ELEVATED LIFE

INPUT DETERMINES OUTPUT!

2010-08-06T01:20:00.005+01:00

LET'S GO FISHING!

Reading about the FISH! PHILOSOPHY has been an eye opener. This Philosophy derived from observing employees of the famous Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, is endowed with vital practical lessons which I wish to relay to you in simple terms.

Life is short as the old saying goes, so I personally believe it has to be enjoyed. We must make the most of every situation and try to make ourselves happy whether at work or not. The employees of Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market demonstrated this was possible, and showed that a good input would in the long run produce a good output. We are sometimes bombarded with demanding situations, but should we take things easy and let down our hair, life can be so simple and complicated situations can be simplified, with once stressful incidents losing all traces of stress.

LESSON 1

PLAY

All work and no play surely will make us dull, stressed, frustrated and unhappy. Life is meant to be lived happily. We determine what to make of what life brings to us. When the employees of the Seattle fish market were faced with the seemingly mundane job of selling fish, they could have looked at all the negative sides of it - how they would smell all fishy; that they would be standing for long, etc, etc. But they chose to see things differently. They decided to add fun to somewhat a tasking job. They didn't just sell fish but they sold it with a difference and with a twist of fun. As Wikipedia put it - 'They filled orders by flinging fish to each other, inciting laughter from the customers and compliments about their throwing/catching abilities, or commiseration if they missed. Employees would often invite customers to join the fun.'

Whatever you are faced with, be it a difficult subject you are studying, or a needed skill you are struggling to acquire, think of ways of making the task interesting. Compose a song about the situation and sing and dance to it if possible. Laugh at yourself and laugh through your blunders. If it's a difficult person you need to deal with, go easy on yourself by making light of it in your own way. Are you hard up and need to eat something unappealing? Add excitement to a somewhat unpleasant meal by garnishing it to the best of your ability. Once, struggling with a phobia of heights, I needed to use an overhead that just seemed to highlight this phobia. I decided to overcome it. I wore my sunglasses , modelled across singing a tune. Only God knows how wobbly and scared I was - but the end product was that I made it safe and sound to the other side. The fun I added to it helped me to pull through. My fear was no longer my focus. Once you keep your eyes and attention off the difficult and unpleasant bit, you will be able to focus on attaining successful results, with an added benefit of fun - fun as you wish to define it. BE LIGHTHEARTED! HAVE FUN AND ENJOY SOME PLAY!!!

LESSON 2.

MAKE THEIR DAY

You were created to meet a particular need. Once you identify it and pursue it wholeheartedly, your performance will put smiles on faces. We are admonished to diligently do whatever we find ourselves doing . When you focus on making others happy, you will make yourself happy in the process. Forget your own problems for a while and try to solve another person's problem. There is an inner feeling of fulfillment that accompanies one's ability to solve someone's problem or to meet another person's need. Inspire others; be creative; leave good memories for others through your actions. Sow seeds of kindness and you shall reap kind returns.

"The flower of kindness will grow. Maybe not now, but it will some day.
And in kind that kindness will flow, for kindness grows in this way."
-- Robert Alan

LESSON 3

BE THERE !

Sometimes all we need is for someone to be THERE for us! Most humans crave for attention. We must be attentive and sensitive to the needs of others. Make time for others. Listen to them, try to do their bidding to the best of your ability and capability. Try and make people feel good, serve them as though they were royals even if they are peasants. Make the most of the now, tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone! There may never be another opportunity to make someone feel loved. Add a special uncommon touch to common everyday fare.

LESSON 4

CHOOSE YOUR ATTITUDE

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.

~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book

A positive attitude produces positive results, and a negative attitude produces negative results. Attitudes determine actions, and actions determine output. An attitude is an input that produces an output. The output you shall get is reflective of the attitudinal input you put up. It is imperative to choose an attitude - a positive one for positive results or a negative one for negative results. We are not always faced with pleasant circumstances but even when unpleasant episodes rock our lives , we must remember this great message:

We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails. ~Author Unknown

Traits of a positive attitude are : HAPPY, UNDERSTANDING, SUPPORTIVE, FLEXIBLE, ENCOURAGING, RESPECTFUL, EARNEST, TOLERANT, ADAPTIVE , GOOD LISTENER

Traits of a negative attitude are : THOUGHTLESSNESS , CONDESCENDING, SELFISH, RUDE, IMPATIENT, PESSIMISTIC, INTOLERANT , HASTY, PROUD, ARROGANT, MOODY, PARANOID

The good thing about attitude is that everyone has the will power to choose which attitude to adapt. It all begins in the mind and permeates our actions, affecting the results we produce. At the Pike Place Fish Market for instance, the positive attitude of cheerfulness and attentiveness to customer needs produced great sales results, leaving both customers and employees of the Fish Market satisfied.

