We are all guilty at time of putting things off for one reason or another. When we wait till the last minute or simply drop the ball because of procrastination, we have consequences. Why would folks be willing to suffer various consequences avoiding stuff that inevitably must be done anyway?
How to Develop a Success Mindset For Achieving Personal Goals
As anyone who has ever achieved a goal can tell you, success is a sweet feeling. Of course, success has many different definitions, probably as many as there are people to define it. For most, however, success means achieving the goals you set for yourself. No matter what those goals are, having a success mindset is absolutely necessary for achieving personal and professional goals. But what exactly is a success mindset, and how do you get it?
Believe it or not, the first step to achieving a success mindset is as simple as writing down your objective, or what it is you want to achieve. Whatever it is, write it down, and then write it down again. In fact, write it down and hang it all over your home or business, so that you have a constant visual reminder of what your goal is. Not only will these visuals serve as constant reminders of the end goal, but also of the steps you need to go through to achieve that goal.
Which of course should be your second step to achieving a success mindset - make an action plan, complete with a series of smaller goals which will build up to your overall objective. For example, if your objective is to buy a car, then your smaller goals might include getting a job, then saving for a down payment, and finally finding lending and shopping for the car you want. In this simple example, the smaller goals lead up to the overall objective. And taking it back to step one of achieving a success mindset, small pictures of cars hung up around your home can serve as reminders of your overall objective.
Of course, a success mindset requires just a bit more than an objective, goals, and executing those goals. It's also key to both know and internalize the fact that success often takes mistakes, and truly believe that mistakes are not only okay, but good. Thomas Edison wouldn't have invented the light bulb had he given up after his first mistake. It's also key internalize the idea of a high quality of life contributing to success.
What this means is that you don't want to let your objectives take over your whole life. Take time for friends and family, and to have fun, because these contribute to quality of life - which in turn contributes to positive self image and happiness. These are two key characteristics of many successful people, ones who have a success mindset. A success mindset is as simple as that - knowing your objective, being able to set and accomplish goals, and be willing to makes mistakes and take time away from your goals for maintaining positive relationships.
Believe it or not, the first step to achieving a success mindset is as simple as writing down your objective, or what it is you want to achieve. Whatever it is, write it down, and then write it down again. In fact, write it down and hang it all over your home or business, so that you have a constant visual reminder of what your goal is. Not only will these visuals serve as constant reminders of the end goal, but also of the steps you need to go through to achieve that goal.
Which of course should be your second step to achieving a success mindset - make an action plan, complete with a series of smaller goals which will build up to your overall objective. For example, if your objective is to buy a car, then your smaller goals might include getting a job, then saving for a down payment, and finally finding lending and shopping for the car you want. In this simple example, the smaller goals lead up to the overall objective. And taking it back to step one of achieving a success mindset, small pictures of cars hung up around your home can serve as reminders of your overall objective.
Of course, a success mindset requires just a bit more than an objective, goals, and executing those goals. It's also key to both know and internalize the fact that success often takes mistakes, and truly believe that mistakes are not only okay, but good. Thomas Edison wouldn't have invented the light bulb had he given up after his first mistake. It's also key internalize the idea of a high quality of life contributing to success.
What this means is that you don't want to let your objectives take over your whole life. Take time for friends and family, and to have fun, because these contribute to quality of life - which in turn contributes to positive self image and happiness. These are two key characteristics of many successful people, ones who have a success mindset. A success mindset is as simple as that - knowing your objective, being able to set and accomplish goals, and be willing to makes mistakes and take time away from your goals for maintaining positive relationships.
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Celebrity Gist
Building Foundations by Setting Goals
There are so many books and information out there on goal setting. If the practice works, as most people would agree, why don't more people incorporate goal setting into their daily lives? There are some who suggest that they do, in fact, set goals for themselves. We have to be careful however. In order for a goal to really be a goal it must possess a few key ingredients. It must be written down. It must be written in first person. It must have a deadline. And, it must be realistic.
I have never run across a book on goal setting that waives from the thought that the goal must be written down. It's a matter of programming the subconscious mind. Our subconscious works even while we're sleeping. Writing our goals down, especially over and over, programs instructions deep into our mind. This programming leads us in our daily activities to do the things we need to do to achieve our goal.
It is critical to write the goal in first person. Studies have shown that the subconscious mind can only accept instructions in the first-person tense. This is the core reason for using the logic of writing our goals in the first person tense.
Do your goals have a deadline? This is quite possibly the most often and most critically abused area in goal setting. Many people say they have a goal and they can generally tell you the basics of what it is but ask them when their deadline is. When do they intend to reach the goal? This should be down to the nearest month or even day if possible.
When we have a deadline on our goals we have a layer of accountability with ourselves. We also have a layer of accountability with those with whom we share our goals. By the way, only share your goals with people who you know will support you 110%.
Realistic goals...that's no fun! Yes, our goals must be realistic. I do agree however, that we must stretch ourselves in life and with our goals. We simply aren't growing if we do not stretch ourselves. Our goals must be out of reach but not out of sight. If we reach a goal, big or small, there should be reason for a celebration. This only makes sense if we achieved something significant. Push yourself a little bit when setting your goals.
If you'll adopt the habit of following these principles and writing your goals down 4-6 times per week your life will begin to change for the better. You can achieve so much more than you ever imagined and goal setting is one tactic to move you toward success very quickly.
I have never run across a book on goal setting that waives from the thought that the goal must be written down. It's a matter of programming the subconscious mind. Our subconscious works even while we're sleeping. Writing our goals down, especially over and over, programs instructions deep into our mind. This programming leads us in our daily activities to do the things we need to do to achieve our goal.
It is critical to write the goal in first person. Studies have shown that the subconscious mind can only accept instructions in the first-person tense. This is the core reason for using the logic of writing our goals in the first person tense.
Do your goals have a deadline? This is quite possibly the most often and most critically abused area in goal setting. Many people say they have a goal and they can generally tell you the basics of what it is but ask them when their deadline is. When do they intend to reach the goal? This should be down to the nearest month or even day if possible.
When we have a deadline on our goals we have a layer of accountability with ourselves. We also have a layer of accountability with those with whom we share our goals. By the way, only share your goals with people who you know will support you 110%.
Realistic goals...that's no fun! Yes, our goals must be realistic. I do agree however, that we must stretch ourselves in life and with our goals. We simply aren't growing if we do not stretch ourselves. Our goals must be out of reach but not out of sight. If we reach a goal, big or small, there should be reason for a celebration. This only makes sense if we achieved something significant. Push yourself a little bit when setting your goals.
If you'll adopt the habit of following these principles and writing your goals down 4-6 times per week your life will begin to change for the better. You can achieve so much more than you ever imagined and goal setting is one tactic to move you toward success very quickly.
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Celebrity Gist
Sleep And Hypnotic Trance—Are They The Same?
Pavlov truly believed that sleep and hypnosis were one and the same. Despite of hundreds and thousands of researched papers and published studies and writings, this is still the most popular belief up to this day. In reality, the state of hypnotic trance is more related and associated to the waking state than to the normal sleep. Now let us compare sleep and hypnosis. 1. Reasoning—in a hypnotic trance, the person is perfectly capable of reasoning, though the reasoning itself can be directional due to the suggestion firmly set or instilled by the hypnotist. On the other hand, while sleeping, the typical normal reasoning function and capacity of the person is switched off in the meantime.
2. Induction—hypnosis could be attained even without the suggestion or mention of sleeping. Hypnotic trance is commonly induced by another individual (usually by the hypnotist), while normal sleep is not induced by another individual. 3. Brain Activity—the Electro Encephalogram (EEG), which records the activities in the brain and the electric impulses inside the brain, shows the similar waves during the waking and the hypnotic state. On the contrary, the waves during the normal and physiological sleep are quite dissimilar from the two states. 4. Somnambulism—where the person performs some activities or walks around when asleep is really the deepest form or type of subconscious activity related to a deep hypnotic trance and therefore must not be considered a sleep activity.
4. Tendon Reflexes—in knee jerk when the tendon below the knee cap is gently stroked or tapped with percussion hammer while the knee is flaccid and flexed, there is a jerky forward movement of the legs due to the contracting of the muscles in the thighs. These reflexes in the tendon are abolished or lessened in deep sleep, while these are present during hypnosis. The tendon reflexes are elicited or brought out by firmly but lightly tapping particular tendons to flex or bend the corresponding muscles. This can indicate a normal neuro-muscular and neuro-spinal communications. 5. Suggestibility—in a state of hypnosis, the individual is highly susceptible or easily influenced by suggestions.
On the other hand, the subject would not respond or be receptive to other light sensory stimulus or different suggestions. 6. Muscle Tone—muscles commonly and usually become flaccid from lessened or diminished muscular tone and action when the person is in a normal sleep. On the other hand, the muscles most especially those of the legs and the arms are maintained and retained in a state known as tone rigidity. However, these muscles could be achieved a near and almost flaccid state and be made to relax completely through the proper suggestions during the state of hypnotic trance. Hence, it is a well-known occurrence that individuals fall into a normal sleep after a lengthy and prolonged auto hypnotic therapy or a hypnotic session; this is actually a normal and natural phenomenon.
Although there are times that the hypnotic trance state may be referred to as a guided sleep it is not the same as the normal and physiological sleep at all.
2. Induction—hypnosis could be attained even without the suggestion or mention of sleeping. Hypnotic trance is commonly induced by another individual (usually by the hypnotist), while normal sleep is not induced by another individual. 3. Brain Activity—the Electro Encephalogram (EEG), which records the activities in the brain and the electric impulses inside the brain, shows the similar waves during the waking and the hypnotic state. On the contrary, the waves during the normal and physiological sleep are quite dissimilar from the two states. 4. Somnambulism—where the person performs some activities or walks around when asleep is really the deepest form or type of subconscious activity related to a deep hypnotic trance and therefore must not be considered a sleep activity.
4. Tendon Reflexes—in knee jerk when the tendon below the knee cap is gently stroked or tapped with percussion hammer while the knee is flaccid and flexed, there is a jerky forward movement of the legs due to the contracting of the muscles in the thighs. These reflexes in the tendon are abolished or lessened in deep sleep, while these are present during hypnosis. The tendon reflexes are elicited or brought out by firmly but lightly tapping particular tendons to flex or bend the corresponding muscles. This can indicate a normal neuro-muscular and neuro-spinal communications. 5. Suggestibility—in a state of hypnosis, the individual is highly susceptible or easily influenced by suggestions.
On the other hand, the subject would not respond or be receptive to other light sensory stimulus or different suggestions. 6. Muscle Tone—muscles commonly and usually become flaccid from lessened or diminished muscular tone and action when the person is in a normal sleep. On the other hand, the muscles most especially those of the legs and the arms are maintained and retained in a state known as tone rigidity. However, these muscles could be achieved a near and almost flaccid state and be made to relax completely through the proper suggestions during the state of hypnotic trance. Hence, it is a well-known occurrence that individuals fall into a normal sleep after a lengthy and prolonged auto hypnotic therapy or a hypnotic session; this is actually a normal and natural phenomenon.
Although there are times that the hypnotic trance state may be referred to as a guided sleep it is not the same as the normal and physiological sleep at all.
