If you feel stuck in a rut and are currently searching for a path to self improvement and motivation, stick with this article to the end. James B. Allen the author, presents several ideas outlining a potentially life changing course towards self improvement and motivation without having to spend money on books, seminars or videos.
OK, Let's get started!
First off, get real and start taking responsibility for who you really are. It is only at the point when you start accepting responsibility for your life - both who you are and what you do - that you will start to realize that you have control over all aspects of your life. And when you realize that you are the captain, you can start steering your ship of life in any direction you choose.
Next, start improving you work habits and relationships, bit by bit. Before you start taking responsibility for your life, before you take the wheel, you may realize that you are stuck in a job, situation or relationship that is bringing you down. Like a ship without a captain, you are headed straight for a rocky coastline and certain disaster. Once you accept that you are in charge, you must break free of these habits. Start by asking yourself questions. "Why I am doing this job?",
"Why am I in this relationship?" If you don't like the answers, either prepare to jump ship or start sailing the vessel yourself.
Now begin surrounding yourself with others who are also on the path to self improvement and motivation. The fastest way to get to where you're going is to join like-minded adventurers on your quest. Even better is to find others who have already sailed the course ahead of you and are willing to serve as a guide. You must be proactive. If there is someone you know who has already become the kind of person you want to be, approach them and let them know. There's much you can learn from these people and most of them are willing to share.***
About the author: James B. Allen is the iconoclastic webmaster of PowerLivingPress.com. He invites you to explore his massive collection of powerful self improvement and motivation articles right now.
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Self Improvement and Motivation | Find Both Inside Yourself Today
Positively Passionate People
True passion is one of the most powerful feelings one may feel in their lifetime. One can become so passionate about something that they feel they would die for it (and sometimes do.) It may be one of the most powerful of all human emotions. Passion can be harnessed for good, or for evil. It is when people harness their passions in positive ways that the world is shaped in a beautiful way.
These people are not lazy, unambitious, unmotivated, depressed bags of flesh that mope about all day wallowing in self-pity. They are alive, energetic, proactive and dynamic beings who have come to fully realize the divine potential within their own mind, body, life and soul.
As you'll learn in many of our products, the people that you surround yourself with have a huge impact on your mind, and thus your life. Therefore, surround yourself with as many positively passionate people as you can, and you will find yourself becoming like them. To help you identify these people, we've listed eight broad characteristics below. You can also model yourself after these - and you will find your level of passion increases accordingly.
Lives life fully
The positively passionate person lives life to its fullest - everyday. They know how to have a great time. They know when to be spontaneous. They see the beauty in everyday living, and in all of creation. They realize that ultimately life isn't defined by thoughts - it's defined by the actions that arise from those thoughts. Thus, they master their mind, and simultaneously master their actions. Their actions and feelings which arise as a result of their thoughts are what allow them to lead an amazing, fulfilling life.
Unstoppable
The positively passionate person is unstoppable in all that they do. They are aware of the immeasurable value of perseverance. They never give up on what they have set their mind too - no matter what gets in their way. They realize that they are the only one that can stop themselves. They don't let the negative feedback of others stand between them and their dreams. They know that good things take time. They never surrender - they always move forward, until they reach their goals.
Takes risks
The positively passionate person takes risks when appropriate - knowing that risks are the only way to grow. Unless they risk something, even if very small, they will not grow. They realize they must step outside of their comfortable current conditions in order to achieve anything. They take wise, informed risks in order to achieve what they desire.
Assertive
The positively passionate person is assertive in all decisions. They are intuitive, use good judgment, and make good decisions - fast. When confronted with a choice, they draw upon their own past experiences and external information - which they filter with their critical thinking skills - to reach a decision. They trust in themselves, and have confidence in their choice.
Focused
The positively passionate person remains focused at all times. They focus on their dreams and goals until they become a reality. They decide what they want, how they will get it, and then focus on it with all their power until they make it happen. They only allow things to enter their life that will help them achieve what they have set out to do - they develop powerful paradigms and mental filters that only accept positive thoughts in order to bring them closer to their goals.
Creative
The positively passionate person cultivates and utilizes their inner creativity. They create ways to reach their goals and to overcome obstacles placed in their path. They strive for innovation and for new, better, easier ways to do things. They use the power of their mind and their subconscious to show them the way. They utilize techniques such as those taught by our company to find inventive ways to crystallize their dreams.
Self-Evolved
The positively passionate person is self-evolved. They are self-confident, introspective, self-guided, and self-reliant. They have learned how to rely on themselves through the good and the bad. They are the reason that they are where they are, and that they are who they are. They use the lessons of the past to their advantage, and learn from every mistake. They examine their own mind and soul regularly, and learn to understand and control their every thought, feeling, and action. They know where they have been, and they know where they are going. If they do not like something, they change it. They continuously strive to move along the path to their dreams, and fully realize that they are the only vehicle that will take them there.
Mastery of subconscious
The positively passionate person has mastered their own subconscious mind. They realize that every thought and thus every action is a result of what has been put into their mind. They have a powerful, positive belief system and mental filters that allow them to recognize positive things in the world around them that they can use to reach their goals. They have positive habits and a positive self image, and everything produced by their mind conforms to their positive beliefs. They take on the rightful duty of programming their own mind - of eliminating negative programming, and positively affirming and regularly reaffirming every desirable aspect of their own being. They use mental tools and techniques, such as those we offer, to program their mind to receive exactly what they want out of life.
You'll know a positively passionate person when you see one. They are the ones that stick out above the rest - the successful ones - the happy ones. When you become passionate about something positive and follow it... when you harness your own thoughts to get there... when you master your own mind - you become happy. Negative thoughts cannot dwell in a mind that has no place for them. Being passionate about doing something positive in the world and taking action to make it happen will not only bring happiness in your life, it can also bring happiness to those you help.
We have the tools to allow you to get whatever you want out of life. You have the power to live your dreams. Let us help you along the way.
Source: Free Articles
Improving Self-Esteem with Individualized Positive Affirmations
Positive self-esteem is very important if not crucial to our happiness and well being as a human being. Having positive self-esteem can make the difference in that which we take on in life, in that which we go about achieving and creating. Having positive self- esteem also allows us to have healthy and joyous relationships with others, to experience true intimacy. One could also assert that having positive self-esteem gives us access to genuine spirituality. Poor self-esteem, on the other hand, creates the space for us to experience a great deal of negativity in life including depression, anxiety, fear, stress and loneliness. Negative or poor self-esteem is also highly correlated with alcohol and drug dependency. Some even believe that a negative or poor self-image is the source of such addictions.
While it appears that the importance of positive self-esteem is somewhat understood, the unanswered question has always been about how to improve or enhance a person’s self-esteem. Some belief that a person’s self-esteem rests upon them being successful, in accomplishing that which they take on in life, of achieving goals that they have set for themselves. As a result much effort is put into assisting others in effectively and efficiently planning their doing in life. Others believe that our sense of self-esteem is determined by the type of relationships that we have, that by surrounding ourselves with positive people who will appreciate and acknowledge us that our esteem will be positively impacted. To this end training is given to help a person improve his interpersonal skills, how he communicates and relates with others. While both of these endeavors are important, it is not the having or doing that creates positive self-esteem. Ones self-esteem is not given or to be obtained from without, external to the person.
