5 Steps to Be Your Best

5 Steps to More Confidence, Energy and Motivation to Improve Personal Leadership

Mary Anne CappellinoCreatively Fit LLC

Being Your Best Means ….

5 Steps to offer you :◦Energy-to live life fully and productively

◦Confidence- to connect with others and self in a positive way

◦Motivation-to close the gap between intent and action: to exercise, eat right, manage stress and do good for yourself and others 50$ story

◦What will you get today? Inspiration, Strategies, New Ideas on Personal Leadership and even though I’m a fitness trainer there will be NO jumping jacks!

5 Steps

The Road to Success is not always a road

A story about flying out of the box, about challenging the accepted norm, exploring new ideas, being creative and taking action!

Mrs. Smith, a teacher, asked her students to create paper airplanes …….…….

The View

It’s not so much what happens to us in life that matters, but how we see it.

Change the way you see something and you change your attitude and performance Spin story

The most unfortunate thing that happens to a person who fears failure is that he limits himself by becoming afraid to try anything new.

Positive thoughts set a current for your life

Positive Thinking

The power for positive living comes to us as a result of powerful positive thinking

The biggest obstacle to success and positive living may be what’s in your head

A positive mind set can propel you to success and allow you to avoid accepting the status quo and truly enlarge the vision for yourself

It starts with a “check up” from the neck up to reframe old thought patterns!

Positive thinking can change attitude, well being and even your destiny

◦Positive thinkers have inner strength, confidence, mental focus

◦People who are positive stay hopeful because of the way they think

◦They train the brain to dwell on positive thoughts

BUT how do you stay positive? With so much negative around you?

With circumstances that are bad? When you are going through loss?

You have to not let the outside stressors become a storm inside you

You will have negative thoughts but you have control over them

Change your thoughts and you change your world

Negative thinkers -Dwell on doom and gloomMay lack confidenceMay lack energyMay have doubts, fears, and disappointmentMay be reactive instead of proactiveThey may simply be in an old habit of thinking in

negative ways…. Have to vs Get to

Positive Thinkers ◦See opportunity◦Belief in their own powers and abilities◦They have an “I’ll do what it takes” attitude◦Temporary set backs are often viewed as important lessons

and they get back on track◦Determination◦Belief in goodness in life◦Confidence, energy and motivation

Practice Practice Practice

4 Keys to Positive Thinking

1. Develop a strong foundation with a positive belief system- Change how you see the world and the way you see yourself in it -Believe in opportunity- Look for kindness you will meet kind people, be observant and be aware of opportunity

2. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones- Dwell on good, talk about what is right

3. Choose positive action- knock on doors, call people, try new things, persist- be pro active! The mother bird…..

4. Choose your attitude! Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?

Choose an attitude of gratitude- happiness and thankfulness go hand in hand- choose an attitude of magnitude- power up the positive. Choose an attitude of latitude- be able to shift, change, adjust.

Managing an attitude is personal-Great customer service is not a department but an attitude

Let’s start with Step 1

Change is the key that unlocks the door to growth and excitement.

When people can’t change it is mostly because they have not employed a change plan

Keeping change alive and positive, starts with rewarding innovation, creativity and risk taking

All of which happens in an environment of self belief

This leads us to Step 1- Confidence in Self

What is self esteem?

For most people: feelings and thoughts about themselves fluctuate based on:

daily experiencesyour performancehow others treat youups and downs in relationships

Comparison to working a bicep muscle….if you stop it loses it’s strength and tone.

Have you exercised your self confident muscle today?

Healthy self esteem

Your sense of self is based on your ability to assess yourself accurately- to really know yourself, and still be able to accept and value yourself unconditionally.

Being able to realistically acknowledge strengths and limitations while accepting yourself as worthy

Accept your limitations and you expand your potential!

Believe in yourself

Lack of confidence is one of the greatest personal problems people have today- they doubt themselves, they shrink from life, they are afraid to try anything new- The lack of strong self esteem is self limiting

Self Esteem- STEP 1

The most important relationship……Self confidence develops and evolves as a result of

our life experiences forming an inner voice-either positive and reassuring or harsh and critical

In the end it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining who we are

Let the past fortify the futureAffirm yourself daily- Craft a powerful tag line to

articulate your value and use it as a daily exercise to sculpt and tone your sense of self. Use powerful self talk!

Activity

List your strengths and giftsBe the co-creator of the new youCreate a habit of affirming- a post-it note exercise

◦Built for the road ahead◦Like nothing else◦Do great things◦Enriching the lives of others

8 ways to get started

Honor your personal storyAccept yourself- flaws and allDevelop positive self talk skillsDon’t compare yourself to othersBe self reliant- trustworthyLive in the present Stay connected with othersHave a positive attitude

Become who you want to be

“If you see a difference between where you are and where you want to be- consciously change your thoughts, words, and actions to match your grandest vision” Neal Donald Walsch

Accept in your mind those thoughts and ideas that correlate with your vision and discard the rest

Change old scripts- assess your “I am’s”◦Are you saying I am not smart, I am average or believing in

what someone else may have said….as they defined you?◦Take ownership! Change your self talk to - I am equipped

for success, I am wise, I am a masterpiece…..and repeat daily. This leads us to Step 2 Health and Energy

STEP 2 Wellness is more relevant than ever!