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Celebrity Gist
What Is Inspiration And Where To Find It
Sometimes, I used to think what exactly is inspiration? I looked in the dictionary and thesaurus and found out that inspiration is similar with vision (which most people have), genius (hmm…maybe only a chosen few of us are), and also it’s synonymous to influence (now, this really depends on the person and circumstances). But how do you define inspiration-- is it something you do, see, hear, taste or smell? Is it anything which any of your five senses can perceive? It depends on the person really, the reasons behind why we look for it and the various situations surrounding it.
And real inspiration can be compared to a fingerprint, different for every person. My close friend Jessah is a musician and gets her motivation from the different sounds that we have around us. We were out walking in a rainforest one time and I brought along my camera as usual. Then, we came to a nearby clearing and we decided to sit awhile and bask in the relaxing atmosphere that surrounds us. Nature really has some of the greatest and the most original and best pieces of art for those of us that truly take time to notice. As for me, I started to take note all the things I can utilize in my work…the rough edges of the rocks, the shape and majesty of the trees, the grandeur and contour of the heavenly clouds.
However, my friend Jessah just sat down still while listening to the gay birds chirping, the subtle rustle of the leaves, and feeling the cool breeze over the mountains. She actually wanted to work out how to represent everything she absorbs in her music so that other people too would feel as what we did that day. Therefore, same feeling, different people, same atmosphere or setting, different focus—the common denominator is we were both inspired. For an artist like me, I am asked oftentimes where I get the needed inspiration for my work. So instead of my head, I can look into my heart for the answer to that.
Then, the best that I can come up with is anything that moves me as a person, fosters and animates me to do and prod me to do something that I enjoy and love doing. As to where inspiration could be found, well, that’s actually an easy one. If you want inspiration or need it that bad, look around you! It could be found wherever you go and just open your eyes to perceive it. Inspiration can be found everywhere. The universe can always provide something for you. But if you’re waiting for it to strike you like a flash of lightning, well, I suggest that you rely on yourself to get you off your cute little tush and go and look around to find the things to inspire you to lead you into the pathway to your destiny.
Inspiration is after all that very thing which makes you chase your dreams. It’s that blissful and exciting feeling that you get when your heart glides and your soul is moved.
And real inspiration can be compared to a fingerprint, different for every person. My close friend Jessah is a musician and gets her motivation from the different sounds that we have around us. We were out walking in a rainforest one time and I brought along my camera as usual. Then, we came to a nearby clearing and we decided to sit awhile and bask in the relaxing atmosphere that surrounds us. Nature really has some of the greatest and the most original and best pieces of art for those of us that truly take time to notice. As for me, I started to take note all the things I can utilize in my work…the rough edges of the rocks, the shape and majesty of the trees, the grandeur and contour of the heavenly clouds.
However, my friend Jessah just sat down still while listening to the gay birds chirping, the subtle rustle of the leaves, and feeling the cool breeze over the mountains. She actually wanted to work out how to represent everything she absorbs in her music so that other people too would feel as what we did that day. Therefore, same feeling, different people, same atmosphere or setting, different focus—the common denominator is we were both inspired. For an artist like me, I am asked oftentimes where I get the needed inspiration for my work. So instead of my head, I can look into my heart for the answer to that.
Then, the best that I can come up with is anything that moves me as a person, fosters and animates me to do and prod me to do something that I enjoy and love doing. As to where inspiration could be found, well, that’s actually an easy one. If you want inspiration or need it that bad, look around you! It could be found wherever you go and just open your eyes to perceive it. Inspiration can be found everywhere. The universe can always provide something for you. But if you’re waiting for it to strike you like a flash of lightning, well, I suggest that you rely on yourself to get you off your cute little tush and go and look around to find the things to inspire you to lead you into the pathway to your destiny.
Inspiration is after all that very thing which makes you chase your dreams. It’s that blissful and exciting feeling that you get when your heart glides and your soul is moved.
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Celebrity Gist
Ready And Aim First Before You Fire
Aiming is a process in planning which takes time and should be done before you could fire your way into into a successful career, organization, relationships, and life in general. I have seen a similar thing in some people’s professional and personal lives most of the time. Several individuals get themselves ready and equipped with power thinking, influential friends, and advanced education, but they usually fire before they even aim. I can still recall an experience of a neighbor of mine which he fondly told me about. When he was just in his teenage years, he and his dad always loved to go on a hunting spree.
They will hunt whatever animal that happened to be in season at that time and anything else that moves. Especially if there were snakes, but that’s another story. On one of their hunting trips, he and his father were about 30 yards from each other just patiently waiting for a certain kind of bird to fly over. My neighbor’s mind was so concentrated and focused, and his gun was now loaded. He was so ready and he promised himself he is going to “outshoot” his father on this particular hunting session. Well, he was already for any encounter and in his “ready” position when he pulled the gun’s trigger by accident.
Bang! As his shotgun let off a loud shoot, he then realized that his shotgun was aiming just within a few feet away from where his father was situated. In his excitement, he obviously fired before he aimed the gun and he almost killed his dad in the process. Now you may ask, “I already know how to fire, and how to get ready but how do I really take aim and then fire?” Or, “Is this just another one of those ‘how to set your goals’ exercises?” no, but in fact this is an exercise in planning your life.
So I made a list of some of the questions given below which could bring out the creative and imaginative part of your brain and in the process, help you build and establish your aim so that you would be able to attain the kind of career, organization, relationships and life that you always aspired for. Planning your life with exact AIM: 1. Do you have anybody or a person in your life to hold you responsible or accountable so you do not fire before you have taken aim or before you’re ready? 2. What standards of excellence, specific review or constant growth of progress do you really need? 3.
A good system is much better than a good friend when it comes to planning your life. So, what’s on your to-do list of activities today which would help you be more like your picture tomorrow? 4. And, where do you want your career, organization, relationships and life to be in the next five years, next decade, or the next 20 years? One way to answer this effectively is to draw a picture. This picture would give you a sense of purpose, energy, and the drive. It will also make you visualize what youre truly aiming at.
They will hunt whatever animal that happened to be in season at that time and anything else that moves. Especially if there were snakes, but that’s another story. On one of their hunting trips, he and his father were about 30 yards from each other just patiently waiting for a certain kind of bird to fly over. My neighbor’s mind was so concentrated and focused, and his gun was now loaded. He was so ready and he promised himself he is going to “outshoot” his father on this particular hunting session. Well, he was already for any encounter and in his “ready” position when he pulled the gun’s trigger by accident.
Bang! As his shotgun let off a loud shoot, he then realized that his shotgun was aiming just within a few feet away from where his father was situated. In his excitement, he obviously fired before he aimed the gun and he almost killed his dad in the process. Now you may ask, “I already know how to fire, and how to get ready but how do I really take aim and then fire?” Or, “Is this just another one of those ‘how to set your goals’ exercises?” no, but in fact this is an exercise in planning your life.
So I made a list of some of the questions given below which could bring out the creative and imaginative part of your brain and in the process, help you build and establish your aim so that you would be able to attain the kind of career, organization, relationships and life that you always aspired for. Planning your life with exact AIM: 1. Do you have anybody or a person in your life to hold you responsible or accountable so you do not fire before you have taken aim or before you’re ready? 2. What standards of excellence, specific review or constant growth of progress do you really need? 3.
A good system is much better than a good friend when it comes to planning your life. So, what’s on your to-do list of activities today which would help you be more like your picture tomorrow? 4. And, where do you want your career, organization, relationships and life to be in the next five years, next decade, or the next 20 years? One way to answer this effectively is to draw a picture. This picture would give you a sense of purpose, energy, and the drive. It will also make you visualize what youre truly aiming at.
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Celebrity Gist
Heroes Who Instill Confidence and Courage!
I continue to enjoy watching the Olympic games on TV - winter sports are a favorite of mine. Not only do I get much personal pleasure watching the x-country skiing, the figure skating and the snow-boarding, to name a few of the sports, but I really love listening to the athletes as they are being interviewed. These young people are in a class of their own. I aspire to that level of excellence, both in my personal life and in my business.
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962
These athletes did not achieve this level of excellence on their own. Aside from great equipment, a lot of practice, big dreams, etc. - it also takes an inspiring mentor - a hero - someone they look up to and respect - and whose characteristics, habits, attitudes and expectations cause them to want to succeed.
I've had great mentors in my life and one of my heroes is Colin Powell. This was a life-changing moment in my career to have had the invitation to meet him personally. Sometimes a hero, or mentor, is someone closer to home - like the woman who has encouraged, supported and mentored me for over 20 years now - JoLove Beach - this is a woman who, at 85 years of age, still hikes, x-country skis, travels, participates in a regular TV show and much more.
These are 2 very different individuals and yet many of their qualities and characteristics are the same:
"Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now. Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way."
- Eileen Caddy
Whether we are talking about training for the Olympic games, or talking about living your best life, we all need heroes and mentors. One thing I know for sure is that without a Colin Powell or a JoLove Beach in my life, it would not be as easy to become the best person I can be.
We should all be grateful for the gift of life and strive to live our best life.
Who are the heroes in your life and what have you learned from them? I'd love to know. And for whom are you a hero?
Assignment
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962
These athletes did not achieve this level of excellence on their own. Aside from great equipment, a lot of practice, big dreams, etc. - it also takes an inspiring mentor - a hero - someone they look up to and respect - and whose characteristics, habits, attitudes and expectations cause them to want to succeed.
I've had great mentors in my life and one of my heroes is Colin Powell. This was a life-changing moment in my career to have had the invitation to meet him personally. Sometimes a hero, or mentor, is someone closer to home - like the woman who has encouraged, supported and mentored me for over 20 years now - JoLove Beach - this is a woman who, at 85 years of age, still hikes, x-country skis, travels, participates in a regular TV show and much more.
These are 2 very different individuals and yet many of their qualities and characteristics are the same:
- they had a dream
- they have vision
- they have made courageous decisions in their lives
- they are strong
- they take risks
- they are compassionate
- they listen
- they persevere
- they are focused
- they are continuous learners
"Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now. Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way."
- Eileen Caddy
Whether we are talking about training for the Olympic games, or talking about living your best life, we all need heroes and mentors. One thing I know for sure is that without a Colin Powell or a JoLove Beach in my life, it would not be as easy to become the best person I can be.
We should all be grateful for the gift of life and strive to live our best life.
Who are the heroes in your life and what have you learned from them? I'd love to know. And for whom are you a hero?
Assignment
- Make a list of people who are the heroes in your life.
- Make a list of their qualities, traits and characteristics that you admire.
- Choose one of the items you listed and work to 'become like' that in your life, and in your work.
- Become a hero to a young person - we all need mentors.
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Celebrity Gist
Low Self Esteem, 5 Easy Ways to Beat It
Low self esteem can ruin your life if you let it. Your life can suffer in so many ways, such as trying to avoid people or situations that could be difficult or awkward. It can affect your social life because you worry what other people think of you. It can make things difficult at work because you do not feel confident, which then shows in your performance and affects any chance of promotion. It makes you go through life wanting to be invisible so nobody notices you, which ultimately means you are not living your life to the full. Most people at some point will suffer from low self esteem, I know I do. The difference is when I get it, I deal with it straight away before it festers and turns into something dark which torments you for days and is then far more difficult to overcome. Here are a few points on how banish low self esteem today. I hope they help.
