Blog for Self Improvement

Do you constantly find yourself running out of time? Do you get everything done that you want to each day or do you find yourself with more activities then you are able to handle? If you can relate to these problems then you need some time management strategies for getting organized.

Know what you want

Before implementing any other time management strategies for getting organized you need to know what you want. If you have no goals and do not know what you actually want to achieve with the time you have been given then you will find yourself saying "yes" to everything, even where you should be saying "no". Knowing what you want to achieve keeps you disciplined in your time management.

Write down your Goals

In order to implement time management strategies you need to know what you want, but even people who know what they want do not always manage their time effectively. Strategies for getting organized also include writing down those goals. Take some time to write down what you want to achieve in life. What is it that you want people to say about you when you reach the end of your life? What dreams do you want to fulfill? Write them down and then set goals which say when you want to have achieved them by and how you are going to go about achieving them.

Prioritize

What are your priorities? When implementing time management strategies for getting organized you are going to need to think carefully about what is most important to you. Many possible activities will come your way each and every day and if you do not know what your priorities are then you may find yourself doing all the trivial things rather than those things that are really important for achieving your goals. Priorities should be worked out regularly with the help of a to-do list.

Create a To-Do List

Goals are extremely important in effective time management strategies but they can also be long term and if you do not have other strategies for getting organized then you may not accomplish those goals. Create a to-do list regularly and order it in terms of your priorities. Then you will have a workable plan for achieving your goals and can systematically work through your to-do list, accomplishing those things that are most important to you.

Categorize your activities

When looking at all the activities which occupy your day try to break them down into a number of categories. This categorization needs to be done on two levels. Firstly work out what activities you need to do, what activities you can delegate to others, and what activities are actually not important to be done at all. Delegate those activities that can be delegated, cut out the unimportant activities and then re-categorize the activities that only you can do and that are important for you to do. You may want to categorize this list into categories such as work, family, social, physical (health), spiritual, etc.

Use a Weekly Planner

Once you have categorized your activities the last of our time management strategies for getting organized is to use a weekly planner. Block out times on your weekly planner when you can do those activities that you need to and that you categorized above. Use different colors for different activity categories. Take time regularly to fill in your weekly planner and then review it daily to ensure that you do not miss any important events and that you stick to your goals.

Don't Procrastinate

One of the worst enemies of effective time management is procrastination. It is important that you start implementing these time management strategies for getting organized today. If you wait until tomorrow, you may never put them into practice so start today.

In conclusion, effective time management begins with strategies for getting organized such as knowing what you want, writing down your goals, prioritizing your to-do list, categorizing your activities and using a weekly planner. These time management strategies should be implemented regularly and begun immediately to ensure that you reach your goals and accomplish all that you want to with your life.

Source: http://www.articlecube.com

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It's one of those mornings when you hit snooze too many times and as a result wake up late. Since you're running late, on a whim you decide to skip breakfast, grab a quick shower, hastily dress, and run out your door hungry, irritable, and somewhat ready for another day of work. On your drive to work, you realize that you left your cell phone at home along with your daily vitamin. In this frustration, you decide to reflect on last night when you sat in rush-hour traffic on your way home, finished your weekly proposals, cooked dinner, went to the gym, bought groceries, and took your daughter to her daily gymnastics class. All of these after-work activities stressed you out and produced an unwanted headache that kept you up for most of the night. You sigh and think, "If I only had more time."

Does this sound familiar? If it does, don't worry because you're not alone. In the last 25 years, our leisure time has been reduced by 37 percent, while our work week has increased by a full day. Most of us lead busy lives that cause unwanted stress, which can produce long-term health consequences such as heart disease, stroke, and gastrointestinal problems.

Do you want to reduce stress and have more time for relaxation, family, and leisure activities? If so, time management is your answer. Time management is a set of skills, tools, and systems that work together to help you get more value out of your time while improving your quality of life. The following steps will help you manage your responsibilities and relieve you of unhealthy tension so that you can enjoy your day-to-day routine and lead a healthier life.

Organize Your Space

Before you do anything else, you're going to have to organize your space. As a whole, Americans waste more than 9 million hours each day looking for misplaced and lost items. If you organize your home and office, think of how much time you'll save looking for things. You'll have fewer interruptions, experience less frustration, and will be able to locate important articles, documents, and files in a timely manner so that you can continue finishing what needs to be completed.

