3 Simple Ways To Develop Your Self-Confidence

Do you want to feel better about yourself and your self-confidence?

Do you need to find simple ways of building your self-esteem so that you can make more money, look and feel better physically, and have better communication with other people?

Below we have three simple techniques which have been proven to help build your self confidence…

1.. Do You Talk To Yourself

We all have thoughts constantly running in our heads, whether we realize this or not.

Everything we see, hear, or touch sparks off immediate dialog in our thoughts…

And if we are not careful, this inner thought - can be filled with many negative messages that are received from television, radio, advertisements, newspapers, and overhearing other people talk to each other.

Negative thoughts literally deplete our mind and body of energy and block the flow of attracting self confidence and self esteem into our lives.

Take control of this by using your thoughts to talk to yourself in a positive manner, as often as you can…

For example, one of my favorite things to say to myself is,

“I like myself, I love myself, and I admire myself”

Now before you think it’s cheesy, just try it. I bet that if you go to the mirror right now and repeat out loud “I like myself!” 50 times, it will be impossible to keep from smiling…

2.. Always Try To Be At Your Best

You will be amazed at just how much more confidence you will have just be looking your best.

It just plain feels good when you are wearing your best clothes, are well groomed, and are surrounded by a clean environment.

So what if it’s Sunday? Put on your nice clothes, get your car washed, style your hair, etc… A hairdresser once told me “Everyday is show time!”

Increase your self esteem even more by giving thanks for the person you are, how you look, and what you are doing. Always say “thank you” to yourself to everything you see, all whom you meet, and each smile which you receive.

3.. Why Not Fix Your Posture

How you stand definitely sends out a message to the world, and in turn - you will feel that message internally.

There is now even scientific evidence which shows how posture affects our mood…

Slouching produces a down-low-mood. Standing tall and upright will actually lift-your-mood. Help build up your confidence by pulling back those shoulders, stop that slouch, and walk proud.

Oh, and a smile won't hurt!

Mastery And Your Power To Obtain It

Isn't mastery reserved only for the super talented?

This is just not so,

Mastery is available to you, me and also anyone else who is willing to get on the mastery path, and stay on it…

- And this is regardless of age, knowledge or any previous experience.

Yes, mastery is not just for the fortunate few; anyone who pursues a personally challenging goal or desire, no matter how modest or small their starting point - can also experience its rewards.

Mastery can be instantly recognized and it often comes in many different forms, yet it still has to follow certain unchanging laws.

It can bring you rich rewards, yet it’s not really a desire, goal or a destination...

- But rather a practiced and refined process or journey.

And we call this journey Mastery...

The first lesson of mastery is the value of long-term dedication to the journey itself. If there is any sure route to personal fulfillment, it’s in valuing the patient and persistent journey toward mastery over the desire for quick and easy results.

For a person who is on the mastery journey its best conceived as something you have or something you are, rather then something you do.

And practice is the path upon which you travel – now practice can be anything you practice on a regular basis as an integral part of your life.

- Not in order to gain something else, but for its own sake.

It might be a sport or a hobby. It might be work or gardening it could even be meditation or community service, anything at all.

It’s important you be honest with yourself as you can achieve personal goals only if you face them head-on.

Can practice really make you perfect?

As Voltaire said,

"Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time"

If you do choose this destiny for yourself - to walk the path of mastery, isn't always easy, but it’s the ultimate human adventure.

Desires and goals will appear, be achieved and left behind, and still the path will continue.

It will never end...

How then do you begin the journey towards mastery?

You need only to take the first step. But When?

- There's never a better time then today, Right Now.

Your 5000 Year-Old Medical Secret Unearthed!

When you get sick, you go to the doctor. And the doctor will, of course, prescribe medicines…

You go and buy the medicines. You take them, and hopefully, you get well.

This is how the health profession goes on nowadays – a cycle of diagnosis and prescription.

If anyone were to give you herbs for medicine, you would probably say that this person was a quack.

But nowadays, studies are being conducted to see if there is really any merit to what is called natural medicine…

Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural medicine.

In ancient cultures, village medicine men served as the doctors of the community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that followed them.

Many categories of the healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among these are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine.

Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices which were in place before the advent of modern medicine...

This includes herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese, Ayurvedic (or Indian), and Greek medicine.

Upon the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are based on the healing properties of some herbs was forgotten.

For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in traditional medicine…

Natural medicine can be considered as a lost art. This does not mean that it has lost efficacy over time. In some cases, natural therapy is actually as good as modern medicine. This leads some doctors to seriously consider and study the possible uses of natural medicine

Before we continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies are legitimate. It would help to only try those remedies which have been thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free.

Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments such as cough, colds, fever, skin rashes, and such are likely to be recommended by health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine. This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects.

Currently there are numerous organizations which study the effects and advocacy of natural medicine – among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive and relatively risk-free…

As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to be bogus medicine.

This represents a challenge for both the user and the agencies because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use or advocate are legitimate.

There exist today many alternative medical treatments that fall under natural medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective. You could mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other alternative medical treatments.

It would pay to consult the experts as to the legitimacy of these treatments.

Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine. Right now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices.

In that case of minor ailments your expert may actually advise you to take natural therapies instead.

The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and prescribing treatments for such. Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick.

Natural medicine strives to make each patient practice good health habits. These habits include good diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatment…

It’s this same line of thought which leads our parents to tell us to eat our vegetables.

