#hmmmm I can smoke and watch my favorite show while I eat and then turn on the hannibal podcast and clean with wine. ideal night in.

[everymlmhybrid]

Christmas Eve should I get crossfaded. I'm thinking yes.

[cottoncandyjester]

This might be an odd request but...would Theodore be fine meeting Y/N's family? For all the yanderes, how would they react to Y/N saying, "Alright I want you to meet my family." And the yandere is confuse cause they've been together for quite a few years (let's say 5) Y/N might say, "My family is very nice, they are just curious on who you are."

Okay so I don't know if you are aware...but my yanderes are all chaotic as hell so this is going to go ✨GREAT✨

Theodore

He is instantly curious and low-key excited

He wants to know what your family is like and how they sharp you as a person

He did find it super weird that you two were engaged and he has yet to meet a single family member of yours

Having dinner with your family is just him being on his best behavior

Of course he has his adorable nervous moments but he is definitely a charmer

"so, theodore is it tell us why you love [y/n] so much? What is your future together?"

Theodore twitched lightly at the question from one of your parents and he gave a nervous smile before pushing his glasses up and clearing his throat before he lovingly glanced your way.

"well, I'm hoping for children and with the wedding coming up there is a lot of excitement around that I do hope you all make it..family is everything to me"

"oh we should look at baby photos! Wouldn't that be fun?"

Theo had a fiery gaze at the thought of looking at you as a child he was way too excited for that though you looked like you wanted to die of embarrassment.

"m-man I'm stuffed we should go right babe?"

Theo looked your way before giving you a sweet grin, he clearly was showing you that you had absolutely zero choice in this matter

"now now sweetheart, we shouldn't leave so early after all I would love to catch a glimpse at what our children could look like?"

Hikaru

He didn't want you to meet his family so the fact that you didn't bring up yours didn't bother him

You guys have been together for a long time and neither of you met each other family

You were the one who wanted to change that after all

Hikaru... honestly wanted nothing to do with it but after four hours of arguing he agreed.

Hikaru is a beautiful boy so of course he uses that charm to his favorite

He is extra as hell so wooing your family comes with inviting them to a fancy restaurant dinner

You honestly want to choke him for how cocky he is but your family eats it up cause he knows exactly what to say

Of course his temper gets to him when it comes to you having younger siblings (if you don't just go with it lol)

Hikaru can only play nice for so long

You watched as your boyfriend smiles charmingly towards your family, he was quite the actor that's for sure. You couldn't help but hold back a laugh earning a dirty glare his direction it was clear that he hated this but he wanted you to stop bugging him about it.

He was actually doing good until he felt a sharp kick earning a harsh hiss of pain, his eyes shot towards your younger siblings this was the fifth time they kicked him and he was definitely about to snap.

"so hikaru, why don't you tell my family about how much you love me"

Your distracting words seemed to work a little to calm him down until he felt another kick, and he snapped.

"alright you brat, what the hell?!"

Oh boy here we go.

"it was an accident!"

"you've been doing it the entire time!"

"b-babe maybe you should coo-"

Your younger sibling stuck their tongue out at hikaru earning a low growl towards him as his left eye twitched, well at least the rest of your family found it to be amusing.

"you can't have [y/n]! I won't let you steal them away you flashy demon!"

"the hell did you call me?! And what do you mean I can't have them they are already mine!"

Well this night was going perfectly.

Axis

Mr lovable crybaby actually cries when you tell him that your family wants to meet him

Meeting your family means you're serious about the relationship

"axis, baby we've been together for six years... we're engaged."

"b-but you DO love me! I knew it!"

Honestly when your family comes over for dinner he is shaking cause he doesn't like uncomfortable question

He knows your family is sweet since you're sweet but still

He helped make dinner so his pride is on thin ice aka he will cry if they hate it

He is so nervous that he is just an anxiety mess

Super emotional and just so in love with you

"i-i love [y/n] so much, they are amazing and they smell nice and i-i just love them so so much! I wanna marry them of course!"

You honestly felt pretty bad for laughing while axis was being super emotional but he was just wayyy too cute at the moment.

"babe, I love you too"

You reached and held axis' hand still holding back laughing only to see him pout.

"d-dont laugh! I'm fragile!"

Seems your parents liked him though which was good though you did worry is they liked him too much you could already see them coming over for every holiday, though you were sure axis didn't mind.

Salem

Sooo you thinking about having salem meet your family is a horrible idea but they wanted to know who has your heart

Salem of course freaks out a tad when you tell him you invited your family over for brunch

He isn't normal in the slightest so he had to act normal in his own way

It was a bit of a trainwreck but you think it went well

"so salem...what exactly do you do for a living"

You twitched at that question since telling your family that your boyfriend is a camboy wasn't exactly the best way to introduce him.

You glanced at salem who was far too busy stuffing his mouth with waffles while humming, he was clearly not going to be of help at the moment.

"salem works from home a boring home job right babe?"

Salem gulped before chuckling darkly at your little lie, you gave him a light glare warning him to behave and he simply stuck his tongue out gliding two fingers along them adoring the feeling.

"mhmmm, such a gooood job~"

Salem was practically drooling just thinking about work tonight while you nervously laughed at his antics but honestly you did love him so his behavior in your eyes was kinda cute. He was like a puppy, a slobbering puppy.

"what plans do you two have in the future?"

Salem perked up clearly excited about this question and so he started to speak but you have a bad feeling

"lots and lots of hot steammmyyyy se-"

You covered the male's mouth ignoring the feeling of him slobbering and licking your hand

"o-oh babe you're such a jokester haha!"

You glared at salem who only gave you a lustful gaze right back, he knew fully well that you'll punish him for this and he was ready for that.

Prince

Yikes he is not used to meeting someone's family

Totally not ready

Sure you guys are preparing for a kid but that doesn't mean he's ready!

He totally freaks out when you say that you two are spending the weekend at your parents house for old times

I mean sure he likes the idea of screwing you in your old bedroom while your parents are asleep but like meeting them? He isn't sure about that one

He actually gets along with your family pretty well

"so prince was it? What an interesting name!"

Prince simply chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair before giving your family such a charming smile.

"is it? I suppose so. Though I like to think [y/n] loves me cause I'm so interesting"

You rolled your eyes at his antics, who knew a psychopath could be so damn Charming, they definitely adored his sparkling charm to a point where you were sure your siblings formed a new found crush.

Yuki

"babe my family wants to you"

"mhm..."

"tonight"

"oh."

He was far too busy drawing tattoo designs to focus but he knew what you were saying and he wasn't worried

Yuki is a blunt person he says whatever comes to mind cause he's too sleepy and depressed to deal with bullshit like being too nervous

"you must love [y/n] a lot to be with them this long are kids in the future?"

"hmmmm...dunno."

You glanced over at yuki who looked absolutely bored and like he wanted to crash at any moment but you knew thats how he always was.

"o-oh well what about marriage?"

"...maybe."

"what are some of your hobbies"

Yuki picked his head up and gave a soft grunt before he turned his head away thinking slowly about what to say

"I like...sleeping...eating..[y/n].."

Yuki suddenly rested his head on your shoulder with a sleepy hum now hugging you close clearly wanting to take a nap right there

"I like [y/n]..more than eating and sleeping though."

Rocket

Your buff himbo of a fiancee was honestly excited to meet your family

He was worried about being seen as an idiot meathead though...even though he was

He wasn't nervous in the slightest when the time came

He just said what was on his mind even if it was stupid

He really loved you and that's what mattered

"haha! Wow you're [y/n]'s family? Ooh! So cool!"

You watched your extremely tall and beefed up boyfriend hover over your family excitedly like a dog. You were worried his joyful antics were intimidating your family just a tad.

"hey babe? Can you help grab the charcoal from the car?"

Rocket looked over at you before giving you an excited smile, a chance to show his strength?! Hell yeah!

"of course babe! Here hold it!"

Within a second he was throwing his hoodie off now in a tank top, he was totally showing off and you were here for it! Just watching him carry two bags of charcoal like it was nothing kinda made you hot and bothered

This barbeque was going to be filled with some interesting tension. You sat at the picnic table watching as rocket helped with the grill.

Your family loved rocket which made you feel better for sure plus he was the center of attention which you knew made him happy

"babeeee!"

"yeah babe?"

"you look smoking! I love you!"

You snorted out a laugh from his adorable wink and compliment..damn you loved your himbo.

Scarlett

Oh she was ready

She wanted to prepare dinner for your family

She loved the idea of being included into your family

She did want you to meet her family as well but she was worried about her twin brother trying to torture you or something

She of course was as graceful and sweet as always

She was excited to know about all those childhood memories you have

"so [y/n] tells me that you're an herbalist, sounds interesting though must be hard to get business with modern medicine being popular"

Scarlett simply giggled before playing with one of her ponytails as she tried to explain her view on things.

"well, my medicine is actually sold sometimes to hospitals though I try to avoid it, herbal medicine has its great perks"

Scarlett had always been greatly intelligent but she was impressing you for sure. She was great at speaking and charming others, of course she was beautiful while doing it

"would you all care for some dessert? I wish to know more about [y/n] when they were a child"

"really scar?"

"of course my love, after all I love you no matter what"

[mcjoelcain]

How to set SMART Goals (and win BIG this year)

Let’s be honest: people suck at goal setting.

Even when we really want to do something, we have a hard time achieving it.

(Need proof? Just consider that the vast majority of New Year’s resolutions fail by February.)

But, it’s not our fault. Nobody teaches us how to really achieve what we set out to do. They don’t teach us how to make smart objectives.

That’s because the problem with how you set goals is that they rely too much on human willpower — which we have a very finite amount of each day. Relying on it all the time takes away from that willpower until it’s depleted entirely.

Fortunately, there are other ways to set goals so that you can actually achieve them.

Bonus: Want to know how to make as much money as you want and live life on your terms? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Examples of turning bad goals to good goals

EXAMPLE #1: HEALTH

TERRIBLE GOAL: “I want to get fit.”

BAD GOAL: “I want to lose 10lbs.”

GOOD GOAL: “I want to eat 3 healthy meals per week and go to the gym 2x/week for 15 minutes.”

Notice how we’re focusing on the process at first, and starting off conservative: Anyone can eat just 3 healthy meals in a week. And anyone can go to the gym for 15 minutes. Set yourself up to win.

The next step is to make it easy: on your calendar, set 1 hour on Sundays to buy 3 healthy meals and leave them in your fridge, packed and ready to eat. Also set two 1-hour slots for the gym (leaving time for travel).

Here’s how this looks for other big goals:

EXAMPLE #2: FINANCES

TERRIBLE GOAL: “I need to get better with money.”

BAD GOAL: “I want to save $1,000 this year.”

GOOD GOAL: “I want to have $40 per paycheck automatically transferred to my vacation savings fund for 1 year.”

EXAMPLE #3: SOCIAL SKILLS

TERRIBLE GOAL: “I want to have better social skills.”

BAD GOAL: “I want to work on my storytelling so I’m not so awkward at parties.”

GOOD GOAL: “I want to take the improv class in my city every Monday night for 6 weeks.”

There’s a simple formula for transforming big goals into actionable steps…

Bonus: Want to finally start getting paid what you’re worth? I show you exactly how in my Ultimate Guide to Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary

What are SMART goals?

SMART goals are the cure for vague, aimless New Year’s resolution goals like:

“I want to go to the gym every day.”

“I want to get rich.”

“I want to travel more.”

On the surface, they all seem like good goals. However, they fall prey to the big three sins of goal-setting:

They unspecific. Sure, you “want to travel more,” but what does that really mean? When are you going to get it done? Where are you going to go? Vagueness is the enemy of good goal-setting.

