10 ways to think Positively No matter what!

1. Count your blessings at the end of every day – don’t focus on the problems you’ve faced that day; rather, think of all the good things that happened and the happiness they gave you.

2. Think of others rather than yourself – when you do things, even the smallest favors, for other people who mean something to you, you feel good about yourself.

3. Be proactive rather than reactive – instead of fretting over a problem and letting it stress you out, focus on how to resolve quickly and effectively. When your mind is busy trying to find a solution, you stop feeling sorry for yourself and start thinking positively.

4. Don’t allow your mind to remain idle – it may be clichéd, but it’s also true that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. So stay busy and keep doing something or the other to prevent negative thoughts from creeping in.

5. Get an hour of exercise every day – even a brisk walk in the morning or evening will do your mental health a world of good.

6. Allow yourself some “me” time – set aside some time every day or every few days for yourself when you get to choose what you want to do; read a book, listen to music, catch up with friends, or just laze around. When your soul is nourished, you find that positive energy flows.

7. Stop negative thoughts before they form completely – if you find yourself becoming depressed because your mind is taking a negative bent, stop those thoughts in their tracks and start consciously thinking of positive things.

8. Spend time with people who love you and make you feel good about yourself – quality relationships make life worth living.

9. Anytime you feel that the weight of your burden is hard to bear, talk to a friend or someone with a sympathetic ear – even if they cannot do anything to help you out, just the fact that you have someone on your side is uplifting enough.

10. And finally, look around you before you start to feel sorry for yourself – there are people in situations that are a hundred times worse than yours, yet they manage to get through each day.

So tell yourself that you have a good life, count your blessings, and learn to stay positive no matter what.

(( Susan White))

Source: 10 ways to think Positively No matter what! 

Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Creating SMART Goal setting:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timely

Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:
*Who:      Who is involved?
*What:     What do I want to accomplish?
*Where:    Identify a location.
*When:     Establish a time frame.
*Which:    Identify requirements and constraints.
*Why:      Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
EXAMPLE:  A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a specific goal would say, “Join a health club and workout 3 days a week.”

Measurable - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.
When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.
To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as……
How much? How many?
How will I know when it is accomplished?


Attainable – When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.
You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.

Realistic- To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress.

A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.

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Timely – A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by May 1st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.
Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.

T can also stand for Tangible – A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing.

When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.

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Arabic Resources on SMART Goals => 

الهدف الذكي أم الهداف الأذكى

نموذج الهدف الذكي SMART Model

 ANd to motivate you even more ...here is this motivational video about goals

Be smart and set your goals the SMART way ;)