One very effective way to improve self-esteem is through the use of positive affirmations. Positive affirmations are very powerful for transforming how a person feels and thinks about himself, ultimately influencing how he views and acts within the world and towards others. The fundamental reason why positive affirmations are so effective is that their nature or structure reflects what already exists in our mind. Our identity or who we think we are, our current thinking patterns, are also a series of affirmations, composed fundamentally of mere words or language. Everything we think, all of the thoughts that we have, are merely affirmations. Positive affirmations, when used consistently, begin to alter our prevalent internal language pattern, as negative as it may be, our inner self talk or dialogue that exists within us. The end result of the consistent use of positive affirmations is the transformation of an inner negative language pattern into one that is positive in nature
The most effective way to use positive affirmations is with the individual’s own voice. While a person can have a beneficial result from listening to a commercially developed product that employs positive affirmations recorded by another, the transformative power of this technology is enhanced or strengthened by the positive messages being delivered in the person’s own voice. By using a person’s own voice to transform the inner dialogue, there is less resistance to the transformational process due to the fact that the voice itself is the same or identical. It is as though the negative voice or language pattern that one hears repeatedly in life is altered or transformed by the consistent exposure and listening to that same voice but with the structure of positive enhancing affirmations. Eventually the structure will transform from one that is negative to one that is positive in nature.
The process of using ones own voice in doing work with positive affirmations can be strengthened with the use of therapeutic relaxation music. While the use of ones own voice is very powerful for creating change in a person’s life, the use of specially designed therapeutic relaxation music assists in creating the audio space for this process to be very powerful. We tend to be more open or suggestible to positive affirmations or language when we are in a state of relaxation. When combined with binaural audio tones the relaxing affect of the therapeutic relaxation music is greatly enhanced. When used with the combined effect of the therapeutic relaxation music and binaural audio tones and consistently, the positive enhancing affirmations that are delivered will have such a profound affect upon improving and transforming a person’s internal, self-talk and eventually his self-esteem.
The technology of utilizing positive affirmations that are recorded in a person’s own voice and therapeutic relaxation music is currently being employed in the treatment of those suffering from substance dependency problems. At the Holistic Addiction Treatment Program in North Miami Beach, Florida, clients are given access to this powerful technology. Clients have the ability to create personal affirmations that empower them and support their recovery and also are able to record these affirmations. The recorded positive affirmations are then mixed with specially designed therapeutic relaxation music to create a powerful audio product to assist the individual in his recovery. Once created the client is trained in the most effective manner in which to utilize their personal CD as part of their overall recovery plan. Those clients who utilize this powerful technology tend to improve their self- esteem, stay in recovery and improve the quality of their life in general. When a person feels and thinks more positively about himself he tends to be more positive towards everything that he is taking on in his life, including and most importantly his recovery.
Harry Henshaw, Ed.D., LMHC
http://www.enhancedhealing.com
Improving Self Confidence After A Breakup
Breaking up is never an easy process, especially if you never saw it coming. At this stage, it may feel easier for you to hold on to the broken pieces and memories then to move on. However, the truth is far from this.
There are many signs that you have yet to let go and start to move on. You find yourself retracing your footsteps, and every line in your fights, trying to figure out where it went wrong and what you could have done to fix it. You feel that if you could only figure out why your partner left, you would be able to convince them to come back. Worse still, is underlying all these thoughts, the implicit belief that your world is broken and will be magically fixed somehow if your partner would just step back into it.
If you have entertained any of the above thoughts, then it is a sure sign that your self confidence has hit rock bottom. In order to start healing and feeling better about yourself, you have to improve your self confidence at the same time. This is of course, easier said then done.
It is perfectly normal to want to know what went wrong, and if you were truly at fault. Sometimes it could be something that you did, but sometimes, it could simply be that your partner is no longer interested, and it is not because of anything you did or did not do. If you must think back on what happened, you owe it to yourself to figure out if you need to change your attitude, or behavior and actions. Changing these now may not bring your ex back into your life, but it will make your next relationship a lot smoother.
Give yourself time to cope with the sudden loss, and turn to your friends or family to help you adjust back to single hood. Fill in the gaps that your partner has left behind by pursuing activities that you never had time for, or did not do because your other half did not like it. Pick up a new hobby, go on a short holiday, meet new people, and do things that make you happy.
Remind yourself of your own self worth. Make a list of your accomplishments, or compliments that your friends, colleagues or superiors have ever paid you. This will help you keep in mind that you may have some habits that need changing, but so does everyone else, and that you do have many redeeming qualities. Work out some positive affirmations to help you clear your mind of negative thoughts and emotions. Let your subconscious help you with moving on.
.All these advice will help you, but you must be willing to help yourself in improving your self confidence after a breakup. Make a checklist or a plan of what you want to achieve, and how you intend to go about achieving it. Give yourself a deadline to meet, and push yourself to do the things that you have listed out. Achieving what you have listed out will help you to feel better about yourself, and give you a sense of control over what you can do in life and help keep your emotions positive.
Do not beat yourself up for grieving over the loss of a relationship, or for taking time to deal with your sorrow. However, do not allow it to keep you down indefinitely. Remember that only when you truly let go will you be able to move on and build a future with someone else. Take this alone time to work through personal issues, or do things that you have always procrastinated doing. When you have learnt to change your bad habits and accept yourself, that is when you know that you are ready to move on and meet someone new.
Breaking up is never an easy process, especially if you never saw it coming. At this stage, it may feel easier for you to hold on to the broken pieces and memories then to move on. However, the truth is far from this. There are many signs that you have yet to let go and start to move on. You find yourself retracing your footsteps, and every line in your fights, trying to figure out where it went wrong and what you could have done to fix it. You feel that if you could only...
Article Source: Self Improvement Articles from PositiveArticles.Com
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Improving Your Body Image and Self Esteem
Your positive self-esteem is your foundation for success and without it you can feel down, depressed, inferior and suffer a lack confidence in many situations. There are many factors, affirmations and lessons to help you on the way to improving self esteem. One major connection that will be discussed here is that of the connection between how an individual sees their body image and how it affects their self esteem.
Building Self Esteem - A Healthy Body Leads to a Healthy Mind
Floppy loose skin, fat deposits building up around your neck and under your chin, love handles, fat rolls under your bra line, thighs, hips, back becoming roly-poly, a protruding fat tummy! Your body image and self esteem definitely have a link as to how you see your self and no matter what compliments other people give, if you are unhappy about your image then you may not be willing to accept it…..a sure sign of low self esteem.
People come in all shapes and sizes and it's easy to say that you should be happy with what you are born with but there is no rule to say that you should adjust your body image to fit in with ‘the norm of society’…all you need to do to improve your body image and self esteem is make adjustments to the way you think about yourself and make sure you feel healthy and if that means taking exercise then all the better for you. The main point is that you feel good about yourself without the drastic measures of surgery.