Yes, a healthy lifestyle will do no harm to our well-being. And this is the foundation of natural medicine – may it be massage, herbal medicine, aromatherapy or others.

It is funny but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the knowledge of sages past… this, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies nature offers.

The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in natural medicine are encouraging.

So studying these remedies is worthwhile until we can verify that these therapies are truly helpful to our health and also our society.

Your 7 Days Program To Self-Improvement

There are many ways to lose your sense of self-esteem despite of how trivial it could get. But whatever happens, we should try to never 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 which should be enough for a full week.

1… Always 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 which will lead you to your true north every time.

This may seem tricky at first, even more so if you see yourself to be in a tight or even dead end situation.

But there's always that little loophole to turn things around and you should always carry on no matter what – this alone can make a big difference towards your situation.

2… Always Know Your Values

What do you value most? Make a list of your top 5 values… some examples are security, freedom, family, helping others, self-improvement, learning etc…

As you set your goals for 2006 – 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 make a few revisions to it.

The number of goals you may have shouldn’t discourage you; instead it should motivate you to do the best that you can, and attain more than you ever dreamed of.

3… Always Know Your Needs

Unmet needs can keep you from living happily. 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… Always 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… Always 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.

You could try sitting in a dimly lit room and play some of your favorite music.

There’s sound, yes, but music does soothe us at times.

6… Always 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 them for you.

Are you creative, witty, easy going, 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 with others…

7… Always Try To Help Or Serve Others

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…

The gains for sharing your gift with those close to you are indeed rewarding, much more if it were to be the eyes of a stranger who can fully appreciate what you have done for 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.

Your Effective Stress Management

What would you do with increased stamina, decreased anxiety, and solid peace of mind?

You would probably get more done in less time - at the very least, each day would be more enjoyable…

In the long term, you would certainly experience better physical health and a longer life span.

The only thing standing between you and a higher level of general well-being is the unpreventable occurrence of stress. Daily stress can rob us of our potential, weakening every aspect of our lives. Consider the following:

- Stress breaks down the efficiency of the immune system leaving our bodies vulnerable to illness and disease.

- Stress causes heart problems and high blood pressure.

- Stress contributes to addictive behavior, causing alcoholism, eating disorders, nicotine addiction, and workaholic tendencies.

- Stress causes social withdrawal, perpetuating symptoms and leading to destructive isolation.

To avoid stress and related symptoms you must be proactive, nurturing your body and mind through a balanced diet, exercise, and reserved time for relaxation.

A Balanced Diet - We know that a balanced diet can improve our health, but can it really do anything for your stress level? Experts say it can.

Research has found that good nutrition has a tremendous impact on our ability to ward off the damage stress can do to our systems. Sure, you’ll still feel tense, but with your body nutritionally armed for battle, you’ll handle things better.

There are many things you can do to maximize your body’s fighting power.

One of the most significant things you can do is to reduce the amounts of sugar and white flour in your diet. Sugar and white flour cause a host of problems you could do without…

By reducing these items in your diet, you will be able to maintain better weight control, reduce the risk of heart disease, and increase your energy level. Why?

Because items made with these products metabolize too fast in your blood system. The result is unhealthy spikes in your blood sugar, rapid depletion of energy, and damaging stress symptoms.

Exercise - In addition to eating right, exercise can be a tremendous help in fighting stress. As you get moving, your circulation delivers oxygen and nutritional elements throughout your body.

The result is muscle relaxation, the release of mood elevating chemicals, and a strengthened immune system. Studies show that those who exercise regularly are less likely to suffer from stress related illness.

Relaxation - When your body is fully relaxed, it reverses stress symptoms. You experience a sense of control as you eliminate the feelings of helplessness that often accompany stress.

Find that one thing which really helps you to kick back and forget about things for a while…

Here are some suggestions:

- Catering to our senses, such as sight, smell, and sound can reduce anxiety. So put on some favorite music, keep fresh cut flowers in view, and sink into a warm bubble bath.

- Reduce the clutter in your life. Passing a stack of papers as you leave for work, tripping over boxes, or stuffing a breakfast plate into a sink of dirty dishes, creates underlying tension which can act as a fuse - when something gets you fired up.

- Deal head-on with anything that has been bothering you. Ignoring problems won’t make them go away – but resolving them will.

- Get a good night’s sleep. Your body needs this time to heal and “reboot” in preparation for the next day’s challenges. Deny this basic need and you drain all of your systems of their strength.

Good nutrition, exercise, and learning to enjoy life will help you ward off dangerous stress symptoms. It’s important that you take steps now to ensure a healthy future.

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Your Real Path Towards Happiness

When our lives are comfortable, easygoing and without any problems – we are content and happy…

However, most of us may feel troubled, worried, frustrated or even irritated during the course of each day.

Almost all of us have wondered, at some time or other, how great and wonderful it would be, if we could live with everlasting hope and joy – at all times.

Some of us may have even looked for guidance during troubled times, in the hope that it would help heal our tired mind and heart, and thus; would guide us in the right direction…

Do You Know The True And Primary Cause Of Happiness And Unhappiness?

It’s your own mind which creates the happiness of your own life. How dose your mind create happiness or unhappiness? By simply thinking about it.

We have inside us the unlimited power to create anything we desire… even our very own destiny, can be created, shaped and controlled - by the way in which we think!