A healthier you is more successful at life balanceIt’s proven that people who exercise look better, feel better

and do betterValue of a fit and healthy life offers productivity, reduced risk,

energyChange what brings you pleasure to stay engaged. Learn to

Love what you don’t think you love. Bad and good habits are a team sport – choose friends that

offer support in fitness and in all areas of lifeMany people value the pleasure today more than they fear the

punishment of tomorrow. Leverage the cost of bad behavior against the benefits of positive lifestyles.

Make Wellness Personal

In a perfect world….

The culprit.. Lifestyle◦Labor saving devices◦Too much seated time◦Barriers to fitness that have not been confronted with

proven strategies for success- in other words excuses◦Stinkin’ Thinkin’- “check up” from the neck up!

1 out of 10 deaths world wide are due to sedentary lifestyles 80% of American do not get the exercise they need Kids have a green grass deficiency and childhood obesity is on the rise Heart disease is the #1 killer of both men and women and largely

preventable Physical inactivity is the # 1 risk factor for heart disease Exercise is an effective strategy to fight the effects of many adverse health

conditions. If exercise were bottled, it would be the most widely prescribed treatment in the world.

Exercise can improve a variety of conditions and it’s preventative value is even greater!

MAPS- Strengthen beliefs in the benefits for YOU

Mental- sharpnessAppearance- confidencePhysical- healthSocial- fellowship

List benefits YOU want- make it personalRedefine the exercise arena as a place you crave to

be because it offers you strength, energy, stress management and a mood elevator. Offering you increased creativity, integrity, leadership and commitment skills. 4 Hats to success

FIND YOUR ZONE Recognize the area above and below your best zone then make changes to get back in ZONE

Kiss Excuses Goodbye

It’s too hard- Nothing is difficult, if you set your mind to itIt’ll take too long-A journey of a thousand miles begins with

one step. It’s not my nature-90% of your nature has been learned- You

can be whatever you want to beI’m too old- you are never too old to improveIt’s too expensive- may just cost some energy spentIt never happened before- Your past is a trail you leave

behind…The wake of a boat does not effect it’s course. It appears behind the boat.

No TIME Trap

Steven Covey “ The things that matter most should never be at the mercy of the things that matter least.”

This leads us to Step 3 Goals

STEP 3 - Goals

In the absence of defined goals we become loyal to the performance of daily trivia.

Why do goals work :◦They are starting blocks for motivation◦They help us take charge of life◦They give us a destination◦They give us purpose◦They make life interesting◦They help us reach our potential

Goals give clarity to the end vision and help you close the gap between intention and action for both personal and professional leadership. Nothing can stop a man with a positive attitude and his goal clearly in sight!

Goals drive- inner desires, fuel actionGoals give a tight focus : exactly what- when- howGoals make us accountableGoals help us achieve more- lift the bar –stretchGoals ensure that you get the most out of life- time is valuable

Believe that you can Create a sense of urgency to get going- write it downDecide what you want to do and make an appointmentSet realistic goals in specific terms- exercise example

Jan/FebMeasure progress and adjustPlan and persist- don’t quit Cortez storyJournal progress and visualize the finish line!

This leads us to Step 4- Support

Get Support Step 4

Take action -to nurture healthy loving relationships- Wellness, Personal and Career

Seek guidance- Build a bridge use an engineer, Build a health body us a team of fitness and health professionals- Be your best at your career- glean information from mentors and others who have experience that you can learn from.

Support is a predictor for change, sometimes more effective than knowledge itself. Accountability is powerful

Wisdom is knowing the right path to take.. Integrity is taking it.

Accept your limitations. Success is a team sport.

Walt Disney failed many times early in his career. He had brilliant ideas but lacked the ability to execute. He was finally convinced that to succeed he must surround himself with great artists who could bring his animation ideas to life. He needed his brother to handle the financial side of his business- this allowed Walt to focus on what he did best which was using his imagination .

This leads us to Step 5 Giving to others

Mentor story- what others say can shape your life……..

A young boy loved baseball. A little league coach walked with the player and shared words of wisdom that made a difference in his life– prepare for the game, know what you need to do with the ball when it comes to you but most of all “I want ALL of you to want the ball to be hit to you.”

So when you are on the field- take a deep breath in and let it out, raise up on your toes to be ready and say to yourself “Hit the ball to me”

Then if you make the play -be humble and if you miss- put it behind you and then do the same on every pitch!

Hold onto successes, learn from mistakes but always be ready for the next play!

Service Step 5

Give back- share your talents and abilities, contributeMentor- leave a legacy and lift another to successVolunteer- be in serviceBe other centered, it is good for your health

Zig Ziglar- “You will get exactly what you want in life if you will just give others what they need.”Oprah Winfrey- “Happiness is never something you get from other people. The happiness you feel is in direct proportion to what you give.”Robert Half- Giving people a little more than they expect is a good way to get a little more than you’d expect.

Workout for the Mind

Homework…..Create a vision board using these exercises.

Post and repeat 5 daily affirmations –sculpt and buildIdentify 5 personal benefits to health and energy -strengthen

beliefs and engageSet 5 goals and write them down –plan and persistRecruit 5 people for support- share and talk about your

journeyExplore ways to give of yourself and be in service to othersReference your vision board often and adjust as needed

The Next Step

YOU ARE WORTH THE INVESTMENT!

Thank You for your time today.

Mary Anne Cappellino, Creatively Fit LLCwww.maryannecappellino.com The Climbwww.eeekthefrog.com Series of Children’s books

on healthy living