Despite having said all that, the stresses and strains of the modern world place people under increasing pressure such as earning more money, looking younger, looking thinner, being a better parent and having a successful career and so on it goes means that building self esteem is no easy task. Improving how you look can definitely have a positive effect on your self esteem which will ultimately help you in your career or what ever path you choose to take. Some people handle body image very differently than others and often you will find those suffering from physical deformities may have a far higher self esteem than others who don’t.
How you choose to improve your body image is your choice. One important aspect is that you are motivated as once you start to feel the benefits then you will wonder why you never started sooner. Just the initial realisation that there is a connection between body image and self esteem is one important stepping stone to feeling better about yourself.
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Ask Yourself | A Preparation to Self-Improvement
Be all you can be, but it's not always in the Army. I often see myself as somewhat contented with my life the way things are, but of course it's hard to think of anything else when where are real issues to be discussed.
Still I aspire for something deeper and more meaningful.
So we're all pelted with problems. Honestly it shouldn't even bother or even hinder us to becoming all we ought to be. Aspirations as kids should continue to live within us, even though it would be short-lived or as long as we could hold on to the dream. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks… or can they?
1. What do I really want?
The question of the ages. So many things you want to do with your life and so little time to even go about during the day.
Find something that you are good at can help realize that small step towards improvement. Diligence is the key to know that it is worth it.
2. Should I really change?
Today's generation has taken another level of redefining 'self', or at least that's what the kids are saying. Having an army of teenage nieces and nephews has taught me that there are far worse things that they could have had than acne or maybe even promiscuity. So how does that fit into your lifestyle?
If history has taught us one thing, it's the life that we have gone through. Try to see if partying Seventies style wouldn't appeal to the younger generation, but dancing is part of partying. Watch them applaud after showing them how to really dance than break their bones in break-dancing.
3. What's the bright side in all of this?
With so much is happening around us there seem to be no room for even considering that light at the end of the tunnel. We can still see it as something positive without undergoing so much scrutiny. And if it's a train at the end of the tunnel, take it for a ride and see what makes the world go round!
4. Am I comfortable with what I'm doing?
There's always the easy way and the right way when it comes to deciding what goes with which shoes, or purse, shirt and whatnot. It doesn't take a genius to see yourself as someone unique, or else we'll all be equally the same in everything we do. Variety brings in very interesting and exciting questions to be experimented.
5. Have I done enough for myself?
Have you, or is there something more you want to do? Discontentment in every aspect can be dangerous in large doses, but in small amounts you'll be able to see and do stuff you could never imagine doing.
6. Am I happy at where I am today?
It's an unfair question so let it be an answer! You love being a good and loving mom or dad to your kids, then take it up a notch! Your kids will love you forever. The same goes with everyday life!
7. Am I appealing to the opposite sex?
So maybe I don't have an answer to that, but that doesn't mean I can't try it, though. Whether you shape-up, change the way you wear your clothes or hair, or even your attitude towards people, you should always remember it will always be for your own benefit.
8. How much could I have?
I suppose in this case there is no such things on having things too much or too little, but it's more on how badly you really need it. I'd like to have lots of money, no denying that, but the question is that how much are you willing to work for it?
9. What motivates me?
What motivates you? It's an answer you have to find out for yourself. There are so many things that can make everyone happy, but to choose one of the may be the hardest part. It's not like you can't have one serving of your favorite food in a buffet and that's it. Just try it piece by piece.
10. What Really Makes You Tick?
So? What really makes you tick? You can be just about anything you always wanted to be, but to realize that attaining something that may seem very difficult is already giving up before you even start that journey. Always remember, that self-improvement is not just about the physical or philosophical change you have to undergo, but it's something that you really want.
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Unlock Your Self Improvement Power
When we look at a certain object, a painting for example – we won’t be able to appreciate what’s in it, what is painted and what else goes with it if the painting is just an inch away from our face. But if we try to take it a little further, we’ll have a clearer vision of the whole art work.
We reach a point in our life when we are ready for change and a whole bunch of information that will help us unlock our self improvement power. Until then, something can be staring us right under our nose but we don’t see it. The only time we think of unlocking our self improvement power is when everything got worst. Take the frog principle for example –
Try placing Frog A in a pot of boiling water. What happens? He twerps! He jumps off! Why? Because he is not able to tolerate sudden change in his environment – the water’s temperature. Then try Frog B: place him in a luke warm water, then turn the gas stove on. Wait til the water reaches a certain boiling point. Frog B then thinks “Ooh… it’s a bit warm in here”.
People are like Frog B in general. Today, Anna thinks Carl hates her. Tomorrow, Patrick walks up to her and told her he hates her. Anna stays the same and doesn’t mind her what her friends says. The next day, she learned that Kim and John also abhors her. Anna doesn’t realize at once the importance and the need for self improvement until the entire community hates her.
We learn our lessons when we experience pain. We finally see the warning signs and signals when things get rough and tough. When do we realize that we need to change diets? When none of our jeans and shirts would fit us. When do we stop eating candies and chocolates? When all of our teeth has fallen off. When do we realize that we need to stop smoking? When our lungs have gone bad. When do we pray and ask for help? When we realize that we’re gonna die tomorrow.
The only time most of us ever learn about unlocking our self improvement power is when the whole world is crashing and falling apart. We think and feel this way because it is not easy to change. But change becomes more painful when we ignore it.
Change will happen, like it or hate it. At one point or another, we are all going to experience different turning points in our life – and we are all going to eventually unlock our self improvement power not because the world says so, not because our friends are nagging us, but because we realized its for our own good.
Happy people don’t just accept change, they embrace it. Now, you don’t have to feel a tremendous heat before realizing the need for self improvement. Unlocking your self improvement power means unlocking yourself up in the cage of thought that “its just the way I am”. It is such a poor excuse for people who fear and resist change. Most of us program our minds like computers.
Jen repeatedly tells everyone that she doesn’t have the guts to be around groups of people. She heard her mom, her dad, her sister, her teacher tell the same things about her to other people. Over the years, that is what Jen believes. She believes its her story. And what happens? Every time a great crowd would troop over their house, in school, and in the community – she tends to step back, shy away and lock herself up in a room. Jen didn’t only believed in her story, she lived it.
Jen has to realize that she is not what she is in her story. Instead of having her story post around her face for everyone to remember, she has to have the spirit and show people “I am an important person and I should be treated accordingly!”
Self improvement may not be everybody’s favorite word, but if we look at things in a different point of view, we might have greater chances of enjoying the whole process instead of counting the days until we are fully improved. Three sessions in a week at the gym would result to a healthier life, reading books instead of looking at porns will shape up a more profound knowledge, going out with friends and peers will help you take a step back from work and unwind. And just when you are enjoying the whole process of unlocking your self improvement power, you’ll realize that you’re beginning to take things light and become happy.
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The Power of Relationships
Creating Effective and Efficient Relationships
Relationships of all kinds are often perceived as very delicate things, that require extra effort to maintain. However, a relationship can also be something that can provide security and can also be long lasting despite many trials.
Building an effective and lasting relationships is a necessity for several reasons. For example in a group or organization, the well being of the people depends on how efficient and effective that group or organization works.
The group or organization is also dependent on how the members work well with the management.
An ineffective group or organization can really be very frustrating. An effective group or organization can also ask so much on their members, that sometimes the members would be having no life outside the walls of the area where they work or sacrifice the other aspects of their life just to meet deadlines. For an organization or group with this kind of scenario, relationships can be stressed or suffer from breakdown.
