A sobering question that we would all do well to ask ourselves as we continue to strive toward success is this: “What must I have achieved in life, so that when I look back on my life in the last few moments on earth, I’m completely satisfied?”

Yes, this is a deep question, to say the least. But, in my opinion, life really is about deep questions. In sincerely addressing this question, you’ll undoubtedly start to find more clarity about your purpose and life-mission. You may be wondering, “How does one begin to answer a question like this?”

I would suggest that you begin by listing your five most important values. These are the five values that you want to be the guide of your life day to day, and they are also the “eulogy values” you want your life to have represented when you’re no longer living. Every ship needs a rudder, and without these core values firmly in place, you’ll be in danger of being a rudderless ship with no clear direction.

For example, my five most important values are:

• Integrity
• Faith
• Contribution
• Growth
• Family

These are the values that I do my very best to use daily to guide my decisions and keep me on track (or in some cases get me back on track). I think we all have a unique set of values that can guide us to understand what we want to achieve during our lifetimes.

Inner character and unique personal values aren’t born overnight, but are built slowly, through a course of purposeful and progressive choices. As the legendary John Wooden said, “There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make, makes you.”

“When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.” – Roy E. Disney

Bringing Purpose and Virtue Back into Your Life

While the accolades on your resume might earn you a top seat at a prestigious organization, they will do little or no good for your soul’s purpose. That is to say, unless these accolades help you serve a deeply personal mission that’s in harmony with your core values, your overall impact will not be optimized.

If you can detach yourself from all the noise and clarify your unique core values, you’ll be able to tap into your true purpose and potential. Doing this means you won’t have to live in inner conflict or travel paths that you may later regret. You’ll be able to recognize your weaknesses for what they are, and find ways to overcome them.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you’ll be able to realize your dreams without the inner tension of conflicting goals because you’ll be working from a space of maximum potential, where everything you place as a high priority goal has a purpose that is in-line with your personal mission.

What Does This All Mean?

Researchers have confirmed that striving for a meaningful life is one of the main factors associated with psychological well-being.  But, of course, this begs the question, what exactly are we talking about when we use the word “meaning”? Generally speaking, when people talk about “meaning” in the workplace, for example, they’re discussing enjoyment of the daily tasks, alignment of the work with their personal values and getting fulfillment with the outcomes of the work.

“Define your priorities, know your values and believe in your purpose. Only then can you effectively share yourself with others.” – Les Brown

In general, it appears that four main factors have been tightly associated with “meaning.”

• The first factor is enthusiasm. Research shows that enthusiasm is independently linked with life satisfaction, personal growth, positive emotions, purpose in life, meaning, and achievement.
• The second factor linked to meaning is connection. In fact, social relationships, especially with those closest to us, are the most frequently reported sources of meaning in life. In everyday life, high performers also heavily value being around inspiring people who push them to grow more than, say, people who are just fun to be around.
• The third association with meaning is related to satisfaction. Essentially, if what we’re doing creates a sense of personal satisfaction, we tend to feel that life is more meaningful. In addition, when our efforts correspond to one of our passions, this leads to personal growth, and/or making a positive contribution to the lives of others, as we tend to feel these efforts are satisfying.
• Fourth, and perhaps most important to the concept of meaning, is coherence. The idea is that our efforts bring meaning if they “make sense” in the context of our lives. We want to know that our work is in alignment with something important and significant, and that it is serving some larger purpose. Coherence is particularly crucial to high achievers.

The key takeaway about meaning is that to perform at high levels, we must each focus in on cutting down on distraction and busyness, and focus on ramping up our efforts to finding and doing work that is most meaningful to us.

Have you ever had a day when nothing went right? It usually starts with missing the tube to work, and hundreds of emails waiting to be sorted once you reach your office, and the day ends with a bitter fight with your best friend. Days like these can make you wish you could quit it all and camp out in the mountains, and it is understandable if you have this feeling too frequently.

