Converting Aspirations to Motivations

Motivation is a strong inner drive to accomplish something. It goes beyond mere instinct and desires. It is the commitment to achieve despite of difficulties or challenges. People who are highly motivated may initially fail multiple times but they usually see failures as part of the learning process. They see these failures as opportunities to improve their strategies.

Pushing limits

As the saying goes, "whatever that does not kill you will make you stronger." It seems that highly motivated people will always push their limits even if they are on the brink of proverbially or literally killing themselves in the process. Perhaps among the excellent examples of highly motivated people are the long-distance runners in the Olympics who push the limits of human stamina and endurance.

Merely having the aspirations of accomplishing something is different from being motivated from actually achieving these desires. All people have dreams and aspirations but only a few really become successful. Most dreams and aspirations are never realized. There are many factors to consider but the primary factor for not realizing these dreams is the weak motivational push of most people.

Internalizing motivations

External motivational factors could be either negative or positive but these merely serve as triggers. Motivation is always a personal choice to commit and act on goals. Incentives and coercions may provide some boost but being motivated will ultimately depend on the individual mindset. For example, a lazy student may not necessarily respond to the threat of being flunked. Conversely, the incentive of getting high grades and being recognized in the honor roll will not necessarily force a student to study diligently.

Extrinsic motivational factors are only as effective if the intrinsic motivation is responsive. However, it goes beyond mere reacting to stimulus. It is all about sustaining the reaction and internalizing the drive. Aspirations only become achievable goals if they become motivations.

Tips

Set goals - The goals must follow the SMART criteria. The goals must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant or realistic, and time-bound.

Plan - Once the goals are clearly established, making plans is the next logical step. It should involve dividing the goal into intermediate and manageable objectives. It should also involve the allocation of resources such as money and time.

Execute plan - Procrastinations must be avoided. It is crucial that the plan must be implemented as soon as possible. Starting early will ensure that adjustments in strategies and utmost quality can be accomplished.

Commit - Goals and plans are useless if they are easily discarded once difficulties are encountered. A high level of commitment is necessary especially for difficult long term goals. Staying focus on the most important things will help sustain commitment.

Learn - Plans serve as guidelines but they are not necessarily infallible maps. Even with the assistance of maps other routes can be discovered. Hence, it is important to be flexible enough to learn new things and change strategies when necessary.

Ask for help - No matter how talented, intelligent or wealthy a person might be, he or she cannot possibly do everything that is needed to accomplish personal goals. Asking for the assistance of others will make the tasks much easier. For instance, if a business person who want to build a corporate empire will need the help of managers and ordinary workers.

The Steps Towards Life Fulfilment

Have you ever had that inexplicable feeling of emptiness even after a fruitful day at work or after a great party with your dearest of friends? You think you have a well-balanced life, carefully planned and thought of, but still - there's that feeling that something is missing.

These are the classic symptoms indicating that one has lost his sense of purpose. This is a period when you come to the reality that all you thought that would make you happy don't, and suddenly, all that used to make you happy no longer feel satisfying.

Everyone goes through this stage at different points in their life. It may be at the onset of adulthood, or right smack in the middle of their success (thus the term "mid-life crisis"?). But regardless of when it is, from time to time, people must sit back and assess their lives and see how they are faring in this chart:

FACE THE FACTS. You have to be honest with yourself - are you feeling empty because you are not at the job you want? Or did you set aside marriage to make way for career growth?  Are you married with too many kids that you have no more time for yourself? Whatever it is, you must accept the facts, because these pave the way easier in "repairing" your future.

ESTABLISH CLEAR PRIORITIES. So maybe you devoted too much time on the unimportant things in life, like partying too much, or drinking until you "forget about your problems." Sit down and make a list of the things that matter, and the things that don't. When you come at these crossroads in your life, you realize that not everything you thought was terrific was as great as you thought they were.

DEVELOP AND PRACTICE GOOD TIME MANAGEMENT. Have you noticed that when you are constantly hurrying, life just seems to pass you by, and you "don't really notice the time?" If you are too out-of-touch because you are always rushing, your life becomes a mere string of events that you need to accomplish in order to get to the end.

IMPLEMENT HEALTHY LIFESTYLE PRACTICES. This is a reality that is too present. If you mismanage your health, you end up paying for the repercussions. Try to make the most out of your life. Don't be weighed down by unnecessary health issues.

LIVE BENEATH YOUR MEANS. Oftentimes, we try to search for happiness in material things - thus buying everything money could buy, so that people around us will think highly of us. Wrong. Who are you always trying to impress? If you live in a fake make-believe world, you are not living - you are escaping. If you live outside of your means, you only shorten your life by constantly finding ways to earn enough to pay for things you bought, with money you don't have. Don't forget that the higher the bar you have set for yourself, then the higher you need to go in order to feel even more fulfilled, Don't get trapped in a material world.

CARE ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER MORE. If you are nonchalant and living as though you don't have a care in the world, then you will never achieve fulfilment. Always conduct yourself in a manner you and your future children will be proud of. There's no pride in leaving a bad legacy.

LEARN TO SAY NO. The best test of one's character lies in being able to say no to temptations. Don't succumb to the lure of money, power and fame. These are temporary, and unless these are the only things you wish to accomplish in your life, then these things don't really bring true life fulfilment.