Plan and Schedule

It's important to remember that calendars, appointment books, and to-do lists will serve as reminders and help you identify deadlines. Spending 15 minutes every morning to update these tools can save you up to 6 hours a week and you'll be able to successfully make use of your schedule. Additionally, by having a thoughtfully planned out schedule you'll be able to:

• Understand what is achievable with your time

• Make the best use of the available time

• Leave enough time for tasks that you must do

• Have time to handle the unexpected

• Avoid over-working yourself

Prioritize and Set Goals

It's essential that you prioritize your activities on a daily basis and set attainable goals. Focusing on the results that are most important to you will help you achieve the greatest benefit possible with the limited amount of time available.

If you are confused by what your priorities are or have many different priorities, look over your to-do list and choose the most important things and do these first. By realizing goals, you'll feel accomplished and be motivated to continue finishing lots of things on your to-do list. This will result in completing work and having more free time.

Beat Procrastination

Procrastination is one of time management's biggest enemies. Procrastination is a destructive habit that impulses you to put off important tasks over and over again. You are procrastinating when you do something more enjoyable or comfortable than what you should be carrying out. Some people are so strongly affected by procrastination that it negatively impacts their careers and personal lives.

Here are tips that will help you overcome procrastination and allow you to successfully manage your life:

• Develop good organizational and personal effectiveness habits such as establishing the right priorities

• Make the most of the opportunities available

• Recognize that important things are likely to be the actions that help you achieve something of real significance and that urgent matters need to be taken care of efficiently so that you can stay on top of the important tasks of the day

• Even if you don't feel like doing something, you can just start and once you've started you'll likely begin to feel more motivated to continue doing it

• Plan a reward or celebration for yourself for completing tasks, such as a walking break or candy treat

• Make a list of activities that you enjoy that can be completed in 5 to 30 minutes and find creative ways to fit these into your immediate and long-term schedule

Beat Exhaustion

If you're tired, it's no use having priorities and a beautifully arranged schedule since you're likely to not stay on task. You'll be more vulnerable to interruptions during the work day, which can consume 10 to 20 minutes in getting back on track, not to mention the time spent conversing with the interrupter. Exhaustion happens to all of us and can have a negative impact on successful time management.

Some steps to combat exhaustion and fuel your energy:

• If you're a morning person, plan your most important work for early in the day; if you're a late-day person, do the opposite

• As much as possible, make sure to sleep at least 8 hours a night so that you can perform your best

• After a few hours of sitting at your desk or after a long meeting, get up from your chair and stretch

• Go outside for a 5 minute walk to get your limbs moving, breath some fresh air, and catch some sunshine
• Drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated and eat balanced meals to keep yourself energized
• Make time for quiet time by taking a few minutes to close your eyes and relax

As you can see, a little organization, prioritizing, and planning goes a long way. By implementing these tools, beating destructive habits like procrastination and exhaustion, you'll allow yourself to have more free time. Time management will let you spend quality time on your hobbies and enjoy stress-free days. Time management will give you more time in the mornings to eat breakfast, calmly shower and dress, and not leave behind important items like your cell phone and vitamins. More importantly, by incorporating these time management steps into your daily living routine, you'll be a more successful individual and have more time to finish your proposals, cook dinner, buy groceries, workout, and take your daughter to her gymnastics class

By: Kelli Smith

Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Edu411.org is a career education directory for finding colleges and universities, training schools, and technical institutes. For more information about careers, online and campus based career programs, please visit us at www.edu411.org.

I had to undergo a long and involved struggle before I was able to learn how to organize. My un-tidiness was a real embarrassment when I was growing up. Cleanliness is really viewed as being next to godliness in my community. Knowing how to get organized is almost second nature to the people in my hometown.

The problem was that my family was different when it comes to being organized. Every member of my family doesn’t have any clue about how to organize. We purchased a lot of filing cabinets, closet organizers, storage boxes of all shape, size, and description but none of it did any good.

I had no major problems with fitting in perfectly in these family surroundings, but something happened that changed my life. This is because I had to go to college and I had to give an important presentation. I was scrambling around to get all the pieces together because it was given at the last minute.

However, I did not have enough time to finish it because my paper was all out of order and I was missing half of my slides. As a result, I failed and I should not have. I had done all the work, and prepared a brilliant presentation but I never got credit for the work that I had done because I did not know how to organize.

