I’ve been going to the gym for about three years now. Wait, that’s a half truth
The first two years down my muscle building journey I was inconsistent. I would work out with a strict regimen for three months, then I would fall off track and miss weeks at a time. I repeated that cycle over and over again without seeing the results I really wanted to.
Now that I have been going to the gym consistently for just over a year I have seen results that I never imagined possible. I still have a long way to go, but now I see constant improvement. I can lift more, run more, and my body looks completely different.
Last year I decided that I wanted to become a never ending fountain of ideas. I wanted to have a hundred ideas to overcome any obstacle that came my way.
Heck, I wanted to be able to spout off ideas to solve the problems of everyone around me. And I had learned my lesson from the gym. Consistently exercise a skill, and it grows.
So I created my idea exercise regimen and I’ll share it with you now.
Write at least 10 ideas every day.
They don’t have to be good!
I say that first because every time I mention this to someone they always say “How on god’s green earth could you come up with ten ideas in a day?”
When I tell them that it usually takes me about 12-15 minutes they look at me like I’m some sort of super human.
But then I tell them some of the ideas I’ve come up with and their face changes.
Don’t worry if your ideas are bad. In the first six months of going to the gym you are going to be weak compared to everyone around you. Your muscles haven’t developed yet. It’s the same with your idea muscle.
The point is to consciously make your brain struggle every single day. If you want to become a never ending source of ideas, especially good ideas, it’s going to take time.
One of my ideas recently was a themed restaurant where the waitresses/waiters get paid really well, and they decide how much they tip the customers.
Is the idea interesting? Sure.
Is it good? Nope.
Always be on the search for problems.
This is something that you need to train yourself to be vigilant in. Every time you hear someone complain about something, think of ways to fix it. Even if they’re bad ideas; even if you’ll never follow through.
You need to be able to apply your idea skills to real world situations and just like anything else, that takes practice.
If you hear someone complain— or notice something that doesn’t seem to work correctly—just write it down and make it the subject of your next 10 ideas.
After enough practice with this, ensuring that you do your 10 ideas every day, you will be well on your way to become a fountain of ideas.
Combine your ideas.
This is a crucial skill to learn if you ever want to create something new.
Combining to totally different ideas, or objects, will provide weird and sometimes very amazing results. I learned this concept from a book called ‘Creative Thinkering.’
A lot of history’s greatest ideas have happened this way, whether the person has realized it or not.
The natural way this happens is you think about something for a long time, then when you stop focusing on it and you mind wanders to something else, that other focus causes a eureka moment.
A man named Christopher Sholes was watching a piano recital when he noted that each key of the piano produces one specific note. He thought, why not create machine that writes in the same manner, with each key creating a specific letter.
Through the combination of playing a piano and writing, the first type writer was born.
I believe that you can improve any skill with practice, and you ability to create quality ideas on a whim is no exception.
If you follow these tips consistently, you will see results.
First you will be able to come up with ideas with ease, whether they are good or bad. Then you will start to come up with quality ideas, or novel ideas more and more often. Then you will start to come up with truly innovative ideas and you will naturally have the motivation to start executing them.
Just like my body has grown stronger from training at the gym, my creativity has improved drastically with this idea training.
Don’t wait for some amazing idea to hit you, start training your creativity and light your own light bulb.
I’ve never met most of my heroes, mentors, or anyone I look up to. I have only seen them on the other side of my computer screen or in the pages of their books.
Creative and ambitious people are hard to come by in real life. Without ever seeing this type of person face to face, it’s easy to understand why a lot of people don’t believe it’s possible to turn their ideas into reality. You think “I’ve never met anyone who has done it, so what are my chances?”
Well, I recently got the opportunity to meet someone who has shown me that we don’t just have to admire the stars, we can reach out and grab them.
Dori the Giant. A small girl with BIG ambition.
Home-made Galaxy Glasses. Portrait by Thomas Dagg. Click to see more.
When she agreed to an interview I was ecstatic. This was someone who had been in newspapers, worked with major corporations, been featured in art exhibits, spear headed community projects, and done more freelance work than I could imagine. She had truly put time into her craft, pursued her passions and continually marched towards a life of fulfillment and meaning.
During this interview and subsequent conversations I learned what the reality of accomplishing your dreams can look like, the good, the bad, the ugly, and how to get through it all.