Please choose to go fishing - embrace the FISH! PHILOSOPHY today!

Written by Gina Bello

THE SOUR GRAPES ATTITUDE

2010-03-01T22:03:00.004Z

As you can see from the narrative picture below, the sour grapes attitude sulks. It is a nasty attitude that must be eschewed and not nurtured.

The idiomatic meaning of sour grapes is to decide that the attainment of something you have desired or unsuccessfully attempted to acquire or attain, is not worth it after all , and even possibly inferior in quality. Sour grapes is an attitude that constantly puts down or expresses a feigned disdain about everything that is desired but not attained. A person with a sour grapes attitude will deny the desirability of anything she cannot have. If you wear a nice dress which she wishes she could also have but is unable to buy, she will say all sorts of unpleasant things about the dress for you to feel it is actually not a nice one.

The sour grapes attitude likes to pass disparaging remarks about positive strides attained by others. If anything good is not to their credit, it is not good enough. If they lost in a contest, the rewarding prize in their opinion is undesirable. For instance if there is a $1000 prize for the winner of a contest they participated in and lost, they will pass a comment like -' I didn't even want to win. The prize is demeaning - only $1000.'

The sour grapes attitude is full of envy. A person full of sour grapes cannot rejoice with others. Everything good must be theirs. If they long to marry, and you get married before they do, they will have all sorts of nasty things to say about your marriage - that your husband is not handsome enough; that your wedding ceremony or wedding ring was below standard. And so on and so forth.This reiterates the old Persian saying that: "The cat who cannot reach the meat says it stinks!”

The term sour grapes is derived from one of Aesop's fables . A fox tries many times to pluck some grapes that dangle invitingly over his head, but he cannot reach them. As he slinks away in disgust, he says, “Those grapes are probably sour anyway.” To the fox in the fable, whatever he cannot have is otherwise not good. This indeed is a bitter attitude. To the individual full of sour grapes, what he has tried to attain but was unsuccessful, must not be attained by any other. He will belittle anything he cannot or does not have.

Do you always appear bitter about the good achievements of others? Are you fond of passing degrading and cynical remarks about what others have, especially when you secretly wish for the same things? If you simply cannot say 'well done' to your fellow, or admit the admirable and laudable achievements of others. If you are unable to handle your loss in a dignified manner but rather scornfully despise another's triumph, you are full of sour grapes and your attitude sulks. So please, kindly get off your high horse and clean up your envious heart.

Written by Gina Bello

WHAT IS NEXT?

An inspirational poem : If You Think You are Beaten – by Walter D. Wintle

2010-02-22T21:29:00.004Z

I like this poem so much and believe it will inspire you. Reflect on the words, and learn from them.

If You Think You are Beaten – by Walter D. Wintle

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don’t.

If you’d like to win but think you can’t,

It’s almost certain you won’t.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But sooner or later, the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

WHAT IS NEXT?

PERFECTIONISM - INS AND OUTS

2010-02-14T01:54:00.003Z

I remember when I was growing up I would stand in front of the mirror and muse : ''my being is lined with elements of excellence."

It is not a bad thing to strive for excellence. But when one becomes obsessed with being perfect, an ugly character is likely to be formed. As Robert Hillyer'perfectionism is a dangerous state of mind in an imperfect world.' puts it

According to Wikipedia , perfectionism is a belief that work or output that is anything less than perfect is unacceptable.

The following are traits of a perfectionist:

PERFECT ORIENTED: A perfectionist as we have already defined accepts nothing less than perfect. Everything has to be perfect or it is not good enough. A perfectionist would not be happy with a 90% grade , it ought to be 100% or it is not good enough. Almost perfect is as good as failure to a perfectionist.

