Self Improvement [ Peace of Mind ]
- 23161
- 1191
-
- Last Comment
“Feedback is the breakfast of Champions.”
- Ken Blanchard
“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority."
*
- Ken Blanchard*
“In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people… they no longer can lead solely based on positional power.”
- Ken Blanchard
“People who produce good results feel good about themselves.”
- Ken Blanchard
“It is not what you look at that matters; it is what you see.”
~ David Thoreau
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
“The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.”
~ Galileo Galileo
“To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.”
~ Charles Des Montesquieu
“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.”
~Mother Teresa
“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.”
~ Phyllis Diller
“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
~ Albert Einstein
*10 Tips For Emotional Spring Cleaning
Helaine Z Harris*
Spring has sprung! Now is the time to clean house, not only outside, but our inner house as well. This is the place where our emotions, attitudes and beliefs reside – you know what I mean, the place inside us from which we run our entire lives. Now is the time to take an inventory of all your behaviours and patterns such as negative self-talk, unproductive thinking and words we express, and all that baggage of emotional past experiences. This requires sorting out, just like when we physically clean our environment. What do we want to keep, to throw away and to give away.
In the Christian tradition, Lent prepares people to clean out prior to celebrating Easter. In the Jewish tradition, one month prior to Passover, everything is cleaned out. Many of the major religions talk about the necessity of purifying to make room for a rebirth, resurrection, mating in springtime, a spiritual awakening or enjoying a playful spring recess. This certainly is a time to refresh from the inside out.
Think in terms of your body being your Inner Temple and your home being your Outer Temple. Let’s continue with cleansing your Inner Temple.
1. Centre Yourself: To decide what to keep of your values, beliefs, memories of past experiences, messages you were taught, and behaviours in which you engage, it is wise to quiet yourself and take a few moments to meditate. Allow the silence to be your teacher. Have your journal by your side to record your thoughts and progress. Then ask your inner self – or better yet, your Higher Self – “Which behaviour patterns and emotional reactions are not serving me now?” Then listen inside. Some of you receive images, words, statements, a sound, or a moving picture to represent your answers Write and write, without editing or questioning. Just bear witness to what comes through you.
2. Now that your list is complete, notice what emotions and reactions occur. Separate your list into sections, if you desire. For example, some categories might be: Negative Self-Talk, Excuses I Make, I Can’ts, Procrastination Areas, If only’s, Excessive Emotions like Anger, Resentments I Hold Onto and you may find it best for you to create your own categories. Be aware of how your buttons get pushed.
3. Make a list of positive messages, emotions and responses you would rather experience in your life. Include your list of what you could do to feel more empowered. These might be in the form of affirmations or choice statements.
4. You’re ready to create a new goal list. Perhaps two to four goals for each emotional issue you wish to release. Decide on which emotional baggage you want to release or shift first. Number the rest of the negative beliefs or reactions that emerged so you have the order of what you want to deal with when ready.
5. Select the method or technique you wish to use to release these old reactions. For some issues, like everyday anger, it might be a cognitive method such as, “Count to 10 when I get angry before speaking or doing something.” Or, “I will write in my journal until the emotion subsides.”
6. Decide on a time frame for working with each emotional issue. Remember: since releasing negative emotions are not like doing a physical housecleaning item, your time frame needs to be flexible. Be gentle on yourself.
7. Notice the underlying fears, concerns or issues that arise as you change your behaviour. Then you may need to address these aspects as they come up.
8. Evaluate your progress. You may choose to evaluate weekly or monthly. You decide what works best for you. Are there tangible differences in your behaviour?
9. Create a Win List every time you do something positive toward a behaviour change.
10. Reward yourself by a simple pat on the back. Or, find another way to reward yourself that feels good inside. When I’ve worked on and accomplished something that is personally challenging, I reward myself with a break and talking to a friend. How can you reward you in a meaningful way?
Here is a positive choice statement that might work for you. Try it – you might like it.
I choose to totally and fully take charge of my emotional reactions and behaviour patterns. I delight in my new, positive beliefs and behaviours as I open to a joyful and magnificent life!
*10 Tips to help you claim more Time for yourself
Marquita Herald
Whether you are feeling over-extended, over-committed and over-whelmed, or just ready to do a little spring cleaning to free more time for summer, the following tips can help you take the first steps toward conquering your time crunched lifestyle find more time for “off the clock” fun.
“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” – Peter F. Drucker
1. Begin by learning the difference between “Do I need to do this now?” and “Do I need to do this at all?”
Just because you are busy and getting things done doesn’t mean you are actually accomplishing anything significant. As you plan your day or week, really think about the things you have to do as opposed to things you think you have to do. A lot of to do’s are not necessarily things we have to do. Often times the lines are blurred because we over commit or feel obligated to things that aren’t in line with our goals and rob us of valuable time.
2. Organize future events with a monthly accordion file
Put birthday cards, directions to a baby shower, a note to check on furniture deliveries, even vacation brochures in the appropriate months for quick reference and retrieval.
3. Create a “just in case” box for the car trunk
umbrella, cheap rain ponchos, scissors, big black marker, tape, paper towels, plastic bags, extra kids’ socks and a one-size-fits-all T-shirt, sweatshirt and pair of sweatpants for adults, another for kids.
4. Go digital with record keeping
Instead of printing every report, article, recipe or document you think you might need or want some day, burn records onto CDs for storage. You will be amazed about the amount of space you’ll save, not to mention printer ink and copy paper – and as an extra bonus you’ll be saving LOTS of trees in the process!
5. Take control of managing your bill paying schedule
Rather than having to constantly trying to keep track of when various bills are due each month, ask creditors to shift your due dates to lump them all together or to split them between the two pay periods of each month.
6. Make your home office an actual work space
Attempting to work at a cluttered table or desk may not be the sign of a cluttered mind, but piles of disorganized faxes, bills, receipts and mail are definitely off-putting when you’re trying to work at home. You need to be able to sit down in your home office and go to work, without having to clear a space or hunt for a particular piece of paper. Getting your home office organized and keeping it that way prevents distractions and time-wasting. Buy an in and out basket and use it, invest in a filing cabinet, and have a wastepaper can handy so you can clean up when you close up for the day. Keep all your relevant working materials in your work space. Having to walk into another room to retrieve a file can be a serious waste of time. Having an actual “work space” also helps to get across the point to family and friends that, even though you are at home, you are working.
7. Practice Chunking
This strategy refers to completing similar types of work all at the same time. For example if you typically field a large number of calls and or emails each day – instead of dropping everything to take each call as it comes in or each email as it arrives, set aside specific blocks of time dedicated to returning calls and responding to emails. It’s more effective and a better use of energy, where possible, to accomplish similar tasks all together. Same goes for writing, scheduling clients, etc. I know, being needed is so gratifying, but so is self-preservation. It’s especially for us ‘control freaks’ to let go of control and allow others to make decisions, but if you try just testing the waters, you’re likely to find very few true “emergencies” in a given day. In fact, you may be pleasantly surprised at how often problems are magically solved without your able involvement – which leaves you the opportunity to heap praise for a job well done!
8. Be prepared before making phone calls
Before picking up the phone, make a list of things you need to talk about and questions you need to ask. That way, you won’t waste time calling someone back because you forgot to ask an important question. I even do this when I call my relatives if I have a lot of things to tell them.
9. Use templates & swipe files
You can use templates and swipe files for invoices, letters of introduction, client questionnaires, standard email responses, out of office notices and other documents you use on a regular basis. If you have a website or blog consider a FAQ page where readers can easily access answers to the most frequently asked questions about your product or programs. Keep a current copy of your online profile in your swipe file so when you register at a new forum or website you can simply cut and paste.
10. Finally, plan how you will use your “off the clock” fun time
As gratifying as it can feel to take control of your time and become more productive in the process – if you don’t create a plan for what you’ll do with your free time, it will be quickly lost to whatever pops up. Even if your plan is to finally read that book that’s been gathering dust on your nightstand, schedule your personal time around that so it feels more like a commitment – because it is, a commitment to enjoy more of your life.
So start using these tips and enjoy all the new free time you have at your fingertips!
“Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference.”
*
~ Helen James*
“Life is mostly froth and bubble; two things stand like stone: kindness in another’s trouble, courage in our own.”
~ Adam Lindsay
“I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go.”
~ Rachel Joy Scott (1981-1999)
Student, First Victim Of The Columbine High School Massacre
“Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.”
~ Lance Armstrong
“Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”
~ Maya Angelou
How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it?