It may be true that the society we live in, our parents, our friends and even nature itself do affect our destinies to some extent; but mainly it’s our own will power which guides us and creates our lives.

The very thing you desire and envision in your own mind is itself a very strong power of creation and a power of great value.

Certainly nothing can be created, before we know that it can be created and then make the proper effort, in order to create it.

Human Thought Is A Gift We All Posses…

Any things or conditions we desire to become realities in our life we must first create in our mind…

If you desire to create a good destiny for yourself, you must think and project only good, strong and positive thoughts at all times. It will then be so much easier for you to lead a happy and healthy life.

But on the other hand, if we only think about and imagine misfortune, poor health and bad luck in our future and we constantly worry about it – then these negative things will sooner or later start to manifest in our world, just as you thought they would.

So the best way to bring happiness into your life and keep it there is to always think positive thoughts… and never dwell on negative ones.

When you are troubled or are feeling sad or down, simply think the best thoughts you can. Then and only then will you begin to find that your way of thinking is changing, and your way of looking at the situation or problem will also start to change…

And as a result of this, all your troubles will start to disappear!

Just by the simple act of changing your thinking, you will be able to start building a bright and desirable future with your own power. And this power is the power to think positive thoughts… thoughts which will bring you towards only peace and happiness.

There is never a need for doubt or despair, even if the situation or problem you are in may seem hopeless to you.

The truth is all of us…without exception, will find true peace and happiness in life by simply changing our old way of thinking about things – into a strong positive way of thinking and by envisioning only good and wonderful things for ourselves and others.

Let us awaken this power of the mind – a power which has been hidden away up until now. You must fill your mind with joy and happy ways of living…

When your mind and body is completely filled with joy and light, you will be able to envision only good and think only positive thoughts, naturally and without any force or effort involved.

So will you start shaping your life towards a wonderful and bright future filled with only happiness, from this day on?

Setting Your Goals – Easier Said Than Done?

The basics of setting a goal is an open secret known by top-caliber athletes, successful business men and women and all types of achievers in all the different fields.

The basics of setting goals give you both short-term and long-term focus and motivation…

Your goals also help you to focus on the attainment of required knowledge and help you to plan and organize your resources and your time, so that you can get the best out of your life.

Setting a clearly defined short term and long term goal will enable you to measure your progress and achieve personal satisfaction - when you have finally met your main intended goal.

Charting your progress will also enable you to actually see the stages of completion leading to the actual realization of your goals and desires. This eliminates the feeling of a long and pointless grind towards achieving your goal.

Your self-confidence and level of competence will also improve as you will become more aware of your capabilities as you complete or achieve your goals.

The basics of goal settings involves deciding what you really want to do with your personal life, and what short term and long term goals you will need in order to achieve it…

Then you have to break down your goals into smaller and more manageable targets which you can complete on your way to achieving your lifetime targets. Once you have your list waste no time in tackling your goals.

A good way to have a manageable list is to have a daily and weekly set of goals!

By doing this you will always be in the position of heading towards you life plan goals. Everyday will give you the opportunity to fulfill a certain goal giving you the feeling of accomplishment.

Here are some pointers that should be taken into consideration when setting your goals and also achieving them…

Attitude Plays A Very Big Role In Setting And Achieving Your Goals

You must ask yourself;

- “Is any part of you or your mind holding you back from completing your goals?”

- “Is there any part of your behavior which is being a hindrance or puts your plans into disarray?”

If you do have problems in these areas then the immediate thing to do is to address this problem… you must replace any limiting beliefs you have about yourself and also any negative thoughts which may be holding you back with positive and healthy ones…

Careers Are Made By Good Time Management Practice

Failing in a career is often attributed to bad time management. Careers require a lot from an individual which often makes the career the life of the individual.

Always plan ahead “How far do you want to go in your career?”

Education Is Often The KEY In Achieving Your Goals

If your goals require you to have a certain kind of degree or require a certain specialization or demand a certain skill to be developed - then you may also want to make plans for getting the appropriate education.

Don’t Leave Your Family Out Of Your Plans

If you are just starting out then you have to decide if you want to be a parent or when you want to be a parent. You also have to know if you really would be a good parent and how well would you relate to extended family members.

You Financial Situation Can Also Play A Major Role In Achieving Your Goals

Have a realistic goal on how much you really want to earn. You must also be able to create plans or stages by which you will be able to reach your intended earning potential…

Physically gifted individuals may be able to achieve sports related goals like being in the National Basketball association or National Football League.

Determining your physical capabilities should be one of your priorities. Physical limitations could however be conquered with proper planning.

Giving Yourself A Little Pleasure Should Be Included Into Your Plans…

As the saying goes - “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”, or something to that effect, is by all means true down to the last letter…

To start achieving your lifetime goals, set a quarter of a century plan, then break it down to 5 year plans then break it down again to 1 year plans, then 6 month plans then monthly plans, then weekly, then daily.

Then create a things-to-do list for the day.

Always review your plans and prepare for occurrence.

The basics of good goal settings should not be so difficult once you get to be familiar with them…

Life Mapping: A Vision Of Your Success

Success is more than economic gains, titles, and degrees. Planning for success is about mapping out all the different aspects of your life…

Similar to a map, you need to define the following details: origin, destination, vehicle, backpack, landmarks, and route!

