skills Archives - NISHA KOHLI

GOALS

What are SMART Goals and How do they help you?

If you are looking for the answer to this question, What are SMART Goals? Then you are in the right place. In this blog post, you will find what are smart goals and how they help you. You will also find how to know whether the goals you set for yourself are Smart goals or not. So, stay till the end.

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Everyone sets goals for a better future.

You make plans, you make strategies to make everything work perfectly, but life doesn’t always happen the way you wanted.

You work so hard to make things happen and to get results, but sometimes you fail to achieve the goals you set for yourself. You make several excuses for why you failed, why things didn’t work out, what didn’t work out, and so on.

But have you ever wondered that it might be the point you started was wrong which eventually led you to get no results?

Tell me one thing… Can working in the wrong direction lead you to the right results? It cannot happen, Right? It’s like pushing a wall and expecting it to move. It’s a waste of effort.

Think about it this way, if you want to reach a destination and because of X reason you put the wrong address in Google Maps. Now can you expect to reach your destination without troubling yourself? No, you cannot. The same is the case with Goal setting.

Goal setting is the most important exercise that everyone must do if they want to accomplish something in their life. I don’t know why, but many people don’t pay much attention to this, and then complain about not getting quality results. I mean it’s foolish.

Goal setting and most importantly smart goal setting is the most crucial part when it comes to getting good quality results. And in this blog post, we are going to talk about the same.

Let’s start with figuring out what actually smart goals are.

SMART Goals are nothing but the goals that are set to achieve quality results in a given period of time. Usually, they are a group of small tasks, which together help you go one step ahead to achieve the major goal you have in your life.

Let’s get into this a little deeper, imagine your goal is to write an article. Now, there are several things that come into consideration when we talk about writing, and that are research, case studies, keyword research, grammar check, making the article inspiring, and so on.

Now, if you sit to do everything at once, you will go nuts and nothing valuable will come out of it. So it’s better to divide this goal into smaller tasks or short-term goals which eventually contribute to writing the article.

These small tasks that you set for yourself like keyword research are what we call a smart goal. Now the question is, how will you find out if the goal you are setting is a smart goal or not?

There are 5 criteria that come into consideration when we talk about setting smart goals and it’s nothing but this acronym

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Achievable

R – Realistic/Relevant

T – Time-bound

How to know if the goals you set are smart goals or not?

S – Specific

The goal you set for yourself should be specific. This is the first and the most crucial part of setting a smart goal. It’s like, if your aim is not right, then how can you expect to get the right results?

Now, let’s talk about what makes a goal Specific.

Imagine you have a website and you want people to come and visit it which will eventually contribute to the growth of your business. Now, if you plan and strategize to increase your website traffic then it will just be a goal, but if you want to make it specific then switch it and decide the number of visitors you want on your website. Is it 5000, 10000, or 50000 visitors per month? Just select a number and start working towards it.

If your goal is not specific that means you don’t have clarity about what you want to achieve. In a situation like this, you won’t be able to decide what to do, and when to do and you will get nothing in the end. Setting a specific goal basically gives you a clear direction to where to land.

M – Measurable

The goal you set for yourself should be measurable.

When I say measurable, that means getting the results that you can count in numbers. As we all know numbers are very easy to track and you can use them to figure out what’s working and what’s not. According to this analysis, you can make the necessary changes to your plan.

If we take the previous example of increasing your website traffic, then setting a goal to get 5k, 10k, or even 50k visitors is a great way to track your growth. You can track the no. of visitors to your website using Google Analytics which is a free tool used by almost every marketer in the world. By tracking the no. of visitors to your website, you can make decisions on what to do next.

A – Achievable

The goal should be achievable.

Set a goal that you can achieve by putting in your efforts and hard work. Don’t set a goal that is unachievable because it will do nothing but make you feel horrible when you fail.

Like setting a goal to get 5 million subscribers on YouTube overnight. It’s not achievable and to some extent, it’s insane. Yes, you can do it providing you post some extraordinary content that goes viral and makes you a star overnight. But in 99.99% of cases, it doesn’t happen. So don’t set a goal is which you cannot achieve.

If you really want 5 million subscribers on Youtube, then plan everything in advance. Put in all your efforts and make good quality content, built-up your audience, and then scale it over time. You surely can do it providing you do all your work perfectly.

R – Realistic

The goal should be realistic and relevant.

You cannot set a goal that is impossible to achieve like becoming a swimmer who can breathe underwater. Obviously, you can do it with all those oxygen cylinders that you can carry with you but you cannot do it on your own. It’s beyond human potential. It’s not realistic.

Setting an unrealistic goal is just a waste of time and effort. You don’t get results and you feel bad about it too. So, what’s smart about it? Just think to yourself.

