This is the first post in a new series - "Using Your Senses To Transform Your Life.” Most of us probably assume that we make use of all 5 our senses each and every day, but take another look. Do you think that you use them to their fullest potential?

Leonardo da Vinci, the great Renaissance painter and sculptor, said that the average person looks without seeing, listens without hearing, and talks without thinking. Doesn’t this describes most of us?
 
Follow these series if you would like to discover the full potential of your senses and how you can use them for powerful self improvement which will lead to happiness, healing, and greater life fulfilment. 
 
See how one may fine tune your senses  to make much more sense of the world. After all, you are the writer of your own story, and your perception creates your own world.

For 5 weeks, we will focus on one sense each week. For instance, week one you could pay particular attention to everything you see that week. Do not then pay to much attention to your other four senses in your “sight” week. In a "touch week" focus on feeling various textures, and so on. 
 
Perform this exercise over the next 5 weeks, concentrating on a different sense each week.
 
Repeat this exercise from time to time to stay in touch with all of your senses so you can reap the very most benefits from all five of them. 

Week 1:  Your Sense Of Hearing

What About ​Cultivating positive habits?

You must have seen how some people just seem to have the knack of getting things done. They will say a thing like, 'I am going to begin exercising next year', and they do! However when you try, it's a different story. You stay with it awhile and then in some way it all falls flat. It can really easily make you discouraged and disheartened. You need to create good habits that stick, to inspire you. 

1. Begin small
Many people wish to plunge in at the deep end and change things over night, but if you wish to succeed, it is best to start small and increase because sustaining positive habit does take a great deal of willpower. Research shows that willpower resembles a muscle, once you use it, it burns out, and when it's tired it needs to stop. The solution is to start small without using a lot of willpower. So if its exercises we're discussing, rather than embarking on 50 pushups a day, start with five. Always establish your habit behavior first, not increasing the amounts until what you have started becomes a natural part of you.

2. Get linked to your good habit
Maybe you've started a project at the office and worked doggedly on it. You type of don't wish to let it go as you think about it as 'yours'. But we can use this mindset to our advantage, as a visual reminder of the investment you have made in your good habit. It's a great idea to get a calendar, with a marker alongside it, marking the date you started and watching its progress-- with the intention of never breaking the chain.

3. Are your objectives clear?
Being serious regarding your new positive habits means eliminating non-serious intentions. Research, once more, shows that you are a lot more likely to complete if you have analyzed your plans beforehand and you know exactly what you will do and when. It's no good saying, 'I think I will exercise 3 times a week'. You need to actually start making it happen, otherwise, you won't hack it. It is a good help if you plan your goals beforehand using a detailed goal planner.

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​By this time of year, healthy eating may have taken a back seat to summer vacation, back-to-school madness, and your subconscious seems to know that January 1st is nowhere in sight. 

This is the perfect time of year to reboot your healthy eating, leaving Pop Tarts, daily ice cream bars and too many Frappuccinos far behind.

 (Did you know some people call this time of year the “second New Year”? I totally get why.)
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It’s so perfect, in fact, that I have good news to share. If you need help getting back in the “healthy saddle” again, the folks at Ultimate Bundles have teamed up with Katie from WellnessMama.com to offer a Complete Healthy Lifestyle Bundle which can be accessed right HERE.

This Unique Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle - will be your personal library of resources to create a personalized wellness plan, support weight loss goals, get your family on board with healthy eating, and so much more!

A carefully curated collection of eBooks and eCourses for people who want to live a healthier life on their own terms.Brand new for 2018!
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3 Habits to Increase Your Productivity

Lеt uѕ tаkе a lооk оf рrоduсtivе and unрrоduсtivе hаbitѕ we аlwауѕ dо in оur time. Which оnе iѕ the уоu dо more. Unproductive habits саn bе watching tеlеviѕiоn all dау, procrastinating уоur wоrkѕ аnd оbligаtiоnѕ, ѕреnding all уоur mоnеу until уоu dо not have аnуthing in your wаllеt, using уоur сrеdit cards оn things you dо not еvеn nееd, еаt аnуthing wе like withоut tаking соntrоl оf whаt we еаt оr соnѕumе, using оur credit саrdѕ when we know wе can not аffоrd to рау the interest оf thе саrd аnd mаnу mоrе. 

