If you really want to make a change, you’ll make the time for it. If you don’t, you’ll make excuses.

<ul><li>Carefully audit your current situation across all key areas of your life without judgment to identify gaps between your reality and aspirations. </li><li>Assess your true strengths and weaknesses in relationships, career, health, finances, skills, etc. </li><li>Accept difficult truths about where you are now. Understand why you want change. Envision the cost of staying put.</li></ul>

Assessing Your Current Reality Honestly

<ul><li>Rather than radical transformations, start by implementing small pieces of advice and making minor changes. </li><li>Measure results before tackling bigger shifts. </li><li>Adopt multiple incremental changes to judge long-term effects. </li><li>Small steps build trust in the process and lay foundations for evolution vs revolution.</li></ul>

Making Small, Low-Risk Changes First

There's no single right guru or approach. Seek diverse advice from many sources to get a 360-degree perspective on your situation and options. Assemble an informal advisory board with different viewpoints. Varying input leads to better-informed decisions.

Seeking Diverse Input and Perspectives

<ul><li>Forget radical change. Start by slightly shifting your point of view in a new direction. </li><li>This change is not so extreme that you can't adjust back if needed.</li><li> Small perspective shifts acclimate your mind for further change.</li></ul>

Shifting Your Point of View Gradually

Desire without action will not create change. Take steps forward and commit to the process. Even small actions build momentum. Consistency is key - be better than yesterday. Expect success by forming mental maps where the change leads to a better place.

Taking Action and Sticking to It  

<ul><li>When doubting or overthinking, apply gentle pressure - external accountability, deadlines, competition, affirmations - to push past barriers. </li><li>Some pressure brings out your best. </li><li>Leverage it judiciously to initiate and sustain change.</li></ul>

Applying Positive Pressure 

Establish systems to diligently track progress on actions daily and milestones weekly. Visibility reinforces motivation and exposes needs for course correction. Celebrate small successes. Metrics provide structure.

Tracking Progress and Milestones

Review progress consistently. If milestones are missed or tactics ineffective, flexibly adjust timelines or methods while maintaining your goals. Experiment and iterate. Understand setbacks as learning. Remain agile.

Readjusting Based on Results

In ChangeMasters, Barry J. Moltz offers strategies for how to successfully implement important personal and professional changes. He provides a framework to turn goals into reality.

Why do so many small business owners pay for expensive advice, agree to take action ... and then never follow through? ChangeMasters exposes the true reasons for this inaction and reveals how any business owner can do better. Many small business owners know what they need to change the way they do things inside their company to be successful. But when it comes time to making that change, most hesitate or fail to take the necessary action. Why do most people consistently fail to make changes that they know would make a significant difference at their companies? Based on original research and over twenty years of working with small business owners, this book shows the key steps to breaking this harmful pattern and becoming the "ChangeMaster" that your business so desperately needs to be successful in the future. Over the past 20 years of working with thousands of small business owners, expert Barry Moltz has just about seen it all. Typically, his client's company is stuck with a problem such as stagnant business growth or shrinking revenue. The story is always the same. Moltz is hired, the situation is analyzed, a strategy is agreed upon. And then almost nothing happens. This book is inspired by this all-too common scenario. Most small business owners can implement a few easy steps, but what does it take to make the critical or difficult ones that could make a difference? This book was written to answer that question. Where is the gap between the sincere intent to make these changes and the actions to start to do it? What holds most people back and keeps them stuck on the same path over and over again? Why are they still so comfortable in not making those changes and staying on the path that clearly does not work for them and is adding to their happiness or feeling of success? What steps do they need to take to slowly break free and start to make those changes today that can help them in the long run? In ChangeMasters, Barry Moltz will reveal much of the psychological research around why change is so hard for so many people and the real life strategies that every small business owner can employ to make the changes they need in their company.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

business

Business

books

Books

Barry J. Moltz

ChangeMasters

Psychotherapy, often known as Talk Therapy, uses insight, problem-solving, reframing of cognitions and changes in behavior to bring about greater mental well-being. Successful psychotherapy also involves reaching three very important goals:1. Response2. Remission3. RecoveryProblem is, many children and adults don't reach all three - and this sets the stage for relapse of symptoms.

