Personal Development Blog For Living Your Full Potential

By Leo Babauta As 2018 comes to a close, I have to say … it’s been a year of depth but also chaos and blessings for me and Zen Habits. I’m grateful for the wonderful readers I have had for more than a decade now (all of you!), and for the journey I’ve been on and will continue in the coming year. Personally, a lot has been going on for me … here are some of the headlines from this year: I launched a new mission: my Fearless Training Program . This is my laboratory for the new kind of training I’m doing with people, the mission I’m on for at least the next couple of years. And it’s been going incredibly well — not only have I set up the training, but we’ve launched a community on Slack with small groups and accountability and support and more. We have more to do, but it’s off to a great start with incredible people who have joined me. Join us ! We moved to Guam (temporarily) . Yeah, I didn’t really announce this publicly, but in August we packed up our house (sold stuff and put th...

There is an unparalleled rush of exuberance that can come from diving into your fears – regardless of whether you consider yourself courageous. The post Jump into Your Fear: The Act of Conquering It Releases a Rush of Joy and Reinvention appeared first on Good News Network .

You might think that starting work in your field might involve applying to big companies – but your first paid gigs often come from those around you. The post If You Do What You Love for Fun, Your Peers Will Be the First to Hire You (Then Companies Will Follow) appeared first on Good News Network .

By Leo Babauta There’s a mindfulness technique I’ve been practicing for a number of years now, and when I can do it, it’s like magic. The practice is dropping the ego — dropping my self-concern, my sense of being separate from everything else, and returning to wholeness with everything. While that can sound a bit new age-y, what I’ve learned is that almost all of our problems are caused by our self-concern . Consider these common problems: Angry at someone else : We’re mad because they were inconsiderate to us, insulted or offended us, made us feel bad about ourselves. But that’s because we’re caught up in self-concern. We are thinking about ourselves and how they’ve hurt us. Dropping self-concern, we can see that this other person is hurt in some way, and reacting badly because of it (which we all do sometimes). Worried about failing : We might not try to do a big project, start a business, write a book, found a non-profit organization, create art … because we’re worried we’ll ...

The Perfect Time to Get Some Perspective I love watching the movie where a guy named George finds himself stuck in a crummy little town working in a shabby little office. Everyone else has moved away to bigger and better things. His hardscrabble life and years of sacrifice and responsibility chip away at his dreams of seeing the world. Suddenly, a financial crisis leaves him nowhere to turn. Even his prayers seem unanswered. With no hope, he makes a desperate choice. Once his family and friends discover the crisis, they pitch in and come up with the money. Problem solved. But cash was the easy fix. George had a bigger problem, and he only came to the conclusion that it’s a wonderful life after he experienced the loss of something he loved. George Bailey’s bigger problem needed a special gift, which came wrapped in an unusual package. What was the gift? In a word: perspective. The holidays give that same gift for us. It even has our name on it. But it’s easy to miss amidst the fl...

What to Focus on Amidst All the Distractions Nat King Cole. Pinatas. Swedish meatballs. Ravioli. Gingerbread houses. These are things that come to mind when I recall my childhood Christmases. One might even say that these are a few of my favorites things, in the words of the old song from “The Sound of Music” that became an unlikely Christmas classic in its own right—a tune I would play every December as a crackly Barbra Streisand record spun on my plastic Fisher Price turntable. My multicultural Christmases Eagle-eyed readers might notice that these Christmas favorites draw from disparate traditions. Some are associated with the holiday across the United States. Others not so much. The greater Boston suburbs of my youth were not exactly a hotbed of multicultural diversity. Yet many a Christmas we would gather in my grandparents’ basement. The children were blindfolded and each given a turn to take a few swings at a freshly made pinata. The papier-mâché creation was actually pret...

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Keeping Goals Visible Is a Constant Struggle Goal visibility is one of the key but often overlooked components of goal achievement. So as 2018 draws to a close, I asked four business leaders how they keep their goals in front of them once they’ve been set. They all had different ways of doing it, yet they all make the effort. Maybe one of these strategies will work for you. If so, then you’re likely to be reflecting on a number of personal and professional victories come next December. Seek accountability when setting goals “Even for the most self-motivated individuals, accountability pushes us to be better,” says Kristi Porter, nonprofit consultant and founder of Signify . “When we know someone is going to ask us about our goals and we have to report our progress, we want to know we’ve done the best we can.” Porter is a member of a mastermind group in which everyone states their goal for the next two weeks at the end of each meeting, with plans to update the group at the next se...

Conquer These Invaders and Finally Reach Your Goals We all miss big goals occasionally. When that happens, it can be lonely and embarrassing. It’s tempting to simply forget about the failure and move on. When that happens, we miss a key learning opportunity. In order to achieve in the future, we must become excellent students of our own failure. Michael and Megan reveal the four most common reasons for goal failure, and how to fix them.

Get Your Brain Addicted to Achievement My sister is obsessed with games. Video games, board games, role-playing games – she loves them all. She will readily admit that the pure glee she derives from unlocking achievements fuels this obsession. She isn’t alone. Quests result in gold, each round of Tetris earns additional points, and grown adults spend more time searching neighbor’s yards for imaginary Pokemon than they should admit. Gamification has even become a catchy concept in productivity literature. Despite the trendy buzzword, the concept is based on relatively old science. The secret sauce of gamification is neurobiological in nature, and you don’t need badges, prizes, or points to use biology to your advantage. Breaking larger tasks into smaller pieces and celebrating each small accomplishment will do the trick. Welcome to the science of dopamine. The power of dopamine Dopamine is a scrappy neurotransmitter that plays many important biological roles. It has been linked to...

