Success Advice

Feeling Like Giving Up? Read This Before You Do

Published

3 years ago

May 22, 2021

Christopher Fern

Image Credit: Unsplash

What do anger, shame, remorse, guilt, frustration, overwhelm, indecisiveness, scarcity, and fear all have in common? When an emotional response occurs, the amygdala – the part of the brain most often referred to as “snake brain” takes hold, causing you to “process” the emotions. What’s actually happening then is that we’re living a memory from the past in the now – a form of time travel: the mind knows no different.

It’s up to you how you want to leave it though. The way you feel is determined by how you linked those two things. The way you feel when you’re triggered again is about how you link them now. When you’re inspired, it’s the same except you’re applying excitement or fear to the life you could have, not the life you do.

Step 1 – Realize You’re Drunk and You Don’t Even Know It

In a recent study conducted by Harvard Scientists, “Bandwidth Tax” was discovered, and fundamentally means you’re walking around drunk. It also happens way sooner than you think.

“[The] effects [of the two groups’ questions] correspond to between 13 and 14 IQ points. A gain of that many points can lift you from the category of “average” to “superior” intelligence. Or, if you move in the other direction, losing 13 points can take you from “average” to a category labeled “borderline-deficient.” In our studies, the same person has fewer IQ points when he or she is preoccupied by scarcity than when not. This cognitive penalty is the key to our story.”

And when this happens, it’s a perpetual cycle. This is the origin of stress, burnout, or overwhelm lives here, and is perpetuated by it.

Step 2 – Notice Repetitive Decisions

In order to reduce bandwidth tax, you must reduce the number of things you’re paying attention to and the frequency at which you’re paying attention to them. To do so requires identifying repetitive patterns and minimizing them.

When I was a boy, my mother calculated her budget the same way every month – she pulled out her pen and paper, started with her fixed income, subtracted expenses, and hoped for the best. Same numbers, same math, different expectations. And to top it off, we always ran out of money!

I couldn’t help but wonder, why was she acting as if anything else mattered other than what was left after bills? Her income didn’t change. The expenses didn’t change. But she kept running the same numbers, arriving at the same conclusion of having a certain amount left over, and doing it every month.

Don’t be like my late mother. Be on time. Take a look in these areas for repeating decisions:

Is there a consistent outcome – like cash flow with my mother? Focus on the abbreviated form you can trust.
Do you find that you spend impulsively under certain conditions? You can predict the conditions and the impulse.
Are you using lists? Despite popular opinion, lists create bandwidth tax. Best to find a way to minimize what you see at once.

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison

Step 3 – Create a Metric

You need a metric to measure your effectiveness. Metrics give you measurable and attainable ways to recognize improvements.

Some examples are:

In the case of my dearly departed mother: “cash left over” or “time it takes to budget” could be the result of the consolidation we just discussed.
With Bandwidth Tax the metric is IQ.
Time is always a good metric because it’s the only thing we’re limited by. It can also apply to almost anything that causes inconvenience.

This metric should be how you measure all decisions of the same type. It’s the thing that tells you if you’re essentially 4 beers in, just 1, or none at all. It’s something that should be countable, but has to apply to your situation. This will create meaning in your productivity.

Step 4 – Batch Process

Now that we have metrics for all of these things that cause Bandwidth Tax, we can go even further. How can we begin to manage all of the metrics? Simple – batch processing.

I remember in high school I saw a teacher grading papers, and he was grading all of them at once – literally. “By grading all of the questions 1 first, then all of the question 2’, it’s much faster because my mind doesn’t have to keep ‘question switching’“ he said when I asked why. This stuck with me, and it began my deep dive into this phenomena

Also known as Chunking, batch processing allows us to focus on doing things of similar type over time to reduce bandwidth tax. It’s very similar to keeping that paper to budget, then using it for another family member. The goal with Chunking is to make it seem to your mind like all of the tasks you’re doing are so similar they might as well be the same, thereby reducing Bandwidth Tax. This is like focus, but further.

Step 5 – Ritual

But we can go, even so, one step further. And this is the step that will solidify the claim that we can trust our decisions in any state. This is the principle of Habitualization, or simple – Ritual.

This step involves making a groove in your mind so clearly – a groove that represents the stepwise, never-changing, very simple WAY of doing a thing that depends heavily on all that we’ve talked about. A ritual, or habit, tells the mind that it can, fundamentally, consider something so trustworthy it can be ignored. This is the opposite of bandwidth tax.

With any of the things we’ve worked on in this article, ask yourself how you might be able to “program” them into you. If there are changes to consider, can you consider them all at once?

Those programs are going to be the new subconscious, controlling the amygdala, and to do all 5 of these steps will make the thing that once made you act as if you were drunk seem like you’re simply taking a sip of wonderful spring water.