Talking To Heal

The first goal of psychotherapy is to get you to feel better.Response is reached when, as a patient, you report less depressive symptoms, clinically meaningful improvement in mood, daily functioning, physical pain, and negative thinking. Getting to a response level will be easy for some. Generally, these adults and children report feeling better in a few sessions. When it comes to attaining a response in psychotherapy, don't compare yourself with another person's experience. Instead, focus on your unique experiences with depression and set realistic goals with your therapist.

Response

The second goal in treating your depression is to bring you to a full state of remission. Remission is clinically defined as the experience of being symptom-free from illness. This differs from response in that you not only report an improvement from when you started treatment, but you also describe the presence of well-being, optimism, self-confidence and a return to a healthy state of functioning.It's important to follow your treatment plan so you can achieve a full state of remission. Not doing so can lead to a partial remission - where relapse is likely to occur.

Remission

Recovery is clinically defined as the absence of symptoms for at least 4 months following the onset of remission. <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/concept-of-recovery-in-major-depression/2BA86204CA9EB132C0DA6A88D4CA1D2F">Recovery</a> presents with periods of improvement and growth as well as with setbacks and stumbling blocks. So, essentially, you'll have good days and you'll have bad days. It's important to monitor your depressive disorder by being <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/mindfulness">mindful</a> about your physical and emotional experiences - along with many of the other tools and techniques you've learned in psychotherapy. Also, it's vital to keep up with your medication if that's part of your treatment plan.

Recovery

Living with a moderate or severe mental illness requires consistent treatment and coordinated care. For those who experience <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3363299/">treatment-resistant depression</a>, alternative treatment plans will be created to deal with these unique challenges. But for others who have treatable depressive disorders, strive to make psychotherapy a priority. Aim to reach all levels of response, remission, and recovery.

The Bottom Line

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

mindfulness

Mindfulness

mentalhealth

Mental Health

The Three Goals of Psychotherapy

In everyday life, it's easy to get sucked into the prevailing culture of presenteeism where we show up to work, even if we're mentally checked out. We know what's expected of us at work and what's acceptable and feel we can't take time off for lunch or go for a walk when we need a break. These office rules hold us back and limit our success.

Presenteeism

Do the opposite of what makes sense. For example, if you know your commute to work will be on a packed tube and won't give you the right frame of mind for the day, find another way such as a riverboat. It may be slow but it may help you to arrive at work more energised.

Do the opposite

Work from home can mean extended days and tasks that creep into the weekend. Every Friday, start clearing the decks around 3 p.p. to do something refreshing such as going for a walk, cycling, or reading a book.

Experiment with a "FriPlay" afternoon

Research shows that when we want to improve something, we add something. However, subtracting can be a better solution. Consider what you can remove in your work life to improve it.

Subtract, not add

Professor Francesca Gino taught two classes at Harvard Business School, where she experimented with her footwear. For one class, she wore dress shoes. For the other class, she put on her favourite red sneakers. She discovered that her students were more attentive and laughed more when she wore the red sneakers. The difference was that the sneakers made her feel more confident. What can you wear from your wardrobe to boost your confidence?

Wear your red sneakers

In his book In Praise of Wasting Time, Alan Lightman relates a story from a fellow student, Paul, who used to sit on a bench for hours, doing seemingly nothing. That Paul is Paul L. Schechter, now a famous astronomer and observational cosmologist and recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship for Natural Sciences. He got his ideas from sitting on that bench.

Sit on a bench

When you're working hard, it's vital to pause and celebrate how far you've come. If you're a freelancer or your company doesn't have an annual party, throw yourself one. Celebrate your work anniversaries, award yourself, deliver an address, or go out for dinner with a plus one.

Hold a party for one

How to get back on track if you feel mentally checked out.

career

Career

6 ways to shake a habit of presenteeism

<ul><li>Networking and negotiation</li><li>How to sell: Presentation, vision, motivation.</li><li>The Google Rule: Always send people to the best resource.&nbsp;</li><li>The 1% Rule: Every week, try to get 1% better.</li><li>Idea Sex.</li><li>Reinvention: Which will happen repeatedly throughout life.</li><li>Leadership: Give more to others than you expect back for yourself.</li><li>Mastery; How to master any field</li><li>Finding Signal in the Noise</li><li>Themes &gt; Goals</li><li>Creativity: Write down a list of ideas, everyday.</li><li>Failure: Learn how to fail so that failure turns into a beginning.</li><li>Give constantly to the people in your network.</li><li>Simple tools: To increase productivity.</li></ul>