People or other entities who depend on these groups or organization also suffer.
Society is defined as a web of relationships, which requires all parties to work and contribute their share in order to achieve a common goal. Having a relationship that is good, where cooperation and respect are manifested, can make society work better. In this way each member works for the good of the whole and towards achieving a common goal. This can only be attained with effective and efficient relationships.
Understanding the other parties' feeling and position creates an effective and efficient relationship. The easiest method to understand what is important to another party is to ask them what they want and listen to what they have to say. When the other party realizes this, they would feel the importance given to them
Effective and efficient relationships require parties to openly express their feelings and positions on all matters pertinent on the relationship. Assuming that the other party understands our needs and give us when we need it without asking for it is not a good practice.
Respect is the key to relationship. In order to create a more effective relationship, parties should treat each other with respect. We can show respect just by listening to the other party and by trying sincerely to understand how they function. You can also show respect to other parties by confirming that they are doing everything they can.
The opposite of respect is quick forming of judgments based on unfounded facts and prejudice.
Respect is the very foundation for a great relationship. This also means respecting yourself and respecting others.
Another key area in forming an effective relationship is to tackle differences of the other party directly. Differences between parties or people are quite interesting. For example in a conversation where each party listens to the other party, you may observe that each is having two different perspectives.
Work towards a win-win solution for both parties.
This can be done when at least one party acknowledges that the relationship is important. That party would then exert more time, effort and energy to understand the other party's needs and deal with it to get it out of the way. Should they fail, it is comforting for that party to know that they tried.
Effectively listening and no pre-judging. This is important if parties are to understand each other.
Informal discussions are conducive for parties. They bring out issues and concerns comfortably. They also feel more relaxed making them think more clearly.
Developing an atmosphere where the other party can express their feelings when they need to.
When parties fail to express whatever is on their mind or their feelings, it can get in the way of building an effective relationship.
Parties should be aware that certain things exist naturally but should be controlled in any dealings in any relationship. Human nature is one. Some of these things found in a relationship also include a history of stereotyping or mistrust, blaming the other person or party for a strained relationship, excluding the other party's feelings when focusing on a task, no clear and defined objectives, roles and expectations of each party in a relationship is also unclear.
Relationships are important to anyone, addressing issues and problems right away is a must to further improve the relationship. As they say 'No man is an Island'.
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Power through the people
Have you come across a person who is so naturally friendly that when you put him inside a room of strangers, he'll be friends with almost everyone in no time? We call such a people-person, someone unbelievably nice and charismatic that he can charm anyone into doing anything.
A socially-empowered person achieves so much greatness, basically because of the people that catapult him to success. He earns the trust and all-out support of the people, whom he had helped before. He never runs out of help. He can do anything with the plethora of people behind him. All because he knows he maximizes his social potential!
See, if you know your social skills and you make use of them, you will reach self-empowerment. Self-empowerment is making a general overhaul in your life and turning yourself into a happier and more successful person.If you can be one of those people-persons, then I can't see any reason why you will not succeed. You just have to know how to start.
1. Be genuine.
Hypocrisy will just bring you all the way down. Be genuinely nice and interested to people. Once they perceive that you are Mr. Hypocrite with selfish intentions, you might as well say goodbye to self-empowerment.
2. Be the greatest listener that you can be.
To earn the love and trust of the people, listen to their problems and sympathize with them. Do not just hear them out, listen to them with your heart. Make eye contact when the person talks to you. Listen as if every word matters, and it does. Brownie points when they find out that there is a confidante in you.
3. Laugh out loud.
I do not mean that you force yourself to laugh for every joke cracked by someone, albeit you do not find it funny at all.This means finding humor in things and not being too darn serious. A person oozing with an awesome sense of humor attracts crowds and eventually, attracts success.
4. Don't forget yourself.
In the process of fluttering around like a social butterfly, you might forget yourself, allowing everyone to push you over. Remember, love and value yourself before anyone else. If you deem yourself respectable and worthy of affection, people will flock to you and not trample on you.
5. Do random acts of kindness.
You don't have to do a John Rockefeller and blow your savings to charity. Little acts of kindness matters the most, and this can be as simple as giving someone a surprise you-take-care card or helping an elderly cross the street. When we were kindergarten students, kindness was taught to us and greatly practiced. Now is the time to revive the good deeds and this time, let them stay for good.
6. Contact your old friends.
Sad how some friendships are destined to goodbye, but thanks to technology, you can do something about it. Relive the good old days by flipping your yearbook and look for the great people whom you want to communicate with again. Adding these old friends to your roster of support peers will surely make you feel good all over.
7. Develop your personality.
Are you grouchy, grumpy and generally morose? Whoa, you can't go through life with those. Get rid of the bad traits and habits that perpetually hamper your growth. And really, who wants a grouchy friend anyway?
8. Be confident.
Be able to stride to the other corner of the room and introduce yourself to people with that winning smile of yours. Just remember: be confident, not arrogant.
9. Practice control.
When angry, don't snap at anyone. Never throw a tantrum. Stay calm and collected. Be adult enough to take control of situation and transform your anger into something more productive and passive. As soon as people think your anger goes to volcanic proportions easily, they will find it hard to come to you.
10. Keep nurturing your relationships.
Your relationship with your family, friends and significant others is too precious that you must not neglect it whatever happens. Go out and have fun with them. Do things together. Happiness will never fly from your side as long as the people who matter the most are close to you.
In the end, using people for self-empowerment means becoming a better and more lovable person. It's a win-win situation: the people know they can turn to you anytime and vice versa.
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Free Ebook | The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self help book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold over 15 million copies in 38 languages since first publication, which was marked by the release of a 15th anniversary edition in 2004. The book lists seven principles that, if established as habits, are supposed to help a person achieve true interdependent effectiveness.
habit 1 - be proactive®
This is the ability to control one's environment, rather than have it control you, as is so often the case. Self determination, choice, and the power to decide response to stimulus, conditions and circumstances
habit 2 - begin with the end in mind®
Covey calls this the habit of personal leadership - leading oneself that is, towards what you consider your aims. By developing the habit of concentrating on relevant activities you will build a platform to avoid distractions and become more productive and successful.
habit 3 - put first things first®
Covey calls this the habit of personal management. This is about organising and implementing activities in line with the aims established in habit 2. Covey says that habit 2 is the first, or mental creation; habit 3 is the second, or physical creation.
habit 4 - think win-win®
Covey calls this the habit of interpersonal leadership, necessary because achievements are largely dependent on co-operative efforts with others. He says that win-win is based on the assumption that there is plenty for everyone, and that success follows a co-operative approach more naturally than the confrontation of win-or-lose.
habit 5 - seek first to understand and then to be understood®
One of the great maxims of the modern age. This is Covey's habit of communication, and it's extremely powerful. Covey helps to explain this in his simple analogy 'diagnose before you prescribe'. Simple and effective, and essential for developing and maintaining positive relationships in all aspects of life. (See the associated sections on Empathy, Transactional Analysis, and the Johari Window.)
habit 6 - synergize®
Covey says this is the habit of creative co-operation - the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which implicitly lays down the challenge to see the good and potential in the other person's contribution.
habit 7 - sharpen the saw®
This is the habit of self renewal, says Covey, and it necessarily surrounds all the other habits, enabling and encouraging them to happen and grow. Covey interprets the self into four parts: the spiritual, mental, physical and the social/emotional, which all need feeding and developing.
