Top 10 Christmas Quotes

These quotes are too beautiful not to share... May you and your family enjoy a blessed celebration! ^_^

1. Christmas gift suggestions: to your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.
Oren Arnold

2. Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.
Calvin Coolidge

3. Christmas is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas.
Dale Evans

4. The only blind person at Christmastime is he who has not Christmas in his heart.
Helen Keller

5. He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree.
Charlotte Carpenter

6. It is not the gift, but the thought that counts.
Henry Van Dyke

7. The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.
Burton Hillis

8. Christmas is for children. But it is for grown-ups too. Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts.
Lenora Mattingly Weber

9. Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.
Charles Schulz

10.From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another
The warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other.
Emily Matthews

Thinking Positively

I got a text message once that read " Positive thinking isn't wishing for something good to happen. It's knowing that whatever happens is for the best." How many times have we been bent on thinking positively only to revert back to our old mindset when something unfortunate or unpleasant happens instead? For me, it's plain and simple. Accept whatever happens, esp. if it's beyond your control, move ahead and look forward to better things to come. 

Positive thinking will help you accomplish things that you never thought likely. However, thinking big is only the first step in realizing your dreams and achieving success.  Ideas and dreams are a good start, but they will quickly fizzle out if you do not take action. Below are some steps you can take to add positive thinking into your life.  You will be amazed at how quickly things start happening when you do so.

* Take passionate action towards living your life the way you want. Talk is cheap. Action = deposits in the bank of a passionately authentic future. Without action, your dreams are pointless. 

* Commit to yourself and your loved ones to create a future you envision. Look deep in your heart and create a life that you dream of, out of love and not out of fear. 

* Identify and embrace the idea that every moment is ideal despite of its ending. Just think that no matter how bad a situation may seem, it can always get better. Some good things never last, but neither do bad things. 

* Dwell completely in a place of thankfulness. Make do with what you have, right here, right now. Use your talent, skills, and whatever abilities you have and use it for good.

* Keep humor at the forefront of thought, laughing at and with yourself when possible. Smile, though your heart is breaking. Laughter is the best medicine. I believe that no situation is so bad that you can't somehow find a way to laugh.

* Believe that you are the engineer of your fate. Only you set your own limits as to how far you can go or how much you can achieve in a lifetime.

Next time around that you are bogged down by negative thoughts. Take time out and reflect on the good things happening all around. Try to go through all the steps listed. For once, adopt a positive outlook in life. Let your inner light shine through. 

Have a Fulfilling Life

Here's another really good read that I found. Some steps to take in order to have a fulfilling life. A life that is meaningful and fulfilling can be yours. All it takes is a little self-knowledge, a plan and some hard work.  The work however doesn't seem as difficult if you are doing what makes you happy and allows you to be fulfilled.

Below is a twenty-step plan that will set you on your path to a life of fulfillment. Taking the time to follow this plan step by step will help you reach the life you want a lot quicker than just allowing life to take you where it will. Take a deep breath and get started. I'll be cheering you on each step of the way!

Step 1: Find a purpose for your life.

Step 2: Figure out what bothers you most about the world and do something about it.

Step 3: Determine what is most important to you.

Step 4: Align your new goals around what is most important.

Step 5: Have a healthy perspective of yourself.

Step 6: Replace old beliefs that are no longer useful to you.

Step 7: Create new possibilities for your life.

Step 8: Figure out who you want to be when you grow up.

Step 9: Practice living the life you want now.

Step 10: Figure out what you are passionate about.

Step 11: Align your abilities and your interests.

Step 12: What would a perfect vocational day be for you?

Step 13: Write your autobiography five years from today.

Step 14: Downscale your lifestyle now to create the opportunities that you seek.

Step 15: Strengthen your relationships and support systems.

Step 16: Grow strong emotionally

Step 17: Give yourself permission to follow your heart.

Step 18: Laugh a lot and enjoy the ride

Step 19: Live with integrity as a path towards an authentic life.

Step 20: Eat well, exercise and get plenty of sleep.

36 CHRISTIAN WAYS TO REDUCE STRESS

Earlier today, I was tinkling with my personal computer as I was having trouble browsing the Internet even though I was connected -- at least the tests I did showed I was indeed connected. LOL! As I was going through my files, I happened upon something I saved a long time ago. I thought to myself, "How timely indeed!" I suppose it is just as timely for me to share it for everyone out there who one way or the other has lots of worries and concern and simply want to find more ways to reduce stress. Here are some Christian ways to reduce stress:

1. Pray.

2. Go to bed on time.

3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.

4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.

 
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.

6. Simplify and unclutter your life.

 
7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.) 

8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places. 

9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.

10. Take one day at a time. 

 
11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it. 

12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases. 

13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc. 

14. K.M.S.(Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble. 

15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday. 

16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.

17. Get enough rest. 

18. Eat right. 

19. Get organized so everything has its place. 

20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life. 

 
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations. 

22. Every day, find time to be alone. 

23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray. 

24. Make friends with Godly people. 

25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand. 

26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Jesus." 

27. Laugh. 

28. Laugh some more! 

29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all. 

30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can). 

31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most. 

32. Sit on your ego. 

33. Talk less; listen more. 

34. Slow down. 

35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.

36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

 

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally! 

An Angel says, "Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice." 

 

 

How To Be Lucky

I don't know about you, but I do believe in luck. I found this topic to be a bit fascinating because it has been the subject of debate between me and my mentor Ted. Ted, you see, does not believe in luck per se. I thought about writing on the topic when I came across this article by Will Edwards that talks more about it. Note that I'm not writing this to convince anyone to believe in luck or otherwise. You be the judge of it.

Let's take a closer look at what luck is, and then see if we can apply some principles in our own lives to improve the odds in any given situation.

According to Will, luck is the perfect marriage of opportunity with preparation. He goes on to say that Deepak Chopra eloquently stated this principle, and it can also be found in James Allen's classic As a Man Thinketh.

What is being said is that more often people think others are lucky but fail to see the trials, struggles and failures that these same individuals have put in and the sacrifices and efforts they willingly endured to make their vision a reality.