Here are the 8 things I learned from Dori the Giant.
1) Find ANY excuse to be creative.
This was a subject that she touched upon often throughout our conversation.
“I was going into a class called “Creative photography” and the teacher warned me that it was very technical and not creative even in the slightest, but I would find ways to be creative in my assignments.”
This theme is pervasive throughout Dori’s work. She turns the everyday, into the extraordinary.
Cigarette Tree. Click to see the final product.
People aren’t going to approach you randomly and give you reasons to be creative or try something new.
You have to take every excuse you can find and turn it into an avenue for creativity, whether it has a purpose or whether it’s just for fun. Even if it’s just for fun, you are going to be learning new things along the way that will improve your skills and increase your confidence.
2) Look at things from every angle.
One thing that I noticed is that she never tied her self down to one perspective on a subject. Every time we spoke about an idea or project, she always looked at it from high, low, left, right and everywhere in between.
This wasn’t just a way of approaching creativity though, it seemed to be her way of approaching life.
“…It has it’s pros and cons. That’s sort of like my motto and I often start off my conversations like that. I think my friends get mad because I say it so often, but it opens up the conversation to both perspectives so I like it.”
The ability to step back and look at something from all angles is one of the most resourceful traits someone can incorporate into their personality.
Forcing yourself to look at all sides can be the key to finding the silver lining in any bad situation. If you get fired, you won’t only think about the stresses of finding a new job and how embarrassed you are, you will also think about all the time you have now to pursue your dreams.
3) Surround yourself with creative and support people.
“For the past four years I’ve slowly been trying to collect a decent circle of creative friends, or friends who believe really strongly in my art. It makes all the difference. Gotta keep ’em close and pay it forward.”
They say you become the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If the people you surround yourself with don’t believe in you, how can you believe in yourself?
Surrounding yourself with other ambitious people will give you the boost you need when you run out of steam. You want friends that you can go to for advice, tips, and support.
Add Friend Lapel Pin by Dori the Giant. Click the picture to get some for you and your friends!
There are plenty of studies that show the effects that people close to you can have on your habits and mentality. I remember reading one study showing that someone could gain healthy habits and lose weight just by being around other fit people. Never discount the effect that your environment has on you.
If all of your friends are negative, it can be hard to stay positive. If they are all lazy, you will have difficulty being motivated. When you meet someone who has qualities that you admire, try to engage more with that person and those qualities will cultivate in yourself.
This brings us to the next thing I learned from Dori.
4) Don’t be afraid to ask for help, or help others.
Asking for help from other people seems to be a part of Dori the Giant’s natural process when turning her more unbelievable ideas into a reality.
“Even if I have the time and money and motivation for a project, I often don’t know where to begin. I usually start with Google searches and move onto videos and eventually I start to e-mail people asking questions.”
But you can’t always just take, sometimes you have to give as well.
“Often, people don’t like to just give away their most valuable information, especially when it comes to a method of art that is bringing in money or making them distinctively different. I know I’m the same way – I wouldn’t give away my best secrets to just anyone! It’s always good to offer something in return, even if it’s just dinner!”
You’d be surprised how helpful people will be if you just ask. I convinced Dori to come out to this interview by offering her coffee. She was so nice that when we met up she wanted to buy me coffee. This spirit of give and take will help you to develop those oh-so important connections you will need if you plan on making your stake in this world.
But don’t focus all of your attention on making connections.
“Connections are everything, and even though everybody wants all these great connections, you should also focus on your own assets and turn YOURSELF into a connection that other people will want to have.”
5) Learn what makes you tick and use it to your advantage.
When I asked Dori what she had done in the past to improve her situation, she had an answer that was just as creative and unique as she is.
“I got a lava lamp and it helped. Seriously. It helped with motivation. One thing I’ve found that motivates me are the little details of my environment and my comfort: mood lights, lamps, candles, scents, the right music, chocolate, and of course Facebook chat. Everybody is different so I suggest everyone experiments with their own inherent/stubborn psychological routines. Get to know yourself and be your own friend.”
When you are trying to find out what motivates you, gets you in the creative mood, or helps you overcome obstacles you should remember that everyone has different preferences towards rewards, inspirations, motivations, triggers, and routines.