They’re unrealistic. Oh, so you want to “get rich” this year? Are you willing to put in the hard work and sweat equity it’ll take to negotiate a raise, find a higher-paying job, or start a side hustle? Most likely not.

They’re based on willpower — not systems. Human willpower is limited. Sure, you might start out going to the gym every day, but as time goes on you’ll have to use the finite amount of willpower you have to keep it up. Eventually, you abandon the goal altogether.

Setting a SMART goal will help you avoid all of these pitfalls. Let’s breakdown how to do it.

SMART Objectives are:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-oriented

So how do you convert a goal like “get fit” into a SMART objective?

I created this checklist to use every time you have a new goal.

Checklist for writing a SMART Objective

Specific: What is the precise outcome I’m looking for?

What will you achieve?

What does it look like? (What do you see in your mind when you picture yourself working towards your goal?)

What is the action step?

Measurable: How will I know I’ve accomplished the goal?

How will you know if you’ve reached your goal or not? There are different levels of “healthy” or “financially sound.” Avoid words that may have vague meanings like, “learn” or “feel” since you can’t measure them. Instead, use action verbs like “run,” “save,” or “write.” Then, turn those words into quantifiable benchmarks.

You need to be able to answer the question, “Did I get it done? If not, how much further do I have to go?”

How will you know when it is done?

What are some objective benchmarks you can hit along the way?

Would someone else be able to tell that it’s complete?

Is it quantifiable?

Attainable: How realistic is this goal?

My mentor BJ Fogg talks a lot about Tiny Habits — little things that start us on the path to success. The best way to achieve a goal is not to rely on motivation, but instead make it ridiculously easy for your future self to do the right thing. Instead of committing to running 5 days a week, start with one day and move up from there.

Are there available resources to achieve the objective?

Do you need a gym membership, a new bank account, new clothes?

Am I set up to do this even when I don’t have “motivation”?

Are there any time or money constraints that need to be considered? Am I being too ambitious to start out? (Remember you can always be more aggressive with your goal later on.)

Relevant: Is this a priority in my life right now?

Ask yourself, in the scheme of all the things you want to try, do you really care about this? When I went to my cousin’s wedding in India a few years ago, I saw one of my friends order his food in fluent Hindi, and I thought, “Hmmmm…I should take Hindi lessons.” But when I got back to NYC, I put it on my to-do list, only to skip over it for MONTHS. The truth is, I really didn’t care enough to try and learn Hindi. It wasn’t important enough. When I acknowledged I wasn’t going to do it and crossed it off my list, it freed me up to focus on doing the things that I really wanted to do.

Why am I doing this?

Is this a priority for me?

Will it compete with other goals in my life?

Time-oriented: When will I be finished with the goal?

Give yourself a deadline to reassess your goal. And put it on the calendar! I like to re-evaluate my goals every 3-months to make sure they are still Attainable and Relevant.

Is there a deadline?

Did I put it on the calendar?

Will I know in 3 months if I’m on the right track?

Bonus: Want to fire your boss and start your dream business? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Business.

SMART Goal Examples

Using this framework, you’ll be able to turn any vague lofty goal into an actionable SMART goal.

For instance:

Bad goal: “I want to be healthier.”

Why it’s bad: It’s vague and not measurable. How do you know when you’re healthier?

SMART goal: “I want to eat three low-fat, low-calorie meals per week and go to the gym at least once a week.”

Why it’s good: Now you have an actionable system with solid metrics to help you see if you’re on track. You’re not just getting healthier. You’re eating three healthy meals and going to the gym each week.

Now do the same for your goal. How can you make it specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-oriented?

Actually achieve your goals with habit loops

Once you’ve set a SMART goal, habits are the systematized solution to making sure you follow through and actually achieve your goal.

According to Charles Duhigg, habit expert and author of The Power of Habit, every habit you build has three parts to it:

Cue. This is the trigger for a behavior.

Routine. This is the behavior in action.

Reward. This is the benefit you receive from the behavior.

Altogether, this creates something called a “Habit Loop,” which allows your habits to stick.

And at the heart of any good Habit Loop is a good reward. In fact, it might just be the most important aspect of building good habits.

That’s because it has the biggest impact on whether or not we stick with the behavior.

Let’s take a look at an example: Working out.

A typical approach to this might look like this:

You go to the gym.

You work out on the machines for 30 minutes.

You go home.

Here’s what it would look like if you implemented the Habit Loop:

Cue. You head to the gym when you wake up.

Routine. You work out at the gym.

Reward. You get a delicious breakfast when you’re done.

See the difference? One will likely result in you giving up the habit after a few weeks (or even days), while the other greatly boosts your chances because you’re rewarded for your behavior.

It subverts having to rely on willpower, because you reward yourself for achieving your goals.

THAT’S the power of a good reward.

Of course, it can work negatively for you as well. For example, smoking cigarettes.

A habitual, pack-a-day smoker is someone who has ingrained a Habit Loop that causes them to smoke cigarettes. Here’s what that Loop looks like:

Cue. You wake up, or it’s lunch time, or work just got done, or you’re stressed — most anything can be a cue for smokers.

Routine. You smoke a cigarette.

Reward. You receive a euphoric buzz from nicotine.

Luckily, rewards can be used to counteract this. For example, whenever you get the urge to smoke a cigarette you go on a walk, or listen to music, or drink a soda. Whatever healthy reward can be used to replace your routine of smoking a cigarette.

Bonus Tip: Use a Commitment Device

A commitment device is a method of locking yourself into a habit or behavior that you might otherwise not want to do.  

And there are essentially two types of commitment devices:

Positive devices. These are devices that give you a positive reward for performing different tasks. The idea is that when you associate that task with the commitment device, you create a positive feedback loop that makes it much easier to cement new habits.

For example:

Listening to your favorite podcast while you work out.

Watching a show on Netflix while you clean your living room.

Drinking your favorite soda while you’re washing your dishes.

Negative devices. These are devices where you take something away or risk having something taken away to encourage you to follow through with a behavior or habit. The idea is that you force yourself to focus on the task by taking away the thing that is preventing you from focusing, or you do something that makes you risk losing something to force you to complete your task.

For example:

Telling a friend that you’ll give them $100 if you don’t go to the gym every day for a month.

Unplugging your television so you won’t be tempted to watch it.

Throwing away all of your junk food in order to eat healthily.

While they’re called positive or negative devices, that doesn’t mean that one is better than the other! They’re just ways of describing how the commitment devices work. And whether or not you choose a positive or negative device depends entirely on your preference and what you want to achieve.  

Commitment devices are incredibly effective too. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Harvard released an article a while back penned by three doctors in behavioral economics that extolled the virtues of commitment devices.

“[Commitment devices] have been shown to help people lose weight, improve their diets, exercise more, and quit smoking,” the article says. “One randomized experiment, for example, found that access to a commitment device increased the rate at which smokers succeeded in quitting after six months by 40%.”

One effective commitment device is to use a social media scheduling dashboard like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule an embarrassing tweet or Facebook status to be posted at a certain hour. This commitment device is good for time- or location-based goals. As long as you get to the dashboard before it posts, you can prevent it from posting.

For example, say you want to get into the habit of waking up at 6am. You could schedule a tweet to be sent out with an embarrassing message or photo of yourself at exactly 6:05am. That way, if you’re not up by 6, that message will post.

Build habits for life

To accomplish any goal, you need to establish good habits.

To help you crush any goal you set out for yourself, we want to offer you something we’ve worked on to get you there:The Ultimate Guide to Habits: Peak Performance Made Easy

In it, you’ll learn the actionable steps to crush any goal through smart habits, including:

How to set goals — the RIGHT way

How to create and implement winning keystone habits

How to make any habit last forever

Just enter your name and email below and I’ll send it straight to your inbox.

Give me free access now

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Name *

Email *

Give me free access now

100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam. When you sign up, we’ll keep you posted

How to set SMART Goals (and win BIG this year) is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Money https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/smart-objectives/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[dcbbw]

How do DC AU Maxwell and Olivia commemorate the grand holiday of 4/20?? Moreover, what do they do to set it apart from every other day?

Thanks for the ask, @burnsoslow! Answer below. (excuse typos and grammatical errors)

Olivia walked into the kitchen, pulling her hair back in a ponytail. Maxwell looked up from a pan of chicken breasts, setting the spatula in the counter. He moved to the sink, cutting the faucet on.

“Hold on, let me wash my hands and I’ll help you,” he offered.

Olivia nodded as she looked around the apartment. It was minimally decorated for the upcoming holiday that would be arriving in a little over an hour. But she had holiday music playing, and their friends would be over for a quiet get together; there would be food, drink, conversation. And presents!

The holidays were about togetherness.

Maxwell’s hand on her arm drew her attention to him. He was standing in front of her, his fingers combing through her red tresses, pulling some hair across her forehead; he then stood behind her and pulled the rest back, looping it through a hair band. His lips touched the back of her neck lightly.

“You’re beautiful.”

“Does the apartment look okay? Should there be more decorations?”

“The gang doesn’t care; I just hope they remember to bring the food!”

“They will,” Olivia said dismissively. “If not, it’s gonna be a pretty quick dinner.”

Maxwell sang along with the song coming from the CD system. “That song is a classic!”

There was a knock on the door. Olivia asked him to check on the macaroni and cheese as she hurried to the door. She pulled it open to see Liam, Riley, Alyssa, and Drake laden down with bags and aluminum trays.

“Happy Weed Eve!” Liam exclaimed cheerily as he walked through the doorway.

Greetings were exchanged as packages were set down on tables and countertops. Jackets and coats were hung on the coat rack before Riley, Liam, and Drake began unwrapping pans of hamburgers, steaks, potato salad, and tuna and pasta salad.

Alyssa was pulling paper plates and plasticware from bags. “Did we get cups?” she asked with a frown.

“Yeah! They should be in the white bag! With the napkins!” Riley called from the kitchen.

Liam heard the music and began to dance, his shoulders rolling and his hips gyrating. “Dude … Dr. Dre?”

Maxwell grinned as he moved chicken from the pan to a serving plate. “The Chronic,” he confirmed.

“CLASSIC!” Alyssa threw her hands in the air as her head bobbed.

Liam grinned as he shimmied over to her. They began to dance, complete with hip bumps and foot locks. Riley and Drake saw the pair dancing and exchanged blank stares.

“Why did we break up again?” Riley asked.

Drake shook his head. “No idea.”

Olivia shooed her friends out of the kitchen and into the living room, insisting she and Maxwell could set up. There was another knock on the door. Drake went to answer it. Madeleine and Leo entered, carrying bags of alcohol and ice.

Riley was sitting on an oversized floor pillow; she waved to Madeleine and Leo. Liam danced up to his brother and his girlfriend. “Sookie sookie, now … issa party for real,” he said as he took some bags from Madeleine.

Drake and Alyssa sat on the couch; they were soon joined by Madeleine and Leo. Liam sat next to Riley on the pillow. His socks peeked from beneath his black jeans. Leo noticed.

“What socks you wearing tonight, bro?”

Liam proudly pulled up the hem of his pants to show off black socks with bright green weed leaves. The green of the leaves matched his shirt.

“Riley B. has sock game too!” he said proudly.

Riley rolled her eyes. “He guilted me into wearing them.”

“I did not! She was pressed to wear them.” Liam teased.

Alyssa clapped her hands together excitedly. “Can we see?”

Riley sighed as she rolled up her leggings to reveal a blue sock with multicolored flowers and the phrase “I’m a delicate fucking flower.”

