Like A Skyscraper

Driving around, windows down, music blurring; this scene is an all too familiar one for my friends and I. This is always a great time and a great stress relief. Do you ever feel like you’re just burly keeping your head above the water, avoiding complete submersion? Stress is a daily part of life, its not whether we have it in our lives, it’s how we deal with it. Cruising around the great town of Manhattan one day with my friends the song “Like a Skyscraper” by Demi Lovato came blasting through the speakers. As sat in the back seat thinking about the long list of things I needed to do and everything I had on my plate the song lyrics finally hit me. “Go on and try to tear me down. I will be rising from the ground, like a skyscraper.” It’s a great motivational song, but the question is how do we rise? In a perfect world it would be easy but we all know different. So below are five tips that can be used to survive a stressful day or week and truly rise like a skyscraper:

Time Management and Organization-
Alan Lakein once said “Time = life, waste your time and waste your life, or master your time and master your life.” When things get hectic and crazy this is always the first thing I throw out the window for some reason. In all reality it should be one of the first things I do to prepare myself for what’s a head. A simple planner or notebook to write down all the important dates and the all too vital To-Do List can make a big difference. The first step is to calm yourself down and get your feet firmly planted on the ground.

Goal Setting and/or Action Plan-
This tip flows right along with the time management and organization. I find it very valuable after I get my head back on straight to think about my goals for the day or the week. I start by answering these two questions: What do I need to get done and when does it have to be finished? After I have those questions clearly answered and written down I create a plan and some goals on how to get them done. It might sound silly but it works. When I create this plan I turn heavily to the resources around me to insure I get them done and done well. No one said you have to go it alone. I am blessed to have five amazing teammates who will help me in any way they can, whether that’s helping me study or giving me a ride to class. Everyone has resources they can turn to in their lives so why not use them. Resources are only valuable if we use them.

Support-
This one my sound funny however we all have those people that we go to for a quick pick me up or a simple reassurance that we can in fact survive. These people could include your family, friends and teachers. Being the mama’s boy I am, I always seem to be calling my mom. She is there to talk things through at all times and helps me form my action plan. Just having a conversation with people like this in your life about what’s happening can make it feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. It’s never good to leave things bottled up in your brain.

Sleep-
This is the second thing I always mange to cross off my list when things don’t go as planned. A good night’s sleep can insure that your body can work at maximum potential. It may seem like a pointless waste of time however it really is one of the most important. The average person needs between 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night. When you are sleeping your brain is going to work, converting the day’s learning into memory and reenergizing the body. Sleep can affect how you feel, your relationships, your productivity and your quality of life.

Stress Relief-
One of my favorites: stress relief! For me when one thing goes wrong it seems like everything starts going wrong. It is very easy to become frustrated when things in life don’t go as planned but don’t ever let stress win! How do you battle stress? The answer to this question is quiet simple, whatever makes you happy. For me sugar and good music makes it to the top. These two things can make my worries and anxieties slip away. Some of my friends enjoy sitting down and reading a book to get away from it all. Whatever it is for you, make sure you do it. You only have one life to live so you might as well enjoy it. Life may not be the party you plan for but while you’re here you might as well dance!

So the next time things get a little stressful and you don’t know how you’re going to stay afloat try the things listed above. The funny part of life is that it never slows done and time never stops so even when it feels like there is no tomorrow I can assure you that the sun will rise and the world will continue to spin. I can also assure you that life is going to tear you down every so often but the question is: Will you be rising from the ground like a skyscraper?

Need some Motivation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_8ydghbGSg&ob=av2e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn676-fLq7I

Self Improvement - A Continuous Drive

What does eating black-eyed peas, wearing red, kissing at midnight, checking the direction of the wind and making a lot of noise have in common? These are all the traditional ways people around the world bring in the New Year. With the New Year officially starting only days ago it is a time filled with people thinking about a fresh start focused on personal growth to insure they have a better year then the one they are leaving.

However for me that started days earlier. At this point the majority of you reading are lost. How can I make a fresh start during the final weeks of 2011? However why must we wait for time to tick by for us to grow and make improvements? New Years day is like any other day of the year, the sunrises and then sets and time marches on. Now I am not saying resolutions aren’t a good thing. Researchers say people who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don't explicitly make resolutions. The question is why can’t we make resolutions year round? The need to embark on a journey of self-improvement shouldn’t have to be marked on a calendar. Webster describes the word RESOLUTION as a firm decision to do or not to do something. That definition didn’t come with a time stamp. To me a resolution is nothing more than a goal. The word goal doesn’t seem nearly as complex and complicated as the word resolution.

GOAL SETTING is nothing new to a lot of people. The basics to forming a solid goal follow the S.M.A.R.T. method. Meaning the goal must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound. But where do we start and how do we set out on sticking to and achieving a resolution or a goal?

One day on my winter break I was surfing Facebook when I happened upon a link that took me to an awesome blog that helped me to answer that question. The blog entry was talking about dealing with change and the author made the solution simple: simply stick to our purpose. They entry stated this:

“Purpose is what makes your life worth living. It is what drives our decisions, direction and attitude. If we seek purpose in our actions here on earth, then change becomes our alley, our "side-kick" that helps us do good.”

The same can be applied when trying to develop our goals or resolutions. If we center our goals around our purpose we will surely succeed. So the next question, how do we develop our purpose? Unfortunately I don’t have a direct answer to that question. I can only provide some tips. Each person on this earth is different and unique. Therefore no two people on this earth will have the same purpose. Each will vary. There are a couple things that are certain for sure: ONLY YOU and YOU ALONE can find and discover YOUR PURPOSE.

Look at your life, what you have achieved or what you didn’t then look towards your future, what do you what to achieve?

Another thing that is certain for sure is that New Years day will continue to happen as long as we live. Things will continue to change in our lives. Time marches on. Lets use that valuable time towards our advantage and seek out SELF-IMPROVEMENT YEAR ROUND!