Ali Luke

Ali writes about personal growth and development on her blog, Aliventures. As well as blogging, she writes fiction, and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing.

Always and Never: Why Setting Firm Limits Can Change Your Life

firms limits

Are you struggling to make changes in your life?

Perhaps you always start off with good intentions – but slowly, old habits creep back in. You promise yourself that this week, you’re going to eat healthily – and you do fine on Monday. But on Tuesday, your boss buys donuts for the office, and then on Wednesday, it’s a friend’s birthday party and you just can’t resist that chocolate cake…

If your attempts at change seem to get constantly derailed, then you might want to consider setting some clear, non-negotiable rules.

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How to Balance Short-Term and Long-Term Happiness

balance happiness

Do you find it hard to resist chocolate cake, even though you’re on a diet? Do you end up buying new DVDs or video games, even though you’ve made a careful budget?

There’s nothing wrong with you – and you’re certainly not alone. Most of us find it really difficult to stick with our goals at times. And there’s an understandable reason why.

When you’re attempting change in your life, you often need to forsake some short-term pleasures for the sake of happiness over the longer-term.The various things that appeal to you in the moment – like eating chocolate, buying a DVD, hanging out on Facebook, watching TV – are all ones that will bring you some immediate gratification.

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5 Ways to Stay Motivated for Long-Term Change

stay motivated

Many changes take a lot of time. Perhaps you’re trying to lose 50lbs, or get out of debt. You might be working on a major project — like writing a book, or renovating a house.

Whatever your goal, you know it’s going to make a big difference to your life. You have plenty of reasons to achieve it … but that’s not always enough.

On a day to day level, it can be really tough to consistently take actions that lead towards your goal. For instance…

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There’s No Magic System to Fix Your Life

How often have you bought yet another book or audio program or product that promises to revolutionize your life?

How often have you taken a seminar or class or course that sounds like the solution to all your problems?

How often has it worked?

We’d all like a magic-bullet solution to our problems. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, make more money, or finally get organized, there’s no shame in wishing it was easy.

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Six Ways to Make a Change in Your World

change in your world

We want to have an impact. We want our lives to touch other people. We want our work to endure. We want the world to be a better place because of our presence in it.

But in the day-to-day rush of life, it’s easy to think that “changing the world” is an unachievable huge, even arrogant, goal.

In a world of seven billion people, we can feel very small.

Today, let’s shift the focus slightly. Instead of changing the world, let’s look at changing your world.

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Eight Simple Ways to Make Change Stick

make change stick

When you start out on a new direction in life, you probably feel fired up and enthused, ready to do anything. For a few days, that motivation lasts.

But change is often a long, slow and – let’s face it – rather tedious process.If you’ve ever been on a diet, you’ve probably noticed this! And even goals that you might be excited about, like writing a book, require a surprising amount of slogging through on days when you’re unenthused.

So, how can you keep up your motivation over the long-term?

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How to Bounce Back from a Setback

bounce back from a setback

It’s easy to stay motivated when everything’s going well. But our plans don’t always go smoothly. Perhaps you’ve experienced a setback on your way towards a particular goal:

– An injury that stopped you working out and achieving the level of fitness you wanted.
– An unexpected bill that put a massive hole into your hard-won savings
– A rejection letter from the job that you really wanted

… it could be almost anything. Whatever the details, the setback was something that made your heart sink. Your plans were abruptly derailed.

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What’s Motivating You: the Carrot or the Stick?

motivating

When it comes to making change, motivation matters.

You’ve seen this in your own life … maybe time and time again. You’ve started on big plans and goals which fizzle out, because you couldn’t stay motivated.

I know it’s happened to me. I’ve often wanted to change, only to find that I lacked the ability to really follow through. Something that’s helped me, though, is to understand the power of two different types of motivation:

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Take Responsibility, and Change Your Life

take responsibility

Have you ever wished that some aspect of your life would just change, overnight?

We often want change – but it can be hard to accept that it’s even possible. Do any of these look familiar?

All my family are overweight, so it’s no surprise I’m fat…
I’ve never been any good with money…
I just don’t have any willpower…
I hate exercise…

All too often, we rule out possibilities. We adopt a fixed rather than a growth mindset, convincing ourselves that hey, this is just the way we are, and we can’t change.

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Seven Creative Ways to Change Your Perspective

perspective

Do little things make you unnecessarily stressed?

Do you feel a nagging sense of dissatisfaction with your life?

Do you struggle to see other people’s point of view?

It’s often hard to keep a sense of perspective in our lives. We’re constantly bombarded with urgent-seeming stimuli – like texts, phone calls, instant messages, tweets and emails. We live each day in a rush, fighting our way through an endless to-do list.

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