Do not dwell on the past
Forget bad things that have already happened to you, they are gone, history. The chances are that only you remember them anyway, nobody else even noticed, so let them go and move on with your life.
Do not worry what other people think of you
Firstly you probably are only guessing what they think of you. Most people are so busy with their own lives and problems they do not have time to study other people, so you tripping up yesterday, or going red with embarrassment last week, probably registered with them for about two seconds, then they went on with their lives. Do not whip it up in your mind until it becomes a major incident and torture yourself reliving it in your head over and over again making yourself feel worse. Trust me, nobody but you cares, so let it go and move on with your life.
Exercise daily
I bet that surprised you, but a small exercise routine daily, preferably in the morning even if it is only for 5 minutes will make you feel good and set you up for the day. Making you feel like you are taking positive steps towards being the person you want to be. Try it.
Be more positive
By always trying to be positive good things will happen. It will be noticed by others, your boss, your colleagues, friends and family, and you will be better thought of and a much happier person. For example at work your boss is thinking of promoting someone, who do you think is more likely to get the promotion. Someone who is a bit of a misery always moaning this is not my job and I do not have time to do this, or someone who is always smiling, nothing seems to get them down and will do anything for you.
Smile more
Again a simple one, the more you smile the better you feel and the better everyone else will feel about you. Try it, I guarantee if you smile at someone they will smile back it is infectious like yawning and you will become known as a happy person always smiling which should make you feel good and draw people towards you.
Do not dwell on the past
Forget bad things that have already happened to you, they are gone, history. The chances are that only you remember them anyway, nobody else even noticed, so let them go and move on with your life.
Do not worry what other people think of you
Firstly you probably are only guessing what they think of you. Most people are so busy with their own lives and problems they do not have time to study other people, so you tripping up yesterday, or going red with embarrassment last week, probably registered with them for about two seconds, then they went on with their lives. Do not whip it up in your mind until it becomes a major incident and torture yourself reliving it in your head over and over again making yourself feel worse. Trust me, nobody but you cares, so let it go and move on with your life.
Exercise daily
I bet that surprised you, but a small exercise routine daily, preferably in the morning even if it is only for 5 minutes will make you feel good and set you up for the day. Making you feel like you are taking positive steps towards being the person you want to be. Try it.
Be more positive
By always trying to be positive good things will happen. It will be noticed by others, your boss, your colleagues, friends and family, and you will be better thought of and a much happier person. For example at work your boss is thinking of promoting someone, who do you think is more likely to get the promotion. Someone who is a bit of a misery always moaning this is not my job and I do not have time to do this, or someone who is always smiling, nothing seems to get them down and will do anything for you.
Smile more
Again a simple one, the more you smile the better you feel and the better everyone else will feel about you. Try it, I guarantee if you smile at someone they will smile back it is infectious like yawning and you will become known as a happy person always smiling which should make you feel good and draw people towards you.
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Celebrity Gist
Purge Foreign Negative Thoughts From Your Mind
Negative thoughts although a common daily experience are in no way a part of what it means to be a normal Human Being. So does that mean there is something wrong with you? Well, only that your mind has been invaded by a foreign energy that was never supposed to be inside you. If you'd like to learn about how to purge it read this.
Negative thoughts are essentially what I have called Life Force Energy Parasites. In other words they are foreign to you, live inside of you and while there they feed off of your vital life energy.
You will hopefully recognise the truthfulness in what has been said, not because I expect you to believe it, but rather by how it "feels" to you.
To get at this feeling experience simply answer the following questions for yourself:
1. Would I ever choose to create negative thoughts to torment myself with?
2. What are some of the consequences to me of having negative thoughts living inside me?
If you are honest with yourself you'll recognise that:
1. You would never consciously choose to create negative thoughts to torment yourself with. That of course means that they must be coming from somewhere other than you. In other words they exist within you but are not coming from you.
2. The consequences of having negative thoughts inside are manifold and range from feeling distracted, bad about yourself, drained or depleted of mental, emotional and physical energy, feeling incapacitated and unable to function optimally, etc.
In other words you have something inside of you that is trying to take over your life while it's also trying to kill you.
Now if any of this is resonating with you and you would like to begin to purge these foreign intruders from your mind and body you may start with the following. Place one hand over your Heart and as if you are speaking from there simply say the following statements:
1. This is my mind, body and life and I claim exclusive ownership, control and mastery over my rightful property.
2. It is my desire to banish all foreign intrusive negative thoughts from my mind and body now.
Now notice how you feel inside. Some of you will have begun to experience a greater sense of clarity, relief, empowerment, peace of mind, joy, alertness, energy and so on.
Negative thoughts are essentially what I have called Life Force Energy Parasites. In other words they are foreign to you, live inside of you and while there they feed off of your vital life energy.
You will hopefully recognise the truthfulness in what has been said, not because I expect you to believe it, but rather by how it "feels" to you.
To get at this feeling experience simply answer the following questions for yourself:
1. Would I ever choose to create negative thoughts to torment myself with?
2. What are some of the consequences to me of having negative thoughts living inside me?
If you are honest with yourself you'll recognise that:
1. You would never consciously choose to create negative thoughts to torment yourself with. That of course means that they must be coming from somewhere other than you. In other words they exist within you but are not coming from you.
2. The consequences of having negative thoughts inside are manifold and range from feeling distracted, bad about yourself, drained or depleted of mental, emotional and physical energy, feeling incapacitated and unable to function optimally, etc.
In other words you have something inside of you that is trying to take over your life while it's also trying to kill you.
Now if any of this is resonating with you and you would like to begin to purge these foreign intruders from your mind and body you may start with the following. Place one hand over your Heart and as if you are speaking from there simply say the following statements:
1. This is my mind, body and life and I claim exclusive ownership, control and mastery over my rightful property.
2. It is my desire to banish all foreign intrusive negative thoughts from my mind and body now.
Now notice how you feel inside. Some of you will have begun to experience a greater sense of clarity, relief, empowerment, peace of mind, joy, alertness, energy and so on.
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3 Tips to Apologize Without Regrets
Regardless of who we are, where we live or what we do in our lives, there comes a time when we are called on to offer an apology. It may be necessary because of our actions or words or what we've failed to do or say. Regardless of the reason, there are a few things to keep in mind when offering an apology that you won't regret. Here are three tips to apologize without regrets.
1. Be sincere. An apology can never be demanded by someone because it would not be sincere. We see this in the news all the time. Someone demands a public apology because they were insulted or misquoted publicly. This type of apology, if offered, is little more than an obligatory gesture and is hollow.
A sincere apology is to recognize and acknowledge that we have wronged someone in someway, however unintentional. It is a communication that does not necessarily mean that we were wrong, but that we understand our actions cause harm or were in some way inappropriate.
This type of apology might sound like, "I'm am sorry that my actions impacted you in a negative way (or led to........). Please know that this was never my intention and I will pay special attention to avoid a repeated incident."
2. Be responsible. When we are wrong, it is our responsibility to admit it. We can't just wait until someone brings it to our attention or go on the defense or offense when confronted. As emotionally stable and personally responsible individuals, there is no shame in being wrong or making a mistake. It's important to recognize the distinction between making a mistake and "being" a mistake.
As people, we are meaning-making machines. We make situations mean something about us and nothing is further from the truth. If we have made an error or committed some action that has caused harm, we will find strength and dignity in stepping up and taking personal responsibility. We don't have to grovel or over-apologize, simply taking honest responsibility for our actions is enough.
This type of apology might sound like, " I am deeply sorry that that my actions caused you harm. While it was not my intention to do so, I take full responsibility for my actions."
3. Be Clear. When it comes time to apologize, do it with style and integrity. Be certain that you are clear why and for what you are apologizing. A vague and random apology that reeks of self-pity is not an apology, neither is twisting the facts to minimize our self-imposed shame and guilt and actual responsibility in the matter. How we feel about the situation is really not the point of an apology. It is about being clear that we understand the situation and the part we played.
This type of apology might sound like, " I recognize my responsibility in....(specific situation and action).....and I apologize sincerely. It's my intention to be more aware of my....(specific behavior, action, inaction)...in the future.
When we offer an apology that is sincere, responsible and clear, we can know that we have taken care of the matter to the best of our ability and without regret. With this reassurance, we can stand tall regardless of how the receiving party reacts. Ultimately, we do not apologize to be granted forgiveness from another person, but in order to practice integrity in our own life and that always requires taking personal responsibility for our actions, our words and our thoughts. Those are the only things we can truly ever control in life.
1. Be sincere. An apology can never be demanded by someone because it would not be sincere. We see this in the news all the time. Someone demands a public apology because they were insulted or misquoted publicly. This type of apology, if offered, is little more than an obligatory gesture and is hollow.
A sincere apology is to recognize and acknowledge that we have wronged someone in someway, however unintentional. It is a communication that does not necessarily mean that we were wrong, but that we understand our actions cause harm or were in some way inappropriate.
This type of apology might sound like, "I'm am sorry that my actions impacted you in a negative way (or led to........). Please know that this was never my intention and I will pay special attention to avoid a repeated incident."
2. Be responsible. When we are wrong, it is our responsibility to admit it. We can't just wait until someone brings it to our attention or go on the defense or offense when confronted. As emotionally stable and personally responsible individuals, there is no shame in being wrong or making a mistake. It's important to recognize the distinction between making a mistake and "being" a mistake.
As people, we are meaning-making machines. We make situations mean something about us and nothing is further from the truth. If we have made an error or committed some action that has caused harm, we will find strength and dignity in stepping up and taking personal responsibility. We don't have to grovel or over-apologize, simply taking honest responsibility for our actions is enough.
This type of apology might sound like, " I am deeply sorry that that my actions caused you harm. While it was not my intention to do so, I take full responsibility for my actions."
3. Be Clear. When it comes time to apologize, do it with style and integrity. Be certain that you are clear why and for what you are apologizing. A vague and random apology that reeks of self-pity is not an apology, neither is twisting the facts to minimize our self-imposed shame and guilt and actual responsibility in the matter. How we feel about the situation is really not the point of an apology. It is about being clear that we understand the situation and the part we played.
This type of apology might sound like, " I recognize my responsibility in....(specific situation and action).....and I apologize sincerely. It's my intention to be more aware of my....(specific behavior, action, inaction)...in the future.
When we offer an apology that is sincere, responsible and clear, we can know that we have taken care of the matter to the best of our ability and without regret. With this reassurance, we can stand tall regardless of how the receiving party reacts. Ultimately, we do not apologize to be granted forgiveness from another person, but in order to practice integrity in our own life and that always requires taking personal responsibility for our actions, our words and our thoughts. Those are the only things we can truly ever control in life.
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What Are You Doing to Reduce Stress in Your Life?
Stress occurs when perceived demands are greater than perceived resources. This is a commonly-used definition for stress, often used in academic literature. In a recent workshop, a woman who attended laughed when she heard this definition. She later asked me, "But what if at work the stress isn't perceived -- it is actually THERE?"