Madeleine’s eyes widened in appreciation. “I like it!”

The conversation was interrupted by Maxwell, asking who the designated drivers were. Riley and Leo raised their hands. Everyone looked at Riley. Riley stared back.

“What?”

Liam pulled her arm down and raised his instead. Everyone nodded in relief.

Drake looked around. “Where’s the holiday bong?”

Maxwell’s head tilted towards a table in the corner, where a tall, cylindrical glass bong with swirls of green paint decorating it sat. Random strands of tinsel hung from it while green Christmas tree balls surrounded it. Before he could comment, Olivia hollered for folks to come and get it!

Liam looked at Riley B. “What do you want?”

“Everything!”

Liam shook his head. “You’re not gonna eat it all. How about we share a plate?”

Riley nodded. “And can I have a water?”

“You get a beer. I’ll get a water.”

Liam stood, and went to the kitchen, feeling Riley watching him. They still had not been on a real date, but they were hanging out more. Usually at her place; they cuddled, kissed, and made out , but no further. He didn’t care. He was getting more than he had ever dreamed of; at least Riley was beginning to trust that Liam was truly interested in her. And not just in a sexual bucket list kind of way.

Riley watched Liam chat and maneuver his way around the kitchen, filling their plate.

He really liked her.

All this time, he had harbored his crush while she kept trying to dismiss hers. She still had her reservations:  Riley worried about their friendship if a relationship didn’t work out. What would he do when and if he ever saw her naked?  But she was getting ahead of herself. They hadn’t even started, no need to worry about their ending. She saw him look up, and wink at her.

She quickly turned her head to look out the window. I wasn’t watching you.

Olivia was fixing a plate for Maxwell. He came behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Having fun?” he whispered in her ear.

Olivia laid her head against his chest. “Always with you.”

Drake was fixing plates for him and Alyssa; Alyssa was fixing their drinks. Madeleine smirked. “Somehow I figured Drake to be the bartender.”

Leo chuckled as he spooned potato salad on his plate.

Soon, everyone was seated, eating, and talking.

“Thanks for hosting this, guys!” Alyssa said as she bit into a burger. A low moan escaped her mouth. “Oh, my God! These are delicious!”

“Thank you guys for coming! 420 is our favorite holiday, and we appreciate you all sharing it with us,” Maxwell said.

“I’m going to petition our Congressperson to make it a national, federal holiday!” Olivia said.

“Hmmmm … DC doesn’t have representation in Congress,” Drake pointed out.

“Well, that’s bullshit!” Olivia huffed before taking a long pull of her beer.

Liam fed Riley a forkful of steak and macaroni and cheese. Alyssa saw them.

“You two are so cute together,” she squealed.

“We are not together!” Riley corrected her.

Liam smirked. “Not yet. Until our schedules align for proper dating, we’re more Netflix and chill kinda folks.”

“Stop saying that!” Riley hissed as she swatted his arm.

Liam kissed her on her cheek.

An alarm chimed, signaling it was midnight.

“HAPPY 420!” the group yelled.

Maxwell set his plate on the coffee table, and reached into his pocket, extracting a large bag of weed. He grinned to the group. “This is from our guy in Mount Pleasant.”

Leo looked impressed. “I heard they shut that corner of the world down.”

Maxwell winked at him. “You gotta know where to look.”

Drake suggested they tidy up and pack their to-go plates first. They would be useless trying to do it while high. Everyone agreed.

Olivia asked if they had brought their own Tupperware because they weren’t taking hers.

Riley, Alyssa, and Leo began gathering plates and heading towards the kitchen. Liam joined them after rummaging in bags for the takeaway containers. Madeleine, Maxwell, and Olivia worked together to roll a huge blunt.

Twenty minutes later, food was packed away, and the kitchen was clean. Trash sat in bags to be taken down when the group left. Alyssa turned the music up and Olivia fired up the blunt. There were coughs and chokes and murmurs of damn, this is good shit as everyone except the designated drivers toked. The room quickly filled with pungent smoke.

Oliva freed her hair from its ponytail, her movements both deliberate and languid.

Maxwell settled back against the couch cushions, eyes closed.

Alyssa cuddled on Drake’s lap while he blew her shotguns.

Leo watched Madeleine carefully. She didn’t indulge often and was a sleeper when she did. Madeleine had once fallen asleep at Liam’s after a Saturday afternoon toke; Leo spent the rest of the weekend at his brother’s apartment waiting for Madeleine to wake up.  

Liam got Riley a water because she kept choking when she inhaled. “It’s not a cigarette, Riley B. Take your time,” he encouraged her.

Riley looked at him with wide, red eyes. “This is some strong shit, Liam!”

Liam smiled gently at her, his finger grazing her cheek. “I can tell.”

Riley giggled.

Silence as the friends finished passing and puffing. When the blunt was gone, everyone looked at each other in a slight stupor.

“I’m so high right now!” Madeleine yelled to no one.

Alyssa looked at Oliva with glassy blue eyes. “So, what else do you two do on 420?”

Olivia stretched her arms above her head, her hands landing in her hair. “We exchange presents, sleep in, get high. It’s a lazy day for us.”

“I’ve never celebrated it,” Alyssa confessed.

“Well, now you have.” Drake nibbled on her ear lobe.

Maxwell’s fingers began slowly walking up Olivia’s thigh. She bit her lip as her green eyes locked with his sapphire blue ones. She arched an eyebrow. He nodded his head.

Leo and Liam saw the exchange; the brothers exchanged smirks. Here it comes …

Maxwell clapped his hands together as he jumped up from the couch. “Okay, guys! It’s been great, it’s been fun, but it’s time to leave!”

Riley looked at him with a confused expression. “Go home?”

“Not saying I don’t care where you go, but you gotta go! Olivia has your goodies for you, and you’ll get them at the door.”

Liam laughed as he helped Riley stand up. Max and Liv did this every time. And Riley always acted as if it were something brand new to her. Riley straightened her stance and wobbled a little bit.

Olivia snickered. “She always was a lightweight.”

Slowly the rest of the group stood; they experimentally tested their reflexes and balance. Riley broke free of Liam’s grasp, insisting she was fine, and promptly stumbled into a wall. Liam grabbed Riley around her waist, turning her to face him; he inspected her forehead before peppering it with kisses.

Alyssa wrapped her arms around Drake’s waist and refused to let go; she wouldn’t let him put on his jacket and said to leave hers. She didn’t need it. Drake gently pried her hands from his body; he knew from experience anything left at Max and Liv’s place became their property. A person would have an easier time retrieving their car from an impound lot.

Madeleine was the only one who had indulged who could both stand and walk without staggering. She helped Leo gather up bags of food and bottles of beer.

Olivia began passing out small brown paper bags to her friends as she bid them good night.

Liam wrapped his arm around Riley’s waist, guiding her to the door. She pouted at Olivia. “You’re mean, Liv! You’re like … a bitch! A teeny, tiny bitch! I don’t wanna go home!”

Olivia gave Liam his goodie bag before quickly flickering her eyes between him and Riley; he nodded, indicating he would take care of Riley. She pressed a small paper bag containing two blunts and a bag of edibles into Riley’s hand.

Behind Olivia, Maxwell’s hands were palming her ass, his fingers skimming her skin as they hooked into the waistband of her yoga pants.

“Public holiday, private after party! See ya, girl!”

Tagging: @sirbeepsalot @wannabemc2 @jared2612 @katedrakeohd @hopefulmoonobject @custaroonie @liam-rhys @jovialyouthmusic @thequeenofcronuts @amomentofsinclairity @bobasheebaby @ao719 @sashatrr @marietrinmimi @ladyangel70 @gardeningourmet @umccall71 @angi15h @romanticatheart-posts @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @blznbaby @tabithacarlisle @emceesynonymroll @bbrandy2002 @ab1901 @janezillow @debramcg1106 @radlovedreamer @jessiembruno @lodberg @thecordoniandiaries @ramseyandrys @caroldxnvxrs @princess-geek @burnsoslow @annekebbphotography @merridithsmiscellany-blog @queenjilian @emichelle @indiacater @loveellamae @forthebrokenheartedthings-blog @kingliam2019 @texaskitten30 @glaimtruelovealways @zaffrenotes @bebepac @liyanin @soheila-1996 @dibberdipper @yungnayque

[still-we-go-pumpkins]

An amazing fan tribute to Weiki. Unique facts compilation 👌🎃

I've just found the post on DeviantArt. As great Weiki fan also, I can confirm that he's really that marvelous just as the author describes him. This will make you feel warm and will set smile on your face as well as you will check Helloween vids/lives while exploring this facts. So, here we go.

Further credits : SamWeiki

100 Reasons I love Michael Weikath

Possible – scratch that, definite – Fangirling ahead (I tried to keep it to a minimum and I probably failed)

1. He has the most gorgeous blue eyes. [right off, I told you – Fangirling]

2. The songs he writes are so unique and AMAZING. Most of them mean quite a lot to me, as well. I’ve always been drawn to them. They just have a certain special quality to them that I love.

3. He wrote “Keeper of the Seven Keys” for cryin’ out loud!

4. His “thanks” section in the Unarmed booklet.

5. He’d pick Judas Priest over Iron Maiden in an instant.

6. The way he sometimes answers questions. For instance, he was asked about what fans could expect from The Dark Ride and his response was: “Well....hmmmm you can expect that it will be standing in stores and it’s very likely you can buy it when you find it there! hahahahahaha apart from that I don’t know if it’s going to say anything but you can go there and buy it, listen to it, and use it, because it’s a CD and it usually makes a lot of sound if you put it into a CD player......but probably doesn't work if you put it into a toaster.....hahahahahaha.”

7. If he wasn’t a musician, he says his life would be dedicated to cartoons.

8. He dedicated the Hammond version of “Burning Sun” to the great Jon Lord.

9. He’s an artist. His little skull and pumpkin drawing is beautiful.

10. He makes the best faces in concerts.

11. I love watching him in the High Live video, especially during “Steel Tormentor”. [I did not just say that]

12. He made the frog noises at the end of “Nothing to Say”.

13. So many people have blamed him for things over the years, when he did nothing wrong, just because they feel it's easier to blame him. I experience that quite a lot and have for several years, so I understand what it's like but he seems a lot stronger than me about it, as it's very hard for me to get over a lot of that stuff. He's sort of my hero about that because it seems like he hasn't let that really stop him.

14. How he totally told off that Phantom guy. His responses were awesome.

15. A part of “Do You Know What You Are Fighting For” is Deep Purple’s “Stormbringer” backwards. There’s actually a lot of Deep Purple in that song. Makes me love it even more – both songs.

16. He played on Uli Kusch’s cover of “Eyes of the World” from the Rainbow tribute album and he played all the guitar on that song. “Yeah I played on Eyes Of The World. So I did all of the guitar work on it. Uli told me that he did not expect me to have the guitar work as close to the original song as I had it.”

17. The seven pronged star on the cover of 7 Sinners was his idea. And what a damn fine idea it was because it makes a freaking sweet album cover! It was a lot of fun for me to draw, as well.

18. When writing “LAVDATE DOMINVM”, he called upon his old Latin lessons from school and actually got to work with his old Latin teacher on the lyrics. Weiki hadn’t worked with Latin for a bit, so he had to relearn a few things and he even managed to correct something his teacher had written.

19. His response to what animal he would be: “A lion, 'cause I could be lyin' round lazy and have my food brought to me by other people.”

