Table of Contents INTRODUCTION . 6 HOW A MORNING RITUAL CAN BENEFIT YOU...... 9 Increases Productivity ....... 9 Boosts Energy Levels ....... 9 Increases Happiness ......10 Develop Healthy Habits ..11 Will You Actually See These Benefits? ...12 Recap ......12 START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE .....15 Keep A Morning Journal .15 What Do Your Mornings Look Like? .......16 Go About Your Morning As Usual ...17 Reflect on the Journal .....17 Recap ......18 KNOW WHAT YOU WANT FROM YOUR MORNING ROUTINE.....20 Perception .......20 Know Your Main Objective for Creating a Morning Routine ...21 Prioritize Your Goals .......22 Know What To Keep and What to Change .....22 Select Activities That Match Your Goals .23 Focus On One Activity At A Time ...24 Recap ......24 MORNING ROUTINES FOR BUSY MORNINGS .....26 Why You Need A Busy Morning Routine 26 What To Keep In Mind When Creating A Busy Morning Routine ...26 Busy Morning Routine Ideas And Tips ....27 Recap ......29 MORNING ROUTINES FOR SLOW MORNINGS.....31 Why You Need A Slow Morning Routine 31 What To Keep In Mind When Creating A Slow Morning Routine ....31 Slow Morning Routine Ideas And Tips ....32 Recap ......34 CONSIDER DITCHING DEVICES.....36 Dangers Of Using Devices In The Morning ....36 How To Cut Out Devices 37 Why You May Want Your Phone In The Morning ...38 Recap ......38 DO NOT FORGET ABOUT YOUR NIGHTTIME ROUTINE......40 Make Decisions The Night Before ..40 Prep Ahead of Time 41 Create a Nighttime Routine .....42 Go To Bed At A Decent Hour ..42 Recap ......43 KEEP IMPROVING ...45 The Journey Is Not Over .45 Evaluate Every Year .......45 Make Changes As Necessary .46 Be Flexible ......46 Recap ......47 CONCLUSION...49 Sample Content Preview Increases Happiness Happiness seems like such an odd result of a morning ritual. After all, how could a morning routine really make you feel any more content or happy with your life? Although it is easy to think these thoughts, morning rituals actually improve your happiness in a number of ways. One reason that morning rituals increase happiness is that they lower stress. People tend to find mornings incredibly stressful. Whether it is oversleeping, rushing around to get your kids ready, or not being able to find all of your needed items, mornings come with a lot of stress and anxiety. When you use the morning ritual correctly, a lot of the stressful parts of the morning are naturally taken care of. They are completed the night before, or you wake up early enough to complete them stress-free whenever you wake up. Another cause for morning stress is being thrown into your work life or social pressures too quickly. If you jump on social media or scroll through your emails, you might not have a chance to fully wake up, making you feel stressed practically the second you open your eyes. However, with a morning ritual, you cut out time in your day to focus purely on yourself and not get invested in work or social pressures too early. As a result, you do not feel as stressed and instead feel more optimistic in the mornings. Having a morning ritual increases happiness because it also improves your relationships. Whenever you eliminate stress and focus on yourself more healthfully, your relationships naturally improve, especially with those who are around you the most. By cutting out time for yourself every morning, you are able to deal with your own issues and not project them onto your partner or family members. It can also help you to assist your children in their morning routines, creating a stronger bond with them. Develop Healthy Habits In many ways, we are our habits. If our habits are unhealthy and damaging, we will be unhealthy in our life. If you repeatedly hit the snooze button, you very well may have several unhealthy habits that you need to break and healthy habits you need to form. Having morning rituals is a great way to develop healthy habits that last throughout your lifetime. Whether your new healthy habit is working out in the morning or waking up at the same time, the habits will impact your life and extend elsewhere. Will You Actually See These Benefits? Whenever people start telling you the benefits of different techniques or habits, you may naturally wonder if you will see the benefits for yourself. This is a natural and wholly understandable question. Luckily, you should see the benefits of a morning routine rather quickly. Many studies have been conducted to test how morning routines impact a person's life. Almost all of these studies show that having a good morning ritual will benefit your life for the reasons listed above and more. Not to mention, there are plenty of anecdotal stories that supplement these studies. Some of the most successful people in the world all have a great morning routine that helps to kickstart their day. Mohammed Ali, Arianna Huffington, and Elle Russ are just a few examples of successful people who use morning rituals to improve their lives. It is important to mention that you might not notice benefits immediately. After all, your body must adjust to waking up earlier, but it should not take long to see the benefits. As soon as you get used to waking up and not pressing the snooze button, you should start to see the benefits pretty quickly. Recap Morning rituals are a great way to boost your productivity, increase your energy, enhance your happiness, and develop healthy habits. Although you will need to adjust to committing to your morning routine, expect to see these benefits rather quickly. START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE Now that we have gotten the benefits of a morning ritual out of the way, we can jump right into crafting the perfect routine. Crafting the perfect morning ritual starts by looking at what you do already. It is impossible to know what to improve or change if you do not observe your current habits first. Of all the steps, this one will likely be the easiest. You do not have to change a single thing. The only thing you need to do is roll out of bed like you normally would and reflect on what you do and how you feel after you wake up. It really is as simple as that. In this chapter, we are going to look at how to observe your current morning routine to create your new and improved one. Keep A Morning Journal The only thing you should be doing differently at this stage is keeping a morning journal to log your experiences and feelings in the morning. This journal aims to connect how you feel in the morning and the rest of the day to how you approach waking up. Your morning journal does not have to be extensive, thorough, or take up a lot of your time. You can simply keep it in the notes section of your phone or dedicate an actual journal to it. Just keep all of the thoughts in an organized place so that you can find them later on. It is important to log your feelings and emotions right after you get started in the day. This will help you better reflect on how your current morning routine affects your self, body, and stress. In addition, track your energy and productivity for the rest of the day. You want to see how your current morning affects how you live your life too. Although you can personalize how long you track your current morning routine, it is best to do this step for about one to two weeks. Repeating this process over a series of days will give you a better idea of how your morning routine impacts your life as a whole. If you only reflect on one morning, you might not be getting the whole picture. After all, some mornings are busier than others. Make sure you get busy mornings, slow mornings, and unforeseen mornings in your journal to have a complete picture of how your morning affects your day. It is important to note that you should keep a physical journal instead of simply noting situations in your mind. By the time the week is up, you are likely going to forget many of the emotions and facts of your days. Keeping a physical journal, whether it be in a notebook or phone, will help remind you during the reflection stage. What Do Your Mornings Look Like? Now that you have your journal, try to predict or imagine what you think your morning routine is already like. Do you perceive your mornings as being rushed or stressed? Or do you view them as being relaxing and a good stage for the day? Thinking about how you perceive your mornings will tell you a whole lot about them. In many ways, perception matters more than reality. If you view mornings in a negative light, you will often respond very poorly to them. Take note of what you think your mornings are currently like so that you can compare them to reality. It is important to physically write down (or type) what you think your mornings look like in your morning journal. After the observation period is up, compare how your perception matches or differs from reality. If you do not write down your perceptions, it will be hard to know what you initially thought about your morning routine. Go About Your Morning As Usual As I already said, this step will be really easy. Go about your morning routine as usual. Press the snooze button as many times as you want, do as few productive activities as possible, and do not change a thing. Do not even feel pressure to improve in the slightest. If you are dishonest about your current morning routine, you will not be able to create a better ritual. In other words, do not even slightly act better than usual in the mornings during this step. Just go about your morning as usual.