BE GENEROUS WITH YOUR TIME AND MONEY. Most people achieve fulfilment by following this rule. It is never fun to go through life without being a blessing to others. If you are selfish, and refuse to help out others who are in need, one day you will realize that if and when you lose all your wealth and power, no one will come to your aid. You reap what you sow. Do good, and you will be rewarded tenfold - not in measurable terms, but in ways which leave the heart and soul feeling full and joyous.

Setting Goals The SMART Way

Having aspirations and dreams of success is different from setting up goals. Dreams and aspirations are useless if there is no chance for them being actualized. They will remain to be mere fantasies if no corresponding action is done to make them come true. Of course, these dreams and aspirations should be within the capacity of a person to accomplish or at least the circumstances can be modified.

A person cannot achieve anything significant without first setting goals. Efforts will be directionless without any intended end or aim. Similar thing can be said if the goals are too vague. An unclear set of goals is almost as useless as not having any goal. If the goals are too difficult, then they are also less likely to be accomplished even if they are clear.

Setting up goals can be guided by the simple acronym S.M.A.R.T. This is a mnemonic device was first used in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran. It is used to identify and define key performance indicators. The letters stand for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely or time-bound.

Sometimes the acronym is expanded to SMARTERS. The additional letters stand for E(valuate),
 R(evaluate), and S(satisfactory). The SMART mnemonic is applicable for setting goals for both organizations and individuals.

Specific: A goal must be as clear and as detailed as possible. One can start from a vague or general objective and work on the details from there. For example, a vague goal could be to lose weight. To make it more specific, the questions of who, what, when, where, which, why, and how should be answered. Hence, the previously vague goal can be re-stated as: "I will workout for health reasons at least three times a week in a gym with a qualified instructor."

Measurable: Parameters or criteria should be established that will allow for the measurement of work progress. These can also correspond to the short-term objectives that are intermediate in achieving the ultimate goals. It can also refer to the allocation of resources. Case in point, a student who is striving to become a physician must first pass the required curriculum and take the necessary board exam.

Attainable: A goal that is attainable is not necessarily easy. It simply means that there are ways which to achieve it. Efforts in terms of learning new skills or improving skills, working hard, and raising necessary resources will be needed. Oftentimes, it will also entail sacrifices. Greater efforts are needed as the goal becomes more difficult.

Realistic: This may seem synonymous with being attainable. However, realistic goal emphasizes on the level of commitment and dedication. Sometimes achieving higher goals becomes realistic because of the motivational factors involved. Being realistic also means working within abilities and external circumstances.

Timely: Goals can only be accomplished if they are time-bound. There must be a specific timetable for achieving goals. It could be days, months or years. Having a clear timetable will provide the sense of urgency and prevent procrastination. The achievement of goals become closer as every milestone is reached given a specified deadline.

6 Easy Steps To Boost Your Self-Confidence

Everyone has a mental picture of who they are, how they look and what their strengths and weakness are. You continuously create this picture of yourself that you started to develop way back when you were young. This is called self-image.Typically, self images are based on day-to-day interactions with other people and significant life experiences. The way you picture yourself affects your self-esteem and how you look at yourself affects how other people perceive you.

The higher your self-esteem is, the more likely you'll succeed in achieving your goals. Here are some tips to help you boost your self-confidence and help you reach your full potential.

1. Know your positive qualities and embrace them. List down all your assets, skills, positive experiences, talents and all the other things that make you feel good and proud about yourself. You can also include the positive compliments that other people have given you. This list will constantly remind you of how great you are as a person and will surely boost your self-esteem.

2. Know that you are not perfect and accept it. Don't let a particular fault or shortcoming define you as person. You need to realize that you're a desirable package even if you have several imperfections. Every time you feel that your confidence level is going down the sink, look at yourself in the mirror, smile and think about the positive characteristics that you like about yourself.

3. Be thankful for what you have. When you think too much about what you don't have, you mind gives you reasons why you don't have them. This might cause you to dwell on your shortcomings and make you miserable about it. So, instead of feeling bad about what you don't and can't have, think of the things that you already have and be grateful for them.

Recall all your previous successes, great relationships, wonderful experiences and unique skills. By doing so, you will not only feed good about yourself but it will also motivate you to be confident enough to move forward and take the next steps to achieve your dreams.

4. Trust yourself. If you find yourself caught in a challenging situation, remind yourself of the problems you've faced and the obstacles you've conquered. Don't ever doubt your capabilities. Instead, take note of all your accomplishments no matter how small or big they are and let them remind you how you made it through despite your shortcomings.

5. Don't be afraid to speak your mind. Some people never speak up during group discussions because they are afraid of what people might think if they did or say something stupid. Don't mind whatever people will say about you. If you're to shy to speak up, close your eyes and think that there is no else in the room but you. Once you're getting that hang of it, open your eyes and see there's really nothing to be scared about. It also helps to internalize the importance of what you have to say. Knowing it will give you the push to share it with other people out aloud.

6. Don't be afraid to fail or make mistakes. Our mistakes and failures make us stronger. Remember that trying and failing is better than not doing anything at all. If you fail at something or made a mistake, stand up and learn from that experience and try again. Don't think that there's no room for mistakes because in life, there always is. Don't be afraid to follow your dreams.