The fast-paced lifestyle and digital era often pushes us to maintain a cheerful facade on social media. What we keep forgetting amid all this is that inner well-being is crucial for attaining happiness, and no amount of social media validation can get you that.

Here’s a look into what keeps us from being happy in life, and what we should be doing to bring  a positive change for the same.

21st century and our daily dismays

Social media likes and comments on that new car you purchased is not what life is about. The sooner we realise it, the better it is for our mental health. The following day-to-day issues deter us from focusing on what’s most vital: our happiness.

• Worrying (about almost everything)
• Arguments (out loud and in our minds)
• Criticism (resulting in self-doubt)
• Fears (stemming from insecurities)
• Complaints (venting out exasperations)
• Envy (for our fixation with material happiness)
• Apathy (distorting our perceptions)

The dark abyss of depression does not do any good, and may eat into all your potential and self-confidence. Shed negative thoughts and turn up that positive attitude a few notches to tackle life in style!

“A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.” – Wade Boggs

Every ounce of positivity counts

A positive attitude helps you hold on to your mental well-being, and it starts with conscious action on your part. Bring the following positive changes in your life that lets you tackle the adversities in style and fortifies your inner being.

Take that first step

If you keep drifting off to that fort you have built inside your mind listlessly, maybe the time has come for you to do something about it. Recognising the signs of negative aspects and their effects on your well-being early on is essential. Take a few days off and think about your next plan of action to turn the tables in your favour, once again.

Find your tailor-made coping mechanism

Everyone has their own way of coping with problems in life. In fact, we are socially trained from childhood to choose a way to deal with negativity. Design your own way of coping with daily stress and disappointments. Here are a few pointers on how to start:

• Your go-to playlist
• Deep breathing and yoga
• Stress-buster balls and fidget spinners
• Adult colouring books
• Chanting lessons
  

Staying occupied actually helps

They say curling up in a ball on the floor, nursing a tub of ice cream is the ideal way to will the gloomy days away. However, keeping yourself occupied can be a more effective way of healing. Pick up a fascinating hobby, redecorate your room, clean out that shed you have meant to for quite some months now, and you will be surprised at the positive effects. If you don’t know where to start, try consulting YouTube DIY projects for starters.

Start and end your day with a smile

It takes conscious action to make it happen, and the first few days may seem pretty hard. Seemingly mundane things like smiling at children or strangers on your way to work or helping an old lady with her shopping bags have the power to make your day. Read a book before going to bed or call up that old friend, and end each day on a positive note.

“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.” – Hans Selye

Remember: it is okay to have bad days

Despite trying your best to stay positive, there will be soul-crushing days when getting out of bed to take a bath may seem like an uphill task. First of all, you have got to accept that you are not in a condition to go about your daily activities on such days. Take a day off from work and other responsibilities, and focus on healing yourself instead.

Learn to love yourself

Buy that dress you were eyeing the other day, order from that favourite Italian joint a few blocks away, for you deserve it all. No matter how many people try to bring you down, no matter how much criticism you face for your lifestyle choices, do not let them get to you. Your life is yours at the end of the day, and if that means going on that solo trip or getting your nails done, go for it, by all means!

Bet you did not know that days that start off bad are actually the best for treating yourself to that Chinese place they opened around the corner or hitting the theatres to catch the latest blockbuster? Well, now you do.

The power to change things lies solely with you, and after you are done taking blows from a bad phase, go face life with a renewed zeal! Staying positive does not hurt and is sure to bring success and happiness your way once you start acting upon the positive notes in your life. More power to you!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com

Does a cup of something warm get your day off to a flying start? Coffee is more popular than ever before and in the U.S. alone an estimated 400 million cups of coffee are consumed each day. That’s 146 billion over the course of a year! For many of us across the world, our first thought upon waking is of coffee. It’s the perfect ritual to freshen up, shake off the remnants of sleep, and get the creative juices flowing.

