5 Ways To Boost Your Self Esteem

While for many, self-esteem issues are a transitional part of growing into an adult and finding a place in the world, scientific research studies show that people with continued low self-esteem are also more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, poor physical health, and even a lower income later on in life. 

Those with long lasting issues of low self-esteem know only too well that it is not something you grow out of, but something that sits in the subconscious mind and continues to effect every part of life for years. How then can we enhance self esteem. 

Here are five ways that you can do just that. 

1. Model Confident People  

Noticing what confident people do, how they speak, the ways they behave, can provide vital clues to finding self-esteem inside yourself. Who is the most confident person you can think of? When you have them firmly in your mind, ask yourself these questions: how do they hold their shoulders? How do they stand? How do they walk? What clothes do they wear? How do they behave when with other people? What sort of things do you imagine they say about themselves? And if they were in your situation, what would they do? 

This questioning goes far beyond "fake it till you make it" - it links us into the answers already inside us. Once you have a list of what that confident person would do, go ahead and model this behaviour. Try it on for a few hours, a day, even a few days. Notice how everything you do, and the events around you, begin to change on their own.  

2. Advertise Yourself 

When you have to convince someone else about your strengths, it can have a fantastic effect on your self-esteem. Sitting down and really thinking about all your skills, gifts and talents is a wonderful reminder of all the good things about being you. Try writing an advertisement selling yourself as the perfect partner, house mate, friend, etc, with a full description of why anyone would be lucky to have you around. Don't be afraid to blow your own trumpet. This isn't an exercise in modesty, but in self-esteem. 

3. Work On Your Resume 

Resumes are all about convincing someone to hire your time and your expertise. Giving your resume a regular update can also give your self-esteem a great boost. Alternatively, update your Facebook profile. Strange as it sounds, there is now research from Cornell University in New York to prove that people who view their Facebook profiles more regularly have better self-esteem. You get to go back and view your clever status updates, your significant dates and events, and photos of good times.  

4. Say Positive Things About Yourself  

Saying positive things about yourself, to yourself or others, is important. What we say about ourselves reveals a lot about our level of self-esteem. When we rehearse only what we do wrong, or don't like about ourselves, our brain builds neural pathways for these conversations, till eventually negative self-talk is practically automatic. 

If you are not used to talking about yourself in a positive way, you will simply have to learn how. Keep practicing, choose a few nice things to say or think about yourself and use them as a mantra every day. It can be something you are proud of about yourself, or positive things you remember others saying about you in the past. 

The more you repeat this, the easier the behaviour will become as your nervous system will build more neural connections to this positive self-talk, and less to the negative self-talk.  

5. Is It You, Or Is It Them? 

The people who surround us, at home, at school, at work, or in social settings, can have a huge impact on our self-esteem. Either they will support us, making us feel better about ourselves, or their negativity will bring us down emotionally. This may not be intentional. Some people just seem to notice what's wrong more than on what's right. 

If you find there are people in your life who make you feel bad about yourself, you need to make a decision. Can you counteract the effect they are having with you? Or do you need to do some prunning? 

Do you really need to be around people who make you feel bad about yourself? Choose to associate with positive people that make you feel alive, happy, and optimistic about life.  

Deciding to spend less time with people isn't about making anyone else 'wrong' or 'bad' -- it has to do with making clear decisions about how you want to feel, and asserting your right to feel good instead of bad.

Use these strategies on a regular basis and you really will boost your self-esteem -- and increase your self-confidence.

Housing Authorities with Open Section 8 List

The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program is a national rental assistance program managed by HUD and administered at the local level by housing authorities or other HUD contracted administrators. The program provides rental assistance to low income persons in the form of monthly rent payments based on the renter’s income. Renters find private rental housing in the open market and the Section 8 voucher payment makes the rent affordable.

We want to make applying for Section 8 easier. Here are the latest waiting list opened across the country.



1. Hidalgo County Housing Authority-Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program waiting list is currently open and accepting applications. 

• Applications are available apply online here.

2. Housing Authority of the City of El Paso-Section 8 Housing Choice Program online only beginning at 8:00am Mountain Time on January 2nd. We had previously reported that the list would open at midnight on the 2nd.

The waiting list will remain open until 11:59am on January 31rd.

• Applications will be available at the housing authorities website at www.hacep.org.

3. Sarasota Housing Authority-Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program waiting list opened on Monday, January 5, 2015 and will close on Monday, January 19, 2015

• You may apply online here at the official Sarasota Housing Authority waiting list application site.  Note:  This online application will likely not be live until the day applications are accepted.

4. Lexington Housing Authority

• Applications will be accepted online only from January 5th until January 9th, 2015. The online application will be available at https://lexington.apply4housing.com. 