T – Time-bound

The goal you set for yourself should have a time limit. When you set a goal without any time limit, you are more likely to fail to achieve that goal.

When you set a goal and have no time limit, you tend to procrastinate and keep delaying it because you don’t have any pressure on yourself to take action. It’s not your fault, it’s human nature. You will get involved in your daily household chores and will find gazillions of reasons why you couldn’t take action. But let me tell you this doesn’t help you get any further to achieving your goal.

If your goal is to write a book then set a time limit and commit to yourself that you are going to complete the first chapter in a 2 or 3-month period. Because if you don’t do that, you won’t be able to complete that book ever. It’s a fact, and it doesn’t matter how much you are committed to writing that book.

So whatever your goal is, set a time limit to complete that goal and try to follow up with that.

How setting SMART Goals can help you?

Setting smart goals can help you in many ways.

It gets you quality results

I believe this is the main difference between setting a goal and setting a smart goal. Smart goals help you get quality results. You can track them and can tell what’s working for you and what’s not. And then you can make changes to your strategies accordingly. This is what you cannot do by setting a random goal.

It increases your productivity

You often have heard from others that they can’t find momentum and the rhythm to keep going. But when you set a smart goal and get quality results for yourself, what actually happens is you create momentum for yourself.

You put in the right efforts and you get quality results and the cycle goes on and on. Though it’s not as easy as it may sound but it’s not impossible too.

It gives you mental peace

When you are stress-free, it gives you mental peace; there is no doubt about this fact. You feel a great level of satisfaction when you are stress-free.

Smart goals are easy to achieve because it is not something that’s unrealistic. You can achieve them without any stress on your mind. It works like this, you set a goal, you achieve it and then you move forward and this just keeps happening, providing you don’t miss putting in the effort.

Conclusion

Goal setting is the easiest and the most difficult thing, both at the same time. If you know what you are upto, then it’s the easiest and if you don’t then it’s the most difficult thing to do.

In the above post, I talked about what are smart goals and how to know whether the goals you are setting are Smart goals or not. Also, we discussed how they can help you.

Now, do let me know in the comments below, what your takeaways are and what techniques you use to set the goals that work for you.

Keep Hustling!

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By Nisha Kohli, 2 yearsSeptember 23, 2022 ago

GOALS

5 Secrets to achieving goals

Achieving goals…Sounds like a hell of a big deal. Isn’t it?

Many people get scared just by the thought of it, which eventually makes them give up so easily on the goals they have. They get so overwhelmed and intimidated by this whole thing and they go like, Ohh… It’s not my thing. I can’t do it.

But tell me one thing, do you want to be one of them? I know you don’t want it and so do I. I don’t want you to be one of those who give up so easily because it sounds scary.

Yeah… it does sound scary. You can also say it’s hard and sometimes very very hard but it’s not IMPOSSIBLE. You can achieve anything you think of; you just have to believe it. It’s like the first rule when it comes to achieving your goals. Because if you can’t believe it, you can’t achieve it.

After all, if YOU don’t believe in your goals and dreams, how could you even think that someone else will? No one will give a damn to it.

Here in this blog post, I will give you 5 secrets that will help you achieve your goals. Know that these secrets are not actually secrets but the mental shift that you have to do within yourself and obviously putting on effort.

These 5 mental shifts might sound easy to you at first but it’s not. I’m not trying to scare you by saying this but think of it yourself if this would be so easy, then everyone would have been successful by now and they would have accomplished all their goals. So first, prepare yourself for this mental shift, and let’s begin with

1. Mindset

There are two types of mindsets. The first one is Fixed Mindset and the other is Growth Mindset. And the main difference between them is, the belief that YOU CAN.

This image is about changing your mindset

People with a fixed mindset always get excuses about how NOT to do something, and on the contrary, people with a growth mindset find ways how to do the same thing.

Now ask yourself, which one of them is you? What type of mindset do you have?

To save you some time, let me tell you this, it doesn’t matter what mindset you carried till now, you can always change it. And to accomplish your goals and become successful, you have to develop a growth mindset.

The growth mindset starts with this belief that everything you think about and everything you want to achieve in your life is actually possible. You can do or get anything in your life if you set your mind to it. It’s the starting point of everything you wish to achieve, before even starting it.

It doesn’t matter how big or small your goals are, mindset is the first thing that you got to develop because, without that, you cannot even imagine starting anything.

Here are some books that you can read to develop a growth mindset.

Mindset – The new psychology of success by Carol S. Dweck
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Linchpin by Seth Godin

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2. Grit

Everyone wants to accomplish their goals and want to live the life of their dreams, but why are only a few of us able to actually make it possible?

How are these people different from the others? What do they do that others are not doing? What is it that actually makes them different from the crowd?

