Saving Energy With Your HVAC System

HVAC stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning. In today’s modern homes and buildings, HVAC systems are used to increase comfort and indoor air quality. Since the functions of heating, ventilating and cooling need energy to take place, it’s no surprise that too much energy can be used in the process. Most of us are so accustomed to having our heater or air conditioner running that we tend to not realize how much energy is being wasted. We also sometimes forget that they can’t remain sufficient without us — they need proper care. Whether you’re a homeowner with a residential system or a property manager with a commercial system, there are ways you can be saving energy with your HVAC system.

Maintenance

HVAC maintenance and taking preventative and predictive measures is one of the most significant ways to save energy. Here is a list of what is involved in HVAC maintenance:

• cleaning dirt build-up from the filters
• ensuring nothing is blocking the air vents and impacting the airflow
• lubricating all moving parts, allowing them to function efficiently without needing extra energy
• cleaning build-up in the burner
• cleaning the condenser and evaporator coils
• ensuring the thermostat is functional
• insulating pipes and caulking windows and doors when needed to prevent leaks and drafts
• cleaning debris away from the outdoor unit

New HVAC Technology

We have advancements in HVAC technology to thank for helping us to save energy. Investing in new technology could mean saving energy and money. Certain types of new HVAC technology can:

• decrease the possibility of the HVAC system failing
• automatically turn to a lower setting based on the time
• undergo fixes remotely, preventing a waiting period
• be ENERGY STAR certified, which means the system meets the energy efficiency standards of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Upgrade Other Systems

The efficiency of nearby, related systems correlates with an HVAC system’s energy consumption. These include:

• energy-efficient lighting systems give off less heat, reducing the need for a higher level of air conditioning
• energy-efficient electronics give off less heat
• energy-efficient windows, doors and skylights bring in less heat and prevent cold drafts — preventing cold drafts means preventing raising the heat

Avoid Oversized HVAC

An oversized HVAC isn’t just using up extra space, it’s using up extra energy. Look to a professional if you need guidance because an oversized HVAC will:

• start up and shut down more frequently because it quickly meets the thermostat’s set temperature, causing the system to tire out and use more energy
• use more energy due to the size alone — it’s no surprise that larger systems need more energy to function
• be less efficient if its age is the reason it’s oversized — older HVAC systems are large, heavy and wasteful with energy

The Do-not List

You may not think that this list of do-nots will have much of an impact, but steer clear of these actions and you’ll see the difference:

• shut the system down at night — the system actually consumes more energy every time it is shut down and turned on because it then needs to catch up with your thermostat again
• wait too long to schedule a maintenance appointment — the time in-between is just more time for your energy bill to rise
• try to fix everything on your own — you need a trustworthy HVAC technician for certain tasks

HVAC trends and technology are keeping up with energy- and cost-conscious consumers, as well as helping our environment. An updated system will make your home or building more comfortable and healthier to live in. Improve your HVAC system by keeping up with maintenance, new HVAC technology and other related upgrades. You’ll be saving energy while using a system that’s most likely running almost every day.

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5 Simple Ways to Create a More Productive Workspace

Have you ever noticed how workspaces look so simple and organized in stock photographs? You know, like the image I’ve used for this article? That setup is so efficient it looks like work will practically do itself! Give me a break. No one’s desk really looks like that. Which can be a problem when it comes to productivity.

How Your Physical Workspace Affects Productivity

In 2011, OfficeMax conducted a workspace organization survey in which over 1,000 adults participated. A whopping 77% of participants said clutter damages their productivity.

Disorganization makes it hard to find things, and the time you spend searching through jumbled stacks of papers and folders is time you could have been using to accomplish a task.

Over half of all respondents in the OfficeMax survey said that “disorganization impairs their state of mind and motivation levels.” Sooner or later, you start to feel buried under the conglomeration of materials you’ve accumulated. Getting your office or cubicle in order will help reduce stress and increase productivity.