Download free ebook The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
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A Better You...
Your 7 days program to self-improvement
I seem to lost count on how many times I've read and heard of celebrity marriages failing almost left and right. Not that I care (and personally I don't), it seems strange that we often see movie and TV stars as flawless people, living the fairytale life of riches and glamour. I suppose we all have to stop sticking our heads in the clouds and face reality.
There are many ways to lose your sense of self-esteem despite of how trivial it could get. But whatever happens, we should all try not to lose our own sense of self.
So what does it take to be a cut above the rest? Here are some of the things you can think and improve on that should be enough for a week.
1. Know your purpose
Are you wandering through life with little direction - hoping that you'll find happiness, health and prosperity? Identify your life purpose or mission statement and you will have your own unique compass that will lead you to your truth north every time.
This may seem tricky at first when you see yourself to be in a tight or even dead end. But there's always that little loophole to turn things around and you can make a big difference to yourself.
2. Know your values
What do you value most? Make a list of your top 5 values. Some examples are security, freedom, family, spiritual development, learning. As you set your goals for 2005 - check your goals against your values. If the goal doesn't align with any of your top five values - you may want to reconsider it or revise it.
The number shouldn't discourage you, instead it should motivate you to do more than you can ever dreamed of.
3. Know your needs
Unmet needs can keep you from living authentically. Take care of yourself. Do you have a need to be acknowledged, to be right, to be in control, to be loved? There are so many people who lived their lives without realizing their dreams and most of them end up being stressed or even depressed for that matter. List your top four needs and get them met before it's too late!
4. Know your passions
You know who you are and what you truly enjoy in life. Obstacles like doubt and lack of enthusiasm will only hinder you, but will not derail your chance to become the person you ought to be. Express yourself and honor the people who has inspired you to become the very person you wanted to be.
5. Live from the inside out
Increase your awareness of your inner wisdom by regularly reflecting in silence. Commune with nature. Breathe deeply to quiet your distracted mind. For most of us city slickers it's hard to even find the peace and quiet we want even in our own home. In my case I often just sit in a dimly lit room and play some classical music. There's sound, yes, but music does soothe the savage beast.
6. Honor your strengths
What are your positive traits? What special talents do you have? List three - if you get stuck, ask those closest to you to help identify these. Are you imaginative, witty, good with your hands? Find ways to express your authentic self through your strengths. You can increase your self-confidence when you can share what you know to others.
7. Serve others
When you live authentically, you may find that you develop an interconnected sense of being. When you are true to who you are, living your purpose and giving of your talents to the world around you, you give back in service what you came to share with others -your spirit - your essence. The rewards for sharing your gift with those close to you is indeed rewarding, much more if it were to be the eyes of a stranger who can appreciate what you have done to them.
Self-improvement is indeed one type of work that is worth it. It shouldn't always be within the confines of an office building, or maybe in the four corners of your own room. The difference lies within ourselves and how much we want to change for the better.
Self Improvement - Journey of Discovery!
"The way you think, not only affects your own life, but others around you - it affects your world. You have the power to change the world you live in." - White Star
So who, you may ask, is White Star?
On face value, White Star is a character in the series of books The Blue Star Millennium and Quest for Genesis. Many readers,after viewing these books, have invariably asked the question "were these books channeled?"
Of course, that query begs another question, "What is channeling?"
Well, there are various possibilities, including the Channel being a vehicle for another entity to speak through them, or simply verbalizing their own subconscious thoughts. Hmmm, subconscious... Yes! But what about the super-conscious?
"There are several parts of your Essence living simultaneous lives. A part of you will always remain in the higher realms. This is your Higher Self, which is a spark of the Essence that permeates all of creation, and which is the Creator. You are all Sons and Daughters of this Essence, Co-creators of all that you see and experience."
Okay, from this point of view, isn't it possible that we are ALL capable of channeling these higher wisdoms? After all, isn't it just tapping into the higher force, the fountain of wisdom of which we are all a part? So why do so many of us choose to go to others to hear the messages?
Admittedly, in times of emotional trauma it's often comforting to go to others for guidance. Such experiences, perhaps, could be viewed as valuable stepping stones that eventually lead to the question "Are they any more capable of tapping into the source than you are?"
"Every individual has the potential to heal the planet and to help unify the people in co-operation and understanding. Every individual has the power of creative visualization. Each of you has the potential to use your power of thought to bring about change in your own environment. There is power in numbers and the more people who project positive thought-forms at the same time, the more powerful the effect. Now the future is in your hands. Put a little effort into creating the future that you desire, and you will achieve miraculous rewards. It is up to you!"
In that case, you may ask, why do we limit ourselves by incarnating on this physical plane at all? It is as though we have temporary amnesia of our true origins - our true divinity.
"You are on a wondrous journey of self-discovery. From the moment you separated from the Source you chose to go through certain experiences in order to learn and develop through these trials. It is not wise to seek the end of the journey prematurely. There is much to be gained along the way. Become engrossed in the excitement of your quest and you will suddenly realise that you are a Co-Creator in the Divine Plan. You create your own reality. You re-affirm your reality through your beliefs. If you dwell on the negative, you will manifest that negativity in your life. Similarly, if you concentrate on the positive, you re-affirm that reality, in your personal life, and throughout the universe."
So is it all positive, love and light? You would be right in pointing out that there seems to be so much negativity in the world. How does this equate with the above metaphysics philosophy statements? Hmmm ... perhaps we should ask the White Star.
"Each of us has a negative aspect of ourselves, although most of us would prefer not to acknowledge that darker side. The darker side can be so powerful as to form its own identity. We keep it alive through feeding it on a constant diet of negative thoughts and emotions. It can reach a stage where it will fight for its very survival, as a separate entity. If its existence is threatened, the Dark Side will come out from the shadows to confront us. It will try and destroy us if we allow it to do so."
Whew! Okay, so if we're honest with ourselves, we all have the potential for the destructive negative side of our nature to gain the upper hand. If this happens, how do we conquer that negative aspect?
"You cannot fight your negative side. The more you deny it, the more you empower it. The ultimate test is to accept and recognize the negative aspect of your Being. As long as you deny it, it will have power over you. When you accept it, you love it into submission. By merging with it, you transform it."
So why, I hear many of you ask, would we come to the Earth in the first place. Why come to a world where duality exists, where positive and negative forces are in perpetual conflict?
"The physical plane holds the greatest lessons. It is the ultimate testing ground. When trapped in the physical form, you are forced to confront your main obstacles to spiritual development. If you are able to conquer these tests while in the physical body, you make the greatest progress spiritually."
"The choice is yours. The choice has always been yours. You can either use your power of thought to manifest unity and harmony in your life, or you can add to the discord by allowing negative thoughts to dominate. Which is it to be? It is your decision. The way you think, not only affects your own life, but others around you; it affects your loved ones; it affects your world. You have the power to change the world you live in."