There can be so many answers to these questions. One of them is Grit. Grit is the sense of mind that a person develops in him/herself to not give up at any cost. It tells that it doesn’t matter what challenges you are facing in your journey toward success, you got to be courageous enough, become fearless and fight against them.

If you are a person who is losing sleep dreaming about the goals that you wanna accomplish in your life, then you gotta be gritty. You have to become a person with a strong mindset who says no to giving up. A person who is passionate about his/her work and is ready to take risks and become limitless.

3. Perseverance

this image has a quote explaining the relation between failure and success

Where failure lies, success flows.

The journey to success cannot be completed without failures. They are like twin sisters. You cannot expect to become successful without failing. Every successful person about whom we read in books and listen to their inspiring stories today, failed once, twice and so many times.

We all know J.K. Rowling; she got rejected 12 times before she got Harry Potter published. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, they are the world’s most successful and wealthiest people. They didn’t get success in one go. They tried and they failed; some even faced huge losses too. Their stories are surely different but one thing is common between them and all the other successful people on the planet. That’s Perseverance.

When you Google the term perseverance, you will get this: to keep putting effort without regard to discouragement. If you really want to accomplish your goals then you have to keep pushing yourself, even after failing multiple times. Learn from the mistakes that you made in the past and keep going. Always keep an eye on your goals and envision them becoming true one day.

You can read stories of people who went from failures to successes here.

4. Resilience

As you now know that failures are part of your journey towards success, you have to learn to deal with them. You cannot sit and cry for the mistakes that you have made or for the things that didn’t work out the way you wanted.

Problems and difficulties are part of your life, they are gonna come whether you like it or not. Now it’s up to you, how you take them. Do you let them affect you or will you stand strong and fight against them? The choice is yours.

Life always gives you two choices at every given point. Leave it or Live it. Many people just do the first one, they leave it, and then they complain about how things are unfair to them. But the people who choose to live it are the ones who are incredible. They are the ones who create wonders, they are the ones who are different from the rest of the crowd.

You have to learn to make yourself comfortable with the loss and the mistakes of the past. You have to make yourself comfortable dealing with these uncomfortable situations. So, don’t lose hope. Fight against the odds and be resilient.

5. Discipline

Discipline is one of the most important things when it comes to achieving your goals. If you have big dreams and goals, you have to be disciplined enough to pursue them.

Let’s take an example of a boy who aims to become a world-class swimmer. Now, being consistent or disciplined means that he has to make an effort every single day that will help him get one step ahead of his goal. Being disciplined or consistent applies in every part of your life, whether personal or professional.

I know it is very difficult to develop the habit of making efforts continuously, especially when you are just starting out and you don’t see any results coming. But you have to fight against this battle going inside you. Commit to yourself that no matter what, you just have to take action.

Many times we just focus on our goals and plan everything but fail to execute it. In such a case, instead of focusing on the theoretical end which includes all the planning and structuring, focus on developing the habit to take action. If you want to become a writer, then nothing will help you achieve that goal but to practice writing; and to practice writing, your clear goal should be to write every day. You have to be disciplined to write every day which eventually helps you become a master of writing.

Here’s a quote by Tony Robbins, he says, Repetition is the mother is the mastery. So, be disciplined and consistent enough to pursue what you dream of.

Conclusion

Let’s end this blog post with this quote,

Success is no different than any other skill. Duplicate the actions and mindsets of successful people and you will create success for yourself.
– Grant Cardone

You just have to find the ways that HOW you are going to do it, what you want to do. And in today’s digital world with Google and YouTube, it’s not that difficult. Also, read a lot of books to learn from someone else’s experiences.

But the HOW part is secondary when it comes to achieving goals. First, develop a mindset that will lead you to take action. Because without taking action, there will be no difference between you and the one who doesn’t even know what we are talking about.

So, which of these mental shifts are you going to try first? Do let me know in the comments below.

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By Nisha Kohli, 2 yearsSeptember 16, 2022 ago

PERSONAL GROWTH

5 Secrets to talking to others confidently

Do you also feel shy when it comes to talking to others? Is your conversation too full of AAHHHs…and UMMMs… more than the real thing you want to talk about?

Well, you are not alone, many people feel this way. It’s a common problem and if it’s your problem too then stick here with me till the end as I’ll be sharing 5 secrets that will help you increase your confidence while talking to someone.

Many people believe that confidence is something that you are born with, if you are not confident by birth then you cannot be confident ever. But let me tell you, it’s total crap! Don’t let this misconception affect you in any way because it’s not something that you cannot learn. Confidence is a skill and it can be learned like other skills.