Realistic Changes that Will Help You Get Organized and Be Productive  

I’ll guess that when you first started working for your current employer, the clutter you now face every day was not required for a job well done. Am I right? So there is no reason why you can’t get back to the basics of a more minimalist work station today. Don’t worry, your family photo can stay where it is.

1. Identify the Essentials

A great place to start is identifying what items you need to perform your job. We’re getting back to basics, here. Determine what your bare essentials are and then give each item a designated place where it is always within an arm’s reach.

What should you do with the non-essentials you’ve had lying around? Toss them, file them, gift them, or return them to the appropriate person or place.

2. Establish a Filing System

Depending on the line of work involved, filing systems often vary from person to person. But there are some recommended basics to keep in mind when determining your method.

• Separate “read” from “not read:” The papers you have already read should be placed in a separate folder or tray from the papers you have not read yet.
• Categorization: Once you have read a document, categorize it appropriately. For some people this means color coding papers with post-it filing tabs to distinguish high importance items from standard, daily tasks. Others may prefer to file documents according to particular projects or clients. Choose the categorization method that makes the most sense for your job and—here’s the most important part—stick with it!

3. Minimize Noise

Has your office adopted an open floor plan? If so, you’re forced to work amidst disruptive noise. A study published by Cornell University reports that noise decreases productivity, increases stress and illness, and can lower job satisfaction.

Your productivity also declines when listening to music, according to cognitive neuroscientist Daniel Levitin and a growing number of research studies on the subject. “In almost every case, your performance on intellectual tasks such as reading and writing suffers considerably when you listen to music,” explains Levitin.

What should you do? Since asking for your own office is probably out of the question, try investing in some noise canceling headphones and foregoing the music while you’re at work.

4. Prepare Your Work Area Ahead of Time

It only takes five or ten minutes to prepare your workspace for the following day. Set aside about ten minutes every evening before leaving the office to clear your desk of trash, clean mugs and other dishes, install necessary updates on your computer, and create a to-do list for the next day. These few minutes of organization will allow you to come into work each morning to a functional workspace that encourages productivity.

5. De-clutter Your Computer Desktop

Not only do many office workers feel overwhelmed by the amount of clutter on their physical desktop, they also get stressed by the state of their digital desktop. If you’re working in an office environment, chances are pretty good that you rely heavily on a computer to carry out your duties. So it’s important to keep this part of your workspace clean and functional.

Create a digital filing system that provides quick, easy access to all of your documents. Again, the structure of this system will depend on your preferences and job function, but there are some guidelines that will help you along.

• Avoid putting everything in one folder: This pretty much says it all. Saving all your files in the same folder is like dumping all of your papers and office supplies into one desk drawer. What a mess!
• Logical categorization is key: Try taking the same categorization method you chose for your paper filing system and applying it to your digital documents.
• Don’t go overboard with subfolders: Subfolders are great. But be careful not to over-complicate your system with too many of them. When important files are four or five clicks away, your intricate storage system starts to be a time waster instead of a time saver.

A workspace and the items within it should facilitate productivity rather than hinder it. Implementing these five changes will have you well on your way to accomplishing more each time you sit down at your desk.

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10 Must-Have Life Skills For Great Managers

Horrible bosses are everywhere on TV and in the movies. If they’re not tyrants who insult, harass, or hurl packages at their staff, they’re cold-hearted cynics who steal ideas and take the credit. Or, they’re bumbling louts forced to buy themselves a “World’s Best Boss” mug.

Sure, these portrayals are farfetched (well, most of them), but they also sprout from grains of truth. We’ve all known managers who drove us to quit our jobs or wish that we could.

But here’s what’s interesting: It’s rarely the experience, education, or technical skills of these bosses we gripe about. We’re far more concerned with their “life skills”.

Take the self-reflection quiz at the end of each section to rate yourself on these 10 must-have life skills for managers. For improvement ideas, download the full workbook.

1. Empower Other People To Lead

Among the most common job complaints is this: I don’t get enough opportunities for development. Ambitious employees embrace the chance to be challenged and become energized at the prospect of demonstrating their versatility and potential. Offering leadership opportunities is a surefire way to develop and keep your best employees. A great manager is always teaching and empowering employees with opportunities to make decisions and develop new skills.