White Star, as stated above, is a fictional character in a series of metaphysical books. The intention of making these mind, body, soul/spirit quotes available is to stimulate ideas in YOU, the reader, to help you discover your own power. The initial response to White Star quotes has been very positive and in recent times, many ezine, newsletter and magazine editors use these quotes as a supplement to their articles.
The quotes are excerpts from the new age spirituality books displayed on the web site www.1-inspirational-quote-book.com
The stories are fiction, written in an exciting and action packed format that is a medium for ideas to help bring about positive change in our world. Some view them as new age spirituality, others as simply inspirational. Regardless of personal beliefs, all have found them entertaining and enlightening. As one reader wrote "The story slowly engulfed me, drew me in until I was on my own journey, opening my mind, enticing me to read more. I ask, is this just a novel or a key to our future ...?
Unlike any other books, if you take the time to read and digest these thought provoking stories, I guarantee your outlook on life will never be the same - it will certainly change for the positive. As the White Star would say "You have the power to change the world you live in!"
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Author Bio:
Born November 30 in New Zealand, Gau-Ghan shares the same birthday as Mark Twain. And likewise, avid readers will stick with Gau-Ghan like paint to the picket fence in Huckleberry Finn. His stories on mind, body, soul and spirituality will challenge your view on life.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content
Happy New Year 2008
It’s time to shake off the snow from my clothes and the dust from my New Year’s resolutions. We need to reflect on our status and monitor our progress both on a short-term and a long-term basis. The beginning of the New Year is a perfect time for such a review.
What’s in store for us this year? Since life is synonymous with change, this year our lives will either improve or worsen. The likelihood of it improving is greatly enhanced for those of us who make a plan (New Year’s resolution). To succeed, however, we must remember that ‘resolution’ implies remaining resolute, steadfast, unswerving, and unbending in our determination. And I’m not suggesting that we remain firm and unwavering when shirking our duty. Rather, like Benjamin Franklin, I’m suggesting we resolve to perform what we ought to do and perform without fail what we resolve.
When we make New Year’s resolutions and stick to them, we grow stronger. We mature. We develop self-discipline and lift ourselves by our own bootstraps. The result is greater self-confidence, peace of mind, and control over our lives. On the other hand, when we break our resolutions, we grow weaker. After all, we have demonstrated to ourselves that we are not resolute; we lack self-discipline, and we have given up on improving ourselves. Don’t allow the negative effects of the broken resolutions of others deter you from making your own. Instead, use that information as motivation to stick to the promises you have made to yourself and enjoy the benefits that will follow.
To begin the New Year on a sure footing, it may be helpful to review some of the steps involved in developing and carrying out our resolutions.
Reflection. Before we can change our behaviour, we need to change our mind. And before we can change our mind, we need to be aware of the need for change. Often, we get so caught up in the mundane activities of life that we don’t see which way we are heading. What’s the point of traveling if we don’t know where we’re going? That’s why there’s a need for reflection. We pause to ask ourselves questions like: “Where am I heading? Did I accomplish everything I set out to do last year? What did I do that was right? What did I do wrong? What do I need to do differently this year? Awareness of problems leads to a desire for change and is the first step in getting back on track.
Conviction. Now that we want to change, it’s time to acknowledge that we CAN change. Reflect on the many accomplishments you have already attained. Remind yourself of your personal power. Use your achievements to inspire you to add new attainments to your list of accomplishments.
Resolution. After accepting that you CAN change, you’re ready to resolve that you WILL change. Focus on your determination and get your adrenaline running. Determination is the key to releasing your power. For as William Ellery Channing (1780 ~ 1842) wrote, "A man in earnest finds means, or, if he cannot find, creates them. A vigorous purpose makes much out of little, breathes power into weak instruments, disarms difficulties, and even turns them into assistances. Every condition has means of progress, if we have spirit enough to use them."
Commitment. You are resolved to act, so now make a commitment. That is, make a plan and take your first action steps. For example, if you’re planning to start an exercise program, take a tour of some facilities; select one, and sign up. Congratulations! Your exercise program will not only firm your body, but will make you firm and resolute. And when you are firm and resolute, you mold the world and shape your destiny.
Get excited. Turbo charge your emotions. Resolve is the poker that stokes the fires of enthusiasm and passion. When you're burning with enthusiasm, you'll find the way to succeed. The fire that lights your heart, lights the way. Someone else described it this way, "Paths clear before those who know where they're going and are determined to get there."
No pain, no gain. Don’t be afraid of ‘pain.’ The more you experience, the more you will delight in your accomplishment. Don’t let a little pain stop you, for as the Scottish Theologian William Barclay (1907-1978) said, "All life is based on the fact that anything worth getting is hard to get. There is a price to be paid for anything. Scholarship can only be bought at the price of study, skill in any craft or technique can only be bought at the price of practice, eminence in any sport can only be bought at the price of training and discipline. The world is full of people who have missed their destiny because they would not pay the price. No one can take the easy way and enter into any kind of glory or greatness."
Persist. Simple persistence and perseverance are golden keys. Those who unfalteringly remain on target are assured of success. When Muhammad was told to give up his unpopular crusade, he said, "O uncle! I swear that if they put the sun on my right hand and the moon on my left, I will not renounce the career I have entered upon until God gives me success, or I perish." That was determination. Such determination is unstoppable.
Change your viewpoint. Positive change is positive. So, your viewpoint must also be positive. For instance, let’s say you plan to give up cigarettes. Don’t say, “I will quit smoking.” Why? Because that’s a negative viewpoint. You see, all it does is bring up thoughts of LOSS. Each time you think about quitting, you’ll think about being deprived of the pleasure and comfort of smoking. No wonder it’s hard to quit. Instead say, “From today I will lead a healthier lifestyle.” That statement brings up thoughts of GAIN. You will gain stamina, well-being, a heightened sense of taste, a longer life span, and so on. By focusing on the positive, you’ll have a reason to persist.
Why do we accomplish so little in life? Because we make so few attempts. What is the monster that blocks our way and prevents us from trying? Our own imagination! It magnifies the efforts and difficulties facing us and makes the possible dream seem like an insurmountable one. Don’t believe it. Follow your heart, not an overactive imagination. To stay on track, remember this little poem:
Did is a word of achievement,
Won't is a word of retreat,
Might is a word of bereavement,
Can't is a word of defeat,
Ought is a word of duty,
Try is a word of each hour,
Will is a word of beauty,
Can is a word of power.
Time Managament Tips
Traffic jam is always a problem, specially when we are in a hurry or late for a meeting. The time which we waste in the traffic jam could be a productive hour to complete our agenda for a day.
Mitch Johnson wrote an intersting article about some tips to save time.
Tips for Saving Time
Take for instance the drive to the office. It would be a good thing to anticipate a traffic jam and give your self some grace time over there. Similarly finding a parking space can sometimes prove to be trickier than a treasure hunt. So you could give yourself a couple of minutes extra time here and there if such activities are involved. Again I would like to remind you that the figures given here are just random figures. The figures may vary from person to person.
At the same time I cannot help wondering why a person would want to shower for more than 10 minutes.