Now, if you think you are not young enough to learn something new, then please don’t do this to yourself. It’s just a thought in your mind and nothing else. Talking to others is an art and you can learn this art too. It doesn’t matter what your age is when it comes to learning something new, what matters though is whether you have a desire to learn it or not.

You might be wondering, do I really need this? The answer for this would be a strong YES. Talking and communicating with others is a crucial part of our lives. You might not realize how important this is for your personal and professional life, but it truly is.

Now if you are thinking, How? Then, go and search around in the corners of your brain and remind yourself of that situation where you felt hesitant and could not say anything. Due to which, you have lost so many opportunities at your workplace. Also if you lack the skill of talking to others confidently, people generally don’t value your opinion. You know it better. Right?

Not only at work but in your personal life too; if you cannot talk and communicate confidently, people start to lose interest in you. They start to take you for granted which affects your relationship negatively. If you are unable to speak confidently to someone, misunderstanding comes and fills up the voids that have been created due to a lack of talking confidently.

Why do you lack confidence while talking to someone?

The main reason why you lack confidence is that you are unable to accept your flaws publicly. You are afraid that people are going to judge you based on your weaknesses and flaws. So you just want to hide your imperfections from them.

You keep on questioning yourself before and while talking to them about what to say, what not to say, what if I say XYZ… and he/she gets hurt and what not, which leads to stammering and awkward silence situations. Also, it hurts your self-confidence badly.

But no one is perfect, Right? Everyone has their own imperfections which make them unique and one of a kind. So it’s okay, accept your flaws and imperfections with both your arms. Don’t worry about people judging you because no matter what you do, people are going to judge you. It’s a true fact. So, why even worry about it. They are gonna do what they wanna do, so you should also do what you wanna do regardless of what they will think or say.

Now let’s talk about those 5 secrets that will help you talk to others with confidence, providing you will make an effort and do it. You can stop those awkward situations from happening again in the coming future by learning them.

1. Eye Contact is everything

Have you ever been there when you are talking to a person but he is just looking here and there instead of looking at you? How would you feel? I know it’s not a very comfortable position to be in, it gives the feeling of negligence.

The same thing goes with you. When you talk to someone without looking at them, it makes the person feel unheard, and sometimes they may even feel that you are ignoring them. Making eye contact while talking to a person is as important as talking itself. Studies have proved that when a person looks into your eyes, you are more likely to connect with them and vice versa.

Now, if you are a shy person who feels uncomfortable looking into someone’s eyes then try focusing on the glabella(the space between the eyebrows) of the person you are talking to or focus on the color of the pupil of his/her eyes.

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2. Smile while talking

The eye contact should be subtle, neither too much nor too less. It should not look like you are staring at them which makes them feel uncomfortable and it also should not look like you just looked at them and now are ignoring them.

this image has people smiling and talking to each other

Smiling is an important part of effective communication. A smiley face is always appreciated against a frowny or blank face. Think of it like this: who would you like to talk to, a person with a warm and welcoming smile on his/her face or a person with no expression on his/her face at all? I know in most cases, you will choose the person with a smile.

Smiles are contagious. People always smile back when you treat them with a smile on your face. Your smiley face represents that you are a warm and charming personality and people love to connect with a personality like this.

Giving a smile while talking makes the other person feel that you are happy talking to them. So, always start your conversion with a smile on your face.

3. Talking to yourself – OUT LOUD

Everyone talks to themselves in their mind, but when it comes to increasing your self-confidence while talking, you should consider talking to yourself – OUT LOUD.

It’s a very effective way to let everything that’s in your heart come out which is by the way very necessary. Talking to yourself increases your self-confidence and gives you mental peace, as now you have yourself to whom you can talk anything.

You can practice talking to yourself in the mirror for about 10-15 minutes every day. This practice will give you an effective boost in your confidence as it’s you only whom you are talking to. You know what your flaws are and you can work on them accordingly.

When you talk to yourself – out loud, you will notice the difference between the tone of your voice when you are talking to someone and when you talk to yourself. When a person talks with confidence there is a heaviness in their voice that makes everyone listen to them; on the other hand, the voice goes a little squeaky when a person with a lack of confidence talks.

There are a lot of other factors on which the quality of your speech depends. You can learn more about it here.

4. Don’t be shy to initiate a conversation

How many times have you taken the initiative to talk to someone? I know when you lack confidence, you barely do that. But this is exactly what you want to change. That’s why you are here, right?

When you are talking to someone, you are actually trying to make a relationship with them. The relationship can be of any sort; the boss and the employee, client and customer, colleagues, neighbors, friends, family, etc. and it’s your responsibility to maintain that relationship. Taking the initiative to start a conversation with them is a stepping stone towards your win.