Are you an empowering manager? Take the quiz.

2. Demonstrate Humility

Nothing breeds an “us vs. them” mentality faster than a manager who makes employees feel beneath them. When you display humility as a manager, you signal to your team that it’s OK to show weakness and that failure is simply a bump on the path to success. Your employees will in turn feel emboldened to take risks and be resilient in the face of setbacks. A great manager knows that it’s possible to demonstrate confidence and maintain a leadership position without arrogance, ego, entitlement, or pride. They’re able to admit weakness, show a willingness to learn, take responsibility for failure, and credit others for success.

Are you a humble manager? Take the quiz.

3. Write With Clarity

Whether you’re leading a small team, large department, or your own company, clear written communication is a must-have skill. Ironically, communication is often dismissed as a “soft skill,” yet employees regularly point to unclear communication as a trait they dislike about upper management. Great managers invest time and thought when crafting written communication to their teams. They write concisely and clearly, keeping their employees’ perspectives in mind, and take care to avoid jargon, complicated words, and long sentences.

Do you write with clarity? Take the quiz.

4. Use Positive Body Language

Our body language communicates much more than the words we speak. As a manager you can inadvertently quash creativity and morale with subtle facial expressions and shifts in body position that convey annoyance or resistance. Negative body language also can make you less likeable. And if your employees don’t like you, they won’t listen to you, trust you, or feel motivated to exceed your expectations. Great managers keep their body language and spoken words in sync and balance a confident physical presence with gestures, smiling, and eye contact to convey empathy and warmth.

How positive is your body language? Take the quiz.

5. Be Generous With Praise

Have you ever worked for a “no news is good news” boss? You know, the type who only calls you into her office if she has bad news or criticism to offer? Don’t be that kind of manager! If your employees don’t feel appreciated, they’ll stop caring about their job. Wouldn’t you rather have employees who love showing you their work, sharing creative ideas, and including you in problem-solving discussions? Being generous with authentic praise is a core trait of a great manager. They recognize effort and achievement privately and publicly, and lay the groundwork for praise by setting both achievable and stretch goals.

Are you generous with praise? Take the quiz.

6. Be Thoughtful With Criticism

No one enjoys receiving criticism, but when delivered effectively, critical feedback is essential for developing skills and overcoming weaknesses. Unfortunately, most managers aren’t great at giving feedback; either they’re too harsh and direct or too soft and unclear. The good news: giving effective feedback is a skill that can be learned and practiced. Great managers always keep their emotions in check and their facts straight when delivering criticism, and keep the recipient’s growth and development at heart.

Do you give criticism thoughtfully? Take the quiz.

7. Respect Other People’s Time

If you’re managing a team, a department, or an entire company, you’re busy — everyone gets it. But being chronically late to meetings, appointments, and events isn’t a symptom of being busy or important; it’s a sign of disrespect for others and a lack of discipline for yourself. When you no-show, cancel at the last minute, or arrive late, you disrupt the productivity of your team and send the message: I am more important than you, and my time is more valuable.  Great managers communicate integrity and earn respect and trust by being punctual, attentive, and ending meetings on time.

Are you respectful of other people’s time? Take the quiz.

8. Like and Be Liked

Research shows we like people who like us — who ask us questions and pay us compliments, who possess similar interests, backgrounds, and attitudes. As a manager, you can use this fact to your advantage: By being more likable, in an authentic way, you can increase employee loyalty and engagement. Most important, your employees will open up to you in ways they otherwise wouldn’t. For instance, compared to employees who feel neutral about your personality, those who adore you might be more willing to trust you with their creative ideas, share their concerns, or pull a longer shift when you most need their help.

Are you a likable manager? Take the quiz.

9. Show Up To Be Nowhere Else

You know the feeling: You’re talking to someone with great enthusiasm, but you’re not getting their full attention. You can hear a keyboard clacking or papers rustling, or you notice them stealing glances at their phone. You feel deflated. Why bother talking to someone whose mind is elsewhere? And if that person is your manager — whose respect you covet — it can feel even worse. Great managers “show up to be nowhere else”; they use active listening skills, stay engaged in the conversation, and are attentive to details.