Sample Content Preview SOCIAL MEDIA and the Distribution of Information Social media has grown at a phenomenal rate, faster than any other area of the internet. It wasn’t that many decades ago that the ability to create content and then distribute it to the masses was limited to those with access to television, radio, and print. If you wanted a video, you would call a television station, which would have employed thousands of professionals who would create, compose, and bring to air your video. If you wanted print material, you would call up a newspaper or magazine that also had teams of writers and editors who would put together your copy and bring it to print. The internet opened the door to creating one’s own content and distributing that content. But still even a decade ago, it was still beyond the technical skills of most. However, today anyone can create their own content and easily distribute it to the massed. Anyone can take advantage of social media and the powerful marketing tool it presents, whether that’s using a blog, Facebook, Twitter, or any number of other social media avenues. HOW SOCIAL MEDIA Networks Work Social networks grow and prosper when web surfers find a social media network they want to join, so they sign up, create their profile, and begin to connect with friends, family, coworkers, and contacts. They invite others to join the social network, and those people invite more people and suddenly the social media network has exploded in popularity. MYSPACE A great deal of MySpace popularity is because of its music services, and with more than three million musicians/bands regis-tered, it should be no surprise that there are more than 200 million registered users. Facebook With more than 750 million users Facebook has quickly sky rock-eted to the position of #1 in the social media world. Whether you want to play a game of Scrabble with friends, send a virtual gift, or wish someone a happy birthday, it’s as easy as 1,2,3. The business side of Facebook is quickly growing as more and more companies recog-nize it for the powerful marketing tool it is. LinkedIn Of the many social network sites LinkedIn is the one most use to build professional contacts and grow a business. It has received some disapproval for being too closed to the public and for the fees it charges for some of its services, but it is also the second most popular social network site, next to Facebook. Social media marketing, is often referred to as SMM. It is a type of internet marketing that focuses on branding to create product- and- brand- recognition,- and- creating- marketing strategies using the various social media networks that are available. Social media describes the activities that occur including photos, videos, content, and social interaction. It’s easy to get so excited over the technology and the internet that sometimes we fail to plan or create the necessary roadmap for your online business to be successful. Social media is a powerful tool that can aid your business in reaching their highest goals. - Increased traffic to your page - Conversion to a sale - Sales tracking - Page exposure - Increasing brand awareness - Business development HOW TO CREATE Activity With Social Media The internet lets you interact with web surfers and you can create and promote your content by using the right strategy. You can reach targeted traffic and key influencers with social media. Let’s look at some important tips that can help you get a better understanding of social media marketing.

Sample Content Preview An affiliate network acts as an intermediary between the publisher and merchant, alike. The exact role and function of the Network varies, but they tend to supply the publishers with links, or ads, which are provided by the merchant, and they track customer interaction. They work to provide a safety net for both mechants and publishers, and enforce fair practices. The charge the merchant and turn proper commission over to the publisher. Affiliate marketing is performance based advertising. Revenue is shared with the publisher when the customer interacts with their ad. This interaction is not always a sale. There are several different possible pay structures. The most common ones are listed below, and you should be familiar with each, as different customers will have different needs, and you will need to promote them differently. CPA Cost per acquisition is the most common pay structure for affiliate marketing. The most common paid acquisition is a sale. An acquisition is any agreed upon conversion. CPM Cost per mile is a cost per 1000 ad impressions. It is not that common in affiliate advertising because it is a high risk model for the merchant, but it is used. CPC Cost per click isn’t as high risk for merchants as CPM, but again it is not that common in affiliate advertising. This is the model most notably used by Google Adsense. Commission Junction (CJ) is an affiliate network. They are one of the largest on the web, and I don’t mean like top ten. They are frequently cited as the biggest affiliate network, even bigger than Amazon according to some reports. The big difference between CJ and other networks is the number of advertisers that they work with. There are over 3000 advertisers, including twice as many Internet Retailer 500 companies, for a publisher to do business with. This allows you to be more selective and only advertise products that fit well with your target audience. In fact, when the pros and cons are listed on sites such as makeawebsitehub.com, the biggest drawback is generally “steep learning curve.” That’s exactly what this course is designed to help you with. Take away the learning curve, and you’ll be able to use this platform to start earning, and to grow your marketing program. After you make an account and you get into the back end, there are thousands of advertisers to choose from, and it can get a little overwhelming. I want to walk you through getting started step by step. Step 1: Make an account It is free to sign up to CJ Affiliate as a publisher. Go on their website and follow the links to join as a publisher until you arrive at a big long account making forum. Fill this out, and you arrive at the backend: The best way to start learning is to click around on everything before you begin setting up. Familiarize yourself with the platform and scan the features. Step 2: Prepare for Advertisers The next step is to pick some advertisers; there are thousands to choose from. One of my favorite things about this site is that you are not restricted to working with a single merchant. Advertisers won’t just jump into your lap right away though. You need to make a solid pitch to get their attention, have a kick-ass profile, and earn their trust. Remember, you aren’t simply placing random ads. You are building a connection, and growing your network. Keep that in mind. Start by making a list of advertisers that you think will work well with your brand, so that you can tailor your profile to their expectations. Step 3: Setting Up Your Network Profile Under the accounts tab, click ‘network profile’. You don’t have to fill out everything, but the more information you provide the more likely you are to get advertisers partnering with you. Remember, while you are trying to show off the best qualities of your platform, you are also tailoring your profile to what the merchants you want to work with need. Don’t be modest about the type of products are perfect for your audience. This is how you re-enforce brand loyalty. If you want to come across as genuine, then word your profile as if you are speaking directly to your ideal merchant. This not only ensures that you will draw more of the clients you can work with, but they will connect with your profile immediately and see what you can offer to them. Other clients will be drawn in as well. Don't, under any circumstances, post a first draft, unless you are intentionally trying to fail, or you want to look like an amateur who is there to be abused and cheated. Write your first draft, then go back over it and clean it up. Finish will a quick spelling check, or run it through Grammarly, and a final typo hunt. While the first draft might take you some time to hammer out, it's worth the extra ten minutes to make sure you look professional. Step 4: Review Your Advertisers List. For all the talk about casting a big net, it's best to scroll the list or reevaluate your previous choices. Select only a few at a time, and give them some time to respond. Don't try to engage everyone on the list at once. When you get a feel for how advertisers are responding, you can expand or shrink your daily or weekly merchant hunts as needed.