Think of it this way; when you initiate a conversation with someone, you kinda have this feeling in your heart that, “Oooh, I’m the one who started this conversation, it’s because of me we are talking to each other right now.”, which gives a feeling of nothing but proud in yourself which increases your self-esteem.

Also, your subconscious mind counts this win as your strength and lifts you up from inside. And next time when you are talking to someone it will remind you about this win and boosts your confidence while talking.

So, next time when you see someone you wanna talk to; don’t think too much, just go and talk.

5. Repeat all of the above

‘Practice makes perfect, this saying is too old but true gold. If you want to master the art of talking to others confidently, then you should do it again and again – the more the better. Repeating is the most important thing to do when it comes to learning something new.

When you repeat or practice something every day, your brain starts to capture those things into your subconscious mind which is responsible for most of your activities, generally habit formation. If you want to learn more about how to build a habit then read this blog post on ‘How to develop a new habit to grow in life.’

Conclusion

You work out every day in the gym to remain in good shape, confidence is exactly like that. You need to work on this, and you will be good to go; whether it’s talking to someone or anything else. Let’s take a quick review of these 5 secrets to talk to others confidently that I’ve mentioned above, which includes

Maintaining good eye contact,
Smiling while talking,
Talking to yourself – OUT LOUD
Initiating a conversation
Repeat all of the above.

What are your tac-ticks when it comes to talking to others? Tell me in the comments below.

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By Nisha Kohli, 2 yearsJuly 19, 2022 ago

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

5 qualities every Entrepreneur must have

Anyone can become an entrepreneur, including YOU. Yeah…it’s true.

YOU can be the next successful entrepreneur in any industry you want, regardless of what skills you have, what strengths and weaknesses you have, or which career stream you are from. It doesn’t matter at all. It doesn’t matter if you are shy, if you lack confidence, or even if you are afraid of talking to people or in front of them.

You might be thinking how is that even possible? So let me tell you, this is possible because all the skills I mentioned above are learnable. You can learn them and not only those but you can learn any skill you want. You can learn anything you want if you have the Desire to learn them.

When you consider becoming an entrepreneur, learning new skills & upgrading your existing ones is one of the main things that are going to be on your list of actions. It’s okay if you don’t have the right knowledge or information about something; no one does and there is nothing bad about it, but what’s good about it is that you can always learn it.

Today there are several online learning platforms like Alison, edX, Skillshare, Udemy, LinkedIn, etc. where you can learn, explore and upgrade your skills. There are teachers from all around the world and they are brilliant.

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But besides skills, there is so much more that you should work on if you are a struggling entrepreneur. Being an entrepreneur is not a cup of tea. It requires tremendous effort, patience, hard work, discipline, determination and so much more to be one. Mentioned below are 5 qualities that you must have if you are an entrepreneur or considering becoming one.

1. Perseverance

This image says do it now. — Source: Unsplash

It takes time to build a business from scratch. You cannot become successful overnight, it’s a true fact. It takes years and years of hard work, patience, courage and so much more to make it possible.

You surely have heard of this saying – “Great things take time”, and building a business is one of those ‘things’. It’s not something you have started one day and then just put things on auto-pilot mode for the rest of your life. It doesn’t work like that. It comes up with a lot of challenges that you cannot even imagine and obviously cannot avoid. It’s not like you have planted a seed in a pot and just waiting for it to give you fruits the very next day. You have to give it the time that it requires to become a plant.

Running a business is not any different and perseverance is the top most quality an entrepreneur must-have. Actually, it is the most common reason why people who don’t have it, fail to achieve their goals because they quit so easily when temporary failures hit them.

Talking about perseverance, what does it really mean? Well, a person who has perseverance, continues putting in the effort and the good work without taking care of discouragement. He/She keeps on taking the desired action to keep the ball rolling till they see results. He/She doesn’t care what others might say or how they might react, they never stop, they keep going.

2. Resilience

Success without failure does not exist, it is part of the journey. Not a single person who is successful today is successful without failing, they failed so many times before they made it possible.

It is the part of the process; you try something, you suck at it, you learn from it, and then move on, that’s how it works. When you try and test different ways to get things done, you are not going to succeed at everything. And getting used to these temporary failures is what resilience is all about.

Being resilient means having the mental ability and the strength to recover quickly from failures and mishappenings. When you try something new, there is a 50 % chance to succeed and 50% to fail, well not exactly 50-50% but you get the point. Right? So why even worry about something that you have known from the very beginning. You just have to train your brain to always be ready for situations like this and be okay when something doesn’t work out.

When you fail at something, you just need to ask yourself

The reason why you failed/What you have done wrong?
What are the lessons that you have learned from the failure?
What are you going to do next?

And after that stop thinking about what happened in the past and focus on the future. Start taking action based on the answers you just got from questing yourself.