Are you a present, engaged manager? Take the quiz.

10. Communicate High Expectations

We’re all affected by what our mentors, teachers, and managers expect of us. When they convey higher expectations of us than we have for ourselves, we tend to believe we can succeed — and therefore often do. As a manager, you can put this concept to good use. Communicate high expectations to your employees via verbal and nonverbal cues and you’ll boost their self-esteem and performance, setting the stage for a more engaged, productive workforce. It’s easy to do with employees who already exceed expectations; the greater challenge is conveying high expectations to everyone else. Great managers encourage all their employees, not just those who consistently outperform.

Do you communicate high expectations? Take the quiz.

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10 Simple Ways to Make Your House More Eco-Friendly

The typical American’s carbon footprint equals 20 tons of CO2-eq per year, which is 16 tons higher than the global average. With this in mind, it is especially important for U.S. households to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint, especially when you consider how rapidly the Earth’s surface temperature is increasing. The good news is that every single person can make a difference by implementing a few simple techniques into their daily life.

1. Utilize Natural Light More Frequently

Electricity makes it easier to see and remain safe in dark situations, but most people have a tendency to overuse it. For example, do you keep the lights on in your house even when it is a bright, sunny day outside? If so, you can begin making your home more Eco-friendly by opening the blinds and utilizing natural light as much as possible. Turning off your lights for just one hour a day will save 1.22 pounds of CO2. Over the course of a year, this adds up to 0.216 metric tons. Although that might not sound like much, the overall impact of every household doing this would enormous.

2. Fix Leaks in a Timely Manner

According to a representative from Anta Plumbing, “Something as simple as a leaky faucet or a worn toilet flapper can waste an astounding 10,000 gallons of water per year.” When you consider the cost of this issue and combine it with the fact that 783 million people do not have access to clean water, it becomes clear that your home’s plumbing needs to be regularly maintained. Although simple problems can often be fixed by homeowners, make sure that you contact a professional plumbing company for issues of a more serious nature. It is also a good idea to have your plumbing inspected annually to ensure that there are not any hidden leaks.

3. Reduce Your Waste through Recycling

Most cities have a recycling program, and this is one of the easiest waste to reduce your overall waste. Recycling items instead of letting them sit in a landfill will help the environment in multiple ways. Not only does recycling make it possible to make fewer plastic objects but it also helps reduce the amount of space that must be devoted to holding decaying garbage. U.S. landfills released 12.1 million tons of CO2 emissions in 2010, and they were also responsible for 16.2 percent of all methane emissions nationwide. Recycling is one of the best ways to bring this carbon footprint down to a more manageable level.

4. Upcycle and Reuse Everything Possible

Recycling is a great start, but there is something you can do that is even better: reuse and upcycle items whenever possible. Do you use pasta sauce that comes in glass jars? Instead of merely recycling those jars, you can put them to use in wide variety of other ways. A prime example is storing leftover food in the jars. You can also do everything with jars from growing small herbs in them to turning one of them into a makeshift piggy bank. The final application of an item that is reused or upcycled is up to you. If you remain focused on the ultimate goal of getting more useful life out of each object, you should be able to discover dozens of creative ways to reuse daily items.

5. Plant Herbs and Vegetables

Each time you go to the store to purchase something, you are producing carbon emissions that have a negative impact on the environment. Instead of doing this several times a week, it is best to condense your trips into weekly or even biweekly outing. Additionally, you can plant herbs and vegetables to make yourself less reliant on the store. This can even be done in a small space such as on a balcony or indoors. You will also use much less energy to cultivate and grow your own herbs and vegetables than would be utilized by a farmer, so putting this tip into action at your home will be a win-win.