Some people will head to their local coffee shop, others will use a machine in their home and after that first sip the ball is well and truly rolling. They sit at their computer, browse through their emails, and catch up with what’s going on in the world. Then… nothing. This happens sometimes. We’ve all felt it: despite the coffee we can’t quite get into the rhythm of the day and the motivation or energy that we need doesn’t quite come.

But there’s nothing to worry about! There are scientifically-proven methods to get your creativity flowing and you’ll find five of these secrets below:

1. Stretch those legs and go for a stroll

Do your surroundings feel all too familiar? The dull office walls, the habitual conversations, the same digital routines… It can all get a bit too much and this saps your creativity. This is why it’s great to get outside and take a walk.

Studies have shown that even a short stroll can boost a person’s creativity. A study from Stanford University found that the creative output for a person can increase by an average of 60 percent while they’re walking! You’ll feel calmer, your mind will relax, and you’ll think more freely.

It’s no wonder that so many visionaries and creative powerhouses have done this intuitively in the past. Steve Jobs was known to walk while thinking over problems, while Immanuel Kant is remembered just as much for his punctual walking sessions as his ideas.

2. Stop working in that awkward silence

The gentle hum of a computer. The droning of air conditioning units. The gentle tapping of keys. The clicking of mice. Against a silent backdrop these sounds are enough to make a person go wild and studies have demonstrated that silence actually saps our creativity.

Ambient noise can aid in creative cognition and improve our performance on creative tasks, so you should seek it out. Sneak out to a Starbucks or another coffee place to find the perfect background noise that can help you to get lost in your work and pursue new avenues of thought.

The study, which appeared in the Journey of Consumer Research, is a fascinating one and it explains the way that moderate sound assists us in creative tasks. Nonetheless, be careful not to overdo it because the same study found that any sound over 85 decibels actually hinders rather than helps our creativity and it can be even worse than silence!

“The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” – Kakuzo Okakaura

3. Get out of that office building and escape into nature

Being indoors can actually damage our creativity, too. Research from the University of Kansas has discovered that indoor environments and all that they bring – distractions, emails, notifications, people – means that our attention is divided across a huge range of sources and monitoring them reduces our capacity for creative and positive thought.

The solution to this is to go beyond the watercooler on your stroll. If you can find the time to get out of the office each day and into a natural environment your creativity, insights, and problem solving abilities will feel a big boost. In fact, the study demonstrates that participants witnessed a 50% boost in creativity after being outdoors for extended periods.

You should give it a try!  Experiment for a week and see how your work is affected by the exposure to fresh air and organic material. There’s a great line from The Suburbs by Arcade Fire which sums this up: “Move your feet from hot pavement and into the grass.”

4. Don’t force it – let your mind wander

Getting stuck on an idea is a horrible feeling that feels like a physical barrier. Sometimes, moving past it seems to be impossible. It’s the same with trying to kindle creativity in the morning when you’re just not feeling it. It’s like trying to wrestle your way out of quicksand: the harder you struggle the deeper you fall and you just become more stuck.

Distractions and daydreaming seem like intrusions at these times but research has shown they can actually help us with our problem solving. Every person daydreams almost constantly and many of these are found to be “generated from representations that are based on information from memory.”

When you find yourself frustrated distract yourself with something silly or non-productive rather than throwing yourself at the problem again and again. The natural flows and rhythms of your thoughts might throw up a solution and present you with another path to take toward solving your problem.

“You must give everything to make your life as beautiful as the dreams that dance in your imagination.” – Roman Payne

5. Find the right beat for your thoughts to bounce

Do you listen to music while you work? What genre? Chilled trip-hop beats? Classical music? Pop? Everyone has a different type of music that they prefer and that music has the potential to influence their emotions.

It comes as no surprise that the way we feel affects the way that we think, so music is a powerful tool that we can use to intentionally influence our thought processes. Studies have discovered that when we are happy our divergent thinking abilities are improved.