Origin: Who You Really Are

A map has a starting point. Your origin is who you are right now. Most people when asked to introduce themselves would say, “Hi, I’m Jean, I am 17-years old and a senior high school student.”

It does not tell you about who Jean is; it only tells you her present preoccupation.

To gain insights about yourself, you need to look closely at your beliefs, values, and principles… aside from your economic and professional status.

Moreover, you can also reflect on your experiences to give you insights on your good and not-so-good traits, skills, knowledge, strengths, and weaknesses.

Upon inspection, Jean realized that she was highly motivated, generous, service-oriented, but impatient. Her inclination was in the biological-medical field. Furthermore, she believed that life must serve a purpose, and that wars were destructive to human dignity...

Destination: A Vision Of Who You Want To Be

“Who do you want to be?” this is your vision!

Now it’s important that you know yourself - so that you can have a clearer idea of who you want to be; and the things you want to change whether they are attitudes, habits, or points of view.

If you hardly know yourself, then your vision and targets for the future may also be unclear. Your destination should cover all the aspects of your being: the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.

Continuing Jean’s story, after she defined her beliefs, values, and principles in life, she decided that she wanted to have a life dedicated to serving her fellowmen.

Vehicle: You’re Mission

A vehicle is the means by which you can reach your destination. It resembles your mission or vocation in life. To a great extent, your mission would depend on what you know about yourself…

Bases on Jean’s self-assessment, she decided that she was suited to become a doctor, and that she wanted to become one. Her chosen vocation was a medical doctor.

Describing her vision-mission fully: it was to live a life dedicated to serving her fellowmen as a doctor in conflict-areas.

Travel Bag: Your Knowledge, Skills, And Attitude

Food, drinks, medicines, and other traveling necessities are contained in a bag.

Applying this concept to your life map, you also bring with you certain knowledge, skills, and attitudes. These determine your competence and help you in attaining your vision...

Given such, there is a need for you to assess what knowledge, skills, and attitudes you have at present and what you need to gain along the way.

This two-fold assessment will give you insights on your landmarks or measures of success. Jean realized that she needed to gain professional knowledge and skills on medicine so that she could become a doctor. She knew that she was a bit impatient with people so she realized that this was something she wanted to change.

Landmarks and Route: Your S.M.A.R.T. Objectives

Landmarks confirm if you are on the right track while the route determines the travel time. Thus, in planning out your life, you also need to have landmarks and a route.

These landmarks are your measures of success. These measures must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound…

Going back to Jean as an example, she identified the following landmarks in her life map: completing a bachelor’s degree in biology by the age of 21; completing medicine by the age of 27; earning her specialization in infectious diseases by the age of 30; getting deployed in local public hospitals of their town by the age of 32; and serving as a doctor in war-torn areas by the age of 35.

Anticipate Turns, Detours, And Potholes

The purpose of your life map is to minimize hasty and spur-of-the-moment decisions that can make you lose your way… but sometimes our plans are also modified along the way due to some inconveniences, delays, and other situations beyond our control.

Like on any road or path, there are turns, detours, and potholes thus; we must try to anticipate them and adjust accordingly…

Your Easy Road Toward Meditation

Meditation refers to a state where your body and mind are consciously relaxed and focused…

Practitioners of this art report increased awareness, focus, and concentration, as well as a more positive outlook on life.

Meditation is most commonly associated with monks, mystics and other spiritual disciplines. However, you don’t have to be a monk or mystic to enjoy its benefits. And you don’t even have to be in a special place to practice it.

That’s right; you can even try it in your own living room!

Although there are many different approaches to meditation, the fundamental principles remain the same. The most important among these principles is that of removing obstructive, negative, and wandering thoughts - and calming the mind with a deep sense of focus.

This clears the mind of debris and prepares it for a higher quality of activity.

The negative thoughts you have – those of noisy neighbors, bossy officemates, that parking ticket you got, all those unwanted spam email you keep on receiving etc…

It’s said that all these kinds of negative thought can contribute to the ‘polluting’ of the mind, and by shutting them out we allow for the ‘cleansing’ of the mind, so that it may focus on deeper, more meaningful thoughts...

Some practitioners even shut out all sensory input – no sights, no sounds, and nothing to touch – and try to detach themselves from the commotion around them.

You may now focus on a deep, profound thought if this is your goal. It may seem deafening at first, since we are all too accustomed to constantly hearing and seeing things, but as you continue this exercise you will find yourself becoming more aware of everything around you.

If you find the meditating positions you see on television threatening – those with impossibly arched backs, and painful-looking contortions – you need not worry. The principle here is to be in a comfortable position conducive to concentration.

This can be while sitting cross-legged, standing, lying down, or even walking.

If the position allows you to relax and focus, then that would be a great starting point. While sitting or standing, the back should be straight, but not tense or tight. In other positions, the only no-no is slouching and falling asleep.

Loose, comfortable clothes help a lot in the process since tight fitting clothes can have a tendency to choke you up and make you feel tense...

The place you perform meditation should have a soothing atmosphere. It may be in your living room, your bedroom, or any other place you feel comfortable in. You might want an exercise mat if you plan to take on the more challenging positions

Also if you would feel more focused doing so, you may want to have the place arranged so that it is soothing to your senses.

Silence helps most people relax and meditate, so you may want a quiet, isolated area far from the ringing of the phone or the humming of the washing machine. Pleasing scents also help in that regard, so stocking up on aromatic candles isn’t such a bad idea either…

The monks you see on television making those monotonous sounds are actually performing their mantra. This, in simple terms, is a short creed, a simple sound which, for these practitioners, holds a mystic value.