Sample Content Preview What You Can Achieve with the Right Mindset What can you accomplish by cultivating a growth mindset? Well, the short answer is: anything you want. If there’s an area of learning or skill that you are interested in, you can learn, grow, and improve your skills if you apply a growth mindset. Whether you want to improve your intellectual skills in logic, math, rhetoric or astrophysics; develop your creativity in music, drawing, writing, or film; or boost your athletic ability on the court, on the trail, or on the yoga mat, you can improve in any area you wish. To understand why this is true, it’s helpful to know the concept of neural plasticity. Neural Plasticity The human brain has around 100 billion neurons, which are a special kind of nerve cell. These neurons connect to each other through connection points called synapses to make around 100 trillion connections. This vast network of neurons controls everything about our bodies and minds, from our digestion and breathing to our mental functions such as memory, knowledge, thoughts, and emotions. Crucially, this neural network allows us to take in information, process it, remember it, and make new connections between things we know (animals with big teeth can bite) and new things we encounter for the first time (I’ve never seen that animal before, but it’s got big teeth! Run!). Up until a few decades ago, scientists believed that the neurons in our brains grew rapidly in childhood, but then stopped growing as we reach maturity. The lack of new neural growth, it was thought, limited how much adults could learn and change in later life. In essence, the scientific understanding of our brain was, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” However, recent developments in neuroscience have completely changed this understanding. With new tools that allow us to look inside the brain, scientists have discovered that neurons can grow and change throughout our lives. For example, after a stroke, humans can relearn skills such as walking, speaking, and fine hand movements, even if the original part of the brain that controls that function is damaged. The ability of our brains to change and grow is known as neural plasticity. One moving example of neural plasticity is that of actor Christopher Reeve, known for his role as Superman. Reeve turned out to be a real-life Superman after a horse-riding accident left him a quadriplegic. Before Reeve, the established medical wisdom was that people with spinal cord injuries might continue to improve and regain some function for months after their accident, but, by around two years post-accident, no more improvement would be possible. Reeve, however, was determined to beat the odds. Shortly after his accident, Reeve began physical therapy. Around five years after his accident, he regained the ability to move his index finger. Inspired, he began even more intensive training. While he would never walk or gain control over some parts of his body, he was able to dramatically improve his health and regain some movement and sensation. Perhaps most importantly, his example opened up new avenues of research. Scientists have since built on these early findings and are making great strides in helping people with spinal cord injuries regain function, sensation and movement. While Christopher Reeve might be an extreme example, his story illustrates an important truth: we can learn and grow at any age. In other words, a growth mindset isn’t just a nice idea; it’s the scientific truth of how our brains work. No matter what you wish to improve, with strategic effort, growth and learning is possible. Inspiration for Growth Mindsets The world is full of examples of people who exemplify a growth mindset. Here are just a few: Athletics While many athletes are hailed as naturals who somehow have an almost magical gift for their sport, this idea belies the intense work and determination it takes to be competitive. In fact, most of the sports heroes we know, from Mohammad Ali to Tiger Woods, were not hailed as naturals at the start of their career. Only extremely hard work made them seem, at the peak of their powers, to have been naturals all along. For example, consider the story of Fauja Singh, multiple world record holder in running, who didn’t learn to run until he was 89. Fauja Singh, the world’s oldest marathoner, was a sickly young boy growing up in India. He was often teased by his peers, but still developed an interest in running as a young man. He soon gave up running, though, and didn’t return to athletics until 1995, when he was in his 80s. Spurred on by deaths in his family, he wanted to take care of his health. He ran his first marathon in 2000, at age 89. In 2003, at age 93, he beat the world marathon record for his age group by 53 minutes. Singh held multiple age group awards in various running distances, and was the first centenarian to finish a marathon in 2011. If there is a sport or activity you’d like to try, know that while you may not become Michael Jordan or Serena Williams, you can learn and improve at any age. Art Even for people who believe that intelligence can be cultivated and developed, creativity and artistic ability can seem impossible to acquire if they aren’t inborn. Yet, creativity and artistic skills can be learned and cultivated just like anything else. In fact, many famous artists struggled for decades before mastering their craft and gaining recognition. For example, Impressionist painter Claude Monet didn’t begin painting seriously until his 40s and painted his most successful works amidst his beloved gardens as he aged. Monet’s fellow Impressionist Paul Cezanne also got off to a slow start. He was repeatedly rejected from art school and didn’t find any success until his 40s. Getting an even later start was American artist Anna Moses, commonly known as Grandma Moses. She didn’t begin painting seriously until she was 78. Literature Writing is another field in which success might seem due to natural talent, and yet, hard work and determination are the deciding factors more often than not. For example, Laura Ingles Wilder, writer of the Little House on the Prairies series, didn’t begin writing until her 40s, when she started a freelance journalism career. It took another twenty years before she published her first novel. Poet Charles Bukowski published his first book at age 51, Nobel prize winner Toni Morrison didn’t publish her first novel until age 39, and novelist Donald Ray Pollock started writing in his 50s, finishing MFA at 55 with his debut novel coming three years later. For more examples of how a growth mindset helps people succeed in sports, music, business and relationships, read Dweck’s book, Mindset, The New Psychology of Success, which is full of examples of how a growth mindset leads to success, while a fixed mindset hinders it.