5 Things That Could Be Stopping You From Achieving Your Goals

The New Year is coming and it is again time for most of us to set new goals for ourselves. But before you start making your list, take a moment and try to think back to your last year's resolutions. Were you able to do all of it? If not, try to remember the reasons why you failed to achieve your previous goals. Here are some of the things that might be stopping you from completing your goals to become a better person than today.

1. Fear - Most people stop pursuing their goals because they are afraid of many things. The fear of failing, the fear of being embarrassed and sometimes the fear of succeeding or change stop them from doing what they really want. The only thing that you should fear is not doing anything to make your life better.

Face your fears and free yourself from any doubts. It's the only way to live a happy and better life. When the opportunity to change knocks on your door let it in and don't initially resist it. It could be an opportunity for personal development and to motivate you to follow a new direction in life.

2. Evaluation - There are times when we lose focus on our goals because we try to evaluate the results of our efforts too soon. And when we do, we often find certain shortcomings or flaw with ourselves that make us want to give up even if we're not yet done trying. When you are trying to achieve something, you can review your progress from time to time. But if you don't see any significant changes it doesn't mean that you should give up already. But rather, it is a message that you should try harder and perhaps rethink your strategies.

3. Comparing Yourself to Others. There are some people who often end up comparing themselves based on what others are achieving. Then, they feel miserable when they see someone more successful than they are. Remember that when you try to look around you will always see people who are more successful than you. And when you do see them, don't feel bad about yourself. Instead, try to learn from them and get some ideas on how you can improve your strategies towards achieving your goals.

4. Poor Time Management - One of the most important elements of success is time. When you don't have it, how then can you expect yourself to achieve anything? Time is valuable so, don't waste any minute of it. Learn when your most productive time of the day is, then, set your agenda appropriately. Remember that procrastination is the enemy of success. So, never put off tasks that you can do now.

5. Indecisiveness - If you can't make up your mind about what you really want, you end up not achieving anything at all. Make a choice, stick with it, and never look back. You need to be very decisive on matters that concern your personal development.

5 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Take Personal Goal Setting For Granted

Have you ever felt like your not getting anywhere in life? Or do you work so hard and yet you still end up thinking that all your efforts are not worthwhile? Perhaps, the reason why you are having these unpleasant feelings is because you are not spending enough time to think about what you really want in life and you haven't set your goals formally. Of course, anyone who sets out in a journey must know where he is going in order to get there.

Goal setting is proven to be a very powerful process in achieving whatever you desire in life. It allows you to turn your vision of your future into reality by having the right kind of motivation and knowing where to focus your efforts. Here are more reasons why you should not miss out on personal goal setting.

1. Goals give you a clear target to aim for. You cannot manifest what you want without setting concrete goals. With a clear target in mind, you will be forced to use your time and resources wisely to hit that target. Always remember that all things are created twice. First, you create something in your mind. Then, you must work on it to become reality.

2. Goals provide the right kind of motivation, desire and persistence. The biggest accomplishments in life are often riddled with obstacles and failures. This is why people don't always get what they want on the first try. If you are aiming for something significant in life, it is likely that you will be faced with different struggles before you achieve it. Thus, you need to have the right motivation or reason to move on when things get rough.

One of the main reasons why some people fall short of achieving their dreams is because they forget their reasons why they need to move forward and work harder. Having a clear set of goals allows you to remember why you shouldn't let yourself fail.

3. Goals help set your priorities. You will find a lot of diversions between where you currently are and the place where you really want to be. Other people might even tell you or influence you on where to go, thus altering your main objectives. Do not let other people determine where you should end up. Goals give you a mental framework of your priorities and help you do the right things based on these priorities.

4. Goals let you take full control of your future. Whatever goals you set in life, whether it is about relationship, work, family or health, you are creating a specific path for yourself. It means that you're putting yourself in control of your life and you're not letting anyone or anything hinder you from achieving your dreams. In life's journey, you are the driver of your own vehicle. And if your vehicle is the choices you make in life, the goals you set are maps that will take you exactly where you want to be.

5. Goals make you time bound. Its one thing to say, "I will be a team leader" and another to say," I will be a team leader in 6 months". It's like giving yourself a deadline. And by doing so, you are putting a little bit of pressure into the equation of success. Pressure is also a good motivator to work hard and see the realization of your dreams.

Teaching Your Kids the Value of Saving

 

Teaching Your Kids the Value of Saving

Your kids learn a lot of things from you as they grow up. They learn lessons that you specifically teach them, such as how to tie their shoes and proper study habits, as well as lessons from observing you, such as ethical principles and morals. The vast majority of the financial education that children receive also will come from their parents. Some of these lessons may be observed and others may be taught through structured or planned lessons. One of the most important financial lessons that you can teach your kids involves the importance of saving and how to save.

Why Saving Money Matters

Adults who are financially secure are those who have a healthy cash reserve in savings accounts and other types of accounts. The amount of personal debt adults carry has an indirect correlation on their savings account balance. Savings allows you to use cash rather than debt to make large purchases, to pay for life's emergencies and more. Furthermore, adults who have sufficient balances in their savings accounts are not forced to live with the stress of living paycheck-to-paycheck. Saving money helps adults to live a comfortable, financially secure life. As a parent, this is a type of life that you want your kids to enjoy.

