you seek life’s truths. Our world today is constantly bombarded by messages and content that do not reflect reality. We end up living a life far from our goals and ideals simply because we allow ourselves to be carried away by non-truths.

This mantra is also quite powerful in how it talks about the transcendence of death so we may find eternal peace, whatever faith we may belong to.

Mantras for Healing

“This too shall pass.”

Whenever we experience a particularly emotional event, this mantra serves as a powerful reminder that life is composed of many ups and downs, and we are simply experiencing a low period that will eventually subside.

“Everything I need to heal is already within me.”

Repeat this mantra while placing your hands over your heart. As you slowly say the words, recognize the feeling of positivity and confidence that well up inside you. Accept these emotions. They are telling you that there is nothing or no one else you need—you are enough.

Mantras for Acceptance

“I am exactly where I need to be in my life now.”

We might not always agree with what the universe throws at us, but believe that it is happening for a reason. You are here in your present circumstance as a gift. There are lessons hidden behind the difficulties, and blessings underneath the pain. Everything is as it should be.

“I accept that my experiences are part of life’s great journey, and everything I go through is to help me become the best version of myself.”

Smooth seas don’t make good sailors, right? Repeat this mantra and you will look at your life as an opportunity to get creative as you find surprising solutions to what you thought were difficult problems.

Mantras for Forgiveness

“I release my past and forgive myself.”

Forgiving others is daunting, but forgiving the self is even more so. As you repeat this mantra, wrap your arms around your body as if you are giving yourself a hug. You do not need to carry the weight of the past with you any longer. Release it and begin anew.

“I release the pain from my heart and embrace a new beginning.”

This is a variation of the mantra above. Choose whichever of the two is more powerful for you. You can imagine confronting your painful memories and then finally saying goodbye to them. A new journey is beginning, one that will transform you in ways you can’t imagine.

Mantras for Getting Things Done

“I am effortlessly creating a life I love.”

Perseverance and dedication are great qualities to have, especially when it comes to pursuing success. But if you had to choose between a smooth and easy path and a perilous and painful one, it’s safe to say that we would like to avoid unnecessary strife. This mantra will help you achieve your goals without feeling overwhelmed by the little daily problems.

“The next perfect step is always being revealed to me.”

Repeat this mantra to develop your intuition on choosing the best possible path whenever you feel lost. It’s a mantra of faith in the Creator and in yourself that will keep you moving forward with purpose and direction.

The right mantras can change your life

There are fewer things that have more influence over our lives than words. This is something that many wise individuals and successful entrepreneurs believe in, which is why we must respect and master the use of words in a way that serves us.

Mantras have been used for hundreds of years to shift people’s thoughts and emotions, therefore changing their lives. So try out the mantras I shared in this post, and be prepared to witness the positive changes in your life too!

New businesses are opening up left and right in today’s fast-evolving world. Being an entrepreneur is the trend, and I think it shows just how many people are ready to call their own shots in life instead of having to rely on their 9-to-5 jobs.

Entrepreneurship is such a personal experience. We’re not all built the same way, which is part of the reason why the world is a mix of dynamic and innovative products and services. That’s a great thing!

And if you’re someone who’s thinking about breaking into the world of self-employment, one of the big questions on your mind right now might be, “which business should I start”?
I think it all depends on who you are and what kind of business you’ll fight for to see success. For this blog post, my goal is to share six general tips that can help aspiring entrepreneurs gain clarity on their first hustle. Let’s dive in!

1. Find what fits your lifestyle.

Are you a full-time stay-at-home parent or are you a single person with plenty of time on your hands? While almost all types of businesses will demand a lot of your time and focus, especially during the start-up phase, it’s important to assess your current lifestyle so you know how to integrate your new business into everything.

2. Look for a business that can teach you new things.

When searching for a business, I always pay attention to what it can teach me or what it will encourage me to learn. Entrepreneurship pushes our limits in ways we’ve never experienced before, which also makes it fun!

Some of the most successful business owners say that their greatest transformations happened in the middle of figuring out how to run their businesses. No one goes into it fully equipped.

