Monday, September 19, 2011

When You Become Sick - What Is the First Thing You Should Do to Become Healed?

Whether it's a headache, a stomach ache, or something worse, what should you do to become healed? The answer varies depending on the person and the situation. Some people head for a doctor, others for a pharmacy to buy an over-the-counter preparation they hope will help, some do nothing and hope for the best, while others seek healing through spiritual healing or prayer.

If one method of healing doesn't work, many people will try one thing after another until they find something that will give them relief. It isn't always easy to know what to do or where to go to seek healing because a person's choices can be overwhelming. Consider:
Medical practitioners are practicing medicine in over 200 recognized branches of medicine, and there are a great number of practitioners in each branch of medicine.There are over 300 types of recognized alternative healing methods a person can choose from.There are thousands of over-the-counter medications waiting to be bought.

With all these options available, how can a person know what to do? How does one choose? Is there one, just one very important thing that everyone should do first in order to help themselves feel better and hopefully become healed? If so, what is it?

The very first thing that everyone should do when they become sick is to adopt a positive attitude. You can't always help what happens to you, but you can always choose what to do about what happens to you. You can decide how you will behave in a situation, if you will act positively or negatively, if you will do everything you can to help yourself become healed or if you will sit around and do nothing, often crying and feeling sorry for yourself in the process.

There are benefits to behaving positively regardless of how dire your situation may be. or how difficult it may be to behave positively. Following are a few examples of how being positive or negative can help move you towards or away from healing. In the examples, the positive choices and actions are listed at the beginning of each example and the negative choices are listed at the end of the example.

As you read the examples below ask yourself which of your actions (positive or negative) and which of your behavior choices (positive or negative) would:
Help you to feel better and benefit you - or do the opposite?Help you to heal and become whole - or delay healing?Make people want to be around your and/or help you - or avoid you?

Then you can decide if you want to adopt a positive attitude or just be miserable about the situation (a negative attitude).

Example #1 - HEADACHE: Take an over-the-counter headache preparation to relieve the pain (if it is safe for you to use) OR do nothing and suffer?

Example #2 - CANCER: Seek medical help, pray, use additional alternative healing methods if indicated OR cry, feel sorry for yourself, complain, don't do what the doctors say, lay around waiting to die, and suffer, suffer, suffer.

Example #3 - AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT WITH INJURIES: Follow the doctor's orders, go to physical therapy, take your medications, be cooperative with and pleasant to those attending to your care OR crab, complain, and be uncooperative about everything; dwell and meditate on each ache and pain, whine about your suffering, don't take your meds, feel sorry for yourself, and etc., etc., etc.

Example #4 - LOSE 20 POUNDS: Be cheerful as you plan your diet. If you can't be cheerful, then at least act cheerful. Acting cheerful even when you don't feel that way will help a lot as acting cheerful changes the chemistry in your body in a positive way and will actually help you to begin feeling cheerful. Eat low-calorie nutritious meals and snacks; exercise, and look forward to the new "20-pounds-thinner" you OR complain and gripe about the things you can't eat, whine frequently (or constantly) about how hungry you are, crab about your clothes being too tight, envy others because they can eat what they want and look good and you can't, and on and on and on.

No matter what happens to you, you always have a choice about your thinking and your behavior, whether you realize it or not... a choice to be positive or negative. Positive attitudes and behaviors don't just happen. They are often the result of discipline and practice, but are well worth the effort because of the good outcomes they produce.

If you choose a positive attitude and follow through with positive behavior you will feel better, help yourself to heal and become whole, and people will like being around you.

If you choose a negative attitude and have accompanying negative behavior, chances are your condition will worsen, healing will be delayed, and people won't want to be around you or help you.

So remember, when you become sick, the first thing you should do in order to become healed is to adopt a positive attitude that will lead you to positive action that will lead you to healing and to people wanting to help you and be around you.

Grace Michael has learned how to use and apply the great powers and benefits inherent in positive thinking to first heal herself and then help others to become healed and improve their lives. Positive thinking and positive behavior are ingredients necessary to healing. In addition to being a researcher, teacher, and author in spiritual healing, she is a metaphysician and spiritual healer helping others to achieve and realize greater health and success in their lives. You can learn more about Grace at http://www.affirmationhealing.com/.


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Our Ideas And Thoughts Into Reality

How many times have you had a thought about doing or wanting something, only to let it slip away?

I do believe that what is meant for us will not pass us by and if it is right, the things that do pass us by will come back to us at the right time and sometimes this could take a short amount of time or it could take years, the point is, when something is truly meant, it will keep coming at us over and over again until we sit up and take notice of it.

If we want something badly enough, we can however help things greatly with positive visualisation and thus turning our thoughts into reality.

It is not just about purely having a thought and then leaving it up to the universe, it is about meeting the universe half-way and we have to put in the time, positive energy, hard work, dedication, practice and patience, the key is not to give up.

If you have a thought that you want to make into a reality you need to hold the thought and start to be pro-active with it. Set the wheels in motion in the physical sense, no matter how small the action is you are already on the road to making your thought a reality. Watch the snowball effect that takes place.

We will soon have something up on our site helping you to create your own vision board, which is a useful tool for turning your thoughts into reality.

Visualisation helps too, by visualising yourself where you want to be and achieving each small goal step by step, laying the foundations and gradually gathering momentum until you feel yourself speeding along.

Pause for a moment every so often to see how far you have come from your thought into reality process, pick up the reins, let the thoughts keep flowing and achieve the next goal. In being pro-active you have released your thought and created a reality.

I always also say to people be careful what you want to attract and to make sure that what you think you want, is really what you actually do want in reality, because sometimes if you think really hard about something, maybe it is not what you want after all.

Some things take longer that others to achieve but remember don't give up, you will get there in the end.


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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Turn Trouble Into Triumph

What can you do when your friends, business partners or loved ones are not on board in your pursuit to accomplish your goals? What steps can you take to ensure you create a win win situation? Is that even possible? With any conflict, opposition, or setback, you can turn the situation into a benefit. You just want to explore options on both sides of the fence.

Finding a solution that will allow the other party to feel appreciated can be difficult and down right exhausting. You can find yourself, bending over backwards and still not getting a fair shake. This can become frustrating and lead you to doing something drastic. But there are options you can take to accomplish your goals when others aren't buying in to what you are working toward.

Below are some strategies that will provide you a truly favorable outcome whether you are selling a product, selling your parents on using the car, selling your kids on going to bed early, selling a business partner on an idea, or selling your in-laws on a vacation spot that you want to visit, instead of where they want to visit.

The first thing you want to do is actively listen to what they are saying. This is the first technique we learned in coaching. You want to give your undivided attention. Clear your thoughts of any preconceived notions. Then you ask the question, what does success look like to you? What does the accomplished goal look like to you? What does the end result look like to your business partner, to your parents, to the team you are on or to your spouse? You can ask anyone of these questions in any situation to gain clarity and control.

This allows the other person to voice their concerns while providing you with a clear picture of how they view things. When you understand there point of view, this not only provides you with a clear vision or picture, but it provides you the opportunity to help make the end result a reality for them as well. If we were sitting here a year from now, or at the end of summer, or by New Year's, because you want to a time frame on when the event will happen, what would've had to have happened in order for you to accomplish this goal, or feel good about your success? Allow your parent, business partner, friend, or spouse paint the picture of how they see things.

Secondly, what course of events would've happened for you to feel good about your progress, or the business' progress, or the progress of our relationship? So whats the ideal state, what will it take for us to get where we want to get to, what's your definition of success? And then address the current condition that's not that. This provides you with a benchmark as to where you are now in comparison to where you want to be.

The third question you ask is, what are the obstacles in the way of you getting there? You can use a technique called a swot analysis. The "S" stands for the strengths, skills and talents that you have. The "W" stands for weaknesses that need to be addressed and the "O" stands for opportunities that need to be explored and captured. So what are the opportunities out there that you can take advantage of. And the "T" stands for threats. What are the dangers in the market place, within our company, within ourselves, within our family, within our relationship, that could stop us from being successful. It could be the competition, it could be your limiting beliefs, it could be your fears, it could be your lack of knowledge.

The fourth step is to demonstrate to your parents, your friend, your business partner, your spouse, or whoever you are interacting with, show them how your project, your plan, your goal, or whatever it is you are wanting to offer or promote, will actually help move them from the current state to the ideal state.

You know, if you were to just go in like you are selling your idea to your parents, the team, your business partner or spouse, you are in a sales position and they are probably resisting because they have their own thoughts and agenda. But if you can get them to be clear about what success looks like to them and address the current situation and help them see the difference between the two, the obstacles that need to be dealt with, and do the swot analysis. Speak to them using the same words and language they use to communicate with you. So now you are speaking in their terms and using words and verbiage they are familiar with, as you paint the picture of the ideal state and what they want.

This certain way of doing things creates a great deal of control and momentum, which translates into an extremely abundant and favorable outcome. Your intentions are to create a very conductive environment where all the parties involved get what they want and you get what you love.

