Blog for Self Improvement

It seems we all hear so often how important it is to become successful. It is what drives many people through their life journey. How do you define success? Does it relate to becoming wealthy? Gaining prestige? Building a business from nothing into something of great value? Feeling important? Creating a respectable image?

These are certainly noble aspirations. It's normal to desire prosperity and recognition, but is that what is really important for life to be successful? There are several ways to view the journey of life so let's examine these three ways: being motivated, being inspired, or being stagnant.

Motivation is an ego-driven process of making things happen in your life. We've been taught the principle of an indelible determination that makes you climb right over the obstacles, never giving up. With this drive, nothing gets in the way of your goal! We've been taught this is the road to success and it is vital that we envision what we want and go after it with all our gusto. There are thousands of motivational seminars, books, audios, and videos that share the secrets to getting motivated and accomplishing your dreams. With motivation a person grabs an idea and works and perseveres until they achieve their goal. Many individuals have been incredibly successful from this approach. It does take a lot of extra work to accomplish, but the end result is what counts in this approach.

An inspired journey is quite different. In this journey the individual is grabbed with an idea so that it takes hold of them and leads to an inspired end result. Inspiration is the reality of Spirit working through you. In other words, you are being led in the direction that Spirit knows is good for you and the benefit of others.

Inspiration always flows from the universal energy of love. It is not something that is forced or pushed in any way; it simply flows effortlessly. Most of the time, when moving from inspiration, the ultimate goal or outcome is unknown. It is a guidance that comes from within, spirit-driven, and simply asks for faith in the move into unknown territory. It always involves surrendering your will - something very difficult for most people to do.

All of my books come in this way. My second book, The Realness of a Woman, was not even in my thoughts, but one morning while I was showering I heard a voice that said I was to write that book. I simply said "okay" without having any idea what would be in the book. Every word on the 340 pages came through Divine guidance and it would often surprise me what I had written. This is inspiration. It also means simply agreeing, or surrendering, and waiting for the next step to unfold. Yes, it takes a lot of faith and trust, but every time I allow inspiration to flow, the end result is better than I could have ever imagined. It allows you to live in a state of total bliss and inner happiness, and it always requires that you get out of the way so Spirit can work!

Stagnation is another way people live their lives. Webster says that a stagnant life is one that is lacking in activity and interest, that it is sluggish and dull. This is the life many people live when they allow their job to control their life. There are bills to pay and commitments to others, so they work day after day in a job that doesn't fill them up. So this person drifts along, existing in their life similar to a robot, doing what they know to do.

A life of stagnation is not a happy life. You may find external things that make you feel happy for a while, but the novelty soon wears off and you're on to another pleasure, or at least wishing for one. In a stagnant life there is often a feeling that something is missing, or perhaps the feeling of not enough. The reason is that this person hasn't found their passion in life and therefore cannot feel fulfilled no matter what they do. This lifestyle is where most people live and eventually die. It is as if they are coasting through with life happening to them. This life is one of smallness.

Everything in life is about choice. If you don't consciously make a choice, a choice will be made for you. Many times an individual doesn't even realize they actually can make a choice, and so often I've heard the comment as someone is offering a defensive explanation, "I had no choice." My friends, you ALWAYS have a choice!

So I ask you to review the three ways you can live your life - through motivation, through inspiration, or through stagnation. The choice is yours and yours alone. Your greatest power is the power of choice. Which direction is the path you want to travel? One of these lifestyle choices is how you are living your life right at this moment. Maybe you like your life and maybe you don't, but if you want it to be lived differently, you have to make the choice to do it.

Right now, without doing another thing, think about these three ways to live. Which one do you think will bring you the greatest rewards, give you peace, and the most happiness as you show up for it?

I live my life through inspiration. I tried stagnation for many years but was miserable, restless, unfulfilled, and disenchanted with life. I made a choice to become motivated, and I did that too. I reaffirmed with positive affirmations every day and both read and listened to motivational information. I even worked with a motivated person, and I can tell you from my personal experience that it was a lot of hard work with little compensation during that time. In recent years I chose the inspired lifestyle, and my life became extraordinary. Things flowed into my consciousness that sometimes elated me and other times scared me, but I listened and followed the guidance that came. The end result? I am happier than I've ever been. I've written three books and more are on the way. I overcame my fear of speaking in public. Money has showed up in just the right timing to pay for whatever I was guided to do. I am at peace every day and know everything is working in Divine order. Amazing things keep showing up in my life that I could never have orchestrated. I work hard when I know I've been guided to do something, but there is always balance in my life now that didn't exist before. I have found that by focusing my thoughts on what flows to me with ease, I have time to complete everything that is important. My life has become extraordinary and every day is a joyous experience. I wish this for you!

Take a moment and decide what you want your life to be like: motivated, inspired, or stagnant. It's your choice!

Carolyn Porter, D.Div.

Empower Productions, Inc.

www.drcarolynporter.com
info@drcarolynporter.com

Carolyn Porter, D. Div., is an Inspirational Speaker, Author of multiple books, ebooks and audios, Spiritual Wholeness Coach, Energy Facilitator, Health Store Co-owner, whose passion is to help individuals move beyond their self-imposed limitations and become all they are meant to be. In this place they can create an extraordinary life with endless possibilities.

One reason many of us find it difficult to delegate is that we've been sorely disappointed in the past.  "No one can do it as well as I can" is simply not true.  Given the opportunity and proper motivation, others will raise to your expectations with more creative, productive approaches to any task at hand.

Supervisors and managers can easily delegate, repeating the patterns of being disillusioned.  However, there is a difference between simply being a supervisor or manager and being a highly effective leader.  The title doesn't make an individual a leader.  Actions--consistent, meaningful, well-thought-out actions make the leader.

A sign of a truly effective leader is that he can motivate an individual or group of individuals in wanting to accomplishing a task.  This means that they involve all of their capabilities (imagination, insight, curiosity, enthusiasm) to not only accomplish the job, but they exceed expectations.

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Leadership mastery comes in continually challenging yourself to come up with new ways to motivate.  Clients tell me "I just don't know what's wrong with this individual. I've told them precisely what to do over and over again and they still can't get one simple job done the way I want it done in a timely manner!"

You've heard it said that the definition of insanity is 'doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.'  If your team is not living up to your expectations where is the disconnect?  Is it with them?  More likely it is with you and the manner in which you are communicating your wishes.

Do they have responsibility in asking for clarification and doing their job to the highest level imaginable?

Absolutely, yet the buck stops with you.  There is no shortage of books on motivation, yet I believe the simplest technique is to know the individuals within your team.  Who are they?  What do they value?  What motivates them as individuals and as a team?

Many leaders make the mistake of thinking all individuals are motivated by what their leader is motivated by, be it money, competition, excellence or accomplishment.  In taking the time to observe, ask questions and really getting to know the individual, you can save hours, weeks, years of disappointment on both sides.

This week take a deeper look at all individuals you lead (including your children.)  What do they really want?  Have you simply delegated tasks to them, or have you stirred up their own internal motivation?  How can you motivate them in a manner that has more to do with them than you?  In doing so, you'll create win/win scenarios, a much more exciting environment in which to work, socialize or play, and you'll have set the bar for them to exceed your expectations.. Have an outstanding week and enjoy your discoveries.

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For the sake of keeping your career fresh and on track, would you like to enjoy a weekly shot-in-the-arm from Master Certified Coach Ann Golden Eglé?  You can sign up for her Success Thought of the Week at http://www.gvsuccess.com .

If you do what you're expected to do, don't expect an outstanding result, my friend.

Study successful people and you'll sure to discover one thing that many of them would have in common... they live by that words of "always do more than what is expected of you."

I don't care. It could be sleeping an hour less everyday to have more time to build your wealth or whatsoever.

Whether you are mowing people's lawn or someone is mowing your lawn, when you are teaching a seminar or being a participant, or when sharing your knowledge or giving advice to your people, always do or give more than what people expect. Then they will flock around you, they will line up to meet you and be happy to support you in whatever thing that you want to do next.

If you're training to be a champion, don't just train like an average player. Train more than you're expected to train.

If you're building a multi-level marketing business, increase the numbers of prospects you would like to meet everyday. If it used to be 10, now you would have at least 12. By just increasing your effort 20%, you'll end up with 60 new prospects a month. Now, that's what I called exponential.

Trying to win a girl's heart? I'm not surprise that you could be "competing" with three other guys for the same girl. And you can only win if you're giving more than all of them if everyone's equal. I'm not saying giving more money or buying stuff' give love, time or whatever that counts to her.

Whenever you are interacting with people or in a relationship, treat the other party extremely well.

Whatever is expected of you in that relationship, be it with your girlfriend or business partner or client, your spouse or your friend, always do or give more than what is expected of you in that relationship for that is the secret of making it a success.

It is not that you have to do or give a whole lot more; you have to do just a little bit more than the rest. That's it. The 10mm-difference is what Anthony Robbins calls it for you to become outstanding... in any undertaking.

To do this, it's not difficult. But most people are just too lazy to put in the effort. I'm one of them but I'll always keep reminding myself this' winner takes all. There is no second place, my friend. I would rather strive with the extra effort to get #1 because the pay off is many times greater.

Do you remember who the second best basketball player is? Nope. You can remember Michael Jordan because he's #1. In fact, as far as I know, there's no such place as 'the second best basketball player'.

Who's the second fastest runner in the world? Who knows. I just know the #1.

Others have called this 'more than expected attitude' as 'going for the extra mile'. Notice that they don't say the extra 10 miles.

How come?

Because the average persons don't bother to do more than what is expected of them. I know it's sad but that's the truth.

To most people, "always do more than what is expected of you" are mere words and they don"t put substance to it because people are greedy and they just want to do the bare minimum to make money, to make a profit or whatever.

And guess what... successful people are never your average persons.

To be generous and to treat others extremely well, you must come from the perspective of abundance thinking. Then only "always doing more than what is expected of you" will come easy and naturally.

So the next time you are with somebody, or in a business negotiation, or just interacting with another person, ask how can I help you... without even expecting any return.

As the other saying goes-- you have to give, in order to get. In fact, if you want to gather riches you have to be as generous as you can. Touch people's lives profoundly, in ways that they would never forget. Give it forward... help another and that person will help another. Always do more than what is expected of you. Do this and the reward will come to you 10 folds or 100 folds when you are least expecting it.

Do you think you can do more than what you're doing today? Of course you can. The question is... DO YOU WANT OR NOT? You'll have to decide for your own future on that.

Copyright © 2008 Patric Chan

Get Patric's latest, original tips and ideas how to become wealthier at http://www.patricchan.name . You'll also access the free video course that reveals how a 30-minute system leads him to make more money each time he NEEDS it.

I want to give you four wonderful pillars for motivation, four main themes to underpin a healthy sense of drive and inspiration.

- The first main pillar of motivation is to gain recognition from peers.

When soldiers in wartime give up their lives during combat, why do they do it? Is it because of patriotism, a belief in the cause they are fighting for, or a fear of court martial if they do otherwise? Perhaps all these things play a part, but extensive research has shown that what really motivates a soldier to fight well incombat is the desire for the respect of the person who is fighting right beside him. This is much more important than medals or other forms of public recognition. This is similar to what motivates salesmen on the floor of a car dealership, students in a classroom or a team of lawyers trying to win a case.

In the English Premier football league, all the players will tell you the best award that they want to receive is the acclaim of the others players and to receive the players player of the year award.

Think of ways that you can develop recognition from your peers to enhance your motivation. The apply them to your life.

- The second pillar of motivation is recognition from respected experts or authorities.

In my own life, I love the fact that the wonderful multi-selling author in the US has helped me, guided me and become my friend professionally and personally. I desperately wanted to earn his respect.

Has there been someone like that in your life? It is important to realise that a respected expert does not have to be someone who is known far and wide throughout the world. You are the one who establishes the qualifications, though very often people whom you find impressive will be equally impressive to others.

Once you've met such a person, or even if you have just seen them from a distance or perhaps read an article about them, stop hesitating and politely approach them and introduce yourself. Unless you happen to catch them at a particularly difficult moment, most successful people are eager to help others and to pass on what they've learned.

The great thing about establishing a relationship with a mentor is that you eventually come close to that person that you can sometimes hear them advising you when they are not actually around.

Think about how you can get recognition from a respected expert or authority. You can really stretch this concept to be good parents, local teachers, councillors as well as business people; interpret this in the best way for you.

- The third pillar of motivation is family.

Although the approval of peers and experts may be important to your career, in your life, nothing compares to the influence of your family.

Let me explain what I mean by this with an example of my own; when I had come off stage speaking at an event in Dublin last year, a man approached me and asked me for some advice on the best way to stop smoking, he knew that I was the author of The Secrets of Self-Hypnosis and wanted assistance. My immediate response was to ask him what his reasons were for wanting to stop smoking and he said the following to me:

"My wife is pregnant with our first child and I want to have more after that. I want to be able to enjoy playing and having fun with my children and I want to be a healthy influence on their lives too."

I spent some time talking to him about some specific techniques and strategies. I have not heard from that man, but I know that he was driven by his family and am sure of his success. Think about your wealth goals; so many of us want to be able to rpovide for our family and for them to have what they want.

So think about the ways in which you your fmaily can motivate you and get that lodged into your mind.

- The fourth pillar of motivation for today is something closely related to number three and that is sharing the wealth and wisdom for the good of your fellows.

To illustrate this pillar, I am going to mention a story I love about Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish immigrant who founded the United States Steel Company in the early nineteen hundreds. When Carnegie died, a yellow sheet of paper was found in his desk on which he had written a note to himself when he was in his twenties. This note illustrated the main purpose of his life. It read:

"I am going to spend the first half of my life accumulating money, and I am going to spend the last half of my life giving it all away."

During his lifetime, Carnegie's fortune was estimated a four hundred and fifty million dollars - the equivalent to four and a half billion dollars today. In addition to building Carnegie Hall in New York City, he founded libraries in hundreds of small towns all across America and participated in dozens of other philanthropic activities as well.

When we look at these found pillars of motivation, what do you really see? The thing that I immediately notice is that they all involve other people, whether they are peers, mentors, family members, or simply fellows of the human race. Ironic isn't it? To be successfully motivated you need this very internal, very unique thing called your motivation. To acquire that innermost quality and set it to work, you need to recognise other people as reasons to believe.

Adam is a best selling author, consultant and speaker please visit his website for a vast range of personal development resources and to receive your free, instantly downloadable hypnosis session and amazing ebook: http://www.adam-eason.com Thanks.

Most people try to avoid frustration as much as they possibility can, but many successful people have learned how to create frustration and then channel it into an irresistible force that drives them to the achievement of their goal. This article tells you how to do it.

There is an old eastern parable that tells of a man who seeks out a great guru in the hope that the guru will tell him how to achieve his goals in life. The guru takes that man to a river and asks him to kneel down and look at his own reflection in the water.

While the man is doing this the guru grabs hold of the hair on the back of the man's head and pushes his head under the water.

At first the man is calm and wonders what the lesson is, but soon he became aware of his need to breathe and he starts to get nervous, but still the guru holds him under. Nervousness soon becomes fear and fear quickly gives way to terror but still the guru holds him fast.

The man thrashes about trying to free himself from the water but the guru is stronger. Finally the guru pulls the man free of the water and says "when you want your goals as much as you wanted that first breath then you will have the answer you seek."

Learning to harness the power of frustration is a method to bring you to the point where you want your goals as much as that man wanted that first breath.

So how do you do it?

Let's say that your goal is to buy a new car. Here are some steps you could take to create motivating frustration.

Get brochures of that car and read them every day.

Find reviews on the internet and in magazines and read them over and over again.

Find all the dealerships that sell that car and go and sit in the car every day (I suggest rotating the dealerships so you don't get thrown out).

Find a car rental firm that has that car and hire it for a day or a weekend. Take your friend and family for a drive in the car and tell them all that your are going to buy a car exactly like this. They will help build your frustration by constantly nagging you about when your new car is arriving.

In short, do everything you possibly can to fill your mind with desire for this car and frustration for not having it and don't stop building that frustration until you have the car.

The principle behind this process is simple. Human beings are basically motivated by two different things; seeking pleasure, and avoiding pain. Anyone who has ever experienced a bad toothache knows that getting out of pain is the strongest motivator for producing immediate action. If the pain is bad enough you will do anything to stop it.

The technique of creating motivating frustration capitalizes on this principle. If you can build frustration to a high enough point then you will do whatever it takes to acquire your goal and end the frustration.

The technique of building motivating frustration works, but if it all sounds too gruesome for you and you would rather find more positive ways to achieve your goals then read my latest ebook and you will have the answers you seek.

About the Author: James Delrojo would like to help you by giving you his ebook "Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind" (valued at $27) completely FREE.  Go to:
http://www.YourSuccessMind.com
Source: http://www.easyarticles.com

Happiness is different things to different people but there are common threads that run through the achievement of happiness for most people. These threads can be broken down into five ingredients. If you have all five of these you will be happy

1. Gratitude

Happy people are grateful and appreciative of what they have, whatever that may be. They always find something good and positive in their circumstances. This attitude of gratitude is the foundation stone on which happiness is built.

By way of contrast unhappy people are not grateful or appreciative of anything in their world. They are constantly focused on the fact that there is something that they don't have. They live in lack and as a result their spirit is lacking. Nothing ever makes them truly happy.

2. Passion

Happy people are passionate people. It could be a passion for knowledge. It could be a passion for success. It could be a passion for helping others. It could be any passion at all, as long as it truly inspires the person to become more than they are now.

The unhappy person is devoid of passion. They are complacent or apathetic. They have no inspiration in their life, nothing to urge them to evolve and grow into a more developed person. As a result they tend to go around in circles; each year is similar to the year before. They are in a spiritual rut.

3. Challenge

Happy people have a challenge that they are pursuing. It could be a purely spiritual challenge such as finding enlightenment or it could be a commercial challenge such as building a successful business. It could be a sporting challenge such a winning a medal in the Olympics or it could be a career challenge.

The important ingredients of the challenge are that it is in the area of the person's passion and that it is big enough to be inspiring but not so big as to be overwhelming.

The unhappy person avoids challenges. They are waiting for someone or something to give them happiness. They believe that happiness is outside of them and that any form of challenge is work to be avoided.

4. Faith

Happy people have faith that they will achieve the destination that their challenge requires. They have faith that they have the mental and spiritual strength to take on their challenge and to grow in whatever way they need to grow in order to succeed.

They have faith that every experience has its purpose and that something positive can be gained from it, even if the experience is a bad experience or a setback.

Unhappy people are lacking in faith. On the surface they are seeking happiness but they don't really believe that they will ever find it, and they are right. You can't find happiness if you don't have faith.

5. Journey

Happy people are on a journey to their challenging destination. They have a purpose for getting up each day. They have a purpose for the things they do each day. They are doing the things required to follow their passion and they take joy from that fact.

Unhappy people are stagnant. They are not on any journey to anywhere. They are milling around, marking time. They are waiting for the world to give them happiness and they will have to wait forever because happiness requires you to take action, to grow, and to move forward in life.

Happy people have all five ingredients; gratitude, passion, challenge, faith and journey. They may be Buddhist monks on the road to enlightenment following a path of poverty. They may be billionaire business owners following a path of commercial empire building. They may be musicians dedicating their life to mastery their instrument. They could be following any of an infinite number of paths but they all have the five ingredients of happiness.

About the Author: James Delrojo would like to help you by giving you his ebook "Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind" (valued at $27) completely FREE.

Go to http://www.YourSuccessMind.com

Source: http://www.easyarticles.com

Pain may sometimes be the reason why people change. Getting flunked grades make us realize that we need to study. Debts remind us of our inability to look for a source of income. Being humiliated gives us the ‘push’ to speak up and fight for ourselves to save our face from the next embarrassments. It may be a bitter experience, a friend’s tragic story, a great movie, or an inspiring book that will help us get up and get just the right amount of motivation we need in order to improve ourselves.

With the countless negativities the world brings about, how do we keep motivated? Try on the tips I prepared from A to Z…

A - Achieve your dreams. Avoid negative people, things and places. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

B - Believe in your self, and in what you can do.

C – Consider things on every angle and aspect. Motivation comes from determination. To be able to understand life, you should feel the sun from both sides.

D – Don’t give up and don’t give in. Thomas Edison failed once, twice, more than thrice before he came up with his invention and perfected the incandescent light bulb. Make motivation as your steering wheel.

E – Enjoy. Work as if you don’t need money. Dance as if nobody’s watching. Love as if you never cried. Learn as if you’ll live forever. Motivation takes place when people are happy.

F – Family and Friends – are life’s greatest ‘F’ treasures. Don’t loose sight of them.

G – Give more than what is enough. Where does motivation and self improvement take place at work? At home? At school? When you exert extra effort in doing things.

H – Hang on to your dreams. They may dangle in there for a moment, but these little stars will be your driving force.

I – Ignore those who try to destroy you. Don’t let other people to get the best of you. Stay out of toxic people – the kind of friends who hates to hear about your success.

J – Just be yourself. The key to success is to be yourself. And the key to failure is to try to please everyone.

K – keep trying no matter how hard life may seem. When a person is motivated, eventually he sees a harsh life finally clearing out, paving the way to self improvement.

L – Learn to love your self. Now isn’t that easy?

M – Make things happen. Motivation is when your dreams are put into work clothes.

N – Never lie, cheat or steal. Always play a fair game.

O – Open your eyes. People should learn the horse attitude and horse sense. They see things in 2 ways – how they want things to be, and how they should be.

P – Practice makes perfect. Practice is about motivation. It lets us learn repertoire and ways on how can we recover from our mistakes.

Q – Quitters never win. And winners never quit. So, choose your fate – are you going to be a quitter? Or a winner?

R – Ready yourself. Motivation is also about preparation. We must hear the little voice within us telling us to get started before others will get on their feet and try to push us around. Remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah build the ark.

S – Stop procrastinating.

T – Take control of your life. Discipline or self control jives synonymously with motivation. Both are key factors in self improvement.

U – Understand others. If you know very well how to talk, you should also learn how to listen. Yearn to understand first, and to be understood the second.

V – Visualize it. Motivation without vision is like a boat on a dry land.

W – Want it more than anything. Dreaming means believing. And to believe is something that is rooted out from the roots of motivation and self improvement.

X – X Factor is what will make you different from the others. When you are motivated, you tend to put on “extras” on your life like extra time for family, extra help at work, extra care for friends, and so on.

Y – You are unique. No one in this world looks, acts, or talks like you. Value your life and existence, because you’re just going to spend it once.

Z – Zero in on your dreams and go for it!!!

By: Deanna Mascle

Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

If you are looking for more inspirational messages and quick inspirations then try bestinspirationline.com

What are the two main motivators in life? The main motivators are pleasure and pain. Pain may sometimes be the only reason why people change. For example getting flunking grades may make us realize that we need to study. Debts remind us of our inability to find a better source of income. Being humiliated gives us the ‘push’ to speak up and fight for ourselves to save our face from the next embarrassments.

It may be a bitter experience, a friend’s tragic story, a great movie, or an inspiring book that will help us get up and get just the right amount of motivation we need in order to improve ourselves.

Growth is a process; thus to grow is a day-to-day endeavor. We win some, we lose some, but the important thing is that we learn, and from this knowledge, further growth is made possible.

So what is it that makes us do stuff? What is the reason behind being alive? One word: Happiness! To be happy is what drives us, it is the reason we do things. So find out what will make you happy, and then just do it.

The first thing you must do is discover what it is you want to be, what it is you want to do. If need be, set a short term goal of being something until you discover what you want to do. For example you just can not think of anything that you want to be or do. This is because your dreams have been crushed so many times that they just won’t work for you any more. So pick something, anything to get started.

Let’s say you choose to be security guard, maybe you never thought of it before, but you can’t think of anything else. So you find out what you need to do to be a security guard. Then take the steps necessary to become one, like putting in applications, etc.

After a while you will become a security guard, then your dream machine will reawaken and you can contemplate your future while getting paid for doing something. Once you discover what you truly want to be, you can take steps from there to do it and get to where you truly want to be.

Achieve your dreams. Avoid negative people, things and places. Eleanor Roosevelt once said; “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Ignore those who try to destroy you. Don’t let other people to get the best of you. Stay out of toxic people – the kind of friends who hates to hear about your success.

Believe in your self, and in what you can do. Consider things on every angle and aspect. Motivation comes from determination. To be able to understand life, you should feel the sun from both sides.

Don’t give in and don’t give up. Thomas Edison failed more than a few times before he came up with his invention and perfected the incandescent light bulb. Learn from mistakes; build on them as you now know what works and what does not.

Make motivation your steering wheel. Why do you get up in the morning? What is it that gives you the desire to do something? Find that something and keep it in font of you, this will help you get things done. Getting things done will in turn; make your life better.

Enjoy your life: Work as if you don’t need money. Dance as if nobody’s watching. Love as if you never cried. Learn as if you’ll live forever. Motivation takes place when people are happy.

Family and Friends – are life’s greatest ‘F’ treasures. Don’t loose sight of them.

Give more than what is enough. Where does motivation and self-improvement take place? At work; at home; at school; wherever you go, there you are, and that is where your motivation takes place. When you exert extra effort in doing things, you find the results are measurably improved, and this causes happiness.

Hang on to your dreams. They may dangle in there for a moment, but these little stars will be your driving force. Never lie, cheat or steal. Always play a fair game.

Just be yourself: One of the keys to success is to be you. Remember you are the only person wearing your skin, so make it count. A giant clue here: The key to failure is to try to please everyone else.

Keep trying no matter how hard life may seem. When a person is motivated, eventually he sees a harsh life finally clearing out, becoming better, easier and less stressful.

Learn to love your self. You are all you have, if you do not love yourself, you will never know when someone loves you.

Make things happen. Motivation is when your dreams are put into work clothes.

Open your eyes. People should learn the horse attitude and horse sense. They see things in 2 ways; how they want things to be, and how they should be.

Practice makes perfect. Practice is about motivation. It lets us learn our skills, and how can we recover from our mistakes. Quitters never win. And winners never quit. So, choose your fate; are you going to be a quitter, or a winner?

Ready yourself. Motivation is also about preparation. We must hear the little voice within us telling us to get started, before others get on their feet and try to push us around. Remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah build the ark.

Be Blessed
The Guide to Setting Goals

By: Ralston Heath

Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Did you like this article by Ralston Heath? You can find more on his Blog: true-happiness.blogspot.com/

Success is a popular topic. There are countless books and articles available, and many claim to hold the "secrets" of success. A secret implies some special knowledge that must be obtained before one can experience success. Not only will this feed a victim mentality -- that attitude of "Well, no wonder I'm not successful. There's a secret other people know, and obviously I don't" -- it makes the whole thought of what is required to achieve success unnecessarily complicated.

There is a 14th century principle known as Occam's Razor which basically says all things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the best one. In the 1960's it became encapsulated in the acronym KISS: Keep It Simple, Sweetheart. So let's simplify success into its three most basic components.

1. DECIDE to change. A change must be desired. There must be dissatisfaction with the status quo, a dislike of the way things are right now. Whether it's the dirty dishes on the kitchen table or dreading getting up in the morning to go to your job, the current situation must be sufficiently uncomfortable that it creates the internal motivation to do something different, to make a change. Change must be viewed as a positive, and the benefits of making the change must out-weigh the perceived costs of doing so. Decide it is time to make a change, to go for something more.

2. DECLARE your intention. The question then becomes, "What do I want to achieve?" There are lengthy, expensive seminars available on the topic, but that question is the bottom line in goal-setting. What is the desired end result? What do you want? That is the goal, and attaining that goal will mean success to you. And this has to be personal. It has to be your goal that you are willing to commit to, otherwise you won't follow through on it if you even manage to start. Set aside what society defines as success, what your family and/or friends may define as success. Declare your definition of success. Own it and commit yourself to making it happen.

3. DO it. Dreaming and planning isn't enough. You have to make it happen. The desire to make a change on its own is not enough. There are many people who desire change in their lives but are unable to articulate what they truly want, so they do nothing. Even being committed to a goal with clear steps in mind is not enough. Many people know exactly what they want from life but succumb to routine, so they do nothing. Ultimately you must take action. Some helpful advice I've received is, "You don't have to get it right. You just have to get it going." Learn as you go. Experience is the best teacher. As mistakes occur, adjustments can be made. But first you have to get it moving. Remember junior high science class and the Law of Inertia? A body at rest tends to stay at rest while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Start the motion, and as you gain momentum, it becomes easier.

Why make things complicated? Success becomes simple when you Decide, Declare and Do. Look at some of your recent accomplishments, large or small, and you'll discover you've used these three steps. You're already successful, and you deserve to attain the success you desire. Just keep it simple, sweetheart!

By: Marie Cannon

Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Businesswoman, Friend, Collaborator, and Team player, Marie Cannon fulfills her Entrepreneurial Calling by offering a great service that enriches the lives of others. Together with other fellow BraveHeart Community members, her goal is to empower Women to be multi-dimensional success stories and inspiration to others. Be Sure to Visit: Be a BraveHeart Woman

The traditional beliefs about attaining success have left us coveting what others have, measuring our success by material accumulation and possessions, and unclear about the full process of bringing forth our destiny. I suspect that due to the pursuit of success, more believers have ended up depressed, oppressed, and doubting themselves. And what’s even more disturbing is that when the secular world looks into the lives of believers, we are often not experiencing the life and life more abundantly that God promises us.

It is time to break up the myths of motivation and the damage it has done to believers in our process of living out the fullness of God’s vision and calling for your life. If we could sort out the weeds among the truth we have been taught, we can learn to flourish in the life that God created you to live.

Don’t get me wrong, dreaming and motivation have had their place. As a matter of fact, motivation and dreaming are the first step to shifting your reality. It’s just time to evolve to the next level of human achievement – visionary attainment. I actually boldly say that is time to stop dreaming and time to align your life with God’s vision for your life.

The humble beginnings of the age of motivation began in the mid-1800’s with Henry David Thoreau’s radical philosophies of the time and evolved into the genre of personal success literature Charles F. Haanel ushered in in 1912. Napolean Hill then based most of his early works on Haanel’s work The Law of Success. Hill then captured a new level of personal success writing in 1937 with Think and Grow Rich, one of the best-selling books of all time. These philosophers and business men shaped what became known as The Philosophy of Achievement and helped an entire generation begin to create firm and deliberate beliefs out of the loose, haphazard thinking of the time.

Even with this philosophical literature opening up minds to what is possible the energy it needed to make the transition from an intellectual experience to real-life was mission. It needed human energy and passion to ignite. This is where motivation came in. Motivation was the missing key that linked the understanding of achievement to the energy it took to get in motion to move toward achievement. Motivation is having the desire and willingness to do something.

Fifty-eight years later, humankind made the shift from motivation philosophy to motivation. It took Hilary Hinton (Zig Ziglar) to come along and pave the way to an entire new industry of motivational speaking in 1970. Ziglar began the era of people keeping themselves energized and create the positive mindset it took to nurture their dreams. Motivation was a critical component in this evolution and it got us dreaming, which opens the doors to new possibility. Since the onset of the motivation movement, it has become evident that motivation is fleeting. Even the Father of motivation, Zig Ziglar, says, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”

It has taken 37 years to come to a new crossroads. Now that you are all motivated and know how to tap into your positive thinking, the next evolutionary step is to master the process of attainment – actually living the life that you have been taught to dream about. There is something greater than dreaming and even your individual vision and it’s time to usher it in – God’s vision.

But first, we have to uproot the myths that have gotten in the way. The concepts and teachings of the motivation movement have thwarted believer’s ability to bring forth God’s vision for their lives. There are some fundamental spiritual truths that have been omitted from the equation of success that have left believers frustrated and unable to tap into the wealth we so often see being exuded from the pulpits of churches. Our addiction to motivation has led more believers than ever to experience depression, oppression and darkness in their lives.

Let’s take a look at a few of the top myths of success that do not fully align with The Word and uncover some beliefs that you, as a believer may have all learned.

Myth #1: You can do anything you set your mind to. Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.
The Truth: You can do anything through Christ who strengthens you and only a shadow of what you can do with Christ on your own. Even when you set your mind to it and adjust your attitude, God has pre-destined and called you for a specific purpose. And once He has allowed you to go through the fire to burn off your impurities and at the right season and time according to your measure of faith, the fullness of His vision for your life will manifest. It is when you apply your renewed, Christ-like mind to your calling that you can achieve all things that God created you to achieve.

Myth #2: Whatever you can conceive and believe, you can achieve. All things are possible for those who believe.
The Truth: While you conceive with you mind, this is only 1/3 of the picture. Not only must you be able to conceive what you desire, your spirit must align with what you deeply desire and your body or actions must fully support it. Even greater than all of these, it must be part of your calling or God’s predestined plan for you. It is God who plants your desire within you and therefore your challenge is to align your will with his will for your life through your thoughts, faith, works or action, calling and most of all, obedience.

Myth #3: If you persist and work hard, you can have anything you want.

The Truth: How many times has this been said from the stage? It is usually accompanied by pictures of large homes, yachts, and exotic cars owned by the speaker and the old adage, “Do what I’ve done and you’ll get what I’ve got.”

It is not by your works, education level or know-how alone that you achieve, God gives you the power to obtain wealth. Scripture reminds us that seeking The Lord first and foremost in your life, you should not want, but walk in the dominion and authority He has bestowed upon you. You are not to covet the material gain of others, but know that your blessings have your name and only your name on them.

Myth #4: Follow your dreams. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you imagined.

The Truth: If you seek the Kingdom of God first, all things will be added to you. Allowing your dreams to lead you can leave you down the road of someone else’s calling and purpose. Get clear about what God has created you to do, commit to it, and then, and only then, will you have access to all that God has set aside and promised you.

The part the no one talks about is the test phase that is an integral part of the process of attaining God’s vision. You will undergo a major, life-questioning test to prove your worthiness, seriousness, and commitment to step into the things of God. There is a the part of the teachings of the motivational movement that will always live on – keep persisting and don’t quit because there are great rewards in fully giving yourself over to God’s promise of life and life more abundantly.

With All My Heart,

Ericka

By: Ericka Jackson

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Ericka D. Jackson provides individuals, organizations, and churches with the tools to achieve God’s vision for their lives. Visit www.erickajackson.com for insights, techniques and resources to fulfill your calling.

By: Jamie Jefferson

When your self-confidence soars, everything benefits – your body, your relationships, possibly even your pocketbook.

Here are six simple things you can do today to build your self-confidence.

1. Listen to the way you talk to yourself. Experts say that a full 70 to 80% of our thoughts are negative, and that can eat away at your self-confidence - day in and day out. It may sound corny, but changing your inner monologue can help your self-confidence in untold ways.

Here are some ideas:

- Set a timer for random, intermittent periods of time. When the alarm goes off, immediately tune in to find out what you were thinking about. If it’s negative, make a conscious effort to bring your thoughts immediately into something more positive.

- Write your own affirmations. Say them twice daily – or record them into a tape recorder and listen to them in your car or while doing daily chores.

- Ask a friend to listen for negativity in your conversations. When negativity crops up, immediately say something positive.

- Listen to behavior modification audios that target negative self-talk. These can be really effective – and come in both subliminal and non-subliminal varieties.

2. Look your best. Superficial as it may sound, the way you feel about your appearance on a daily basis can really build self-confidence. Go through a stack of magazines and tear out photos of hairstyles and clothing that are appealing to you. How can you incorporate some of those images into your present look? It takes just minutes a day to polish your appearance, and you’ll instantly look and feel more self-confident. When you look and feel more confident, you’ll act more confident. And when you act more confident, you’ll *be* more confident.

3. Stand up straight. When you are feeling down, you are more likely to slouch and frown, which can make a bad mood even worse. Next time you don’t feel like smiling, pull your shoulders back, stand tall, and smile. Before you know it, your smile will be genuine. And you will be exhibiting a more self-confident you to the world.

4. Examine the energy of your friends. What kind of energy do you emit with friends? What kind of energy do your friends emit? Here’s a good litmus test: How do you feel about yourself and the world immediately after you leave the company of your friend? If you feel down and critical, make an effort to be around more positive, self-confident people. Their energy will rub off on you.

5. Catalog your positives. Make a long list of all the accomplishments that you are proud of, and post it where you can see it every day. Now make a list of the personality characteristics that you are proud of. What makes you unique? Celebrate yourself and all the things that make you, you – without trying to change them.

6. Be grateful. Start your day by jotting down 5 things you are looking forward to. And end your day by writing 5 things you enjoyed. By acknowledging the blessings in our lives, we get a sense for the bigger picture and our larger life purpose, which is much, much more than the day-to-day obstacles of our lives.

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Jamie Jefferson is a frequent contributor to www.BestSelfHelp.com Read more articles on self-empowerment and get free self-help resources

Burning with motivation is not always easy no matter what you are trying to accomplish. For those that are trying to get fit, motivation can even be harder. Whatever it is that you are trying to get fired up to do; there are a specific tactics that can help. You can stay motivated to accomplish almost any goal.

Visualize and see Your Goals in 3D:

When you crystallize your goals and imagine what the end results will be, you are more likely to stay motivated. You may feel more motivated by a picture of what you are working towards or need a daily visual reminder of that dream vacation you are saving money for. By keeping a visual picture in your mind and imagining yourself at your end result, you can stay inflamed to accomplish any goal.

Reward Yourself Handsomely:

Keeping pumped up can be easier if you take the time to treat yourself when you reach small milestones along the way. If you are trying a new fitness plan, try to reward yourself with a new pair of gym shoes or maybe new workout equipment. Knowing that there is something good along the way to your goal will help keep you excited about achieving your goals and you will find second wind.

See an Energizing Movie or Listen to Motivating Music:

I do this all the time. You can get all keyed up to reach your goals by watching a motivating movie (war or boxing films do great) or listening to music that will get you pumped about your goals. Look for movies that will help you see others work hard to reach their own goals. You will come out of the movie feeling ready to get busy and accomplish your goals. Music can also help you stay motivated. If you want to walk more, invest in a good MP3 system and listen to upbeat music to keep you moving. An associate, Ricardo Laudico, keeps stashes of motivational music in a 40Gb Ipod to keep focused. Not surprisingly, he’s hit many short term goals in less than a year.

Set Bit-Sized Goals and take a Breather:

Whether you are working towards saving for a new house or going vegan to lose a few pounds, set manageable goals for yourself and take a break every once in awhile. By deploying small goals, you will not feel too overwhelmed at one time. You can work on each step that will equal to big results in the end. Also, if you do get overwhelmed, take a break. Achieving your goals will not happen overnight. If you feel frustrated, take a day off and rethink your plans. Richard Bandler, founder of NLP postulates the question: “How do you eat an Elephant?” The correct answer always is: “A Bite at a Time”

Seek a Wingman and do it for yourself:

You can achieve anything with staunch conviction. If you work on a goal because you believe you can do it, it will be easy for you to stay motivated. While working on your goals, if you do need an extra push, find a partner who can keep you on track. You may have a buddy who wants to lose weight or get in shape, too. Work with that person to motivate each other when your own motivation starts to slump.

Prove them Wrong. With Flair:

Each is motivated for different reasons, but one way to stay inflamed is to remember all the times someone told you that you couldn’t do it. Prove the negative people around you wrong and accomplish your goals to show them you can. While you should never try to live your life for the approval of others, your internal passion may improve when you try to impress others. Feel good about what you can do, and others will sit up and take notice.

See It as Fun that You want to do:

You may desire to achieve a goal that you find very difficult. It may help to stay motivated by finding something fun about what you are doing. Achieve your goals because you want to do it and not because others want you to. When you find intrinsic motivation, it will be easier to stay the course.

Seek Mentors and Help the Untalented:

Chat with others who labored to accomplish the goals you are working towards. Listen to what they have to say and consider their suggestions. For people who have already been there, they can offer valuable advice and this should help you stay motivated. It would also be good to aid others while you are accomplishing your goals. If you know someone else is depending on you, it will be easier for you to keep up the good fight.

Revitalize your Routine:

Boredom kills. The rut sucks the spirit. I know. I’m an entrepreneur… and as things go, businessmen do the same thing day in day out. As activities become mechanical, the flames for achievement go out. Stop that! Vary your lifestyle and do things differently. Your brain will enjoy the stimulation… and with it, returns your motivation.

About the Author: ***
Bestselling author of Psychic Seduction, Joseph R. Plazo conducts leadership executive coaching and helps people find great jobs in the Philippines.

Source: http://www.easyarticles.com

Motivation sometimes seems a lot like magic. Some people can do it. Other people can't. Your boss tells you that you need to "motivate your people," but doesn't tell you how.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "motivate" as "to give someone a motive." It goes on to define "motive" as something that causes a person to act. In business you're told to "motivate" the people who work for you. In police work, we're told, you solve a crime by figuring out the motive.

I've got the motive, which is money, and the body, which is dead!

In the movie, In the Heat of the Night, Police Chief Bill Gillespie is sure he knows who committed the murder that Detective Tibbs was originally arrested for. After all, Chief Gillespie has figured out the motive, or so he thinks.

But he was wrong. You'll be wrong, too, if you think you can figure out people's motivations. You can only guess at motivation.

You can observe behavior, what people say and do. You can observe performance. Since that's all you can observe, that's all you can manage.

Don't worry about the horse being blind. Just load the wagon

When John Madden was the coach of the Oakland Raiders his players sometimes challenged him when he asked them to do something. Rather than explain in detail, Madden would just reply: "Don’t worry about the horse being blind, just load the wagon."

In other words, don't worry about the things you can't control. Spend your time on the things you can control.

You can't get inside someone else's head and make him or her want to do something. You can't control another person's behavior.

But you can control your own behavior. And you can use your behavior to influence the choices that other people make and the actions other people take.

Tell your people what you want. Then make sure they understand.

Do things that support what you say. We call this "walking your talk."

It's simple. If you pay attention to productivity numbers, so will the people who work for you. If you comment on people's appearance, they will pay attention to appearance.

It can work the other way, too. If you pay attention to how neatly reports are formatted instead of paying attention to the content, your people will catch on. If they have to make a choice they'll spend their time and effort on making reports look good, rather than beefing up content.

In the end, managing is all about behavior. But it's not about misbehavior.

Ain't misbehavin'.

I was a bright, active, talkative child in a world where children were expected to sit still and be quiet. Consequently, I was in trouble a lot when I was in school

Time after time my teachers would call my mother and ask her to come down to school because I was "misbehaving." When they used that word, it was a certainty like night following day that they would get one of mom's favorite lectures.

Mom would turn her mom look on Miss Smith or Mrs. Sally or Mr. Schnabel. "There is no such thing as 'misbehavior,'" she would say. "There is only behavior."