20. Helloween would not be Helloween without him, plus Markus and Andi wouldn’t let him quit in 2000/2001.

21. He drew the logo and original pumpkin.

22. How beautiful the lyrics to “Windmill” are. Example:

"Don't feel alone and depressed

Someone will come, at last

To soothe your storming mind

To keep it away from the evil storms."

23. You can clearly hear the man singing in “White Christmas” and he’s the most fun to listen to.

24. “Introduction” never fails to make me laugh very loudly, especially the lyrics to “Rock n’ Roll All Day”.

25. He likes Spinal Tap.

26. The way he sang “Gorgar will eat you” in the Keeper Legacy interviews.

27. He was asked what his motto in life was and his response was: Be as friendly as it comes; have fun, make money and spend it on charity to help people. ~Sei so freundlich wie es geht; Spaß haben, viel Geld verdienen und es für wohltätige Zwecke ausgeben, um Leuten zu helfen~ (it was originally in German)

28. His black and white outfits in the ‘80s and ‘90s, especially those awesome star-printed pants.

29. The entire story of the Keeper of the Seven Keys and Master of the Rings.

30. The Jacuzzi scene in the Keeper Legacy Road movie.

31. He likes Aphrodite’s Child, Nektar, and Camel. He’s cool.

32. I really don’t think I’ve heard him say anything bad about anyone.

33. The moment when he switched his guitar off and “played” a solo after he was introduced in The Legacy concert.

34. “All right… That’s enough! Now, I want to hear Dani’s drum solo!” *rapid fire – BLAMBLAMBLAM!* The first time I watched the “Smoke On the Water” bit from Hellish Rock, I nearly fell to the floor laughing.

35. About the time Pink Bubbles Go Ape came out, in an interview, Michael Kiske said something about they weren’t Metal, they didn’t do that “Heavy Metal” thing and Weiki says, “I thought we were Heavy Metal”. And Michi completely just stopped talking for a second.

36. The way Weiki messed around with Michi and Roland during the interview mentioned above.

37. How much fun he looked like he was having in the “Kids of the Century” video.

38. Every time he dances around on stage.

39. His love for Gibson Les Pauls.

40. He was reading “A Hat Full of Sky” and even recommended it.

41. He says that his writing “Keeper of the Seven Keys” kept him alive and he considers it a major turning point in his life to have come up with the idea for it.

42. The hairspray scene in the Hellish Rock road movie.

43. He actually got involved with the DJ game when they were in Japan (Keeper Legacy road movie) – the whole arcade scene was great.

44. The way he just looks at a camera sometimes and doesn’t say a word – he just starts making faces and looking off in different directions. He can be funny without saying a single word.

45. His guitar solo in “Back On the Ground”.

46. He played most of the guitar on the Better Than Raw album.

47. Weikath Syndrome is the coolest thing to catch.

48. During the German Top 6 video (1993), he was drinking a Capri Sun. I think it may have even been Wild Cherry.

49. A Gibson Les Paul looks absolutely perfect on him. I also love the way he holds the guitar.

50. How his hair has always been shoulder length (at least) since the late ‘80s (and beautiful).

51. He thinks of the younger viewers/fans.

52. All the love for him in the Hellbook.

53. I don’t how much of the lyrics to “Dreambound” he wrote, but he has a credit on that song and OH MY GOD, is it flipping incredible! I must make special mention to how amazing “the Saints” is, too.

54. He wanted to talk to Michael Kiske when they met at a festival in 2012/2013, so they could try and work things out a little.

55. He wanted “Livin’ Ain’t No Crime” to be a single.

56. His song “Number One” and how uplifting and positive the lyrics are, especially the chorus.

57. When they were on the Ferris wheel, they didn’t start REALLY laughing until Weiki did.

58. How he introduces himself as “de Michael Weikath of Helloween” and he even got Dani to do it with him.

59. He contributed a guitar solo to the German Rock Project’s “Let Love Conquer the World” (the long Metal version) but went all incognito with it and is credited as “a member of the Seventh Key”.

60. The fact that he wanted a flute in “Raise the Noise” and it sounds totally awesome!

61. The sexy witch on the cover of Better Than Raw was Weiki’s idea.

62. His makeshift rocking chair.

63. His spoken part of the Dezperadoz song “First Blood” (and “Echoes of Eternity”, too).

64. How funny was in the two Nuremberg interviews from the ‘80s that are on YouTube.

1987 – He lights a cigarette, he passes it Ingo, Ingo passes it back, and Weiki passes it back to him. Ingo then proceeds to throw it on the ground and Weiki attempts to lightly hit him but only manages to hit his hair. xD

1988 – The FUNNY one! He was so frickin’ funny in that one. I won’t give away the end of it if you’ve never seen it, but it involves a balloon and a cigarette. (by the way, Michael Weikath takes his sunglasses off and puts them back on 13 times, 10 of which are in the first three minutes).

65. After an interviewer thanks him for being there, “Ja, that’s not so much I can do about it, because somebody put me on this Earth and I went out of my mother and suddenly I was there and now I have to deal with this crap.”

66. During the Indianapolis Hell On Wheels concert, during “Halloween”, Michi passes the mic over to Weiki and Weiki does the “I’ll show you power and glory” part. Michi then makes a disgruntled face at him and rubs the mic with his shirt, causing Weiki to make a face back at him!

67. Also from the same Hell On Wheels concert, during “A Tale That Wasn’t Right”, he was stepping on the skeleton and making Ingo laugh.

68. Speaking of “A Tale That Wasn’t Right”, that song is incredible and very powerful.

69. He let the other members of the band help out on “Mission Motherland”. That song is very quickly becoming my favorite song of theirs.

70. His backing vocals in the “Sea of Fears” demo.

71. All of his little pins that he wears: the pumpkin, the W, the stars…

72. This comment he made about the Hellbook: “With the hardcover you can better smash your naughty brother... and you can with the regular as well, just maybe not as effective.” I have actually made that joke to my brother before. xD

73. Someone at a meet-n-greet in 2008 showed the band an old picture of the guys, which they all signed. It was an old picture. Kai was stunned, Markus laughed his ass off, and Michael actually said he remembered where it was taken and when. The picture was taken in 1986, so that is kind of impressive.

74. He helped me become a big fan of Deep Purple. Yes, I will admit to only becoming a major Deep Purple fan after becoming a Helloween fan - and it was all because of Weiki. And now I'm really happy because I never realized how awesome Deep Purple is. Same thing with Wishbone Ash.

75. He’s given me several phrases to use whenever applicable.

- “Impressive, isn’t it?”

- “You have to listen with your ears.”

- “It’s nice, cold, windy, sunny weather.” (which pretty much describes Florida in the winter sometimes)

76. He can still sing with a cigarette in his mouth and not drop the cigarette.

77. The intro to “Halloween”. I’m not sure if he played it on the original recording, but when he plays it live… OH MY GOD.

78. His guitar solo in “First Time”.

79. He’s fun to watch in the “When the Sinner” video when he’s shown, especially when he’s playing those power chords in the beginning (even though he played no guitar on the song) and the part in the saloon.

80. How amazing “Les Hambourgeois Walkways” is.

81. He’s written a couple songs that he has dedicated to groups of fans ~ “LAVDATE DOMINVM” for the Latin speaking fans, and “Born on Judgment Day” for the people of Brazil.

82. How he’s so easily able to make Sascha laugh behind the camera.

More here 💜

[andrewdburton]

How to set SMART Goals (and win BIG this year)

Let’s be honest: people suck at goal setting.

Even when we really want to do something, we have a hard time achieving it.

(Need proof? Just consider that the vast majority of New Year’s resolutions fail by February.)

But, it’s not our fault. Nobody teaches us how to really achieve what we set out to do. They don’t teach us how to make smart objectives.

That’s because the problem with how you set goals is that they rely too much on human willpower — which we have a very finite amount of each day. Relying on it all the time takes away from that willpower until it’s depleted entirely.

Fortunately, there are other ways to set goals so that you can actually achieve them.

Bonus: Want to know how to make as much money as you want and live life on your terms? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Examples of turning bad goals to good goals

EXAMPLE #1: HEALTH

TERRIBLE GOAL: “I want to get fit.”

BAD GOAL: “I want to lose 10lbs.”

GOOD GOAL: “I want to eat 3 healthy meals per week and go to the gym 2x/week for 15 minutes.”

Notice how we’re focusing on the process at first, and starting off conservative: Anyone can eat just 3 healthy meals in a week. And anyone can go to the gym for 15 minutes. Set yourself up to win.

The next step is to make it easy: on your calendar, set 1 hour on Sundays to buy 3 healthy meals and leave them in your fridge, packed and ready to eat. Also set two 1-hour slots for the gym (leaving time for travel).

Here’s how this looks for other big goals:

EXAMPLE #2: FINANCES

TERRIBLE GOAL: “I need to get better with money.”

BAD GOAL: “I want to save $1,000 this year.”

GOOD GOAL: “I want to have $40 per paycheck automatically transferred to my vacation savings fund for 1 year.”

EXAMPLE #3: SOCIAL SKILLS

TERRIBLE GOAL: “I want to have better social skills.”

BAD GOAL: “I want to work on my storytelling so I’m not so awkward at parties.”

GOOD GOAL: “I want to take the improv class in my city every Monday night for 6 weeks.”

There’s a simple formula for transforming big goals into actionable steps…

Bonus: Want to finally start getting paid what you’re worth? I show you exactly how in my Ultimate Guide to Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary

What are SMART goals?

SMART goals are the cure for vague, aimless New Year’s resolution goals like:

“I want to go to the gym every day.”

“I want to get rich.”

“I want to travel more.”

On the surface, they all seem like good goals. However, they fall prey to the big three sins of goal-setting:

They unspecific. Sure, you “want to travel more,” but what does that really mean? When are you going to get it done? Where are you going to go? Vagueness is the enemy of good goal-setting.

They’re unrealistic. Oh, so you want to “get rich” this year? Are you willing to put in the hard work and sweat equity it’ll take to negotiate a raise, find a higher-paying job, or start a side hustle? Most likely not.

They’re based on willpower — not systems. Human willpower is limited. Sure, you might start out going to the gym every day, but as time goes on you’ll have to use the finite amount of willpower you have to keep it up. Eventually, you abandon the goal altogether.

Setting a SMART goal will help you avoid all of these pitfalls. Let’s breakdown how to do it.

SMART Objectives are:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-oriented

So how do you convert a goal like “get fit” into a SMART objective?

I created this checklist to use every time you have a new goal.

Checklist for writing a SMART Objective

Specific: What is the precise outcome I’m looking for?

What will you achieve?

What does it look like? (What do you see in your mind when you picture yourself working towards your goal?)

What is the action step?

Measurable: How will I know I’ve accomplished the goal?

How will you know if you’ve reached your goal or not? There are different levels of “healthy” or “financially sound.” Avoid words that may have vague meanings like, “learn” or “feel” since you can’t measure them. Instead, use action verbs like “run,” “save,” or “write.” Then, turn those words into quantifiable benchmarks.

You need to be able to answer the question, “Did I get it done? If not, how much further do I have to go?”

How will you know when it is done?

What are some objective benchmarks you can hit along the way?

Would someone else be able to tell that it’s complete?

Is it quantifiable?

Attainable: How realistic is this goal?

My mentor BJ Fogg talks a lot about Tiny Habits — little things that start us on the path to success. The best way to achieve a goal is not to rely on motivation, but instead make it ridiculously easy for your future self to do the right thing. Instead of committing to running 5 days a week, start with one day and move up from there.

Are there available resources to achieve the objective?

Do you need a gym membership, a new bank account, new clothes?