Another process you can use is to sit down and think of all the obstacles that can come up, think of every problem, think of every road block, think of every possible thing that could go wrong. Then ask yourself, what are three answers that you can use to address the problems or obstacles, so when they come up, you can deal with them. So when you are presented with an obstacle, you now have 3 options to choose as your next course of action. This is an extremely easy and powerful technique to use when you are faced with a decision or unexpected circumstance.

We all know that people can be very pessimistic and find things wrong with everything you do. So when you propose your idea to them and you already have solutions or options to their objections, this puts you in a position to create powerful change and receive abundance in all areas of your life. This really makes life fun, exciting and you begin to look forward to each new moment!

Keith is a Personal Development & Online Marketing Coach. He empowers and inspires people to discover their passions, fulfill their dreams, and achieve their life's purpose. To learn more, please visit: http://LifePassion.net/Learn-More


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Neutrality Allows Us to See Bugs As Bugs

As a kid I grew up on a dead end street with acres of woods behind me. I used to go out into the woods and explore. I admired the lady slippers growing wild, the scent of the land and leaves. Often I would roll over a rock to see if there were bugs underneath. When there were bugs, I loved to see them scurry when the lid of their home uncovered them. If I lifted a rock and there were no bugs, I was disappointed in the lack of activity.

I still walk through the woods. I never see lady slippers or roll over rocks, but the woods still have magic for me. I breathe in the scents and now I'm apt to sit on a rock, and just look around.

Yesterday after I came back from the woods my neighbor was on her steps and suddenly she blurted "you have a spider on your leg!" I looked down and realized I had walked through the spider's web and had trouble flinging the critter off me. "Eeeooo" I said, as the insect crept off. Then I instantly thought of the difference between my childhood fascinations of crawly critters and my adult view of a (small) spider on my leg. Then I gently lifted the spider and part of its web off my leg and onto the brick patio.

I wondered... when did bugs become creepy? As a child I had no "filter" about the bugs. No interpretation. No "history" or "story" or any "stuff" in the way. They were just bugs.

That's what having a great neutrality is about. A way of being in the world that I strive for. Not separation, not defense or resistance, but seeing things just as they are. Just bugs. What makes bugs creepy is fear, but there was no reason to have fear of the little spider on my leg. The little spider triggered old fear from the past that had no relevance in that moment.

Kind of the way people, circumstances and events trigger us into believing there is something wrong or bad or scary simply because of a bad memory, an experience from the past. Staying present, seeing things as they are, means a bug is just a bug.

Spiders come and go but bigger things in life can make us unhappy or pull us off center. What's bugging you? Does it repeat itself? Is there Truth in it? Can you see it for what it is? Can you witness it? Or, can you let it go?

Can you breathe around it and give it space? If you feel a strong emotion in your body, can you create a conversation with it?

A clear energy system helps us to release the past and the little things that can get in the way of our joy. Life's triggers may not change, but our reaction to them does. Our reactions are, after all, the only thing that is under our own control.

Judy Copp, M.Ed, RPP, RMT is the founder and healer at A Higher Balance Healing Center in Salem, MA. She helps others to access their highest Light and Soul Essence through intuitive, compassionate energy healing as well as spiritual and self-discovery programs. Learn about her local workshops and long distance healing at http://ahigherbalance.com/.


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Living a Positive Life - What Can You See?

Through the looking glass...through a glass, darkly...How do you see yourself? On those days when you are finding it hard to be with yourself- when you cannot see anything positive in who you are, what you do, how you look- ask yourself one simple question.

"What can I see?"

Seeing yourself as a reflection through others' eyes is a certain route to a negative self-view. Those that flatter you, make you larger-than-life, through love or for their own ulterior motives, will make you feel so good when you are with them. But what happens when you are alone? When you cannot pretend to be more than what you are?

Those eyes that view you with condemnation, distaste or indifference will make you feel inadequate, lacking...wanting. If you ask yourself what you can see and realise that it is the eyes of others that you are utilising to create your self-view, stop now.

Look carefully at your mental image of yourself. Listen to the descriptive vocabulary that you use to access this image. Are they your words? Is that your voice that you can hear? Apply filters...focus on the words that you can hear and discard all the voices that are not your own. Now start again. Sit quietly with yourself and look at you, at your image of you.

Admire all the parts that you are fond of...do not be afraid to look at the bits that are less attractive. Unpack the elements that you are less pleased with and examine them carefully, one by one. These are all parts of what make you. Try to understand what it is that you do not like about them. If your answer is that somebody else does not like xyz about you, discard this in the same place that you put the voices in the previous paragraph. Now look again, with your own eyes.

What can you see? What is it about this facet of you that you are not comfortable with? Is it a behaviour that you need to modify? Is it an addiction that you can break? How will you regain control of what is superfluous to a you that you can live with, happily? Have you developed a negative, bitter world-view through experience? Look at those experiences. You are still here, you have survived- or you would not be reading this!

Experience is merely learning. To learn is to live. Learn about you, the you that only you can see; begin the process of celebrating what is amazing about you and ridding yourself of what is not. Begin taking the steps to ensure that you embrace each day with positivity.

Remember to ask- what can I see?


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Saturday, September 17, 2011

A Kindness Post

It's been a while since I've written about peace and love and all that schmaltzy stuff, but I'm thinking it's about time. I just wanted to talk to you guys about kindness. And not the act of surface niceties or obligatory politeness. I mean kindness--warmth and thoughtfulness. Love-driven actions and words, even in the face of something or someone you disagree with or dislike. This is important. SO important. Why? Well, because look at the world we live in, right? Wars, violence, hatred, pain, unimaginable suffering... and yet how often do we hurt each other without significant cause? How often do we act out of smugness or judgment or knee-jerk egotism? A lot of the time, actually. It's part of the temptation that comes with being human. But I don't believe we are only human. I believe we're a remarkable deal more than that, and the proof is in our ability to empathize, to feel the pain of others. And not just when it's easy--not just when the target is pleasant or the subject agreeable. Kindness and compassion comes of humility, of knowing that you don't REALLY know, well, anything. You can't, because you've not walked a mile in Joe Shmo's shoes.

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~ Bonnie Jean Wasmund

Ooooh, now that is a weighty quote, my friends. People are going to remember you for how you made them feel--nothing else, because emotion strikes the strongest memory. How's that for a reality check to the ego?

Often, we're raised to be defensive to the point of seeking out targets to criticize so that we'll feel better about ourselves. We can all catch ourselves doing it, sometime or another, whether we want to admit it or not. Add to that the fact that we try to drag supporters into the whole mess and you have my least favorite of all human qualities, because it does not equal power. It does not equal character. It equals fear. Putting people down is a weakness, not a strength--and again, I don't care how justified your cause seems to you. We've all had enough of the guns and bombs and argument and pride and useless, useless life-wasters that do nothing to advance wisdom. I think we can all work a little harder to stop and think before letting a thought escape us that leaves a negative scar on our existence here. Sometimes I feel like, with the earth's problems as big as they are, we have no right to be anything but individually peaceful and kind as often as we can, and I picture this swell of pain in the center of us, and some of us keep pushing each other into that swell for no good reason other than the fear that we'll be pushed first. Don't do it, okay? Be good to each other. LOVE. I don't care what kind of hippie I sound like. I'm past the pride of that. Please love. That is the first and the only real thing that exists. The rest is an illusion.

Now, I'm off to write. You know how I feel about you.

*HUGS*
Jen


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Everybody Wants to Win - Begin Your Next Job and Enhance Your Successes

That's right, I have never known anyone to begin a job with failure in mind. Yet, many fail and most are only mediocre. Why, would be a good question?

Even better would be a good answer to that question.

While I cannot be absolutely certain about all the reasons people fail, I can be certain about some. Here are those that come to mind:
Beginning a job without a clear understanding of SELF. Failing to be Self-Aware is like trying to find a target in total darkness. You know there is a target, but if you find it, it will not be because of your skills, it will be, simply luck. Are you willing to trust your future to luck. I am not. Know Thy Self!Taking a job because it is a job and you need one. To increase your chances of success, look for and accept a job that cries out for your talents, skills and experiences. Don't think you will develop new talents or skills. You will likely not have time to do that before accountability time comes. Know the Needs of the Job.Being given no direction or encouragement when beginning a new job. Ask about the companies "On-Boarding" and "Career Path" processes. If they do not have at least a powerful "On-Boarding" process, your chances of succeeding will be slim. Know what support you will be given.Little or no coaching or commitment from your direct supervisor. If you are a direct report to a manager who has no commitment to develop his/her people, guess what? He or she will not be committed to helping you. Know something about your supervisor.No clear picture of how your performance will be judged. If you can not see clearly, how you will be judged, chances are you will have to depend upon being liked by you supervisor. Most wish to be judged on how well they did the job. Know what is expected of you.

Success is not a result of talent alone, many very talented people have failed in their jobs because they failed to pay attention to the "little things," like the five points above. Finally, I do wish to point out that if there were only one thing you could do to enhance your success at work. It would be "work hard.." Hard work beats Talent every time. Want to Succeed at work? Start with a commitment to work hard and make certain that as many of the five (5) steps have been met or verified, as possible.

Then begin your new job with success in mind!

Stephen J. Blakesley is a "master coach" for those wanting to excel in their business role. He has selected and coached over 100 executives to enhanced performance. He is an author, speaker, trainer, coach and educator.
Ask us about the Success Formula, E + R = O. sjb@gmstalent.com
For a copy of our latest ebook, "Guaranteed Success-Steps to a Successful Business Start-Up sent us an email @ info@gmstalent.com with "Guarantee in the subject line.


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Friday, September 16, 2011

It Takes A Hurricane

While watching the drama of Hurricane Irene unfold as she made her way up the east coast of North America, I was impressed by the good humour, co-operation, camaraderie, and overall humanity of the folks who reside in the path of the storm front. The media did a great job of televising scenes of people working together, boarding up buildings and doing whatever they could to make certain that everyone in their respective communities was safe.

Tragedy and impending danger tend to bring people together in a universal environment of compassion, charity and civility that is often absent when things are good.

When widespread, collective problems or fears abate, most of us return to our usual human pattern of competition, aggression, avoidance, and intolerance of others.During a hurricane, a war, a flood or an earthquake the love of mankind and our need to aid and nurture each and every person threatened by a common disaster becomes a singular, communal driving force.

Why can people not consistently maintain and exhibit the natural tribal loyalty and altruism that is innate in all of us?

Human beings are essentially pack animals, which helps to explain why we live in cities and work in huge buildings together. Pack animals know that survival depends on the power that is created when of a number of members of the species live, hunt, share and work together in harmony. Of course our pack-communities are what we know as countries, cities, neighbourhoods and companies, but they represent essentially the same patterns and hierarchies that we can observe in nature.

The wolf-pack is perhaps the most popular non-human example of an effective tribal cooperative.

In the wolf community a leader is selected when he shows superiority over any weaker males who dare to take him on in an all-out fight. In the human community we occasionally have dog-fights to select our leaders, but most often we have a democratic election process where a superior leader is chosen from a slate of qualified candidates.

Whether wolf-pack or human-pack, the hierarchical process is the same: The leader makes decisions for the pack and the followers carry out the work required to maintain the security and integrity of the commune. In both cases, leaders who under-perform can be removed and replaced at almost any time. In case of wolves and humans, replacing a leader usually requires another fight for superiority.

The major difference between wolves and humans is that wolves have almost complete respect and admiration for their leaders while humans often disregard them or resent them to the core.

Getting back to Hurricane Irene; it seems that human beings quite naturally and unavoidably fall back on their primordial instincts when danger threatens the pack. At that point, gone is ego and selfishness; gone is arrogance and superiority; gone is competition and intolerance. In the face of peril, the negative elements of human interaction are quickly replaced by the positive elements of the pack-animal system. Cooperation, collaboration, nurturing and protective instincts flood the minds of the victims, leading them to unusual and amazing acts of courage and kindness.When danger threatens, people become almost universally good again. They become akin to the wolves that will fight to the death as a group to protect all members of the pack.

When people work together during an impending or actual disaster to protect, save, nurture, and help one another it is a truly wonderful thing to see.

When human beings are not threatened and the usual human vices of egotism, greed, guile, selfishness and rudeness return to the fore, our species takes on an unpleasant air that most of the members of our pack find intolerable. We often hate what we see in the human race, but as the Bible says in John 8:7, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Ask yourself if you have been guilty of being human lately.

If you answer, "NO", I think you might need to take stock of the human vices that we have all learned to recognize and acknowledge as unacceptable behaviour in the new millennium.

Most of us make excuses for our vices and sins. We are constantly casting stones at others because they did something to us first.

We believe that a first strike at our integrity, dignity or ego is a perfect reason for us to retaliate in kind, or with even greater force.

All over the world today, fingers are being raised to errant motorists and foul language is being used to upset timid sales clerks. Husbands are yelling at wives and wives are hollering at daughters and sons. Every day, neighbours silently hate neighbours and employees and bosses hate each other collectively. Conversely, in the wolf-packs of the world, there might be a fight for superiority going on somewhere but more often than not if you find a pack of wolves you will find them living, hunting and sharing together in harmony. They know instinctively that they must work together to assure the survival of their community.

Why can't people be more like wolves?

Let's not wait for the next disaster before we begin caring for the other human beings on earth again. Let's start now!

All the Best!
Wayne Kehl

Wayne is an author, lecturer and business coach in British Columbia Canada. You can find out more about Wayne and his company at http://www.waynekehl.com/ or http://www.dlionline.ca/


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Why Should I Go to My High School Reunion?

To Go or Not to go? It is always interesting to see how people have changed, stayed the same, moved on, stayed put, are friendly, still "stuck-up" or are generally happy or struggle with their lives. We find it fascinating and yet it may be difficult if you learn that former classmates, family members or military buddies are facing their own personal troubles. But, ultimately, everyone comes together not knowing what to expect, yet wanting to catch up and enjoy the ambiance our youth for a few hours.

Reunions give us these moments in time to experience. We get to revisit and reunite with friends and family we otherwise may not have the opportunity or ability to see. More often than not, we don't get such chances to connect with old friends and family, unless such events are formally planned by others or happen inadvertently or spontaneously.

Why should reunions be important in our lives? I believe they give us important periodic assessments of our own lives. To see if we are living up to our personal expectations and desires. If not, perhaps it encourages us reevaluate and readjust. Conversely, we may realize that we are happy with our lives, friends and abilities and decide to accept and try not to worry about what we haven't accomplished.

Why shouldn't we miss reunions? It is very acceptable and enjoyable just to catch up with former classmates only at reunions. Due to many reasons, that may be all that works for some. Especially for family reunions. As the saying goes, "You can pick your friends, but not your family." The same holds true with classmates. Perhaps they are great at intervals, just not on a regular basis. However, if you miss a reunion, you loose an important personal milestone that you can never relive.

Likewise, don't feel the need to get together in between reunions, just enjoy the time you have together at reunions. Many of us with busy lives go to reunions that, at a minimum, allow us to meet every decade or so. That's fine too.

What if I am disappointed with my reunion? I tell people not to get upset at reunions if it doesn't pan out as well as they expected. People are trying to get in many conversations with as many attendees as possible in a short time. I have heard from some of my alumni that they felt slighted at the reunion and vow never to return to another. My response is, "Don't ever say never." Try to realize that people/situations/attitudes are constantly changing. To feel anger or strong disappointment because of a few negative or uncomfortable encounters, is unnecessary and not important. I promise, your experience and the people will be completely different the next time. Just like life, expect the unexpected, but make your moments count.

© Linda Johnson Hoffman, The Reunion Planner® http://www.reunionplanner.com/. Follow Linda on Twitter, The Reunion Guru: http://twitter.com/TheReunionGuru


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8 Tips to Stay Positive During Difficult Times

The night becomes too deep and intense just before the sunrise, you have to be patient and soon the sun will be there. Same is the case with difficult times. They are simply transitioning phases of your life. They indicate that something far greater is around the corner, just hold on.

Now it's up to you whether you give up or take it as a challenge-A challenge to learn and grow.

Here are 8 tips to help you stay positive and hopeful during difficult times.

Tip One

Stay Focused on What You 'DO' Want.

It's easy to lose focus when facing difficult times. You start thinking about the things you DON'T want. For example

I don't want to fail.

I don't want to suffer.

I don't want to stay behind.

Have you ever visited a restaurant where waiter comes and asks you "Yes sir, what would you like NOT to have?

Well, no such restaurant exists. The waiter is supposed to ask "Yes sir, what would you like to have". You go through the menu card, decide what you want and place an order. Simple!

Life is also about placing an order with your thoughts and actions. If you use the right thoughts and actions, you get what you want. I know it's quite difficult to focus on what you want when everything seems to fall apart, dreams look like illusions and nothing seems to work. But, this is your test. Be persistent.

Tip Two

Find Time for Relaxation

Nowadays life has become so busy that we don't even find time to unwind, to be with ourselves, to relax. All we worry about is work, work and more work.

Work is surely important, but so is relaxation. Here are some ideas to help you get relaxed.

Get a massage

Though you surely can go to a spa and get an exotic massage done by a HOT girl, it doesn't need to be costly at all times, your neighborhood barber can also give you a head massage and that too at a very reasonable price. (Yeah, you'll have to compromise on the 'hot' part but that's ok)

Go for A Walk In A Park

The natural ambiance of a park gives you a great chance to consume tons of fresh air and be with a person you have forgotten-yourself.

Try walking on the grass bare footed, it's a pleasure you won't find anywhere else.

Watch Moon

Watching moon for a while will give you a sense of oneness with the universe. Moon is a symbol of peace, purity and tranquility. It's said to have calming effect on your mind and that's exactly what you need to battle stress.

Watch Your Favorite Movie

Watching your favorite movie is a wonderful experience and it's not that hard. Just get the DVD from the local library or shop, switch off your mobile phone, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy.

Apart from the ideas above, playing with kids, walking down the street with your wife (or someone else's, if you are lucky) or killing enemies on play station could also help you relax.

Tip Three

Spend Time with Positive People

It's better alone than in a bad company. Sure, there are lots of negative people around, but that doesn't mean you have to be with them.

Spend time with positive and vibrant people instead. It'll help you see the world from a new and positive perspective. (Hanging out with a bubbly and positive girl for even 15 minutes is more empowering than spending a whole day with a boring and dead negative person)

Tip Four

Read Positive Literature

Just like positive people, positive and uplifting books are a great way to increase the positive vibes around you. Read positive literature, especially just before going to bed. It will help you stay positive during hard times.

Reading biographies of people who survived hard times and rose above the else will inspire you to stand tall and never give up on your dreams.

Tip Five

Do Something Out Of Your Comfort Zone

We all have our comfort zones.

We do things in a certain way and never think of going out of them. It gives a sense of security and comfort, but is dangerous for your growth. When you do something that you've never done before, it boosts your confidence and self faith, which in turn helps you become more positive.

Tip Six

Ask Successful People How 'They' Did It

We all know successful people. Like negative people, they are also around us but we never approach and ask them-how they did it.

The people who you think never had a hard time also suffered, faced challenges, handled criticism and survived difficult times. And now they have something which is far more valuable than anything else-EXPERIENCE.

You can take advantage of this experience. Ask them to give you some tips-what did they do, what worked, what didn't and why, what mistakes did they commit and what advice they have for you?

(Everyone successful person around you has a story to tell. I have an uncle in my family with whom I never talked much for around 20 years. One day we were sitting together and he started sharing with me his life experiences-how he faced the challenges and survived really hard times.

I was amazed at his courage and enthusiasm and also sorry for myself for not talking to him earlier (read-for not asking him to share). Don't assume that people will not share their secrets, they will, but only if you ask)

Tip Seven

Watch What You Eat

We have a saying here in India "Jaisa khao ann, waisa ho jaye mann" (The type of food you eat have great impact on your mind)

Eat spicy and junk food and you'll feel anxiety and stress all day long.

Eat raw and unprocessed food and you'll stay more calm and relaxed. I know, it's easy to grab a ready made burger or hotdog or pizza than preparing a nice raw salad, but the time spent preparing your meal is worth it because the food you are eating will alter your emotional state.

Eat raw food as much as you can, start your meals with a plate full of raw vegetables and fruits. Eat salad first, and then start eating your main course.

Eating lots of raw and unprocessed food helps you feel relaxed, calm and confident, which in turn helps you stay positive about yourself and the world in general.

Also, if you drink, limit your alcohol intake and try herbal tea or a simple glass of good old milk before going to bed. It promotes good sleep and helps you rejuvenate.

Tip Eight

Clean and Organize Your Closet

Have you ever experienced anger and frustration in the morning time while getting ready for a business meeting because you couldn't find your black pair of socks? You know it's there but couldn't find it. It is because you have more clothes in the closet than it can handle and you know what? A cluttered closet can drive you nuts.

Here's a simple solution to this -clean your closet. Get everything out-yes, every single thing. Take a good look at all the clothes, sort them in three groups.

Group 1- Clothes you want to keep (Keep them)

Group 2- Clothes you want to discard (Throw them away)

Group 3- Clothes you want to give away (Give them to someone)

A clean and organized closet gives you peace of mind and clarity of thoughts. I know it sound too simple but then who says staying positive have to be complicated.

Do this TODAY, it's worth the effort.

Avdhessh Arya is a Personal Development Coach & Voice Actor based in New Delhi, India.

Learn what true personal development is, and how to walk down this mysterious path.

Visit http://www.avdhessharya.com/


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Thursday, September 15, 2011

4 Tips For Breaking The Cycle Of Negative Thinking

So why is it important to think positive? Firstly a positive person has a lot more energy to accomplish the things they desire to achieve. This helps them to change their life for the positive.

The true power of positive thinking is that it makes you a better person all round. More people like you, you achieve promotions faster, and you can handle stressful situations more appropriately. People who are positive also enjoy extra health benefits, like increased energy, increased stamina as well as the ability to ward off colds, and flues as well as other viruses.

Did you know that negativity thinking actually lower's your immune system? When I use to suffer from negative thinking, I was constantly sick, and was more susceptible to colds and flues. I was always tired; I never had energy to do anything, and I was always coming down with some kind virus.

People who are negative often think the rest of the world should be a realist like they are, and they think that everyone should be negative too. I often tried to bring people along with me, by being miserable, and angry most of the time. I guess the old saying is true 'misery loves company'. This just made me depressed, as well as unpopular. It held me back from achieving anything worthwhile.

Then I discovered the true power of positive thinking. Since then I have not looked back, and my health has continued to improve. I have more friends and I am so much more content and successful.

According to Dr Caroline Leaf the author of 'Who switched Off My Brain' 87-95% of all known illnesses, have been linked to negative thinking. I believe that is reason enough to begin to start to think positively, don't you?

Below are 4 tips for breaking the cycle of negative thinking, and start thinking positively.

1. You need to want to change.

If you do not want to change you will probably try some of these techniques a couple of times, and if you stumble you will probably say 'this does not work. It is useless I can't change'. The truth is, you can change, but only if you want to. It only takes a decision, and a will to do it. You might even say 'but you do not know what I have been through'. That is right I don't know, but then again I do not have to know. But what I do know is that, it requires you to have a desire to be a different person from who you are now.

Changing your thinking is not as hard as you might suppose. In your brain you grow neural pathways whenever you think of something. The stronger you think of something the stronger the neural pathway grows. it takes 21 days for a fully formed neural pathway to grow.

Now you are probably thinking 'great that just proves I can't change'. if that is where it stopped you would be right, but there is good news; You can actually regrow new neural pathways over the top of the old ones, hence changing your thinking completely. You literally reprogram your brain. This reprogramming only takes 21 days to finish. So by day 22 you have a completely new way of thinking about a particular situation or person.

Research has shown that it only takes 4 days to begin the process, and 22 days to change that thought forever for the positive.

2. You need to understand that every emotion starts with a thought.

That is right; every emotion, whether positive or negative starts with a thought. To prove this I am going to get you do something.

I want you to think of a situation you would hate to do, either something that you have done that you do not like, or something that you think you would not like to do. Now see yourself there, imagine yourself doing it, and imagine you really are there. Feel the sensation, and smell the smells and examine how you feel. You feel terrible don't you?

Now think of something that you really Love to do. Really imagine yourself being there actually doing it. Visualise it and feel the sensation, smell the smells. How does that make you feel? You feel great right?

In the negative situation, I imagined something that I would never want to do.That is to jump out of an aeroplane. I imagined myself with the parachute on, and standing at the edge of the door ready to jump looking out at the ground below. I experienced fear and trepidation.

The positive thing that I imagined was having a romantic dinner with my wife, in front of a fireplace, then going for a walk and just talking.

Now to some people, Jumping out of an aeroplane is exciting and something they would love to do, and having dinner front of a fireplace and then going for a walk is boring. The difference in this case is perspective.

If I was to begin to imagine that jumping out of an aeroplane was exciting and something I would love to do. and consistently thought about it in this light i would probably learn to love the idea of jumping from a plane and maybe even attempt to do it.

The same goes with the dinner. If I was to consistently think that a dinner in front of a fireplace and then going on a slow walk to have a talk with someone was boring, then my perspective would change and it would become boring.

So to change the way we think of a situation allows us to change our perspective, and this in turn helps us to change the way we think.

3. How to change from negative thoughts to positive thoughts

This is where the rubber meet's the road. You are going to need to change your perspective on the person or situation that has annoyed you, made you angry, sad, anxious, scared, frustrated or depressed.

To do this you are going to have to think about what you think about. In other words, you are going to have to catch yourself thinking negative thoughts, and turn that negative thought into a positive perspective.

A good example is road rage. Imagine you are on the road, and someone cuts you off, and you have to swerve to miss them. really imagine your self in that situation. those of us who drive can imagine this quite easily. you probably began to curse and swear, and rant and rave at them. Because you are thinking; 'you idiot, you could have killed me. You should lose your licence you can't drive'.

Now to change the perspectives on this situation try to imagine yourself thinking in that situation something like:

'Well praise God no one was hurt. I am sure that person did not mean to cut me off. We all make mistakes. They are probably not even aware that they did it. How many times have I cut people off, and not even realized it?'

Now see how this positive thought puts things into perspective, and makes you calmer. If you practice thinking like this on a regular basis it will begin to get easier to do.

4. Practice putting things into a positive perspective, while things are not stressful

If a situation constantly comes up that upsets you, like the kids not eating fast enough, or being stuck in traffic.

Now with the situation of the kids taking too long, in the morning; instead of getting upset because you are running late imagine yourself staying calm, and imagine yourself getting their breakfast ready a little earlier, and tell them that they are great kids, and that you love them, This takes the focus off the stressful situation, and helps you and the kids to feel great. Imagine yourself quietly explaining to the child or children that if they struggle to get ready in time in the morning that you are going to do them a favour. Explain to them that you will get them up a little earlier so that they have more time to finish what needs to be done. then praise them for the great effort they are making to help create a calm family atmosphere. All of this will help you, and the kids stay calm as well as help you to be a little more organised in the morning. Organization helps to relieve stress.