How to Teach Kids to Save

There are several different ways to teach kids to save. You should talk to them regularly about the steps that you take to save money. The best way to save is to make small, regular contributions to your savings account. Ensure that your kids know that a portion of your income regularly is deposited into your savings account. You should also show kids the value of saving by opening up a savings account for them. Encourage them to earn money by doing chores around the house. If they are old enough, they may earn money with a side job like babysitting. Deposit a portion of their regular earnings into a savings account. Review the balance of their savings account regularly so that they can see their account balance grow with time. When kids want to make a purchase, encourage them to save up their money for it rather than hand them the money as they desire it.

Teaching kids about money, and particularly about saving money, can take a long time to do. By saving a small amount of money on a regular basis, savings account balances can grow significantly. Because of this, showing kids the rewards associated with saving money will take time and regular effort, but the benefit that your kids will enjoy throughout their adult lives will be worthwhile.

http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/teachchild.pdf

How Changing Bad Habits Can Positively Change Your Life

Everyone has bad habits. Some people smoke, some binge eat and some might even engage in self-destructive behavior. These habits are often deeply ingrained into one's personality, to the point of becoming the traits by which many define themselves. If you want to change the course of your life you have to learn how to change these bad habits. Although it is an often long and difficult process the results will allow you to succeed where you may have otherwise failed. The steps below can help you learn how to identify, confront and eventually eliminate the habits that might control your life.

Changing Your Habits

Your bad habits are often part of who you are. You might make excuses for them, embrace them or even get a bit prickly when others bring them up. In reality though, these are not just habits -- they are a failing. They might be holding you back from achieving success in business, your social life or even love. Embracing your bad habits means simply learning how to live with what is going wrong, but eliminating them means that you are willing to make a positive change in your own life. There is nothing that says that this is easy, of course, but you should be willing to try it. After all, getting rid of your bad habits is one of the few ways that you can control your own life.

What Does It Mean To Get Rid of Bad Habits?

Getting rid of bad habits is more than just eliminating a negative behavior. To truly break yourself of a bad habit you have to learn how to make an effective change in your life. If you fail to do so you might replace your current bad habit with one that is just as bad. Or worse, you might even find yourself slipping back into old habits without giving yourself a chance to change. Instead, you must consider breaking yourself of bad habits to be a journey that will allow you to understand not only what you are doing wrong, but also to understand why you have made the choices that you have made. While this is not always a pleasant experience it can help you to change your life for the better.

How To Make A Change

The process of changing bad habits is one of small steps. The first, and perhaps most important, step is to figure out why you do what you do. Take the time to log your bad habits, noting both the time and what preceded the action. If your bad habit is late-night snacking, try to get an idea of the situation in which it occurs. Do you snack because you are hungry, or because you are stressed? If you know why you undertake the behavior you are more likely to be able to change it.

After you figure out the "why" you can move on to making a change. Sometimes, the mere knowledge of the behavior will be enough to break the habit. For others, it will take greater discipline. Try giving yourself a small reward when you go a day without performing the habit. Or try to take time to replace the bad habit with something positive. If you like to smoke in the morning, for example, you might be better served by going for a run. Changing the behavior is a key to controlling your life.

What Happens After The Change?

The real question when making any kind of life change is whether the effort is worth it. For most, eliminating a bad habit can have one of many possible side effects. You might eliminate a habit that costs you money, or you might eliminate something that allows you a better chance to excel at work. You might become more attractive to the opposite sex in some cases and you might learn to have a better opinion of yourself in others. No matter the specific change, though, you will be engaging in a process that will allow you to have greater control of your own life. You may think that you are only eliminating a problem habit, but the reality of the situation is that you are taking the first steps on a path to greater personal success.
 

5 Common Mistakes in Setting Personal Goals

 
Setting personal development goals is important since it creates a clear 

direction of where your life should be heading. Goals encourage you to grow and 

become the person that you want to be. They help you achieve things that you 

probably think impossible for you to achieve. If you don't have your own set of 

goals, you might spend the rest of your life fulfilling the goals of the people 

around you.
 
However, you need to be very careful when setting goals for yourself. If you 

don't do it right, it is more likely that you will only be wasting your time and efforts. If you want to create significant changes in your life, you have to 

avoid the common goal setting mistakes listed below.
 
 1. Not putting your goals in writing. Just like any other things, writing your 

goals down allows you to remember them easily. It will also help you keep your 

focus on what you really want instead of the random things that come to your mind

every single day. It gives certain clarity on what you have to achieve, allowing you to come up with better strategies for success.
 
 2. Not creating a system for remembering your goals. Although, writing down 

goals is a good start, you need to have a system for remembering them. You need 

to be constantly reminded of the things that you have to do. One way of doing 

this is by writing your goals on a piece of paper. Then, put that paper where you

can always see it such as on your bathroom door, work/study table or computer 

monitor.
 
 3. Not setting specific or clear goals. The rule in effective goal setting is 

that your goal must be quantifiable or measurable. For example, you want to lose weight. How will you know when you have already reached your goal of losing 

weight? After you've lost 5 or 10 pounds? It would be difficult to track your 

progress if you are aiming for unspecific goals.
 
What you should do is include hard numbers to your goals. By doing so, you are 

creating a finish line for yourself which allows you to say when you have finally

succeeded.
 
 4. Not setting realistic goals. So, you now have a set of specific goals. 

Fantastic! The next thing to do is make sure that they are realistic or 

attainable. Nothing can kill your motivation faster than unrealistic goals. If 

you want to lose 5 pounds in a week, that would be a great goal, measurable and 

realistic. But if you say, you want to lose 5 pounds in a day, that's called day dreaming. Unrealistic goals are overwhelming and often results to procrastination.
 
 5. Not having a plan. Achieving your goals doesn't end in just having a goal. 

Of course, you have to make them happen. You have to create a plan on how to be 

where you want to be. You may need to do a bit of research before creating a 

plan. You may search the Internet or ask your friends who have actually been to 

where you want to be for some advice.
 
Create a clear, specific and practical plan to achieve your goals. However, be 

careful of over-planning. Otherwise, you might not get started at all. You also 

have to remember that when it comes to planning, you have to be very flexible. 

Make room for the things that might happen unexpectedly.
 
When things don't go as planned, you need to be able to adjust your actions 

based on what is actually happening around you. Analyze the situation and create another plan of action.
 

Expand Your Vision

"God is not found in places. God is found in consciousness."

-Joel Goldsmith

You've heard of thinking outside the box, right? When you think outside the box you open yourself to innovative ways of approaching problems or situations and you can look at things from a new perspective. But when you are stuck in a rut feeling like there's no way out of your situation whether it's mental, financial, emotional or physical it's hard to think outside the box because you're stuck inside of it!

I often hear people say things like: I'll never meet anyone again, I'll never get out of debt, who would want to hire me, I guess I'll be alone forever, who would want to marry me, why doesn't anything ever good happen to me? And on and on.

So, what is it that you think is missing for these people? What is the one thing that they can't see because they are lost in the darkness inside their own mind and their old ways of thinking? What if this darkness that occupies Mind Street was replaced with hope, belief and trust? Then would they have a different view of things?

When you open your vision beyond your own little inside world filled with fears, doom and gloom, woe-is-me, limited thinking you will begin to see what's beyond the inside of the box. And, when you allow yourself to open up to a new way of thinking or a new consciousness; what is outside of the box is a world filled with infinite possibilities.

Instead of being locked down by your thoughts, your thoughts will be the very thing that can set you free. It begins with trusting that life is working out the way it's supposed to on your unique journey.

Let's just pretend you have a barometer that can read your "trust level." It goes from 1 to 100. Now throughout the day you're going to check and see what your meter reads. If you trust in God/Your Higher Self/Allah/ or whatever and you truly believe that you are being guided; your trust level is high. But if you don't believe things will work out for you and you have no faith, where do you think your trust level will be? The best part is you can adjust your trust level by what you choose to believe in.

When you can learn to expand your vision to connect with a higher consciousness, this connection is the essence of who you are and who you are connected to. And it is through this connection that you raise your mind to a new level that is out of the box and you will be well on your way to experiencing life the way you were meant to.

Many people seek out this connection through meditation, and prayer which helps you become aware of who you really are. Too often what happens is we identify who we are with our human experience, our mind or ego, i.e. who we are, what we drive, where we live, what our story is, what is happening to us and all of the superficial stuff.

But when you become more "consciously aware" of who you really are which is your soul and you connect with your soul, i.e. a higher consciousness, you will look at things with new eyes, a new awareness. Begin to look at life through your spiritual eyes; it will stretch your faith and your vision so you can get rid of the old negative mind-sets that hold you back.

And when you understand this, you will have expanded your vision and how you look at life. It's worth the view!
 

Love Yourself And Build Your Self Esteem

It might seem that life is just a matter of dealing with what is thrown at you.  However, if you want to take control and create the life you want, the best place to start is to love yourself.  Psychologists have said for years that people who value themselves and have high levels of self-esteem are happier in general and have better coping skills than people with negative feelings toward themselves.

Affirmations Work Wonders

Affirmations are sayings you often tell yourself.  For many people stuck in negative thought patterns, affirmations seem trite and false, since they are more comfortable with the negative messages they tell themselves.  However, turning negative thought patterns into positive ones can make a huge difference in how you see yourself.

Affirmations are messages that are heard and understood by the subconscious.  The subconscious functions without a filter.  It does not differentiate between what is accurate and what is false.  Instead, it simply listens to what it is fed and integrates it into your thought process.

There are many ways to use affirmations to build your self-esteem.  You can start by writing up a list of affirmations for yourself that confirm the message you want your subconscious to absorb.  Here is a list of examples:

- I am a valuable person.

- I am a loving person.

- I love myself.

- I am generous.

The primary goal in writing affirmations is to help you identify the qualities in yourself that you value and ways you can build your self esteem.  If you have problems coming up with a few of these qualities, think of characteristics that you value in others.  One of the wonderful things about affirmations and the subconscious is that by telling yourself you have these qualities, you begin to exhibit them in your behaviors.  Remember, the subconscious does not have a filter and absorbs what it is repeatedly told regardless of the accuracy of the statement.

Using Affirmations

When you have your list of affirmations that you want to integrate into your subconscious, you can begin to use them.  Often, you will need to use affirmations for several weeks before you begin to feel a shift in your thoughts.  However, once you begin to see positive changes within yourself, you may decide that affirmations can help you in other areas of your life.

Affirmation Method #1 - Make an audio file of your affirmations and listen to it several times a   day.  The best audio files are ones you do yourself.  Hearing your own voice is more effective than listening to someone else's voice because your subconscious immediately recognizes your personal authority.  One of the best times to listen to your audio file is right before you go to sleep, when you are relaxed and you mind is receptive.