Ok, I know what she probably meant. She most likely was thinking that her workplace was an environment consisting of a lot of pressure with deadlines, a large amount of work, and perhaps stressed people around her. I can certainly understand that! Some work environments can be more stress-inducing than others. (Think Wall Street, for example.) But I believe there are ways we still reduce stress and the pressure on ourselves - given the situation.
Put it this way. If a Buddhist monk stepped into your position (just stay with me here), sat at your desk and took over your responsibilities, would he be frantic?? We become stressed when we ask ourselves, "Am I enough? Do I have enough (resources) to handle this situation?" We rehearse in our heads the possibility of a situation going badly.
In some situations, stress can be good, but acute stressors that occur chronically can adversely affect our health.
So I'm not going to harp on the negative outcomes of stress and what it can do to us, and I certainly do not want to evoke any fear. The bottom line is that we all know it is bad for us. I like to think about what we can do to reduce stress in our lives. Not just cope or manage or deal with stress, but reduce stress. So much of it is about prevention, right? There are risks we cannot change and risks we can change. Here are just some of the things we can do to for ourselves:
Think about what you can do this week to reduce and prevent stress in your life. If you have a tendency to run late, you can reduce unnecessary stress by giving yourself an extra 15 minutes to arrive with a sense of calmness! This week, try to become aware of the causes of any stress in your life. What are some steps you can take to help reduce this stress?
Until next time, be well! And as always, let me know how it goes! Contact me today (info below) for a complimentary introductory call.
Ok, I know what she probably meant. She most likely was thinking that her workplace was an environment consisting of a lot of pressure with deadlines, a large amount of work, and perhaps stressed people around her. I can certainly understand that! Some work environments can be more stress-inducing than others. (Think Wall Street, for example.) But I believe there are ways we still reduce stress and the pressure on ourselves - given the situation.
Put it this way. If a Buddhist monk stepped into your position (just stay with me here), sat at your desk and took over your responsibilities, would he be frantic?? We become stressed when we ask ourselves, "Am I enough? Do I have enough (resources) to handle this situation?" We rehearse in our heads the possibility of a situation going badly.
In some situations, stress can be good, but acute stressors that occur chronically can adversely affect our health.
So I'm not going to harp on the negative outcomes of stress and what it can do to us, and I certainly do not want to evoke any fear. The bottom line is that we all know it is bad for us. I like to think about what we can do to reduce stress in our lives. Not just cope or manage or deal with stress, but reduce stress. So much of it is about prevention, right? There are risks we cannot change and risks we can change. Here are just some of the things we can do to for ourselves:
- Become mindful and aware of your thoughts (quite possibly the most important on this list)
- Do not make a mountain out of a molehill. Ask yourself, "Is this really important?"
- Meditate. You will feel calmer and more in control. (Meditation, repetitive prayer, yoga, tai chi, etc. all evoke a similar response.)
- Believe and have unwavering faith. Have positive beliefs.
- Be sure to make time for yourself and engage in activities you find enjoyable. Treat yourself.
- Get organized.
- Ask for help!
- Breathe deeply: Take lots of deep breaths throughout the day.
- Avoid drinking coffee all day long.
- Wear comfortable clothing.
- Do not try to do more than one thing at a time.
- Surround yourself with positive people.
- Give yourself an extra 15 minutes to arrive someplace.
- Turn off your computer, pager, cell phone, TV. Consider starting with a few minutes, then one hour; build up to a day!
- At work, take breaks throughout the day. Even a 5 minute walk can do some good!
Think about what you can do this week to reduce and prevent stress in your life. If you have a tendency to run late, you can reduce unnecessary stress by giving yourself an extra 15 minutes to arrive with a sense of calmness! This week, try to become aware of the causes of any stress in your life. What are some steps you can take to help reduce this stress?
Until next time, be well! And as always, let me know how it goes! Contact me today (info below) for a complimentary introductory call.
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Celebrity Gist
Your Self Image - How You Feel About Yourself
When you think about yourself, your accomplishments and your failures, your weaknesses and strengths, how do you feel about them? What is your answer to the question of who you are? How do you define yourself?
The way you see yourself determines your success in life, your status in your society and the way others feel about you. All of these factors are major in your life.
A balanced self image, knowing clearly and confidently your strengths and weaknesses, results in utilizing all your potential and skill and places you in a position by which you will be of benefit for yourself, your family, society and nation. Any accomplishment in this world is achieved through people who think that they are going to make what they have in mind. That technically is called faith; which is "... the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrew 11:1-2. None of these people underestimate or see themselves as if they are not able to do what they want.
A distorted self image, not knowing your potentials and weaknesses, results in living below your standard. It hinders you from who you could be. It makes you live an ordinary and normal life which prohibits you from exercising your unique position in this world, in your society and country.
Therefore, who are you? What are your strengths and weaknesses, your potentials, talents and skills? Knowing yourself clearly and building the right self image towards yourself helps you to be the best you can be and fill your unique place in this world. One big and important point though, no one knows you (including yourself) as your creator does. He knows why and how he creates you. Consult him to know yourself fully so that you can build the proper self image towards yourself.
The way you see yourself determines your success in life, your status in your society and the way others feel about you. All of these factors are major in your life.
A balanced self image, knowing clearly and confidently your strengths and weaknesses, results in utilizing all your potential and skill and places you in a position by which you will be of benefit for yourself, your family, society and nation. Any accomplishment in this world is achieved through people who think that they are going to make what they have in mind. That technically is called faith; which is "... the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrew 11:1-2. None of these people underestimate or see themselves as if they are not able to do what they want.
A distorted self image, not knowing your potentials and weaknesses, results in living below your standard. It hinders you from who you could be. It makes you live an ordinary and normal life which prohibits you from exercising your unique position in this world, in your society and country.
Therefore, who are you? What are your strengths and weaknesses, your potentials, talents and skills? Knowing yourself clearly and building the right self image towards yourself helps you to be the best you can be and fill your unique place in this world. One big and important point though, no one knows you (including yourself) as your creator does. He knows why and how he creates you. Consult him to know yourself fully so that you can build the proper self image towards yourself.
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How to Get More Out of a Day
The most valuable resource that we all have is time. It is, therefore, an obligation on us to make good efficient use of it, because when the moment is lost, one may not get it back. Every single day of our lives that passes is a paradigm of time in either conscious or unconscious state. When you realize that time should be managed and not squandered, then you are conscious of this concept. People that waste time on flippant things only live in an unconscious state of mind, where time is only a mirage.
If you can handle your time very well, then you know how to get the best out of your day. Before an individual can achieve this, such must be very keen in time management. It is not because some people cannot manage their time effectively on their own, it may be because they lack the right orientations in that aspect; I bet you, simple enlightenment will wake such people from their slumber. The following tips; which I also call the "three proper" will be of great assistance in getting your time right efficiently.
If you can handle your time very well, then you know how to get the best out of your day. Before an individual can achieve this, such must be very keen in time management. It is not because some people cannot manage their time effectively on their own, it may be because they lack the right orientations in that aspect; I bet you, simple enlightenment will wake such people from their slumber. The following tips; which I also call the "three proper" will be of great assistance in getting your time right efficiently.
- Proper Planning: It is very important you are a good planner if you really want to maximize the opportunities that the creator has loaded in the day. There is need for proper planning of work if truly you want to be efficient. You must have planned ahead today, how you intend to work by tomorrow as this will help you hit the nails on the head.
- Proper Organization: when you put the right order in place, you are already on the path of efficiency. Your ability to perform routine chores at daily leisure time in conjunction with your promptness in getting unpleasant duties out of the way as soon as possible matters a lot. It is also very priceless, if you can have the preview of the day's work right in the mind as you start the day. This will make you feel more prepared for the challenges.
- Proper Coordination: This is your ability to control the external factors that are affecting your efficiency. When you are well coordinated, you will be able to deal with people who waste your time more effectively in order for you and your co-workers to be better. Your ability to also designate and allocate your time profitably is a function of how well coordinated you are.
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How to Improve Your Creativity
There are two things you need to know in order to improve your creativity. The first is to really work on it and encourage it. The next is constant training. You can experience increased creativity as long as you work on it from now and the rest of your life.
Encourage Creativity
The first thing needed to increase creativity is to encourage it. It goes for creativity as with other things. Those who get encouragement, expands. You need to pay close attention to it. As a wise mentor said to me before, what you focus on expands. Your subconscious works on those things you pay attention to.
You need to be aware of the moments when you are exhibiting creativity and actively look for opportunities to be creative. If you do so, your subconscious would keep feeding you with more creative ideas.
It helps to encourage creativity as well if you write ideas down. People tend to take it for granted, but writing ideas down frees up your mental resources from memorizing and allocates more of it for creativity. In other words, if you don't have to remember things, your mind is freer to create things.
Another obvious way to encourage creativity is to practice. Always practice and expand your capabilities and never be afraid to take risks. This is a creative pursuit so risk-taking is part of the game.
A very quick way to improve your creativity is be around creative people. Join a club or enroll in a creative course (i.e. writing, digital arts, photography, etc.). You'll surely meet like-minded people who can influence you to creativity.
Training Your Creativity
There are techniques available that trains creativity. I'll share two of them here. The first one is "challenging assumptions" and the other is "random association."
Challenging assumptions is exactly how it sounds. Assumptions and preconceived notions are limitations to free flowing creativity and thinking. Challenging assumptions to normal circumstances and concepts allow the mind to look for different angles and possibly come up with something new. What you do is question the first impression that comes into your mind when handed a situation. That's "challenging assumptions."
Random association is a technique wherein you simply choose at random an object around you and associate it with the problem you are concerned with right now. Almost everything can be related and applied to anything else. Some works, some don't, but the process you undergo trying to find a relationship between two seemingly unrelated things can help increase your creativity.
There you have it, some simple tips on how to improve your creativity.
Encourage Creativity
The first thing needed to increase creativity is to encourage it. It goes for creativity as with other things. Those who get encouragement, expands. You need to pay close attention to it. As a wise mentor said to me before, what you focus on expands. Your subconscious works on those things you pay attention to.
You need to be aware of the moments when you are exhibiting creativity and actively look for opportunities to be creative. If you do so, your subconscious would keep feeding you with more creative ideas.
It helps to encourage creativity as well if you write ideas down. People tend to take it for granted, but writing ideas down frees up your mental resources from memorizing and allocates more of it for creativity. In other words, if you don't have to remember things, your mind is freer to create things.
Another obvious way to encourage creativity is to practice. Always practice and expand your capabilities and never be afraid to take risks. This is a creative pursuit so risk-taking is part of the game.
A very quick way to improve your creativity is be around creative people. Join a club or enroll in a creative course (i.e. writing, digital arts, photography, etc.). You'll surely meet like-minded people who can influence you to creativity.
Training Your Creativity
There are techniques available that trains creativity. I'll share two of them here. The first one is "challenging assumptions" and the other is "random association."
Challenging assumptions is exactly how it sounds. Assumptions and preconceived notions are limitations to free flowing creativity and thinking. Challenging assumptions to normal circumstances and concepts allow the mind to look for different angles and possibly come up with something new. What you do is question the first impression that comes into your mind when handed a situation. That's "challenging assumptions."