If you get hot under the collar when stuck in traffic; imagine yourself leaving ten minutes earlier and listening to music in the car. Use this time to think positive thoughts about the people at work. Imagine getting along with everyone, and imagine doing something nice for at least one person today. This will help your time in the car to be less stressful, and allow you to be in a good frame of mind when you get there. also people will begin to like you even more for the efforts that you are making.

Imagine this about ten times

Try to think of a positive perspective then think deeply about it before it occurs again. Then practice it at least five to ten times a day. You will find that when the negative situation comes up again, you will remember it faster, and you will be able maintain control much easier. You will begin to go from feeling angry or anxious to feelings calm, and you will begin to be able to do it very quickly.

So why is it important to think positive? It will improve your health and mental well-being, Can negative thinking really make you sick? According to Dr Caroline Leaf 87-95% of all known illnesses are brought on by our negative thought life. Discover the true power of positive thinking, it increases your energy help you to feel contented as well as happy. It also will help you to cope with negative situations. You will need to think about what you are thinking about. Catch yourself thinking negative and practice putting a positive perspective to it. Remember as time goes on it will become easier.

My name is Henry Webster and I am a Motivational Speaker

For more information visit my website http://www.positivethinking.zxq.net/.

Then Just enter your name and email address, and you will receive a free e-Book called 'Using The Power Of Positive Thinking To Investing In You' You Will Also gain access to my online book store which has lots of great resources, to help you to become the person you were created to be. also check out my blog at http://powerfulpositivethinking.blogspot.com/2011/07/powerful-positive-thinking.html.


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Are We Unstoppable?

It happens to the best of us. We all go through trials and tribulations in life. No matter what we do, we all experience it one way or another. The real question is: are we stoppable? Can we be stopped? If we can be, life will stop us dead on our tracks. I've seen it happen time and time again.

When we're chasing anything worthwhile, we must expect challenges along the way. That's just the way it is. Big dreams are challenging. That's why so few people come out on the other side. It's so easy and comfortable to just give up and do things that are "acceptable" to society. It's very uncomfortable to struggle; however, it's part of the process. An adventure without challenges and struggle is not an adventure.

Mike Dillard is a good real-life example of the point I'm making here. If you don't know his story, do research on it. His adventure is a full-scale test of his unstoppability and the possibilities that can arise when we believe and persistently act on our beliefs...no matter what. He went through very serious issues on his way to the top. I can just imagine society's rejection and ridicule towards him when he was going through his process.

Most people only listen to the "before" and "after" stories. It's very important to learn about the "during" too. That's the real deal. That's where the real-life lessons are. It's important to know that there were times he had to pawn his personal stuff just to eat. That's serious stuff. Very serious. A lot of people would have given up at that point.

That kind of circumstance would weed out the wanna-be's from the must-be's. Obviously, he had a must-be attitude in him. All these were happening during the early 2000's. Now, let's fast-forward to 2011. I do not have access to his financials, but with the best guesstimate I could project between the Better Networker, Magnetic Sponsoring, and The Elevation Group (not counting the other ventures I don't know anything about), it's safe and conservative to say that his monthly cash flow right now just from these 3 sites alone would be in the $1,000,000 a month range...most likely more. One-Million-Dollars-A-Month...cash-flow. From pawning for food to $1,000,000 a month in less than a decade.

I wonder what would have happened if he decided to quit in 2003 or even halfway in 2004? Where would he be now? What would his life be like? Let's think about that for a minute. How would this apply to our own lives? Nobody has a crystal ball to say what the future will hold, but we will never know our true potential unless we begin to adopt an unstoppable philosophy. Life will give us what we want when we pass the unstoppability test...when we don't quit...when we keep on keeping on in spite of the laughters and naysayers all around us. Believe me, they are very loud. They will do the best they can (most of the time in guise of them doing this to help you) to stop you. That's just the way it is.

You know what's fascinating? Those very people trying to stop us has not done what we're out to do. What exactly do I mean? It's best to illustrate it this way: when we ask a plumber how to do heart surgery, most likely, he'll say it can't be done. He'll discourage us from even trying to look into it, not because we can't do it, but because in his mind and belief structure, he can't do it.

Now what will happen if we asked a heart surgeon if it's possible to do heart surgery? You tell me what the answer would be. It's like asking someone earning $30,000 a year if it's possible to earn $30,000 a month. What do you think will be the answer? What if we asked someone earning $150,000 a month if it's possible to earn $30,000 a month? What do you think will be the answer?

The whole point here is: don't listen to anyone who has not done what you want to do. Listen to those who have already done it already, and do what they did. Follow their process. That's the whole principle behind the cookbooks. Even if I haven't cooked before, if I can read, follow directions, and have the right ingredients to work with, I can successfully cook any dish I so desire...as long as I have to right recipe to follow. Whether we believe this or not doesn't matter. That's just the way it is.

Where do we go from here? We need to ask ourselves some very serious questions:

(1) Are we unstoppable?
(2) What are we willing to go through to get to where we want to be?
(3) Are the things we're doing now leading us closer or farther from what we want in life?

Only we can answer these questions. Our answers can predict our future. It's all up to us. The bottom line is we are responsible for what we do or do not do in our lives. Whether we agree to this or not doesn't matter. It's the truth. Let's take a deep breath, write down how we want our lives to be, and take the first step to make it happen...then the next...then the next...until we get there. Or, we can simply quit now and settle for whatever we want to settle for. It's all...up...to...us. We totally control our own ship.

Two of the world's renegades out to make a difference and maximize life's unlimited possibilities! Father-Son, 1-2 punch in the Real Estate, Network Marketing and Online Marketing industries. Anything is possible! We are here to help change your lives! Time to take a stand and embrace change.

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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Life Lessons Are Life's Strip Tease

Frankly, it's a relief not to learn all of my life lessons in one gigantic big bang. I don't think I could take the explosion. I'm a slower learner. I accept this about myself. I don't believe in life recipes which create the perfect lesson learned once for all time. Nope. Not my cup of tea. I subscribe to the "onion theory" for learning life's lessons - one layer at a time, working deeper toward the core.

Maybe I just like my own individual dramas that reveal the personal mystery of who I am, what I'm made of and who I am becoming. One little bit at a time - life's strip tease. Each challenge or crisis presents an opportunity to grow a little more human, accepting, patient, humble, accomplished, understanding, forgiving, loving.

Everyone has something, some suffering or uncertainty, some part of life that leaks through the cracks of daily living to remind us that life is a journey and we're all creations in process. The quality of our lives depends on how we respond to what's on our plate. I may love hearing about other people's lives, but I'm the only one who can live mine. I struggle through some days, dislike others and feel pretty good about the rest. Would I trade any of them for one perfect day? Nope. Like I said, I'm a slower learner - I'm grateful for all of them.

Yet, sometimes, to avoid the uncertainty of the journey, the cracks in the road, and in myself, I feel the need to be in control. Does this sound like a contradiction to the "onion theory"? It is, but that's OK. Contradictions are part of life. I want to be conscious of the contradictions. I don't want my life rationed out by the distraction of self-deceptive certitude. Living with contradictions, foibles, vulnerability or even tragedy isn't a fate worse than death. It's human. I have choices - so do you.

We learn our life's lessons as we make our choices. We make our choices and learn our life's lessons. We're responsible for what and how we learn. My way of learning may not be yours. It doesn't matter. You've got to find your own way. Some lessons take longer than others. Along the way some things become clearer. Here are some life lessons that have recently paid me another visit.

LIVE IN THE PRESENT

Author Faith Baldwin, defined time as, "...a dressmaker specializing in alterations." Life patterns and habits are created from our relationship with the present and the choices we make day by day. Each day offers the opportunity to make alterations. I'm taking more time during the day to be still, quiet my mind and meditate, especially when I am very tired or stressed. I can become very driven when I have a task I want to complete or an article I "have" to finish. Taking time to know when to stop, be still and meditate, refreshes my mind and body.

PATIENCE HAS TWO FACES

Saint Augustine wrote, "Patience is the companion of wisdom." George Jackson, said, "Patience has its limits. Take it too far and it's cowardice." The challenge is finding the balance. I decided that a project I've been working on needed to either bite the dust or move forward. When I realized that fear of failure was holding me back, I screwed up my courage, took the risk and moved ahead. I'll learn from my success or from my failure - but I won't be sitting around wondering about what "might have been".

GENTLE STRENGTH

Ralph W. Sockman writes, "Nothing is so strong as gentleness, and nothing is so gentle as real strength." I know a peaceful mind supports my capacity for effective action and that gentleness guides my progress and opens my heart. I admit that I'm sometimes too driven and I often expect too much from myself. So I'm reminding myself to work on my tasks "softer" rather than "harder." It makes getting out of my own way a lot easier.

What lessons from life's strip tease are alive and well in your life? How are you going to respond to them?