3. Search for a business idea that’s fulfilling.

I’ve noticed that happy entrepreneurs are ones that are doing something that they fully believe in. They’re proud of the impact of their product or service. This sense of accomplishment isn’t derived from making money alone.

While profit is not a bad motivator for starting a business, there are other things that make entrepreneurship worthwhile such as:

• Seeing our product or service solve a problem for customers.
• Making customers happy.
• Creating strong relationships with customers and clients.

4. Visualize what a day will look like.

Tap into your creative mind and imagine what a day will look like in your new life as an entrepreneur. Then ask yourself if you’re fully prepared for the shift.

Different types of businesses will have different emotional, financial, and social demands. A coaching business, for example, means you’ll need to interact with one or more people regularly.

There’s a big chance you’ll need to move your schedule around or incorporate new tasks into your daily routine. Visualization helps you gain clarity on all this, which in turn helps you to make more confident and practical choices.

5. Consult with other entrepreneurs.

Many people skip this important step when they’re considering different business options, but its importance can’t be stressed enough.

You will need to figure out a thousand things by yourself. And mistakes can be extremely costly. If you genuinely have a tolerance for intense challenges, you might not want a mentor. But if you want guidance, wisdom, and a faster path toward your goals, it’s best to seek out someone who has already achieved what you want to achieve.

6. Be clear on what problems the business will solve and how it can help others.

A business that’s centered on serving others has a higher chance of succeeding. Let’s take the online retail giant, Amazon, as an example. One of their top priorities is ensuring that every customer is happy with their experience, not just during the shopping process, but also during post-purchase interactions.

Their goal was to provide convenience and a wide selection of items from every product category available! Combined with its top-notch customer service program, Amazon is an untouchable household name that continues and will continue to dominate because of its clear purpose and its ability to turn website visitors into loyal customers.

Our First Business Often Teaches Us The Most

We never forget our firsts. That moment when we decide to become an entrepreneur fundamentally changes our thinking. We go from being passive consumers to creators of products, services, and jobs.

Our views dramatically change too. We develop a deeper appreciation for the function of small businesses in the economy, and we see how large companies can impact the direction of a country’s growth.

It’s a whole new world all of a sudden, and you are now a part of it. So, embrace the lessons of the first adventure.

Running a business requires a lot of time and commitment, and it comes with a host of challenges too. But so does being a mother. This complex task of balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship usually gets the best of even the toughest mommas out there.

To keep us from losing our heads, especially in the uncertain times we’re living in now, I rounded up some of the best tips that every hustling mom should keep in mind to keep the entrepreneurial fire burning bright!

1. Our circumstances don’t define us

J.K. Rowling has one of the most inspiring rags-to-riches stories I’ve ever heard. She was a single mother and struggling to make ends meet when she was working on her first Harry Potter book. And to top it off, her novel was rejected 12 times before one publisher finally picked it up. We all know what happened next.

Our passion project may not be a novel about witches and wizards. It might be knitting, making handmade jewelry, or baking cakes. Any business idea will be challenged before it finally bears fruit, and it doesn’t matter where we are now and the situations we’ve had to face before. We need to focus on the possibilities of tomorrow and not on our present condition.

2. Remain unfazed

Being unfazed is all about standing tall and, more importantly, being unshakeable. It also means being comfortable in our own skin and embracing the qualities that make us unique as female entrepreneurs. 

Not everyone’s going to agree with our life choices. But we’re not on this earth to please everyone. That wouldn’t be living! In fact, a lot of successful people do say that the best of us are the ones who swim against the current, ignoring the haters and naysayers.

I say chart your own path. As the last line goes from Robert Frost’s iconic poem, “two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and it has made all the difference.”

3. We need a support network

Confidence and faith in one’s self are essential for our mental well-being. But these qualities also attract others to us, especially other moms who can relate to our story.

Some call it a “power circle”, a group of trustworthy online or offline like-minded individuals who can help us get through the dark times. Sure, they can give advice on business and time management. But we need them the most when problems happen in our personal lives.

We can learn a lot from the experiences of seasoned mompreneurs. You get to encourage, lift, and strengthen one another, or give each other some difficult-to-face truths about what it means to be a woman in business.