Sample Content Preview Even fewer Americans get enough fruit and vegetables each day, with just one in ten eating the recommended four to five cups of fruits and veggies per day. If you aren’t the sort of person who wakes up feeling motivated to hit the gym and eat broccoli (and really, who is?), a routine can help. The key to a routine is that it doesn’t depend on motivation — you just do it out of habit. If you want to get healthy, make fitness and healthy eating part of your routine. For example, add a serving or two of fruit and vegetables to every meal, and when you get home from work, walk around the block a few times before you go in the door. Helping You (and Your Child) Sleep Another important benefit of routines is in their ability to help you get the sleep you need. If you struggle to get a full seven to eight hours of sleep each night, your pre-bed routine could be the culprit. If you spend the moments before bed reading stressful news articles, answering work emails, or watching action films, it’s no wonder it’s hard to relax and sleep. For the best sleep, experts recommend turning off TVs, computers, tablets, and phones at least an hour before sleep, and developing your own soothing ritual. Whether you stretch, drink warm milk, read a soothing book, or listen to a calming podcast, find something that relaxes you and do it every night. Before long, your brain will recognize your bedtime ritual, and help you drift off faster and sleep more deeply.  Getting a good night’s sleep is even more important for your child. Studies show that starting in infancy, performing a bedtime ritual helps children fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Good bedtime rituals include a bath, brushing teeth, story time, and gentle cuddling or a massage. Studies show that such a consistent bedtime routine can help children (and their parents!) sleep better in as little as three days.  => Tips for Creating Successful Routines If you are ready to start crafting routines that work for you, here are some tips:  Identify and Tweak Your Existing Routines The first step is to identify the routines you already have. Think about what you do when you wake up and go to sleep, how you make dinner, what you do when you get to the office, and so on. Are there portions of your day that are stressful, chaotic, or take far more time than they are worth? Those are the areas where you can make improvements. For example, if you can never find your keys, make a routine of putting them in the same place every day. If making dinner takes too long because your kitchen is a disaster, start a routine of tidying up every evening before you turn on the TV. By making small tweaks like these, you’ll make a big difference in your day-to-day satisfaction.  Attach Change to Existing Routines When you want to start a new habit, one of the most effective strategies is to attach the habit to something you already do habitually. For example, if you want to start flossing and you already brush your teeth each night, floss every day before you brush your teeth. If you want to start walking for 20 minutes each day and you already take the bus, start getting off one stop early and walk the rest of the way.  Tackle Change in Small Doses If you want to improve your health, fitness, and professional prospects, learn a new language, make all of your own meals, and maybe a few other things besides, don’t do them all at once. Make a list of everything you’d like to do and decide on the one or two things that are most important to you. Start there. Now, think of one or two small tweaks to your day that will get you closer to your goal. For example, if you want to get more organized, start by tidying for 10 minutes before you eat dessert each night. Once you have successfully made one change and stuck to it for a few weeks, add another change.  Choose the Motivation That Works for You There are many strategies for motivating a change in routine. For example:  * Make an X on the calendar for every day you complete your routine, and try to maintain your streak * Tell a friend about your goals, and ask them to check in regularly * Compete with a friend, to see who can stick to a plan most effectively * Create a sense of identity around your goal; that is, see yourself as "a person who eats healthily" rather than thinking, "I have to eat another salad today, ugh…" The key to using these strategies successfully is to recognize which ones work for your personality, and which ones don’t. For example, some people love nothing more than ticking an item off a to-do list. For others, a well-laid-out to-do list makes them want to run screaming in the other direction. Some people are very motivated when someone else holds them accountable, while other people are motivated by doing things differently from other people.  When you are planning your new routine, be realistic about what motivates you, and plan your rewards accordingly. 

Sample Content Preview Now that you have a SMART goal, how your self-discipline will help you is clear. You’ll need to complete your weekly training plan in order to meet your goal. Your self-discipline will be needed every time your schedule says you need to run, yet you are tired, or sore, or the weather’s bad, or the TV is interesting. Visualize Your Goals One reason why humans struggle with self-discipline is because we tend to put a greater value on present enjoyment than on future accomplishments. So, we might wish to be fitter and healthier in three months, but then skip a run because it’s raining and the couch is comfy. One way to overcome this tendency is to clearly visualize the joy of reaching your goals. For example, when you sit down to study Spanish, summon a vision of sitting in a bar in Spain, talking and laughing with the locals. When it’s cold and you don’t want to go to the gym, imagine the thrill of crossing the finish line of your race. When you struggle to concentrate on your presentation, imagine how good it will feel to watch your client sign the contract. Whatever your goal is, the more clearly you can imagine how good it will feel to achieve it, the more you can bring your future joy into the present. This will make the hard work feel much easier. Identify Weaknesses and Remove Temptations Legend has it that French writer Victor Hugo was guilty of procrastinating while writing. When his publisher demanded he finish his long-overdue novel, he hit upon a unique method of forcing himself to work: he locked away his good clothes and wrapped himself up in just a grey knitted shawl. Unwilling to let others see him in that state, he had no choice but to sit at his desk and get to work. As a result, he managed to write The Hunchback of Notre Dame in just a few months. Whether true or not, this story illustrates an excellent method of strengthening your self-discipline – namely, avoiding temptation. Many people imagine that self-discipline involves looking temptation squarely in the eye and saying no. However, temptation is, well, tempting. People with self-discipline aren’t able to resist temptation with super-human strength. Instead, studies show that people who show the greatest levels of self-control have the fewest episodes of temptation. In other words, they organize their life so that they avoid running into temptations that might disrupt their goals. For example, if Bob is trying to improve his diet, he might walk around the block to avoid passing his favorite bakery. If Jane knows that she’ll lose hours to scrolling on social media if she picks up her phone at work, she’ll lock her phone in a drawer when she gets to the office. There are many ways to arrange your life in order to avoid temptation and encourage good behavior. To do this for yourself, first think of your goal. Then, identify two or three reasons why it’s hard to achieve. Next, brainstorm ways to help reduce temptation and avoid distraction, so you can focus on achieving your goal. Here are some examples: If you want to cut down on social media