Pauline Salvucci is a professional life coach and owner of Self-Care-0nline, LLC.
Her specialty is coaching men and women at midlife, particularly those living with chronic health conditions and family caregivers who are "sandwiched" between their families and their aging parents. Pauline's eBooks are available at http://www.self-care-online.com/ - she can be reached at pauline@self-care-online.com


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Why Commitment Is So Important to Success

Success means different things to different people. For some it is about personal achievement, measurable financial benefits, for others it means being settled in a relationship, having a family and good personal relationships. Whatever success means to each person it requires effort and commitment to attain and maintain that desired ongoing level of success.

Jack Nicklaus was questioned about his good fortune and the luck that had come his way, enabling him to become a successful golfer. His much quoted reply was that the more he practiced the luckier he became! That philosophy applies in every area of life. Effort, hard work and commitment demonstrate desire, determination and focus, all of which sustain us in times of hardship or when things don't go quite to plan.

Commitment requires the ability to see the big picture, to be clear about the desired outcome and to focus on that as the important, life-enhancing goal.

Why commitment is so important to business success:
- Training may be required and this can necessitate time, money and effort being invested to gain the relevant knowledge. Planning ahead can include commitment to learning additional skills and competencies, so that we fully understand our business. This can result in us stretching ourselves further than we originally envisaged and developing new and unexpected areas of expertise.

- A plan b is often a useful part of the commitment to the big picture as it allows for an alternative course of action if the original goal becomes impossible to achieve. This then results in a positive outcome being salvaged from all the effort.
Often this secondary option is in itself a valuable accomplishment, far more than would have been achieved without the original plan.

- Other people may need to be motivated and brought on board. Often their additional skills and areas of expertise can bring new thinking and energy into a project. Their commitment may suggest different ways of working, bring important contacts into the business, introduce unexpected other options.

- Family and friends are important because they are often part of the reason behind the desire for business success. They encourage our commitment. Often too, they provide support, distraction, regular food, humour. They usually know us better than anyone and are in a position to encourage us take a break, or they can motivate us to keep going if we are feeling frail or tired.

Why commitment is so important to personal success:
- Making an effort in relationships is important. Sharing each others interests and arranging time to share activities together demonstrates commitment. It can be good to keep some separate personal time but it is also important to spend time together, sharing fun, building memories and establishing a quality friendship within the relationship.

- Trying to understand the other persons point of view can require patience and tolerance. We may be incredulous that the other person cannot see things our way. Committing to understand why they feel the way they do can result in positive insights, understanding and increased trust in each other and the relationship.

- Communication is the cornerstone to any relationship's success, whether it be with friends, family or a special partner. Discussing problems and difficulties can be awkward or painful but it is important to be able to tell each other how you feel, especially when hurt and upset are involved. When there is a commitment to a relationship it follows that there is a desire to make it work. Communicating is an important part of its success.

Success in any area of life requires effort and focus. Many people want the different areas of their life to do well so that they can be happy and satisfied. Adopting a balanced approach to life entails being alert to others, communicating well and being flexible rather than too rigid in outlook.

Susan Leigh is a Counsellor and Hypnotherapist who works with stressed individuals to promote confidence and self belief, couples in crisis to help improve communications and understanding and with business clients to support the health and motivation levels of individuals and teams.

Further help, advice and articles are available.

For more information see http://www.lifestyletherapy.net/


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Think Positive Be Positive

Think positive be positive in your life, and you will find many benefits in having this way of thinking. By using the law of attraction you will learn how to do this and to focus your positive energy into motivating you towards your greater success.

When you study the law of attraction you will find that there is a lot of benefit to you physically and emotionally, and as you focus on your goals you will start to feel better about making a better life for yourself.

As you progress you will find that there are a lot of steps contained within the law of attraction, and that it can mean a lot of hard work, so you need to be serious if you use the law of attraction.

Probably one of the first steps to take in the law of attraction is to find out what it is you truly desire in life. So you will need to think hard on the things that you really want to come into your life, if not you may end up working hard on something that is meaningless in the end.

Once you have thought about your goals, then you will need to learn how to channel the right energy, and learn to shut out the negative energy that can soon drag you down at this early stage.

Again there are a few steps to take to find your positive energy, but once you have found it you need to act like you have already achieved your goals, and you will find that this acts as motivation towards your goals as well.

As you go through the law of attraction you will find many ways in which you can focus your energy towards the things you desire. Do not feel as if you have to focus every minute of every day, this is not so, you just need to focus your positive energy when it is needed, and learn how to control your way of thinking.
Don't forget to take time out for yourself and to reflect on the things you are trying to achieve and what is happening in your life.

You will need to learn how to be self-disciplined, as you strive for your goals, and to work on yourself in order to become a successful goal-setter. By using the law of attraction, this will help identify who you are and help you in your personal and private life.

When you have your positive energy, you will find it changing your life and you will be able to focus this energy on the goals you have set yourself, and by eliminating any personal issues you may be carrying you can then turn your energy's fully on the things that truly matter in your life to make you feel happier and more successful in life.


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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Power Of Positive Thinking

Positive thinking, in it's most simplistic form is all about attitude. It can make you a winner or a loser. Whatever you think you can do or you cannot, you are right! Your thoughts and attitudes control your destiny.

Attitude should be more important than facts. More important than education,money,circumstances,success and failure. Neither can we change our past nor can we change the fact that people will act in a certain way. But we do have a choice regarding the attitude. Attitude is all in the mind. Your mind should be intelligently cultivated or it will run wild. You should develop strength of character. People will admire you for that.

Positive thinking should always be followed by actions in order to fulfill your true potential. Life is all about how you feel about yourself, whether you are born to riches or poverty. Do not approach anything with a half mind. Learn to trust yourself and give life everything you have. You will make mistakes, but then you are human. Learn from those mistakes and believe that impossible is doable. The only thing is that it takes a little longer. So attitude is everything.

Start your day expressing gratitude to the almighty. Thank him for everything. Find something good about starting your day. Spend some time with your spouse and kids. Have breakfast together, talk and smile to one another. Spend some time on your appearance. Taking care of your appearance makes you feel more confident. Watch your words and thoughts. Start building more positive thoughts. Think a certain thought for 17 seconds and it becomes a fixed belief and more positive thoughts will follow. But this requires practice. We all are hardwired to think negative. But the change can be caused by you and your own thoughts. Start practicing by feeling something good to say about yourself everyday.

Do not let others attitude to affect your own. Everyone is different and has the right to be in a mood of their own, just like you. We don't have any control over them but we can certainly influence their attitude. Make positive thinking a habit and soon you will see that it is contagious. Positive thoughts bring in personal growth and success.

Be persistent in your positive attitude no matter what happens. Practice, practice, practice. The best part is that we think all the time, as human beings. Train yourself to think in the correct way. Change your thoughts and you change your emotions. Tell yourself that tomorrow will be a better day, everyday.

To your personal growth and success.


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Are You Always Depressed?

Do you know someone who is always depressed? Have you gotten so sick of the always depressed person being in your life that you avoid contact with that person? It is really hard to be around someone who is complaining all the time, especially if that person is you. So you ask how to stop being always depressed.

First and foremost, what is it that has you always depressed? What are you lacking in your life that you think you need? That is the first step. Find out what it is that you think you are missing. Most of us are always depressed because we feel that we are sad and unfulfilled. Some of us want a relationship and don't have one. Some of us have a relationship but do not want to stay in it. Some of us live in the wrong geographic location, work in the wrong field, or are married to the wrong person. Those things are rather simple to fix. You and the Universe work as co-creators. We proved this to ourselves when we were children. We did not have any income or any way of buying anything when we were small. We would think about something, ask for it, wish for it, picture us having it, etc. and somehow, that item would show up. We never lost that power. We just grew up.

This brings us to our second step. We are the only ones who know how we want our lives to be. If we are always depressed, our lives obviously are not working for us. We can use that power we learned as children to create a new life around us. It does take effort and some faith. Always depressed people lack faith so that may be difficult for us to muster. We only need to have the faith of a mustard seed, as we were told by Jesus. Mustard seeds are really small. If we can just have one second of, "I can have this", we would see changes in our lives and our mindsets.

The third step is to be willing to make the changes as they come into our lives. If we are in a miserable relationship that is making us always depressed and we see the relationship as a problem, then action is the next step. We have to take some action to change things in our lives. The beautiful thing about this is that if we follow these steps, things just kind of fall into place for us. Granted, it's never easy to make vast, sweeping changes in our lives. It does not have to be as hard as we think it is. It can and will be a whole lot easier.

The formula for changing your life from always depressed to building a life you want is to first see what the problems are clearly and openly. Sometimes seeing our lives as they really are is not only hard but downright scary. Once you know the problems, then you start working on your thoughts. Start imagining yourself in a better, more happy situation. See yourself in your head living the life you want to live, being in the relationship you want to be, the job you want to be in, having that child you want or whatever it is you are always depressed over. Once you start to change your thoughts from complete disbelief to this could be possible, then the actions available to you will just start to appear. You do not have to live in an always depressed state of mind and being. You can use the above formula to bring in what you say you want. Happiness is an inside job and can be yours. All you have to do is change your mind.