Am I set up to do this even when I don’t have “motivation”?

Are there any time or money constraints that need to be considered? Am I being too ambitious to start out? (Remember you can always be more aggressive with your goal later on.)

Relevant: Is this a priority in my life right now?

Ask yourself, in the scheme of all the things you want to try, do you really care about this? When I went to my cousin’s wedding in India a few years ago, I saw one of my friends order his food in fluent Hindi, and I thought, “Hmmmm…I should take Hindi lessons.” But when I got back to NYC, I put it on my to-do list, only to skip over it for MONTHS. The truth is, I really didn’t care enough to try and learn Hindi. It wasn’t important enough. When I acknowledged I wasn’t going to do it and crossed it off my list, it freed me up to focus on doing the things that I really wanted to do.

Why am I doing this?

Is this a priority for me?

Will it compete with other goals in my life?

Time-oriented: When will I be finished with the goal?

Give yourself a deadline to reassess your goal. And put it on the calendar! I like to re-evaluate my goals every 3-months to make sure they are still Attainable and Relevant.

Is there a deadline?

Did I put it on the calendar?

Will I know in 3 months if I’m on the right track?

Bonus: Want to fire your boss and start your dream business? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Business.

SMART Goal Examples

Using this framework, you’ll be able to turn any vague lofty goal into an actionable SMART goal.

For instance:

Bad goal: “I want to be healthier.”

Why it’s bad: It’s vague and not measurable. How do you know when you’re healthier?

SMART goal: “I want to eat three low-fat, low-calorie meals per week and go to the gym at least once a week.”

Why it’s good: Now you have an actionable system with solid metrics to help you see if you’re on track. You’re not just getting healthier. You’re eating three healthy meals and going to the gym each week.

Now do the same for your goal. How can you make it specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-oriented?

Actually achieve your goals with habit loops

Once you’ve set a SMART goal, habits are the systematized solution to making sure you follow through and actually achieve your goal.

According to Charles Duhigg, habit expert and author of The Power of Habit, every habit you build has three parts to it:

Cue. This is the trigger for a behavior.

Routine. This is the behavior in action.

Reward. This is the benefit you receive from the behavior.

Altogether, this creates something called a “Habit Loop,” which allows your habits to stick.

And at the heart of any good Habit Loop is a good reward. In fact, it might just be the most important aspect of building good habits.

That’s because it has the biggest impact on whether or not we stick with the behavior.

Let’s take a look at an example: Working out.

A typical approach to this might look like this:

You go to the gym.

You work out on the machines for 30 minutes.

You go home.

Here’s what it would look like if you implemented the Habit Loop:

Cue. You head to the gym when you wake up.

Routine. You work out at the gym.

Reward. You get a delicious breakfast when you’re done.

See the difference? One will likely result in you giving up the habit after a few weeks (or even days), while the other greatly boosts your chances because you’re rewarded for your behavior.

It subverts having to rely on willpower, because you reward yourself for achieving your goals.

THAT’S the power of a good reward.

Of course, it can work negatively for you as well. For example, smoking cigarettes.

A habitual, pack-a-day smoker is someone who has ingrained a Habit Loop that causes them to smoke cigarettes. Here’s what that Loop looks like:

Cue. You wake up, or it’s lunch time, or work just got done, or you’re stressed — most anything can be a cue for smokers.

Routine. You smoke a cigarette.

Reward. You receive a euphoric buzz from nicotine.

Luckily, rewards can be used to counteract this. For example, whenever you get the urge to smoke a cigarette you go on a walk, or listen to music, or drink a soda. Whatever healthy reward can be used to replace your routine of smoking a cigarette.

Bonus Tip: Use a Commitment Device

A commitment device is a method of locking yourself into a habit or behavior that you might otherwise not want to do.  

And there are essentially two types of commitment devices:

Positive devices. These are devices that give you a positive reward for performing different tasks. The idea is that when you associate that task with the commitment device, you create a positive feedback loop that makes it much easier to cement new habits.

For example:

Listening to your favorite podcast while you work out.

Watching a show on Netflix while you clean your living room.

Drinking your favorite soda while you’re washing your dishes.

Negative devices. These are devices where you take something away or risk having something taken away to encourage you to follow through with a behavior or habit. The idea is that you force yourself to focus on the task by taking away the thing that is preventing you from focusing, or you do something that makes you risk losing something to force you to complete your task.

For example:

Telling a friend that you’ll give them $100 if you don’t go to the gym every day for a month.

Unplugging your television so you won’t be tempted to watch it.

Throwing away all of your junk food in order to eat healthily.

While they’re called positive or negative devices, that doesn’t mean that one is better than the other! They’re just ways of describing how the commitment devices work. And whether or not you choose a positive or negative device depends entirely on your preference and what you want to achieve.  

Commitment devices are incredibly effective too. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Harvard released an article a while back penned by three doctors in behavioral economics that extolled the virtues of commitment devices.

“[Commitment devices] have been shown to help people lose weight, improve their diets, exercise more, and quit smoking,” the article says. “One randomized experiment, for example, found that access to a commitment device increased the rate at which smokers succeeded in quitting after six months by 40%.”

One effective commitment device is to use a social media scheduling dashboard like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule an embarrassing tweet or Facebook status to be posted at a certain hour. This commitment device is good for time- or location-based goals. As long as you get to the dashboard before it posts, you can prevent it from posting.

For example, say you want to get into the habit of waking up at 6am. You could schedule a tweet to be sent out with an embarrassing message or photo of yourself at exactly 6:05am. That way, if you’re not up by 6, that message will post.

Build habits for life

To accomplish any goal, you need to establish good habits.

To help you crush any goal you set out for yourself, we want to offer you something we’ve worked on to get you there:The Ultimate Guide to Habits: Peak Performance Made Easy

In it, you’ll learn the actionable steps to crush any goal through smart habits, including:

How to set goals — the RIGHT way

How to create and implement winning keystone habits

How to make any habit last forever

Just enter your name and email below and I’ll send it straight to your inbox.

Give me free access now

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Name *

Email *

Give me free access now

100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam. When you sign up, we’ll keep you posted

How to set SMART Goals (and win BIG this year) is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Finance https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/smart-objectives/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[paulckrueger]

How to set SMART Goals (and win BIG this year)

Let’s be honest: people suck at goal setting.

Even when we really want to do something, we have a hard time achieving it.

(Need proof? Just consider that the vast majority of New Year’s resolutions fail by February.)

But, it’s not our fault. Nobody teaches us how to really achieve what we set out to do. They don’t teach us how to make smart objectives.

That’s because the problem with how you set goals is that they rely too much on human willpower — which we have a very finite amount of each day. Relying on it all the time takes away from that willpower until it’s depleted entirely.

Fortunately, there are other ways to set goals so that you can actually achieve them.

Bonus: Want to know how to make as much money as you want and live life on your terms? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Examples of turning bad goals to good goals

EXAMPLE #1: HEALTH

TERRIBLE GOAL: “I want to get fit.”

BAD GOAL: “I want to lose 10lbs.”

GOOD GOAL: “I want to eat 3 healthy meals per week and go to the gym 2x/week for 15 minutes.”

Notice how we’re focusing on the process at first, and starting off conservative: Anyone can eat just 3 healthy meals in a week. And anyone can go to the gym for 15 minutes. Set yourself up to win.

The next step is to make it easy: on your calendar, set 1 hour on Sundays to buy 3 healthy meals and leave them in your fridge, packed and ready to eat. Also set two 1-hour slots for the gym (leaving time for travel).

Here’s how this looks for other big goals:

EXAMPLE #2: FINANCES

TERRIBLE GOAL: “I need to get better with money.”

BAD GOAL: “I want to save $1,000 this year.”

GOOD GOAL: “I want to have $40 per paycheck automatically transferred to my vacation savings fund for 1 year.”

EXAMPLE #3: SOCIAL SKILLS

TERRIBLE GOAL: “I want to have better social skills.”

BAD GOAL: “I want to work on my storytelling so I’m not so awkward at parties.”

GOOD GOAL: “I want to take the improv class in my city every Monday night for 6 weeks.”

There’s a simple formula for transforming big goals into actionable steps…

Bonus: Want to finally start getting paid what you’re worth? I show you exactly how in my Ultimate Guide to Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary

What are SMART goals?

SMART goals are the cure for vague, aimless New Year’s resolution goals like:

“I want to go to the gym every day.”

“I want to get rich.”

“I want to travel more.”

On the surface, they all seem like good goals. However, they fall prey to the big three sins of goal-setting:

They unspecific. Sure, you “want to travel more,” but what does that really mean? When are you going to get it done? Where are you going to go? Vagueness is the enemy of good goal-setting.

They’re unrealistic. Oh, so you want to “get rich” this year? Are you willing to put in the hard work and sweat equity it’ll take to negotiate a raise, find a higher-paying job, or start a side hustle? Most likely not.

They’re based on willpower — not systems. Human willpower is limited. Sure, you might start out going to the gym every day, but as time goes on you’ll have to use the finite amount of willpower you have to keep it up. Eventually, you abandon the goal altogether.

Setting a SMART goal will help you avoid all of these pitfalls. Let’s breakdown how to do it.

SMART Objectives are:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-oriented

So how do you convert a goal like “get fit” into a SMART objective?

I created this checklist to use every time you have a new goal.

Checklist for writing a SMART Objective

Specific: What is the precise outcome I’m looking for?

What will you achieve?

What does it look like? (What do you see in your mind when you picture yourself working towards your goal?)

What is the action step?

Measurable: How will I know I’ve accomplished the goal?

How will you know if you’ve reached your goal or not? There are different levels of “healthy” or “financially sound.” Avoid words that may have vague meanings like, “learn” or “feel” since you can’t measure them. Instead, use action verbs like “run,” “save,” or “write.” Then, turn those words into quantifiable benchmarks.

You need to be able to answer the question, “Did I get it done? If not, how much further do I have to go?”

How will you know when it is done?

What are some objective benchmarks you can hit along the way?

Would someone else be able to tell that it’s complete?

Is it quantifiable?

Attainable: How realistic is this goal?

My mentor BJ Fogg talks a lot about Tiny Habits — little things that start us on the path to success. The best way to achieve a goal is not to rely on motivation, but instead make it ridiculously easy for your future self to do the right thing. Instead of committing to running 5 days a week, start with one day and move up from there.

Are there available resources to achieve the objective?

Do you need a gym membership, a new bank account, new clothes?

Am I set up to do this even when I don’t have “motivation”?

Are there any time or money constraints that need to be considered? Am I being too ambitious to start out? (Remember you can always be more aggressive with your goal later on.)

Relevant: Is this a priority in my life right now?

Ask yourself, in the scheme of all the things you want to try, do you really care about this? When I went to my cousin’s wedding in India a few years ago, I saw one of my friends order his food in fluent Hindi, and I thought, “Hmmmm…I should take Hindi lessons.” But when I got back to NYC, I put it on my to-do list, only to skip over it for MONTHS. The truth is, I really didn’t care enough to try and learn Hindi. It wasn’t important enough. When I acknowledged I wasn’t going to do it and crossed it off my list, it freed me up to focus on doing the things that I really wanted to do.

Why am I doing this?

Is this a priority for me?

Will it compete with other goals in my life?

Time-oriented: When will I be finished with the goal?

Give yourself a deadline to reassess your goal. And put it on the calendar! I like to re-evaluate my goals every 3-months to make sure they are still Attainable and Relevant.

Is there a deadline?

Did I put it on the calendar?

Will I know in 3 months if I’m on the right track?