You do not need to perform as such; however, it would pay to note that focusing on repeated actions such as breathing, and humming help the practitioner enter a higher state of consciousness.

The principle here is focus...

You could also try focusing on a certain object or thought, or even, while keeping your eyes open, focus on a single sight.

One sample routine would be to – while in a meditative state – silently name every part of you body and focusing your consciousness on that part. While doing this you should be aware of any tension on any part of your body.

Mentally visualize releasing this tension. It works wonders.

In all, meditation is a relatively risk-free practice and its benefits are well worth the effort (or non-effort – remember we’re relaxing).

Studies have shown that meditation does bring about beneficial physiologic effects to the body. And there has been a growing consensus in the medical community to further study the effects of such.

So in the near future, who knows, that mystical thing we call meditation might just become a science itself!

Your 5 Minute A Day Program To Stress Relief

Sometimes it’s how we work or even relax, for that matter which triggers stress. Have you ever been stressed even when you were well relaxed or even bored?

Since stress is sometimes unavoidable, it’s important to find ways to decrease and prevent stressful incidents - and also change our actions towards stressful situations…

“I opened up to people and learned a lot about my parents
and myself. I won't relieve my stress by putting it on my friends
or family anymore; now I can relieve my stress myself”
- Kim, Age 11

Here are just a few things you can do each day, to relieve yourself from stressful situations. You can spend longer than 5 minutes on some of them if you like, but as the saying often goes – “Every Minute Counts”.

Managing Your Time

Time management skills can allow you more time with your family and friends and possibly increase your performance and productivity. This can allow you to keep on top of things a lot more easily… which in turn will help reduce your stress level.

Tips For Your Time Management Improvement

Tip 1… Save time by focusing, concentrating, delegating, and scheduling time for yourself.

Tip 2… Keep a record of how you spend your time, including work, family, and leisure time.

Tip 3… Prioritize your time by rating tasks by importance and urgency. Redirect your time to those activities which are most important and meaningful to you.

Tip 4… Manage your commitments by not “over or under committing”. Don't commit to something that is not important to you.

Tip 5… Deal with procrastination by using a day planner - breaking large projects into smaller ones, and setting short-term deadlines.

Tip 6… Examine your beliefs to reduce conflict between what you believe and what your life is like.

Build Healthy Coping Strategies

It’s important that you identify your coping strategies. One way to do this is by recording the stressful event, your reaction, and how you cope in a stress journal.

With this information, you can now work on changing unhealthy coping strategies into healthy ones - those that help you to focus on the positive and what you can change or control in your life…

You’re Lifestyle

Some behaviors and lifestyle choices can also affect your stress level. They may not cause stress directly, but they can interfere with the ways in which your body seeks relief from stress.

You may want to try and:

- Balance personal, work, and family needs and obligations.
- Have a sense of deep purpose in your life.
- Get enough sleep, this helps your body recover from the stresses of the day.
- Eat a balanced diet for a nutritional defense against stress.
- Get moderate exercise throughout the week.
- Limit your consumption of alcohol.

Your Social Support

Social support is a major factor in how we experience stress. Social support is the positive support you receive from family, friends, and the community.

It is the knowledge that you are cared for, loved, respected and valued. More and more research indicates a strong relationship between social support and better mental and physical health…

Changing Your Thinking

Adopting the right kind of thinking can convert a negative stress into a positive one.

When an event triggers negative thoughts, you may experience fear, insecurity, anxiety, depression, rage, guilt, and a sense of worthlessness or powerlessness.

These emotions trigger the body's stress, just as an actual threat does. Dealing with your negative thoughts and how you see things… can help you reduce stress.

- Thought-stopping helps you stop a negative thought to help eliminate stress.

- Disproving irrational thoughts helps you to avoid exaggerating the initial negative thought, expecting the worst to happen, and misinterpreting a certain event entirely.

- Problem solving helps you identify all aspects of a stressful event and also find ways to deal with it much better…

“Worry and stress affects the circulation, the heart, the glands,
the whole nervous system, and profoundly affects heart action”
- Charles W. Mayo

Changing your communication style can also help you to communicate in a way that makes your views known, without making others feel put down, or intimidated.

This also reduces the stress, which can come from poor communication…

Whether you're the mail guy, the CEO, or the average working parent, stress is one unwanted visitor we can all do without...

7 Questions You Should Ask Yourself

"What Really Makes You Tick?"

We may see ourselves as somewhat content with our life the way things are, but of course it's hard to think of contentment - when we have more important issues on our minds…

Still we should always aspire for something deeper and more meaningful.

From time to time, we're all pelted with problems. But we shouldn't let it get to us, or even hinder us from becoming all that we want to be.

1 What Do I Really Want?

The golden question of the ages. So many things you want to do with your life - and so little time - to even fit in all the stuff we need to get done, during just one day of our busy schedules.

Finding something which you are passionate about and good at, can help you to make the small steps necessary towards improvement. Perseverance is the key - to know that it will all be worthwhile in the end.

2 Can I See Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

When we have so much happening around us there seems 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 too much searching. 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!

3 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’s easy to see that we are all unique, or else we would all be equally the same in everything we do. Variety can often bring in very interesting and exciting questions to be examined.

