Thank you so much for your interest in The Insight, by Sheba. I hope you enjoyed this week’s blogs about “Taking the First Step.”

Next week’s topic will be “Accepting.”

The one step that resonated the most with me this week was creating my self-reward system. I didn’t even realize how often I do that to motivate myself to complete goals. I take phone breaks or meet someone for lunch, and maybe treat myself to something new when I’ve accomplished a large task. It works for me. I also feel it’s extremely important to incorporate taking the first step toward something new into our daily lives.

Friday Review: Happy Reading!

1.     Experience Something New.

• Our life experiences are a part of who we are.  Create a challenge that allows you to experience something new. You will create fresh perspectives by seeing, feeling and experiencing something you’ve never done before. Why not take that first step toward your new challenge today? Who knows where it will take you.

2.     It’s Okay to Walk on Eggshells.

• Just because research explains why we don’t tread lightly when sharing our true feelings doesn’t make it right. Take the extra effort. It’s okay to walk on eggshells for those you love. Take the first step toward a new perspective when expressing yourself.

3.     Defeat Procrastination.

• The first step to defeat procrastination is to understand your motivation. Create your own self-reward system for completing tasks that keep you motivated.

4.     Climb a Mountain.

• To take the first step in competing any task seems insurmountable when you don’t have a simple, organized, time-structured strategy to complete it. So create the realistic time frame to accomplish it, devise a strategy to work efficiently and begin executing on the action plan to achieve your task.

The Insight: Taking the first step is never easy. But if you understand your motivation, create a self-reward system, cultivate fresh perspectives by incorporating newness into your life, and implement a simple, organized, time-structured strategy, the first step is easy. Have a wonderful weekend!

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario: Do you ever feel like the first step toward tackling a goal feels equivalent to climbing a mountain? Like getting your paper work together for taxes or preparing to buy a house. The approach to taking the first step to tackling each of these tasks is similar.

How do you take the first step to climb a mountain?

It’s simple. Put one foot in front of the other, take a step, bring your feet together, repeat, and rest when you need to. You can use the same organized strategy to complete any task.

Step 1: Create a realistic time frame for each task or goal.

Step 2: Brainstorm a strategy to complete it efficiently.

Step 3: Create the action plan.

Step 4: Work on it one step at a time for short periods of time.

Step 5: Monitor yourself to stay on path and complete the task.

Once that is done you can move on to the next.

The Insight: To take the first step in completing any task seems insurmountable when you don’t have a simple, organized, time-structured strategy to complete it. So create the realistic time frame to accomplish it, devise a strategy to work efficiently and begin executing on the action plan to accomplish your task.

When are you taking your first step?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario: You voluntarily stall completing a task or making a decision with the intention of doing it later. You procrastinate.

How do you take the first step in learning how not to procrastinate?

Understand what completing the task is worth to you. What’s your motivation? According to Piers Steel, PhD, author of The Procrastination Equation, there is a direct correlation between procrastination and the expectancy of rewards.

Temporal Motivation Theory

Utility= (Expectancy × Value)/(Γ × Delay)

Utility: Means how needed or wanted is the choice

Expectancy: Refers to the possibility of an outcome happening

Value: How rewarding or unfulfilling is the outcome

Γ: Is an individual’s level of sensitivity to delay such as: distractibility, impulsivity or self-control

Delay: Refers to how long someone has to wait for to receive the reward If you receive immediate rewards for completing a task that stimulates you – like being paid or receiving feedback – you are less likely to procrastinate.

The Insight: The first step to defeat procrastination is to know your motivation.

Create your own self-reward system for completing tasks that keep you motivated. How do you reward yourself for taking the first step to defeat procrastination?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario: Why is it that you use your calm voice with clients during intense disagreements. You take the extra time to follow-up, circle back, or reiterate information with co-workers, to make sure they understood your message. You don’t demand or expect colleagues to do something for you simply because you asked.  You search for the right time to discuss the request. You even take the first step and walk on eggshells to make sure you were politically correct, not offensive or pejorative with anything you said.

Do you take the first step to walk on eggshells with your loved ones?

Research suggests one of the reasons we argue with those closest to us is because we feel more comfortable when expressing our true feelings. We are less concerned with our own temperament and how it makes them feel.

The Insight: Just because research explains why we don’t tread lightly when sharing our true feelings doesn’t make it right. Take the extra effort.  Sometimes it’s okay to walk on eggshells for those you love. Take the first step toward a new perspective when expressing yourself.

Do take the extra effort to sometimes walk on eggshells for those you love?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario: Do you remember your first kiss? Or the first time you called someone you liked? What about the first time you told someone you loved him or her?  These moments were terrifying at the time but every detail of how you felt resides in your memory banks for a lifetime. You took chances, overcame your fears and did something you had never done before.

When was the last time you took the first step toward something you’ve never experienced before?

When you know what you want…

1.     Don’t think about it, just do it.

2.     Don’t wait until the right time.

3.     Don’t make excuses for not taking action.

4.     Don’t wait for others to agree or approve.

5.     Don’t stand in your own way.

6.     Don’t be afraid of something you’ve never experienced.

1.     Do chase your dreams until the day you die.

2.     Do create new challenges for yourself as often as possible.

3.     Do strive for higher personal standards everyday.

4.     Do embrace the difficult times as part of the process.

5.     Do trust that little voice inside.

6.     Do not ever quit once you take that first step.

The Insight: Our life experiences are a part of who we are.  Create a challenge that allows you to experience something new. You will create fresh perspectives by seeing, feeling and experiencing something you’ve never done before. Why not take that first step toward your new challenge today? Who knows where it will take you.

What have you wanted to experience but haven’t?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships