Showing posts with label Self-improvement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Self-improvement. Show all posts
Self Confidence
1:45 AM
Lack of self confidence apparently is one of the great problems besstting people today. Everywehere you encounter people who are inwardly afraid, who shrink from life, who suffer from a deep sense of inadequacy and insecurity, who doubt their own powers. Deep within themselves they mistrust their ability to meet responsibilities or to grasp opportunities. Always they are beset by the vague and sinister fear that something is not going to be quite right. They do not believe that they have it in them to be what they want to be, and so they try to make themselves content with something less than that of which they are capable. Thousands of people go through life crawling on their hands and knees, defeated and afraid. And in most cases such frustration of power is unneccessary. You don't neccessarily need to have a phd in any field of study to develope self confidence, because self confidence is simply a mindset. A poorly developed mindset is the "holy grail" of lack of self confidence. There are many well educated folks who lack self confidence. Self confidence is the platform that sustains any level of success you'll ever achieve in life. The first step in the journey of developing self confidence is to rearange your thought pathern or thininking process. No matter who you are and where you are in life, if you can begin to rearange and realign you thought with positve virtues or thoughts, you'll soon discover the amount of positve energy that will be oozing out of you in the form of self confidence.
Starter Guide to Self Improvement
8:06 PM
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.
Self-improvement & Success: Hand in Hand
8:03 PM
Everything that happens to us happens in purpose. And sometimes, one thing leads to another. Instead of locking yourself up in your cage of fears and crying over past heartaches, embarrassment and failures, treat them as your teachers and they will become your tools in both self-improvement and success.
Remember watching Patch Adams? It’s one great film that will help you improve yourself. Hunter “patch” Adams is a medical student who failed to make it through the board exams. After months of suffering in melancholy, depression and suicidal attempts – he decided to seek for medical attention and voluntarily admitted himself in a psychiatric ward. His months of stay in the hospital led him to meeting different kinds of people.
Sick people in that matter. He met a catatonic, a mentally retarded, a schizophrenic and so on. Patch found ways of treating his own ailment and finally realized he has to get back on track. He woke up one morning realizing that after all the failure and pains he has gone through, he still want to become a doctor. He carries with himself a positive attitude that brought him self-improvement and success. He didn’t only improved himself, but also the life of the people around him and the quality of life. Did he succeed? Needless to say, he became the best damn doctor his country has ever known.
So, when does self-improvement become synonymous with success? Where do we start? Take these tips:
• Stop thinking and feeling as if you’re a failure, because you’re not. How can others accept you if YOU can’t accept YOU?
• When you see hunks and models on TV, think more on self-improvement, not self pitying. Self-acceptance is not just about having nice slender legs, or great abs. Concentrate on inner beauty.
• When people feel so down and low about themselves, help them move up. Don’t go down with them. They’ll pull you down further and both of you will end up feeling inferior.
• The world is a large room for lessons, not mistakes. Don’t feel stupid and doomed forever just because you failed on a science quiz. There’s always a next time. Make rooms for self-improvement.
• Take things one at a time. You don’t expect black sheep’s to be goody-two-shoes in just a snap of a finger. Self-improvement is a one day at a time process.
• Self-improvement results to inner stability, personality development and SUCCESS. It comes from self-confidence, self appreciation and self-esteem.
• Set meaningful and achievable goals. Self-improvement doesn’t turn you to be the exact replica of Cameron Diaz or Ralph Fiennes. It hopes and aims to result to an improved and better YOU.
• Little things mean BIG to other people. Sometimes, we don’t realize that the little things that we do like a pat on the back, saying “hi” or “hello”, greeting someone “good day” or telling Mr. Smith something like “hey, I love your tie!” are simple things that mean so much to other people. When we’re being appreciative about beautiful things around us and other people, we also become beautiful to them.
• When you’re willing to accept change and go through the process of self-improvement, it doesn’t mean that everyone else is. The world is a place where people of different values and attitude hang out. Sometimes, even if you think you and your best friend always like to do the same thing together at the same time, she would most likely decline an invitation for self-improvement.
We should always remember that there’s no such thing as ‘over night success’. Its always a wonderful feeling to hold on to the things that you already have now, realizing that those are just one of the things you once wished for. A very nice quote says that, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. ” We are all here to learn our lessons. Our parents, school teachers, friends, colleagues, officemates, neighbors… they are our teachers. When we open our doors for self-improvement, we increase our chances to head to the road of success.
Some Books To Read For Self Improvement
7:57 PM
You have got to motivate yourself in order to motivate others. If you do not know how, then it is time to browse through some self improvement books on how to go about it.
Read on a few self improvement books. . . Here are a few:
1. 21 Indispensable Qualities of Leadership: Becoming the Leader Others Will Follow John C. Maxwell
Why do some people consistently inspire others to follow their lead? In this self improvement book, the author identifies these top traits as character, charisma, commitment, communication, competence, courage, discernment, focus, generosity, initiative, listening, passion, positive attitude, problem-solving, relationships, responsibility, security, self-discipline, servanthood, teachability, and vision.