To me, what the statement purports is that you need to work hard and lay the groundwork for whatever you want to achieve. If you were to become successful later on, then it would mean that it took more than just "luck" to make it. So perhaps being in the right place at the right time takes a little more than luck?

Maybe so. One thing I do agree with is that you do need to work at something in order to achieve anything at all. But we cannot know what the future brings. And yes, although it is true that we cannot predict the events of the future, there are times when you can actually influence some of these events, if you know how.

Will gave some examples in his article. One of these is in a TV program called Deal or No Deal. I have watched some of these episodes when the franchise of the program was shown in our local TV. There are indeed some players who turn out to be more successful than others, winning as much as 2 million pesos. Well it would appear that sometimes it takes a little bit of skill and strategy in order to achieve good results.

It sometimes appears that fortune favors the brave, but this is not true according to Will. He states that fortune favors the prepared. You can achieve more out of your life if you are prepared to identify what your target is, determine what needs to be done, and then commit yourself to preparing for the opportunity.

If you want to be luckier in your life, understand the opportunities that come your way, craft a plan to improve your odds of winning, and then follow through and execute your plan. Well, knowing certainly is the first part. The rest then is up to you.

Do you want to be luckier? Then know how you can be lucky. ^_^

A Time to Forgive

I've been meaning to write another post on self improvement, but somehow life has caught up with me. Plus, I felt that I needed a little bit more inspiration before I could do another round of original article.

Then I came upon an idea for a good topic. I was inspired by a newsletter article I read on the topic of forgiveness. One must admit that it is hard to live life without being wronged or having wronged someone else. Forgiveness is the key to living a life of peace and joy.

I would agree that forgiveness is an important part of self development. But what is forgiveness and why is it important? Let's take a closer look.

In Will Edwards's article, he pointed out what forgiveness is and what it isn't. To forgive means to release any feelings of resentment, anger, bitterness or even hatred that you may have about a past event. Forgiving someone does not mean that he or she is absolved or released from the consequences of his or her act, esp. if it's a criminal act. You can be forgiven and still be required to face justice. Of course, the reverse can be true as well.. you can be absolved from your act and still not be forgiven.

I remember my late dad again. He used to say that "forgiveness is not the same as reparation." Forgiving is a way of letting go of negative emotions that you may be harboring towards someone. You are in reality burdening yourself by carrying the load of negative emotions.

Will pointed out that there are three separate acts of forgiveness that we need to perform. They are:

1. Your Parents

If both your parents are still around, consider yourself lucky. Do me a favor and thank them. Give them a hug and tell them you love them. I truly would agree with Will that you need to forgive your parents. Sure they may have made mistakes and a few bad decisions in the past, but that's just a part of being human.

I would say that if there's one thing I regret it's not getting the chance to thank my late dad for all that he was and what he has done for me. I actually didn't realize how much I've learned from him until he was gone. Whatever you mentally hold your parents responsible for, let it go. Forgive them.

2. Yourself

I've done a few mistakes in the past. But if you ask me now whether I want to go back and change them, I probably wouldn't. After all, I wouldn't be the ME of today if I wasn't the ME of yesterday. For a long time in the past, one of my challenges was forgiving myself for my own mistakes. I've moved on ever since and definitely feel much lighter.

Forgive yourself for all the things you know you did wrong, all your failures and mistakes. True, you may continue to make some wrong decisions from time to time. For as long as you know that you're doing your best, accept the consequences and let it all go.

3. Everyone Else

You do need to learn to forgive everyone else. I must admit this isn't easy to do. But you can work on it. Remind your subconscious mind that you forgive that person whenever the thought of a bad incident comes to mind. You will eventually come to accept the forgiveness.

Forgiveness is important as it enables you to let go of any feelings of anger and bitterness. It frees you from the burden of carrying a heavy load so to speak. Negative feelings only harm the person holding them. Sometimes, it takes time to forgive if you've been badly hurt. Give yourself time. But know that you would need to forgive later on in order for you to fully move on in your life.

How to Stop Worrying

I have taken quite a bit of a break from my regular blogging due to personal reasons. Sometimes life in the real world catches up with you and you feel that you just a need a bit of a break. Other than that, I've been using PLR articles in the past as my inspiration for my posts here. Unfortunately, I find most of them not to my liking. I don't want to sound too judgmental but I feel that I can actually write better original articles. LOL! Of course, it takes a little more of my time and energy, but if I can come up with good inspirational pieces, that would truly make my day! I hope that it makes your day too.

This post is actually inspired by a self-help newsletter that I'm subscribed to at the moment. This particular newsletter is from Will Edwards of White Dove Books UK.

Will talked about his personal development workshops wherein his participants are asked to draw their own personal coat of arms. It's an exercise where you have to think of a symbol to put in and a motto for your life. It's a great way to introduce the concepts of values and principles. We are all as you know shaped by them.

Will points out the difference between personal value and principle. A personal value is something important to the individual, while a principle is like a natural law that always operates to deliver a specific outcome. "Honesty is the best policy." That's a principle. If you adapt it into your own belief system, then it becomes part of your personal value.

In some of the coat of arms exercises, Will found some common themes that occur quite frequently, such as:

• Treat Others as You Wish to be Treated
• Don't Worry, Be Happy
• You Only Live Once
• Follow Your Heart
• Believe in Yourself

The first one mentioned is kinda like the Golden Rule. It is in fact a principle that can be found in all the major religions of the world.

Will made special mention of one motto he encountered in one of his workshops : No Problems. The person who wrote it believes that no matter what happens in life, there's always a way to sort it out.

That actually reminds me of a saying my late dad used to say and one which I use quite often as of late.. "That is a problem all right, but that's a problem with a solution." Uttering it somehow makes it easier to accept that there is a problem but it's nothing to worry about as it can be solved.

The truth is the vast majority of the things we tend to worry about never actually come to pass. So it is a fact that most of our worrying is entirely wasted energy.

When faced with tough situations, weigh your options, make decisions, and face the consequences as they arise. That certainly beats worrying too much. This approach may not be for everyone, but it's something I personally use in my daily life too. I find that I now worry less and have more time and energy spent on positive stuff than otherwise.

If you truly want to stop worrying, then why don't you give this a try? Who knows? You may realize that it works for you too! 

UNLOCK YOUR SELF IMPROVEMENT POWER

When we look at a certain object, a painting for example – we won’t be able to appreciate what’s in it, what is painted and what else goes with it  if the painting is just an inch away from our face. But if we try to take it a little farther, we’ll have a clearer vision of the whole art work.

We reach a point in our life when we are ready for change and a whole bunch of information that will help us unlock our self improvement power. Until then, something can be staring us right under our nose but we don’t see it.  The only time we think of unlocking our self improvement power is when everything got worst.

We learn our lessons when we experience pain. We finally see the warning signs and signals when things get rough and tough. When do we realize that we need to change diet? When none of our jeans and shirts would fit us. When do we stop eating candies and chocolates? When all of our teeth have fallen off. When do we realize that we need to stop smoking? When our lungs have gone bad. When do we pray and ask for help? When we realize that we’re gonna die tomorrow.

The only time most of us ever learn about unlocking our self improvement power is when the whole world is crashing and falling apart. We think and feel this way because it is not easy to change. But change becomes more painful when we ignore it.

Change will happen, like it or hate it. At one point or another, we are all going to experience different turning points in our life – and we are all going to eventually unlock our self improvement power not because the world says so, not because our friends are nagging us, but because we realized its for our own good.

Happy people don’t just accept change, they embrace it. Now, you don’t have to feel a tremendous heat before realizing the need for self improvement.  Unlocking your self improvement power means unlocking yourself up in the cage of thought that “it's just the way I am”. It is such a poor excuse for people who fear and resist change.

Self improvement may not be everybody’s favorite word, but if we look at things from a different point of view, we might have greater chances of enjoying the whole process instead of counting the days until we are fully improved. Three sessions in a week at the gym would result to a healthier life, reading books instead of endless hours doing nonsense stuff will shape up a more profound knowledge, going out with friends and peers will help you take a step back from work and unwind.  And just when you are enjoying the whole process of unlocking your self improvement power, you’ll realize that you’re beginning to take things lightly and become happy.

A Dozen Ways to Increase Your Happiness

Being happy isn't as hard as it appears to be at times.  Below we will cover a dozen things that will increase your sense of happiness and make your life more fulfilling.

*Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different, accept people for who or what they are, keep away from clashes, constant arguments, and let go of all kinds of resentments. If arguments seem inevitable still try and make an effort to understand the situation and you might just get along with well with others.

*Being thankful is a great attitude.  We have so much to be thankful for. Taking time to thank those who provide even the smallest thing will help you realize how abundant your life is. Think of life's little pleasures.

*News is stressful. Get less of it.

*Being part of a spiritual group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers and meditations encourages inner peace.

*Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste.

*Laugh and laugh vigorously everyday.  Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say -'Laughter is the best medicine'.
 
*Communicate your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you.

* Try not to keep pent up anger or frustrations, this is bad for your health. Instead find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt anyone.
 
*Working hard brings great personal contentment. It gives a sense of being capable in finishing our tasks. Work on things that you feel are valuable of your time.

*Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new each day.  Learning also makes us increase our horizons.

*Run, jog, walk and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.

*Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins and hazardous places.

BUILD YOUR SELF ESTEEM, A STARTER GUIDE TO SELF IMPROVEMENT

So how do you stay calm, composed and maintain self esteem in a tough environment? Here are some tips you may to consider as a starter guide to self improvement.

Imagine yourself as a Dart Board. Everything and everyone else around you may become Dart Pins, at one point or another. These dart pins will destroy your self esteem and pull you down in ways you won’t even remember. Don’t let them destroy you, or get the best of you.  So which dart pins should you avoid?

Dart Pin #1 : Negative Work Environment

Beware of “dog eat dog” theory where everyone else is fighting just to get ahead. This is where non-appreciative people usually thrive. No one will appreciate your contributions even if you miss lunch and dinner, and stay up late. Most of the time you get to work too much without getting help from people concerned.  Stay out of this, it will ruin your self esteem. Competition is at stake anywhere. Be healthy enough to compete, but in a healthy competition that is.

Dart Pin #2: Other People’s Behavior

Bulldozers, brown nosers, gossipmongers, whiners, backstabbers, snipers, people walking wounded, controllers, naggers, complainers, exploders, patronizers, sluffers… all these kinds of people will pose bad vibes for your self esteem, as well as to your self improvement scheme.

Dart Pin #3: Changing Environment

You can’t be a green bug on a brown field. Changes challenge our paradigms. It tests our flexibility, adaptability and alters the way we think. Changes will make life difficult for awhile, it may cause stress but it will help us find ways to improve ourselves. Change will be there forever, we must be susceptible to it.

Dart Pin #4: Past Experience

It’s okay to cry and say “ouch!” when we experience pain. But don’t let pain transform itself into fear. It might grab you by the tail and swing you around. Treat each failure and mistake as a lesson.

Dart Pin #5: Negative World View

Look at what you’re looking at. Don’t wrap yourself up with all the negativities of the world. In building self esteem, we must learn how to make the best out of worst situations.

Dart Pin #6: Determination Theory

You and your behavioral traits are said to be a mixed end product of your inherited traits (genetics), your upbringing (psychic), and your environmental surroundings such as your spouse, the company, the economy or your circle of friends. You have your own identity. If your father is a failure, it doesn’t mean you have to be a failure too. Learn from other people’s experience, so you’ll never have to encounter the same mistakes.

Sometimes, you may want to wonder if some people are born leaders or positive thinkers. NO. Being positive, and staying positive is a choice. Building self esteem and drawing lines for self improvement is a choice, not a rule or a talent. God wouldn’t come down from heaven and tell you – “George, you may now have the permission to build self esteem and improve yourself.”  

In life, its hard to stay tough specially when things and people around you keep pulling you down. When we get to the battle field, we should choose the right luggage to bring and armors to use, and pick those that are bullet proof. Life’s options give us arrays of more options. Along the battle, we will get hit and bruised. And wearing a bullet proof armor ideally means ‘self change’... the kind of change which comes from within. Voluntarily. Armor or Self Change  changes 3 things: our attitude, our behavior and our way of thinking.

Building self esteem will eventually lead to self improvement if we start to become responsible for who we are, what we have and what we do. It's like a flame that should gradually spread like a bush fire from inside and out. When we develop self esteem, we take control of our mission, values and discipline.  Self esteem brings about self improvement, true assessment, and determination. So how do you start putting up the building blocks of self esteem? Be positive. Be contented and happy. Be appreciative. Never miss an opportunity to compliment. A positive way of living will help you build self esteem, your starter guide to self improvement.

Using the Mind to Improve Your Personal Life

A good way to start improving your personal life is by using the mind. Stop a bit at what you're doing, sit back, relax your mind, then begin looking at some areas of your life where you can start implementing improvements.

Consider the following areas of your life:

Commitments
Skills
Priorities
Failure
Saying no
Rules
Challenges

Commitments

Commitments are a part of our daily lives. We all have commitments. We all want to achieve something and so we make a commitment. Commit to yourself to change your bad habits and turn them into good ones. When you make a commitment to change, you are more likely to do so.

Skills

Take a look at your skill sets today. What skills do you have to improve your life? What can you use to start implementing positive change in your life? Don't just stop there. Find out what skills do you want to further develop and learn? Make a list if you must. Work on learning new skills. After all, your goal is to be a better you.

Priorities

Do you have your priorities straight? Do you have all your plans in perspective? Re-evaluate your plans to make sure that you are on the right path to improve your personal life. If you notice areas you can improve, don’t be afraid to take action. Taking action is the most important step you will need to do to improve your life.

Failure

Take a look at how you view failure. Are you one to dwell on past mistakes, instead of taking charge to move ahead and implement changes? Failure is actually success turned inside out. It is part and parcel of our lives. Failing in the past does not mean you will fail again in the future, unless you refuse to change for the better. So turn that failure around today!

Saying no

We always take no to mean the negative, a rejection of sorts. Sometimes we have to learn to say no, esp. if we know that doing something will not be good for you or everyone else. No can be a positive action, like when you refuse to drink and drive. It spares not only you but others who could become victims.

Rules

We all grew up being told to follow rules. Rules are very much a part of our lives. Society needs rules in order to maintain order. It's practically the same in every institution we are a part of -- school, office, church, etc. There are times when rules are too limiting or restrictive. We live in modern times where we can find positive means of opposing such rules. So don't just sit around and gripe about them. You can take action and be part of change.

Challenges

Life is filled with challenges. Each day is a brand new challenge. We don't wake up each morning knowing what's going to happen to our day. We all go through life with a little uncertainty now and then. What matters is how you handle or face challenges that come your way. Are you afraid of challenges? Or are you a risk-taker who welcomes every challenge that walks through your door? Knowing how you react to challenges is winning half the battle.

We have many options in life, some good ones and others, bad. Most times we get to choose good options, but there are times when we end up with bad options. Don't despair and dwell on your mistakes. See how you could turn things around and focus on that. Each lesson learned helps you become a better and more improved you.

Reducing Stress to Improve your Personal Life

When you are feeling under the whether all the time perhaps it is because you are stressed. Stress alone can cause major psychological and mental problems. In fact, stress can cause self-induced exaggerated problems. Stress causes confusion, since it targets your physical, emotional responses, and psychological aspects while causing you pain. Stress is the leading problem that everyone in the world faces at one time or another.

What causes stress? 

 

Bills cause stress, especially if you do not have cash flow to pay the bills. Jobs will cause stress, since you battle to make sure your duties are correctly handled. Children cause stress. Especially nowadays, since the media, television, etc has polluted and corrupted the minds of our children by offering them nudity, violence, and other harmful actions. A bad relationship can cause stress. If you are in a bad relationship, it only affects your mind and physical well-being, causing you stress. There are many reasons a person can feel stressed. The upside is, you have the choice to make stress your best friend or worst enemy.


What are the different kinds of stress?

There are many kinds of stress that can cause you problems like the acute stress. This is a short term stress problem normally, which may last shortly or could carry forward. You want to avoid overstressing self. One of the common reasons someone develops acute stress is because they are thinking of how to change things they cannot change. Only change the things you can change and learn to accept. We all deal with everyday challenges. Take each challenge as a learning experience. We all have to pay bills, work, and so on. It's a part of life. We all have to face it. Sometimes we do not have the money to pay bills. Learn to set a budget that relieves you of stress. You may loose your job. Instead of sweating the problem, do something about it.

Children these days are increasing stress for parents. Many teenagers these days are difficult to manage. Today our children are plagued with mental illnesses, far more so than at one time in history. When you feel chronic stress, burned out and do not see hope, it is time to seek help. Your doctor or mental health expert can help you manage stress emerging from difficult teenagers.

How to reduce stress

You can reduce stress by managing, planning and setting goals. When you have something to look forward to, it improves your personal life. The first thing you want to consider while planning and setting goals is truth. The truth is what sets you free. Everything you do in life should uphold the truth. Be true to yourself.

To improve your life and reduce stress you may want to consider education. If you lack skills, experience or education you will benefit from returning to school.

You may want to start thinking positively. Constantly negating and putting yourself down is a major stress inducer. Stop the negative train of thoughts. Start today!

How you can improve  your personal life is up to you. You will need to consult with your counselor to learn what you need, what you are lacking and the steps you can take to improve your personal life. If you are unsure, seek feedback. Feedback is the key that leads you to success.

Understanding How to Improve your Personal Life

It seems like everyone is searching for secrets to health, wealth and happiness. The catch is if you understand yourself, then you would have the knowledge to be both successful in personal relationships and in business relationships.  Like everything, this starts with a plan.  Whether you're looking to improve your relationship with your spouse or family member, or move up the corporate ladder, this is all a result of personal growth. Personal growth starts with doing your best at every moment, in your job, home, or day to day activities. Setting goals, no matter how small enables us to soar to new heights and gives us the confidence to achieve more. 

Understanding what is important

Many times, people stay hung up on other people's expectations on what it is to be successful.  Each of us has a different idea of what makes us feel contented.  It is important to acknowledge that if we spend most of our time and effort trying to reach someone else’s goals, then we find ourselves constantly searching for meaning and continue to be unhappy.  Realizing what is important is the first step to improving personal life. 

Balance

Balance is the key to success.  Some people do not see the concept of success beyond their own needs.  Often times we are caught up in serving a dominant function, which overshadows our natural strengths.  This results in stress and imbalance in one's life. Learning to do things for yourself and your own needs are vital to improving your personal life. If you are always doing for others, and seldom take time out for you, then you are building stress rather than improving life. Your happiness should come first. Finding it hard to say no to others becomes common and we find ourselves so inundated by the needs of other people. Learn to have an even balance in your life with everything you do and focus on what you want is another way to improve your personal life.   

Self Esteem

Putting yourself down constantly, finding it hard to accept compliments and wishing you are someone else are easy examples that you may be sabotaging your own life.  Encourage positive self talk with yourself and to others, do not speak negative about yourself and others are vital to great self esteem. Understanding that no matter what, you are ok. Improving your self-confidence is extremely important when improving your personal life. This will take putting your positive beliefs in the front of your mind, and day by day taking away the negative thoughts. Believing in yourself is another key to success.

If you feel like you're on the road to stress and anxiety, and want more out of life, slow down and take a step back to evaluate what is important. Remember that other people's goals are not always our own, learn to balance your every day and lifestyle decisions, and most importantly, think positively. 

Surround yourself with encouraging, not discouraging people. If you just make small steps to do these things, you will already be improving your personal life without realizing it. The key to success is moving forward. You will need to learn steps to move ahead and stop looking back. Of course, history is important, yet you want to avoid dwelling on past mistakes. Your mistakes are learning tools. Use them, learn from the mistakes, and move ahead.

When you surround your self with positive influences, it helps you to gain the power of controlling your life. Take back your control and you will improve your overall personal life.

Positive Reflections Will Help Improve your Personal Life

If you want to change your old habits into new habits you can do so, but you will have to let go of all your old habits. For most of us it is hard to change, yet if you want to, you can learn to take steps to change your ways.

Many people are brought up lying to self and others. This happens because we are plagued by a world filled with opinions, philosophies, theories, inferences, and conclusions. You have to learn how to find your own truth before you can improve your life.

What are some of the things you can do to turn your bad ways into good ways?

The question is best answered by you alone. Friends, family and outside forces can only offer you helpful tips, but it takes you to try out new tactics that will help you grow into the person you want to be. No one can compel you to change, but you. When you're ready to do this, you can do it even without anyone's help. You can learn to build on the inner gifts you have within yourself. The qualities you have include self-esteem, confidence, trust, self-awareness, self-motivation and so on. You can build on each of these qualities to improve your personal life. You have to figure out what works for you.

For one thing, you need to decide what is making you do what you do and figure out a way to do the right thing. So if it is the people you hang out with, maybe you should find a different group to be around with. Maybe people from a support group or a group from your church can help you find ways to change your bad habits. The first thing you have to do, however, is to stop lying to yourself about it. You have to learn how to make good decisions by evaluating the consequences of your actions.

It is easier than you believe. For instance, would you allow a drunk person to drive you home? You know that that is a bad decision and will not allow it as it may cost you both your lives.

Positive reflections include friends and family. If your family members are dragging you down, or your friends are holding you back, you have to make a choice. The choice may include removing these people from your life. We can all live productively and happily without negative people around you if need be, but one thing you don’t need is someone holding you back.


To develop new skills that will guide you to remove bad habits, try using your conscious mind. When you observe, listen and hear the things around you, you learn more than you would reading a book. Observation is one key to achieving improvement in your life. Observation includes self-awareness. The ability to look inside out. Stand back and take a hard look at you. Do not wallow in self-pity or self-judgment, but rather look for ways to make your life better.

Are you a smoker? Smoking is the number one reason that people get lung cancer. Smoking is not good for you. If you can quit on your own, great. But if you need help, ask for it.

Are you an excessive drinker? Do you know the side effects of drinking excessively? If not visit the Internet and learn more about what alcohol can do to you. Too much alcohol can damage your liver. On the other hand, if you can control alcohol intake, limit to taking three drinks per week. Studies have shown that drinking alcohol beverages moderately on a weekly basis can reduce the risks of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and so on.

If you are dependent on drugs and other substances, you may want to find a way to take control of your life once again.

Keys that Unlock the Doors to Personal Life Improvement

Learning is the key to unlock doors to success. When you learn about you, what you want, and what specific difficulties you want to change, you are improving your personal life. To get started learning you, your wants, and so on you will need to use new ideas. If you need to hit the “refresh,” tab then go online to find articles. Read the information, since someone may provide you with the keys that unlock doors in your mind. You can also visit your local library, a great place to start improving your life.

Life is filled with problems, diagnostics and solutions. To start improving your life you can start by reliving a time in your life. Look back to see obstacles in your pathway. What did you do to overcome those obstacles? Were your decisions capable of helping you handle the problems? Did your decisions have good or bad consequences? If you made good decisions then, can you use those decisions now to fix problems?

Once you review your history of problem-solving tactics move on to evaluate your skills. What skills do you have that will help you improve your personal life? What skills can you develop that will guide you to a prosperous life? Do you need to continue school? Can you find a better job?

How to travel the discovering road to unlock doors:

The first action you will need to take to unlock doors is to be honest. When you are honest with self and others, it helps reduce emotional chaos. When a person lies, he/she lives in denial, anger, misery, hopelessness, etc and often drown in his/her own self-pity. Stop the pity and hop on the road, traveling down the trail ways to discover the keys that unlock your doors to success. To get started tell the truth about something that hinders you.

Start: I dwell on negative thoughts rather than focusing on positive thoughts. What can you do to change this? Say, my life is filled with stress, yet I feel I can change my life to make it better. Think about those people in the world who has it worse than you do.

Do you have an addiction? Consider drugs, sex, alcohol, and cigarettes and so on when thinking of addictions. Also, consider shopping, work, food and so on. If you discover an addiction ask, how can I take steps to change this harmful habits? Do I have support? Is there hope? Can I find help? How can I find that help? You will find many helpful resources, including addiction clinics of all sorts that will offer you a hand. Never deal with addiction alone. You will also need to work on your own to take control of your addictions. The key to success is accepting you have a problem. Honesty is the key that opens many doors. Once you accept you will find it easier to get help.

Looking ahead is good. When you look ahead, you are visualizing your future. You want to avoid dwelling on reaching tomorrow.

Rather keep one day in your mind and work in that day to complete your goals. Taking it one day at a time is the key to success. You have many options, yet it takes you to discover those options.

Communication is the ultimate key that opens many doors. When you learn to communicate effectively, you are taking steps to improve your personal life. To learn effective communication skills, consider continuing your education. You can also learn communication tools by frequently talking with others about positive topics.

Mental Health and Improving Your Personal Life

Your mental health is an amazing part of what makes you as a person. Personal development is a way of life that effects your mind, actions, and how you treat others around you.  It plays a vital role on your over-all well being and the relationships around you.  Often times, we get so caught up in the physical aspects of what’s on the outside and forget to take care of the inside. Exercising our brain consciously and subconsciously is an important factor when improving one’s life and creating a healthy state of mind as we age.  When a person is depressed, stressed, tired, and frustrated it effects everything we do as well as the people closest to us.  I remember someone telling me in a depressed state, that she couldn’t even watch television because she didn’t want to watch the living. When I get down, I often think of that comment and it reminds me of a place I don’t ever want to  be. Isolating yourself from others could turn into something very dangerous; and unfortunately help will only start with one person -- YOU! Although there is a laundry list of books and professional help available, but if this article gives you a jump start to just get you slightly motivated to move forward, then moving an inch is greater than lying still. 

Depression and anxiety will use every good power that you have against you. Keep in mind that the most talented individual wouldn’t get anywhere without persistence.  Persistence and determination are the first steps to controlling your thoughts and feelings.  Many medications can trigger depression. Make sure to consult with your doctor to see if this has any effects on the way you are feeling. 

Studies indicate that the most common reason for depression is the lack of interests and activities. When improving your personal life, interests and activities are vital to mental health, self esteem and happiness. Although this does not help much when fighting boredom but you can best improve your mental health by practicing many of them until you do well.  When you are depressed it easy to forget all of the things we liked to do.  Motivation can help us overcome trying something new or remembering exactly what  made us happy. Asking friends and family to help motivate you is a tool that you could use when you're in need of a little push. Reward yourself when accomplishing tasks, such as getting the laundry done before watching your favorite television show. 

Negative thinking also plays a major role in depression. The happiest of people experience the same pain, suffering and sorrows, just like a depressed person. To accept troubles gracefully and keep a positive attitude is where you’ll find how some people cope with things on a different level. Ask yourself, are your expectations realistic?  Accepting a situation for what it is can eliminate your negative feelings.  Taking action for your own negative ways of thinking and turning those thoughts around means that you are motivating yourself to change.  Tackle what is bothering you, and take a bad situation and turn it into something good.  A little humor helps the situation from time to time, meaning laughter does a great deal for our mind and body. Try not to constantly worry about being happy. Developing interests, activities, friendships and learning how to cope with the emotional pain will conquer your personal problems and further solve your thinking habits.  Doing this will get you on the road to happiness. 

How to Improve Your Personal Life by Avoiding Procrastination

Let’s face it, dealing with the obstacles of day to day living can drive us a little crazy. Without proper organization, this could make rolling out of the bed a problem of its own. We sometimes find it difficult to focus on one thing at a time, find that in the end nothing is done. From the office, to household, children, and finances, without proper organization could turn disastrous. You want to learn how to manage your time, actions and overall arrangements. Successful people know how to get ahead; they plan, set priorities, and always follow through. There are many services to help you to organize and control your life, but here are some suggestions to get you started.

Stop procrastination

Although there are good and bad procrastinators, depending on what you do for a living more commonly, either you are working on nothing, something less important, or something more important. Stop putting off small important things for urgent things.  Try writing down the tasks you should be working on and when something is completed; scratch it off your list. The description of procrastination is avoiding doing a task and not accomplishing it. Improve your personal life by completing what it is you are set out to do. If finances are something that you are putting off to get organized, pull out those receipts and take control of your finances. If your goal is to lose weight and this has created anxiety in your life, discover a nutritional plan that works for you and start today. The best solution is to start exercise. Start out slow and work your way into a complete three day a week program. You will be amazed at what exercising can do for your muscles, mind, body, and so on.

Allow more free time to do what you want.

Increasing productivity and finding free time may seem almost impossible, but only when you are disorganized. The key to finding more free time is to organize what needs to be done. A simple list consisting of catching up on your workload, working out, time with family and friends, and pursuing your own leisure activity can all be done by making a plan. It seems a little odd to have to put your family on a priority list, but it sure beats not spending time with family at all because you're doing everything spontaneously and unprepared. Improve your personal life by staying organized and allow room for fun.

Give yourself peace of mind

Very few people understand the cause of happiness. Many of us focus on friends, cars, and money as the true reason for happiness and devote all of our time and energy acquiring these things. The real source of peace of mind is inner peace. Remember that if we have a peaceful mind, we will be happy. Having all the money in the world would not make us completely peaceful if we decide to let in all the negative influences and disturbances in our circle. Improve your personal life by creating a healthy surrounding for yourself and family. You can take steps to gain peace of mind. The first step is meditating at least once every day. Allow your mind to focus on nothing. Once you are in the mood, allow your thoughts to graze the pastures. In addition, there is nothing wrong with taking time out to dream about a life that you would like to live.