FEAR OF FAILURE: Due to wanting everything perfect, most perfectionist cannot handle failure. Do you end up morose and angry at yourself when you make the slightest mistake? Do you spend days or more hiding from people because you messed up? Are you hard on yourself when you fail? You probably are a perfectionist if you answered yes to all of these.

AVOID RISKS: Perfectionists as we have just learned are afraid of failing, and this usually causes them to develop cold feet where risks are involved. To a perfectionist, a risk may expose them to failure or loss. A perfectionist tries to figure out everything before hand. This in itself is not bad. But in life, many things involve a risk that you may have to take. Not all ends can be figured out from the beginning. Risk is an enjoyable part of life. It gives life a buzz. However being a perfectionist can rob one of achievements that come through risk taking, and also cause one to procrastinate, being afraid of taking a step that will lead to a not perfect result.

CRITICAL: Do you somehow find yourself delicately picking on the minutest mistakes and short comings of others? Do you only hear the mistakes in the sentences of others? Or do you notice everything that is wrong with someone's dressing or home decoration? Are you prone to criticising others, and do you continually correct others, intolerant of anything below perfection? It is a good thing to like things done properly but where we cannot tolerate a little imperfection , more so the imperfect results of others who are trying their best, then we pass as perfectionists. It must be our kind of 'A' performance or it is unacceptable. If you are so set in your ways and believe in specific ways in which things should be done, for example, you believe an egg should be fried in a certain way, and do not accept or tolerate any other method, you exhibit traits of a perfectionist. Perfectionists end up winding everyone up with their critical attitude.

DEFENSIVE: Talking about a perfectionist having a chip on his/her shoulder is an understatement. Perfectionists begrudge criticism - constructive or not! Criticism to a perfectionist is a direct statement of being below par. A constructive criticism could depress a perfectionist. Though susceptible to criticising others, perfectionist are ironically unable to deal with being criticised, as they are unable to sift out the good and productive element of constructive criticism. To them it's a mark of weakness and failure, and failure tends to upset them.

RESULT ORIENTED : Achieving perfect results is all that matters to a perfectionist. This obsession can weigh so mightily on a perfectionist that he ends up feeling low and depressed, especially when he reckons he is under performing. A perfectionist is too hard on himself, and is driven by the fear of not perfectly reaching the desired result of his goal. Instead of enjoying the process of setting a goal and working towards it, a perfectionist frets all the way through. Overworking himself, overly critical of own achievements and unable to stand mistakes and errors made. Being a perfectionist can be an epitome of misery. Do you go through life seeing only your goals and the results you must attain, and in the process miss out on good relations and the very beauty of life? Are you unable to handle negative results and unmet goals? Are you so self critical that it has rendered you feeling low about yourself? Check it! You may be a perfectionist.

SETS UNREALISTIC GOALS : Most perfectionists in a quest to be extra ordinary set for themselves unattainable goals, and get frustrated when they are unable to reach them. As the saying goes -the first pancake usually spoils - depicting clumsy results that usually accompany first attempts. However, to a perfectionist it has to be right, and perfectly right even at the first attempt. Mistakes are not allowed in a perfectionist's world, which is a world of denial.

SHUNS HELP: To the perfectionist, asking for help is a sign of weakness and of being out of control. To appear perfect, help from others is shunned even to one's detriment.

Having read the above, kindly assess yourself and find out if the cap of a perfectionist fits you. If it does, then do find below tips on how to overcome a perfectionist attitude:

GO EASY ON YOURSELF : The critical voice that resounds in your mind must not be entertained. From now onwards, learn to laugh at yourself - laugh at your mistakes. Take up challenges to improve past performances. Psych yourself up to improve yourself, taking a day at a time. Enjoying each day's achievements and failures, allowing every brand new day to teach you how to create a better tomorrow.

BE POSITIVE: All your life you have probably honed the skill of being negative and critical of yourself and others. This ought to be altered, and believe me it may not be easy, but it is possible. Make a conscious effort to notice the good in yourself and in others. Practice positive affirmations such as ' I can,' 'they can,' he can,'and ' she can.' Try to acknowledge your accomplishments and give yourself a pat on the back for your achievements, no matter how little.