Affirmation Method #2 - Write your affirmations and place them where you can see them regularly.  You can write your affirmations on sticky-notes and place them around your bathroom mirror and repeat them to yourself as you go through your morning and nighttime routines.

Affirmations are a great way to increase your self-esteem.  The more often you repeat positive messages to yourself, the better you will feel about yourself.  You will find that you love yourself more and you will begin to behave and act in positive ways that reflect the loving messages that you are sending to yourself.  By using affirmations, you can take control of what you think and feel about yourself instead of being at the mercy of what others tell you

Change Is Inevetible - Learn To Adjust

Life is filled with ups and downs, twists and turns, good and not so good times; that's what makes it interesting and often forces us out of our comfort zones.

Frank Herbert said, "Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken."

At one time or another, these expected or unexpected, planned or unpredictable circumstances can occur in every aspect of our lives.

We experience them at home, in our jobs, in our relationships, physically and/or emotionally, financially, through loss of someone or something, globally, etc.

Whether we are encountering them directly or indirectly, it can sometimes be tough dealing with what has come about either by choice or unforeseen, but it offers us a chance to awaken and grow.

With change, things are different than they used to be, and that can take a little getting use to.

There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way of handling what goes on in life.

Other people might have a different opinion regarding how you "should" be dealing with things and you may or may not agree with them. That's okay because that's what makes us all unique.

However, there is a way that is less stressful and that allows you to move through change a little easier. It is "adjusting".

Adjusting holds the door open for possibilities to enter again.

Rather than "just" getting on with things as if they never happened, or staying stuck in your fears, emotions or the situation, you now are adjusting.

Adjusting to...

Changes. Getting your bearings again. Differences, variances, perspectives. Not having all the answers. New ways. Looking at, and being with things, differently now. Getting use to a new routine or way of doing things. The way you feel physically and/or emotionally. Loss on various levels. Not being able to do things the way you use to. The unknown. Change offers you opportunities to grow in ways you may not have ever thought possible. It does awaken the sleeper in you.

Adjusting allows you the time to move through the changes internally and externally while you are emerging and merging into the new circumstance and ways of being.

People, places, and things change. You change, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. That's life.

What's important for you is adjusting the best you can and having the patience and understanding through what is occurring for you and/or another person.

Change isn't always easy. In fact, it can seem down right unbearable sometimes, but you can make it much easier on yourself or others as you, or they, move through things being different than they once were.

Some circumstances aren't as difficult as others and therefore don't require a lot of modifying on your part, but either way there are still adjustments on some level.

The events that seem to stir the pot of emotions to boiling or overflowing in you are often the very ones that necessitate the greatest patience and modifications, as well as opportunities to awaken and grow.

For some, time does not heal the inevitable changes in life, but adjusting to them offers healing through them.

Use these techniques with insight to assist you in seeing how you can adjust to the changes that occur in your life.
 

3 Ways To Change Your Thinking

Most people know that the best way to get better results in life is by changing the way you view things. When you think positively, the outcome of your actions more often than not turn out favourable as well. This is so because our actions are affected by our mood, and when we are positive, most often, our mood is happy, pleasant and objective.

When a person has a negative attitude, on the other hand, he becomes fatalistic, and sarcastic, doubtful and suspicious. A negative attitude eats away at one's entire being. It dims all possibility of a positive outcome, thus making his already-defeatist attitude bear fruit to more negative output. But even a negative person is not doomed, because there are ways to change the way you think for the better. Here are a few ways:

Do different things, do things differently. There is a circle we all are accustomed to moving around in, and it is called our "comfort zone. The best way to change your manner of thinking is to do things you don't normally do. Sticking to a day-in-day-out routine makes any form of change uncomfortable and extremely threatening. But you will never be able to change the way you think if you don't step out of your normal daily procedure. Dare to go against the ordinary by pushing yourself to acceptable but still tolerable limits. Normally, one who does so will get so fascinated by all the new experiences that he will no longer want to go back to his tired and dreary life.

New experiences help you grow as a person, thus encouraging you to alter you negative views about life.

Meet new people. New acquaintances open you mind to new experiences. The people we meet normally bring new ideas and a new perspective on life. Remember that man was generally alone, until he thought of welcoming and inviting people to share his life. No amount of school education can ever equal the knowledge and awareness one gets by meeting new people with totally different experiences. Alter the way you think by thinking that each day provides new opportunities to meet more interesting people. The entire life-changing process even becomes more positive when you meet people who always have such an optimism and zest for life.

Recognize the lack of happiness in your life. Learn to be more aware. Don't you feel worse that everyone is so happy, while you're sulking in a corner? If you are lonely but refuse to acknowledge that you are, then you may need to seek the help of a professional. It is never normal to be unhappy and sad- it may be due to some type of hormonal imbalance. There is so much more beauty in life that you can experience, if only you work towards altering the way you think and react to things. So why waste it? The first step is to recognize your negativity and unhappiness, then work towards slowly altering them. It takes some patience and hard work, but all your efforts will be worth it.
 

Don't Waste Your Time If You Want To Be Abundant

How you value your time has a direct effect on your ability to be abundant.