That’s right… it’s time for you to put together a dreadfully happy Spotify playlist. Those sweet pop songs can facilitate creative cognition to get your creative juices flowing. The research was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research so it’s all true: start building your happy playlist as soon as possible!

Coffee tastes great and helps to get us energized, but these techniques are scientifically proven to give us the creative boosts when we need them the most. Best of all, they can be mixed and matched. Consider putting on your playlist during your afternoon stroll in the park and letting your daydreams flow. Who knows what incredibly creative things you may come up with!

How do you get your creative juices flowing? Let us know your tips below!

Experiencing fear is good. It shows that you’re human and that your natural survival instincts are working just fine. Imagine a fearless person about to swim across a river full of crocodiles and you’ll know what I mean. Perhaps more than any other emotion, fear enabled humans to remain a thriving species for hundreds of thousands of years. If not for fear, we would all have been dinner, roadkill, or worse. In short, we’d all be extinct had fear not been hardwired into our DNA.

But yielding to fear without any good reason is just being a scaredy cat. And allowing irrational fear to paralyze us into inaction easily turns us into a miserable pansy. After all, encountering a clan of ravenous hyenas is far different from meeting your hot crush who had you slinking into the nearest corner, speechless and short of breath for weeks on end. And yes, taking the first step to build a business is not as life-threatening as walking at the edge of a steep, thousand-foot cliff.       

In the digital age, nearly all fear is irrational, a construct of our wild imagination and the negative stuff we tend to focus on. You fear approaching the manager to ask for a raise. You’re afraid that following your passion will leave you without the security of a 9-to-5 job. You like to learn some techy stuff but you feel you just don’t have it in you to write computer codes. You’re aching to build your own blog but you dread the workload. In the end, a lot of us just stay put without even trying.  

Overcoming fear is both a lesson from history and a unanimous verdict of people who have learned to manage their own crippling fears. Following a traumatic watery experience, Tim Ferriss came to dread swimming so much that he never learned to swim until he was in his 30s.

Despite excelling in mixed martial arts, bouldering, wrestling, motorcycle racing, competition tango and other sports, Ferriss would have sunk like a stone had you casually pushed him into a pool. But once he questioned and conquered his fear, he learned how to swim faster than you can say dolphin! In fact, he was able to swim a one-kilometer stretch out on the open sea after just a few weeks of training.  

Here are 7 techniques you can adopt to conquer your fear:

1. Understand the factors that trigger your fear – Is your fear reasonable or irrational? Reasonable fear is, well — reasonable. Take appropriate action if that’s the case. On the other hand, obliterate any fear that is irrational. Irrational fears are unnecessary weight dragging you down.
2. Unless the situation is life-threatening, let the bout of fear play out – You’ll eventually realize that your emotions stressed you out more intensely than the object of your fear itself.
3. Take control of something when fear takes hold – Without the semblance of control, fear escalates into panic. Start with your breathing. Fight the urge to hyperventilate. Consciously inhale and exhale slowly and realize that you can control aspects of yourself even amidst fear. Conquer more territory by controlling other aspects of your body.
4. Use physiology to fight fear – Adopt a confident posture and body language. Don’t slouch and look crestfallen. Physically appear in control even when you have yet to gain it.
5. Follow up with psychology – Focus on positive thoughts. Focus on good intentions, excellent achievements, noble goals. Visualize beautiful things. Fight the evil of irrational fear with good.
6. Speak confidently and positively – When mentally talking to yourself, elevate the conversation. Do the same when actually speaking to people.
7. Turn fear-busting into a well-ingrained habit until it becomes instinctive – Bust fear the moment you feel it! It might take you time, but keep practicing over and over time you’ll develop a new positive habit.

It’s amazing how something so imaginary can trigger real impact in people’s lives. Irrational fear holds back millions of people from growth and achieving success. To win, face fear and use it to become a better person. As Tim Ferriss said, “fear is your friend.” And as he has done over and over, you can learn anything — from the complex nuances of a foreign language to the exquisite choreography of tango — simply by mastering your fear.