Random association is a technique wherein you simply choose at random an object around you and associate it with the problem you are concerned with right now. Almost everything can be related and applied to anything else. Some works, some don't, but the process you undergo trying to find a relationship between two seemingly unrelated things can help increase your creativity.
There you have it, some simple tips on how to improve your creativity.
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Getting What You Want - The Law of Attraction
The law of attraction has become a new fad these days, made popular by the movie "The Secret." Many people have watched the movie, get excited and wonder where to go from here. Using the Science of Quantum Abundance, you will learn exactly how to put the law of attraction into play in order to achieve anything that you truly want in life. Read on to find out how to put all of this to work for you.
The first thing that you need to decide upon is what do you really want? This may sound like an easy question, but many people have not really taken the time to sit down and think about their dreams and aspirations. What do you really want more than anything else? It does not matter what that thing is. Dreams are different for every person. Some people want to make their family life better, while others wish to improve their business.
Once you have that goal, you will use the Science of Quantum Abundance in order to get the thing that you want. You will learn how to clear your mind of unwanted goals and negative thoughts that take up much of your waking thought. You will also learn how you can catch yourself when you have a negative thought and replace it with something that will bring you towards that goal that you are striving for.
This is the best part. You subconscious mind will do all of the dirty work for you from this point forward. You will continue about your daily life, while your subconscious hums along in the background. As the universe brings out clues that will help you, your subconscious will spot them and trigger you that you need to take action. All you have to do is wait for the next clue. There is no planning required on your part. Just allow your subconscious to show you the way.
The Science of Quantum Abundance will take you by the hand and show you how the law of attraction can bring you anything you want in the universe. All you have to do is place your order and take action when the clues are given to you. There will be many skeptical people in your life that will tell you this is a bunch of nonsense. Perhaps you even have the same belief yourself. However, these are the negative thoughts that occupy people's minds. This negative thinking will just bring out a negative outcome. After all, everyone shapes their own reality. Try it for yourself.
The first thing that you need to decide upon is what do you really want? This may sound like an easy question, but many people have not really taken the time to sit down and think about their dreams and aspirations. What do you really want more than anything else? It does not matter what that thing is. Dreams are different for every person. Some people want to make their family life better, while others wish to improve their business.
Once you have that goal, you will use the Science of Quantum Abundance in order to get the thing that you want. You will learn how to clear your mind of unwanted goals and negative thoughts that take up much of your waking thought. You will also learn how you can catch yourself when you have a negative thought and replace it with something that will bring you towards that goal that you are striving for.
This is the best part. You subconscious mind will do all of the dirty work for you from this point forward. You will continue about your daily life, while your subconscious hums along in the background. As the universe brings out clues that will help you, your subconscious will spot them and trigger you that you need to take action. All you have to do is wait for the next clue. There is no planning required on your part. Just allow your subconscious to show you the way.
The Science of Quantum Abundance will take you by the hand and show you how the law of attraction can bring you anything you want in the universe. All you have to do is place your order and take action when the clues are given to you. There will be many skeptical people in your life that will tell you this is a bunch of nonsense. Perhaps you even have the same belief yourself. However, these are the negative thoughts that occupy people's minds. This negative thinking will just bring out a negative outcome. After all, everyone shapes their own reality. Try it for yourself.
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Improving Concentration
So you want to learn about improving concentration? If you are like me, until I did a bit of research, you thought that the key to improved concentration was gritting your teeth and squinting your eyes at the topic you want to concentrate on.
The key to improving concentration is actually relaxation, which opens the higher perceptual centers of the brain.
In fact, there is evidence from brain wave biofeedback work done by Barry Sterman,Ph.D., that increased productivity is actually a function of a brain moving between beta brain waves associated with focused external awareness and cycling at 15-42 cycles per second and alpha brain waves associated with relaxed external focus cycling at 8-15 cycles per second.
What that means is that brains that know how to move between work and rest styles of attention quickly are able to handle very stressful situations, like simulated combat pilot training, more effectively than brains that stay stuck in the beta attentional state.
So the required rest period for improving concentration can be very brief, but it does have to happen.
If you think about a workout for your bicep, you flex the muscle only 8-12 times per set, and then relax between repetitions and you may only do one set of curls per workout.
The growth of the muscle comes across time, but the stress on the muscle is very brief.
Same principle for improving concentration, and since concentration happens in the brain, I think improving concentration should begin with a workout for your brain.
After all, the brain map for your bicep and your concentration both reside there, and if you want to take a look at an excellent source of information for your brain workout, then please take a look at Brainfit for Life written by Simon Evans,Ph.D. and Paul Burghardt,Ph.D., who are neuroscientists at the University of Michigan.
Luckily for us, they leave the jargon in the laboratory, and write very succinctly for us improving concentration junkies, so we know what the pillars of brain fitness are, and how to make sure our brain is really ready to focus more clearly. Evans and Burghardt spend some time discussing the dual n back task in their book, and if you want to improve your concentration using the dual n back as a novel learning experience, I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.
But first a bit about the pillars of brain fitness, and taking care of them is a prerequisite for improving concentration.
The pillars of brain fitness are physical activity/exercise, nutrition including lots of antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids, sleep, stress management, and novel learning experience.
When I taking care of the pillars I am increasing a couple of very important capacities of the human brain, neurogenesis, or the growth of new brain cells, and neuroplasticity, which is making it possible for neurons to connect in new ways, forming new networks, and that is actually why I concentrate, to learn new material.
The most important pillar for improving brain fitness and improving concentration is the physical activity or exercise pillar, and that is where Evans and Burghardt start.
For a clear understanding of the physical exercise, nutrition, and sleep pillars, please read their book.
The last two pillars, stress management and novel learning experience are the two pillars most germane to our improving concentration topic.
The novel learning pillar means that for increased neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, I need to challenge my brain with new learning, and the experts say that the best kind of learning is the learning my brain undergoes when it learns a new language or musical instrument, because of the increasing levels of complexity and chance for positive feedback.
But if you want neuroplasticity, and neurogenesis, and improved concentration, but do not have time to learn a new language or instrument, what should you do, because Evans and Burghardt are quite specific about the kind of learning required.
They do discuss research about the dual n back task, which has been shown to increase IQ or at least what is called fluid intelligence.
Doing the dual n back is addictive, once you get the hang of it, and it will teach you very rapidly how fast your attention wanders, and train you to stay focused while on task, like when you are flexing your bicep in a workout.
The commercial version of the dual n back practices are about 1/2 hour long, and the initial training is a practice per day for 19 days. Each trial will present the auditory and visual stimulus to you and give you time to respond, and provides increasing challenge level as you progress.
Just like a physical workout, then you need maintenance sessions to keep the neurons in the brain map of increased concentration well connected.
There are some other great computerized brain fitness programs out there which will help with improving your concentration, and once you have done that, it will be easier for you to reveal your inner rock star as you learn the guitar.
The key to improving concentration is actually relaxation, which opens the higher perceptual centers of the brain.
In fact, there is evidence from brain wave biofeedback work done by Barry Sterman,Ph.D., that increased productivity is actually a function of a brain moving between beta brain waves associated with focused external awareness and cycling at 15-42 cycles per second and alpha brain waves associated with relaxed external focus cycling at 8-15 cycles per second.
What that means is that brains that know how to move between work and rest styles of attention quickly are able to handle very stressful situations, like simulated combat pilot training, more effectively than brains that stay stuck in the beta attentional state.
So the required rest period for improving concentration can be very brief, but it does have to happen.
If you think about a workout for your bicep, you flex the muscle only 8-12 times per set, and then relax between repetitions and you may only do one set of curls per workout.
The growth of the muscle comes across time, but the stress on the muscle is very brief.
Same principle for improving concentration, and since concentration happens in the brain, I think improving concentration should begin with a workout for your brain.
After all, the brain map for your bicep and your concentration both reside there, and if you want to take a look at an excellent source of information for your brain workout, then please take a look at Brainfit for Life written by Simon Evans,Ph.D. and Paul Burghardt,Ph.D., who are neuroscientists at the University of Michigan.
Luckily for us, they leave the jargon in the laboratory, and write very succinctly for us improving concentration junkies, so we know what the pillars of brain fitness are, and how to make sure our brain is really ready to focus more clearly. Evans and Burghardt spend some time discussing the dual n back task in their book, and if you want to improve your concentration using the dual n back as a novel learning experience, I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.
But first a bit about the pillars of brain fitness, and taking care of them is a prerequisite for improving concentration.
The pillars of brain fitness are physical activity/exercise, nutrition including lots of antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids, sleep, stress management, and novel learning experience.
When I taking care of the pillars I am increasing a couple of very important capacities of the human brain, neurogenesis, or the growth of new brain cells, and neuroplasticity, which is making it possible for neurons to connect in new ways, forming new networks, and that is actually why I concentrate, to learn new material.
The most important pillar for improving brain fitness and improving concentration is the physical activity or exercise pillar, and that is where Evans and Burghardt start.
For a clear understanding of the physical exercise, nutrition, and sleep pillars, please read their book.
The last two pillars, stress management and novel learning experience are the two pillars most germane to our improving concentration topic.
The novel learning pillar means that for increased neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, I need to challenge my brain with new learning, and the experts say that the best kind of learning is the learning my brain undergoes when it learns a new language or musical instrument, because of the increasing levels of complexity and chance for positive feedback.
But if you want neuroplasticity, and neurogenesis, and improved concentration, but do not have time to learn a new language or instrument, what should you do, because Evans and Burghardt are quite specific about the kind of learning required.
They do discuss research about the dual n back task, which has been shown to increase IQ or at least what is called fluid intelligence.
Doing the dual n back is addictive, once you get the hang of it, and it will teach you very rapidly how fast your attention wanders, and train you to stay focused while on task, like when you are flexing your bicep in a workout.
The commercial version of the dual n back practices are about 1/2 hour long, and the initial training is a practice per day for 19 days. Each trial will present the auditory and visual stimulus to you and give you time to respond, and provides increasing challenge level as you progress.
Just like a physical workout, then you need maintenance sessions to keep the neurons in the brain map of increased concentration well connected.
There are some other great computerized brain fitness programs out there which will help with improving your concentration, and once you have done that, it will be easier for you to reveal your inner rock star as you learn the guitar.
Posted by
Celebrity Gist
Becoming a Leadership of Influence
First of all before we start anything,
What is leadership?
Leaders are Individuals that can influence others. Leaders are individuals that stand out in his given calling. Leadership is not what you wish, desire or prays for, it is what you are call into and grow into it. A leader does not wait for votes or to be voted for.
The greatest need of any generations is leadership. God has no need expect the need of leaders. He owns every thing, He is all powerful and all knowing, and so, He is not looking for any thing in life. In the scheme of things, until a leader is found, there is no way forward, the only way forward begins with locating a leader.
Great nations that we see today emerged as a result of leaders. The suffering of the people will continue, until leaders are found in our nation. The people of Israel were in bondage until Moses took up his leadership position. There is no hope for any generation or nations that lack leaders. This is the problem of some of the African Nation, because they lack excellent leaders, the end up become backward. God does not deal with crowd... but with individuals that are ready to take up their positions and responsibilities as leaders. God sees his person through leaders.Nothing on earth is more important than leaders.