3. Creativity

This image says get the creativity flowing — Source: Unsplash

There are hundreds of businesses starting up every day but how many of them become actually successful? A very few of them. A handful of people are able to convert their start-ups into successful businesses and then into brands.

Creativity is one of the answers to how they make it possible. They are creative enough to create a product or a service that is different from everyone else in their industry. They come up with their own USP which stands for Unique Selling Proposition, which separates them from the crowd. This is one of the main reasons why they are able to create an audience of their own who is ready to buy from them every time.

Creativity is what you need to stand out from the crowd. If you are doing the same things other hundreds of people in your industry are doing, then how are you different; why will anybody buy from you and not from your competitor? Think about it.

4. Flexibility

Entrepreneurship is a journey with a lot of ups and downs, highs and lows and you have to deal with each of them if you want to be successful at what you are doing.

It’s like riding a never-ending roller coaster and it’s turning left and right, up and down, and you are moving along with it(obviously). Now in such a case, a person with a flexible body will say WwooHhooo!!! and enjoy and a person with a non-flexible body will complain about backache, stomachache, throwing up, etc. So, what type of person do you want to be?

Obviously, the flexible body wins and you want to have one. Being an entrepreneur is kinda similar to it. You need to be flexible if you want to win. But in this case, being flexible means having the ability to adapt to challenges and become versatile. Flexibility talks about the ability to fight against the challenges you face throughout the journey and pivot yourself accordingly to keep growing.

Challenges and problems are going to come, that’s for sure. You can do nothing about them, but face them and become flexible.

5. Problem-Solving

This image is about problem solving — Source: Unsplash

Although it’s important for a business to run profitably all along, it doesn’t happen. No business can run smoothly all the time, speed breakers and pit holes always come up throughout the journey.

But you know what, they should not be there for a very long time. It’s not healthy for your business. The problems you face need to be solved on time; as you cannot move ahead without the same. That’s why it’s a must for an entrepreneur to be a problem-solver.

Everyone knows there is always a solution to every problem, but not everyone is able to see it. A problem-solver on the other hand not only sees but is also able to give solutions real quick. It needs good observation skills to analyze the problem and come up with great solutions accordingly.

They focus on the root causes of the problem such as why and how the problem arises, the basic elements involved in the situation, what makes the problem out of control (in case), etc., and then give multiple solutions and find the ‘situation saver’ solution that works for their team. They don’t panic when a problem arrives, they stand up there and face it.

Conclusion

Being an entrepreneur is not as easy as it may sound. It takes a lot of effort to be one.

When you are an entrepreneur, you are like SUPERMAN for your team who is powerful and have all the answers to every question they have. They rely on you for almost everything. So, it’s your duty and responsibility to be a Superhero if not SUPERMAN, and even if you are a solopreneur, it’s your responsibility towards yourself to succeed in something that you have started.

Since there are several qualities that you must have if you want to become a successful entrepreneur, I mentioned 5 of them and to remind it again they are

Persistence
Resilience
Creativity
Flexibility
Problem-solving

Now, which of these qualities do you have? Tell me in the comments below.

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By Nisha Kohli, 2 yearsJuly 12, 2022 ago

GOALS

How to use your additional time effectively

If you are someone who doesn’t know what to do with your extra or additional time, then this post is for you. In this post, I have mentioned 5 things that you can do to make that extra time count.

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Sometimes, you have completed all your tasks for the day, but you are still left with some time in your hand and don’t get what to do with it. I want to ask you. What do you do with the additional time you get after completing all your tasks for the day?

Some of you might say that you spend that additional time watching Netflix, some spend it scrolling on social media, and some spend it doing nothing but waste it.

Well, time is the most precious asset we have as humans. I mean, cats and dogs never worry about wasting their time. By the way, that’s all what they do; they eat, sleep and repeat. But can you do the same? I guess the answer for most of you is a big No.

When you have worked so hard all day long and get an additional bonus i.e., the time you have saved and left with; there is no point wasting it by doing useless things. I mean you have earned it; it’s your reward for sticking to the schedule, you can’t just waste it. Right?

Also, when you are driving to work or waiting in a long queue, or when you are in a cab; you never track the time you waste in such situations. And similar to the saying, every penny counts; every second counts too.

Now, some of you might say that I can’t be working every time. Well, I’m not saying that you should work every single minute of your life. You should also take time to have fun with your family and friends. You should enjoy your life. All that I’m saying is to manage your time properly so that you can get the most out of your working hours and don’t waste the additional time you get after that.

You should make the most of that additional time you get and make it effective for you. Here are some ways that will help you make your time count.

#1. Upgrade your personal/professional skills

Today skills are the only thing that matter. Therefore, upgrading your skills whether it’s personal or professional is one of the best ways to utilize your time.