You can almost tell if a person is abundant or not by looking at the types of activities a person does. If a person spends a lot of their time involved in activities that serves no real purpose eg. hours of TV, hours of computer games, hours of hanging out with friends in coffee shops etc, I think you know what I mean, you can tell that this person does not have an abundant mindset, hence is not enjoying abundance.

I am not saying that we should not be engaged in this sort of activities, but if it is done hours on end, certainly one cannot say that it has been time well spent even if one was enjoying it? We have to be honest with ourselves here.

Time as you know is not abundantly available to us. Once it is gone can never be replaced.Some people may say: well, I do not believe in time as it is man made. The reality is we do live our lives in a chronological order and that our physical body do age according to linear time. No matter how much you deny the importance of time, your body clock is still ticking away.

Valuing your time means seeing the importance of how you spend your time. This means cutting down on activities that serves no real purpose for you.

Here are some key points to implement to move towards valuing your time more and in the process become more abundant.

Plan a monthly, weekly, and daily time table. It is important to have an overview of what you are going to accomplish in a month and then break the tasks up into your weekly schedule and then daily.

If you spend a lot of your time on activities that serves no purpose, then eliminating them completely from your life or cutting down on time spent doing these can help you to feel more productive. You know what the time wasters are so we are not going to go into detail here.

Stay away from time suckers. There are some people you know, who perhaps have not found real purpose in life, try to suck your time by having too long phone conversations, or meet with you over coffee and go on and on over unimportant topics or worse still engage in gossiping about other people. You have to stay away from people like these because they will drag you into their lack mindset. A part of you wants to be like them, because a part of you wants to procrastinate and do not want to do what you are supposed to be doing and time suckers present a good opportunity for you to delay. If you do what is right for you, this could mean leaving some social groups. Honestly, you will be much better off with people who share the mindset as you who value and respect your time as much as you do.

Plan your schedule with productive patterns in mind. Clustering similar activities on the same day will save you the time of starting and re-starting your engine. For eg. if you have several meetings coming up for the week, try to schedule them all on the same day and at the same venue or at least around the same vicinity so that you save on traveling time as well.

Create time slots on your calendar for specific things even if it has not happened yet. For eg. if you do not have many clients for the week, create the time slots anyway and fill in the blanks with "client #1" "client#2". By doing so you are being prepped to receive clients.

As a small business owner when you value your time you will see that you will have more more time for more clients and interestingly you will also have more time with your family, with friends you value and you will have more time for real quality relaxation and recreation.

Respect your time and others will too and this is one of the most important keys towards abundance!

3 Ways To Create Success In Your Life

Perhaps everyone ultimate dream is to be successful - not only in business, or in relationships, but generally, in every aspect of your entire life. To live a life well lived is wonderful.

One of the most frustrating things to hear others say is "I'm just going with the flow. I deal with what life throws at me. I just make do with what I have." As long as we are alive, we can make something of ourselves. We can work to improve our life situation, and choose the destiny we ultimately get. Losing hope is not an option for the successful, but being successful takes time, effort and persistence. Here are three things that can help create a fulfilling and successful life.

SET GOALS. Take some time off and review your life from a different perspective - what are your life goals? What do you hope to accomplish? And how do you plan to accomplish your goals? A goal is necessary - it's a must. The first step to creating success is to set an ultimate goal. Without a goal, there is nothing to work towards, there is nothing to look forward to, and there will be no change in your current situation. A goal is your destination - without one, efforts are pointless. ACCOMPLISHED GOAL = LIFE SUCCESS.

But it is not enough that you merely set your goal - you must think of a plan on how you intend to slowly reach it. Create a life plan. Rather than think of the prize at the end, segregate your journey into smaller segments, and accomplish each segment. You will be surprised at the amount of progress you make. Focus and concentrate on one chief aim. Eliminate all the distractions from your life.

Another good thing to remember is, a goal remains a goal unless you take action. What good is a dream if all you do is imagine having what you want? Get up from where you are and work! And when you work, work with inspiration, determination and happiness. Too many people lose sight of their objectives simply because they think of the journey towards a goal as extremely difficult and frustrating. It's your dream, your life, look at every step as a way towards success. Sometimes, you will be surprised to find that you have already reached your destination without even realizing it.

BE PERSISTENT. Another pitfall in life is one's inability to be persistent with one's enthusiasm, determination and inspiration. The moment one is faced with difficulty, problems or personal dilemma, they tend to give up on their search for success.

Reality check: no journey towards success is ever easy - if it is, then everyone in the world would be successful. The real challenge is how to overcome the hurdles - because these hurdles teach us valuable life lessons. That's another tip there - learn to see every challenge and failure as ways to learn valuable lessons. Failure was not put in our lives to make us miserable - they are the by-products of our own mistakes and our inability to do things correctly. The essence of life is in discovering all these life lessons, so don't give up when faced with failure or defeat. Remember, a goal half-done is NOT DONE. A goal "almost done" is also unaccomplished. Don't give up in the middle of something - persistence is key in creating success in your life.

ALWAYS MAINTAIN A POSITIVE ATTITUDE. Most successful people will tell you this - in order to be successful, you must constantly believe that you can successfully do everything. Sometimes, it's not even a matter of intelligence or skill level - it's really a matter of attitude. How many times have we heard of high school drop-outs who made it really big in life? There are thousands of college graduates (with honors, even!) who are not successful in life. It is not one's education which is the gauge of one's success - it's one's positive outlook which is more important. No matter how seemingly hopeless the situation becomes, a person's positivity will help keep his head above ground.