FOCUS ON THE PROCESS NOT THE GOAL: Reaching a set goal is a process that can be enjoyed. When you set a goal, instead of focusing on only the target or goal, rather take a chance at enjoying each step that leads to the goal. Enjoy what you are doing. If you do not enjoy what you do, find something that you enjoy and do that. My mum used to tell me that - If you don't get what you like, like what you get. This can be true where there are no other immediate alternatives. Simply put, learn to enjoy what you do, if you do that, your results will automatically be good. Take mini assessments of yourself from time to time to see if you are on track, but remember not to be over critical of yourself.

ACCEPT MISTAKES :Mistakes only teach us how not to do something. Life is a learning ground and mistakes must be accommodated. To want everything perfect all the time is not realistic in an ideal world. So crawl out of denial and be welcomed into the real world where mistakes are a part of it, and of which every human being is guilty of.

ASK FOR HELP: No man is an island, and no man has or knows it all. Do not hesitate to ask for help when you need it. It is not a sign of weakness. When something is beyond your ken, delegate to someone that can handle it better. Every human being has strengths and weaknesses where skill is concerned. There is a piece of the puzzle where you fit in, stay in place!

LEARN TO HANDLE CRITICISM: Constructive criticism has the ability to make us better individuals. They equip us with tips on how to improve ourselves, enabling us to perform better the next time round. Do not act so defensive when you are criticised. Take it in your stride, learn what you can from it, and move on. Sometimes certain people criticise heartlessly, such criticism is destructive in nature. Do not let this get to you, shrug it off . If you want to talk about it, be bold and let the one know that you are willing to learn from your mistakes, and that they don't need to be harsh. When you develop this approach towards criticism, you will tend to use it to your advantage.

Perfectionism can be pervasive and permeate every aspect of our lives, but with a positive attitude and by learning to appreciate all our efforts, we can gradually eradicate its ugly root in our lives and embrace the life of an achiever minus the excesses.

Written by Gina Bello

WHAT IS NEXT?

WHERE ARE YOU?

2010-01-31T16:46:00.002Z

In the race of life, we may find ourselves in different zones which I have named:

THE COMPLACENT ZONE

THE PROGRESS ZONE

THE FRIGHT ZONE

THE INDIFFERENT ZONE

The above zones reflect Karl Ronke's comfort, stretch and panic model.

The Complacent Zone depicts a life that is too comfortable with its achievements or losses, a life that is somewhat satisfied and is in fact quite stale. The complacent zone causes people to continually settle into the same routine. They tend to do the same things, maybe skillfully, but in this zone they hardly learn new things, and rarely challenge themselves. It is a zone that lacks vitality and virtually is uncomfortable with change. Self development is usually missing in this zone, there is in fact no stretching, hence one tends to shrink. Being too complacent at what you do can bring about negative results in the long run .No self improvement, no progress, no positive change, only the same old familiar results . Familiarity breeds laziness, so it is likely that staying too long in the complacent zone can make you lazy.

The Progress Zone is a zone of exploration and adventure. It is where we discard comfort for discomfort. At this zone, we take up continuous challenges that tend to stretch us. However we learn new things and improve ourselves in the end. This is the zone where we dare - we dare to learn a new language; dare to change our career; we dare to alter our circle of friends. At work, we may dare to handle a new project or department. This zone makes us challenge ourselves emotionally,mentally, and physically. It helps us to gain confidence and gather strength. How would you react when you are faced with something you have never done before? Would you run away or face it squarely? Would you try your hands on what you are awkward with or apprehensive of? Your answers to these questions reveal whether you live in the progress zone or in the fright zone. If you run away from new or challenging things, or avoid things you are awkward with or apprehensive of, you are in the fright zone. If you face them squarely, you are basking in the progress zone.

The Fright Zone is where we panic through fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of not being accepted or of being criticized At this zone we avoid new challenges, or anything we are not comfortable with. This zone does not appreciate change, and is intolerant of things we believe we would not or cannot do, no matter how stimulating it looks. At the fright zone we allow fear to rob us of positively developing ourselves because of the lack of confidence. We mark ourselves down and never even try. The fright zone causes us to be pessimistic. For example, if you harbour the fear of public speaking, you may panic at anything that involves public speaking and possibly shun anything that includes addressing large crowds. This attitude places you in a fright zone. Instead of learning ways of overcoming this fear, you may simply feed your mind with thoughts of 'I cannot speak publicly' and eschew public speaking altogether. All forms of success are a direct result of continuous thoughts we entertain and actions we have taken. In other words, feeding your mind with thoughts of 'I cannot' will make you unsuccessful in that endeavour.

The Indifferent Zone is where we live in denial. At this zone we bask in a make belief that we are not bothered and do not care. We carry ourselves unto an island and cut ourselves off reality. The indifferent zone has a fence where we simply sit and remind ourselves that we want no trouble, so are only keeping ourselves to ourselves. Over here, we do not care if we succeed or fail. We just exist! The indifferent zone lacks motivation. Talents are not tapped into, and skills go waste.The indifferent zone is for those without vision, those who have stopped living, and ceased dreaming. There is no hope on this island. The only food available is apathy. This zone is lifeless and must be avoided!

In conclusion, the progress zone in my opinion is the best zone to be in. However ,when we challenge ourselves in the progress zone and attain positive results , we should desist from being complacent as this will take us to the complacent zone where we may shrink. The fright zone robs us of probable success, while the indifferent zone will eventually kill and destroy us. We are better of in the progress zone, but must endeavour to continually challenge and stimulate ourselves. Never give up - dream yet another dream!

Written by Gina Bello

WHAT IS NEXT?

TOMORROW IS NOT PROMISED

2010-01-17T03:12:00.002Z

I love literature, and came across this inspirational writing by an anonymous writer. Very precious words of wisdom! I cannot help but share them with you. Kindly read on and I know you will not regret doing so.

TICK
TICK
~~TICK~~

TOMORROW IS NOT PROMISED

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, they serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are and who you want to become. You never know who these people may be: your neighbour, child, long lost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger. And sometimes things happen to you and at the time they seem painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential strength,will power, or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good or bad luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whether they be events, illnesses or relationships, life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere - safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless. The people you meet who affect your life and the successes and downfalls you experience create who you are, and even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact,they are probably the poignant and important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.....

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because they are teaching you to love and opening your heart and eyes to things you would have never seen or felt without them. MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT! Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again....Talk to people you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself.....for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you either.

You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life and then go out and live in it!

"LIVE EACH DAY AS IF IT WERE YOUR LAST ....TOMORROW IS NOT PROMISED"

Found and posted by Gina Bello

WHAT IS NEXT?

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE

2010-01-13T21:44:00.010Z

Confidence simply put is the belief in one's abilities.The following are ways you can build your confidence:

LOVE YOURSELF: The first step in building your confidence is to love yourself. You are unique in every way.Your exclusive finger print says it more clearly. Accept who you are and learn to love yourself.You have strengths and weaknesses - everyone does! Don't let your flaws overpower you, burying your unique features. Confidence grows out of love for one's self. When you love yourself, you will appreciate your worth, and will be motivated to increase your value.Think on this - We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily into the trap of being our own worst enemies. By Roderick Thorp, Rainbow Drive

DON'T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS:If you love yourself and realise your uniqueness, there will be no need to compare yourself to others.Constantly comparing yourself to other people is not wise and can be very draining.Life can be simpler if you learn to accept yourself as you are. Accept your strengths, face your weaknesses. Pinch yourself whenever you negatively compare yourself to another, and remind yourself of your unique nature. Avoid undue competition,be content and don't envy others. Let the achievements of others rather inspire you to have a desire to achieve.

BE THANKFUL & CONTENT !!!!

FOCUS ON YOUR GOOD SIDE, STRENGTHS AND ENDOWMENTS: Acknowledging your good side, your strengths and endowments will inject into you a sense of value, and will in turn boost your confidence. Whenever you are feeling low,brood over your positive side and traits ,and smile to yourself. I once read about how facial expressions send messages to the brain which in turn registers it. So do send a message of self worth to your brain by smiling to yourself about all the good things you are made up of.

IMPROVE YOURSELF: Look for ways of improving yourself. Self improvement makes us feel better about ourselves. Use the SWOT analysis to ascertain your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Once you are able to identify your strengths, endowments and interests, look for opportunities to increase your knowledge and skills in those areas. Be a star in your own small way. Once you become deft at what you do, success is next. But remember to nip in the bud anything that can threaten your success, complacency for example .