Maxwell breaks down leadership qualities into easy to understand character qualities. Character is what defines a leader, and these traits are what people of character have. A must-read for leaders in any position.
2. Discover Your Strengths Marcus Buckingham
The self improvement book that helps you find what you are strong in and encourages you to work to make those stronger. That instead of working against what you know you’re good at. You can also take the personal survey that is in the book.
3. Five Patterns of Extraordinary Careers Spencer Stuart
A remarkable book about how to stand out from your peers and have a better career. One lesson learned: It is better to ask for forgiveness after the fact than it is to ask for permission ahead of time.
4. Who Moved My Cheese? Spencer Johnson
Of course, what book list would be complete without this self improvement book that is all about change. Another book that is well worth the listen, but also worth reading.
5. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Steven Covey
Another must have in your self improvement book collection. If you like to read a lot of books, you are practicing one of Covey’s habits, “sharpening the saw. ”
6. How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Discover Your Genius: How to Think Like History’s Ten Most Revolutionary Minds Michael Gelb
This self improvement book helps you to think more creatively and be more artistic. These factors are important no matter what position you may be in.
7. The Brand You 50 Re-imagine Pursuit of Wow! Tom Peters
A motivational book urging readers to achieve more.
8. What Should I Do With My Life? Po Bronson
A self improvement book that tells us that it is okay not to know what you want to do. That even the people we think are completely happy may not be. And that we make our own happiness, it all depends on how you deal with it.
9. Rhinoceros Success Scott Alexander
This was recommended to me by my last manager. An incredibly quick read. The book is all about leading, and how sometimes you have to do the unpopular to make a difference and stand out as a leader. Be a rhino!
10. Advanced Rhinocerology Scott Alexander
A nice sequel to Rhinocerous Success that you will also enjoy. A few things it reminded me of is that leaders are often under attack from all sides, and it’s important to watch your own back because often nobody else will.
These are just some of the more popular self improvement books you can check out whenever you want answers to questions you have been keeping inside for too long.
7 Great Tips to Self Improvement
1:54 AM
Did you ever think that life could be a whole lot better and more rewarding than what you have right now? Do you want to learn more about the techniques on improving one’s self? If yes, then read on.
There are basically 7 easy ways to plan for your self improvement. The following steps will help you achieve self improvement, so be sure to implement them.
Tip # 1 Wake up early in the morning
This first self improvement tip might be very simple and quite obvious to you, but you’ll be surprised to know that there are only few who actually spend time and effort to apply it.
Waking up early in the morning is not that hard, if you have discipline in yourself. To be able to do that, you should always have an alarm clock beside you.
You must be fully awake and avoid morning sluggishness. For this purpose, you can exercise, do some stretching and have a cold shower after.
And if you feel that you are fully alert, you can go outside your house and have a view on the sunrise.
This easy but immeasurably fulfilling act will boost spirits and assist you to self improvement.
Tip # 2 Eat your Breakfast
This is enormously the most important thing to do after waking up in the morning. To keep with your self improvement plan, you must have the energy to do the entire task.
You can take bread, cereals, oats, milk or fresh fruits.
Eating breakfast is also a better way to lose weight. Studies prove that those who skip their breakfast have a larger chance of consuming more on the next meal. And, gaining weight won’t definitely help in self improvement.
Tip # 3 Always wear a smile
In every place you go, you must always smile and have an eye contact on the people you meet. Curving your lips a bit is just simple. It is worth the smile, each person will give back to you.
This will help boost your spirit, especially when you see more people smile at you.
Tip # 4 Do not delay any of your duties and appointments
The greater you put something else off, the more these things pile up. And these will only pressure you.
The best thing to do is to set a schedule of those important things you need to do. This would also save some of your time.
Tip #5 Have a note or to-do- list
Have a summary of the things you need to do. You can do these after you go to bed, to prepare yourself.
A to-do-list should contain those important and urgent things you need to accomplish by the end of the day.
It will also serve as a reminder to those vital things you usually forget.
Tip # 6 Forgive and Forget
This is definitely one of the best things, we as human could ever done.
If you had a fight with your friend or relatives, and you know that you hurt their feelings, make apology.
Saying “I’m sorry” is the hardest thing to do, but it’s the best cure for the person you hurt.
You can show your sincerity by talking to that person. You’ll feel a lot better when you know that everything is fine now.
This is by far the most important step in self improvement.
Tip # 7 Take the effort to do something good and kind
Even in an ordinary day, you could buy your friends a flower or a card, just to let them know how special they are.
Don’t be shy to let your family, friends and relatives know that you value and love them.
Help teach your niece or neighbor how to write or read, and do “grown up” things.
These are the simple yet valuable things you could do to gain self improvement.