6. Use Solar Power to Recharge Electronics

The modern world is inundated by electronics, and most of them need to be recharged daily or provided with a steady supply of electricity. Cellphones and laptops are the most commonly recharged items, but you do not have to plug into your home’s electricity to keep them powered up. Instead, you can invest in a small solar powered battery charger. Doing this will allow you to eliminate the carbon emissions that are typically produced from recharging your applicable electronics. Additionally, you will have freedom of movement because these chargers can be used anywhere with access to the sun. In other words, these chargers can be used in the middle of the woods or during a power outage.

7. Run Full Loads of Dishes and Clothing

A single load of laundry that is washed and dried at the highest heat setting produces 7.27 pounds of CO2, so it is imperative not to waste your loads by running them when they are half full. You can also cut back on your emissions by using the cold setting and drying clothes on a line. The same principle applies to washing dishes. Instead of steaming them dry, consider skipping that step and either drying them by hand or allowing them to air dry. Yes, you might have more streaks or spots on your dishes, but you will also have a lower carbon footprint.

8. Mend Clothes Instead of Replacing Them

An estimated 16.65 billion pounds of textile waste is caused by U.S. consumers throwing away their clothes instead of mending old items or donating them to a secondhand store. This is an astounding amount of waste that is needlessly clogging landfills. Over time, clothing will break down to the point where it cannot be salvaged with sewing or an iron on patch. However, you should not discard it until it reaches this point. If you change sizes and have clothing in good repair, be sure to donate it to reduce waste. Following these steps will help you bring your carbon footprint and your clothing budget down.

9. Reuse Envelopes and Plastic Bags

Even if you try to avoid accepting plastic bags in the first place, there are invariably going to be situations when you end up with one. After this happens, you have a choice: recycle it, reuse it responsibly or add it your local landfill. If you have a local center that recycles plastic bags, this is a fantastic way to cut back on landfill waste. However, if this is not a viable option, be sure to reuse each bag at least once so that its overall useful life is extended. Scooping cat litter into a plastic bag is a good example, and this can also cut back on wasting trash bags. Another good way to get the most out of otherwise useless and wasteful items is to write out grocery lists and notes on junk mail envelopes.

10. Adjust Your Thermostat by 2 Degrees

A programmable thermostat gives you a lot of control over your energy use, which means that you have the power to easily cut back on energy and save money. A difference of merely 2 degrees in the summer and winter can save approximately 2,000 pounds of C02. Therefore, if you typically prefer to have your thermostat set to 70 degrees all year, bump it down to 68 during the winter and up to 72 in the summer to achieve this highly beneficial metric. It also a good idea to adjust the thermostat by 8 degrees when you will be sleeping or gone for 8 or more hours. Following this secondary tip at least once a day can save you 10 percent on your heating bill.

As you can see, it is not necessary to make any major life changes in order to achieve a greener living environment. Now that you have a better idea what to do on a daily basis, you can begin focusing on more specialized ways to help the environment such as choosing Eco-friendly bridal bouquets and gift boxes.

Featured photo credit: Eric via flickr.com

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6 Quick Ways to Prepare For Your First Career Fair

A career fair can be one of the quickest ways to find potential employers, but it can also be one of the most time-wasting activities if you don’t know why you’re there in the first place. Don’t get caught in the trap of walking around like a headless chicken for your first-ever career fair. Here’s how to prepare.

Study the floor plan

It’s staggering just how often I meet candidates who enter a job fair with no idea of where they’re heading. First of all, you want to know what booths will be most advantageous for you. If you are looking for jobs in the tech sector, your best bet is not going to be with companies that are mainly focused on administrative work. It also helps for you to know where the open positions are. Some companies attend career fairs when they don’t have any openings and are just looking for potential talent. These are the companies you should approach last. If companies are doing same-day interviews, approach these first. These will be the most time-consuming booths to visit, and you’ll have a better memory of what these companies do if you go to their booths first. This will maximize your time with recruiters relevant to your field.