A leader is the one that stands in the gap... as a result of your response; so many lives will be activated.
When leaders arise, suffering ends.
Leadership is an open ended process....just any body can be a leader.
What is leadership?
Leaders are Individuals that can influence others. Leaders are individuals that stand out in his given calling. Leadership is not what you wish, desire or prays for, it is what you are call into and grow into it. A leader does not wait for votes or to be voted for.
The greatest need of any generations is leadership. God has no need expect the need of leaders. He owns every thing, He is all powerful and all knowing, and so, He is not looking for any thing in life. In the scheme of things, until a leader is found, there is no way forward, the only way forward begins with locating a leader.
Great nations that we see today emerged as a result of leaders. The suffering of the people will continue, until leaders are found in our nation. The people of Israel were in bondage until Moses took up his leadership position. There is no hope for any generation or nations that lack leaders. This is the problem of some of the African Nation, because they lack excellent leaders, the end up become backward. God does not deal with crowd... but with individuals that are ready to take up their positions and responsibilities as leaders. God sees his person through leaders.Nothing on earth is more important than leaders.
A leader is the one that stands in the gap... as a result of your response; so many lives will be activated.
When leaders arise, suffering ends.
Leadership is an open ended process....just any body can be a leader.
Posted by
Celebrity Gist
Personal Happiness - Be Happy Being You
The relationship you have with your mind and body are the most important ones in life. When you feel good in your skin you can forget about yourself and focus on others, a much more enjoyable and worthy endeavor.
Be the best you can be.
We are all works in progress, able to change our minds about what we want to do, able to fine tune who and what we are, and determine how we should lead our lives. Each of us has the opportunity to do what will not only make us better people, but also to bring personal happiness and make us feel better about ourselves.
Decide what makes you happy and do it. The simplest things such as dancing around to your favorites song while cleaning, soaking in a bubble filled tub as opposed to a rushed shower, a long walk window shopping as opposed to working out in the gym, taking the day to spend time with your kids as opposed to going to work and dropping them off at the babysitter - can bring more joy to your life than you could ever imagine.
When you enjoy being you, you grasp a holistic view of beauty and wellness; you welcome positive influences; and you recognize that knowledge is power. With this attitude, a beautiful transformation can take place. This also helps with weight loss problems. You can even overcome weight issues by stimulating your mind and striving towards a healthy, fit body and by loving you, you'll stay motivated to achieve such.
As a woman I have the superwoman woman complex that rears its ugly head from time to time. I get caught in the everyday, hectic living just like everyone else and I don't seem to slow down until my superwoman cape starts choking me. I then realize that I have to take time for me. After all, if I don't, who will?
Celebrating the total you is about inspiring and empowering you to make changes that will improve your spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being over a lifetime. Taking time for you is not selfish, it's necessary for self-preservation. You deserve a break today.
Be the best you can be.
We are all works in progress, able to change our minds about what we want to do, able to fine tune who and what we are, and determine how we should lead our lives. Each of us has the opportunity to do what will not only make us better people, but also to bring personal happiness and make us feel better about ourselves.
Decide what makes you happy and do it. The simplest things such as dancing around to your favorites song while cleaning, soaking in a bubble filled tub as opposed to a rushed shower, a long walk window shopping as opposed to working out in the gym, taking the day to spend time with your kids as opposed to going to work and dropping them off at the babysitter - can bring more joy to your life than you could ever imagine.
When you enjoy being you, you grasp a holistic view of beauty and wellness; you welcome positive influences; and you recognize that knowledge is power. With this attitude, a beautiful transformation can take place. This also helps with weight loss problems. You can even overcome weight issues by stimulating your mind and striving towards a healthy, fit body and by loving you, you'll stay motivated to achieve such.
As a woman I have the superwoman woman complex that rears its ugly head from time to time. I get caught in the everyday, hectic living just like everyone else and I don't seem to slow down until my superwoman cape starts choking me. I then realize that I have to take time for me. After all, if I don't, who will?
Celebrating the total you is about inspiring and empowering you to make changes that will improve your spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being over a lifetime. Taking time for you is not selfish, it's necessary for self-preservation. You deserve a break today.
Posted by
Celebrity Gist
Thinking Small
"What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.
It is always the same step, but you have to take it."
- Antoine De Saint-Exupery
I have noticed that when we set out to make big changes in our lives we instantly start with the big steps. If we want to be happier we consider major changes in our family or business lives. If we want to get into a better financial situation we tend to drastically overhaul our budget or if we want to get healthier we throw away all of our junk food and vow to only eat salads from now on. While making all the changes we want to see at once would be awesome if we could manage it, in truth we actually tend to set ourselves up for failure. The change seems to large to comprehend so we procrastinate instead of starting it, or we beat ourselves up the second we deviate from the plan. Quite often the only thing we end up with is a heavy sense of guilt at our failure.
Many reasons exist for this type of goal setting. For the go-getters among us it seems perfectly natural to visualize the end result and then begin implementing the changes that will have to be made immediately. Others may tend to jump headfirst into the process only to find that they lack the energy to see it through. Encompassing all reasons however, is the inability to think in terms of exponents. Our brains are not set up to easily see how small changes can build into the large change we desire. For example, we know that skipping the $2.00 cup of coffee from the coffee shop everyday could save us over $700.00 per year, yet when writing our budget we tend to focus on the $2.00 instead of seeing the $700.00. In setting the goal of spending more time with the family we tend to get ambitious and plan for big activities once a month instead of setting aside one or two nights each week to eat dinner together which would ultimately lead to a higher number of hours of family time.
Part of the reason we resist thinking small comes from a belief that if a goal doesn't seem somewhat impossible it is probably not worth it. We want to embark on a course that sets us up for a huge accomplishment that everyone will notice instead of minor achievements. The rub here is that it is the accumulated effect of these minor achievements that makes the huge accomplishment possible. Think about that big hairy goal you have in the back of your mind, the one so large you can't even figure out where to start. Now, think small. Decide what one thing you can start doing today to achieve that goal and start it. Now consider the difference you will be making toward that goal over a defined period of time and keep that accumulated total in mind to motivate you. For example, if you reduce the amount of cigarettes you smoke each day by three, then you will have smoked 1,095 fewer cigarettes in a year. Replace one fast food meal with a sensible salad every week and you will have cut an average of 4000 calories every single month. That's a pound per month from one small change. Remember that it is the end result that counts, not how many small steps you take to get to the finish line!
Coaches Challenge:
Send me an email with your big goal, the one small thing you will be doing to work toward it and what the accumulated impact will be a year from when you start. Tell me how this information makes you feel about achieving that big goal? Does it suddenly seem in reach when it didn't before?
It is always the same step, but you have to take it."
- Antoine De Saint-Exupery
I have noticed that when we set out to make big changes in our lives we instantly start with the big steps. If we want to be happier we consider major changes in our family or business lives. If we want to get into a better financial situation we tend to drastically overhaul our budget or if we want to get healthier we throw away all of our junk food and vow to only eat salads from now on. While making all the changes we want to see at once would be awesome if we could manage it, in truth we actually tend to set ourselves up for failure. The change seems to large to comprehend so we procrastinate instead of starting it, or we beat ourselves up the second we deviate from the plan. Quite often the only thing we end up with is a heavy sense of guilt at our failure.
Many reasons exist for this type of goal setting. For the go-getters among us it seems perfectly natural to visualize the end result and then begin implementing the changes that will have to be made immediately. Others may tend to jump headfirst into the process only to find that they lack the energy to see it through. Encompassing all reasons however, is the inability to think in terms of exponents. Our brains are not set up to easily see how small changes can build into the large change we desire. For example, we know that skipping the $2.00 cup of coffee from the coffee shop everyday could save us over $700.00 per year, yet when writing our budget we tend to focus on the $2.00 instead of seeing the $700.00. In setting the goal of spending more time with the family we tend to get ambitious and plan for big activities once a month instead of setting aside one or two nights each week to eat dinner together which would ultimately lead to a higher number of hours of family time.
Part of the reason we resist thinking small comes from a belief that if a goal doesn't seem somewhat impossible it is probably not worth it. We want to embark on a course that sets us up for a huge accomplishment that everyone will notice instead of minor achievements. The rub here is that it is the accumulated effect of these minor achievements that makes the huge accomplishment possible. Think about that big hairy goal you have in the back of your mind, the one so large you can't even figure out where to start. Now, think small. Decide what one thing you can start doing today to achieve that goal and start it. Now consider the difference you will be making toward that goal over a defined period of time and keep that accumulated total in mind to motivate you. For example, if you reduce the amount of cigarettes you smoke each day by three, then you will have smoked 1,095 fewer cigarettes in a year. Replace one fast food meal with a sensible salad every week and you will have cut an average of 4000 calories every single month. That's a pound per month from one small change. Remember that it is the end result that counts, not how many small steps you take to get to the finish line!
Coaches Challenge:
Send me an email with your big goal, the one small thing you will be doing to work toward it and what the accumulated impact will be a year from when you start. Tell me how this information makes you feel about achieving that big goal? Does it suddenly seem in reach when it didn't before?
Posted by
Celebrity Gist
How to Change Limiting Beliefs and Unlock Your Potential
Your beliefs play a huge part in your life and what you accomplish. If you want to overcome challenges, you need to overcome those beliefs that are holding you back. Changing beliefs can be challenging, so this article will give you several tips and techniques you can use in your own life.
Your beliefs about yourself create your outer reality. That's something to consider because it's really powerful. If you believe something about yourself or about the world around you, it's going to be true.
I'll give you a simple example almost everyone can relate to: when you were a toddler, preschooler, and maybe even a young grade schooler, you loved to draw, paint, color, and create art. But as you moved through school you were told that only people "with talent" could draw or make art. Needless to say, somebody probably let you know you weren't one of those with "talent." So now, when you think about drawing, painting, or other forms of art, you probably say to yourself "I can't draw. I can't paint. I'm just no good at that."
The reality is, anybody can learn to draw basic forms and basic painting skills. You may never be selling your art to museums in Europe, but drawing, just like writing, reading, typing, cooking, and other skills takes one simple thing - practice. The big problem is you hold the belief that you need "talent" to draw or paint. That belief is what prevents you from drawing an acceptable picture. Not your lack of talent.
Beliefs like this hold you back in all areas of your life. A good way to start changing beliefs is to figure out where beliefs are holding you back. Sit down and write out a few goals you hold for yourself. Write out a few things you want - and write some out that you've been wanting for some time. Have those things happened? Why haven't they happened? Maybe you hold some common beliefs like "I'm not good enough." Maybe you grew up knowing you come from a family that "just doesn't accomplish much" or "just doesn't have money." Or you were taught that "you have to go to college to make money" or "you're a failure if you don't go to college."
Your limiting beliefs may be completely opposite of these examples, but still debilitating. They may be something you heard over and over as a child, or they may be beliefs you formed as a child (even if you realize now they weren't true).