FACE YOUR WEAKNESSES; ACCEPT YOUR FLAWS: Your weaknesses are part of your unique nature -face them! Do not hide your flaws, and don't live your life keeping up false appearances. Be yourself, enjoy life! You have flaws, but so does everyone else. Look for ways of bettering yourself, if there is any way to reduce the effect of your weakness, then do pursue it. But in all, don't be too hard on yourself. If you have a disability, look at it as your unique difference. Do not allow your flaws to exhaust you.There is nothing perfect in life, so kindly do not waste your life by always seeking perfection.Work hard but avoid perfectionism!

ACCEPT COMPLIMENTS: Do not deflect or reject compliments,accept them! Rejecting compliments is not a sign of humility. Compliments help us to improve our self image. If you want to increase your self esteem, you need to be true to your efforts and endowments. Accepting compliments is not a sign of being puffed up, but is a good indicator that you are not oblivious of your worth. Learn to smile and say thank you whilst receiving a compliment. It will help you feel good about yourself and aid you to appreciate and celebrate your positive qualities.

TAKE UP CHALLENGES: The deeper you dig, the more likely you are to find treasure. To make yourself feel good, take up new challenges, realistic ones of course, and work hard towards accomplishing it. Deal with fear, it's only False Evidence Appearing Real. You can accomplish whatever you put your mind to, for where there is a will there is a way! Take it upon yourself to learn a new skill or trade, or to study a new language. There are many challenges you could take on. Accomplishing your challenge will positively affect your level of confidence - so go on, explore!

BE ASSERTIVE; STICK TO YOUR PRINCIPLES :Confident people are able to take a stand and do speak their minds freely ,openly and politely. You don't have to put up a show to be heard. When you do not agree to something, take a stand. Do not feel inferior to others. Don't be stifled by the opinions of others, you deserve to have a mind of your own and to own an opinion.

KEEP FIT AND PRACTICE A GOOD POSTURE: How you carry yourself says a lot about you. People usually will receive you or not based on the self image you portray.Human beings usually smell a low self esteem, so learn to walk with a spring in your step. Feel good about yourself, exercise and eat healthy to keep a good figure, dress up comfortably and walk confidently. Confidence conquers half of your life's battles, so think it, walk it and live it.

Just as Eleanor Roosevelt declared - ''Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.''

BE CONFIDENT, BE HAPPY!

Written by Gina Bello

WHAT IS NEXT?

YOU ARE YOUR THOUGHTS (PART 2)

2010-01-11T01:00:00.003Z

Mark 9:23

''If you can?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."

Positive thinking is essential for living a successful life. What you spend time thinking about registers on your mind.You must learn to be positive about life, and train yourself to utter more positive words each day. As these words and thoughts get engraved on your mind, they will propel you into the right actions that will enable you lead a successful life.

Instead of saying Nothing good happens to me

rather say

Good things are happening to me

Instead of saying I am clumsy

try saying I am graceful and well coordinated

Do not say I will not make it / I cannot

Instead say I shall make it / I can

Avoid saying I am bad at this or bad at that. If you rather keep saying I am good at this and good at that, and put your mind to becoming good at it, you shall be good at it. Positive affirmations are very good at transforming us over a period of time. They are sign posts that attract good things our way, and help us to mentally develop good attitudes and actions that render good results.

According to Wikipedia, Autosuggestion is a process by which an individual trains the subconscious mind to believe something, or systematically schematizes the person's own mental associations, usually for a given purpose. Autosuggestion is most commonly accomplished by presenting (either through caressing or bombarding) one's mind with repetitive thoughts (negative or positive), until those thoughts become internalized. Practitioners typically hope to transmute thoughts into beliefs, and even into actualities. Visualizing the manifestations of a belief, verbally affirming it, and thinking it using one's "internal voice", are typical means of influencing one's mind via repetitive autosuggestion.

From the above, we learn that one's thoughts when repetitive become engrafted into firm beliefs and later develop into actual happenings. A belief when it is visualised and verbally uttered or thought about tend to become real actions. In simple terms: You mentally picture it, speak it or think about it constantly, and you will have it. This is because what you continually dwell on is what your actions will be focused on.

Change your negative confessions into positive ones, and if you practice this over time, you shall begin to see positive changes. If I should tell you:

" Don't go swimming" Did you picture someone or yourself swimming?

A second example:

"Do not touch the red chair" Did you see a red chair mentally?

That is how autosuggestions function. In view of this, paint more positive pictures than negative ones, and let your mind and soul lead you into positive actions.