A sobering question that we would all do well to ask ourselves as we continue to strive toward success is this: “What must I have achieved in life, so that when I look back on my life in the last few moments on earth, I’m completely satisfied?”

Yes, this is a deep question, to say the least. But, in my opinion, life really is about deep questions. In sincerely addressing this question, you’ll undoubtedly start to find more clarity about your purpose and life-mission. You may be wondering, “How does one begin to answer a question like this?”

I would suggest that you begin by listing your five most important values. These are the five values that you want to be the guide of your life day to day, and they are also the “eulogy values” you want your life to have represented when you’re no longer living. Every ship needs a rudder, and without these core values firmly in place, you’ll be in danger of being a rudderless ship with no clear direction.

For example, my five most important values are:

• Integrity
• Faith
• Contribution
• Growth
• Family

These are the values that I do my very best to use daily to guide my decisions and keep me on track (or in some cases get me back on track). I think we all have a unique set of values that can guide us to understand what we want to achieve during our lifetimes.

Inner character and unique personal values aren’t born overnight, but are built slowly, through a course of purposeful and progressive choices. As the legendary John Wooden said, “There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make, makes you.”

“When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.” – Roy E. Disney

Bringing Purpose and Virtue Back into Your Life

While the accolades on your resume might earn you a top seat at a prestigious organization, they will do little or no good for your soul’s purpose. That is to say, unless these accolades help you serve a deeply personal mission that’s in harmony with your core values, your overall impact will not be optimized.

If you can detach yourself from all the noise and clarify your unique core values, you’ll be able to tap into your true purpose and potential. Doing this means you won’t have to live in inner conflict or travel paths that you may later regret. You’ll be able to recognize your weaknesses for what they are, and find ways to overcome them.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you’ll be able to realize your dreams without the inner tension of conflicting goals because you’ll be working from a space of maximum potential, where everything you place as a high priority goal has a purpose that is in-line with your personal mission.

What Does This All Mean?

Researchers have confirmed that striving for a meaningful life is one of the main factors associated with psychological well-being.  But, of course, this begs the question, what exactly are we talking about when we use the word “meaning”? Generally speaking, when people talk about “meaning” in the workplace, for example, they’re discussing enjoyment of the daily tasks, alignment of the work with their personal values and getting fulfillment with the outcomes of the work.

“Define your priorities, know your values and believe in your purpose. Only then can you effectively share yourself with others.” – Les Brown

In general, it appears that four main factors have been tightly associated with “meaning.”

• The first factor is enthusiasm. Research shows that enthusiasm is independently linked with life satisfaction, personal growth, positive emotions, purpose in life, meaning, and achievement.
• The second factor linked to meaning is connection. In fact, social relationships, especially with those closest to us, are the most frequently reported sources of meaning in life. In everyday life, high performers also heavily value being around inspiring people who push them to grow more than, say, people who are just fun to be around.
• The third association with meaning is related to satisfaction. Essentially, if what we’re doing creates a sense of personal satisfaction, we tend to feel that life is more meaningful. In addition, when our efforts correspond to one of our passions, this leads to personal growth, and/or making a positive contribution to the lives of others, as we tend to feel these efforts are satisfying.
• Fourth, and perhaps most important to the concept of meaning, is coherence. The idea is that our efforts bring meaning if they “make sense” in the context of our lives. We want to know that our work is in alignment with something important and significant, and that it is serving some larger purpose. Coherence is particularly crucial to high achievers.

The key takeaway about meaning is that to perform at high levels, we must each focus in on cutting down on distraction and busyness, and focus on ramping up our efforts to finding and doing work that is most meaningful to us.

Have you ever had a day when nothing went right? It usually starts with missing the tube to work, and hundreds of emails waiting to be sorted once you reach your office, and the day ends with a bitter fight with your best friend. Days like these can make you wish you could quit it all and camp out in the mountains, and it is understandable if you have this feeling too frequently.