"You are calling what my son does 'misbehavior' because he's not doing what you want him to do. But he's got a reason. Now let's see if we can figure out what we can do so he'll want to do what you think he should do."

If more bosses had listened to my mom, more workers would be productive and happy. That's because people do things for their reasons, not yours. Your job is to figure out how to make their reasons work for you.

You can't control their reasons or choices, but you can control the consequences of their behavior. As one of my trainees once put it: "The just should be rewarded and the unjust punished in accordance with their deeds." There are two kinds of consequences, positive and negative.

 If at first they don't succeed, praise, praise again.

Praise is the most common and easiest to deliver positive consequence. Recognition, awards, promotions and special privileges are also positive consequences.

Use praise to encourage. Encourage them to try new or uncomfortable things by praising their efforts. Encourage them to continue doing good things by praising their work. There are simple rules for praise.

Praise specific actions or performance that you want to encourage. Don't praise people just to praise them.

Deliver praise inconsistently. Don't praise every good thing or your praise loses its power. But most US managers are nowhere close to praising too much. They don't praise enough.

That's why there's one more rule. You should look for opportunities to praise that meet the criteria above.

Stop in the name of love.

A reprimand or correction is a negative consequence. So are formal punishment and discipline.

You use negative consequences like reprimand to get people to stop behavior or performance that you don't want. Be specific about the behavior or performance you want to change. Many times you will get best results with a mix of negative consequence for unacceptable behavior and praise for efforts to change.

Negative consequences of all kinds should be delivered consistently. If you promise that it will happen, make sure you keep your promise.

Be wary, though. Remember Mark Twain's Hot Stove Rule. Twain noted that a cat who sits on a hot stove will not sit on a hot stove again. But he won't sit on a cold stove either.

If you use negative consequences too much or exclusively, your people will stop the behavior you want to stop. But they'll also stop trying.

Wouldn't it be magic?

The science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke said that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." In other words, if you can't figure out how it's done, it will look like magic to you.

If you use your behavior to influence the behavior of the people who work for you, it will look like magic to others. "Wow," they'll say, "That manager sure is a motivator."

By: Wally Bock

Article Directory:  http://www.articledashboard.com

Wally Bock helps organizations improve productivity and morale, as well as deal with the challenges of massive Boomer retirements. He is the author of Performance Talk (www.performancetalk.com/). He writes the Three Star Leadership blog (blog.threestarleadership.com/), coaches individual managers, and is a popular speaker at meetings and conferences in the United States and elsewhere.

By: Dorothy

Self-Worth; this is a word that is so much easier to say, and spell then it is to feel!

Why do so many women feel that they have no self-worth? How did they lose it?

Is it because of the way the world has portrayed the perfect woman today?

Is it because someone took it from them?

Is that the void some fill by over eating?

Did their partner breach a trust?

Did their partner fall into the grips of the world of pornography?

Does their partner demean them with insults about how they look?

Did their partner continuously admire other women?

Did they grow up being ridiculed by a family member?

Have they been suffering from a controlling illness?

Were they bullied and criticized through their school years?

Were they sexually abused as a child?

Were they laughed at in a moment of vulnerability?

Were they ever raped?

All of these experiences definitely play a part in pouring a woman's self-worth right down the drain. The people causing these kind of negative actions are totally responsible for tearing down a woman's worth. To tear down a person’s self-worth is one of the cruelest ways to treat a human being. It is a no win situation for that person. They cannot fight back. They are being attacked with a blindfold on. You have succeeded in humiliating them, and you have won that battle. Well, that's not a real brag story, because anyone can win against innocence. The true win is when the battle turns around. The true win is when the person who has lost their self-worth, stands up and takes that control back.

For those of you that have been through this battle and are struggling to just get up on an elbow, or feel empty inside and so alone that you wonder why you even get up in the morning, you can beat this!

Listen to me! You are not responsible for falling, or losing the battle. But you are TOTALLY responsible for getting back up. Yes that's right, it is you that has to pull it together. I know, it's a joke to even think about it, but you need to go back as far back as you can and find a place where in your mind that will make you smile. If you cannot, then try to think of someone that you know that is hurting more deeply that yourself and use that knowledge as your motivation. Go there in your mind. Use that thought to give you a reason to get up and pull yourself together. Your self-worth is worth fighting for. You are as strong as your greatest strength. You will always be stronger than your greatest weaknesses. Those weaknesses will never win against your strengths.

You have been hurt and raped of one of your most sacred emotions, self-worth. Now you want it back, so take it back. It is right there inside of you. You just have buried it under all your dirty laundry, so to speak. You can go on feeling empty if you want. Noone will care, not for long anyway. You can continue to use drugs, alcohol, or even food to fill that empty lonely void inside of you. You can miss out on life because you are forgetting to fight and it is so much easier to fall into the pity pit. You can spend the rest of every second worrying that if you even try to gain back some of your self-worth, you will fail and feel even more lonely. Well, you might just fail the first try, the second and the third. You may even feel that it's hopeless. If you give into that feeling, then you are letting yourself down. You have now become responsible for losing your chance at regaining your self-worth. You are allowing whatever it was that tore you apart in the first place to take control of your everything. You are allowing a memory to defeat you. There is no person there now; it's just a thought. A memory that you are allowing to ruin what little time you have on this earth. Why are you doing that? You know you can stop it. You know how! I have repeated myself so many times and I will continue to repeat this. -HABITS- positive habits of thinking. You must reconstruct your thought patterns to think WIN..not to think LOSE! You must make a new commitment to yourself, one that you can reach out and touch!

I understand the strength of negative thinking, and I have felt its power many, many times. To the point that I could hardly feel myself breathe. That was when I knew that I, and only I could stop it. It was inside of me. It was not standing beside me or next to me or behind me. It was ME! Inside of you, is where you must look and dig for the real you. Not the you that has been scarred and hurt, but the you that can smile and laugh and appreciate all the good things in life. There still are many good things if you will just open your positive side and allow them to reach you. The more positive thoughts that you fill yourself with, the less negative thoughts can survive. Also you must be honest with what your bad habits are and where they are taking you. Identify with them and how they are bringing you down, instead of up. These are bad habits that you have allowed to run your life. Now, as you have invited them in, you will simply un-invite them. Additionally, say no to abusing Drugs, Alcohol and yes FOOD!

In order to strengthen the mental you, you must also strengthen the physical you. I don`t mean be a body builder or an Olympic athlete. I just mean a healthier you, a you that you want to be!

Remember whatever it was that brought you down in yourself is in the past. If you continue to allow the pain to live inside of you, you will suffer. The past is over and there is no suffering on your part that will erase it. So get on with life. Search deep inside of you and bring back who you are. Bring back the person you can smile at in the mirror. Bring back the person you talk to all the time. Bring back the person that you were meant to be. Bring back you, and then you will have your self-worth back!

*********************************

I am goodness.

I am all my goodness.

Even when I feel I am less,

I am always more!

David Viscott

Article Source: http://www.articlecube.com

Dorothy Lafrinere Owner/Operator Website- www.womensselfesteem.com Forum- womenselfesteem.proboards29.com

Self discipline starts with the ability to control your behavior. That means motivating yourself to do what you need to do, and stopping yourself from doing things that are bad for you. The "ability to control" is just the start, though, and real discipline is when you have trained your mind in such way that you consistently get the behavior you want.