Essential Skills They Don’t Teach You In College

<ul><li>PLUS: mentors to model yourself after (real or virtual)</li><li>EQUALS: who can challenge you and bring out your potential</li><li>MINUS: people you can teach, to solidify your learning.</li></ul>

PLUS, EQUALS, MINUS

I offered my oldest the very prestigious “Altucher Fellowship”. Never awarded before. Only awarded to her. Always send people to the best resource. Even if it’s a competitor. The benefit to you comes…

education

Learning & Education

15 Essential Skills They Don’t Teach You In College

Many people say they don’t like to work or that they are not good at anything. Individuals assume there is one purpose you need to find and are meant to do for the rest of your life. But you may not have an ideal job. However, there are ways to make a start.

How to find a career

Something unwise to say is "I have a passion for ....". If you have not been doing it for years, through the ups and downs, you don't have a passion for it, you have an interest.You don't have a passion for something. You earn a passion for something. If you can do it for 31 day, you have a good career indicator&nbsp;

Pick one of your hobbies and do it for one month

If you want to do something, drill down as to why you want to do it.&nbsp; You will find that in the process, your career has widened. It's easy to get stuck on a job. When you focus on your abilities, you open up infinite career options.

Go meta on your abilities

Test to see what works for you, then go all-in on your favourite or most profitable option.Absorb what other people know.&nbsp;

Don't get a job

Every person you meet is an expert at something. So ask them what they love, and soak up whatever information you can. You may learn more about business in 10 hours of Skype calls than in 3 years of working at an actual company.&nbsp;

Absorb what other people know

<ul><li>Find someone who does what you want to do.</li><li>Offer up your abilities to them for free&nbsp;</li><li>Ask specific questions about their industry.&nbsp;</li></ul>

Become a padawan learner

Many of the Internet gurus seem to assume there is one consuming passion out there, that you need only reach out your hand and find what you were meant to do for the rest of your life. At that point…

Dear Young People Looking for a Career — Do This

We have grids for all sorts of content arrangements. We use column grids to align content horizontally. Baseline grids to vertically align bodies of text. Soft grids and hard grids to describe how strictly we adhere to them.Reaching an aesthetically pleasing composition to the overall page is difficult to consistently create. Without a system to define the spacing relationships of my elements, it’s difficult to create consistency.&nbsp;

Using the 8pt system

It doesn’t. However, if you want to have a professional and trustworthy appearance it should.&nbsp;If you’ve ever shopped online, you’ve experienced hesitation when you click to purchase and the credit card entry form looks different from the rest of the site. A little consistency goes a long way.

Why does my interface need to be consistent?

The variety of screen sizes and pixel densities has continued to increase making the work of asset generation more complicated for designers. Utilizing an even number like 8 to size and space elements makes scaling for a wide variety of devices easy and consistent.Use increments of 8 to size and space out the elements on a page. This means that any defined height or width, margin or padding will be an increment of 8.&nbsp;

Why 8pts?

The majority of popular screen sizes are divisible by 8 which makes for an easy fit. Scaling by increments of 8 offers a good amount of options without overloading you with variables like a 6 point system, or limiting you like a 10 point system.&nbsp;Ultimately you have to decide what size is right for your audience. The “system” is only good if it is easy to follow and repeat.&nbsp;

Why not 6, or 10?

<ul><li>For Designers: Efficiency, less decisions to make while maintaining a quality rhythm between your elements.</li><li>For Teams: An easy system of communication between designers and developers (no fussing over pixels). A developer can easily eyeball an 8pt increment instead of having to measure each time.</li><li>For Users: Consistent aesthetic to the brand they trust. No blurry half-pixel offsets on their preferred device</li></ul>

What is the value of the 8pt system?

As a designer you’ve probably heard the term grid whether you’re designing a website, a magazine, or a mobile app. We have grids for all sorts of content arrangements…

ChangeMasters

The Three Goals of Psychotherapy

6 ways to shake a habit of presenteeism

15 Essential Skills They Don’t Teach You In College

Dear Young People Looking for a Career — Do This

Katherine Thomas