Sometimes if we take the step to dream, we will find the stamina to take action to achieve our dreams. Keep the dreams realistic.

Get ahead of your fears and conquer your goals, personal growth is just a plan away!

Getting the Most out of today to improve your Personal Life

Today is your only concern. You have no control over tomorrow or yesterday. Today you are going to get the most of your day while working to improve your personal life. To do this you will need to set up time management plans. You want to include your daily activities, work, and entertainment, relax time, family time and so on. When you set time plans, you are growing to spend your time wisely. You learn to live for now, instead of tomorrow or yesterday.

As you write your plans, consider how you will deal with the world around you. If you are sweating their every move, you are wasting time. Instead, say, the world is their own, today is mine. If you have to work, then practice dealing with your fellow employees respectively. When you learn to respect, work in order, and try to get along it makes everyone’s life better.

Each day you want to choose a couple of new strategies that helps you to improve your personal life. For instance, if you are into a daily routine of drinking only one glass of water daily, move to drink two glasses. Build your health and you improve your personal life. If you do not exercise, plan today to walk thirty minutes. Plan to practice walking each day. The more effort you put into building a positive you, the more you will get from your works. “Faith without works is dead” the bible tells us. It has proven true far too many times to ignore.

If you are attending school or working long hours, learn to manage your time as well. Overworking yourself is leading you nowhere but to poor health. You need to take time out for you. During work hours and school time, you can learn to deal with the complex problems first, as well as deal with the boring items first to eliminate stressing your day. Once you get past the tough, you will get moving toward the simple. Here you will find relief, even if you are studying hard or working long hours. Don’t put off what you can do today. Do it now, get it over with and watch as you grow.

As you plan, set a time that is best for you. For instance, if you are a student or worker and do your best job in the early morning, work hard then and relax throughout the day.

Tips for relaxing:

You can stretch in the morning when you arise, stretch in the afternoon, and stretch at night to relax your muscles.

Once you learn how to relax, you can move to find ways to reduce time wasted. For instance, at night you can lay out your clothes for the next day, prepare what you will take to save time. At what time you clear up time wasted you will find more time for productivity.

Do you procrastinate?

If so, stop. Procrastination is wasting time and building stress. Instead of putting it off, get it done now. You will be amazed at the free time you will accomplish by halting procrastination.

Do you spend long hours on the phone? If so, then you are forming a habit that will lead you to procrastinate, waste time, and put things off. Forget the phone. Set a time limit per phone call you take, or make.

Saying no is a great way to improve your personal life. Saying no is a positive attitude that takes you to success. If you say yes to each person that consumes your time, you will waste valuable time that guides you nowhere.

Eating Right to Improve your Personal Life

How to live a healthier life

The main thing to a healthier you is to eat right, exercise, and visit your family doctor regularly. This is all part of a healthier you and if you're healthier, you will feel better about your self. One of the biggest problems we have today is that most people do not eat right. While the world is wising up, they still fall short of proper eating habits, since we are rushed by a fast-paced world.

What do I have to do to eat right?

Eating right is a hard thing to do for some of us and for others it is easier to do. Eating healthy is a big problem these days. For some of us it is hard to buy healthier food due to the fact it cost more to fix meals the right way. There are a lot of people that are just making it in the real word without having to buy a loaf of bread that costs $2.50 a loaf when they can get a loaf for $.50 so what do they do get the $.50 loaf and knowing that its bad for them but that’s all they can afford. So eating right can be hard for you too. We have options. You can grow your own home garden; bake your own bread for a fraction of the cost and so on.

What are some of the things I can eat?

Some of the things you can eat right are vegetables, dairy products, high-protein dishes and so on. You need a certain amount of fat, carbs, etc, which helps to keep you healthy. 

You can get a list from your family doctor or you can go to the library to get information on the basic food groups. If you cannot afford to eat right then maybe you should not eat as much. In addition, do some excising; exercising is always good for you. Exercise will increase your health, even if you cannot afford the basic groups of nutritious foods. In addition, you have many services available to you, which can offer you food supplies. 

How do I learn how to eat right?

If you want to learn how eat right you can read about it in books from the local library or maybe you will want to talk to your doctor. Your doctor might be able to tell you how to go about doing this and the right way for your body. You cannot just jump in and change everything about you overnight. You have to take time to start and to learn. For some of us that have been eating wrongly all of our life, this would be hard to do overnight. Then again, others may not have any problems with it.

Will I feel better if I eat right?

You will feel a lot better if you eat right. Eating right has a lot to do with how we feel. If we lack nutrients, it can make one feel depressed, ill, etc. Since, we get vitamins from our foods, you may want to include natural regimens of vitamins in your daily schedule too.

We need the right vitamins every day to make us feel good about ourself. We get many vitamins from what we eat. Vitamins are what make us feel like a glowing person. So if you eat right and get the right vitamins daily that your body needs to function, you will feel a lot better about yourself and that will help you to improve your personal life.

Discovering Values that Improve your Personal Life

Values make us as a person and define how we invest our time, energy and money. When our values are high, we can reach the limits of improving our personal life. Throughout our life, we decide what we want to do with our time. Time is essential, since time runs out quick. For this reason, you want to invest your time, spending your time wisely. Spending time wisely includes activities, entertainment, work, quality time and so on.

The average person spends most of their day working. At the end of the day they return home to spend time watching television, or engaging in activities with the family. Unfortunately, for some people, family is a thing of the past. If you want to improve your personal life, you are going to have to put family first. If you have wife and kids, or husband and kids, you will need to learn how to invest time with the family. You only have five or six hours after a day to work on this. You also want time for yourself.

To achieve a time frame that works for everyone try discovering new interests. When you discover new ideas, it will help you open the doors to success. Your directions in life are based on new ideas. For instance, if you come home after work most times without spending time with the family, try practicing eating at the dinner table each night with your family. Do not allow room for excuses. As you enjoy dinner together, take time to ask how each person’s day went. This has proven to enhance relationships. When you enhance relationship, you are also building a new bridge to personal improvement.