4. Success takes time

We all love to hear success stories about businesses that explode into the scene from nowhere. Their success looks so effortless. But just as a seed needs time to mature and bear fruit, we need to be patient and acknowledge that the seed of our business has already been planted. We just need to give it time to grow.

5. Mistakes and failures are valuable

The best lessons in life are often cloaked in hardship. They’re not fun, but they teach us to be savvier, wiser, and more resilient. Successful women aren’t the ones who caved in when things got tough. They’re the ones that experienced very difficult setbacks but walked away from them with priceless lessons learned. Let’s use the knowledge of our mistakes to chart a better course for our success.

6. Find your center, especially in a storm

We’re moms, so it’s safe to say that we constantly find ourselves in a storm, whether it’s during our kids’ tantrums, a bad day at work, or things just going haywire with our business. But we can’t let external situations get the best of us.

Finding our center means returning to a grounded, self-aware state. Things might be chaotic outside of ourselves, but we are in control of what happens within us.

Grounding ritual you can try:

• Whenever you feel overwhelmed, stop what you are currently doing and count to ten, taking deep yet slow breaths at the same time.
• Envision all the weight of the worries and responsibilities on your shoulders, and feel them falling off of you, releasing you from all the weight and tension.
• Choose a personal, empowering mantra to repeat to yourself. Example: “I am alive and well. I am in control. I will get things done.”

Believe in yourself, momma!

Perhaps one of the most powerful things that can get us closer to our business goals is self-belief. Coupled with patience and perseverance, the sky is the limit. Just a quick reminder though that success doesn’t happen overnight. If we embrace the journey, not only do we get to reach our goals but we also transform into better versions of ourselves along the way.

Do you have your own favorite tips on how to deal with challenges as a mompreneur? Share them with us below. I’d love to hear them!

Most of us have been conditioned at a young age to believe that failure is something to fear. It has become such a terrifying idea to us that we end up losing sleep over it. 

Our mental and emotional energy gets drained from thinking about the different ways that our lives could be ruined if things don’t go according to plan.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that’s any way to live. Yet we’re all guilty of feeling like this from time to time. Failure is inevitable, and it happens to the best of us. The real question is: how do we change our views about failure so we can grow from it? 

The answer lies in our perception. 

The moment we look at failure from a different angle, we also begin to see the different ways that failure can serve us in reaching our goals. And that’s what I’d like to talk about in this blog post.

All The Greats Have Failed Before

“The biggest failure is failing to realize that all great things are achieved by learning to be okay with repeated failure.”

Have you ever come across a story that said, “this person reached the peak of their success without experiencing any kind of failure”? Neither have I.

When we think of larger-than-life personalities like Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, and Steven Spielberg, we focus on their accomplishments and where they are now. Yet we also know they went through struggles and failures—in fact, a lot more than ordinary people like you and I do. Of course, other factors helped them succeed, but one quality stood out the most. And that was their ability to move forward and get better with each failure.

Below, I want to share four reasons why failure can actually be a blessing in disguise:

1. We learn faster when we fail.

This is an insight that many successful people share. We learn a lot from failure, but from success, not so much. Every time things don’t go as planned, we have a chance to reassess our belief system, question our approach, and check the tools we were using if maybe we missed something important.

Or maybe the problem is that we’re not surrounding ourselves with like-minded people. Perhaps we took bad advice from someone. That’s okay, it already happened, but at least we can move forward wiser and more informed.

2. Failure makes us stronger.

The first major failure we experience can have a devastating effect on us, and it can take months, or even years, to overcome it.

But despite it all, we do eventually find the strength to get back up and realize that we aren’t defined by that one event. This courage to rise up doesn’t just make us wiser, but it also develops our ability to bounce back whenever we encounter another setback in the future.

3. Failure boosts creativity.

Another surprising advantage to failure is that it can help us come up with new solutions and ideas. Hardships force us to become innovative, and experts would agree that there can be no innovation without failure.

This is because creativity is a journey that involves making choices that can either go wrong or right. And that’s just how life works. Failure isn’t just a part of creative living; it’s an essential ingredient of life itself.

4. We learn to appreciate success more.

There are many great examples of how struggles and failures can make us more grateful.