So how does one become so positive? First, surround yourself with positive influences. Don't associate with naysayers. People who tell you that you are not capable are most probably unsuccessful in their own pursuit of their own goals. Remember this - when you are up, there will always be people who will try to pull you down - to their own level. Misery loves company. And when you are up, there will be people who won't be happy for your success. It's the evil side of people. Positive successful people remind them of their own inability to do things, and their failure in life.

Next, constantly see the beauty behind every difficult thing you are faced with. Those who are negative see difficulties are roadblocks that must be left alone- not pushed aside. Third, think of the prize at the end of the journey. To remain positive, you must set your sights on the ultimate goal, not on the difficulties you will encounter along the way.

Success is not too hard to get - it just takes the proper perspective, the right attitude, and the ability to conquer challenges. Check out how you fare in this list, and start going on your journey towards success.

Does Loving Yourself Improve Your Self Confidence?

When you have low self-esteem or self-confidence, many times it is because you do not love yourself the way you should. Loving yourself is not a conceited type of loving. It is just accepting the good and bad of who you are without putting yourself down.

Today, it is difficult to do this sometimes, because of pressure from others to be a certain way. At work, you have to act and perform a particular way. When you go home, you have to be another way. Sometimes you cannot keep up with it all, and you get down on yourself and feel you are failing. To feel like this a little bit is normal, but if it makes you not love yourself, it is time to do something about it.

Advantages to Loving Yourself

There are advantages to loving yourself enough and some of them are:

1. You look at yourself in a positive light.

2. You think you can do anything you set out to do.

3. You are nice to those around you because when you like yourself, it is easier to like others.

4. You carry yourself confidently through your day and this even makes others know that you are not afraid.

If these 4 things sound like you, then you love yourself. You most likely also do not suffer from low self-confidence.


Disadvantages of Not Loving Yourself Enough

There are disadvantages to not loving yourself enough and they are:

1. You would only think negatively about yourself.

2. You would be afraid to go after your dreams, because you would automatically think you would fail.

3. You tend to lash out at others when it is really yourself that you have a problem with.

4. You walk into a room sheepishly because you have too little self-love, which leads to not enough self-confidence.

Do these last 4 things sound like you? If they do, you need to start loving yourself more. You probably also have low self-confidence.

Since you now know that self-love and self-confidence go together, what are you going to do about it? Look in the mirror first thing in the morning, and tell yourself 3 things you like about yourself. Write down your attributes. If there are things you think need improving then just set forth to do so, instead of being down on yourself for them. Above all else, stay positive about who you are. You are a good person worth loving! Believe this it is true. When you do, you can do anything! Self-confidence will no longer be an issue you will have it. You will be able to go after your goals, knowing you have the power to attain them.

Attack Your Debt Problem And The Rest Of Your Finances Will Come Under Control"

Individual finances and debt are not some thing that everybody really likes to sit down and think about. If you face the problem of debt head on, you are more likely to tackle the debt that you've piled up over the years. If you take the time to take many viewpoints into consideration, you are going to be able to develop a resolute plan to get your debt level paid down, and potentially even satisfied. The following criteria will help you develop a strategy to get on the road to debt-free living.

Getting organized is going to help you form a solid strategy to pay down your debt. Get out the statements for all of your debts to make a tally. Categorize the different types of personal debt on different spread sheets. Put your credit cards on one, loans on another and any other debts that you may owe on a third. Once you have this all arranged and separated, you will have a better concept about where to get going.

There are very few folks that like the sound of living on a budget and that is why so many individuals across the country live on credit cards and accumulate such a steep level of unsecured debt so quickly. You need to make a budget to live within your means. Carefully calculate how much you need for the minimum repayment of the month-to-month bills and find out how much money you have left after those expenses are paid. You must be sure to measure about how much you're going to need for fuel, food and any medicines. After everything is added up, you then have the total that you must set aside each month. Just about anything that you have left over could be used to pay extra toward credit cards or mortgages.

Non-essential spending are something that needs to be slashed if you're trying to lower your debt. If you don't have the cash in your pocket to buy it and you do not "have to have" it, do not buy it. Cutting the non-essentials out of your budget will go a long way toward paying debt.

Even though you're trying to pay down your financial debt, you ought to still do your best to attempt to set aside money for unexpected emergencies. If you're capable to set some money aside, you will have the cash to fix the car or truck, fix the air conditioner or pay for a doctor's appointment without putting it on a credit card.

If you have a number of lenders, you may want to think of checking with them to probe as to whether they would lower your interest. The worst thing that can occur is that they could say no..

There are some financial institutions out there that are ready to work with you so you can stay on top of things and are going to lower your rate a point or 2. It is fairly easy to determine which debt to pay off. You may want to commence with the highest interest lender. The more you cough up toward this request for payment each month, the quicker it is going to get paid since you're paying toward the principle, not simply the interest. If things aren't going as well as contemplated, you might choose to modify your personal debt pay-off plan. You should also adjust it if you see that a lender has increased the rate of interest on your statement. Organization, planning and discipline are going to go a long way in assisting you efficiently take care of your personal debt. Using the concepts that were given to you above will encourage you attack your unsecured debt and take control of your own personal finances bringing you just one step nearer to the financial future that you wish for.