The fast-paced lifestyle and digital era often pushes us to maintain a cheerful facade on social media. What we keep forgetting amid all this is that inner well-being is crucial for attaining happiness, and no amount of social media validation can get you that.

Here’s a look into what keeps us from being happy in life, and what we should be doing to bring  a positive change for the same.

21st century and our daily dismays

Social media likes and comments on that new car you purchased is not what life is about. The sooner we realise it, the better it is for our mental health. The following day-to-day issues deter us from focusing on what’s most vital: our happiness.

• Worrying (about almost everything)
• Arguments (out loud and in our minds)
• Criticism (resulting in self-doubt)
• Fears (stemming from insecurities)
• Complaints (venting out exasperations)
• Envy (for our fixation with material happiness)
• Apathy (distorting our perceptions)

The dark abyss of depression does not do any good, and may eat into all your potential and self-confidence. Shed negative thoughts and turn up that positive attitude a few notches to tackle life in style!

“A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.” – Wade Boggs

Every ounce of positivity counts

A positive attitude helps you hold on to your mental well-being, and it starts with conscious action on your part. Bring the following positive changes in your life that lets you tackle the adversities in style and fortifies your inner being.

Take that first step

If you keep drifting off to that fort you have built inside your mind listlessly, maybe the time has come for you to do something about it. Recognising the signs of negative aspects and their effects on your well-being early on is essential. Take a few days off and think about your next plan of action to turn the tables in your favour, once again.

Find your tailor-made coping mechanism

Everyone has their own way of coping with problems in life. In fact, we are socially trained from childhood to choose a way to deal with negativity. Design your own way of coping with daily stress and disappointments. Here are a few pointers on how to start:

• Your go-to playlist
• Deep breathing and yoga
• Stress-buster balls and fidget spinners
• Adult colouring books
• Chanting lessons
  

Staying occupied actually helps

They say curling up in a ball on the floor, nursing a tub of ice cream is the ideal way to will the gloomy days away. However, keeping yourself occupied can be a more effective way of healing. Pick up a fascinating hobby, redecorate your room, clean out that shed you have meant to for quite some months now, and you will be surprised at the positive effects. If you don’t know where to start, try consulting YouTube DIY projects for starters.

Start and end your day with a smile

It takes conscious action to make it happen, and the first few days may seem pretty hard. Seemingly mundane things like smiling at children or strangers on your way to work or helping an old lady with her shopping bags have the power to make your day. Read a book before going to bed or call up that old friend, and end each day on a positive note.

“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.” – Hans Selye

Remember: it is okay to have bad days

Despite trying your best to stay positive, there will be soul-crushing days when getting out of bed to take a bath may seem like an uphill task. First of all, you have got to accept that you are not in a condition to go about your daily activities on such days. Take a day off from work and other responsibilities, and focus on healing yourself instead.

Learn to love yourself

Buy that dress you were eyeing the other day, order from that favourite Italian joint a few blocks away, for you deserve it all. No matter how many people try to bring you down, no matter how much criticism you face for your lifestyle choices, do not let them get to you. Your life is yours at the end of the day, and if that means going on that solo trip or getting your nails done, go for it, by all means!

Bet you did not know that days that start off bad are actually the best for treating yourself to that Chinese place they opened around the corner or hitting the theatres to catch the latest blockbuster? Well, now you do.

The power to change things lies solely with you, and after you are done taking blows from a bad phase, go face life with a renewed zeal! Staying positive does not hurt and is sure to bring success and happiness your way once you start acting upon the positive notes in your life. More power to you!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com

Does a cup of something warm get your day off to a flying start? Coffee is more popular than ever before and in the U.S. alone an estimated 400 million cups of coffee are consumed each day. That’s 146 billion over the course of a year! For many of us across the world, our first thought upon waking is of coffee. It’s the perfect ritual to freshen up, shake off the remnants of sleep, and get the creative juices flowing.