Yes you can!!!!

As Jesus said : ''If you can?" "Everything is possible for him who believes."

Written by Gina Bello

WHAT IS NEXT?

CONFIDENCE

2010-01-08T21:29:00.007Z

Confidence or the lack of it tells on our behaviour, speech and on our general conduct. The level of confidence we depict usually reflects our past experiences and thought line.

The little child who is tongue lashed each time he or she makes a mistake grows up feeling inadequate and afraid to venture into any meaningful endeavour, simply harbouring the fear of failing or making a mistake. Such a child may grow into a timid and wasted adult, yet with so much potential within. Probably angry and frustrated; possibly emptying all his or her bottled up negative feelings in social vices, thus becoming a social misfit. Worse still, this child could grow up stifled and depressed.

A continually raped victim could be left feeling broken, used, and may tend to have a very low self esteem. Such an individual if not well counselled could develop self image issues, subsequently becoming mediocre in thinking and might as well have moral issues. People with low self esteem often are cantankerous and/or rude. Most often, we put all sorts of labels on the behaviour of people who bear the brunt of a painful past, and are struggling emotionally, yet with a masquerade or false front to show society.

The above are a few examples of smoke screens used to disguise the lack of confidence. There are many more examples: shunning away from compliments, boasting unduly, being bossy, living in another’s shadow or being overly conscious of your mistakes,et cetera.

On the contrary, self confident people have a buzz around them. They believe in themselves and are basically go getters – they make things happen! They are not afraid to try new things and do take up challenges. They admit failures and mistakes, but to do not allow these to deter them from trying again. Self confident people do not seek affirmation from others and therefore are not afraid to take a stand in the face of opposition and intimidation. They express their opinions openly and are assertive.

As we grow, our experiences shape us into various characters. The environment in which we live in can make or mar us. Comments that people, especially family pass about us tend to affect us positively or negatively. Slowly but gradually what we go through in life inform our thoughts and aid in creating our self image and efficacy : what we think of ourselves, that is the mental image we have of ourselves or how we rate/evaluate ourselves; our perception of our capabilities and abilities; our level of resilience; our emotions and reactions.

A poor self image and a negative self efficacy induce a lack of confidence; whereas a good self image and a positive self efficacy inject confidence into us. Take some time to evaluate yourself and find out whether or not you have confidence.

All the best!

Written by Gina Bello

WHAT IS NEXT?

YOU ARE YOUR THOUGHTS

2010-01-07T00:53:00.007Z

PROVERBS 23:7

For as he thinks within himself, so he is.

You are what you think. What you believe you are is what you shall become. Your thoughts are a reflection of where you are going, they spell out what you would achieve or accomplish.

Positive thoughts bring about positive results. Negative thoughts breed negativity. Optimism ignites right actions that lead to good results. Pessimism delivers wrong actions. It is a menace that will come home to roost and render bad results.

Your thoughts are a window to your future, though they are formed by either your past or present experiences. Everyone has a belief system that controls him or her. What you believe in are like tiny strips of strings that control a puppet. You may not literally see the strings. But the actions of the puppet are in accordance to the movements of the strings that are attached to it. Your thoughts control your life, and determine which way you will take; what action you shall take; et cetera, et cetera.

Positive thoughts spur you on to victory. They ignite the right actions. They make mountains surmountable. They inflame the passion of your vision or goal. What you believe you will accomplish is what you shall accomplish. Though it may not be a walk in the park, if you put your mind to it, you shall attain or achieve it.

When you face a challenge, don't be quick to say "I cannot." Try saying -"How can I?" It will make all the difference. OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE

What did you read? Was it :

OPPORTUNITY IS NOW HERE

OPPORTUNITY IS NO WHERE

WHAT YOU SEE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE!

When you fail, try again. Take a cue from Thomas Edison's view on his failed attempts at inventing the light globe, - "If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward." This positive attitude of Thomas Edison, I believe is what made him successful. Your success is in your mind, words and actions. And all these three are correlated.

Let good thoughts engulf your mental faculty. Eradicate negative and bad thoughts. Let this be a continuous exercise. It will take a lot of self control and self awareness to do this. But once it becomes a life style, there is no end to the great and positive things you can achieve.

HAPPY 2010!

Written and posted by Gina Bello

WHAT IS NEXT?