5. Pittsfield Housing Authority-Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program waiting list is open until January 9, 2015 at 4:00PM.

• HOW TO APPLY:
  APPLICATIONS ARE MADE BY APPOINTMENT ONLY AND SCHEDULED ON TUESDAY AND THURSDAY ONLY.  THE PHA WILL SCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS – WITH THE FIRST APPOINTMENT SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 9, 2014 AT 9:00 AM.
  THE PREFERENCES OF THE PHA WILL BENEFIT THOSE THAT LIVE OR WORK IN PITTSFIELD, DALTON, HINSDALE, LANESBORO, WASHINGTON, LENOX, RICHMOND AND HANCOCK.
   SINGLE NON-DISABLED OR NON-ELDERLY (UNDER 62) ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO APPLY.

6. Fulton County Housing Authority-Section 8 waiting list open and offer preference points so that people who are most in need are housed first.

To apply, call the housing authority at 309-647-4120.

7. Knox County Housing Authority-Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program waiting list is opened. The housing authority has indicated that the waiting list will remain open indefinitely due to the overwhelming need for affordable housing in Knox County.

• Apply by downloading and complete the application and submit to the housing authority.

8. Red Wing Housing and Redevelopment Authority-Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list is open to new applicants.  Applications must complete the waiting list and mail or hand deliver to the housing authority.  

• Here is the Section 8 application.

9. Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb-is currently taking applications for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program for persons who are elderly or disabled or displaced by a natural or government action ONLY.

• The application is available here.

10. Utica Municipal Housing Authority-Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program waiting list is currently open and accepting applications.

• The application is available here

11. Quincy Housing Authority-Massachusetts state wide Section 8 is a centralized waiting list.  The state wide waiting list is ALWAYS OPEN, and you may apply at any time.  

• You can apply on the Centralized Waiting List website here.

12. Fort Walton Beach Housing Authority-Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is opened. As of this time, no closing date has been specified.

• You may apply at the housing authority offices at 27 Robinwood Drive, S.W. in Fort Walton Beach. The housing authority has made a printable application here.

13. Salina Housing Authority-is accepting Section 8 and Public Housing applications as of January 2nd, 2015. These applications are being accepting online ONLY.

• Applications are available at http://www.salinahousing.org/.

14. Framingham Housing Authority- Section 8 centralized waiting list.  The state wide waiting list is ALWAYS OPEN, and you may apply at any time.  You can apply on the Centralized Waiting List website at http://www.section8listmass.org/Home.php.

15. Clermont Metropolitan Housing Authority will begin accepting applications for their Section 8 / Housing Choice Vouchers Waiting List from August 21, 2014 no close date indicated.

• This is an ONLINE ONLY application. You may apply here until the Housing Authority meets their limit.  Applications will not be accepted at the Clermont Housing Authority offices.

16. Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority-Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program waiting list is currently open and accepting applications online.

• To apply go to the Akron Assistance application here. This online application will allow you to apply for several different programs the housing authority offers.

17. Baltimore County, MD Housing Authority-is accepting waiting list applications. However, according to their website at baltimorecountymd.gov/, the average wait time for assistance is nine years.

18. MD Department of Housing And Community Development-manages Housing Choice Voucher programs across the State of Maryland. Please read the paragraphs below to determine where they are currently accepting applications. It is very uncommon for the entire service area to be accepting applications at the same time. We will list service areas that are currently accepting applications below in bold. 

• Open Now: Housing Commission of Talbot County, through the MD Dept. of Housing, Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is accepting preliminary applications as of September 15th, 2014. You may acquire an application at:
  900 Doverbrook St.
  Easton, MD 2160 

• Opening Soon:  Frederick County Housing and Community Development, through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, will be opening the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program waiting list from January 21, 2015 at noon to January 27, 2015 at 1PM.
  
  
  The application is online only.  The online Section 8 application can be found here once the application window has opened.

19. Village Of Fairport Housing Authority-has opened its Section 8 Rental Assistance Housing Program as of September 2nd, 2014.

Applications are available online here or at the Housing Authority office at 31 South Main St in Fairport. 

20. Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority-Section 8 HCV waiting list is open and accepting applications.

Ways to obtain an application: a. Visit our office at the Administrative Building located at 1525 Washington Street West, Charleston, WV. b. Call Wanda Allen at 304-348-6451 or 1-888-881-6451 ext. 202, to request having one mailed to your address. c. Download a Pre-Application Form. 2. Things you need to submit with your pre-application: a. Birth Certificate (for all household members) b. Social Security Card (for all household members)

By submitting a pre-application your name will be placed on the waiting list according to the date and time it was received by Charleston-Kanawha Housing. Once you are on the waiting list you can anticipate at least a 12 month wait for assistance. You must inform CKH of any change in your mailing address while on the waiting list. Failure to do so my prevent you from receiving assistance.