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Christopher Fern

Christopher Fern is an author, inventor, and entrepreneur. His innovative approaches to coaching, education, and psychology fueled the creation of Mindful Money, a self-mastery platform that effectively aligns responsibility, values, feelings, and impulses regardless of your emotional state have resulted in his being featured in media such as Shefik Presents Invocation, The Good Men Project, the Sourcitarian Summit, Thrive Global, and more. To Christopher, being aware of our weaknesses is as important as our strengths, as they provide the Bias Blueprint for us to know where and how to fit in the world. To learn more, visit christopherfern.com and practicemindfulmoney.com.

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Success Advice

How to Choose the Best Affiliate Programs for Your Blog

If you follow these steps, you can create an affiliate marketing plan that makes money, fits well with your content, and connects with your readers

Published

3 weeks ago

Apr 10, 2024

Addicted2Success Editor

how to choose the best affiliate programs for your blog

Picking the right affiliate programs for your blog is really important. It can make a big difference in how much money you can make and how much your readers get out of your blog. With so many choices out there, deciding which ones to go with can be tricky.

This guide is here to make it easier for you. It will give you clear steps and helpful tips to choose affiliate programs that fit well with what your blog is about, what your readers like, and what you stand for.

For more articles on this theme, please head over to this blog https://blog.partners1xbet.com/.

Understanding Affiliate Marketing

Before you start picking affiliate programs, it’s important to really understand what affiliate marketing is and how it works.

Basically, affiliate marketing is when you promote a product or service on your blog, and then you get paid a little bit every time someone buys something or does something because you recommended it.

It’s great for both the person selling the product and the blogger, because the seller gets more sales with low risk, and the blogger can make money from their blog.

How to Choose the Right Affiliate Programs for Your Blog

1. Assess Your Niche and Audience

The key to doing well in affiliate marketing starts with really knowing what your blog is about and who reads it. Consider the following:

Your blog’s content: What topics do you cover? Ensure the products or services you promote are relevant.
Your audience’s interests and needs: What solutions are they seeking? Choose affiliate programs that offer products or services that solve their problems or enhance their lives.

2. Research Potential Affiliate Programs

Once you know what your blog is about and what your readers want, start looking for affiliate programs. Choose ones that are well-known for good products, great customer service, and helpful support for affiliates. Resources to find these programs include:

Affiliate networks like ShareASale, Commission Junction, and ClickBank.
Direct searches for “[Your Niche] affiliate programs” in search engines.
Recommendations from other bloggers in your niche.

3. Evaluate the Commission Structure

The commission structure is a critical factor to consider. Look for programs that offer competitive rates that make your efforts worthwhile. Consider:

The percentage of commission per sale.
Whether the program offers a flat rate per action (e.g., per sign-up).
The cookie duration, which affects how long after a click you can earn commissions on sales.

4. Consider the Program’s Reputation and Sureness

Join affiliate programs with a solid reputation for quality and sureness. This not only ensures that you’re promoting good products but also that you’ll be paid on time. You can:

Read reviews from other affiliates.
Check the program’s history and background.
Look for any complaints or issues reported online.

5. Analyze the Support and Resources Offered

A good affiliate program gives you things like ads to use, training on their products, and helpful managers. Having access to these resources can really help you do a better job at promoting their products.

6. Understand the Terms and Conditions

Before signing up, thoroughly review the program’s terms and conditions. Pay close attention to:

Payment thresholds and methods.
Any restrictions on how you can promote their products.
The program’s policy on affiliate marketing on social media platforms.

7. Test the Product or Service

If possible, test the product or service before promoting it. This firsthand experience allows you to offer genuine charge and build trust with your audience.

8. Look for Recurring Commission Opportunities

Some affiliate programs pay you again and again for subscriptions or services that charge fees regularly. These can provide a more stable income compared to one-time sales commissions.

Implementing Your Choice

After choosing the best affiliate programs, the next step is to smoothly include your affiliate marketing in your content plan. This includes:

Creating valuable content that naturally incorporates affiliate links.
Disclosing your affiliate affairs transparently to maintain trust with your audience.
Tracking your results to understand what works best for your audience and adjusting your strategy accordingly.

Picking the best affiliate programs for your blog involves careful planning, research, and making sure they match what your audience likes and needs.

If you follow these steps, you can create an affiliate marketing plan that makes money, fits well with your content, and connects with your readers.

The real key to doing well with affiliate marketing isn’t just about the products you talk about, but also how much your audience trusts and values your advice.

With enough time, patience, and hard work, your blog can grow into a successful space that earns a good amount of affiliate money and helps your readers choose the right products.