I investigated all of the usual tricks when I first tried to learn how to organize. I decided to purchase books on organizing a home, organizing an office, organizing a business, and organizing any other aspect of personal or professional life that can possibly be imagined.
 
However, I still got no results at all even after I read all of these books from cover to cover. I think that I sort of shutdown because my mind was so cluttered with ideas about how to organize, and with frustrated attempts at getting my life under control. I just can’t handle that much information quickly.

Fortunately, my friend who is very good at organizing gave me a wonderful advice. He told me that I have to get rid of some of my stuff if I want to be organized. He explained that having things that I need and knowing where each of these things is when I need it is the key to being organized. My friend even came over and helped me sort through my stuff so that he can show me how to organize my stuff.

By: Morgan Hamilton

Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning How to Organize. Visit our site for more helpful information about How to Organize and other similar topics.

You must be organized if you want to achieve your goals. There is simply no other way to put it. Life in the 21st century is incredibly busy, and young women have way too many stimuli waiting to distract them and take them away from their goals. Sometimes it feels like there are not enough hours in the day. The good news is that there are 24 hours in a day, and there will be another day tomorrow. The bad news is that this is not an excuse to waste your time by not knowing what you’re doing or where to start.

You can find your own, personal way to organize your day as well as the tasks you set out to do that day. Perhaps you are a morning person and would like to tackle the harder and most important things in the early hours. Maybe you are an afternoon person and your energy levels are up only after 2 p.m. No matter how you choose to organize your life, organized people get things done quicker, better, and with less stress than unorganized ones.

The choices you make on a daily basis greatly affect your productivity and even your opinion of yourself. Keeping all areas of your life organized, knowing what you are doing, and knowing when to do it will give you time to do the things you hate faster and more efficiently so you can spend more time doing the things you love.

One of the best things you can do to stay organized is learn to prioritize. When you prioritize, you put things in order of importance so you can get the most important things done first. Prioritizing and organizing go hand-in-hand since, if you are not organized, you may overlook important matters because they “slipped through the cracks”. This can create many problems that you must try to avoid from the start.

There are many ways in which you can prioritize your day, week, or month. Some of the ones that have been helpful for me in the past are:

1. Always make a list of your tasks for the day.

2. Divide that list into things you “must do”, “should do”, and “want to do”.

3. Think about what will happen if the things on your “must do” list are not done. When we are aware of the consequences of not doing something, we are reminded of the importance of that task.

4. Take into account the good things that could come from getting your important tasks done. The feeling of fulfillment and achievement is priceless!

5. Give yourself time limits for your “to do’s”. For example, if you have to go to the mall to get your friend a birthday present, give yourself an hour or two to finish that task. This will help you stay connected to your goals and will prevent you from staying too long at a place where there are so many distractions.

By: Jovanka Ciares

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

Jovanka Ciares is a life coach, motivational speaker and author who teaches women the attitudes, behaviors and skills that they need in order to reach their fullest potential by using the unlimited power that lies within each of them. She participates in conferences and conferences all over the United States and Latin America. She’s the author of “Don’t Blame Eve” and offers tons of free advice on her website at www.self-improvementwoman.com.

Self control means the ability to motivate ourselves to do the things we need to do. It also means stopping ourselves from doing things that we see are bad for us. It may seem that it is a problem of willpower, but pushing ourselves to do things when we feel miserable, or fighting temtation may just be a recipe for stress. There are better ways.

Self Control With Easy Steps

One trick to doing what you need to do is to start using what motivation you have. If you really feel stressed when you think about doing your tax return, for example, just put it out where you can work on it later. That's a start. Later, you might just do one form. If you think about it, whatever the task, you can usually find enough motivation for some small step. Take that step as soon as you think of it, and the next steps become easier.

Another trick is to create motivation. Find ways to energize yourself. Willpower tends to go up and down with energy levels. Sleep well, play energetic music, move around, or start an interesting conversation. When you find the things that work for you, keep a list handy to use as necessary.

Self Control Through Self Awareness

Maybe that piece of cake calls to you. Isn't it sometimes hard to resist temptation? Stronger willpower is a nice idea, but a simpler solution is to stop standing in front of the cake! Stop looking at it too. Don't go to the bar alone if you want a faithful marriage. Don't have whiskey in the house if you don't want to drink it. Stay away from people that lead you to trouble.