Bonus: Want to fire your boss and start your dream business? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Business.

SMART Goal Examples

Using this framework, you’ll be able to turn any vague lofty goal into an actionable SMART goal.

For instance:

Bad goal: “I want to be healthier.”

Why it’s bad: It’s vague and not measurable. How do you know when you’re healthier?

SMART goal: “I want to eat three low-fat, low-calorie meals per week and go to the gym at least once a week.”

Why it’s good: Now you have an actionable system with solid metrics to help you see if you’re on track. You’re not just getting healthier. You’re eating three healthy meals and going to the gym each week.

Now do the same for your goal. How can you make it specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-oriented?

Actually achieve your goals with habit loops

Once you’ve set a SMART goal, habits are the systematized solution to making sure you follow through and actually achieve your goal.

According to Charles Duhigg, habit expert and author of The Power of Habit, every habit you build has three parts to it:

Cue. This is the trigger for a behavior.

Routine. This is the behavior in action.

Reward. This is the benefit you receive from the behavior.

Altogether, this creates something called a “Habit Loop,” which allows your habits to stick.

And at the heart of any good Habit Loop is a good reward. In fact, it might just be the most important aspect of building good habits.

That’s because it has the biggest impact on whether or not we stick with the behavior.

Let’s take a look at an example: Working out.

A typical approach to this might look like this:

You go to the gym.

You work out on the machines for 30 minutes.

You go home.

Here’s what it would look like if you implemented the Habit Loop:

Cue. You head to the gym when you wake up.

Routine. You work out at the gym.

Reward. You get a delicious breakfast when you’re done.

See the difference? One will likely result in you giving up the habit after a few weeks (or even days), while the other greatly boosts your chances because you’re rewarded for your behavior.

It subverts having to rely on willpower, because you reward yourself for achieving your goals.

THAT’S the power of a good reward.

Of course, it can work negatively for you as well. For example, smoking cigarettes.

A habitual, pack-a-day smoker is someone who has ingrained a Habit Loop that causes them to smoke cigarettes. Here’s what that Loop looks like:

Cue. You wake up, or it’s lunch time, or work just got done, or you’re stressed — most anything can be a cue for smokers.

Routine. You smoke a cigarette.

Reward. You receive a euphoric buzz from nicotine.

Luckily, rewards can be used to counteract this. For example, whenever you get the urge to smoke a cigarette you go on a walk, or listen to music, or drink a soda. Whatever healthy reward can be used to replace your routine of smoking a cigarette.

Bonus Tip: Use a Commitment Device

A commitment device is a method of locking yourself into a habit or behavior that you might otherwise not want to do.  

And there are essentially two types of commitment devices:

Positive devices. These are devices that give you a positive reward for performing different tasks. The idea is that when you associate that task with the commitment device, you create a positive feedback loop that makes it much easier to cement new habits.

For example:

Listening to your favorite podcast while you work out.

Watching a show on Netflix while you clean your living room.

Drinking your favorite soda while you’re washing your dishes.

Negative devices. These are devices where you take something away or risk having something taken away to encourage you to follow through with a behavior or habit. The idea is that you force yourself to focus on the task by taking away the thing that is preventing you from focusing, or you do something that makes you risk losing something to force you to complete your task.

For example:

Telling a friend that you’ll give them $100 if you don’t go to the gym every day for a month.

Unplugging your television so you won’t be tempted to watch it.

Throwing away all of your junk food in order to eat healthily.

While they’re called positive or negative devices, that doesn’t mean that one is better than the other! They’re just ways of describing how the commitment devices work. And whether or not you choose a positive or negative device depends entirely on your preference and what you want to achieve.  

Commitment devices are incredibly effective too. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Harvard released an article a while back penned by three doctors in behavioral economics that extolled the virtues of commitment devices.

“[Commitment devices] have been shown to help people lose weight, improve their diets, exercise more, and quit smoking,” the article says. “One randomized experiment, for example, found that access to a commitment device increased the rate at which smokers succeeded in quitting after six months by 40%.”

One effective commitment device is to use a social media scheduling dashboard like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule an embarrassing tweet or Facebook status to be posted at a certain hour. This commitment device is good for time- or location-based goals. As long as you get to the dashboard before it posts, you can prevent it from posting.

For example, say you want to get into the habit of waking up at 6am. You could schedule a tweet to be sent out with an embarrassing message or photo of yourself at exactly 6:05am. That way, if you’re not up by 6, that message will post.

Build habits for life

To accomplish any goal, you need to establish good habits.

To help you crush any goal you set out for yourself, we want to offer you something we’ve worked on to get you there:The Ultimate Guide to Habits: Peak Performance Made Easy

In it, you’ll learn the actionable steps to crush any goal through smart habits, including:

How to set goals — the RIGHT way

How to create and implement winning keystone habits

How to make any habit last forever

Just enter your name and email below and I’ll send it straight to your inbox.

Give me free access now

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Name *

Email *

Give me free access now

100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam. When you sign up, we’ll keep you posted

How to set SMART Goals (and win BIG this year) is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Surety Bond Brokers? Business https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/smart-objectives/

[rosemary-butch]

1-100

aw fuck. aw fuck

putting this on the read more jakdfjakadjfs

Spotify, SoundCloud, or Pandora? 

spotify ofc

is your room messy or clean?

i try to keep it clean !

what color are your eyes?

greenish

do you like your name? why?

my full name is okay but i do prefer jo

what is your relationship status?

single lol

describe your personality in 3 words or less

gay, depressed, considerate

what color hair do you have?

dark brown!

what kind of car do you drive? color?

a tan volkswagen passat, but the trunk is a different color and smashed up adfkajsd

where do you shop?

marshalls is always my go to

how would you describe your style?

if you mashed punk, grunge, and california skater boy styles

favorite social media account

prob my twitter bc i actually put intelligent thoughts there

what size bed do you have?

queen !

any siblings?

yes a brother and a half brother

if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why?

i’d love to live in the mountains, like colorado!

favorite snapchat filter?

i dont use snapchat filters a lot? the heart one looks cute

favorite makeup brand(s)

i dont wear makeup, but i like burts bees for chapstick

how many times a week do you shower?

at least 6, i try to keep it at 7

favorite tv show?

adventure time rn

shoe size?

womens 10 mens 8

how tall are you?

5′9!

sandals or sneakers?

sneakers

do you go to the gym?

no lol i have a treadmill at home

describe your dream date

hmmm probably going on a picnic in a secluded forest or beach, and staying for the sunset and stargazing

how much money do you have in your wallet at the moment?

cash? none but i have my debit card

what color socks are you wearing?

they’re black and mismatched, one has pink stars and the other has green stripes

how many pillows do you sleep with?

4!

do you have a job? what do you do?

yeah, i work with organic produce at a local farm market

how many friends do you have?

like 3 close friends

whats the worst thing you have ever done?

sneak out probably

whats your favorite candle scent?

anything vanilla or bakery scented! i love cinnamon roll scents

3 favorite boy names

idk i have no opinion

3 favorite girl names

holly daisy or ellen! if i have a daughter i’ll name her one of those

favorite actor?

idk, tom holland prob. i gotta protect him

favorite actress?

daisy ridley !!!!!!

who is your celebrity crush?

daisy ridley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

favorite movie?

my neighbor totoro lol

do you read a lot? whats your favorite book?

i don’t read as much as i would like, and idk i havent read in a while

money or brains?

idc, as long as they have a good personality

do you have a nickname? what is it?

jo lol, or jojo from some family, or jolene from my close friends

how many times have you been to the hospital?

i’ve been admitted a few times

top 10 favorite songs

uhh going away to college by blink, sleepover by hayley kiyoko, under the bridge by rhcp, longview by green day, mr brightside by the killers, africa by toto, toxic by britney spears, fat lip by sum 41, walking contradiction by green day, and online songs by blink

do you take any medications daily?

yeah antidepressants

what is your skin type? (oily, dry, etc)

dry primarily

what is your biggest fear?

hmmmm men probably

how many kids do you want?

idk, none as of right now but we’ll see

whats your go to hair style?

left alone lol

what type of house do you live in? (big, small, etc)

big i guess? theres an upstairs and a basement

who is your role model?

billie joe armstrong

what was the last compliment you received?

someone liked my piercings yesterday lol

what was the last text you sent?

“Sure that works”

how old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real?

idk, i kinda figured it out between age 7-9

what is your dream car?

jeep liberty

opinion on smoking?

cigarettes? no thanks. major turn off

do you go to college?

yeah

what is your dream job?

working as a biochemist for nasa or finding possible medications in the amazon

would you rather live in rural areas or the suburbs?

rural

do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels?

no lol i think i’m a minority here

do you have freckles?

yep ! they’re faded

do you smile for pictures?

recently i’ve been trying to

how many pictures do you have on your phone?

1193

have you ever peed in the woods?

nope

do you still watch cartoons?

yes !!

do you prefer chicken nuggets from Wendy’s or McDonalds?

i don’t eat meat but i trust wendys more

Favorite dipping sauce?

honey mustard

what do you wear to bed?

a t shirt and sweatpants or boxers

have you ever won a spelling bee?

yeah in my class lol

what are your hobbies?

knitting, crocheting, watercolor painting

can you draw?

ehh a little

do you play an instrument?

ukulele on occasion

what was the last concert you saw?

i went to the warped tour last year lol

tea or coffee?

tea!

Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts?

tbh wawa, starbucks is too pricey and dunkin is gross

do you want to get married?

yeah!!! i want a wife!

what is your crush’s first and last initial?

cw

are you going to change your last name when you get married?

depends on if their last name is cooler than mine lol, or if they want to change theirs

what color looks best on you?

blacks and dark blues

do you miss anyone right now?

idk i’m pretty null rn

do you sleep with your door open or closed?

open so my cat can go in and out

do you believe in ghosts?

idk, i don’t have a strong opinion

what is your biggest pet peeve?

people being late

last person you called?

my brother on facetime

favorite ice cream flavor?

im lactose intolerant but i love strawberry lmao

regular oreos or golden oreos?

regular ??

chocolate or rainbow sprinkles?

rainbow!! i have to by gay law

what shirt are you wearing?

my brother’s military squadron shirt he gave me

what is your phone background?

spirited away scenery

are you outgoing or shy?

probably in the middle? i don’t put myself out there but i approach people who look lonely

do you like it when people play with your hair?

yes omfg

do you like your neighbors?

they’re old they’re okay

do you wash your face? at night? in the morning?

i used to in the shower but i ran out akdfjasdk

have you ever been high?

yeah

have you ever been drunk?

nope

last thing you ate?

ramen lmao

favorite lyrics right now

hmm idk i haven’t really been listening to lyrics a lot

summer or winter?

summer !

day or night?

night~

dark, milk, or white chocolate?

dark def

favorite month?

may

what is your zodiac sign

aries

who was the last person you cried in front of?

my therapist prob

cat this took me too long thank u (i’m procrastinating)

