Hate That Chore? Change Your Mind

Written by Lynn Cutts


March (and April) bring income tax season. For most people,repparttar entire process is a nasty chore, from gatheringrepparttar 122674 information to filling outrepparttar 122675 forms, to payingrepparttar 122676 taxes. And while chocolate helps, it’s not enough. Which brings me torepparttar 122677 topic of this essay: handlingrepparttar 122678 tasks we hate. We all have them, whether it’s taking outrepparttar 122679 trash, payingrepparttar 122680 bills, getting up inrepparttar 122681 morning (for some, that’s a real chore), exercising, or whatever. So how can we make those nasty chores less distasteful?

Our mindset and attitude make a lot of difference in how we perceive life. If we have decided that something is going to be awful, then we subconsciously look for proof that it is. And we usually find it. Conversely, if we are convinced something is going to be fun, we look for that instead. That’s why two people sitting side by side each other atrepparttar 122682 same event can have two totally different experiences.

Let me tell on myself. I hate cooked carrots with a passion, almost as much as I love chocolate. (For me, eating cooked carrots is more than just a chore I hate–it’s cruel and unusual punishment.) This is not something new; my father tells me thatrepparttar 122683 first time he fed me strained carrots I spitrepparttar 122684 orange goop right back out in his face. Anyway, a couple of years ago, I was eating at a restaurant in Vermont, run by students fromrepparttar 122685 Culinary Institute of America. My plate came out with some orange puree on it, and I cautiously tasted it, quite prepared, if necessary, to re-enactrepparttar 122686 scene with my father. It was delicious. It didn’t taste like squash, or rutabaga, or sweet potato, all of which are orange vegetables that I like. I finally asked our server. “Carrots,” he said. Since I didn’t know they were carrots, I hadn’t decided that I didn’t like them. Since I aterepparttar 122687 orange stuff without a preconceived idea, I actually enjoyed them. All it took was changing my mindset.

(Byrepparttar 122688 way, I still don’t like cooked carrots. I don’t know if it’s because I know what they are and have made up my mind already, or ifrepparttar 122689 carrots at that restaurant were just exceptional. I suspect it’s a bit of both.)

So when it comes to taxes, and other chores we hate,repparttar 122690 way we approach them can change our experience of them. Here are a few different things to try.

• Find a way to be grateful forrepparttar 122691 chore. Yes, it sounds Pollyanna-ish, but in some ways, she’s gotten a bum rap. Thank goodness you have a job so you have taxes to pay. Be happy you have a refrigerator to store your food in, even though you have to clean it out once in a while. Heating bills? Hey, you were warm last month whenrepparttar 122692 thermometer took that plunge.

• Focus onrepparttar 122693 outcome of what you are doing. Think how good it will feel to have those taxes done and off your mind. Think about that sparkly clean fridge–and not being afraid to open up an unmarked container. You might even arrange for someone (a spouse, friend, kid, family member) to cheer and applaud your accomplishment when you are finished. Or plan a reward for yourself.

Design Your Perfect Lifestyle

Written by David Wood


Design Your Perfect Lifestyle We often fall intorepparttar trap of thinking we have to wait until retirement to have our life be just right. (Of course, in retirement people often get bored.) So stop waiting! This article is written to help you design your ideal life. Then askrepparttar 122673 question: What would it take to have this NOW, or this year? If that's absolutely not possible (and it probably is, so look hard!), then you design a plan to reach that. Following is an extract ofrepparttar 122674 Perfect Lifestyle Program. (Better still, you can currently downloadrepparttar 122675 full Program free of charge at www.life-coaching-resource.com Look forrepparttar 122676 Design Your Life option.) Instructions: Print outrepparttar 122677 following, and create a picture of your ideal lifestyle inrepparttar 122678 following seven areas. Userepparttar 122679 questions as a guide and also add your own questions. Assume money is not an issue i.e. you have plenty. You can worry about HOW to get your picture later. Now dream! a) Self Care How many massages per week? How much drinking water per day? What kind of body? Exercise program? Diet? How much energy would I have? How many walks would I take? How much peaceful time/fresh air? How much sleep would I get? How do I dress? b) Home Environment Where would I live geographically? Which suburb? Which country? House/unit? Onrepparttar 122680 water? Inrepparttar 122681 country? Friendly community? Climate? What would my bedroom look like? My yard? How tidy isrepparttar 122682 house? Do I have a cleaner? Someone who shops for me? Doesrepparttar 122683 washing? What car do I drive? c) Relationship From your partner, do you want a commitment for life, or a commitment for now? What kind of commitment do YOU want to make? Do you want an exclusive relationship, or one where you explore other relationships? To what limits? Kids? What's your ideal sex life? d) Friends and Family How many friends do you want in your life? Do they drop by spontaneously, or set up weeks in advance? Do your friends know your other friends? Are they rich? Interesting? Creative? Warm and Open? Or busy and stressed? Ideally, how would your relationship with your mother look? Father? Siblings? (Don't let your history block you here. Createrepparttar 122684 'ideal' relationships!

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