You Are Not Your Mistakes Steve Smith is a Scotland-born, Canada-raised hockey defenseman whose NHL career spanned 15 seasons. He is less well known for winning three Stanley Cup championships than for a single mistake. In 1986, while a rookie skating for the 2-time defending Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers, Smith took the puck behind his own net and looked up ice for a teammate to hit with an outlet pass. He fired the puck through the slot, but before it reached its intended target, it hit the back of the left leg of Smith’s own goaltender, Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr. The puck ricocheted into the Edmonton net and became the excruciating deciding goal in a 3-2 Oilers loss in Game 7 of a playoff series. After that disastrous own goal, Smith fell to the ice on his hands and knees, perhaps hoping that a giant hole would open up beneath him and swallow him up. Our own own goals We’re going to come back to what happened to Smith after that unforgettable own goal. But first let’s re...

The Lesson: In this helpful take on relationships, a clinical psychologist discusses the principle qualities to be concerned with when you are looking for a long-term partner. Caution should be used when there is too much mismatch between the five fundamental personality types. He describes the five types, and the reasons that finding a person […] The post Maybe Opposites Shouldn’t Attract: This is What You Need to Know When Choosing a Long-Term Partner (Video) appeared first on Good News Network .

A doting dad was overcome with emotion when someone showed up at his door with a bag filled with 14 years-worth of gifts from his neighbor, who had just died. Hear The Good News Guru tell her feel-good story of the week (from the December 21, 2018 Ellen K. Morning Show on KOST-103.5 radio in Los Angeles). Subscribe to […] The post Before Dying, 86-Year-old Bought 14 Years Worth of Christmas Gifts for His 2-Year-old Neighbor (Podcast) appeared first on Good News Network .

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh By Leo Babauta The holidays are some of the busiest and most stressful times of the year for many people. In this chaotic time of travel, family gatherings, holiday parties, gift shopping and wrapping, and more … I’d like to offer a simple practice. This is a mindfulness practice to bring presence and relieve stress, and allow you to be with your loved ones (and yourself) in a more loving way. Here’s the practice: Let go of everything you need to worry about, and just drop into the present moment . Notice what your body feels like, notice your surroundings, notice what it feels like to be alive in this moment. See if you can be kind to yourself for a moment . Turn inward and give yourself some kindness. Relax your feeling toward yourself and allow it to have a friendly quality. Bring gentleness and relaxation into this moment . Relax your body, relax your face, and have a relaxed, gentle attitude toward your experience. Th...

“We are always in transition. If you can just relax with that, you’ll have no problem.” -Chogyam Trungpa By Leo Babauta I’ve been training in uncertainty for a few years now. I realized that the people I coach and teach are just like me: we feel shaky, scared, anxious, uncomfortable when we are faced with massive uncertainty, when the ground is pulled out from under our feet. This shakiness is the cause of our procrastination, hiding from overwhelming projects, running from discomfort, and putting off exercise, healthy eating, meditation, writing, reading and all the other things we want in our lives. And so, if we can train in uncertainty, we can get good at life. We no longer need to fear groundlessness. What does it mean to train in uncertainty? It means to constantly yank the rug out from under your feet. When you get comfortable with something, you have to give it up. When you think you know something, you have to toss it out. When you walk through life with concepts, yo...

The Background: Mary Latham firmly believes that there are always more good stories, and more acts of kindness and love, than there are bad ones. In this TedX talk, she describes her road trip across America and relates how the stories and acts of kindness are much more indicative of the world we live in, […] The post Woman is Dealing With Mom’s Death By Traveling to All 50 States to Collect Stories of Kindness appeared first on Good News Network .

Studies show that willpower is a much better predictor for success than IQ – and it is a skill that is 100% teachable to everyone, rather than book smarts. The post IQ vs. Willpower: One is a Much Better Predictor of Success appeared first on Good News Network .

Cats kill a staggering number of birds in the U.S. every year—estimated to be in the BILLIONS—but Nancy Brennan’s love of both animals led to a solution. Hear The Good News Guru tell her feel-good story of the week The post One Cat’s Obsession With Hunting Birds Leads to Invention That Has Saved Hundreds of Thousands (Podcast) appeared first on Good News Network .

While it might seem that the rewards we receive in life are direct results of our behavior, we sometimes have to accept that we can't evoke change in other people. The post A Happiness Lesson From Waitressing: It’s Not About You appeared first on Good News Network .

The Science of New Beginnings For all of the champagne, new diets, and gym memberships folks are about to experience, only about eight percent of resolution-takers succeed in attaining their goals. What goes wrong? Any number of answers might hold a kernel of truth, but I’d offer the following: New Year’s Day is not a real new beginning. Much as the day after your birthday is eerily similar to the day before, New Year’s Day is a superficial temporal landmark. It is fun to celebrate, and a wonderful time to take stock of the year, but it does not mark a shift in outlook, experience, or environment. Resolutions made in celebration of New Year’s Day are powered by willpower alone. Usually, this is not enough. When willpower is coupled with a truly new beginning, however, breaking out of old routines becomes much easier. The power of new beginnings Though we all like to believe we are the master of our own destiny, the captain of our ship, this is not entirely the case. Much of ou...