Guest Blog | 5 min read

Gratitude. Visualisation. Affirmation.

As a Dad my time is limited. As a business owner my time is limited. Over the years I’ve tried, and am still learning ( and love learning) how to improve time management and daily practices that I resonate with and can use to improve the quality time I spend with my family, the number of people I can help through what I learn and improve as a person. 

Here’s 3 things I do on a daily basis that I believe tick all those boxes! 

Gratitude, visualisation, affirmation.

I always start the day by reminding myself what I’m grateful for. I used to watch the news and realised how utterly negative it was, so I changed instead to a daily practice of being grateful for the aspects of my life I have control over. I just think of 3 things to be grateful for, say them in my head and then move onto visualisation. I guess the visualisation aspect has come from my previous sporting endeavours but I believe I can see, what my day (or play) should look like. I know my diary so I run through the day before it’s even happened, sure things crop up but the blueprint to my day has already been lived (in my head), it gives me focus, allows me to prioritise and clarify. It also allows me to say ‘no’ to things that don’t fit with the goals. Then I move to my affirmation, something I’ve done for a long time and at first I thought a bit loony. I will say in my head or out loud a sentence repeatedly, I used to use 5 times but realised sometimes it didn’t need that many to sink in or sometimes needed more if I was distracted. I think of it as positive self talk. 

This whole practice can be done in less than 3 minutes. It gives me total clarity, positivity and sets me up to be a better husband, father, educator and coach. I’m far from the perfect human, however I do know that without this start to the day I’d be worse off. I’d lack focus, I’d lack direction, I’d lack purpose and I’d lack the structure that allows me to get the most done in the most efficient timeframe. I’d lack the ability to make my goals a certainty. 

I truly believe this simple practice could help thousands of people out there create a more sustainable, attainable base from which they can create more time for themselves and allow them to hit their goals. It’s a hectic world out there where we can be dragged left, right and centre. We can feel like we don’t have any time for ourselves, our health and our mental fitness. This is the beginning of something you can get into, and it only takes a few minutes but saves you 10 X that! 

Let’s explore how we could use this practice for getting on the property ladder for example...

 You wake up in the morning. 

You roll out of bed.

In your head or even better in a little book you write down 3 things you’re grateful for. 

  1. The opportunity you have today to move closer to getting a mortgage. 
  2. That you have a healthy body 
  3. The friends you have.

In that short time you have focused on the fact you’re working hard to achieve that mortgage. You have paid respect to the body you have and potentially set yourself up to get active for the day. Lastly you have paid tribute to the network of people you have that are there to support you shouldn’t you ask them. 

I’d say that’s a great start to the day already! Probably more structure than you’ve ever been used to... and it’s taken less than 60s! 

Second visualise. 

You probably have a routine. Maybe the Tube, into work, a coffee, a chat, sit down at the desk, emails, then decide what to do from there.... how much time do you waste or could block into productive time. 

***I read/ listened to a wonderful book that I recommend to EVERYONE, The 10 X Rule, if you want to get motivated to succeed and get on that property ladder faster, GET IT. Here’s a link to it. I got on the ladder 3 years ahead of schedule from the methodology learnt from that one book! ***

Back to the visualisation, after that, lunch ( what do you have? Is it planned out, is it healthy, if you have already decided in the morning... how much more likely are you to stick to it), back to the desk, more work, what are you hoping to achieve that day, finish work. Off home, or the gym, shopping. Hopefully you get the idea. Now if you can run through these things but with a new attitude of clarity and focus on actual tasks rather than just letting the day unfold.

If you can start to develop a mindset of visualisation, you may find more deals come your way, luck is engineered, you influence luck by putting yourself in the right place at the right time by your actions.

Next the affirmation. A statement of what you believe you are, how you act, how you conduct yourself works for me. It can be anything. For me…

I will always improve

I will always evolve 

I will never give up

I repeat that statement daily, guess what, I constantly learn, I see learning opportunities from all situations, i am always evolving as a i go through life, from husband, to father, to businessman, to author, to friend, in all aspects I’m constantly evolving… and anyone who knows me knows i’ll never give up, ever.

Find your own statement of intent. Something that drives you forward to achieve that next step. For most of you it’s seeing that next step in buying a house, the freedom and wealth it can bring. I urge you to start doing these 3 practices. I think you’ll be surprised at what you can do and how fast you can do it once you back yourself and put your best self forward to the world. 

#buildthechain

“You don’t need to see the whole staircase, you just need to see the next step”

 

Read Ollie's book- Build the Chain: How to Achieve Any Goal and Transform Your Life

 

 

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Guest Blog

Ollie Campbell

Ollie Campbell is a fitness professional, a sportsman and former Championship Rugby player, an entrepreneur, a husband and a father with over 16 years of dedicated education and learning in all realms of fitness and nutrition. He has learnt from some of the greatest minds in health, strength and conditioning, and fitness for the general population looking to maximise their mind, body and life. Having launched the flagship gym Priority 6, with a wide variety of members, his wife, and his business partner Simon, Ollie came to the conclusion that mindset was crucial to unlocking people's potential. This led to the development of the Build the Chain concept, one of support and day-to-day living and one that has taken his followers from zero to abundance.

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