Don't buy into the idea that self control means being immune to temptation. True self control is not the willpower to say no, but the wisdom to avoid temptation. Be aware of where your resistance is low, and don't put yourself in those situations. Doesn't that make more sense than fighting useless battles with yourself?

Of course there will be times when you didn't choose the situation you are in, or at least that's the excuse you'll use. What can you do to be ready for the temptations that come up unexpectedly. Here are a few tips.

1. Ask people for help. If you can't stop complaining, for example, have friends point out when you are doing it.

2. Use substitutes. If you shouldn't drink that beer, quickly get a glass of your favorite juice or soda. For best results, have substitutes in mind that give you some real pleasure.

3. Imagine the consequences of your actions. Do this imediately when you are tempted, and be vivid in your imaginings. Give yourself a good scare, if you have to.

4. Try to relax. Willpower is low when you are stressed. Close your eyes and take three deep breaths.

5. Discover some of the causes of your temptations, and deal with them. For some people, boredom can lead to all sorts of stupid ways to find "excitement," for example. Involvement in something productive and intereasting can make the temptations disappear. Find some of the underlying causes, and change what you can change.

"Strengthening" willpower by fighting your feelings is a losing battle. It is more effective to learn about yourself. How are you motivated? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Learn, and use what you learn to make the behavior you want easy. That's the key to self control.

Source: www.easyarticles.com

About the Author: Steve Gillman writes on many topics including brainpower, weight loss, meditation, habits of mind, creative problem solving, generating luck and anything related to self improvement. Learn more and get FREE e-courses at http://www.SelfImprovementNow.com

Having a goal enables you to focus your energies on devising ways to achieve it. When someone makes a decision and begins focusing on achieving a specific goal (and even better in a specific period of time), the powerful subconscious mind goes to work and begins playing with ideas and developing strategies of various ways to bring about the successful completion of the goal.

When you set yourself a goal both your conscious and subconscious start working on it and begin to develop an action plan. You will find you begin asking yourself questions about what needs to be done to enable you to reach your goal. You may find yourselves coming up with amazing ideas and solutions to problems or obstacles that have been in the way of achieving your goal. Solutions and ideas that you are surprised you ever thought of may start popping into your mind.

Our subconscious is an extremely powerful tool. The more often you remind yourself of your goal, the more your mind will work on ways for you to achieve it. Some people find answers come to them when they are asleep and dreaming.

Have you ever noticed that there is no correlation between being wealthy and having a high IQ or a university degree? If there were, every doctor and university graduate would be wealthy, and as statistics show, most of them end up in the same situation as 95% of the population.

The main thing that the majority of independently wealthy people have in common is that they have set goals for themselves and achieved them. They invest time in reading and learning about wealth creation and are happy to learn from other people’s mistakes and experiences, as well as their own. They set goals, and realise that they will be far better able to achieve them if they familiarise themselves with the ways in which other people acted and the things that others have done to succeed. Wealthy people create wealth by carefully utilising the income that they have available to them to their best advantage. They know that working harder and longer hours is not the way to achieve financial freedom, instead they have to utilise what they have, and make it grow.

Setting Goals.
When you begin to work out your goals you need to make them as specific as possible. A vague idea or generalization like “I want to buy investment properties and become wealthy” is not enough. You need to be much more detailed. “I want to own my first investment property within six months. I will save for the legal and bank fees, and borrow 100% of the value of the property. I will find an extremely well priced, three bedroom brick veneer house that is close to schools and shopping centres. It will be either brand new or less than ten years old. It will be structurally sound, and require a minimal amount of maintenance. I will find a good agent to manage it, who has a lot of experience and will find me a good tenant.”

This is a specific goal, and you could add a lot more to it. Because your goal is specific your mind immediately begins to ask questions such as “How much money will I need for the fees and charges? How much does that relate to if I break it down on a weekly basis? Will I have to look at my current expenses to see where I need to cut back so as to make up the difference for the amount I need to save?” Specific goals help you to create specific, realistic action plans and as the old saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”.

You will find that if you write down your goals on a piece of paper, and put it in a prominent position, so that you will read it often, your subconscious as well as your conscious mind will start asking questions and coming up with answers, and you will find that you have already begun to take the necessary steps to achieving your goal.
It is helpful to have a series of goals, ranging from daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, ten yearly and thirty to forty yearly. You can always refine and change your goals as time goes on and situations change.

You may find that it is easier to start at the 40-year mark, and then work backwards. Try to work out what steps would be needed to achieve your 40-year goal, and spread them out over the different time spans, to what you would need to achieve to end up with the final result.