4 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 will be able to see and do stuff you could never imagine doing otherwise…

5 How Much Could I Have?

I suppose in this case there is no such thing as having too much or too little… but it's more about how badly you really want, desire or need it. You may want to have great health, success and lots of money, (I think most of us do), but the real question is “how much are you willing to work for it?”

6 What Really Motivates Me?

What motivates you? It's an answer you have to find out for yourself. There are so many things that can make us happy, but to choose one of them may be the hardest part. It's not like you can have only one serving of your favorite food and then that's it. You can always try anything you want to… just try it piece by piece.

7 What Really Makes You Tick?

So? What really makes you tick? You can be just about anything you always wanted to be, but to believe that attaining something will be very difficult, is already giving up before you even start the journey.

There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions
as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.
- Denis Waitley

Always remember, that self-improvement is not just about a physical or mental change you have to undergo, it's also something which you must really want…

REAL Happiness STARTS From Within YOU...

Life isn’t always the sweetest bed of roses. Sometimes, when we feel like the world is just too heavy, we should look around and find people who continue to live fascinating and wonderful lives.

And then we should think to ourselves:

- How did their life become so adorably sweet?

- What inspired them to carry on – no matter what the cost?

- How come they still can manage to laugh and play around despite a busy and sometimes stressful life?

- How do they find the time to accomplish so much and fit everything into their days work?

If we ask questions like this to ourselves - then pause and observe for a while… we will figure out why they are so happy and have been so successful…

“The Grand essentials of happiness are: something
to do, something to love, and something to hope for”
- Allan K. Chalmers

You see the first thing they did is to start work on a place called ‘self’. That’s right; they realized that real happiness, real success and real power all come from within.

But How Do You BECOME Genuinely Happy?

Step 1 is to love yourself always...

“Loving means accepting.” To love oneself means to accept that you are not a perfect being, but behind the imperfections must lie a great ounce of courage to be able to discover ways on how to improve your life - and also to recover from any mistakes we may make along the way.

Genuine happiness also relates to contentment. When you are content with the job you have, the way you look, with your family, your friends, the place you live in, your successes, and all the things you now have – when you are truly content, you know the answer to the question “how to be genuinely happy.”

When we make a small start somewhere from within, this small start will eventually lead to something larger, and then on again to something even larger. But if we keep questioning life as it is or how it has been for us, up to now… then we will never be able to find genuine happiness.

We must look from within… and the first step is always love yourself… always.

“Happiness is not in our circumstance but in ourselves.
It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel,
like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are”
- John B. Sheerin

Life is about finding out about right from wrong, trying and failing, wining and losing. These are things that happen to us as often as you inhale and exhale. Failure, in a person’s life has become as abundant and necessary as air.

But this one thing should never hinder us from becoming happy… in fact the reverse is true, our failures and mistakes should encourage us to do better the next time around, and they should also empower us, we should learn from them so we can then succeed at anything we like.

After all, without learning from (and carrying on after) all our failures, how can we ever expect to reach success!

The truth is, we cannot – without Failure there can be no Success.

So, how do we be genuinely happy in spite of all this? … every time you exert effort to improve the quality of life and your being, whether it’s cleaning your house, taking care of your sick pet, helping a friend, no matter how small it may be as long as its positive effort - then life gives you equivalent points for it.

Imagine life as a big score board like those which are used in the NFL. Every time you put positive effort forward, you score points. Wouldn’t it be nice to look at that board at the end of each game and think to yourself “Whew! I got a point today. I’m glad I gave it a shot.”

Instead of looking at the score board plane and blank and saying to yourself, “I didn’t even hit a score today. I wish I would have tried it out. I could have won!”

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we do
not see the one which has been opened for us”
- Helen Keller

Genuine happiness isn’t about driving the hottest new car, or getting the employee of the year award, earning the highest 13th month pay, or beating the sales quota.

And sometimes, the most sought after prizes in life don’t always go to the fastest, the strongest, the bravest or the best...

But How Do You STAY Genuinely Happy?

Everyone has their own definition of “happiness” … Happiness for a business person may mean success … Happiness for an actor may mean getting the actor of the year award ... Happiness for a poor beggar on the street may mean $5 so they can buy a hot drink and something to eat ... Happiness for a monk may mean sat under a favorite tree all day meditating.

So, really now, how do we become genuinely happy? Simple... You don’t have to have the best things in this world in order to be happy.

It’s about doing and making the best out of every single thing...

Happiness depends upon ourselves.

Happiness is not having what you want. It’s wanting what you already have.

When you find yourself smiling at your own mistake and telling your self “Oh, I’ll do better next time”, you carry with you a flame of strong will power to persevere which can spread out like a brush fire. You possess a willingness to stand up again and try – this alone can make you a genuinely happy person.

When you learn to accept yourself and your own faults. You have passed step 1 in the quest for “how to become genuinely happy”.

For as long as you know how to accept others, you will also be accepted. For as long as you love and know how to love, you will receive love back - ten folds.

Happiness Is A Choice That Requires Effort At Times

I would like to end by referring to a friend who strongly quoted:

“Most of us know that laughter is the best medicine to life’s
aches and pain. But most of us don’t know that the best kind
of laughter is laughter over self. Because then you don’t
just become happy... you become free”

You’re Power Of A Positive Attitude

I want to start out - by asking you - to do something that might sound a bit unusual!