Be sure that you look and act professional

First impressions can make or break you. You wouldn’t walk into an interview wearing sweatpants covered in Cheeto dust from the night before, so you shouldn’t do it at a job fair either. Learn how to dress for an interview. Avoid perfume and cologne as much as possible, as a lot of workplaces in this day and age are scent-free. When you go to a job fair, you are basically selling yourself to potential recruiters, so you want to put your best foot forward. This means be well groomed and don’t forget deodorant — it happens! Keep some in a bag with you just in case you forget or get the nervous sweats. Remember to stay positive and alert. It is recommended that you dress the same as you would if you were attending an interview with the company. This rings especially true when the companies at your job fair are giving on-the-spot interviews.

Have multiple copies of your resume

As you plan your route around the job fair, you’ll want to make sure you have enough resumes for the recruiters you intend to speak to. You should also have more than enough to go to all the recruiters — do this because some tables may have multiple recruiters that would like to look at your resume at the same time. You also need to make sure your resume is in a chronological order if you are applying for different types of positions. This can be easily completed with a resume builder that can re-arrange work experience. This allows you to have your experience highlighted in a way that shows what you did and where you did it. If a recruiter asks you to email a resume, format it specifically for the job you are applying for.

Know what types of questions may be asked

Research each company that interests you that will be attending the fair beforehand. This gives you a one up on all other applicants, because your first impression will be to impress the recruiters with how much you know about the company. Understand what kind of questions they could possibly ask you, whether they are just curious about your experience, or if you have a full-on interview there and then. This could be preparing a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis and then devising questions based around this, or it could be as simple as reading the company blog and bringing up some questions on an industry-related subject.

Prepare a short, one-minute speech

First impressions mean a lot, especially to a recruiter. They will notice your posture, if you’re absolutely terrified, or if you have spinach in your teeth from that panini you had at lunch. You want to be on your A-game when you are interacting with recruiters for the first time. You want to have a short speech that represents exactly who you are and why you can be beneficial to their company, a sort-of condensed elevator pitch. You want to have it rehearsed enough beforehand that you don’t stutter, stumble over your words, or say something completely different that ends up coming across as arrogant.

Get business cards

This is the best time to start networking! It’s your first job fair and it’s going to be very intimidating. What you want to do is make the most of it, right? Get business cards from each of the recruiters you meet with, especially the ones in your preferred field. Meet other job seekers just like you — they may have connections in your area of interest. You could even go a step up and bring your own business cards. That’s something that can be deemed impressive. It will at least make you a little bit more memorable. And when you get those business cards, don’t forget to write a follow-up email! If you’re stuck or need some ideas, Hubspot has some great examples.

Featured photo credit: Flickr via flickr.com

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Be Tenacious! 8 Killer Mental Models You Need in Order to Thrive

Exuding a calm, deliberate confidence is the secret sauce to thriving in life, don’t you agree?

But in order to achieve that, we need to solve a problem. Your inner critic. The sower of doubt, fueled by faulty conditioning. Like an annoying pop-up, it keeps harassing you with messages that distract you. That nagging little voice. “I can’t do it because of [fill in irrelevant fact]”.

It convinces you to falter…to stop…

You avoid taking action to achieve your goals, your dreams or just to get stuff done in general. Your inner critic convinces you that your cozy comfort zone is way too comfy to leave.

Why is it so difficult to act without doubt and anxiety? Your brain is running some faulty mental models. Over our lifetimes, we all adopt limiting beliefs that are acquired through media, upbringing or unrepresentative experiences.These mental models keep us grounded instead of free and confident.

In order to thrive, we need to replace faulty scripts with the right ones. Because whatever you might tell yourself, you are not too old/nerdy/fat/dumb or whatever to improve your life. You are awesomely you and you can have a thriving life!

Here are eight examples of mental models you need to adopt in order to thrive in this life.

1. Accept the world as it is

First off, you must develop utter acceptance of the world you live in.

There are a lot of uncomfortable facts in life that we try to hide from. Uncomfortable facts, harsh realities. The world may seem unfair, but it’s not. The world just is. There is no inherent goodness or badness about it. It is just a collection of things in being.