This image is about upgrading your skills

Skill Development is so necessary in today’s world. When you have the right skills, you are more likely to get new opportunities and you are open to new possibilities as well.

Don’t confuse schooling with education. I didn’t go to Harvard but the people that work for me did.
Elon Musk

Skills matter more than a degree. Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk once stated that a man with skills is far more ahead than a man with nothing but a college degree. Sure, college degrees are good to have but if you don’t have the right skills to execute what you have learned in college, it’s just a waste. You have wasted those years of your life in college if you are one of them.

If you agree with me on this, then grab your notepad and get a course or something to upgrade and level up your skills. Platforms like Alison, edX, Udemy, etc. offer a wide variety of courses to upgrade your personal and professional skills that you can learn and make the most of your time.

#2. Learning new things

A great way to expand your horizons is to learn new things. Learning makes a person alive. Every person who is successful today is a great learner. They never stop learning new things. When you open yourself to learning new things, you actually have opened the door for new opportunities and possibilities for yourself.

Whether it’s something you’ve always wanted to learn, like how to become a better speaker or something you never thought you would be interested in, like history, there’s a lot you can learn.

Reading books is one of the best ways to expand your horizons and learn new things. It’s also a great way to improve your vocabulary and build your vocabulary word bank. Start with learning things that you are interested in and that inspire you.

#3. Listen to audiobooks

This image is about audiobooks — Source: Unsplash

Listening to audiobooks is another great way to utilize your additional time. Books have always been the best source to increase your knowledge and audiobooks help you to absorb that knowledge in a very short time. It is the best way to learn more in less time. There are many platforms where you can listen to audiobooks like

Audible
Google Audiobooks
Kobo Audiobooks
Downpour
Hoopla
Librivox

You can learn new languages, enhance your listening comprehension, and even learn how to become a better person in general. Some of the best audiobooks are nonfiction, so if that’s a genre you’re interested in, you should definitely check it out. Some of the best nonfiction audiobooks are history, political science, and education.

You can listen to audiobooks while doing chores, driving to work, or any other time too. Switch your Netflix time with an audiobook session and see the difference it brings to your life.

#4. Listen to podcasts

Listening to Podcasts is an effective way to learn something you want. Studies have shown that listening to podcasts relieves your brain muscles and is good for your mental health too. It also helps reduce stress levels and anxiety.

This image is about podcast — Source: Unsplash

When you get some extra time, spend it by listening to podcasts you are interested in. There are several podcasts on several different topics. Choose one for yourself and learn new things.

Though everyone has different tastes and choices, you may or may not be interested in the list of podcasts mentioned below that talk about self-help and personal development.

#5. Get a hobby and Have fun

This image is about painting — Source: Unsplash

Last but not least, don’t forget to have fun. In today’s chaotic world, people often forget to do what they love. They are stuck in the circle of their jobs and families and forget to take care of themselves. Doing what you love gives you a feeling of calmness and peace. You feel happy when you do what you love. It makes you feel alive.

Maybe you are someone who loves to paint but because of a busy schedule, you don’t get much time to do it. And now when you have this extra time, you can spend it with your new canvas and paint brushes. You can also explore your interests online; so if you’re curious about a certain topic, you can learn more about it online; there are several courses that you can take to learn more about it.

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By Nisha Kohli, 2 yearsJune 7, 2022 ago

GOALS

How to stop procrastination and start taking action

How many times do you procrastinate in a single day? I know some of you can’t even count it and some don’t even realize that they do it. It’s like procrastination is a part of your life and this is how you do all your stuff. You do everything like that without even realizing it.

Do you know why? It’s because you have developed a habit of procrastination and your subconscious mind is responsible for it. It does it without you even noticing it.

Did you know? Your subconscious mind doesn’t have the power to think on its own, it only follows the instructions given by your conscious mind. And like we perform all the sensory activities such as breathing, watching, and listening without realizing and still doing it; similarly, you procrastinate without even realizing it.

But here is a good thing, like every bad habit, you can change this habit too. You can change your habit of procrastination and make yourself do what you meant to be doing instead of pushing it for tomorrow.

Here’s the reason why you procrastinate

The human brain has 2 levels: Conscious and Subconscious.

The conscious mind is responsible for thinking, feeling, and intuitions at a particular moment whereas the subconscious mind is responsible for storing the data and responding the way it is programmed. It only focuses on things that are stored within there and works accordingly.

A conscious mind is like that strict parent who wants their kids to do what they want and follow rules and regulations. And the subconscious mind is like that poor little kid who can do nothing but listen to what their parents are saying.