A trick I use to figure out what will invigorate me and what will suck the energy out of me is my “Invigorate/Debilitate T-Chart.” I write down everything I do throughout the week and split it into these two categories. It helps me put into perspective exactly what I can add or cut from my life to increase motivation.
You can try my method or come up with one that works for you because, hey, we are all different!
6) It’s okay to have a down day as long as you don’t beat yourself up.
When I asked her “Have you ever had periods in your life where you lost the creative “Spark” or inspiration? How did you overcome them?” she gave me an answer that you might not expect.
“Oh yeah, many, many times! To be honest, I rarely ever “overcome” it in the sense of fighting it. I overcome it in the sense of simply accepting it and spending my slump days playing video games, going out, watching some movies/shows and trying NOT to stress about how unproductive I’m being. Eventually my brain resets and goes “Hey, I feel like myself again! Let’s do some art!” And you know what? Often I come back feeling even more motivated – which is another reason I don’t hesitate to just let myself have down days (and enjoy them!).”
If you are in a slump and you spend the whole day feeling guilty about it, you will end the night depressed and disappointed. That in turn can turn into a cycle, negativity begets more negativity.
So how do you break the cycle? Realize that off days are impossible to avoid completely, and use them as an opportunity to take your mind off of things! Maybe your brain is trying to give you a hint saying “You’ve been working to hard, I need a break!”
The next time you have an off day, enjoy yourself and let go of the guilt.
7) Don’t fear change, it’s a good thing.
“The only thing about me that doesn’t change is how much I always change.”
If I said to you that in fifteen years your life was going to be the exact same as it is right now, same friends, same job, same living space… would that make you happy?
I’m guessing that hypothetical situation would be depressing.
If that is the case, then why do so many people fear change? Staying the same is far more depressing than even the worst outcomes of change. We were made to grow and explore, so get out there and get rid of your fear of change.
8) Get off your butt and do it before someone else does.
Original GIF by Dori the Giant
If you have a passion, an idea, or a goal you had better get out there now and start working on it. One of the things that Dori left me with was the very true statement that if you don’t do it, and soon, someone else will.
“…maybe by the time I get the money someone else will have thought of it too and created it, and that’s just how it is. Original ideas need to be executed quickly – you don’t wanna look like a copycat.”
I know you have something that you’ve been thinking about doing for a long time now but for some reason, (lack of money, lack of motivation, lack of confidence) you haven’t gone out there and done it. Well take this as your cue. It’s time.
You may not see people in your everyday life that inspire you, but I hope this has inspired you.
If you want to start down the path to creativity, fulfillment and ambition you have to do something, or anything; because well… her GIF says it all.
Original product and GIF by Dori the Giant. Click the picture to buy one for yourself or as a gift.
Follow Dorota Pankowska A.K.A. Dori the Giant on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. You won’t regret it.
Over the last couple of years I have become fascinated with the idea that everything in your life is a result of what goes on in your mind.
If there are two twins that are the exact same in every way, except that one is relentlessly positive and the other is endlessly negative, their lives would be completely different.
They could encounter the exact same scenarios and obstacles but they would perceive them in different ways. The positive person would see them as a chance to grow, and the negative person would see them as evidence that you can never succeed.
With this in mind I am convinced that learning to skew your mind towards the positive and the useful is the best way to completely transform your life.
Here are the three steps to learning to control your mind like a Jedi.
1) Observe your thoughts.
In order to start controlling the endless chatter in your mind you first have to get rid of the idea that you are your thoughts.
We tend to think that the chatter in our mind is whowe are and that is it, but that is just a part of who you are. You are your whole body from top to bottom and your entire subconscious, not just your conscious thoughts.
Now what you need to do is to step back from your thoughts and observe them. Start keeping track of when you are thinking negatively. The next time you find yourself upset, step back for a second and think “Wow, I have a lot of negative thoughts right now.”
Doing this will help you catch yourself in these useless reflexive thought cycles. Nothing good comes from beating yourself up or feeling sorry for yourself so the more you start to catch yourself, the quicker you can implement my next step.
2) Cancel your negative thoughts.
Now that you are starting to keep an eye on what you are thinking instead of just letting the chatter go on, you can start to pull yourself out of these habitual thought patterns.