use, install software on your computer that blocks access to particular sites during work hours, and delete social media apps on your phone. If you want to eat better, clean your cupboards of unhealthy foods, and buy only the groceries on your eating plan. If you struggle to stop hitting the snooze button, move your alarm clock across the room so you have to get up to turn it off. If it’s too tempting to play games when you should be studying, lend your gaming console to a friend until exam period is over. Reduce Decision Fatigue with Smart Habits What do Mark Zuckerberg, Barack Obama and musician Adele have in common? The answer is, they all wear the same thing every day. Whether it’s Zuckerberg’s grey t-shirt, Obama’s suits, or Adele’s black dress, having a grab-and-go uniform means that’s one less decision that they each have to make each day. That’s important because studies show that making decisions is exhausting. Just as there are only so many bicep curls a person can do, even the most self-disciplined person only has so much willpower each day. Making choices all day long slowly drains that willpower and after a while, decision fatigue sets in. Once we’ve exhausted our self-control for the day, we start making poor choices. So, what’s the cure for decision fatigue? It’s to establish good habits. Once a behavior becomes habitual, we are no longer making a conscious decision to do it; we just do it automatically. For example, do you make a conscious decision to brush your teeth each night? Or, do you just shuffle to the bathroom and start polishing those pearly whites on autopilot? If it’s the latter, thank your parents. At some point in your childhood, they instilled that habit in you, and now you don’t have to think about brushing your teeth. You just do it. The more we can build habits that help make healthy behaviors automatic and streamline the number of decisions we make each day, the more willpower we conserve for when we really need it. For example: Establish a uniform. You don’t need to wear just a grey t-shirt every day, but do try paring down your wardrobe choices to just a few outfits. You can also apply the same logic to other parts of your day: have a “usual” lunch order, a favorite parking spot, and so on. The fewer small choices you need to make, the more energy you have for the important stuff. Obey your schedule. Sit down once a week and schedule all of your most important tasks, whether at work or home. Then, you don’t have to debate when to go to the gym, study for your test, or call your least-favorite client. Just do the next thing on the calendar. Piggyback on existing habits. When trying to establish a new habit, it’s easier to build on something you already do than to start from scratch. For example, you probably brush your teeth every day without fail. So, if you need to start taking daily medication, put your pills right next to your toothbrush, and take them every day before you brush. Soon, taking your pills will be a habit.

Sample Content Preview Identifying What Makes You Worried and Stressed In small doses, stress can be healthy and inspiring. When you stare down a difficult run on the ski hill, wait behind the curtain before you step out to give a speech, or walk into a new job for a first time, the butterflies you feel in your stomach are caused by stress. A little stress fires us up and gets us ready meet new challenges head-on. Unfortunately, too much stress has the opposite effect, and can result in serious health consequences, as discussed above. Humans tend to feel stress any time we experience change or loss. Common sources of stress including negative events, such the loss of a friend or family member, a serious health problem, a traumatic event such as a crime or natural disaster, or financial difficulties. Positive events such as starting a new job, getting married, or moving homes can also be very stressful because these events involve both the uncertainty of new situations, and the loss of the familiar. Work and school are major sources of stress for Americans, with 40% of Americans experiencing stress at work, and 80% of college students saying that they feel stress sometimes or often. Stress at work and at school can have many causes, and many are similar: worries about performance, interpersonal struggles with colleagues and bosses (or fellow students and teachers), financial worries, and overwhelm from too much to do and too little time to do it. Worry about the news and world events, as well as the personal effects that larger forces may have, are also major sources of stress. For people in marginalized and minority communities, worries about the news may be more urgent: these groups are more likely to be affected in difficult economic times, and are likely to experience more negative effects from climate change and pollution. Whatever the cause of your stress, it can be managed. Simple self-care strategies can help you manage stress and perform at your best. In addition to following the self-care suggestions laid out in the next section, consider talking to a therapist or a life coach about your specific stressors. These experts can help you navigate your specific situation and teach you coping skills that are tailored to your own strengths and weaknesses. If you are in serious distress, speak to your doctor. There are many treatments that can help manage the negative effects of stress on your body, and help you feel better soon. Finding Peace in the Chaos While there are many relaxation techniques that can help you find calmness and control in the midst of chaos, the simple truth is that most of our health comes down to four simple practices: sleeping well, exercising, eating well, and forging meaningful connections with others. If you don’t have these four parts of your life under control, start there.  Sleep Adults need around seven to nine hours of sleep each night, teens need eight to ten, and school-aged children need nine to eleven. Sleep is essential for our health, mood, and cognitive function. A lack of sleep increases your risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, mood disorders, and dementia. In addition to the long-term effects, a lack of sleep lowers your productivity and reaction speed to a similar degree as alcohol. Studies show that after 17-19 hours without sleep, driving ability is impacted as much as a blood alcohol level of 0.05, the legal limit in many places. It’s simply impossible to perform well when you are overtired. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, getting more should be your number one priority. Without enough rest, it’s impossible to relax and find calmness in your life. To improve your sleep:  Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day Keep your bedroom temperature between 60 and 67°F (15-19°C) Stop using screens, electronics or TVs for an hour before bed Develop a soothing night-time ritual, such as reading a book, taking a bath, or sipping chamomile tea Consult your doctor if sleep problems persist. There are many techniques that can help you get a better night’s sleep.  Exercise  When you are stressed, your body prepares for physical battle. This is known as the “fight or flight” response, and it occurs when your body releases stress chemicals, including cortisol and adrenaline, in response to a stressor. These chemicals help us fight our enemies, but if they circulate in our blood stream for too long, they can cause inflammation and a variety of health problems. Fortunately, any kind of exercise or physical activity helps your body burn off stress chemicals and return to a relaxed state. In addition to lowering your stress levels, getting enough movement in your day helps keep your weight steady; lowers your risk of heart disease, blood pressure, and diabetes; strengthens your bones and muscles; improves your mood; and keeps your brain and memory sharp as you age.  