Some people will head to their local coffee shop, others will use a machine in their home and after that first sip the ball is well and truly rolling. They sit at their computer, browse through their emails, and catch up with what’s going on in the world. Then… nothing. This happens sometimes. We’ve all felt it: despite the coffee we can’t quite get into the rhythm of the day and the motivation or energy that we need doesn’t quite come.

But there’s nothing to worry about! There are scientifically-proven methods to get your creativity flowing and you’ll find five of these secrets below:

1. Stretch those legs and go for a stroll

Do your surroundings feel all too familiar? The dull office walls, the habitual conversations, the same digital routines… It can all get a bit too much and this saps your creativity. This is why it’s great to get outside and take a walk.

Studies have shown that even a short stroll can boost a person’s creativity. A study from Stanford University found that the creative output for a person can increase by an average of 60 percent while they’re walking! You’ll feel calmer, your mind will relax, and you’ll think more freely.

It’s no wonder that so many visionaries and creative powerhouses have done this intuitively in the past. Steve Jobs was known to walk while thinking over problems, while Immanuel Kant is remembered just as much for his punctual walking sessions as his ideas.

2. Stop working in that awkward silence

The gentle hum of a computer. The droning of air conditioning units. The gentle tapping of keys. The clicking of mice. Against a silent backdrop these sounds are enough to make a person go wild and studies have demonstrated that silence actually saps our creativity.

Ambient noise can aid in creative cognition and improve our performance on creative tasks, so you should seek it out. Sneak out to a Starbucks or another coffee place to find the perfect background noise that can help you to get lost in your work and pursue new avenues of thought.

The study, which appeared in the Journey of Consumer Research, is a fascinating one and it explains the way that moderate sound assists us in creative tasks. Nonetheless, be careful not to overdo it because the same study found that any sound over 85 decibels actually hinders rather than helps our creativity and it can be even worse than silence!

“The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” – Kakuzo Okakaura

3. Get out of that office building and escape into nature

Being indoors can actually damage our creativity, too. Research from the University of Kansas has discovered that indoor environments and all that they bring – distractions, emails, notifications, people – means that our attention is divided across a huge range of sources and monitoring them reduces our capacity for creative and positive thought.

The solution to this is to go beyond the watercooler on your stroll. If you can find the time to get out of the office each day and into a natural environment your creativity, insights, and problem solving abilities will feel a big boost. In fact, the study demonstrates that participants witnessed a 50% boost in creativity after being outdoors for extended periods.

You should give it a try!  Experiment for a week and see how your work is affected by the exposure to fresh air and organic material. There’s a great line from The Suburbs by Arcade Fire which sums this up: “Move your feet from hot pavement and into the grass.”

4. Don’t force it – let your mind wander

Getting stuck on an idea is a horrible feeling that feels like a physical barrier. Sometimes, moving past it seems to be impossible. It’s the same with trying to kindle creativity in the morning when you’re just not feeling it. It’s like trying to wrestle your way out of quicksand: the harder you struggle the deeper you fall and you just become more stuck.

Distractions and daydreaming seem like intrusions at these times but research has shown they can actually help us with our problem solving. Every person daydreams almost constantly and many of these are found to be “generated from representations that are based on information from memory.”

When you find yourself frustrated distract yourself with something silly or non-productive rather than throwing yourself at the problem again and again. The natural flows and rhythms of your thoughts might throw up a solution and present you with another path to take toward solving your problem.

“You must give everything to make your life as beautiful as the dreams that dance in your imagination.” – Roman Payne

5. Find the right beat for your thoughts to bounce

Do you listen to music while you work? What genre? Chilled trip-hop beats? Classical music? Pop? Everyone has a different type of music that they prefer and that music has the potential to influence their emotions.

It comes as no surprise that the way we feel affects the way that we think, so music is a powerful tool that we can use to intentionally influence our thought processes. Studies have discovered that when we are happy our divergent thinking abilities are improved.