Just remember that self improvement can be greatly achieved by following these simple steps. But this doesn’t end here. Life is a work in progress. You can always do more and explore more along the way.
Some Simple Ways to Super Charge Your Brain
1:18 AM
Have you ever felt exasperated when you bumped into someone at the store but absolutely couldn’t remember their name? Sure, it happens to all of us.
Despite being the strongest computer on the planet, our brains do lapse. It’s hard to blame them really. As humans, we spend much of or existence stuffing our brains with stuff. Some stuff is worthless, some of it’s meaningful, some of it, well, it’s just stuff and there is an endless amount of it.
No matter how powerful our brains are, they need recuperation time, to be kept in shape, and even an occasional charge. Think of it as a tune up for your brain. Skipping brain maintenance is as silly as the person wandering the parking garage because they forgot where they parked. Is that you? Are you that person? Sure. We all are at some point. No worries, there is hope.
Now I am not a brain surgeon and I am not going to suggest you do anything surgical or dangerous. I am however an astute student of human behavior, so I always look for simple ways to super charge my brain.
Here are some things you can begin doing as soon as today to begin the great brain tune up.
1. Eat Almonds
Almond is believed to improve memory. If a combination of almond oil and milk is taken together before going to bed or after getting up at morning, it strengthens our memory power. Almond milk is prepared by crushing the almonds without the outer cover and adding water and sugar to it.
2. Drink Apple Juice
Research from the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) indicates that apple juice increases the production of the essential neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain, resulting in an increased memory power.
3. Sleep well
Research indicates that the long-term memory is consolidated during sleep by replaying the images of the experiences of the day. These repeated playbacks program the subconscious mind to store these images and other related information.
4. Enjoy simple Pleasures
Stress drains our brainpower. A stress-ridden mind consumes much of our memory resources to leave us with a feeble mind. Make a habit to engage yourself in few simple pleasures everyday to dissolve stress from your mind. Some of these simple pleasures are good for your mind, body and soul.
# Enjoy music you love
# Play with your children
# Hug a stranger
# Appreciate others
# Run few miles a day, bike or swim
# Start a blog
# Take a yoga class or Total wellness routine
5. Fast for a day
Fasting cleans and detoxifies our body. It is known fact that heavy food not only causes stress on our digestive system but also drains our brainpower. Fasting relieves toxic emotions such as anger, grief, worry, and fears – before they accumulate and cause disease. By cleansing toxic emotions, fasting strengthens metal clarity with increases memory, concentration, creativity and insight.
6. Exercise your mind
Just as physical exercise is essential for a strong body, mental exercise is equally essential for a sharp and agile mind. Have you noticed that children have far superior brainpower than an adult does? Children have playful minds. A playful mind exhibits superior memory power. Engage in some of the activities that require your mind to remain active and playful.
# Play scrabble or crossword puzzle
# Volunteer
# Interact with others
# Start a new hobby such as blogging, reading, painting, bird watching
# Learn new skill or a language
7. Practice Yoga or Meditation
Yoga or Meditation relives stress. Stress is a known memory buster. With less stress, lower blood pressure, slower respiration, slower metabolism, and released muscle tension follows. All of these factors contribute significantly towards increases in our brainpower.
8. Reduce Sugar intake
Sugar is a non-food. Its a form of carbohydrate that offers illusionary energy, only to cause a downhill slump once the initial burst has been worn off. Excess intake of sugar results in neurotic symptoms. Excess sugar is known to cause claustrophobia, memory loss and other neurotic disorders. Eat food without adding sugar. Stay away from sweet drinks or excess consumption of caffeine with sugar.
9. Eat whole wheat
The whole wheat germs contain lecithin. Lecithin helps ease the problem of the hardening of the arteries, which often impairs brain functioning.
10. Eat a light meal in the night
A heavy meal at night causes tossing and turning and a prolonged emotional stress while at sleep. Its wise to eat heavy meal during the day when our body is in motion to consume the heavy in-take. Eating a light meal with some fruits allows us to sleep well. A good night sleep strengthens our brainpower.
11. Develop imagination
Greeks mastered the principle of imagination and association to memorize everything. This technique requires one to develop a vivid and colorful imagination that can be linked to a known object. If you involve all your senses – touching, feeling, smelling, hearing and seeing in the imagination process, you can remember greater details of the event.
12. Control your temper
Bleached food, excess of starch or excess of white bread can lead to nerve grating effect. This results in a violent and some time depressive behavior. Eat fresh vegetables. Drink lots of water and meditate or practice yoga to relieve these toxic emotions of temper and violent mood swings.
13. Take Vitamin B-complex
Vitamin B-complex strengthens memory power. Eat food and vegetables high in Vitamin B-complex. Stay away from the starch food or white bread, which depletes the Vitamin B-complex necessary for a healthy mind.
I don’t believe these are that tough. If you find yourself increasing stumped, give a couple of these a try.
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