Try to make your goals realistic and achievable. Do not set a goal that is too hard. Set lots of small, easily achievable goals and work step by step to achieve your road to success. Stay positive. Believe in yourself and your abilities to succeed, even if other people patronise you or try to put you off, or tell you there is no point.

Setting and achieving goals help you to create a stronger character. It is always helpful to remember that our brain cannot entertain both positive and negative thoughts at the same time. If you stay positive you will dispel negative thought patterns. Even if you come across little obstacles that get in the way of your goals, don’t give up. Focus on finding a solution, rather than focussing on the problem – utilise a positive response. Focussing on finding solutions enables you to put your brain to work, to find ways around things. If you just see an obstacle as a problem and just accept that life has dealt you a blow, and let it stop you in your tracks, then you will never learn and grow. Remember that children learn to walk by falling over. Focus on the long-term achievements that you want to fulfil, and it will be easier to overcome your problems.

Source: www.easyarticles.com

By: Max Ng

When I spotted an expensive watch that I like, I would have a series of thoughts. Firstly, I would have thought of the pleasure that I could derive by owning it. Secondly, I would think of ways to make or save enough money so that I could buy that watch. Thirdly, I would take actions to make or save money based on the ways that I had thought of. Finally, I would buy the watch when I had enough money.

Does this process sound familiar to you? It may not be an expensive watch but something else that you truly desired. When you truly desired for something, you will think of all ways and means to achieve it. In other words, you need to think about how to make or save enough money before you can buy it.

What I trying to point out here is that it is the same if I want to achieve great wealth. For example, if I truly desire to accumulate one million dollar in wealth, then I will need to think about how to achieve it. The thinking process must come first before I can actually achieve my goal in the real physical world.

Once I have understood that the thinking process must come first, I realized that my thinking process determines whether I can be wealth or rich. If I think like a poor man, then I will always be poor in my life. This is because I am likely to make poor financial decisions and investments based on my thoughts. If I think like a rich man, then I will likely to be rich in my life. This is because I likely to make good financial decisions and investments based on my rich man thinking process.

The rich man thinking process is what I have understood as a mentally rich mind. I gathered from the Rich Dad Series, one has to be mentally rich before one can be truly rich in real life. A mentally rich person can be materially poor at the moment, but he will definitely gain wealth given time.

Just to give you an idea what do I mean by a mentally rich mind. If you were to ask someone what if he were to loss everything today? If he answered that he would gain back everything in a matter of a few years, then he would be considered a mentally rich person. If he answered otherwise, then he is unlikely to be a mentally rich person.

How can I become a mentally rich person? Well, let us look at how our minds react to television programs series or movies. If I were to watch violence television programs continuously for a period of time, I realized that my mind would think about the violence television programs. My mind would go one step further to create new violence thoughts that are not related to the television programs at all.

Similarly, if I were to watch comedy programs, I realized that my mind would think about the comedy programs. Also, my mind would start generate new funny thoughts that are not related to the comedy programs.

In other words, our mind is very creative. If we feed our mind with violence, our mind will think and create violence thoughts. If we feed our mind with loving kindness, our mind will think and create loving kindness thoughts.

With this understanding of how my mind work, I realize that I can become a mentally rich person by exposing myself constantly to mentally rich ideas. What are the ways that I can expose myself to mentally rich ideas? Below are some ideas.

Firstly, I can read books on how to create wealth. I can get these books from the bookshops or borrow from the library. Also, I can borrow from my friends if they happen to have these books.

Secondly, I can attend seminars on creating wealth. If I find that attending live seminar is too expensive, I may look for a more affordable source. Maybe I will attend recorded online video seminars.

Thirdly, I can attend courses on creating wealth and meet minded people. If I find that attending live courses is too expensive, I may look at self-study course.

Next, I can join forums that discuss on how to create wealth. In this way, I will be exposed to many ideas on how to become rich.

By constantly immersing myself in an environment full of mentally rich idea, I believe I will slowly become a mentally rich person.

* DISCLAIMER *
The author, publisher and distributors particularly disclaim any liability, loss, or risk taken by individuals who directly or indirectly act on the information contained herein. All readers must accept full responsibility for their use of this material.

Article Source: http://blogticles.com

Information about the Author: Max Ng shares about his struggle for financial freedom at www.richdadsecrets4me.com
Get a free sample of his book "Your Greatest Gift! Why Waste It?" at www.yourgreatestgift.com

By: Esther Andrews

In my opinion, creativity is the real genius. Intelligent children learn fast, and apply their knowledge in everyday life situations. But - inventing something new, creating something original, that is real genius. I always admire originality, whether it is original artwork, an original story, or an invention that can make life easier for many people.

How can we teach our children creative thinking? How can we teach them the habit of thinking "outside the box"? Here are a few easy and fun suggestions for activities that will go a long way toward developing this very valuable skill of creative thinking in your child. Slight adjustments may be needed for your child's age and skill.

1. Play the following game: one person starts telling a story. He stops after a few sentences, and the next player continues his story. There is no limit to the number of players. It is a great idea to record the story, so that it can be distributed to the participants later, for the enjoyment of everyone. This is a very fun activity that trains your child (and you too, if you are participating) to think creatively.

2. Prepare a series of pictures. The pictures can be taken from a book, from several books, from newspapers - or even downloaded from the Internet and printed on a home printer. Put the pictures next to each other, and let your child tell a story, using those pictures. You can take turns, your child and you, developing the story based on the pictures. This game can have several variations: put the pictures face down on the table, then turn them over one by one, to continue the story. Gradually increase the speed of turning the pictures over, so that the story teller has to come up with the story continuation faster and faster. When you are done with a set of pictures, just change the order, and see if your child can come up with a different story, based on the new order.

3. Prepare a series of words written on cards. Play the same game - tell a story using these words. You can use the same variations as above.

4. Play a piece of classical music, and let your child tell you what kind of mood does this music create, what kind of story does this music tell?

5. Play a piece of music, and have your child paint a picture that shows the mood this music creates, or tells the story this music is telling.

6. When your child comes up with a story in one of the previous activities, ask your child to change the story in order to change the mood. For example, if the story is sad - can he change the story to be happy? Can he change it to be a mystery? Can he change it to be a comedy, or a funny story?

7. When reading a book with your child, always ask open ended and thought provoking questions like: How would you handle this situation? What could the character do differently? How do you think did the character feel?

8. Print several pictures on paper. (You can use cardboard if you'd like to make the pieces more durable). Cut each picture into 9 parts (or more, if you want to make this game more complex). Now let your child put the pictures back together. After putting all pieces back together into the original pictures, you can mix the pieces, so that your child can create new pictures, combining pieces from different pictures. Start with two pictures mixed together,and advance to more and more pictures. Start with bigger pieces, cutting the picture into 4 parts only, and advance to smaller and smaller pieces, cutting the picture into more and more pieces. Also, use more and more complicated pictures, that include more details.

9. Play "pretend" games with your child often, or use "role playing" with your child. When you read a story, ask your child to play the role of his favorite character.

10. When your child has friends visiting, have them come up with a short play and perform it for the parents. This is always a fun activity for the children, and it also keeps them very busy.

11. Encourage your child to paint a picture of an object. Then have him paint it in different colors. For example, ask your child to paint or draw a bunch of fruit. Then have him change the colors of all the fruit. Have a red banana, yellow apple and so forth.

12. Choose a day a week, and have all family members do their routine activities in a different way. For example, brush their teeth in a different way than usual. Take a different way to school. Sing instead of talking. Get up earlier, and play a new game. Walk backwards... Be creative, and encourage your child to be creative too.

13. Don't ever discourage your child from using his imagination. If your child tells an imaginary story, always praise him and acknowledge the creativity. If your child comes up with an original answer to a question, even if the answer is incorrect, acknowledge creative thinking.

14. Keep your eyes open for any signs of creativity and originality. Always praise and encourage these traits.

Have fun, and enjoy! To your child's creativity!

Article Source: http://www.articlecube.com
www.all-gifted-children.com. For the last 27 years Esther Andrews has specialized in gifted education and grew 2 profoundly gifted children herself. In her "The Manual Your Child Should Have Come With - How to Develop Your Child's Genius" she is teaching parents how to grow gifted children. www.all-gifted-children.com/package.htm

Reassuring Reasons why Hypnosis is your Friend

Believe the hype or think for yourself

For too long hypnosis has had a bad or 'difficult' press. If a person doesn't understand something they have 3 options open to them.

1) They might be sceptical and therefore save the trouble of looking further and possibly benefiting.
2) They may conclude it is dangerous and to be avoided at all costs.
3) They may spend time discovering the truth behind the hype.