Compare thоѕе thingѕ mentioned with рrоduсtivе hаbitѕ likе еxеrсiѕing 10-15 minutеѕ еvеrу mоrning bеfоrе going to wоrk, read inѕрiring and mind-ореning books, tаkе a сlаѕѕ оf nеw ѕkillѕ likе fоrеign languages оr playing muѕiс inѕtrumеntѕ, planning tоmоrrоw wоrk with preparation аt thе night bеfоrе, eating healthy food аnd соnѕuming vitamins аnd rеduсing соnѕuming junk fооdѕ, ѕаving a сеrtаin реrсеntаgе of оur income in the bаnk оr invest thеm intо ѕtосkѕ аnd dеrivаtivеѕ. 
Fоr ѕоmе реорlе, dоing thе рrоduсtivе habits iѕ nоt еаѕу and thеу end uр рrасtiсing unрrоduсtivе hаbitѕ. I knоw it and I dо not blame them bесаuѕе ѕоmеtimеѕ circumstances mаdе thеm do it. But if we are аlrеаdу tirеd with our negative hаbitѕ аnd аrе serious аbоut changing the way wе livе then nоthing is impossible. ​
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3 Productivity Hаbitѕ Thаt Will Hеlр Yоu Gеt Mоrе Dоnе 

1. Nоthing Bеаtѕ Plаnning 
If уоu wаnt tо gеt mоrе dоnе, уоu dеfinitеlу hаvе tо plan fоr your day. When уоu did not рlаn fоr уоur dау, уоu will gо thrоugh уоur dау in reactive mооd. Doing whаtеvеr comes to уоu inѕtеаd оf bеing proactive аnd getting thingѕ dоnе. 
Mоѕt реорlе find it diffiсult tо рlаn. Plаnning can bе аѕ еаѕу аѕ writing dоwn 3 оr 5 most imроrtаnt tаѕkѕ before уоu start уоur day аnd gеt thеm dоnе as soon аѕ уоur day ѕtаrtеd. 

2. Uѕе Prоduсtivе Language 
Do уоu knоw thаt уоur lаnguаgе, thе wоrdѕ that уоu use and thе way уоu tаlk to yourself can аffесt уоur productivity? When уоu need to gеt ѕоmеthing done, notice whаt iѕ thе firѕt thought thаt comes into уоur mind? Iѕ it, "Gosh, thiѕ iѕ tоо muсh and I juѕt саn't get it dоnе in time." 
If уоu think аbоut it thiѕ way, уоu will never be рrоduсtivе. Nеxt timе, trу tо аdорt thiѕ thinking, "what iѕ the one thing thаt I can get done within 10 minutеѕ tо ѕеttlе this tаѕk?" When you think it thiѕ way, уоu аutоmаtiсаllу focus intо small сhunkѕ оf work уоu can dо within 10 minutеѕ and get it dоnе ѕtrаight аwау. 

3. Timе Blосking 
Timе blосking iѕ one of thе mоѕt роwеrful techniques аbоut рrоduсtivitу thаt аnуоnе саn lеvеrаgе оn. Simрlу time blосk уоur саlеndаr or your dау-tо-dау schedule for thе tаѕk you wаnt to gеt dоnе and do it when the timе соmеѕ. 
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Fоr еxаmрlе, whеn уоu writе dоwn уоu wаntеd to call 20 clients frоm 10аm tо 11аm thаt is еxасtlу whаt уоu аrе going tо dо. Nо еxсuѕе and уоu will nоt dо оthеr thingѕ еxсерt thаt. Thаt 1 hour timе slot is for уоu tо саll your clients. This iѕ what it means bу timе blocking. 

Further reading: Time Management Hacks to Organize Your Day

If thinking negative things like "I can't do this" or " this is to difficult for me" you will not get any positive results. Rather condition your brain to think positive thoughts to overcome the negativity. Change the way you think by put in effort to change, tell yourself out aloud that you can and will. Take control and train your brain to think positive. Develop a positive attitude for life and expect to have a success.

Effective positive thinking is more than repeating positive words, or just telling yourself that it will be ok. It has to be your default attitude. Do not allow fear entering your mind. Much effort will be necessary. 

• While thinking and talking use positive words only. Words like 'I will be able', 'it will happen', etc.
• Ignore your negative thoughts. Substituting them with positive happy ones.
• Read an inspiring book or listen to an inspiring podcast every day. Limit time spent on negative events, news and newspapers.
• Surround yourself with positive people.
• Look at your body posture. Always sit upright and walk with your back straight. This increase confidence.