Discipline may appear to be a problem of willpower. However, this implies just pushing ourselves harder to do things, even when we feel miserable, or fighting temptations. It's a good recipe for stress and disappointment, but there are better ways to a disciplined life.

Self Discipline Tips

Have you ever stayed up all night talking about something interesting? Then you know what power the mind has over the body. Sleep can be put off when we are motivated by a passionate discussion,and it doesn't take much willpower to keep doing something when you are enjoying it. That gives us a key to self discipline.

Try to enjoy what you are doing and be energized. Your willpower goes up and down with your energy levels, so play energetic music, move around, laugh, and look for the interesting parts of whatever project you are working on. Once you identify your best energy boosters and motivators, make a list, and train your brain to use them whenever you need discipline.

Make things easier on yourself. If you feel stressed when you think about doing your tax return, for example, don't think about it! Just lay out the forms where you can work on them later. Later do just one form, and then another. Whatever the task at hand, you can find enough motivation for some small step. Start training your mind to take that step as soon as you think of it, and the next steps become easier.

Self Discipline And Self Awareness

What if that cake calls to you. Sometimes it's hard to resist temptation, right? Willpower is a nice idea, but here is a simpler solution: stop standing in front of the cake! It is an easy lesson to understand, so train yourself to apply it habitually. Don't keep beer in the house if you don't want to drink it. Don't go alone to the bar if you want to maintain a faithful marriage. Just stay away from people that lead you to trouble.

Discipline doesn't mean being immune to temptation. Go ahead and develop the willpower to say no, if you can, but why not also have the wisdom to avoid temptation? Know where your resistance is low, and don't put yourself in those situations. Does this make more sense than fighting useless battles with yourself?

Fighting feelings is a losing battle. It's far more effective to learn about yourself. How are you energized and motivated? Where are your strengths and weaknesses? Learn about yourself, and start using what you learn to make the behaviors you want easy. That's the key to self discipline.

Source: www.easyarticles.com

About the Author: Steve Gillman has been studying brainpower and related topics for years. For more on How To Increase Brain Power, and to get the Brain Power Newsletter and other free gifts, visit: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com

We all have a lack of self motivation at times. We can learn a hundred ways to improve our lives, but then hesitate to act. Something less important catches our attention, or we just don't feel like doing what we need to do. Even a person who is normally highly motivated can sometimes have a hard time getting started on an important task.

Is there a solution? There are probably dozens of them. Below are six of the best self motivation techniques that consistently work when used. Try them all, but if you find even one or two here that work for you, you'll be on your way.

Self Motivation Techniques That Work

1. Talk to get motivated. One of my favorite ways to create energy and motivation is to talk. Once I tell my wife about the article I'm going to write, I'm out of my slump and back at the keyboard. For less inspiring tasks, talk about the larger goals it will help you achieve.

2. Stimulate your desire. Seeing their potential future motivates many to sign up for get-rich-quick plans. The really good salesmen can put you in your imagined dream home in minutes, and make you feel motivated to do anything to make it real. Learn to be your own salesman.

3. Stimulate your pain. One Neuro-Linguistic Programming technique is to mentally link pain with not acting. It is like when finally stop hitting that snooze button on the alarm, and get up because you think you might lose your job. Just imagine any bad consequences that may occur if you don't do what you need to do.

4. Find a true interest. If you have no interest in what you are doing, it might mean you need to do something else. If it's just a task you dislike, but it needs to be done, relate it clearly in your mind to the greater goal. I don't like to drive, but I don't have a motivation problem when I'm driving to the mountains for a vacation.

5. Boost your energy. You need energy for self motivation. Coffee may help for a while, if caffeine doesn't create other problems for you. Exercising and sleeping well help too. Yo should also watch out for sugary foods. The "sugar blues"kill motivation. Once you find energy boosters that work for you, make a list and keep it handy for future use.

6. Take any small step. I've found if I commit to raking up one bag of leaves, I soon want to finish all the yard work. Taking any small step towards your goals is a great self motivation technique. To make this even easier, break larger goals down into small steps.

Motivation techniques really do work, but don't ask me how to get motivated to use them. In any case, you were motivated enough to read this far, so you'll be fine. Oh, and humor is number seven. A good laugh can overcome that feeling of being overwhelmed that sucks away self motivation.

Source: www.easyarticles.com

About the Author: Steve Gillman has been studying brainpower and related topics for years. For more on How To Increase Brain Power, and to get the Brain Power Newsletter and other free gifts, visit: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com

Your bad habits limit your success in life. Below are six of the worst, with suggestions on how to break them. It is great if you can retrain your mind and develop good habits too, but just getting rid of bad habits is a great start to a better life.

Bad Habits

1. Waiting for opportunity. Should I be "waiting for my ship to come in," while others are out there building ships? Waiting doesn't invite opportunities - work does. Begin searching out opportunities and creating opportunities. Training your mind to see them can be as simple as looking for them. Then train yourself to take advantage of them by always taking some small step the moment you recognize an opportunity.

2. Short-term thinking. I talked to a man who paid $700 per month in rent when a nicer place was available for $550. Why did he do it? The $700 apartment required no deposit, but the cheaper place required a $450 deposit, so he would have had to save $1,000 (instead of $700) to move in. Due to his short-term thinking, he now pays $1,800 more for rent each year.

Though short term thinking got this man into his situation, and he didn't have the $300 extra, he still could have gone to the pawn shop and raised the money. It would have cost very little interest compared to spending $1,800 more per year on rent. Consider the long-term consequences of your actions, and write them down whenever you make a decision. Continue this until your mind does it automatically.

3. Impulsive actions. A man showed me his $200 hat, then minutes later he told me he was hoping they would approve his welfare application. Perhaps a problem with impulse control? Perhaps it's possible that his bad habits have lead to a place on the welfare rolls?

The solution? You'll usually change your mind about impulsive decisions by the next day. Wait a day before taking any action that commits time, energy or money towards something that is not a major goal in your life. Do it until it is a habit.

4. Blaming. Whether justified or not, how often does blaming someone or something for our situation motivate us to improve it? It is definitely one of the worst of these bad habits, and one of the more subtle ones too. Giving "reasons" for our troubles, for example, is often just a form of blaming.

Let's suppose that a given type of business is over-regulated. Who will most likely succeed here anyhow, the man who blames the regulation for his troubles, or the one that is always asking, "What can I do to succeed with things the way they are?" If you want greater success train your mind to think like the latter. Do you want to point at problems, or deal with them?

5. Procrastination. We know that often, "later" becomes "never." To stop procrastinating, get in the habit of looking for and doing the easiest first step you can find. Often just starting will develop your motivation.

6. Indulging one's laziness. I have little to say about this bad habit, except that I don't know anyone who has suffered greatly from forcing themselves to get up and do something. Do something easy first, and if low energy is part of the problem, start learning a few techniques for boosting it, like deep breathing and singing.

Maybe you have heard the saying, "change your mind - change your life." How do you change your mind? A good start is to correct your bad habits, one-by-one. Why not work on one today?


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Source: www.easyarticles.com

About the Author: Steve Gillman has been studying brainpower and related topics for years. For more on Bad Habits, and to get the Brainpower Newsletter and other free gifts, visit: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com