While exercise is one of the best ways to improve health, lower stress levels, and stay youthful, only 20% of Americans get the recommended minimum of 150 minutes of moderate movement in per week. That’s just 20-30 minutes of walking, most days of the week. If you don’t yet get 150 minutes of moderate activity each week, start moving today! Whether you walk, run, bike, swim, dance, garden, or just play with the dog, the activity doesn’t matter as long you get your heart pumping. The key to sticking with an exercise plan is finding something you enjoy doing. If 20-30 minutes is too much right now, just do what you can. Even a couple of minutes is better than nothing – every bit counts!  Eating Well What we eat dramatically affects our health, mood, and cognitive function. A poor diet raises your risks of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, some types of cancer, and dementia. In contrast, eating well helps keep us healthy and combats the effects of stress on our body. Yet, in America, only one in ten people get the recommended 1.5 to 2 cups of fruits and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables each day. Simply by adding a serving of vegetables and piece of fruit to each meal, most Americans would feel a big improvement in their health, energy, and wellbeing. Even though – or maybe because – most Americans don’t eat a healthy diet, we are surrounded by books, magazines, websites and social media filled with advice on exactly what to eat to get healthy, lose weight, make a million dollars, get famous, and walk on water. Despite the grandiose claims of most diet plans, the basics of healthy eating are simple:

Sample Content Preview Family time is one of the most important aspects as you may remember from your own childhood, playing games with your parents, siblings, cousins, and friends. It was fun and everyone loved it. Playing games helped build strong bonds between you and your loved ones. Games helped keep you connected and, most likely, had a long-lasting impact on your family, even if you don't immediately recognize it. Playing age-appropriate games keeps children, and you, engaged. They challenge the mind, teach you strategy, problem solving, pattern recognition, collaboration, critical thinking, deductive reasoning, teamwork, and many other skills. Playing games helps build confidence, reduces stress, and can even help boost brain development in kids. Some games boost motor skills and can even lead to getting better grades in school. Games bring fun, laughter, conversations, and so much more to the table. It teaches children the importance of family, flexibility, and sportsmanship. It helps young ones learn to follow rules and to win and lose gracefully. Playing pen and paper games reduces electronic screen time which is great for both mental and physical wellbeing If done on a regular basis, you can start new traditions that will create fond memories that last a lifetime. One of our favorite things about playing games is that many only need pen and paper to play. Creating them is inexpensive, which is great when so many are out of work or working reduced hours. When selecting games to play, consider the age necessary to understand the rules. Choose games that help improve certain skills. Also, ensure the games are ones that your child will enjoy, though definitely push them outside the box a bit to challenge them as well. When you think about family game nights, you may think board games - which are not always cheap - and games that take hours to play. That's not always the case though. You can create paper versions of some of those board games. Some games don't take long to play and are still a lot of fun. So, consider how you can make and play games that fit your family's needs. In this package, we've created 10 game templates to get you started. You can use them individually or combine them to quickly create activity books and more to sell and use for your own family. Templates you'll find in this bundle include paper versions of Battleship, Crossword Puzzles, Cryptograms, Sudoku, Word Puzzles, Word Searches, Hangman, Connect Four, Word Scrambles, Tic Tac Toe and Dots and Boxes. We've also included 80+ ready-to-go games to help you get a jumpstart on creating new memories with your family. Let’s Talk About the Templates Included in this Month’s Package: Our goal every month is to make things simpler for you…to make it easier for you to reach more people in your business and get more sales. With that in mind, let’s look at this month’s templates pack. This bundle includes 10 game templates to get you started including include paper versions of Battleship, Crossword Puzzles, Cryptograms, Sudoku, Word Puzzles, Word Searches, Hangman, Connect Four, Word Scrambles, Tic Tac Toe and Dots and Boxes. Also included is 80+ ready-to-go games! Now let’s take a closer look! 10 Game Templates Use these game templates to get you started. Use them individually or combine them to create activity books and more.

Table of Contents Introduction 6 Chapter 1: The Trainer Called Adversity .. 9 Tough Times Are Not Avoidable ......... 9 Adversity Is A Trainer . 13 Chapter 2: Critical Facts About Adversity ......... 19 Tough Times Don’t Last Forever ...... 19 Adversity Is For All ..... 21 There’s No Glory Without Adversity 24 Chapter 3: Even the Rich Cries.... 28 Walt Disney ..... 28 Oprah Winfrey . 30 Bill Gates .......... 31 Colonel Sanders .......... 32 JK Rowling ...... 33 Stephen King ... 35 Chapter 4: Why You Should Stand During Periods of Adversity ... 37 Greater Resilience ....... 37 Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills .... 38 Leadership Skills......... 40 Higher Self-Esteem ..... 41 Empathy .......... 42 Lower Anxiety .. 43 Chapter 5: Dangers of Withering Under Pressure ........ 46 Depression ....... 46 Lack of Self-Confidence ......... 48 Loss of Trust .... 49 Fear ....... 50 Shame ....51 Suicidal Ideation ......... 52 Chapter 6: How To Build A Resilient Spirit ....... 55 See Every Challenge As An Opportunity ..... 55 Always Learn From Your Past .......... 56 Reduce Your Expectations ..... 58 Be Optimistic ... 59 Take Life One Step At A Time 60 Be Flexible ....... 62 Chapter 7: Common Obstacles To Building Resilience . 64 Getting Stuck To the Past ...... 64 Pessimism About The Future 65 Low Self-Efficacy ........ 66 Lack of the Right Relationships ........ 67 Lack of Focus ... 69 Upward Social Comparison ... 70 Chapter 8: Finish Strong! 72 Be Grateful ....... 72 Surrender Is A Choice: Never Take It! ......... 74 You Have Nothing To Lose Again ..... 75 Make New Friends ...... 76 Take a Step Back To Run Forward ... 77 Believe In Yourself Again ....... 78 Conclusion 79 Sample Content Preview Chapter 1: The Trainer Called Adversity Experience is the best teacher; adversity is the most accomplished trainer. No one really ever wants to face misfortune. We would all have preferred to go through life, enjoying the ride without bumps. However, things are not always as planned and life is not a bed of roses and chocolates, there are always thorns somewhere. In this chapter, we’ll explore how the troubles that come our way have come to make us and not break us. Tough Times Are Not Avoidable The truth that many people wish isn’t true but is the reality is that adversity is inevitable. There’re no magic potions or wands that can make an individual avoid troubles and misfortunes in life. Therefore, you shouldn’t be hoping that you won’t encounter unpleasant periods in your life. Rather, you should be hoping that you won’t experience difficulties that will break you to the extent that you won’t be able to rise up. Indeed, there are terrible situations that can shake a person and make you feel you are cursed. However, if you keep rising from the ashes like the phoenix, you can live a beautiful life. Adversity isn’t avoidable because of the following reasons. You Have Dreams You Want to Achieve The year 2006 must have been one of the worst years for former Arsenal and French national team football player, Thierry Henry. It was a year Thierry was teary because of the unfortunate situations