Your brain doesn’t like using a lot of energy, so if you are a person who naturally reacts negatively, your mind will jump to that first because it is easy. Doing something outside of the norm requires conscious effort, something your brain would rather avoid. Yeah, thanks evolution, we really appreciate that…
My favourite way to pull myself out of my bad habitual thought cycles is to use an “interrupt mantra.”
An interrupt mantra is something that you start repeating over and over once you realize that you are in one of these cycles. It will replace your useless thoughts with the exact opposite and more useful thoughts.
If you are someone who has problems with procrastination, once you realize that you are thinking “Man, I hate doing this work, I just want to relax and watch some Netflix” you have to switch to your interrupt mantra. It could be something like “I am energized and ready to take on anything. I’ll conquer this project with ease and energy to spare.”
Repeat that as many times in a row as you have to and after a while of canceling your negative thoughts, your mind will start to reflexively jump to the positive and more useful thoughts.
It only makes sense that your procrastination will naturally shrink when your reflexive thoughts are that of being energized and ready to conquer the obstacles ahead of you.
Interrupt mantras can work for any negative thoughts. If you have negative thoughts about your confidence interrupt them with “I am an amazing and confident person. I am going to start giving myself the credit I deserve.”
If you have problems with willpower interrupt those thoughts by saying “I have tons of willpower to spare. I am a strong person who can beat any temptation with ease.”
Rinse and repeat as many times as needed whether it be ten, twenty, or thirty times in a row.
3) Meditation.
This step isn’t required, but it will make the whole process ten times easier. When I started meditating I didn’t realize just how impactful it would be. I also didn’t realize how many of my favourite celebrities and great thinkers meditated.
Everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger, to Katy Perry, to Oprah Winfrey and more credit meditation as a key part of their success and ability to stay balanced.
We could discuss meditation for hours, the spiritual aspects, the physical effects it has on the brain over time or even just the calming effect it can create instantly. But for now there is one plus side to meditation that I want to share with you.
It allows you to step back from your thoughts.
With the type of meditation I do the point is to focus on your breath so intensely that your thoughts cease. Now, during meditation you are sure to have thoughts pop into your head. In this case you just allow them to surface without analyzing them, and then get back to focusing on your breathing. If you get an itch on your leg, you feel it, but then immediately bring your attention back to your breath.
This will train you to be able to have a thought or emotion surface without allowing it to pull you into its rabbit hole. This way when something happens in your daily life that aggravates you, instead of stewing over it for hours and ruining your whole day you can step back and say “is this really a useful thing to focus on? Do these thought patterns improve my life in any way shape or form, or do they just serve to steal energy and happiness from me?”
Armed with this ability to step back and question these reflexive thoughts, you can truly start to control your mind and use it for your own self improvement.
A quote that has been repeated by many of the great minds of the world, and is very close to my heart is: “The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.”
This quote perfectly explains the two different relationships you can have with your mind.
Either you control it, or it controls you. The decision is yours.
When I moved out of my parents house this year, it was a scary process. My end goal was to live on my own and start to manage my own life, but every step of the way I faced obstacles I didn’t anticipate.
It had to be in our budget, it had to allow pets and it had to be close enough to all three of our work places.
After painstaking efforts to find somewhere that met all the criteria we had to gather all of our information and convince the landlords that we were the best tenants.
Finally we got the place and moved in, I thought it was all sunshine from there.
But boy was I wrong.
We had trouble getting the internet working, paying bills for the first time, figuring out groceries and a hundred other obstacles. To this day at least one house related obstacle pops up per week.
Right now, here at 2HelpfulGuys, we are in the middle of writing a book. I can already imagine the hundreds of hurdles that we are going to have to conquer.
Nothing you do will ever come without an obstacle or two so here are my tips to help you push through them and accomplish your goals.
Obstacles are a part of life.
The first thing that will help you push through these pesky obstacles is realizing that obstacles are unavoidable.
They are going to pop up, you can’t stop it. Even if you anticipate as many obstacles as you can, you are still going to run into a few nasty surprises along the way.
For your own sanity, it’s best that you become friends with obstacles.
Use obstacles to help you improve.
By definition an obstacle will help you improve and grow. If you didn’t need to grow to get past the obstacle, then it wouldn’t be an obstacle. It would just be another walk in the park.