[bioniiic]

all of the asks

1: Full nameidk man. not too fond w putting my full name on the tumbsz but wassup im sam2: Age163: 3 Fearsflyingthe darkmen4: 3 things I lovemy gfmy friendsmy DOG5: 4 turns on good smellgood,,asshumorgirl6: 4 turns offBAD SMELLTHATS IT ALSO MEN7: My best friendhek sarah and josefine. also lys8: Sexual orientationpansexual ???? idk mostly i just like girls 9: My best first datedo nothing. eat and watch shows and nap10: How tall am I6'4 i know11: What do I misshek :/(12: What time were I born12:15 am I was almost a march 9th kiddo13: Favourite coloryello 14: Do I have a crushyes my gf my love 15: Favourite quotedie16: Favourite placecopenhagen and paris. both very different cities and equally important 2 me17: Favourite foodTARTLET 18: Do I use sarcasmall. the time 19: What am I listening to right nowthis old dog by mac demarco ok20: First thing I notice in new personidk if theyre funny i think21: Shoe size 7 !!! small22: Eye colorone is green n one is brown 23: Hair colorcurrently very black 24: Favourite style of clothingblack jeans and some sort of fuckin hoodie im boring 25: Ever done a prank call?i used to do them all the time w my friends in the choir HDKVNSMCN yes i was in a choir but only for the cake 27: Meaning behind my URLidk its a placebo song fskkcsjskdks28: Favourite moviemr nobody leave me alone 29: Favourite songSCSRED OF GIRLS BY PLACEBO FUCK ME30: Favourite bandPLACEBOSJDKSKKD31: How I feel right nowim tired and i want lys to wake up 32: Someone I lovelys my beeeeb33: My current relationship statusim dating my BEAUTIFUL angel gf 34: My relationship with my parentshmmmm. below average 35: Favourite holidayCHRISTMAS 36: Tattoos and piercing i havenoone 37: Tattoos and piercing i wanti want a septum piercing and all the tattoos38: The reason I joined Tumblri had a crush on a girl and i was obsessed with her and she had tumblr so i got tumblr and only reblogged things she liked and she never noticed me JDKSJDJSK39: Do I and my last ex hate each other?NO we just don't talk 40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?lys41: Have I ever kissed the last person you texted?its lys i wish i had :-(42: When did I last hold hands?it was with josefines girlfriend while she was tweezing her eyebrows and she needed to hold my hand for support 43: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?like. 5 seconds 44: Have You shaved your legs in the past three days?HAHAHA NO45: Where am I right now?in my bed 46: If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?idk i dont drink that much but probably josefine47: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?reasonable in like. headphones but anywhere else it's LOUD48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad?no. well like. every 2 weeks i shift between them #divorce am i right ladiez 49: Am I excited for anything?summer 50: Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?my DOG 51: How often do I wear a fake smile?a lot ha ha ha 52: When was the last time I hugged someone?my adult friend yesterday JSJSJK53: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me?the last person i kissed was my friend ,,,and she has a gf so id probably say can yall like do that somewhere else JDJAHSH54: Is there anyone I trust even though I should not?no i only trust a few very good people 55: What is something I disliked about today?i just woke up. also that56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?lys :-(57: What do I think about most?lys LoL 58: What’s my strangest talent?idk ???? 59: Do I have any strange phobias?PUKE60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?behind 61: What was the last lie I told?"im gonna wake up soon" lol62: Do I perfer talking on the phone or video chatting online?video 63: Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?both are real and valid 64: Do I believe in magic?no hoe65: Do I believe in luck?no. hoe66: What’s the weather like right now?grey67: What was the last book I’ve read?sushi for beginners haha68: Do I like the smell of gasoline?nnO69: Do I have any nicknames?sammy but only lys gets to call me that also hek calls me sami I do not know why 70: What was the worst injury I’ve ever had?i broke my tailbone once that was pretty bad71: Do I spend money or save it?SAVE IT IM SO BAD AT SOENDING MONEY72: Can I touch my nose with a tounge?noooooo ma'am 73: Is there anything pink in 10 feets from me?a marker 74: Favourite animal?dogggggggGGGGG75: What was I doing last night at 12 AM?talking to lys but then she disappeared for 3 hours and im mad76: What do I think is Satan’s last name is?roberts77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?you had me at hello GAYYSYYAYSY78: How can you win my heart?be lys. also food 79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone?gay 80: What is my favorite word?gay81: My top 5 blogs on tumblrgay82: If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?gay83: Do I have any relatives in jail?i dont think so ???84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?FLYING. TELEPORTING 85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?idk mannn86: What is my current desktop picture?the default one cause im lazy and its a school computer 87: Had sex?NOO 88: Bought condoms?no 89: Gotten pregnant?no90: Failed a class?noooOoo maam 91: Kissed a boy?nooooOOOO MAAM 92: Kissed a girl?yes,93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?no94: Had job?nonoooo MAAM 95: Left the house without my wallet?yes96: Bullied someone on the internet?HAHHAHAA97: Had sex in public?no98: Played on a sports team?yes but like. not really 99: Smoked weed?NOO MAAM 100: Did drugs?no101: Smoked cigarettes?noooo102: Drank alcohol?yes 103: Am I a vegetarian/vegan?fuck NO104: Been overweight?yes105: Been underweight?no 106: Been to a wedding?yes 107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight?LOL108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight?LOL109: Been outside my home country?yes 110: Gotten my heart broken?yes oopsie111: Been to a professional sports game?yes but at half time me and my dad left and got mcdonalds and then we went home112: Broken a bone? yes 113: Cut myself?no more 114: Been to prom?no im foreign 115: Been in airplane?yes116: Fly by helicopter?i haven't but i NEVER WILL. NEVER 117: What concerts have I been to?one direction, the 1975, gerard way, the front bottoms and twenty one pilots 118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex?yes. exclusively 119: Learned another language?yes120: Wore make up?yes no h0mo bro121: Lost my virginity before I was 18?no122: Had oral sex?nnnno123: Dyed my hair?yes its dead now 124: Voted in a presidential election?noooo maam im still foreign 125: Rode in an ambulance?no126: Had a surgery?im so boring ive never tried anything 127: Met someone famous?no i was rlly close to meeting bry after twenty one pilots once but NAH128: Stalked someone on a social network?always129: Peed outside?mo 130: Been fishing?fuck no 131: Helped with charity?yes132: Been rejected by a crush?well. kinda133: Broken a mirror?no134: What do I want for birthday?idk i just had my birthday man 135: How many kids do I want and what will be their names?IF. I HAD A KID. IF. it would be a girl and her name would be leah 136: Was I named after anyone?no137: Do I like my handwriting?fuck no its so bad138: What was my favourite toy as a child?probably that doll that pisses by itself. u know what im talking about 139: Favourite Tv Show?idk oh fuck probably new girl 140: Where do I want to live when older?copenhagen or the us for a bit 141: Play any musical instrument?guitar ukulele and bass cause im basic142: One of my scars, how did I get it?my dog scratches me a lot 143: Favourite pizza toping?ham. cheese144: Am I afraid of the dark?y e s 145: Am I afraid of heights?Y E S146: Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad?yes but i wasn't sneaking out really,,147: Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?every day hoe !148: What I’m really bad atlife 149: What my greatest achievments arefuck idk150: The meanest thing somebody has ever said to methat i was a trump supporter. u know who u are 151: What I’d do if I won in a lotterylive on a bigass farm and have all the animals 152: What do I like about myselfmy eyes ?? my cheekbones 153: My closest Tumblr friendnone i hate yall 154: Something I fantasise about😉😉😉😉😉😉

[violafrancescafatho-blog]

Woman Beater

La Petit Mort (The Little Death): Story of Eyes, the killerWOMAN BEATER

<Online Messages>

“Hey Lady” say Twain

“Hello Twain, its nice to meet you. How are ya?”

“Nm chillin wats good” (This means “Nothing much, I am relaxing. What are you doing?” If you have to translate slang, you're in for some trouble.)

“Nothing really, just watching a movie before bed”

“coo coo u want company baby?” (Another red flag In my experience 'Baby' is a term coined by players and cheaters)

“I don't know, maybe?”

“I give fire back rubs” (an extremely common player phrase.)

“Whats your last name Twain?”

“Y?”

“Why would I let you give me a back rub without knowing your last name?”

He tells me and I look him up on a variety of county and state correctional websites.

'Hmmmm, aggravated assault and battery, theft, drugs and a whole lot of DUIs. Prison multiple times. Oh look an order of protection. Who is the petitioner? Hmmm its a woman and happened to be at the same time as the aggravated assault and battery case. Sounds like a NEXT!' I say to myself

“Sure, let me give you my address. Come over in thirty minutes”

I undress and hot into the hot shower. Shaving my legs with a thick white lather. The lavender body scrub smooths and freshens my skin. I wrap myself in a towel and hop out of the shower. Blow dry my hair, put on my warpaint with a quick precision of twenty years of practice. I slip my new thong and adjust it around my plump curves. I tense my thumbnail and with a quick ,controlled swipe I cut my vaginal lip and it bleeds for just a second. I put myself into my tight turquoise bra, fluff up the girls and I am ready to go after I squeeze into my tight pink tank top.

Twain was a mocha colored man in his late twenties with beady black eyes, a furrowed expression, thick eyebrows and a scruffy beard. His profile was lacking any real content. The big scar and slightly crooked nose was very handsome when accompanied when he smiled the lightly half smile. Although claiming not to drink much, he always seemed to have a beverage in his hand. His favorite was a very clear strong gin that smelled like nail polish. I always called cheap liquor 'gut rot'. What caught my attention initially was the silhouette of a woman's shadow in his profile picture and the dark sunglasses on his main profile picture. Sunglasses with hats or hoodies are always a dead giveaway to cheaters.

“So tell me about yourself Twain”

“What do you want to know?”

“what kind of hobbies do you have?”

“I rap”

“Oh yeah?” my eyebrows raise “Are you any good? Why don't you show me?” I hold a straight face as I am cracking up with laughter on the inside. Keeping my lips tight with a tiny smile.

He begins to rap about bitches and hos and making straight bank. My hands cover my mouth as I am trying to keep it together.

“Not bad man” I say as I push my bottom lip out maintaining my composure.

“So Twain, who is that woman in your profile picture?”

“FuckYouMean, that ain't nobody” his eyes flicker and his face twitches ever so slightly. He licks his lips curls up the right corner of his mouth. “see what had happened was I was at this party when I took that picture. It must have been some other bitch in the picture”.

I nod my head in agreement as if to accept his answer as truth.

Can I give you that massage now baby”

“sure”

I'm wearing a light pink tank top, my signature blue leggings with light blue flowers. He uses both hands and aggressively shakes my breasts around. Squeezes a little too tightly. I began to run the outside of his baggy black jeans.

“God you are so fucking hard” He is big and firm from my touch. He lets out a grunt of excitement. He turns me around and uses both hands to firmly rub my thick ass. He bends down and gives my ass a smack. His dick feels so good on my hands. I can't wait to feel it inside of me. He reaches his hands down my pants and roughly rubs his fingers against my clit back and forth as a I stroke him from the outside of his rough jeans. We rub each other while moving back and forth. He slides my leggings down exposing my pink and white stripped cotton thong with little bows on the side. He begins to eat me out from behind while I still have his thick cock in my hands. He loosens his bent and unzips his fly. I turn around, get on my knees and begin sucking him off while he fondles my breasts. I fidget with his zipper as if it pull it down further, masking my signature tiny slice of my tiny fang. As he stands his pants drop to his ankles as if to solve his zipper problem. His salty sweet taste excites me. I slide down and begin licking his balls up and down as I stroke his cock. My soft mouth holds his testicles. Its warm and smooth like silk.

He tosses me on the bed, places  me on my belly, slides my thong to the side and begins to rub his dick up and down across the opening of my vagina. Finally after I've got nice and wet, he enters me and begins thrusting forcefully. Stops, slows down and then fast again. He grabs me by my waste and keeps pumping away. I moan in please and move in the rhythm.