21. Town of Colonie Housing Authority-has opened their Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List and aims to assist Elderly, Disabled, and Very Low income families. 

The Housing Authority currently operates with 365 vouchers. Of those vouchers 329 families are being assisted with 590 applicants remaining on the waiting list. A report indicates that less than half of those on the waiting list are Colonie residents.

The Town of Colonie has given the number of a private consultant that manages their Rental Assistance Programs. For more information on the programs and application process call 518-372-8846.

22. Housing Authority of the City of Wheeling-Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List is open. According to correspondence with the Executive Director of the Housing Authority the waiting list has been open the past ten years.

Our research shows that the wait for a voucher after applying and being deemed eligible is approximately one year. 

You may obtain an application from the housing authority office located at:

11 Community Street

Wheeling, WV

23. Raleigh Housing Authority-Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is open and accepting applications.  The estimated wait time according to their Section 8 application is 3 to 7 years.

24. Greensboro Housing Authority-provides affordable housing through its Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher and Mixed Finance Programs. In addition to affordable rentals, homeownership counseling is available.

The Wait List for Public Housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, and Mainstream is now open. 

Information and application are here.

25. Housing Authority of the County of Armstrong-has opened it's Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list as of July 2nd, 2014.

Completed applications must be returned to the Housing Authority office by mail, email, fax, or in person.

Applications are available at Armstrong County Senior Centers in Apollo, Dayton, Distant, Brady'™s Bend, Elderton, Ford City, Freeport, Kittanning, Leechburg, Parker, Rural Valley, and Worthington. They are also available at public libraries located in Apollo, Ford City, Kittanning, and Worthington.

Applications are also available to print at the Housing Authority Website at http://www.hacarmstrong.org/.

26. Rock Hill Housing Authority-will be opening their Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program waiting list at 8:00am on January 8th and will close the same day at 3:00pm. 

Pre-applications can be picked up at the Housing Authority office at 467 South Wilson Street from December 5th until January 7th.

For this opening, applications will be only accepted for those who meet one of the following Rock Hill Housing Authority preferences:

• Non-assisted applicants aged 50 and above
• Non-assisted head of household or spouse with permanent disability.
• Veterans of U.S. Military Service

All applicants must have a working income or receive social security retirement, SSI, pension, or disability benefits. 

Applications will be accepted on a first come, first served basis at the Housing Authority office at 467 South Wilson Street on January 8th, 2015 from 8:00am until 3:00pm ONLY. 

27. Kokomo Housing Authority-Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list is open and accepting applications.  The housing authority maintains an online waiting list application.  You can apply here.

Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) Waiting Listing Opens

Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8)

Waiting List
OPENS

from
Tuesday, January 6, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. EST
until
Tuesday, January 13, 2015, at 5:00 p.m. EST

View Video

Register

To submit a pre-application, registrants must be 18 years of age or older or an emancipated minor as defined by law. Registrants who submit a pre-application and are selected as applicants to be on the official HCVP Waiting List must meet HCVP eligibility criteria and other requirements at the time they are drawn from the HCVP Waiting List for voucher assistance.
Applicants must meet HUD's Very Low-Income Limits published during the period in which they are drawn from the waiting list, and applicants must reside in the city of Atlanta during their first year on the program.
For more information on HCVP eligibility criteria, click HERE.
Español

If you require special assistance or reasonable accommodations due to a disability, language translation services, or communication in an alternate format, please contact the waiting list hotline at: (800) 603-9291.

Are You Stuck In A Rut Like The Rest Of The Human Race?

Ever get those momentary twinges of the here-we-go-again reminding you your life is in a rut? The whole of humanity is stuck in a rut. Yes, humanity has been stuck for generations. 

Reality's holographic nature demonstrates that if we are individually intrinsically stuck, reflecting the microcosm, then this will in turn reflect the bigger picture, the macrocosm, how we are stuck in our ways on the group planetary population level... 

It's not just about the changes needed to take us out of this long withstanding rut. The human race needs to wake up to the profound realization that there's a planetary crisis and engage in making the necessary changes needed for our survival: Let's talk about thriving at a later date!  How do we go beyond this apparently endless hopeless state we've been in as a race for so many generations and triumphantly move on?  


Could the answer lie in what keeps us stuck? 


Like that caged pet hamster we've been running inside the wheel going nowhere fast for far too long. We're stuck on just about everything under the sun! We only need to avert ourselves of our blind spots and look at the big picture to find this out. Here's a list of some of those things we as a race have been deceptively stuck on over the centuries. 