When you realize that every obstacle matures your abilities and your drive, you will begin to become excited to face them.
Relish the opportunity to conquer something. It will only lead to more victories.
Break down your obstacles.
When you first encounter an obstacle it is almost always daunting. When you see a mountain from far away you think to yourself “It must be impossible to climb to the top! Look how high it is!”
But when you get closer you start to see the individual paths you can hike. You see it broken down into details that are easier to conquer one by one.
Do this with every obstacle you face. Break it down into small bite size pieces and start chewing.
Never give up.
Some people say Edison tried up to ten thousand different prototypes for the light bulb. Even though the first nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine didn’t work, he refuse to say that he ever failed.
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
-Thomas Edison
This is the way you need to think. Every time you try something that doesn’t work you are getting closer to finding what does work.
I’ve learned that nothing you try will ever work the first time. Or maybe you’re lucky and you can get a hole in one. I never can.
Learning to be okay with being wrong is the most important skill you will ever gain.
Keep being wrong until you find what is right. Just make sure you don’t give up.
With every goal I try to reach and every habit I try to internalize, I always start off motivated and eager to climb the ladder to success.
But where is my motivation three months later at 5:45am, looking up at a long day of work after a sleepless night?
Where is my motivation during a horrible week, wrought with upsets and disappointments?
I curl up in bed, knowing full well what I have to do, but my motivation is no where to be found.
Motivation is a feeling. It is sand in your palms, sensitive to even the slightest breeze.
So what force do we use to accomplish our goals if not motivation?
Discipline.
Courage is not the absence fear, but the ability to go on despite it.
Discipline is not the absence of avolition, but the pledge to push forward regardless of it’s presence.
Discipline is the force that will be with you no matter what you are thinking or how you are feeling at the time.
No matter what you try to achieve, you will need it. From dieting, to writing a book, to cutting back on your swearing, discipline is the greatest force behind all improvement.
Here are a couple of things I have learned about discipline and how to cultivate it.
Discipline is one day at a time.
I have a little green book in the drawer beside me that I haven’t opened since last august, until today.
This book was my first conscious attempt at developing my discipline, although I had no idea what I was doing at the time.
It has a check list. Read, Write, Gym, 10 Ideas, 8 Hours of sleep.
When I started this book I hadn’t turned any of these things into concrete habits. I tried doing it all at once.
Every day I would put check marks beside what I did and rate myself out of 5.
It started off well, but quickly got ugly.
What I didn’t know at the time is that it is impossible to completely change your life overnight.
Developing your discipline is a life long pursuit. One that most of us don’t consciously pursue. We aren’t all monks.
Every day try to exercise your discipline just one time. Pick the smallest habit you can and start there. Mine was making breakfast every morning.
That single habit, that single discipline workout every morning, changed my life.
For best results, treat your body with respect.
Everything that you accomplish in your life will stem from your mind. Your mind and the various states you put it through can decide whether you get closer to a better life, or slip further away.
If you are hungry, tired or stressed it will affect everything you do.
You should always make it a priority to get the proper amount of sleep and eat regularly. If you treat your body with disrespect, you will not get anything good from it.
Eating breakfast changed my life because it gave me energy in the morning and encouraged me to get more sleep so that I could wake up early enough to cook.
Your body doesn’t need to be a temple, but don’t let it turn into a garbage dump.
Forgive yourself and move on.
This is another major theme in life. If developing your discipline is a life long pursuit, then it only makes sense that every once and a while you are going to falter.
If you beat yourself up, you are more likely to spiral out of control and end up right back at square one.
Getting angry at yourself will solve nothing. If you fall, get back up as soon as possible and move on.
Today was an exercise in discipline for me.
I didn’t really have the motivation to write today. I have two days off, I’m tired, and it’s thanksgiving. If I wanted to I could have used these things as excuses to skip writing.
But this is where discipline, that little muscle that could, comes in. I know the exact moment that I don’t want to do something when I know I should, is when I have to call upon that little friend.
I have a lot of other things I plan to do today. Some of them will get done, but maybe I’ll miss a few.
That’s okay. I’m not perfect. But I’d like to believe I’m better than I was yesterday.
Happy thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians.
As always, I’ll see you next Sunday.
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