We switch positions to reverse cowgirl. I get on top of him, guide his rather large dick inside of me. I lean back using my left arm for support and begin to bounce on him while he rubs my breasts. I freeze up in extacy. He begins to thrust rapidly as my spine locks up. I loosen up and begin to match his rhythm again. We moan together in pure delight. He says

“I'm about to bust”

“Oh yeah baby cum for me”

He quickly slides me off of him and creams all over the place.

I grab a rag out of the dirty laundry and hand it to him. Immediately I go clean up in the bathroom and put my clothes back on. When I return his clothes and shoes are on. He is checking his cell phone with a cigarette lit.

“do you want something to drink or eat?”

“na I'm good, I gotta get rolling its late”.

“Oh” I pause “Okay”. He grabs his keys and heads for the door.

As he steps out onto my wooden porch to leave, he asks “Hey do you think you could Calogne me twenty dollars?”

“Really?”

“You ugly anyways Bitch!”

“Hey just so you know, I gave you a gift”

“Oh yeah?”

I explain the rules of the virus. He waves his hands and says “whatever ho” and leaves.

The cool night air feels soothing against my sweaty skin. Sitting on my front porch watching his car peel out of my driveway, I pour myself a glass of wine. Smoking a square, I laugh to myself “One less woman beater in the world”.

[mcjoelcain]

How to set SMART Goals (and win BIG this year)

Let’s be honest: people suck at goal setting.

Even when we really want to do something, we have a hard time achieving it.

(Need proof? Just consider that the vast majority of New Year’s resolutions fail by February.)

But, it’s not our fault. Nobody teaches us how to really achieve what we set out to do. They don’t teach us how to make smart objectives.

That’s because the problem with how you set goals is that they rely too much on human willpower — which we have a very finite amount of each day. Relying on it all the time takes away from that willpower until it’s depleted entirely.

Fortunately, there are other ways to set goals so that you can actually achieve them.

Bonus: Want to know how to make as much money as you want and live life on your terms? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Examples of turning bad goals to good goals

EXAMPLE #1: HEALTH

TERRIBLE GOAL: “I want to get fit.”

BAD GOAL: “I want to lose 10lbs.”

GOOD GOAL: “I want to eat 3 healthy meals per week and go to the gym 2x/week for 15 minutes.”

Notice how we’re focusing on the process at first, and starting off conservative: Anyone can eat just 3 healthy meals in a week. And anyone can go to the gym for 15 minutes. Set yourself up to win.

The next step is to make it easy: on your calendar, set 1 hour on Sundays to buy 3 healthy meals and leave them in your fridge, packed and ready to eat. Also set two 1-hour slots for the gym (leaving time for travel).

Here’s how this looks for other big goals:

EXAMPLE #2: FINANCES

TERRIBLE GOAL: “I need to get better with money.”

BAD GOAL: “I want to save $1,000 this year.”

GOOD GOAL: “I want to have $40 per paycheck automatically transferred to my vacation savings fund for 1 year.”

EXAMPLE #3: SOCIAL SKILLS

TERRIBLE GOAL: “I want to have better social skills.”

BAD GOAL: “I want to work on my storytelling so I’m not so awkward at parties.”

GOOD GOAL: “I want to take the improv class in my city every Monday night for 6 weeks.”

There’s a simple formula for transforming big goals into actionable steps…

Bonus: Want to finally start getting paid what you’re worth? I show you exactly how in my Ultimate Guide to Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary

What are SMART goals?

SMART goals are the cure for vague, aimless New Year’s resolution goals like:

“I want to go to the gym every day.”

“I want to get rich.”

“I want to travel more.”

On the surface, they all seem like good goals. However, they fall prey to the big three sins of goal-setting:

They unspecific. Sure, you “want to travel more,” but what does that really mean? When are you going to get it done? Where are you going to go? Vagueness is the enemy of good goal-setting.

They’re unrealistic. Oh, so you want to “get rich” this year? Are you willing to put in the hard work and sweat equity it’ll take to negotiate a raise, find a higher-paying job, or start a side hustle? Most likely not.

They’re based on willpower — not systems. Human willpower is limited. Sure, you might start out going to the gym every day, but as time goes on you’ll have to use the finite amount of willpower you have to keep it up. Eventually, you abandon the goal altogether.

Setting a SMART goal will help you avoid all of these pitfalls. Let’s breakdown how to do it.

SMART Objectives are:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-oriented

So how do you convert a goal like “get fit” into a SMART objective?

I created this checklist to use every time you have a new goal.

Checklist for writing a SMART Objective

Specific: What is the precise outcome I’m looking for?

What will you achieve?

What does it look like? (What do you see in your mind when you picture yourself working towards your goal?)

What is the action step?

Measurable: How will I know I’ve accomplished the goal?

How will you know if you’ve reached your goal or not? There are different levels of “healthy” or “financially sound.” Avoid words that may have vague meanings like, “learn” or “feel” since you can’t measure them. Instead, use action verbs like “run,” “save,” or “write.” Then, turn those words into quantifiable benchmarks.

You need to be able to answer the question, “Did I get it done? If not, how much further do I have to go?”

How will you know when it is done?

What are some objective benchmarks you can hit along the way?

Would someone else be able to tell that it’s complete?

Is it quantifiable?

Attainable: How realistic is this goal?

My mentor BJ Fogg talks a lot about Tiny Habits — little things that start us on the path to success. The best way to achieve a goal is not to rely on motivation, but instead make it ridiculously easy for your future self to do the right thing. Instead of committing to running 5 days a week, start with one day and move up from there.

Are there available resources to achieve the objective?

Do you need a gym membership, a new bank account, new clothes?

Am I set up to do this even when I don’t have “motivation”?

Are there any time or money constraints that need to be considered? Am I being too ambitious to start out? (Remember you can always be more aggressive with your goal later on.)

Relevant: Is this a priority in my life right now?

Ask yourself, in the scheme of all the things you want to try, do you really care about this? When I went to my cousin’s wedding in India a few years ago, I saw one of my friends order his food in fluent Hindi, and I thought, “Hmmmm…I should take Hindi lessons.” But when I got back to NYC, I put it on my to-do list, only to skip over it for MONTHS. The truth is, I really didn’t care enough to try and learn Hindi. It wasn’t important enough. When I acknowledged I wasn’t going to do it and crossed it off my list, it freed me up to focus on doing the things that I really wanted to do.

Why am I doing this?

Is this a priority for me?

Will it compete with other goals in my life?

Time-oriented: When will I be finished with the goal?

Give yourself a deadline to reassess your goal. And put it on the calendar! I like to re-evaluate my goals every 3-months to make sure they are still Attainable and Relevant.

Is there a deadline?

Did I put it on the calendar?

Will I know in 3 months if I’m on the right track?

Bonus: Want to fire your boss and start your dream business? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Business.

SMART Goal Examples

Using this framework, you’ll be able to turn any vague lofty goal into an actionable SMART goal.

For instance:

Bad goal: “I want to be healthier.”

Why it’s bad: It’s vague and not measurable. How do you know when you’re healthier?

SMART goal: “I want to eat three low-fat, low-calorie meals per week and go to the gym at least once a week.”

Why it’s good: Now you have an actionable system with solid metrics to help you see if you’re on track. You’re not just getting healthier. You’re eating three healthy meals and going to the gym each week.

Now do the same for your goal. How can you make it specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-oriented?

Actually achieve your goals with habit loops

Once you’ve set a SMART goal, habits are the systematized solution to making sure you follow through and actually achieve your goal.

According to Charles Duhigg, habit expert and author of The Power of Habit, every habit you build has three parts to it:

Cue. This is the trigger for a behavior.

Routine. This is the behavior in action.

Reward. This is the benefit you receive from the behavior.

Altogether, this creates something called a “Habit Loop,” which allows your habits to stick.

And at the heart of any good Habit Loop is a good reward. In fact, it might just be the most important aspect of building good habits.

That’s because it has the biggest impact on whether or not we stick with the behavior.

Let’s take a look at an example: Working out.

A typical approach to this might look like this:

You go to the gym.

You work out on the machines for 30 minutes.

You go home.

Here’s what it would look like if you implemented the Habit Loop:

Cue. You head to the gym when you wake up.

Routine. You work out at the gym.

Reward. You get a delicious breakfast when you’re done.

See the difference? One will likely result in you giving up the habit after a few weeks (or even days), while the other greatly boosts your chances because you’re rewarded for your behavior.

It subverts having to rely on willpower, because you reward yourself for achieving your goals.

THAT’S the power of a good reward.

Of course, it can work negatively for you as well. For example, smoking cigarettes.

A habitual, pack-a-day smoker is someone who has ingrained a Habit Loop that causes them to smoke cigarettes. Here’s what that Loop looks like:

Cue. You wake up, or it’s lunch time, or work just got done, or you’re stressed — most anything can be a cue for smokers.

Routine. You smoke a cigarette.

Reward. You receive a euphoric buzz from nicotine.

Luckily, rewards can be used to counteract this. For example, whenever you get the urge to smoke a cigarette you go on a walk, or listen to music, or drink a soda. Whatever healthy reward can be used to replace your routine of smoking a cigarette.

Bonus Tip: Use a Commitment Device

A commitment device is a method of locking yourself into a habit or behavior that you might otherwise not want to do.  

And there are essentially two types of commitment devices:

Positive devices. These are devices that give you a positive reward for performing different tasks. The idea is that when you associate that task with the commitment device, you create a positive feedback loop that makes it much easier to cement new habits.

For example:

Listening to your favorite podcast while you work out.

Watching a show on Netflix while you clean your living room.

Drinking your favorite soda while you’re washing your dishes.

Negative devices. These are devices where you take something away or risk having something taken away to encourage you to follow through with a behavior or habit. The idea is that you force yourself to focus on the task by taking away the thing that is preventing you from focusing, or you do something that makes you risk losing something to force you to complete your task.

For example:

Telling a friend that you’ll give them $100 if you don’t go to the gym every day for a month.

Unplugging your television so you won’t be tempted to watch it.

Throwing away all of your junk food in order to eat healthily.

While they’re called positive or negative devices, that doesn’t mean that one is better than the other! They’re just ways of describing how the commitment devices work. And whether or not you choose a positive or negative device depends entirely on your preference and what you want to achieve.  

Commitment devices are incredibly effective too. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Harvard released an article a while back penned by three doctors in behavioral economics that extolled the virtues of commitment devices.

“[Commitment devices] have been shown to help people lose weight, improve their diets, exercise more, and quit smoking,” the article says. “One randomized experiment, for example, found that access to a commitment device increased the rate at which smokers succeeded in quitting after six months by 40%.”

One effective commitment device is to use a social media scheduling dashboard like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule an embarrassing tweet or Facebook status to be posted at a certain hour. This commitment device is good for time- or location-based goals. As long as you get to the dashboard before it posts, you can prevent it from posting.

For example, say you want to get into the habit of waking up at 6am. You could schedule a tweet to be sent out with an embarrassing message or photo of yourself at exactly 6:05am. That way, if you’re not up by 6, that message will post.

Build habits for life

To accomplish any goal, you need to establish good habits.

To help you crush any goal you set out for yourself, we want to offer you something we’ve worked on to get you there:The Ultimate Guide to Habits: Peak Performance Made Easy

In it, you’ll learn the actionable steps to crush any goal through smart habits, including:

How to set goals — the RIGHT way

How to create and implement winning keystone habits

How to make any habit last forever

Just enter your name and email below and I’ll send it straight to your inbox.

Give me free access now

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Name *

Email *

Give me free access now

100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam. When you sign up, we’ll keep you posted

How to set SMART Goals (and win BIG this year) is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Money https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/smart-objectives/ via http://www.rssmix.com/