So stop putting your head in the sand–take a breath and see it for what it is. Confront yourself with reality. Don’t sugar coat it, but also don’t get pulled into exaggerated thoughts of doom.

As you accept how things are, you can take steps to effectively improve them.

2. Take responsibility for your life

You are the primary stakeholder in your life and, ultimately, the only one that will always care. You are also the one with the most direct influence on your life. That means you are responsible for where you end up.

You might have been dealt a bad hand, but there is no reshuffling the deck. You can only play the cards you have. It’s up to you to do well.

If you don’t like something in your life, change your attitude towards it or change the situation. Develop active coping strategies. Don’t blame other people, God or the universe. You have free will; you are in charge. Take the constructive view to look towards yourself for progress.

3. No self pity

Self pity is a devastating emotion. It’s so unproductive to feel sorry for yourself. No matter how justifiable, it is toxic.

Nothing is gained by engaging in this rotting state of mind. You are dirt poor? You are plain ugly? You are 30 and still living in your mom’s basement? Your life may truly suck, but you can’t live in self pity because then things will never change!

Suck it up. Accept your situation and plan to improve on it. Feeling sorry for yourself only makes the situation worse. Lose the victim mentality. Learn you can change yourself and the situation.

No more pity parties for you!

4. Redefine failure in a learning experience

Failure has a big stigma in western culture. Once you fail, you are a loser. Too many people believe that somehow you should be able to win instantly. Well, that is not going to happen. So why not give yourself permission to suck and fail in life.

Learn from your mistakes. You are not a loser because you have failed! The real losers are those that don’t even try, or who give up too quickly. The one who fails and gets back up is ultimately the winner.

Try not to see a specific goal as the definition of your success. Instead, view making progress as success. It is not going to be a straight line to perfection, but making the effort to move forward, through failure and learning is truly success!

5. Fear is your guide

As you move through life you will sometimes halt, paralyzed by fear. Feel the fear and take action anyway. Unless you are about to win a Darwin award, you were probably on the right track.

Fear shows you where you want to go, but you have to take a leap. Let fear indicate something you need to do. Push through. Let fear be your ominous guide to prosperity.

Let fear lead the way

6. Think about your death

Good new everyone! We are all going to die.

Okay, so maybe that isn’t such great news, but it’s true. Use this as a reminder that your time is finite. One day you will be gone. It might be tomorrow; it might be in 80 years. All of your small pettiness, fears and jealousies should pale in comparison to the large unknown nothingness that awaits you. So why not make the most of this wonderful life of yours?

Take the time to confront yourself with this impending doom, and rejoice that you are still alive!

Time to enjoy life even more by taking risks and making progress toward even the simplest of goals.

7. Don’t take life too serious

What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of your life?

If you go down that rabbit hole, you will end up with this answer: The meaning of life is to live.

It’s not very grave, but it’s very significant.

Culture and upbringing might argue otherwise, but the importance of arbitrary events, parameters and people is mostly exaggerated. There is no significant higher goal to attain, no higher purpose except the one you give yourself through living.

So take it easy.

There is not a checkpoint you have to pass to achieve a fulfilling life.

It’s just not that serious! It is to be enjoyed whenever possible. You choose how you want to live, so why not take it easy–despite what people try to tell you.

There is always time for singing

8. Live in the now

Last but not least, to truly thrive, you must live in the now. Learn to let go of your mind. Stop chasing lost moments and anticipating potential futures.

Your predictions are mostly off, and your memories are remixes of unalterable events. Instead, learn to truly experience what is right in front of you, no denying but embracing the now. Whether it’s through sports, nature, or meditation, embrace the present.

Adapting these mental models won’t be an easy task, and it won’t happen overnight. But if you remind yourself of them and make small steps towards your goals, you will see over time that your programming will be changed and it will have an amazing impact on your life.

Good luck on thriving!

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Liked this? How about you adapt these 5 habits to becoming confident as well!

Photo Credits: Joshua Earl – Jumping Person in Forest, Mr Crabs Violin, Scary Movie Piano, Looking on the bright side

Featured photo credit: Joshua Earl via unsplash.com

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