I hear many people say finding a psychic on the internet who is both authentic and solves problems with answers is difficult. Here's my suggestion for you when searching. Check that psychic's background. If you checked mine, you'd discover that I'm a 6th generation psychic from the Williams-Gould Family of psychics. If you're not sure what that means, not to worry. Just know that I've been guiding people down the best path in love, spirituality, career obstacles and much more for over 2 decades as my 10,000 reviews from clients shows on my website. For a short time, you will receive my very special new client discount by visiting http://accuratepsychicreadingsnow.com/.


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Steps To Overcoming Fears

Nearly everyone has certain fears that often nearly paralyze their ability to take viable and effective action, or even to conduct everyday activities. We often refer to the narrow part of the spectrum that they are willing to embrace their personal comfort zone, and far too many people will do almost anything not to have to stray outside that zone. It is important for us to remember that most fears are not based on rationality, but rather some attitudinal or adaptive mechanism that we adapt to insulate ourselves.

1. While most people will try to explain away these fears by referring to them as being fear of failure, my many years of experience training and working with people in the areas of leadership and attitude adjustment makes me convinced that it is more often success that an individual fears that failure. Why, you might wonder, would someone be afraid to succeed? Quite simply, many people fear success because they fear that when they succeed, both they and others will have higher expectations in the future, and they fear the additional stress and pressure that they perceive from that. Since many of these people have spent their lives achieving somewhat mediocre results, they find it difficult and challenging to even visualize being successful. People create personal comfort zones to avoid doing anything that causes them difficulty or creates discomfort.

2. Most people spend more time worrying about something than doing anything about it. When one visualizes a problem, it will often bring on and/ or introduce a problem into ones consciousness, and causes someone to spend excessive time and effort worrying about how this problem can be corrected. Of course, if one sees the situation as a challenge instead of a problem, he visualizes success, and clears his mind to develop a viable strategy to transform the challenge to an obstacle, and then the obstacle into something that is overcome.

3. In order to overcome fears, instead of fixate negatively about them, it is necessary for each of us to honestly and thoroughly examine our selves and our intents, and in doing so pinpoint our strengths and our weaknesses. Effective strategy always calls for building on and utilizing strengths, while transforming identifiable weaknesses into something that we can overcome, and make into another of our strengths. Too many people are in some sort of denial when it comes to themselves. They easily criticize and find faults in others, but appear to see no personal flaws. Since all humans have flaws, the difference between overcoming fears and hiding from them, is often taking that first step to get to know oneself better, and work on those things that could use improvement, enhancement or tweaking.

We all need to work on having a positive, can- do attitude, and looking at how to expand our comfort zone, and improve as a human being. It all begins with that first step!

Richard Brody has over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience. He has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as a company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs, and regularly blogs on real estate, politics, economics, management, leadership, negotiations, conferences and conventions, etc. Richard has negotiated, arranged and/ or organized hundreds of conferences and conventions. Richard is a Senior Consultant with RGB Consultation Services, an Ecobroker, a Licensed Buyers Agent (LBA) and Licensed Salesperson in NYS, in real estate.

Richard Brody has owned businesses, been a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Executive Officer, and a Director of Development, as well as a consultant. Richard has a Consulting Website ( http://tinyurl.com/rgbcons ); a blog ( http://tinyurl.com/rgbstake ); and can be followed on Twitter.


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Monday, September 12, 2011

Learning How to Experience Feelings of Joy and Gratitude

Can you remember a time when simply hearing raindrops fall on a windowpane or laughing with loved ones provided you with some of the greatest moments of joys that you couldn't even begin to imagine?

And as you think back upon all of the simple moments of joy that you have already experienced in your life have you ever taken the time to consciously realize that these simple pleasures are indeed gifts from God that enrich your experience of life in so many different ways.

Allow yourself to be open to a sense of gratitude knowing that that sense of gratitude and appreciation will invite and bring even more good into your life. Feel what you're feeling now as you begin to thank God for the blessing of reaching a goal, all the friends that you have, or even just for waking up in the morning in time to see a beautiful sunrise.

Feel free to once again feel what it is like to feel a deep appreciation for the simple things in life. In a similar manner you can acknowledge your blessings one by one.

Continue letting this feeling spread all over your body and as you do so begin to become aware of the goodness of God that is all around you and in this way you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are truly blessed beyond measures.

Now, as every word travels from this article into your unconscious mind I want you to understand, just understand that you can begin to experience and have more joy in your life when you begin to meditate on a daily basis.

Believe it or not, when you meditate you are actually in the process of releasing various thoughts, feelings and physical discomforts. Consequently the more and more you release and let go, the more the Spirit of God that is within you as love, joy and peace begins to free you from all the unnecessary burdens that you've been carrying for far too long.

In my opinion the practice of Yoga Nidra is a great guided meditation technique to help you along on your spiritual journey.

Unlike other meditation techniques that require you to sit in an uncomfortable seated position sometimes for hours at a time. The practice of Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation technique that you actually get to experience while lying down comfortably on your back or in a comfortable seated position.

Thaddeus Ferguson has dedicated himself to the cause of helping people heal themselves first in order to help heal the world during this amazing time of transformation.

The practice of Meditation and/or Yoga Nidra is just one of the many powerful tools that you can use in order to help Heal You First.

Discover many of the Benefits of Meditation Now!

Learn more about Yoga Nidra Now!


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Optimism and Positive Thinking

OPTIMISM!! A term that is familiar to everyone. So, let me ask, what is Optimism? What I think is most of the people would say Optimism is thinking positive and there is no harm in saying or thinking that but unfortunately there is a lot of difference between Optimism and Positive Thinking. If I state the dictionary meaning of Optimism it would be "an inclination to put the most favourable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome". I hope it is clear what Optimism is? The definition lucidly states the words inclination & anticipation. This means Optimism is just an inclination towards a particular event or a prediction of an event. But this is just the beginning or a zero-level thought. What after this? What an Optimist is doing to fructify his inclination or prediction? So, the answers to all the questions are POSITIVE THINKING. In short, Optimism is just taking the things positive and Positive Thinking is thinking positive.

Now, let me focus on the first part of the dictionary meaning "An inclination to put the most favourable construction upon actions and events". If I say that you are a very positive & calm guy. You never argue or fight with anyone & you are just inclined to put the most favourable construction upon your actions. Now say someone criticized you and you showed no reaction to it as you are an optimist. It's good that you were successful to avoid the skirmish. But till what time will you be able to continue doing that. Actually you are just controlling your anger and one day you will surely regurgitate all your anger upon him. But instead if you are a Positive Thinker, several questions will come into your mind as soon as you are criticized. You will think that why has this happened? Why the person did criticize me in this way? What is there in me to change? And you will change yourself so that you don't get criticized again.

Now, let's talk about the second part of the definition "to anticipate the best possible outcome". Suppose two teams are to play a cricket match where one is weaker than the other and is sure to lose. An Optimist captain of the weaker team will anticipate/predict the best possible outcome that they can win the match. But the question is HOW?? While on the other hand, if the team captain is a Positive Thinker again several questions will come into his mind. He will think that how they can win the match? What are the strategies that can make his team a winner? And he will make his team as stronger as the other team and will emerge as a much better contender than before.

So, the difference is clear, "Positive Thinking can make you an Optimist. But Optimism can never make you a Positive Thinker."

First be a Positive Thinker and then an Optimist because Optimist may impede you from becoming a Positive Thinker. There are always some questions or difficulties attached with your optimistic thoughts just identify them by deep thinking and work out the strategies to resolve them by positive thinking.

BE HAPPY AND KEEP GROWING MENTALLY!


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Sunday, September 11, 2011

The Gratitude Journal - The Little Book That Can Change Your Life

Do you battle depression? Are you struggling in your marriage?

Does it seem like only bad things happen to you?

Or would you like to attract more abundance into your life?

These are all good reasons to start a Gratitude Journal.

"What is a Gratitude Journal", you say?

The What

Here is how eHow describes it. "A gratitude journal is a way to consciously call attention to the things for which we are thankful each day. By focusing on gratitude, we become aware of those things and thus create a shift in our thinking to the positive."

A Gratitude Journal can be written for the general purpose of making a positive change in your life or for a very specific purpose.

The gift that saved his marriage.

Darren Hardy, author of the life changing book, The Compound Effect, tells how he decided to secretly keep a "thanksgiving" journal about his wife one year. He wrote down the qualities, characteristics and attributes about her that he appreciated. He wrote down one a day. Then, on Thanksgiving Day the following year he gave it to her. She cried and said it was the best gift she had ever received. But the biggest change was in him. As he appreciated the subtle things about her every day, his attitude started to change and he fell in love with her all over again.

Here's what you do:
Start with a blank notebook to be used for only this purpose.Each morning write down 3 - 5 thoughts of gratitude, thanks and appreciation. It doesn't matter how big or small. Just write whatever comes to your mind.Every morning and evening read over your list.Think about your list throughout the day.Start to share them with others.

Ann Voskamp, author of the beautifully poetic book, One Thousand Gifts, calls it her "gift list".

Remember these things.

~ Focus on abundance and blessings.

~ To be grateful is a choice. It's not what you have or possess but it's an attitude.

~ You will start to see things more and more from a positive angle.

~ The more you do it, the easier it will become, and the easier it will be for you to see the good in things.