There are hidden powers within your subconscious mind and you can do wonders if you learn how to use them. You can’t rely on your conscious mind which just focuses on your everyday rut.

Your conscious mind focuses on your survival and comfort only. It has nothing to do with any of your dreams and goals. That’s why every time you think about completing a task and trying harder than you can or working on something that matters, it just starts to give you thoughts like ‘you are tired; you need rest, so let’s do it tomorrow.’ And you know what, that ‘tomorrow’ never comes.

Types of procrastinators

1. The one with a lack of Self-discipline

Everyone likes lying down on the sofa, eating popcorn, and watching Netflix all day. But that’s not what achievers do.

A person with a lack of self-discipline usually doesn’t know how to manage their time. They keep themselves busy doing unimportant tasks and waste their time, and at the end of the day, they say things like, “Oh, I couldn’t make it today, so let’s do it tomorrow”. And the other day, they do similar things and procrastinate like a Pro.

Doing what’s important first is what makes you more productive and gives you the confidence to keep going. So, learn how to manage your time properly, it’s a skill that will help you in every aspect of your life.

2. The one who has decision paralysis

One decision can make a massive impact on what your future is going to be. I guess, no one will deny this. But when it comes to making a decision, many people fail at it. Sometimes they are confused, sometimes they get attached to one thing so much. They procrastinate and keep on delaying and pushing it for the other day.

Making the right decision at the right time makes a huge difference between where you are and where you want to be. So screw everything and make that damn decision that is still pending in your head.

3. The one who doesn’t take action

Oftentimes you procrastinate in taking action because something is stopping you from doing what you want to do. There can be several reasons why you do that, you might be scared of what others will think about you, or maybe you are thinking you are not ready yet; excuses are endless.

But only thinking and not taking any action is worthless. It’s not going to make any difference. If you want something to be done, then stop procrastinating and take action.

3 steps that will help you stop procrastination

1. Setting a goal

This image is about setting a goal — Source: Unsplash

The first step that will help you stop procrastination is to set a goal for yourself. Setting a goal is like putting a destination in Google Maps, without which you can’t decide which route to take.

Your goal can be learning a new skill, starting working out, studying at night, learning a new language, or anything else. Whatever your goal, write it down on a piece of paper. According to research, when you write down your goals on paper, you are more likely to take action and achieve your goals.

Write down briefly what you want to achieve and make an action plan for it. The action plan should contain small but achievable tasks. Create imaginary deadlines for yourself and stick to them. Follow the plan and the deadlines sincerely to achieve your goals.

2. Break a task into small chunks

Can you have a whole large pizza in one go? I guess no one can. That’s why they slice it down into several pieces so that you can have it easily and enjoy it.

Then why do you think that you can get everything done in just one go? Why do you want every task to be completed in one sitting? It can never be done that way. When you try to do everything simultaneously, you can’t focus on one thing altogether, leading to nothing but dissatisfaction.

Stop being a multi-tasking person and focus on one thing at a time. When you focus on one thing at one time, productivity increases and you are more likely to complete that particular task in lesser time.

Try to break a task into small pieces of work and focus on one thing at a given period of time and then move on to other. This way it will be easier for you to analyze your progress for a particular task and you can make the right decision at right time.

3. Reward yourself

We humans always crave appreciation and rewards in any form we can get. We love it when someone appreciates and praises us for our work. If you look closely at what you do and why you do it, there is always a reward waiting in the end.

The work you do is directly proportional to the craving you have.

If you work hard at the office, there is a craving for raise in salary or a promotion. If you work out in the gym every day that’s because you want to be in shape. These are all cravings and there are a lot of examples if you look closely in your life. So, why not use this human psychology to help you stop procrastinating?

Always give a reward to yourself when you set a goal and accomplish them. The reward should be something that you love; for example, a chocolate chip ice cream or your favorite pizza or watching your favorite Netflix series, it can be anything.

This image is about rewarding yourself — Source: Unsplash

Set a goal and follow all the rules you set for yourself. After accomplishing your goal, gift yourself something you love. But the gift is valid only if you follow all the rules and if you would be able to make it up till the end.

You can set a goal for a week and after accomplishing it, gift yourself a date night on the weekend with your favorite Netflix series. This technique makes you work even harder to accomplish your goals as there is a craving attached to it.

Conclusion

If you want to achieve your goals then you must change your habit of procrastination.

A habit of pushing things on tomorrow. And you know what’s an exciting truth about tomorrow, that it never comes and when it comes, it becomes today.

Change your habit of procrastination and develop a habit of taking action because that’s what it takes to accomplish any goal you have in your life.

So what type of procrastinator are you? And what are the steps that you are going to take to move ahead? Tell me in the comments below.

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By Nisha Kohli, 3 yearsMay 17, 2022 ago