Once you've identified the limiting beliefs that could be holding you back from a goal or two - or more, you can work on changing them. Figure out why you have a limiting belief. If you formed the belief "I'm not good enough" in childhood, think objectively about it. Maybe you thought a parent or teacher told you that you weren't good enough. But could it be that they were saying "your just not ready" or maybe they didn't even realize what you were capable of. Maybe they were too busy to bother with you, or just wanted you to go away! Those things are not your fault, and they have no bearing on your inherent ability to accomplish your goals for yourself. Just going back and objectively looking at these things can really help. Look up the work of Morty Lefkoe to further explore removing limiting beliefs in this way.
Another way to overcome your beliefs is by programming yourself with positive affirmations to overwrite the beliefs. Whatever you tell your subconscious mind with emotion is what it will accept. This is why it's easy to start living out negative beliefs - they tend to be backed with a lot of emotion. Why you say positive affirmations, take the time to imagine the feelings that go with the affirmation. Your subconscious will begin to believe the affirmation, and it will become part of your belief structure.
Identify your beliefs and why you might be holding onto them. You'll often find that the reasoning behind the belief isn't even good reasoning - and it will be much easier to change the belief. Use positive affirmation to rewrite your beliefs - which will let you finally start reaching your goals.
Your beliefs about yourself create your outer reality. That's something to consider because it's really powerful. If you believe something about yourself or about the world around you, it's going to be true.
I'll give you a simple example almost everyone can relate to: when you were a toddler, preschooler, and maybe even a young grade schooler, you loved to draw, paint, color, and create art. But as you moved through school you were told that only people "with talent" could draw or make art. Needless to say, somebody probably let you know you weren't one of those with "talent." So now, when you think about drawing, painting, or other forms of art, you probably say to yourself "I can't draw. I can't paint. I'm just no good at that."
The reality is, anybody can learn to draw basic forms and basic painting skills. You may never be selling your art to museums in Europe, but drawing, just like writing, reading, typing, cooking, and other skills takes one simple thing - practice. The big problem is you hold the belief that you need "talent" to draw or paint. That belief is what prevents you from drawing an acceptable picture. Not your lack of talent.
Beliefs like this hold you back in all areas of your life. A good way to start changing beliefs is to figure out where beliefs are holding you back. Sit down and write out a few goals you hold for yourself. Write out a few things you want - and write some out that you've been wanting for some time. Have those things happened? Why haven't they happened? Maybe you hold some common beliefs like "I'm not good enough." Maybe you grew up knowing you come from a family that "just doesn't accomplish much" or "just doesn't have money." Or you were taught that "you have to go to college to make money" or "you're a failure if you don't go to college."
Your limiting beliefs may be completely opposite of these examples, but still debilitating. They may be something you heard over and over as a child, or they may be beliefs you formed as a child (even if you realize now they weren't true).
Once you've identified the limiting beliefs that could be holding you back from a goal or two - or more, you can work on changing them. Figure out why you have a limiting belief. If you formed the belief "I'm not good enough" in childhood, think objectively about it. Maybe you thought a parent or teacher told you that you weren't good enough. But could it be that they were saying "your just not ready" or maybe they didn't even realize what you were capable of. Maybe they were too busy to bother with you, or just wanted you to go away! Those things are not your fault, and they have no bearing on your inherent ability to accomplish your goals for yourself. Just going back and objectively looking at these things can really help. Look up the work of Morty Lefkoe to further explore removing limiting beliefs in this way.
Another way to overcome your beliefs is by programming yourself with positive affirmations to overwrite the beliefs. Whatever you tell your subconscious mind with emotion is what it will accept. This is why it's easy to start living out negative beliefs - they tend to be backed with a lot of emotion. Why you say positive affirmations, take the time to imagine the feelings that go with the affirmation. Your subconscious will begin to believe the affirmation, and it will become part of your belief structure.
Identify your beliefs and why you might be holding onto them. You'll often find that the reasoning behind the belief isn't even good reasoning - and it will be much easier to change the belief. Use positive affirmation to rewrite your beliefs - which will let you finally start reaching your goals.
Posted by
Celebrity Gist
12 Tips to Get a Superhuman Memory
Your memory is an incredible thing and yet so many people find themselves forgetting things or feeling frustrated or even blaming their forgetfulness on age but the truth is that you have just never been taught how to use your mind.
Here I am just going to outline the 12 principles for remembering things-this is just to start you of if you are interested but you can obviously take this a lot further, if you're interested you can visit my blog.
THE 12 MEMORY PRINCIPLES:
1. Humour
Let's face it, if something is funny and amuses us then we are more likely to remember it, so if you create an absurd or amusing image out of what you are trying to memorize then it is more likely to stay in your head.
2. Association
No matter what you intend to memorize if you link it to a clear image in your head then it will make it a lot easier-this system is vital for memory and there is loads of detail (the number system) on my blog.
3. Sensuality
Sensuality is key to helping us remember things because it is through experiencing things that they take a place in our mind....Authors even use this technique to make us feel more involved in their writing-so basically the more senses you involve while memorizing the more effective you will be i.e. refer to:
*taste
*vision
*touch
*touch
*hearing
4. Imagination
This is the foundation of your memory-some people even believe that imagination is more valuable then knowledge because it is not limited and I would have to agree. The more you use your vivid imagination as a tool to memorize things the more likely they are to stick in your head. Many famous memory techniques involve people imagining huge rooms vividly in their minds only changing the content of the rooms depending on what they want to remember-but that gets slightly more complicated so I will come on to that in another article.
5. Sexuality
Most of us have a good memory in this area, so put it to some use!
6. Colour
Make your ideas as colorful as possible or associate vivid colors to what you want to remember as this is more unusual and therefore more memorable.
7. Exaggeration
The more extreme you make something in your head the more likely it is to stick there so exaggerate size or beauty or shape-whatever works for you.
8. Movement
This incorporates a whole other part of your brain as well as your memory so therefore will make the images that you associate movement to unique. As your images move make them 3-D and give them a rhythm to move too-all this will help your mind to retain what you want to remember.
9. Ordering
You can use this in combination with other principles e.g. sorting by category, colors, size and this will help to keep certain units of memorized items together.
10. Positive Images
This is a very logical point but it has been proved that associating things with happy or positive images increases your memory of them because the brain actually wants to return the images again!
11. Number
This adds yet another dimension on to your memory capacity and also to the efficiency of your memory.
12. Symbolism
To increase the probability of recall substitute dull or boring images for meaningful symbols e.g. a bright red stop sign.
So that is just an outline to get you started but if you are really interested in improving your memory and surprising yourself then visit my blog where I go in to some more detail of the above principles and how to use them to enhance your memory ability.
Here I am just going to outline the 12 principles for remembering things-this is just to start you of if you are interested but you can obviously take this a lot further, if you're interested you can visit my blog.
THE 12 MEMORY PRINCIPLES:
1. Humour
Let's face it, if something is funny and amuses us then we are more likely to remember it, so if you create an absurd or amusing image out of what you are trying to memorize then it is more likely to stay in your head.
2. Association
No matter what you intend to memorize if you link it to a clear image in your head then it will make it a lot easier-this system is vital for memory and there is loads of detail (the number system) on my blog.
3. Sensuality
Sensuality is key to helping us remember things because it is through experiencing things that they take a place in our mind....Authors even use this technique to make us feel more involved in their writing-so basically the more senses you involve while memorizing the more effective you will be i.e. refer to:
*taste
*vision
*touch
*touch
*hearing
4. Imagination
This is the foundation of your memory-some people even believe that imagination is more valuable then knowledge because it is not limited and I would have to agree. The more you use your vivid imagination as a tool to memorize things the more likely they are to stick in your head. Many famous memory techniques involve people imagining huge rooms vividly in their minds only changing the content of the rooms depending on what they want to remember-but that gets slightly more complicated so I will come on to that in another article.
5. Sexuality
Most of us have a good memory in this area, so put it to some use!
6. Colour
Make your ideas as colorful as possible or associate vivid colors to what you want to remember as this is more unusual and therefore more memorable.
7. Exaggeration
The more extreme you make something in your head the more likely it is to stick there so exaggerate size or beauty or shape-whatever works for you.
8. Movement
This incorporates a whole other part of your brain as well as your memory so therefore will make the images that you associate movement to unique. As your images move make them 3-D and give them a rhythm to move too-all this will help your mind to retain what you want to remember.
9. Ordering
You can use this in combination with other principles e.g. sorting by category, colors, size and this will help to keep certain units of memorized items together.
10. Positive Images
This is a very logical point but it has been proved that associating things with happy or positive images increases your memory of them because the brain actually wants to return the images again!
11. Number
This adds yet another dimension on to your memory capacity and also to the efficiency of your memory.
12. Symbolism
To increase the probability of recall substitute dull or boring images for meaningful symbols e.g. a bright red stop sign.
So that is just an outline to get you started but if you are really interested in improving your memory and surprising yourself then visit my blog where I go in to some more detail of the above principles and how to use them to enhance your memory ability.
Posted by
Celebrity Gist
Self Help Motivation - Knowledge is Power
Lack of motivation can completely destroy your day to day life. You have no drive, no enthusiasm for your tasks. It sometime seems the more effort you put in, the less you get back out, so why bother? Sound Familiar? I have some good news for you, it doesn't have to be this way.
The reason you should bother is for your sense of self worth, everyone has times when they struggle, the people who win through have just found better ways of motivating themselves. Try these ideas if you need a little help, soon you will find yourself feeling better, and stronger, more able to handle the things that other people seem to be able to manage without a problem. Then, and only then, are you on the way up! Keep at it and good luck!
Self help Motivation Tip One
Set yourself some goals, some easily attainable, some a little more difficult. Get a picture of your main goal, car, house, whatever, and paste it where you can see it regularly, just a little reminder of where you,re going.
Self help Motivation Tip Two
Set up a deal with yourself, write down your goals on a piece of paper and keep it in your wallet, research has shown that folk who write their aims out are far more likely to achieve them than those who just keep a mental note.
Self help Motivation Tip Three
Decide when and how you intend to achieve these aims, and when you do give yourself a certain reward, something that will spur you on. After all, if you don,t reward your good work why should others? As you feel happier about things try to see other areas you can improve and actually set out to make things happen, rather than just let them happen.The more you achieve the more you`ll be able to handle, it just gets better from here on in.
Self Help Motivation Tip Four
Seek out inspirational books and reports. As I said in the title, Knowledge is Power. These books will give you the enthusiasm to keep trying to improve. You will read of other peoples success stories, their experiences and learn the methods they used to pave their route to the top. The fact that one person has found a way through will give you reassurance that things do not have to stay as they are, others have done it so why not you?
Whatever you want to be, set out your goals, and targets, and JUST DO IT. Aim for the top and never give up. When things seem difficult turn up your determination, the sense of getting through will drive you forward and give you more momentum, during which time you will almost certainly have more success. The momentum will just build and build and in no time you will have achieved your goal. This is the time to set more goals, better targets, more rewards.
The reason you should bother is for your sense of self worth, everyone has times when they struggle, the people who win through have just found better ways of motivating themselves. Try these ideas if you need a little help, soon you will find yourself feeling better, and stronger, more able to handle the things that other people seem to be able to manage without a problem. Then, and only then, are you on the way up! Keep at it and good luck!
Self help Motivation Tip One
Set yourself some goals, some easily attainable, some a little more difficult. Get a picture of your main goal, car, house, whatever, and paste it where you can see it regularly, just a little reminder of where you,re going.