That’s right… it’s time for you to put together a dreadfully happy Spotify playlist. Those sweet pop songs can facilitate creative cognition to get your creative juices flowing. The research was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research so it’s all true: start building your happy playlist as soon as possible!

Coffee tastes great and helps to get us energized, but these techniques are scientifically proven to give us the creative boosts when we need them the most. Best of all, they can be mixed and matched. Consider putting on your playlist during your afternoon stroll in the park and letting your daydreams flow. Who knows what incredibly creative things you may come up with!

How do you get your creative juices flowing? Let us know your tips below!

Experiencing fear is good. It shows that you’re human and that your natural survival instincts are working just fine. Imagine a fearless person about to swim across a river full of crocodiles and you’ll know what I mean. Perhaps more than any other emotion, fear enabled humans to remain a thriving species for hundreds of thousands of years. If not for fear, we would all have been dinner, roadkill, or worse. In short, we’d all be extinct had fear not been hardwired into our DNA.

But yielding to fear without any good reason is just being a scaredy cat. And allowing irrational fear to paralyze us into inaction easily turns us into a miserable pansy. After all, encountering a clan of ravenous hyenas is far different from meeting your hot crush who had you slinking into the nearest corner, speechless and short of breath for weeks on end. And yes, taking the first step to build a business is not as life-threatening as walking at the edge of a steep, thousand-foot cliff.       

In the digital age, nearly all fear is irrational, a construct of our wild imagination and the negative stuff we tend to focus on. You fear approaching the manager to ask for a raise. You’re afraid that following your passion will leave you without the security of a 9-to-5 job. You like to learn some techy stuff but you feel you just don’t have it in you to write computer codes. You’re aching to build your own blog but you dread the workload. In the end, a lot of us just stay put without even trying.  

Overcoming fear is both a lesson from history and a unanimous verdict of people who have learned to manage their own crippling fears. Following a traumatic watery experience, Tim Ferriss came to dread swimming so much that he never learned to swim until he was in his 30s.

Despite excelling in mixed martial arts, bouldering, wrestling, motorcycle racing, competition tango and other sports, Ferriss would have sunk like a stone had you casually pushed him into a pool. But once he questioned and conquered his fear, he learned how to swim faster than you can say dolphin! In fact, he was able to swim a one-kilometer stretch out on the open sea after just a few weeks of training.  

Here are 7 techniques you can adopt to conquer your fear:

1. Understand the factors that trigger your fear – Is your fear reasonable or irrational? Reasonable fear is, well — reasonable. Take appropriate action if that’s the case. On the other hand, obliterate any fear that is irrational. Irrational fears are unnecessary weight dragging you down.
2. Unless the situation is life-threatening, let the bout of fear play out – You’ll eventually realize that your emotions stressed you out more intensely than the object of your fear itself.
3. Take control of something when fear takes hold – Without the semblance of control, fear escalates into panic. Start with your breathing. Fight the urge to hyperventilate. Consciously inhale and exhale slowly and realize that you can control aspects of yourself even amidst fear. Conquer more territory by controlling other aspects of your body.
4. Use physiology to fight fear – Adopt a confident posture and body language. Don’t slouch and look crestfallen. Physically appear in control even when you have yet to gain it.
5. Follow up with psychology – Focus on positive thoughts. Focus on good intentions, excellent achievements, noble goals. Visualize beautiful things. Fight the evil of irrational fear with good.
6. Speak confidently and positively – When mentally talking to yourself, elevate the conversation. Do the same when actually speaking to people.
7. Turn fear-busting into a well-ingrained habit until it becomes instinctive – Bust fear the moment you feel it! It might take you time, but keep practicing over and over time you’ll develop a new positive habit.

It’s amazing how something so imaginary can trigger real impact in people’s lives. Irrational fear holds back millions of people from growth and achieving success. To win, face fear and use it to become a better person. As Tim Ferriss said, “fear is your friend.” And as he has done over and over, you can learn anything — from the complex nuances of a foreign language to the exquisite choreography of tango — simply by mastering your fear.