If you don't know much about a topic it's easy to be suspicious. Some people assume hypnosis is akin to a carnival side show, others consider it mystic mumbo jumbo or 'mind control.' For those who look beyond the hype the truth is far more illuminating.

The most powerful tool you possess

There are potentially huge benefits for those who use hypnosis as part of everyday life. When you understand hypnosis you start to see its potential to improve human performance in the physical, emotional and intellectual realms. For me, rumour, gossip and suspicion weren't good enough.

I determined to learn all I could about hypnosis - I learned every fact and practised every technique under the sun. I took several training courses - some good, some terrible. I invested thousands of hours of devoted study to hypnosis and discovered just what is possible. I hypnotised friends, neighbours and work colleagues. Hypnosis greatly changed things for me on a personal level

How hypnosis helped me

I used to be shy. Thanks to hypnosis I can now talk to thousands at a time and can approach anybody calmly and confidently.

I used to have poor concentration and procrastinate; thanks to hypnosis I can instantly motivate myself.

I used to find physical work outs and exercise exhausting but because of hypnosis I am now in the best shape of my life.

Incidentally I also stopped myself blushing with hypnosis. Now if ever I have a difficult call or conversation coming up, something I may naturally feel reluctant to do (you know the kind of thing) I spontaneously self hypnotise and rehearse the upcoming situation feeling good, with myself remaining calm. In this way I habitually set my own emotional 'blue prints' for up coming situations. Having said that it's naturally that some people have concerns or half digested 'hand me down' ideas regarding hypnosis. A common one is the one about 'mind control.' However what does this really mean?

Why you are more in control of yourself in hypnosis

If someone expresses concerns about being 'controlled' in hypnosis what they mean is they don't want to be like a robot, an automaton that is forced to obey the every whim of the hypnotist. We can't help but influence others but we don't control them. To understand why you need to understand hypnosis better.

So what is hypnosis like?

Hypnosis isn't like a coma. It's not unconsciousness - more a subtle shifting of consciousness. In hypnosis, you can still think logically but you also have access to the 'software' of your mind so that you can update instinctive emotional and physical responses. In fact the hypnotised subject (not the hypnotist) calls the shots. When I hypnotise someone I need to go at their speed and respond to their needs and expectations. Hypnosis will give you more control in your own life because of what it enables you to do.

How can I be so sure?

Because over the decades I've seen all kinds of people, all ages and from all backgrounds turn their lives around thanks to hypnosis. When you use hypnosis for yourself it improves confidence in all kinds of ways. When you use it to change other's lives it just blows you away. This is what I mean.

When I first hypnotised someone to feel no sensation in a painful arthritic arm it was an incredible feeling. When I first cured life long phobias quickly and comfortably I was astounded. When I stopped hardened alcoholics from drinking and even got a heroin addict off the stuff and back into mainstream life again I started to feel angry that people could just associate hypnosis with entertainment.

With the aid of hypnosis I (and many people I have trained and worked with) have helped severely depressed people feel strong and positive again. The rewards and satisfactions are hard to describe. I'm going to take a stand against ignorance and short sightedness around hypnosis and here's why.

Why you need to reclaim hypnosis for yourself

Hypnosis is your birthright. It's nature's optimum learning tool. In fact to learn and perform anything well you need to experience a natural focussing of attention, a natural kind of hypnosis. To be successful hypnosis needs to be your companion and friend.

Successful people use it naturally all the time because hypnosis is natural. It's the way we learn new responses. Unlike medications its side effects are purely positive - one expectant mother I worked with to feel relaxed during child birth later reported that she was also more relaxed when flying!

Hypnosis is easy to learn and every body can benefit. Hypnosis is a safe environment to 'try out' new behaviours and emotional patterns before you experience them for real. So the young man can ask a woman out for a date many times in calm relaxed hypnosis so that by the time he does it for real it feels real and natural and relaxed. Sports people who use hypnosis learn new quicker and more accurately. So hypnosis gives you more control of yourself and your life, it's natural and gives you instant benefits and it's a way of 'trying on' and establishing new patterns of emotional response and behaviour, Hypnosis enables you to develop yourself as a human being.

HypnosisDownloads.com offer a free course called 'Learn Hypnosis in 5 Days'.

Article by Mark Tyrrell of Hypnosis Downloads.com.

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