Self help Motivation Tip Two
Set up a deal with yourself, write down your goals on a piece of paper and keep it in your wallet, research has shown that folk who write their aims out are far more likely to achieve them than those who just keep a mental note.
Self help Motivation Tip Three
Decide when and how you intend to achieve these aims, and when you do give yourself a certain reward, something that will spur you on. After all, if you don,t reward your good work why should others? As you feel happier about things try to see other areas you can improve and actually set out to make things happen, rather than just let them happen.The more you achieve the more you`ll be able to handle, it just gets better from here on in.
Self Help Motivation Tip Four
Seek out inspirational books and reports. As I said in the title, Knowledge is Power. These books will give you the enthusiasm to keep trying to improve. You will read of other peoples success stories, their experiences and learn the methods they used to pave their route to the top. The fact that one person has found a way through will give you reassurance that things do not have to stay as they are, others have done it so why not you?
Posted by
Celebrity Gist
Stages of Alcoholism - Understanding the 3 Steps to Self Destruction
Like many forms of addiction, alcoholism is a progressive condition. Health experts are largely unanimous that there are three or four stages through which a problem alcoholic goes through getting worse after each stage. Understanding the characteristics of each of these stages of alcoholism is important for a person to successfully assist an alcoholic recover.
The first stage of alcoholism is where someone starts to develop growing resilience to the intoxicating effects of alcohol. At this point a person finds that they have to drink more alcohol over time in order to get the high they so crave. Often, many people in this stage are unaware of the changes that are taking place within them and would be quick to deny any risk of descending into a full blown alcohol addict.
The second stage is a little more dramatic. The individual starts to have a strong dependency on alcohol and they do not feel comfortable or confident doing anything before they have had a drink. It is at this stage that the deterioration of vital interpersonal relationships including close friends and family starts to take place. Of the stages of alcoholism, it is at this stage that one will probably lose their job or lead their business into financial distress.
As would be expected, the final stage of alcoholism is where matters come to a head. Here, dependence on alcohol is so strong that it ceases to just be a distraction to someone's life but an end of itself. None of the stages of alcoholism present more danger to the alcoholic's personal safety than the third stage. The alcoholic's physical appearance sees a marked deterioration and the effect on internal body organs such as the liver will start to take their toll.
It is never too late for a person to be weaned off alcohol addiction. However, the ability to interpret the outward telltale signs plays a key part in how effective the rehabilitation and therapy will be. This is the reason why you must know the stages of alcoholism.
The first stage of alcoholism is where someone starts to develop growing resilience to the intoxicating effects of alcohol. At this point a person finds that they have to drink more alcohol over time in order to get the high they so crave. Often, many people in this stage are unaware of the changes that are taking place within them and would be quick to deny any risk of descending into a full blown alcohol addict.
The second stage is a little more dramatic. The individual starts to have a strong dependency on alcohol and they do not feel comfortable or confident doing anything before they have had a drink. It is at this stage that the deterioration of vital interpersonal relationships including close friends and family starts to take place. Of the stages of alcoholism, it is at this stage that one will probably lose their job or lead their business into financial distress.
As would be expected, the final stage of alcoholism is where matters come to a head. Here, dependence on alcohol is so strong that it ceases to just be a distraction to someone's life but an end of itself. None of the stages of alcoholism present more danger to the alcoholic's personal safety than the third stage. The alcoholic's physical appearance sees a marked deterioration and the effect on internal body organs such as the liver will start to take their toll.
It is never too late for a person to be weaned off alcohol addiction. However, the ability to interpret the outward telltale signs plays a key part in how effective the rehabilitation and therapy will be. This is the reason why you must know the stages of alcoholism.
Posted by
Celebrity Gist
What Are Your Personality Traits?
The question of how we can identify personality type rages on despite many generations, centuries even, of effort to answer it. One part of the debate has to do with what influences personality.
Should we look at how someone was raised or identify the gifts God or nature gave them? This nature vs. nurture debate is particularly interesting when you look at the studies of identical twins.
Nature
One study, of the American "Jim" twins, has fascinated me for years.
These twins were raised apart and did not even meet until they were 39 years old. When they met, they were astounded to discover how many similarities they had. Both had worked as sheriffs, part-time. Both had married women with the same name: Linda. They were both divorced and had remarried.
Both new wives were named Betty. They had had dogs with the same name and their sons were named "James Alan" and "James Allen" all before they knew of each other's existence. Isn't that amazing?
And what a great argument for nature!
Nurture
But the research that has been done on birth order argues well for nurture. It seems that parents behave differently with first-borns and youngests, and children have different experiences even in the same family based on when they joined it.
There's a joke about the use of a pacifier with each successive child in the family. With the first-born, the parents sterilize that pacifier each time the baby drops it. With the second child, they employ the five-second rule and hand it back, but are still fairly careful about keeping it clean. Once the last child comes along, they are so busy and distracted that even if the dog slobbers all over it, they pick it up and hand it right back.
Nature and Nurture
When I read someone's hands, using hand analysis, I get to see the influence of both nature and nurture.
Each person's fingerprints are unique and do not change during the course of that person's lifetime. There, I will discover the life purpose they have been given and the lessons they came here to learn. That doesn't change.
But as I look at the other parts of their hands, I see the influence of time and life experience. We are often given gifts as we need them, held in reserve for us, because we usually don't know they are there.
So I may not know what happened that made you require the gift marking that offers courage, but if I see it in your hands, I know that something did. That you now need to use that courage on your own behalf but are not yet using it fully.
I may not know why you have developed the gift of healing, but I know that the first person you will need to use it for is you. And I know that no matter who else you are here to help, the inspiration for that gift was you.
Resolving the Debate
So I find that with hand analysis, I don't need to resolve the debate about which is a more powerful influence. I see the evidence of both nature and nurture and they are both powerful in determining who you are and who you can become.
Remember that with hand analysis, it is possible to know exactly who you are, far beyond personality type.
Should we look at how someone was raised or identify the gifts God or nature gave them? This nature vs. nurture debate is particularly interesting when you look at the studies of identical twins.
Nature
One study, of the American "Jim" twins, has fascinated me for years.
These twins were raised apart and did not even meet until they were 39 years old. When they met, they were astounded to discover how many similarities they had. Both had worked as sheriffs, part-time. Both had married women with the same name: Linda. They were both divorced and had remarried.
Both new wives were named Betty. They had had dogs with the same name and their sons were named "James Alan" and "James Allen" all before they knew of each other's existence. Isn't that amazing?
And what a great argument for nature!
Nurture
But the research that has been done on birth order argues well for nurture. It seems that parents behave differently with first-borns and youngests, and children have different experiences even in the same family based on when they joined it.
There's a joke about the use of a pacifier with each successive child in the family. With the first-born, the parents sterilize that pacifier each time the baby drops it. With the second child, they employ the five-second rule and hand it back, but are still fairly careful about keeping it clean. Once the last child comes along, they are so busy and distracted that even if the dog slobbers all over it, they pick it up and hand it right back.
Nature and Nurture
When I read someone's hands, using hand analysis, I get to see the influence of both nature and nurture.
Each person's fingerprints are unique and do not change during the course of that person's lifetime. There, I will discover the life purpose they have been given and the lessons they came here to learn. That doesn't change.
But as I look at the other parts of their hands, I see the influence of time and life experience. We are often given gifts as we need them, held in reserve for us, because we usually don't know they are there.
So I may not know what happened that made you require the gift marking that offers courage, but if I see it in your hands, I know that something did. That you now need to use that courage on your own behalf but are not yet using it fully.
I may not know why you have developed the gift of healing, but I know that the first person you will need to use it for is you. And I know that no matter who else you are here to help, the inspiration for that gift was you.
Resolving the Debate
So I find that with hand analysis, I don't need to resolve the debate about which is a more powerful influence. I see the evidence of both nature and nurture and they are both powerful in determining who you are and who you can become.
Posted by
Celebrity Gist
3 Ways to Control Anger Problems
All of us have the capacity to get angry. We are all possible of losing our handle, blowing our top, and exploding. While getting angry or feeling angry might be normal, what sets each of us apart is the way we express ourselves when we are angry. It is already a known fact that anger can affect the way that you think as well as act, making you take irrational steps or say unreasonable things in order to vent out your feelings.
Anger when not properly managed can cause a lot of headaches to an individual. It can result to misunderstandings, create rifts in relationships as well as alienate a person; which is why anger management is a very important practice if you want to keep your anger under your leash and not the other way around. If you want to control anger problems, though there are a lot of techniques that you can choose from. Depending on how deeply anger has rooted within your personality, you will be able to choose from techniques that range from some of the simplest to those which require the help of an experienced anger management expert. But just to give you an idea, here are three methods that you may want to use if you want to control your anger:
CBT: CBT or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is considered to be one of the most effective methods in treating a variety of psychological problems including anger. This approach teaches individuals to acknowledge as well as accept wrong behaviours and patterns and helps them to develop and establish acceptable ones in place.
Avoidance: One of the more common methods when dealing with anger problems. As the name suggests, you will need to avoid those that tend to rouse your emotions in order to avoid unwanted circumstances. Avoidance will also be a good technique if you are on the verge of exploding and need that extra space in order to regain rationality and composure.
Exercise: Exercise is another good way to vent out your locked emotions, leaving you more resilient as well as refreshed. Just remember though that if you are about to blow your top, venting your anger through aggressive or highly competitive sports will be counterproductive as it can add fuel to the aggression and rage, leaving you in much worse condition as compared to when you started. Try exercises like swimming, jogging, or climbing for example if you want to avoid making things worse.
If you want to know more about how to control anger problems, check the anger management sites or ask your mental health provider, they might have additional information that you might find useful.
Anger when not properly managed can cause a lot of headaches to an individual. It can result to misunderstandings, create rifts in relationships as well as alienate a person; which is why anger management is a very important practice if you want to keep your anger under your leash and not the other way around. If you want to control anger problems, though there are a lot of techniques that you can choose from. Depending on how deeply anger has rooted within your personality, you will be able to choose from techniques that range from some of the simplest to those which require the help of an experienced anger management expert. But just to give you an idea, here are three methods that you may want to use if you want to control your anger:
CBT: CBT or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is considered to be one of the most effective methods in treating a variety of psychological problems including anger. This approach teaches individuals to acknowledge as well as accept wrong behaviours and patterns and helps them to develop and establish acceptable ones in place.
Avoidance: One of the more common methods when dealing with anger problems. As the name suggests, you will need to avoid those that tend to rouse your emotions in order to avoid unwanted circumstances. Avoidance will also be a good technique if you are on the verge of exploding and need that extra space in order to regain rationality and composure.
Exercise: Exercise is another good way to vent out your locked emotions, leaving you more resilient as well as refreshed. Just remember though that if you are about to blow your top, venting your anger through aggressive or highly competitive sports will be counterproductive as it can add fuel to the aggression and rage, leaving you in much worse condition as compared to when you started. Try exercises like swimming, jogging, or climbing for example if you want to avoid making things worse.
If you want to know more about how to control anger problems, check the anger management sites or ask your mental health provider, they might have additional information that you might find useful.
Posted by
Celebrity Gist
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