Strategies for Success

<h1>Strategies for Success</h1>

by Jo Portillo Ed.D LPC

<div align=justify>“Strategies for Success” Believing in Yourself. by: Jo Portillo Ed.D, CRC, LPC Julian has the lead in the school play and has been practicing for days. His grandparents are making a special trip to see him, and he is feeling so pressured and stressed that he is about ready to give up. He begins thinking that it will be an impossible task to memorize all his lines. Worrying about all the work he still has to do, he says to himself “I’m going to mess up the lines anyway, so why bother, I can’t handle the stress.” The more he starts to doubt himself the harder he finds it to memorize his lines. Occasional fears or feelings of inadequacy are a normal part of life, something to deal with and overcome.The journey of life provides us with tension, stress,and fatigue, any of which can trigger inappropriate negative thoughts and emotions. Thinking negatively when under stress is commonplace. But watch out! F E A R has a sneaky way of taking over and it can be hard to escape the ‘I just can’t do it’ syndrome. “You must believe in yourself. You must have fortitude, self-confidence and courage.” Abraham Lincoln The key to being extraordinary -- a winner -- is to have desire and a goal from which you refuse to be deterred. That desire fuels your dreams and the specific goal keeps you focused. Convincing yourself that you are capable is the first step in reaching any goal and realizing your dreams. “All things are possible to those who believe.” Mark 9:23 “ Whether you think you can or think you can’t- you are right.” Henry Ford Attitudes and persistence can help us become who we want to become. Knowing who you are, where you would be happiest, and developing a series of “I can do it!” strategies won't guarantee you the lead role in the next blockbuster movie, but it certainly puts you on the right track. An important first step in changing negative attitudes is in looking for the best in yourself and the situation. Stay focused to maintain your positive attitiude. Find humor in the situation. Humor in any form can help you resist negative attitudes. Remember, FEAR can trick you into believing that you’re a failure whether you really are one or not. “Attitudes are more important than facts.” Dr. Karl Menninger All things are possible for those who believe and take action. Deep down we all hope that our destiny is not to be average and homely. FEAR can get in the way of our true mission in life. (False Expectations Appearing Real) Everyone talks a good game, but the winner goes out and does something. Individuals with positive attitudes believe they have within themselves the ability to do anything. No matter what life hands them, their ability to think positively can pull them through most situations. (Positive Thinking) Learn to deal with fear: People worry so much about failing that their fear paralyzes them, draining the energy they might otherwise be using to grow. Develop a self-empowering mindset. Get in the habit of expecting the best and believing that ‘you can do it.’ Channel your fear into enthusiasm. Visualize success. When those negative thoughts start taking over, sit down in a quiet place take a deep breath, close your eyes and imagine the postive outcome so that it is a part of you. Sometimes, we have beaten ourselves for so long that the only thing that will help is time and BREAD. B Breath (pay attention to the pattern, slow, even, full breaths are the best) R Release (relax your muscles and release the tension) E Exercise (a good workout to refocus your energies) A Attitude (focus on your positives, no matter how hard it can be, remember everyone (has unique and special qualitites ) D Diet (fruits,veggies, and pasta are inorder not chips, cookies and candy) Keep a journal. To review lessons from the past and to brainstorm new ideas for the future. Focus on the positives. In your journal write a sentence about the situation that has you worried. Now list all the things that are for you reaching your goal. It may surprize you how many positive things you really have going for you. Success and satisfaction in life hinges on planning which, often starts with wishful thinking. The hard part is turning those wishes into reality. Positive thinking is just the beginning. Positive Action is integral to personal satisfaction. We don’t have to like a job to get it done, but we do have to do it to get it done. (Positive Action) See problems as challenges and opportunities for learning. We all learn to walk by taking one step at a time, and with practice we increase our confidence and lessen our fears. Become pro-active rather than re-active. Ask yourself, "what other way is there to understand this?" Build Commitment to Positive Action by making a plan. Break Big Tasks Down into Smaller Pieces and get started. Do the part you hate the most first to get it out of the way. Set Deadlines for Yourself (write them in your journal) Take personal responsibility. It maybe necessary to do the thing that you fear the most in order to put that fear to rest, so that it can no longer control you. Identify areas where you need more knowledge and skill. Learning is not always accompanied by glory and feelings of bliss. Sometimes the most significant learnings are experienced with the same relish as fingernails scraping the blackboard. Lifelong learning embodies both good news and bad news: The good news is that it enriches life and is one of the greatest sources of success and satisfaction; the bad news is that it is not always easy...and there isn't really a choice. Take responsibility for your life, maintain your integrity, avoid becoming so selfish that you lose sight of the principle of giving to others, and balance the personal and spiritual priorities in your life. The most important promises are the ones that you make to yourself. When you keep your word to yourself, you harness the power of believing you: Can do it Deserve it Can Achieve it “Never give up, never give up, never give up.” Winston Churchill </div>

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