If you work backwards like this, you can get a very accurate idea of how long it will take you to do something. Then how can you possibly go wrong.
Some tips on making meetings less time wasters.
Meetings have a very bad reputation of being time wasters. How many of us have had to sit through longs hours of meetings and had to listen to people who ramble on and on about issues which in fact need probably five or ten minutes to be decided?
As a result, meetings are seldom looked forward to. I thought it might be useful to you to include some tips on how to make your meetings more time effective. The fact is that meetings are not really all that bad and if meetings are well planned they can prove to be the best way to brief a group of people on matters like policies, progress, and points of action.
Time management is essentially a part of, or I should say the result of self management. If you are well organized and your life has a definite order then the chances are that time management will come naturally for you.
I would like to sum up everything that we have talked about in the following poem.
Take time to work
It is the price of success
Take time to think
It is the source of power
Take time to play
It is the secret of perpetual youth
Take time to read
It is the fountain of wisdom
Take time to be friendly
It is the road to happiness
Take time to love and be loved
It is the nourishment of the soul
Take time to share
It is too short a life to be selfish
Take time to laugh
It is the music of the heart
Take time to dream
It is hitching your wagon to a star.
Anonymous
Time management is not such a big deal. It is just because people tend to take time for granted that everything becomes such a big mess.
Hey guys we only get one life in this world so should not we try to live it to the fullest?
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Article Source : Best Management Articles
Positive Attitude | A Key Ingredient For Success
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What is a positive attitude? Being self-assured and satisfied with your inner-self is the beginning of the process. A healthy self-image radiates love and sureness and makes the people who are around you feel the same way. Having an optimistic mental state is a fundamental ingredient for attaining success in every aspect of your life. Your disposition destines how you approach your life and is reflected in your career, business ventures, sporting accomplishments and relationships.
To achieve your desires in life it is essential that you have a winner’s attitude. People that we idolize for achieving prominence would not have accomplished their desires by living their life with an impartial attitude. The crucial elements for a blessed life are accepting yourself, having the ability to visualize your success and
having the right attitude.
A positive attitude promotes an idealistic outlook on life. You will feel more cheerful, healthier and more energetic. Your trust in yourself and your abilities will be magnified and by embracing an open and positive attitude your mind will be alert to the opportunities that will start to come your way. Often when people have a negative attitude they become consummately centered on their problems and are unable to see the opportunities that are staring them in the face. Once you educate your mind to automatically adopt a positive attitude your difficulties will not be as momentous and you will be able to handle them with ease.
We are all instinctively captivated by positive people. They make us feel great about life by lifting our spirits. Both positive and negative attitudes are very infectious - choose wisely and spend your time with positive uplifting people and your character will copy the same energy. When you approach your life with a positive attitude your spirit will be encircled with a light energy which will magnetically draw people towards you.
By absolutely believing that your goals will become a reality you have within you the potential to be, do and have whatever you desire - couple this with a positive attitude and you will be unstoppable. A New York engineering Professor was quoted in 1903 as saying that it would be impossible for man to fly. The Wright Brothers piloted the world's first powered airplane two weeks later. The Wright Brothers had a definite advantage - they positively believed that their goal was achievable!
Don't let fear of failure hold you back from pursuing your dreams - trust in your dreams and espouse a positive attitude. Maybe by taking on an attitude like the Wright Brothers, and believing that anything is possible, we all will be able to soar to greater heights.
____________
Source: www.easyarticles.com
About the Author: Madonna Jeffries is the founder of Planet Abundance. Her mission is to provide effective self help and personal development tools that will enable you to achieve success in all areas of your life.
Motivation | The Heart Of Self Improvement
Pain may sometimes be the reason why people change. Getting flunked grades make us realize that we need to study. Debts remind us of our inability to look for a source of income. Being humiliated gives us the ‘push’ to speak up and fight for ourselves to save our face from the next embarrassments. It may be a bitter experience, a friend’s tragic story, a great movie, or an inspiring book that will help us get up and get just the right amount of motivation we need in order to improve ourselves.
With the countless negativities the world brings about, how do we keep motivated? Try on the tips I prepared from A to Z…
A - Achieve your dreams. Avoid negative people, things and places. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
B - Believe in your self, and in what you can do.
C – Consider things on every angle and aspect. Motivation comes from determination. To be able to understand life, you should feel the sun from both sides.
D – Don’t give up and don’t give in. Thomas Edison failed once, twice, more than thrice before he came up with his invention and perfected the incandescent light bulb. Make motivation as your steering wheel.
E – Enjoy. Work as if you don’t need money. Dance as if nobody’s watching. Love as if you never cried. Learn as if you’ll live forever. Motivation takes place when people are happy.
F – Family and Friends – are life’s greatest ‘F’ treasures. Don’t loose sight of them.
G – Give more than what is enough. Where does motivation and self improvement take place at work? At home? At school? When you exert extra effort in doing things.
H – Hang on to your dreams. They may dangle in there for a moment, but these little stars will be your driving force.
I – Ignore those who try to destroy you. Don’t let other people to get the best of you. Stay out of toxic people – the kind of friends who hates to hear about your success.
J – Just be yourself. The key to success is to be yourself. And the key to failure is to try to please everyone.
K – keep trying no matter how hard life may seem. When a person is motivated, eventually he sees a harsh life finally clearing out, paving the way to self improvement.
L – Learn to love your self. Now isn’t that easy?
M – Make things happen. Motivation is when your dreams are put into work clothes.
N – Never lie, cheat or steal. Always play a fair game.
O – Open your eyes. People should learn the horse attitude and horse sense. They see things in 2 ways – how they want things to be, and how they should be.
P – Practice makes perfect. Practice is about motivation. It lets us learn repertoire and ways on how can we recover from our mistakes.
Q – Quitters never win. And winners never quit. So, choose your fate – are you going to be a quitter? Or a winner?
R – Ready yourself. Motivation is also about preparation. We must hear the little voice within us telling us to get started before others will get on their feet and try to push us around. Remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah build the ark.
S – Stop procrastinating.
T – Take control of your life. Discipline or self control jives synonymously with motivation. Both are key factors in self improvement.
U – Understand others. If you know very well how to talk, you should also learn how to listen. Yearn to understand first, and to be understood the second.
V – Visualize it. Motivation without vision is like a boat on a dry land.
W – Want it more than anything. Dreaming means believing. And to believe is something that is rooted out from the roots of motivation and self improvement.
X – X Factor is what will make you different from the others. When you are motivated, you tend to put on “extras” on your life like extra time for family, extra help at work, extra care for friends, and so on.
Y – You are unique. No one in this world looks, acts, or talks like you. Value your life and existence, because you’re just going to spend it once.
Z – Zero in on your dreams and go for it!!!
A Starter Guide To Self Improvement | Build Your Self Esteem
So how do you stay calm, composed and maintain self esteem in a tough environment? Here are some tips you may to consider as a starter guide to self improvement.
Imagine yourself as a Dart Board. Everything and everyone else around you may become Dart Pins, at one point or another. These dart pins will destroy your self esteem and pull you down in ways you won’t even remember. Don’t let them destroy you, or get the best of you. So which dart pins should you avoid?