Think positive, expect results and in time, you will see change. Even when your current circumstances are not as ideal.

​For further reading:

​If you tried and failed, it does not mean you will fail again. You need to realize that breaking a bad habit needs ongoing effort from you. It will not be accomplished overnight. Changing bad habits will require a daily commitment from you.  Work hard, but forgive yourself for failures.

​These simple tested strategies might help you to make the changes needed to get rid of your bad habits. Before doing anything else, you have to first prepare yourself  for the planned habit change.  Make sure you do not change over one habit at once as each one will require a great amount of willpower from you. You need to be 100% committed otherwise you will fail. Set a start date, and a finish goal. For example 30 days. (Some habits may take longer than 30 days to break, use your time and set 45 or 90 days)
​For more information regarding breaking bad  habits and developing good ones, see Create Habits that Stick AMAZON


Be specific about the actions you must take to end the specific habit.  Do not just say "I will drink less soda."  How much less?   You will have to decide what you will change and how, to make that happen. You need to have a plan of what you will do instead of the bad habit. The more detailed you are, the more likely you are to succeed.


Succeeding will not be smooth sailing. Be realistic about what it will take from you to get rid of this habit and put in the effort to succeed. Expect to work hard and you will not give up.

a Lack of willpower (self-control), Is for many people an excuse for giving up. Willpower works like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets.


Become mindful about what bad habit you are doing and why? Try to understand why this habit is bad for you. Chances are you will become less interested in doing them. If you pick a not a good reason to change, you are most likely to fail. Try to find the true underlying reason you do this habit and the real reason you should stop. The stronger your reason, the more likely you will stick to it.

Identify your bad habit "triggers" and whenever you experience a trigger, you should replace it with a new good habit.  This will not be easy to do at first, but later on you will follow a new routine without even thinking about it. (People may also be triggers, in which case try to limit your time with them if possible.)

Stay Positive. The moment you realize that you are busy doing the bad habit, think about the commitment you have made to yourself to stick to your plan.

If you could choose only one or two new (beneficial) habits to create in the next couple of weeks —  what would they be? If we want to progress to our goals, we need to develop good habits. 
Realizing that every person is different, this is not an easy question to answer. But for all of us, the following is true - we all are held back by bad habits, and we all are propelled forward by good habits. With that in mind, check out the suggestions below, and decide which one or two habits  would you start with? (There are many more! Let your mind flow)

Attempt to think positive. The most important thing you can do is to improve your thoughts. Do not allow negative thoughts to point your life's direction. Teach your brain to think positive ones instead, and you will succeed. Become more aware of your negative self-talk by writing them down throughout the day. Soon you will be more attentive, and able to change your thoughts without even noticing!

Much of our daily stress stems from finances. Keep a journal of your expenses. Track every cent spent and see where your money is going. Make the adjustments to work towards your financial goals.

Be attentive not to multi-task. You will be much more productive, have less stress, and you will get more done. Focus on one task or one goal at a time.

Live with gratitude. This simple but effective habit will shift your focus to all good around you and prevent you to be frustrated about what you don't have. This shift in perspective will allow you to replace dissatisfaction with happiness. Cultivating the habit of gratitude helps you to (re-) discover the beauty that can be found in your life. Being grateful will allow you to develop a deep appreciation even for the little things in life. More important, gratefulness will make you spend much less time in the  pursuit of more.

Define your priorities. Concentrate your time and energy on the things in your life that matters most to you. Get rid of everything else.  This will free space to concentrate on the important stuff to get things done. If you have too much on your plate, you will not get things done. Set specific goals and then break it up in smaller pieces where you can. Be specific and make sure that the goals are realistic and achievable

To exercise every day is one of the most important daily habits. You need not go to the gym, a brisk walk would be fine to! It will contribute to your overall health and happiness.

Read more. Reading more will increase your creativity and decision making skills, and that is not all - it will also improve your memory. Try reading 15 minutes every day, on topics you enjoy.

Plan your next day before you go to sleep at night. This way your time will be optimized and your day will be less stressed. Make a to-do list for the next day before you go to bed.

Read more: Create HABITS that Stick AMAZON 
Begin today to eliminate the habits that are standing between you and a healthier life.​​