If you’re tired all the time, a change in what you eat (diet) or what you do all day (activity pattern) may be all you need to turn things around 180°.

At times we get stuck and/or feel low on energy. This post gives you ideas about what you can do to get back on track. Pick something from that list and feel the change. Today I’ll opt for number five (Have a piece of chocolate) and number ten (Take a power nap).

Some of the items on the list are daily habits for me. I always do some of number 23 (Play to relax), number 24 (Eat smaller, more frequent meals), number 25 (Enjoy a cup of tea), number 45 (Take a walk outside) and number 50 (yoga).

Number 39 is great – Purge low-value tasks from your todo list. Focus on what’s important and don’t waste energy on what’s not.

Credit: Photo by johnmarchan.

Let limitations guide you to creative solutions
There’s never enough to go around. Not enough time. Not enough money. Not enough people.

That’s a good thing.

Instead of freaking out about these constraints, embrace them. Let them guide you. Constraints drive innovation and force focus. Instead of trying to remove them, use them to your advantage.

This is a timely reminder for me. I am working at growing my own coaching business, Key Coaching, and I at times think along the lines of “there’s not enough of….”. After reading the text above I shall embrace these limitations and start working with what I have.

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

“I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, “It made a difference for that one.”

The lesson is – even small deeds can make a big difference.

Credit: Photo Starfish on the Beach.

The good news is that your lack of a natural gift is irrelevant – talent has little or nothing to do with greatness. You can make yourself into any number of things, and you can even make yourself great. It’s nice to believe that if you find the field where you’re naturally gifted, you’ll be great from day one, but it doesn’t happen. There’s no evidence of high-level performance without experience or practice.

They conclude that practice makes perfect but it has to be practice that is focused on improving performance – challenge your comfort zone in that area – and gives you feedback:

The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call “deliberate practice.” It’s activity that’s explicitly intended to improve performance, that reaches for objectives just beyond one’s level of competence, provides feedback on results and involves high levels of repetition.

The article then goes to the business side:

How do you practice business? Many elements of business, in fact, are directly practicable. Presenting, negotiating, delivering evaluations, deciphering financial statements – you can practice them all.

Still, they aren’t the essence of great managerial performance. That requires making judgments and decisions with imperfect information in an uncertain environment, interacting with people, seeking information – can you practice those things too?

The key according to the article is to change your mindset: Instead of merely trying to get it done, you aim to get better at it. It is about constant improvements, Kaizen, and seeking feedback and ways to measure your progress.

In summary, change your mindset – aim to get better at what you do – and then practice to make you great.

Celebrate What’s Right With The World teaches what a powerful force having a vision of possibilities can be for you. Do you have a vision for your organization? More importantly, do you have one for yourself? One that gets you excited every morning and keeps you open to possibilities.

Dewitt Jones talks about the importance of focusing on what’s right in the world instead of what’s wrong. He also talks about “when we believe it, we will see it”.

If we want to have any hope at making our dreams a reality, we have to carve out our own path. We have to find a way to get paid to be ourselves. We must drop conventional wisdom (collective assumption) and break away from the herd.

Jonathan writes about two things in this post:
• Stop caring, and…
• Break our uncertainty threshold.

Getting outside our comfort zone is scary but necessary if we want to grow. As I posted, I have decided to walk my talk and will work in order to make that dream a reality.

What about the Law of Attraction? Can’t you just sit on your butt all day and manifest what you want through the power of intention? That would be a gross misunderstanding of how the Law of Attraction works. When you focus single-mindedly on what you want, you’ll begin to notice new resources appearing in your life. If you don’t take action, however, those resources will dry up and you’ll be no closer to your goals.

I am not keen on the Law of Attraction, there are too many that think that manifesting is all it takes. To sum it up, Attraction = Attract + Action.

Update March 21, 2009.
Over at The Discomfort Zone, Tim Browson’s blog, is a guest post by Sean Platt, Writer Dad and Ghostwriter Dad. The post The Secret Is, You’re Busted is a great post with many great comments (mine included).

See also Is The Law of Attraction A Con?.

The Positivity Blog has a post about How to Handle Criticism: The Top 7 Tips from The Last 2500 Years.

Negotiations are part of life, The Bridgemaker tells us How to Improve Your Negotiation Skills.

The Bridgemaker also gives us A Guide to Creating Success | 24 Essential Actions You Can Do Beginning Today.

Billionaire Woman posts about Break Out Of Your Money Box, your money comfort zone.

Chris Garrett writes about Overcoming Your Own Constraints.

The Change Blog gives us 5 Daily Practices to Help You Keep Your Edge.

Zen Habits tells us How To Find That Elusive Balance Between Work and Life. There is also Five Great Ways to Conquer Your Fears.

Attraction Mind Map writes Be Careful What You Wish For.

Marc writes about How To Avoid The Biggest Mistake You Always Make.

Yin vs Yang writes about How to Open More Doors in Life.

Steve at Rebel Zen asks Do Success Stories Inspire or Intimidate You?

The Positivity Blog has a post about Leonardo Da Vinci’s Top 6 Tips for Getting Things Done.

The Change blog has A 7 Step No-Waffle Plan for Real World Success.

Jonathan gives us The Lazy Man’s Guide to Getting Things Done and 10 Ways to Use Laser Sharp Focus to Get More Done.

Marc gives us 34 Reminders to Help You Find Your Way. Here are some that I like a lot:
• Lessons cannot be taught, they can only be learned.
• Dreams will remain dreams forever if you don’t take action.
• As long as you are alive, there is always more to learn. (I love life long learning.)
• In life and in love, you get what you put in.

The Bridgemaker writes about The Price of Fueling Our Lives: 15 Abundantly Free Ideas. There is also 45 Tips for a Happier, Simpler and More Productive Life.