~ As more of your thoughts and words become positive, you'll start attracting more positive people and circumstances into your life.

~ What you write can be turned into prayers of thanksgiving and gratitude to God which will, in turn, draw you closer to Him.

Through consistency, a Gratitude Journal can change your life for the better!

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."

-Melody Beattie

Dayna Camp is an inspirational writer, especially focusing on primary caregivers, special needs parents, and others in challenging circumstances. Wife, and mother of 5, 1 with special needs (Dystonia), she is well versed in the dynamics of a busy family with unique challenges. To receive her 17 Sanity Secrets be sure to sign up for it at her blog, http://gracetodayblog.com/.


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Positive Thinking: 5 Benefits of a Positive Attitude

A person's attitude and way of thinking contribute greatly to their personality. People who think positively have a better outlook on life and an ambitious attitude. These are factors that directly affect your perception when it comes to creating the kind of life you want. Studies show that you perception of life also affects your health and well-being.

Most of our negative thoughts come from assumptions we make. We concoct these misconceptions in an attempt to prepare ourselves for the worse but end up dwelling so much on them that they consume our way of life. This does not mean that a positive person is ill-prepared, in fact they are better equipped to handle challenges then a Negative Nelly.

Positive thinking is not about ignoring the negative and not preparing for the worst, but instead approaching a problem positive and productive manner. For instance, focusing on finding a solution to a problem as oppose to focusing on the negative like how the problem occurred. So don't think altering your attitude will turn you into a naïve person and result in more issues.

A positive attitude and way of thinking can help you cope with life and improve your overall well-being. Here are five benefits of positive thinking:

1. Improved Focus - Positive thinking helps you concentrate on finding a solution instead of focusing on the negative elements and losing what sometimes is valuable time. Your creative and constructive thinking is enhanced. While a person with a negative attitude would be so distracted that may not even seek a solution.

2. Reduced Stress - When a positive thinker is faced with a stressful situation they handle it better for the same reason as mentioned above, improved focus. When you worry less, you stress less. The power of positive thinking lowers stress levels, helps you cope better and increases your life span.

3. Better Health - The way you think has a direct influence on your body and its functions. Positive thinkers tend to have lower risks of disease, better psychological and physical well-being. If you conquer negative thoughts you'll be less likely to suffer from anxiety, sleeping disorders, etc.

4. Maintain Self Esteem - When you adopt an optimistic outlook you tend to believe in yourself and your abilities. You become comfortable in your own skin and have faith in your potential. This gives you the motivation to achieve your goals.

5. Success and Happiness - Positive thinking has the power to change your whole life and your whole environment. When you have a positive attitude you attract others therefore changing the people around you.

A positive attitude results in success and happiness. Optimistic people choose to be happy and are determined when it comes to their endeavors.

The power of positive thinking is tremendous. As you may notice a few of these items roll into the other. If you alter your attitude to that of a positive one, you will begin to notice productive changes in different aspects of your life.

Lea Bullen is a personal development and conscious living advocate who started the Leading Edge Advocate, a self improvement community and resource center to help others enhance their well being and live the life they desire. Change your life, become a member of the Leading Edge today, http://www.leadingedgeadvocate.com/ and receive our Personal Development Report.


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Recover The Authentic Self You Lost In Childhood

Do you know that most individuals lose touch with the joyful, optimistic, confident, self respecting, whole, peaceful, resilient, and worthy self they were early in life? Do you know that the "personality" they become not only feels like a "false imposter-like self" but it also buries the true authentic self, exiles it from its own mind/body/life and hijacks that life often onto a self destructive trajectory that is next to impossible to get off unless one knows how? So how does one do that, you ask?

If you have any connection to how you felt as a child before you began to go to "sleep" and lose your "self" you will probably also a) wonder what could have caused this and b) have a heartfelt longing to recover that lost experience.

Well here's what happened.

As one comes into this reality they arrive with all of their Life Force Energy installed in their body. This makes them healthy, radiant, cute, happy, and attractive to name a few. This is why it makes one feel so good being around a new baby. They simply exude a youthful and beautiful energy that lights up the hearts of most adults and makes them feel happy and young again.

In other words babies still have a connection to their authentic self. This as many know gets lost as they grow into adults but not simply because they are becoming adults. The reality within which many are born often does not allow for or recognise the true authentic nature of the newborn and instead rapidly descends upon it to impose its endless set of rules.

These rules, that come from interpersonal, familial, cultural, religious and other systems often invalidate, stifle, suffocate and over ride the true authentic essence of each newborn being. In order to survive the growing baby learns to quickly sacrifice (and hide) its true authentic self for an adaptive "false self" that will supposedly be acceptable to the outside world thereby allowing it to avoid undue pain, rejection, stress, anxiety, sadness, and therefore allows it to grow up into a fully functioning adult.

So what is being said, in short, is that one must sacrifice one's true self in order to survive, grow up and become a fully functioning human being.

Do you see the faulty logic in this?

If not, let me point it out. As soon as one has sacrificed one's true self they have essentially ceased to exist i.e. they have effectively died! So what kind of existence does that make for? Well, no existence at all!

This is why so many people feel depressed, unfulfilled, numb, disconnected with themselves and their true feelings, and are unable to create satisfying relationships and happy lives. That's because they are not even "showing up". This is often also associated with a deep feeling of emptiness that nothing ever seems to be able to fill. Yes, many try to fill it with things such as money, food, power, work, sex, drugs, alcohol etc. but at the end of the day the emptiness seems bottomless.

What's interesting about this situation is that the "false self" state is actually much like a hypnotic trance that one can fully and permanently awaken from. That awakening is actualized each time the deep negative programming in the form of negative memories associated with early negative experiences are brought to consciousness and erased.

Over 10 years ago it was discovered that this could be accomplished readily with a simple coaching process that is available to anyone in the world. To learn more about this kindly visit the web site below where you can request a free introductory consultation that will help you begin to wake up and free your authentic and empowered self.

Nick Arrizza MD, a former Psychiatrist and Medical Doctor is now an International Life, Executive, Spiritual Tele-Coach, Author the developer of the powerful Mind Resonance Process® (MRP).

A Free 1 Hour Introductory MRP Telephone/Skype Consultation and a Free E-copy of my new book are available upon request. (You will be asked to cover your own long distance telephone charges)

Email: drnick@telecoaching4u.com
Web Site: http://telecoaching4u.com/

Copyright © 2011, Nick Arrizza M.D., All Rights Reserved Worldwide (Feel free to share this with others)


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Saturday, September 10, 2011

Why SHOULD You Focus on the Positive?

"Nothing in life matters quite as much as you think it does while you are thinking about it."~ Kahneman and Thaler

I know that I have been guilty of preaching about how you can focus on the positive, assuming that that is something that you want to do. Not convinced? I understand. Let's talk about that.

I'm going to surprise you here. What I want to discuss is not research about positivity, but about how focus works. One of the principles of Appreciative Inquiry is the Poetic Principle, which suggests that what we choose to focus on will grow. That of course, is exactly why I advocate focusing on the positive. If positivity is good for you, (and research suggests that it is) what could be better than making it grow?

Whenever our attention is drawn to something, psychologists have found, that thing feels important, in ways that we don't consciously sense. It's a quirk of our brains. One way to think about it is to visualize the design of some virtual graphical interfaces: When you scroll over icons on a screen, the one under your cursor enlarges to look bigger than the others.

In the same way, when you think about something positive, the accidental meeting of someone important in the coffee shop, for example, its consequence grows. You begin thinking about how fortunate you were to run into that person and you probably make some inferences about that, such as: Whenever I get motivated to get out of my office something good happens. And you decide: I am going to get out of the office at least once a day and will always be prepared with my business cards. Guess what? Because you are expecting to have happenstance meetings and are subconsciously on the look-out for those opportunities, you do!

Why does it work that way? Part of the answer may lie in the mechanics of attention. Your attention acts like searchlights in the night sky. Your interest is magnetically pulled to the vortex of the lights-- you probably can't resist shifting your attention to those search lights, even if you wanted to, and a strong impression is made on your thoughts and feelings. Attention evolved so that we could focus on important things. We're programmed to think that whatever we've focused on must be a big deal.

It is true, that not everything we give attention to is important, but ahem... I'm not going to go into that here. But what is also true, is that we can give our attention to things that we want to be more important. That is why the WWW list developed by Martin Seligman may be so useful in helping you to develop more positivity in your life.

We are all bombarded by negativity every day by the media. The front page lands on our doorstep first thing in the morning and more bad news screams out at us when we boot up our home pages. We take a break and inevitably scan over the headlines, as if we needed more bad news.

If you find yourself overwhelmed by the negativity of the media, get a positivity fix by visiting www.DailyGood.org. The volunteer-run site highlights inspirational stories of everyday heroes and celebrities who are making a difference in the world. You will find that it is a lightening counterbalance to the heaviness of the headlines.

The bottom line? Focus on the positive and it will grow! What do you think about the mechanics of attention and how focusing on the positive can make it grow?

Dr. Lynn K. Jones--Certified Personal and Executive Coach
http://www.lynnkjones.com/


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