First of all, I want you to listen to your thoughts… I mean really listen…

Now tell me, what thoughts fill your head? And would you label them as positive or negative thoughts?

Now let's say you are walking down the street with these thoughts. Do you think that anyone who met you would be able to tell you - what’s on your mind?

The answer can be two fold. Although people will not be able to tell you exactly what you think, they will more or less have an idea of how you are feeling.

Here's another question. When you enter a party filled with friends, do they all fall silent as if something terrible has happened? Or does everybody there perk up as if waiting for something exciting to happen?

You know what? The answer depends on one thing… your “Frame of Mind”.

Thoughts are very powerful! They affect your general attitude. The attitude you carry reflects on your appearance, too (unless, of course, you are a great actor).

And it doesn't end there. Your attitude can also affect people around you.

The type of attitude you carry depends on you. It can be either positive or negative.

Positive thoughts have a filling effect. They are admittedly invigorating. Plus, the people around the person who is carrying positive thoughts are usually energized by this type of attitude.

Negative thoughts on the other hand have a sapping effect on other people. Aside from making you look gloomy and sad, negative thoughts can turn the happiest festive gathering - into something which feels more like, one of your worse nightmares…

A positive attitude attracts people, while a negative attitude repels them. People tend to shy away from those who carry a negative attitude.

We can also define attitude as the way of looking at the world. If you choose to focus on the negative things in the world, more or less you have a negative attitude brewing up inside you. However, if you choose to focus on the positive things, you are more likely to carry a positive attitude.

You have much to gain from a positive outlook on life and a positive attitude. For one, studies have shown that a positive attitude promotes better health. Those with this kind of attitude also have more friends. Projecting a positive attitude also helps one to handle stress and problems better than those who have a negative attitude.

A positive attitude ALL begins with a healthy self-image...

If you will love the way you are and are satisfied, confident, and self-assured, you will also make the other people around you feel the same way… Happy and Positive.

A negative attitude, on the other hand, has, of course, an opposite effect. So, carrying a negative attitude has a twofold drawback. You feel bad about yourself, and you make others feel the same way.

If you want to have a positive attitude, you have to feature healthy thoughts. This is probably very hard to do nowadays since, all around us, the media feeds us nothing but negative thoughts. A study shows that for every 14 things a parent says to his or her child, only one is positive. This is truly a saddening thought.

If you want a healthier outlook in life, you need to think happy thoughts, and you have to hear positive things as well. So, what can you do? Well, for starters, you could see a funny movie, you could play with children, spend some time telling jokes with friends. All these activities fill you with positive stimuli, which in turn promotes positive attitude.

Although it is impossible to keep ourselves from the negative things around us, you can still carry a positive attitude by focusing on the good things, the positive things in life.

And this positive attitude you now carry can be of benefit to other people. Sometimes when other people feel down, the thing people mostly do is try to give them advice. But sometimes, all they need is somebody to sit by them, and listen to them. If you have a positive attitude you may be able to cheer them up without even having to say anything.

If positive attitude is really great, why do people choose to adopt a negative attitude instead?

One who carries a negative attitude may be actually sending a signal for attention. Don’t get me wrong, feeling sad, angry, or gloomy is not wrong in itself. But dwelling on these thoughts for far too long is not healthy either. There is a time to mourn.

As always, if you are beset by troubles, even in your darkest hour, try to focus your thoughts on the good things in life, you should always have hope. Problems will then become something you can always overcome!

You have nothing at all to lose by adopting a healthy, positive attitude. Studies show that such an attitude actually slows aging, makes you healthier, helps you develop a better stress coping mechanism, and has a very positive effect on all the other people you meet…

So, what's not to like about a positive attitude? Make sure you adopt yours today…

5 Simple Steps Towards Your Intuition

Have you ever had the experience when all of a sudden… you had this huge hunch that something was about to unfold or happen, and to your surprise, this intuition was eventually translated into reality?

When you feel strongly about something without any logical basis to it – this is called intuition. It comes in three impressions: clairvoyance, sensing clearly and feeling through listening.

Clairvoyance is when your eyes go beyond what they can normally see. This is when you know and can almost sense what is happening somewhere else.

Sensing clearly is basically what we refer to as "hunch" or "gut feel." This is the time when you are overwhelmed with a feeling and you can't explain it, but all you can say is "I just know."

On the other hand,

Feeling through listening (clairaudience) is being able to "listen" between the lines. Intuition also happens at times when a certain sound, whatever it may be - be it a car's horn or a bird's twitting - ushers in an intense feeling.

It is said that only a number of people are gifted with intuition. Astrologers even insist that people born under the Scorpio or Pisces signs are naturally intuitive.

But studies carried out also proclaim that anyone can develop intuition!

Why the need to develop intuition, you may ask? Well why not?

First and foremost, intuition promotes good communication. It makes you more sensitive to the people around you; it often keeps you from hurting those you love because you are intuitive enough to understand their feelings.

Intuition also makes you far more clear and creative than ever. Intuition means releasing more creative powers for any means of expression.

With that being said, are you ready to develop your intuition? Here are a few ways you can unlock this wonderful gift:

1. Try Being Calm Or Even Try Meditation

Meditating means finding peace within yourself. If your mind and heart are cluttered with too much baggage and hurt, you won’t be able to quiet down the part of you that could eventually initiate intuition. There are so many ways to meditate or reach a full state of calm: take a yoga class, or just simply practice some simple breathing techniques which could bring you straight to an intuitive state.