For instance, getting a promotion feels more rewarding when we know we kept trying to do our best at our jobs even when we made mistakes or experienced painful setbacks. Or finally hearing that we passed the board exam after failing it the first two times.

It’s always more satisfying to reach a destination when you know the journey was long and hard. Yes, it may have taken you more time than you planned, but you can be sure that the success will taste that much sweeter too.

Keep Moving Forward

If we can learn to see the fun and opportunity of every challenge we face, I’m sure we wouldn’t be so afraid of failure anymore.

The genius, Albert Einstein, made a great point when he said that life is like riding a bicycle. To keep our balance, we must keep moving. As kids, we didn’t give up after we fell a few times and scraped our knees learning to ride the bicycle. We kept trying and adapting, finding different ways to get ourselves moving and falling less.

So whatever you’re going through in life right now, just remember that it’s a bicycle ride. We will all fall once in a while. What’s important is that we get back on, enjoy the journey, and keep our focus on the destination.

Even if you haven’t read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, you don’t need a lot of imagination to see the connection between habits and success.

Our life is shaped by the habits we’ve taken from our childhood and into our adult years. The people enjoying the most happiness and success (whatever success might mean to you) have very different habits from those who feel unfulfilled.

In this blog post, I want to focus on five habits that aren’t so good for us. These are the things we do consciously or unconsciously that do not help us get closer to what we want to achieve.

1. Not Getting Enough Sleep

I’ve worked as a nurse for several years now, and I admit that juggling family and work can make it tricky to get six to eight hours of sleep. But it is extremely important for our overall health.

Life may sometimes make it challenging for you to get good sleep, but if you are intentionally living a lifestyle that includes sleeping for five hours or less, then you are not living to your full potential.

Sleep does wonders for our thinking, our mood, and our physical performance. It is where a lot of the repair process happens! So don’t take it for granted. 

2. Focusing On The Negative

People can get too comfortable with negative thinking, too. It’s like they’re incapable of looking at the brighter side of things, and this can actually be the reason why some people never change their situations for the better.

Don’t let negative thoughts and fear control your life! The goals you have should be more important than fear and discomfort. They should be bigger than temporary failures and rejection.

Your thoughts are more powerful than you can imagine. It decides whether you will feel as small as a mouse from a setback, or as large as a giant that can overcome even the greatest challenge.

In the words of Henry Ford, “whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.”

3. Listening to the Naysayers

We all have people in our lives who love to play devil’s advocate. They can be our friends or even our family members. My personal advice is to stay away from those who love to tear down our ideas and dreams.

But if that’s just not possible, then here’s the next best strategy: use their words as rocket fuel to blast you to success.

If we can’t get away from them, make it a part of your goal to prove them wrong. You can watch them turn from your biggest critics to the ones saying, “Hey, I know that person back when he/she was just starting out.”

4. Stress-Eating

Eating whenever you’re stressed, anxious, or disappointed will not get you any closer to living a happier and healthier life.

What you’re doing is filling a void that puts you down a vicious cycle. Because let’s face it, if you eat when you’re feeling bad, and gaining weight hurts your self-esteem and confidence, then you’ll likely end up continuing to eat, gain weight, and still feel bad.

To put a stop to this negative habit, learn to manage your stress. Get into the habit of being able to control your emotions instead of letting your emotions control you.

5. Not Taking Lessons from Mistakes and Failures

It’s not a nice feeling for us to dwell on our failures. But here’s another important insight: not reflecting on failures can be even more dangerous. 

Being human means making mistakes, but it also means having the ability to correct ourselves and learn, so that we can do better in the future.

As we’ve mentioned above, our thinking has immense power over our lives. And when we start viewing mistakes and setbacks as tools for progress instead of sources of constant shame and unhappiness, we can truly begin to appreciate what life is all about.

Takeaway

I can talk about habits all day but it won’t be as effective for you if there’s one ingredient lacking from the equation, and that’s self-awareness.

We first need to accept that we all have habits that should be removed or replaced. It’s only when we see ourselves, complete with all our strengths and weaknesses, that we can become better.

In the following weeks, I’ll be talking more about habits, including the different ways that we can start replacing the bad with ones that help us get closer to our goals. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and that you managed to take some insights from it. I’ll see you next time!