Marcus Aurelius
“The greatest mistake you can make is to be continually fearing you will make one.”
~ Elbert Hubbard
If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
*7 Easy Self-Improvement Tips
Paul Jenkin*
If you’re like me you’re probably always in search of the most effective techniques for personal development. There are many fantastic ways to gain momentum – things that you can do along with any specific techniques that you have chosen to aid your own inner healing and personal growth.
After spending over a decade studying and actively taking part in personal development, I’ve come across a few fundamentals that we all ought to implement into our lives; and thought I’d share 7 easy self-improvement tips to help you on your journey to achieve greater success in life.
1. Positive Expectations
People who achieve great things in life, are generally no more intelligent or capable than anyone else, although they do one thing different which many people have trouble doing.
Most of us continue dreading the worst; successful individuals expect to win – even before they’ve figured out how to pull it off! Go about your day feeling as if everything is finally ‘clicking into place,’ and shrug off the rest – as they say, the rest is just a matter of perseverance.
By having positive expectations, after some time, you’ll experience wonderful things in your life in ever increasing amounts because what you put out you get back!
2. Writing Goals and Plans of Actions
It is an absolute MUST if you ever hope to accomplish anything, to get into the habit of writing down clear and specific goals. This is because writing down your goals clarifies them and begins constructing powerful images deep within the subconscious mind, which manifest over time.
Once you have your priority goals highlighted, and even placed along a proper time-line, work on your plans of action for achieving those goals, as this will gives you tremendous purpose and passion.
Also it will provide a solid framework from which specific actions can be derived that can be taken each day towards the realization of your long-term goals.
3. Feeling and Affirming Gratitude
Gratitude has the power to change your life in ways unimaginable to you unless of course you are already a long time practitioner of gratefulness.
It will shift your whole perspective of life for the better and literally change your inner dialogue, self expression, confidence and of course the decisions and actions you take.
For best results, write one positive affirmation centred around the foundation of Gratitude, for each key area of your life such as health, relationships, finances, and so on and make a commitment to affirming them out aloud at least once a day, and allow yourself to feel truly grateful for your life.
4. Daily Journaling
One of the greatest tips you’ll find is keeping a journal. Not only is it a great way to get anything off your chest it also helps to clarify your thoughts and you’ll begin to develop a keen sense of self-awareness. Try not to dwell on the negative though, get it all out and then focus on the positive.
The best way to do this is, each night before bed write out a list of a few things that you feel you have done successfully. This might include something as small as taking the time to read to your children or as much of a milestone as finishing a triathlon!
The more you acknowledge your successes, the more you will establish an unwavering self-confidence.
5. Continue to Learn
The more you continue to learn and implement the principles of personal growth, the more effective they’ll be in your own life. To help deepen your understanding of the principles you want to apply to your life, you may want to write each one out as if you were explaining it to others.
Also learning in general is awesome for your moral and at any age can add vigour to your step. To learn new things of interest will keep your mind sharp and again it will have a profound effect on your confidence levels as you get closer to becoming a master in each pursuit.
6. Contribution
Giving to others unconditionally is one of the greatest traits one can possess. It is a sure sign of strong character. If you give to others without caring if you receive anything in return, you have taken the first steps to engage the laws of abundance.
Of course, you should help out in any way you can but there is no need to be a martyr.
All I know is this, give regularly to your favourite charity and help others often and you’ll watch your life improve beyond measure.
7. Meditation
Meditation is probably the most commonly overlooked of these 7 self improvement tips although it is also one of the most important.
Meditation has been considered the most effective means of reducing stress and clearing out your mind of negative thoughts which often lead to worry and anxiety – for approximately five thousand years although I can imagine it’s really as old as human kind.
Daily meditation helps to slow your heart rate and makes your sleep more restful; it also enables your body to recover faster, it can even help to regulate your digestion among dozens of other health benefits.
The one thing that would make the other six of these 7 self improvement tips truly effective would be the daily practice of meditation.
I Believe…..
That true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.
I_* Believe…
That you can do something in an instant
That will give you heartache for life.*_
I Believe….
That it’s taking me a long time
To become the person I want to be.
I Believe….
That we are responsible for what
We do, no matter how we feel.
I Believe…
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.
“Cherish all your happy moments: they make a fine cushion for old age.”
~ Christopher Morley