2. Always Try To Think Positive!

A worry-free, fear-free state can do so much to improve your intuitive ability it’s unbelievable. By staying positive, you attract good energy that will be able to easily recognize imminent feelings and events.

3. Sometimes You Have Just Got To Let Go

What does this mean? If you are on the brink of making a huge decision, let go of all inhibitions and head to a quiet place where you could find out where the letting go has brought you. Sometimes you just have to listen to the voice within you, and that voice won’t come out unless you simply “let go”...

4. Try To Never Expect

After letting go of the inhibitions and all those things which stop you from thinking and feeling clearly, never expect for an answer right away. Never expect that the "hunch" will immediately fall on your lap, so to speak. Give it a little time then you will be surprised when - wham! - Just like that, your answer has come to you as if from nowhere.

5. Above All You Must Stay Happy!

See? All you need to be intuitive is to stay happy… Happiness attracts immense power and such power includes intuition. In tapping your intuition, your motivation must be happiness and contentment. Given this situation, intuition will come to you easily.

Intuition is helpful, because sometimes it leads you to something that cannot be done or achieved otherwise. A lot of lives have been saved by intuition alone. Decisions are also more easily made if armed by this gift.

Develop your intuition now and reap benefits you never imagined possible.

10 Ways To Take Control Of Your Life

Many of us develop negative thinking patterns because we become frustrated by our challenges and frequent feelings of being overwhelmed…

This negative outlook then makes it even harder for us to manage those challenges and move forward. But practicing positive thinking allows a person to focus on their strengths and accomplishments - which provide an increase in happiness and motivation.

This, in turn, allows you to spend more time making progress, and less time feeling down and stuck. The following tips provide practical suggestions that you can use to help you shift into more positive thinking was:

1. Always Take Good Care Of Yourself

It's much easier to be positive when you are eating well, and getting enough exercise and also enough rest…

2. Remind Yourself Of The Things You Are Grateful For

Stresses and challenges don't seem quite as bad when you are constantly reminding yourself of the things that are right in life. Taking just 60 seconds a day to stop and appreciate all the good things will make a huge difference.

3. Look For Proof Instead Of Making Assumptions

A fear of not being liked or accepted sometimes leads us to assume that we know what others are thinking, but our fears are usually not reality. If you have a fear that a friend or family member's bad mood is due to something you did, or that your co-workers are secretly gossiping about you when you turn your back, speak up and ask them…

Don't waste time worrying that you did something wrong unless you have proof that there is something to worry about.

4. Refrain From Using Absolutes

Have you ever said to someone "You're ALWAYS late!"

Or complained to a friend "You NEVER call me!"?

Thinking and speaking in absolutes like 'always' and 'never' makes the situation seem a lot worse than it really is, and also programs your brain into believing that certain people are incapable of delivering.

5. Detach Yourself From Negative Thoughts

Your thoughts can't hold any power over you if you don't judge them. If you notice yourself having a negative thought, detach from it, witness it, and don't follow it.

6. Squash The "ANTs"

In his book "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life," Dr. Daniel Amen talks about "ANTs" - Automatic Negative Thoughts. These are the bad thoughts that are usually reactionary, like…

"Those people are laughing, they must be talking about me,"

Or "The boss wants to see me? It must be bad!"

When you notice these thoughts, realize that they are nothing more than ANTs and squash them!

7. Practice That Loving Touch (With Your Friends and Family)

You don't have to be an expert to know the benefits of a good hug. Positive physical contact with friends, loved ones, and even pets, is an instant pick-me-up.

One research study on this subject had a waitress touch some of her customers on the arm as she handed them their checks. She received higher tips from these customers than from the ones she didn't touch!

8. Increase Your Social Activity

By increasing social activity, you decrease loneliness. Surround yourself with healthy, happy people, and their positive energy will also affect you in a positive way!

9. Volunteer For An Organization, Or Even Help Another Person

Everyone feels good after helping. You can volunteer your time, or your resources. The more positive energy you put out into the world, the more you will receive in return.

10. Use Pattern Interrupts To Combat Rumination

Rumination is a style of thinking in which you circle the same problem over and over again in your brain, without actually accomplishing anything. (A bit like a hamster in a cage running on a wheel all day)

It means obsessing about problems of any kind without letting them go and moving past them - You see as you ruminate, you deepen the problem within your brain, intensifying levels of anxiety and also depression.

And your problems still remain unsolved, and are perhaps even worsened by the failure to act or simply to move past them…

If you find yourself ruminating, a great way to stop this… is to interrupt the pattern and force yourself to do something completely different. Rumination is like hyper-focusing on something negative. It's never productive, because it's not rational or solution-oriented, it's just excessive worry.

Try changing your physical environment - go for a walk or sit outside. You could also call a friend, pick up a book, or turn on some music.

When it comes to the big wide corporate world, protocol is pretty much the religion. To know the things needed to do are the basics of productivity, but interaction and having a steady mind makes up the entire thing to true productivity. There are those who seem to work well even under pressure, but they're uncommon ones and none of us are truly perfect.

To let things like stress get under our skin won't solve our problems; it will just make them look worse to us than they already are. Sometimes it just takes a bit of courage to admit that we're doing a certain thing wrong and than to tell ourselves that we could be doing it so much better and far more productive…