he found himself in. He lost both the World Cup final and the UEFA Champions League final that year. These two trophies are the greatest in world football and every footballer dreams of winning one or even both trophies before they retire. In fact, some great football players are mocked after their retirement when they didn’t win these trophies during their active days. So, for a man to have lost both trophies in the same year is indeed a sad situation. Thierry Henry would go on to win the Champions League with Barcelona eventually. The point is that we face challenges and sad days because we have dreams and aspirations we want to accomplish. So, we become frustrated when we don’t achieve them. As long as a person has goals he wants to achieve, adversity is inevitable. You Have People and Things You Care About Another reason tough times are unavoidable is that we have loved ones and things we want to work out. We all hope to enjoy the companionship and camaraderie of our friends and families for a long time. However, this is not often the case. Sometimes, we lose them to unfortunate situations such as diseases and accidents. Those days are sad and dark in our lives. It is often tough to move on after the loss of a person very dear to us. Sadly, these situations are part and parcel of life. So, adversity isn’t avoidable because we don’t have control over situations such as how long our loved ones will live. We care about them and will definitely be devastated when we lose them. We Have Emotions One of the biggest differences between human beings and robots is the fact that we have emotions, but they don’t. Our feelings are some of the most beautiful parts of our lives. They are the reason we feel appreciated when people celebrate us on our birthdays or when we achieve something significant. Our emotions are also the reasons we feel connected to loved ones and enjoy spending time with them. However, our feelings are also responsible for unpleasant states such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideations. It is because you can feel that you are sad when you experience heartbreak. A robot, regardless of its sophistication, doesn’t understand such things. Your feelings are also responsible for experiences such as betrayals, disappointments, and frustrations. You will always have reasons for such feelings as long as you are alive. Therefore, adversity isn’t avoidable. Adversity Is A Trainer In the words of Booker T. Washington, “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” You should not ignore such wise words. Having been a leading voice of former slaves and their descendants who weathered oppression at different times, Washington knows a thing or two about adversity. So, you should listen to what he has to say. You might not like the sound of it, but adversity is needed. It is that trainer that takes you by the hand and leads you to the destination of your success. So, count it all joy during those days when it feels as though the universe has a grudge against you. It is a training that will take away the dross from your silver and make you a shiny star. According to Tony Robbins, “Problems are the gifts that make us dig out and figure out who we are, what we’re made for, and what we’re responsible to give back to life.” So, quit cursing your luck during those moments you feel like your world is crashing. Your training is on! If you see things this way, you will be able to build more resilience. There is no other way to make a person strong and rugged than the tough times he or she has had. Those moments make you realize that you are stronger than you think. When you are always avoiding challenging situations, you are missing the opportunities to train yourself for future challenges. Below are the reasons you should not run away from challenges. You’ll Not Be Able To Achieve Your Goals There are always challenges you have to overcome before you can achieve a goal. Indeed, the level of difficulties differs. However, you must encounter and overcome difficult situations to accomplish your dreams and aspirations in life. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that Booker T. Washington said earlier that the success of a man should be measured by how many obstacles he has overcome. No one can become a success without solving problems. Anyone who is not willing to succeed despite odds stacking up against him should forget about becoming an achiever. You’ll Become Vulnerable The last thing you want is to be treated like a weakling. Nonetheless, you can set yourself up to be vulnerable to changes when you have a culture of looking for the easy way out. This approach will make you restricted to your plan A. You will not be able to recover once something interferes with your original plan. For example, you will not be able to come up with another winning strategy as an entrepreneur once your initial strategy isn’t working. You’ll Not Be Able To Cope Effectively With Stress Whether we like it or not, we cannot avoid stress. Therefore, it is crucial that we have excellent coping mechanisms and strategies to avoid being overwhelmed by stress. When you have faced a stressful situation before, you won’t be anxious when facing it again. However, when you are new to a situation, you might not have the confidence to face it because you are naïve. This state of mind makes you prone to mistakes, which can be costly and damaging in some situations.

Table of Contents Introduction 6 The Truth About Obstacles . 9 Why Looking at Both the Negatives and Positives Matters ....... 9 Possible Negatives of Obstacles 10 Guaranteed Positives of Obstacles ..... 11 Forces You to Grow ..... 11 Helps You to Get to Know Yourself Better ....... 11 Improves Self-Esteem .. 12 Improves Relationships 12 Recap ..... 12 Perception Matters .... 14 What Psychology Says About Perception .... 14 Popular Mindsets ..... 15 Fixed Mindset ...... 16 Growth Mindset ... 16 Mixed Mindset ..... 17 Recap ..... 17 You’re Not In Control 19 Knowing When To Let Go . 19 How to Let Go of Control ... 21 Focus on What You Can Control ... 21 Notice Your Reaction Pattern ........ 21 Mantras ...... 22 Recap ..... 22 Identifying Obstacles 24 Common Obstacle Types .. 24 Facing the Unknown .... 24 Pressure to be Someone Other than Yourself . 25 Limited Finances . 25 Relationship Problems . 26 What to Do After Identifying the Obstacle .... 26 Recap ..... 27 Set Goals .. 29 SMART Goals . 29 What If I Can't Come up With a SMART Goal? ..... 30 Follow Through ........ 30 Be Flexible ...... 31 Recap ..... 31 Focus On Yourself ..... 33 Why You Shouldn't Compare Yourself to Others .. 33 Comparing Yourself to Others Creates Unrealistic Notions .... 34 What Should You Do Instead? ... 34 How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others . 35 Be Aware of Your Triggers .... 35 Remember You Don't See the Whole Story ..... 35 Be Grateful for Your Life ....... 35 Recap ..... 36 Let’s Talk About Emotional Resilience ....... 38 What is Emotional Resilience? ... 38 How Does Emotional Resilience Help You Overcome Obstacles? .. 39 Elements of Emotional Resilience ....... 39 Building Emotional Resilience .... 40 Recap ..... 41 Turn Challenges Into Success ... 43 Practice, Practice, Practice ........ 43 Don't Give Up .. 44 Stay Optimistic 44 You're Not In The Clear Yet ....... 44 Recap ..... 45 Conclusion ........ 