Money and Religion


I have put money and religion together since in many ways they go hand in hand. The invention of the monetary system by the ruling elite has served to enslave the human race on the physical level. While the other mind control programme religion enslaves us on the spiritual.  


Money 


Money as an enslavement is more so now than ever when considering the extent of the banks' debt-based monetary system. So, essentially you have a planet full of people made up of poverty, debt, wage and consumerism tail-chasing slaves... 


Religion 


Originally, humans wanted to find ways in which to address what they didn't understand; spirituality and their relationship with the spiritual and God. Then came along the shamans, prophets and priests acting as spiritual guides... However, certain people in high places soon realized that religions could be used as a mind controlling tool to enslave the masses for power, profit and political gain.  Religion, because of its mind controlling has become potentially very dangerous. -Atheism, the antithesis of religious fundamentalism can also be described as a by-product of religious mind control. Atheists don't realize they too have been manipulated: Atheism is the 'no religion' religion.  


Education  


Millions of dollars had been poured into education by the world's ruling elite with their organizations such as the Carnegie Foundation and Rockefeller Institute. The purpose? To produce a system that basically serves to indoctrinate the masses from the beginning in infants' schools then right through to the end at Universities.  With its carefully selected curriculum, after someone completes their education they would have been programmed and brainwashed, many up to their eyeballs, ready for the next stage, to fit into the prepared boxes; into jobs to serve the corporations...  


This is why organizations such as Carnegie and Rockefeller put in the time, effort and money in the first place, to get the masses to fit passively into those boxes and work for their corporations. 

Anyone who sees outside the box, seeing the far greater humanitarian alternative that undercuts the corporation's greed-driven businesses is suppressed, ignored, ridiculed or even destroyed by the ruling elite's agents. -Another reason why we've ended up with the same old same old...  


The education system has stopped people from real critical thinking. There's a serious need to challenge the authorities while not readily accepting the consensus of the masses view. In short, question everything.  


Media 


Like the education system the mass media is another form of social engineering, serving to inculcate economic, socially acceptable, moral and ethical values. Essentially, the entire mass media is now in the hands of only 5 major corporations in the USA! All these conglomerates can be linked to the controlling political, economic ruling elites.  By concentrating the ownership into the hands of just a few, that allows the ruling elite to not only more easily control the desired social engineering but also influence public consensus through their media. You have mass media biased coverage in politics, economic, academia, science and technology... as a means for the ruling elite's own ends.  This results in the masses following media that has little in the way of anything that significantly contributes to human growth. 


Science and Technology 


For centuries and even today science still holds the view that reality can be explained entirely in terms of materialism, while consciousness is nothing more than an illusory by-product of our brains.  More so now than ever, this ridged and dogmatic purposeless, Godless materialistic view has been widely criticized. Many critics say that it is holding science back: That a broader paradigm approach to science beyond the confines of materialism would lead to greater benefits for humankind. This conservative materialistic belief has allowed corporations with governments and academic institutions on their behalf to exploit. Thus scientists have been manipulated into using a narrow paradigm approach for corporate profit.  

My vision is to see that science will break away from its imprisonment and then give rise to those greater benefits for humankind. As with science, technology has not been fully allowed to develop for the same reasons. We know that over the years technology may change radically and for the better. However, some technologies stay the same because the corporations will not allow any changes that would undercut their big businesses.  


No matter how much more beneficial to humankind, the related corporations with governments, academic institutions and mass media acting on their behalf will conspire to ignore, quash or even unjustly ridicule pioneers with their new alternative cheaper technology. Take for instance the case of the motor car. Invented well over a hundred years ago the Model T Ford is basically the same in principle as the motor car of today. Nothing much has changed here because big oil who ultimately controls the industry won't allow less polluting cheaper alternative cars to dominate the market.  There are many other examples where this happens. Take the case of cheaper natural non-toxic cancer therapies. 


Politics 


The major political parties, those that stand any chance of getting elected into office are all funded and backed by the world's ruling elite. Thus the elections are only 2 or 3 horse races because the ruling elite who've made it this way can make sure whoever wins they would have backed.  So those in office will be there ultimately not to serve we-the-people but the wishes of their lords and masters the ruling elite and their new world order agenda. Electing any of the major political parties is therefore not only choosing a going nowhere scenario but a vote for slavery.  The solution would be to start supporting independent candidates that have no ties to the ruling elite and have a genuine want to contribute to humanity. 


Overall 


Such is nature that things don't just go in circles. They either go in upward or downward spirals. If we're to free ourselves of this downward spiral rut then we need to educate ourselves and others on how the interests of just a few elite individuals are playing us for their own gain. Say no to playing their game is the answer in mind, body and spirit. As for you personally, if you're stuck in a rut then don't complain if you're not doing anything about it.