One of the biggest mistakes some people make is hanging out with poor influences. If you hang out with poor influences, you are wasting time. Your values are low. You will need to build your values to improve your personal life by changing company. You want to hang around people with positive influences. Let me draw you a picture. If you hang around at bars with your friends, you are wasting time. In time, you will face court costs, fines, and perhaps jail, especially if you visit the bars and drive home after drinking. In time, you will learn new bad habits. Each bad habit you learn takes over your life, which only keeps you down.

Finding new positive influences is a key to success. Anyone who thinks positively will rub off on you, helping you to develop good habits. When you find friends that care about you, you will have friends that do not allow you to drink and drive. You will have friends that care about your future.

To make new friends you have to learn communication skills. Don’t be afraid to smile and say hi. There is nothing wrong with being friendly. One has to use good judgment however, since this world is filled with bad characters that have harmful intentions. In addition, many people today fear friendliness.

When you learn to communicate however, you are building blocks that lead you to a happier future. Failure to communicate is one of the leading reasons why businesses fail, relationships falter, and so on. Communication comes in many forms. Sometimes when you sit and listen as well as pay attention to gestures or body languages you learn best. Observation is the ultimate key that helps you to gain successfully and learn to develop skills that lead you to improve your personal life. You have many options in the world. Take those options, use them to your advantage and you are on the road to improving your personal life.

Discovering Intentions to Improve your Personal Life

How to discover your intentions

Good intentions are the ultimate choice of improving your life. If you have bad intentions, it is a sign you are filled with greed, envy, hate and so on. You want all these negative influences out of your life. Intentions are powerful. Intentions tell others where our goals are heading. It is our purpose. Intentions are our motive that helps us to achieve our objectives.

To learn your intentions you must put forth effort. Sometimes you will feel grouchy, and grit your teeth, yet as you continue to learn you will see light at the end of the tunnel. So what if some of your intentions are bad. Welcome to reality, humanity and imperfection. Yet, you can change those bad intentions to good ones. The key to finding your intentions is to consider self-discovery. Acquire the determination to reach for the stars, learn about yourself, decide what you want and move ahead. Take the action so that you can develop healthier thoughts, habits, behaviors etc. that guide you to success.

The system of entry

It always helps a person to write down their intentions. When you write down your intentions on paper, it helps you to discover yourself. Many people do not like to write, however if you keep a journal you can look back later to see your growth stage. It only takes a few minutes daily to jot down your feelings, thoughts, ideas and so on.

Accessing your interests and strengths within

To access your interests, first you have to sit down and consider what you want. Once you decide what you want, you will need to write a plan, set goals and take action. Move to get what you want. To access your strengths, test your abilities and skills. What can you do best? How can you use your skills and abilities to improve your personal life?

Once you access your inner you, you can move to set your own standard of living. Do not live for others; rather learn to live for you. As you move ahead, explore your vocation paths. Do you see you in the future enjoying the job you love? Do you see you in the future working at the same company going nowhere? If you see yourself stuck, check your options to find a way to better your situation. You can start by identifying the jobs that peak your interest. Once you discover what you want to do, set up strategies to achieve your goals. Take action and move ahead.

How it is done

Discover yourself and what options you have available. Pull up resources. In fact, build resources. Resources are the key that unlocks the doors to success. Check your intentions. What is the ideal vocation for you? Pull up your assets and use them to your advantage. Do a job search to help you find a new career that makes you happy. Always follow through with your plans. Never give up and demand results.

To achieve your goals discover your wants.

Take action by recording your specific needs and wants. Review the inner pictures you develop and listen to the voices that tell you how you can improve your personal life. Learn to train your conscious self to live healthily. We have a cutie inside us, which is called instincts. Learn to re-establish your instincts and listen. Listening is the key to help you improve your personal life. Learn how to recognize your body's needs also.

Competence Leading to Improve Personal Life

Do you have the competence to improve your everyday living and overall humane existence, or do you lack this quality? To improve personal living you have to find competence to take control. Our life is our personal way of making choices, which contributes to oneself. In life we have inner coaches, counselors, etc that help us to achieve this. We also have helpful experts in the world who will take the time to help those who find it difficult to help themselves. You have many options and resources available to you.

How to use competence

Competence is earned. You must learn how to build competence to use it. A person with competence will take what they learn and use it to solve different situations in their life. They will make what they learn second to the first nature they intend to acquire. A competent person always sees the new light at the end of each tunnel.

When a person has competence, he or she feels joyful. A joyful person will consider each incident, experience etc. in life as something they can learn from. In the same manner this person will not allow bad events to weigh him or her down. The person will take the bad, see new light and continue learning from his or her mistakes.

We hear bad news every day. Crimes, accidents, even calamities. This is out of our control. Therefore, we must see the new things in a new light. For instance, you can say “I do not have control over the world, yet I have control over my actions.” Once you see that you can only change you, you will live happily and be free of worries and concerns.

You will need to learn how to suspend judgments of yourself and others. In difficult moments, it is best to pray and lift your trouble to the Maker. You will feel less burdened in the process.

It is ok to have opinions, but when you do not have facts to support your claims, it's best not to speak. Too many times people accuse, offer opinions, speculate, or jump to conclusions, which has caused major problems in the world. If you do not have facts behind you, or to support what you say, shut up. Allow someone else in the world to make the next mistake.

If you want to live a happier life, you will need to build your energy. To build energy you will need to eat properly, exercise and take good care of yourself. You will need to associate with positive people and learn to help others as well as yourself. The more effort you put forth, the more you will get back from your efforts.

Next, you want to consider your health. Frequent doctor visits, exercise, eating right and avoiding harmful chemicals and substances are a start to improving your health.

Once you get your health in check, you can move to build self-awareness. Self-awareness is the process of evaluating self. When you can sit back and look at you, you have self-awareness. What can I do to change bad habits? How do my bad habits deter me from being my best self? Remember to laugh as you evaluate yourself to keep from taking life too seriously.