Dart Pin #1 : Negative Work Environment
Beware of “dog eat dog” theory where everyone else is fighting just to get ahead. This is where non-appreciative people usually thrive. No one will appreciate your contributions even if you miss lunch and dinner, and stay up late. Most of the time you get to work too much without getting help from people concerned. Stay out of this, it will ruin your self esteem. Competition is at stake anywhere. Be healthy enough to compete, but in a healthy competition that is.
Dart Pin #2: Other People’s Behavior
Bulldozers, brown nosers, gossipmongers, whiners, backstabbers, snipers, people walking wounded, controllers, naggers, complainers, exploders, patronizers, sluffers… all these kinds of people will pose bad vibes for your self esteem, as well as to your self improvement scheme.
Dart Pin #3: Changing Environment
You can’t be a green bug on a brown field. Changes challenge our paradigms. It tests our flexibility, adaptability and alters the way we think. Changes will make life difficult for awhile, it may cause stress but it will help us find ways to improve our selves. Change will be there forever, we must be susceptible to it.
Dart Pin #4: Past Experience
It’s okay to cry and say “ouch!” when we experience pain. But don’t let pain transform itself into fear. It might grab you by the tail and swing you around. Treat each failure and mistake as a lesson.
Dart Pin #5: Negative World View
Look at what you’re looking at. Don’t wrap yourself up with all the negativities of the world. In building self esteem, we must learn how to make the best out of worst situations.
Dart Pin #6: Determination Theory
The way you are and your behavioral traits is said to be a mixed end product of your inherited traits (genetics), your upbringing (psychic), and your environmental surroundings such as your spouse, the company, the economy or your circle of friends. You have your own identity. If your father is a failure, it doesn’t mean you have to be a failure too. Learn from other people’s experience, so you’ll never have to encounter the same mistakes.
Sometimes, you may want to wonder if some people are born leaders or positive thinkers. NO. Being positive, and staying positive is a choice. Building self esteem and drawing lines for self improvement is a choice, not a rule or a talent. God wouldn’t come down from heaven and tell you – “George, you may now have the permission to build self esteem and improve your self.”
In life, its hard to stay tough specially when things and people around you keep pulling you down. When we get to the battle field, we should choose the right luggage to bring and armors to use, and pick those that are bullet proof. Life’s options give us arrays of more options. Along the battle, we will get hit and bruised. And wearing a bullet proof armor ideally means ‘self change’. The kind of change which comes from within. Voluntarily. Armor or Self Change changes 3 things: our attitude, our behavior and our way of thinking.
Building self esteem will eventually lead to self improvement if we start to become responsible for who we are, what we have and what we do. Its like a flame that should gradually spread like a brush fire from inside and out. When we develop self esteem, we take control of our mission, values and discipline. Self esteem brings about self improvement, true assessment, and determination. So how do you start putting up the building blocks of self esteem? Be positive. Be contented and happy. Be appreciative. Never miss an opportunity to compliment. A positive way of living will help you build self esteem, your starter guide to self improvement.
Improve Yourself By 10 Inspirational Quotes
It might take a little coffee or probably a few rounds of beer or any other booze you could get your hands on when it comes to relaxing after a hard day's work. Well, yeah I'm guilty about that one as well, unless I'm caught dead wearing a lampshade over my head after a few rounds of vodka… half-naked! Okay, bad example and I apologize to everyone reading this after getting nightmares about me in that state of drunken stupor.
Just don't ask how it happened, please.
But what's really interesting is that how do people go through the usual part of life when faced with vein-popping stress? I mean, the new age thing like Zen or yoga is one of the good things and it actually works. Is there room for the intellectual side of people who can actually smell the roses-in-a-can while on the move? It kind of had me thinking that there really must be something in this 'mind-over-matter' thing.
Humor is indeed the best medicine there is whenever you are. I mean anyone can pay good money to listen to a comedian just to make you wet your pants after laughing so hard. Despite of what's been happening, and to those who has gone though the ordeal, it's better to just laugh while facing the troubles with a clear mind than anger with a clouded vision. One of my favorite celebrities of all time may have to be Woody Allen. Now this is one guy who gives you the in-your-face bluntness that he pulls out with gusto, even without even trying. You can talk just about anything with a man, and he's bound to mock the subject and you'll end up laughing rather than being upset about it.
Woody Allen has this to say:
1. "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." It sounds good to me, I mean the practicality of all things does involve money but it doesn't have to take an arm and a leg to get it.
2. "I believe there is something out there watching us. Unfortunately, it's the government." 'Nuff said.
3. "There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?" This happens to be one of the classic ones. I mean the issue about life's little problems isn't all that bad, until 'he' shows up.
Sure, relationships can get complicated, or does have its complications that probably any author about relationships is bound to discover it soon. We follow what our heart desires, unless you're talking about the heart as in the heart that pump blood throughout your body.
4. "Love is the answer, but while you're waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty interesting questions." And if you want more, just keep on asking!
5. "A fast word about oral contraception. I asked a girl to go to bed with me, she said 'no'." It sounds, 'practical', I think.
And when it comes to everyday life, he really knows how to make the best out of every possible scenario, and it doesn't involve a lawsuit if he strikes a nerve.
6. "Basically my wife was immature. I'd be at home in the bath and she'd come in and sink my boats." I never had a boat in my bathtub before. Just staring at it while soaking in hot water makes me seasick already.
7. "I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens." If it rains, it pours.
8. "I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose." It could get worse when you're guzzling on beer… or mouthwash, and it happened to me once!
9. "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans." At least he doesn't smite us with lightning, and I'm thankful for that.
And despite of what may happen to all of us in the next ten, twenty, or even thirty years, I guess we all have to see things in a different kind of light and not just perspective. I can't seem to imagine life without any piece of wisdom that could guide us. Whether we're religious or not, it takes more courage to accept your fears and learn how to deal with them is all that matters when it comes to even just getting along.
And to sum things up, here is the last nugget of wisdom to go by… however, whenever, and wherever we may be.
10. "The talent for being happy is appreciating and liking what you have, instead of what you don't have."
Do It Right Now!
We are living in a time when literally anything is possible, at least for us in the privileged minority. Anybody really can be anything they want to be and do anything they want to do. That doesn’t mean that we’ll be handed everything we want on a plate, we’ll still have to work for it, but we certainly have more choices and more opportunities now than our parents or grandparents ever had. It's so easy to take for granted just how well off we are and to forget how grateful we should be.
The start of a New Year is one of the most popular times to make plans for the future, and many people make New Year Resolutions. Personally, I’ve never really known of anyone to have much success with them. One of the reasons for this is that these are often little more than wish lists and rarely backed up by plans or action. A strategy or plan of action based on you personal values and desires is more likely to be effective. If you need more help or inspiration there’s plenty of invaluable information available at the link below that can definitely help you to formulate and stick to your plans.
Anyone can achieve anything they want, if they believe they can achieve it, if they want it enough and if they are prepared to pay the price. It’s always a matter of choice; it’s up to you to decide what you really want. You too can achieve anything you want to achieve – if you confidently expect to succeed, and if you make plans and work at them.
Then the key is to take action - get started and take the first step and then keep going and you will success!
Source: Self Improvement Tips of the Day