47 Sample Content Preview THE TRUTH ABOUT OBSTACLES Before jumping into how to overcome obstacles, you need to know about the reality of them. Everyone knows what an obstacle is, but most have an unrealistic and warped idea about it. Instead of viewing obstacles as opportunities for growth, people view them as events working against them. This unrealistic idea makes it much more difficult to overcome your obstacle and transform it into success. With that in mind, you need to know the truth about obstacles: obstacles are not all bad. I know this idea might sound a little radical, but it is true. Just like everything else in life, obstacles come with both positives and negatives. Recognizing both sides will help you overcome the obstacle quickly and efficiently. Why Looking at Both the Negatives and Positives Matters Whenever an obstacle comes your way, it is important to remember this fact. If you only focus on the negatives, which most people do, it is much easier to get distraught, overwhelmed, and depressed by the situation. This will make it more challenging to overcome the obstacle and turn it into success. However, if you look at the negatives and the positives, you see the obstacle in a much more realistic light. This realistic understanding of obstacles allows you to think rationally and clearly about the task at hand. From there, you can begin to overcome your obstacle instead of getting overwhelmed by it. Not to mention, you take away most of the negatives of obstacles whenever you view the positives. This will make it much easier and more enjoyable to fight your obstacles, even if you aren't necessarily succeeding as quickly as you would like. Possible Negatives of Obstacles Obviously, obstacles come with several negatives. Even though you shouldn't get caught in the negatives, you should be aware of them so that you know how to best go about your situation and overcome the obstacle. Whenever you are aware of the negatives, more of the power is given back to you. As a result, you can begin to master the obstacle because the negatives are your own. Acknowledging them simply makes them less scary. The exact negatives of the obstacle will depend on the challenge. For example, your obstacle may be finding a new job. In this case, the negatives might be that you are under financial stress, need to move, or something else related to the actual job. These negatives are different from the negatives of a different obstacle, like relationship troubles. In addition to the obstacle centered negatives, some negatives are common in all obstacles. Most notably, obstacles require you to work. If you already have a full-time job and other responsibilities, the added responsibility of overcoming the obstacle can take a lot of your time and energy, even for the most hardworking of people. Not only that, but obstacles challenge you physically, mentally, and emotionally. Every time you find yourself in a new obstacle, you are forced to challenge yourself to grow as a person. This process takes up, once again, a lot of energy, and it can bring up a lot of negative emotions depending on the situation. The required effort and emotional turmoil that come with most obstacles are what make obstacles so terrible. Most people don't like extra work. So, they grow to hate obstacles. Guaranteed Positives of Obstacles In addition to the negatives, obstacles have a lot of positives. Most people fail to see these positives, and they focus on the negatives instead. Though this is incredibly tempting to do, you should try your hardest to keep the positives in your mind. The positives will help you overcome the obstacles, stay motivated, and enjoy the process. Forces You to Grow The biggest positive of any obstacle is that it challenges you to grow. Even though challenges come with a lot of hard work and effort, it is the only way for you to become the person you want to be. In other words, challenges make you a better person. Some obstacles may make you physically better, such as an unprecedented health scare, while others will make you emotionally more resilient. It doesn't matter how the obstacle makes you grow. What matters is that you grow and become a better person at the end of it all. Helps You to Get to Know Yourself Better Another benefit to come out of obstacles is that you get to know yourself better. We are often trained to get to know our coworkers, family members, and friends, but we often forget to know ourselves. This makes it more difficult for us to trust our own thoughts and know what we want out of life. Obstacles force us to reflect on ourselves and the world. It teaches us our strengths, weaknesses, and limits. This allows us to get to know ourselves in a way that would not be possible without obstacles. Improves Self-Esteem As we grow and get to know ourselves better, our self-esteem grows as well. So, obstacles lead to increased self-esteem, which is their third benefit. Self-esteem is what helps us to know our value outside of our accomplishments and talents. It is necessary for a happy and functioning life. Improves Relationships The last benefit of obstacles is that they can improve our relationships. You likely have noticed that people with shared hardships tend to be some of your strongest and most trusted relationships. As you go through obstacles, you become more empathetic and able to communicate with other people in similar situations. Recap All in all, obstacles are not a completely bad thing. Even though they are a lot of work and can put a strain on your life, they force you to grow, help you to get to know yourself, boost your self-esteem, and improve your relationships. Remembering these positives and the negatives will help you overcome the obstacle because of your realistic and rational mindset. PERCEPTION MATTERS One thing that we touched on in the last chapter but didn't explicitly discuss is the issue of perception. Our perceptions are how we interpret events or people based on our sensory experiences. Even though our perceptions are all we know, how we perceive an event may not be accurate to how it unfolds in real life. Probably enough, we can never escape our perceptions, no matter how hard we try. In fact, perceptions alter every single aspect of our day to day life. How we perceive the world ultimately determines many of our situations and emotions. Because of how important perception is in our life, your perception of the obstacle will largely determine how you handle it and whether or not you can overcome it. Enhance your perception of obstacles to help you turn any obstacle into success. What Psychology Says About Perception Psychology has done a lot of research on perception. As we already mentioned, psychology determines that our perception is determined by our sensory experience with the world, meaning our sense of sight, smell, touch, and more. More so, psychology has found that it determines how we respond to our obstacles. For example, if we negatively view obstacles, we are more likely to give up and feel defeated by them. In contrast, having an optimistic mindset about the obstacle makes us more likely to overcome the obstacle and succeed. The most useful thing that psychology tells us about perception is that we have some control. Though it is impossible to have complete control, we can slightly change our perceptions by paying attention, intentionally turning our perception into meaning, acting accordingly, and practicing with our new mindset. ● Pay attention: What is your perception of an event? How does it differ from reality? How do you know? ● Give your perception meaning: What does it mean to you? Do you agree with this meaning? Should you change the meaning? ● Act accordingly: How do my actions reflect my view of the situation? ● Practice: What are ways that I can incorporate this new mindset into my everyday life? What this means for obstacles is that you can turn your negative perception or mindset into a positive one. Simply with intentional and dedicated action, you can find yourself more likely to succeed by changing your mindset. As you are actively trying to change your mindset, it is best to measure your progress by taking notes or using some app. Continue to act in accordance with this new mindset and track your progress. Stay optimistic even when it's hard, and you will begin to see your mindset shift. Popular Mindsets Since perception matters, you are probably wondering what sort of a mindset you should have. There are three popular mindsets, but only one will lead to long term success. The fixed mindset, mixed mindset, and growth mindset are all three popular mindsets that people unknowingly have.