Self Improvement

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 May 2009 03:35:00 +0000

Why You Need a Success Mindset

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:43:00 +0000

You hear it all the time: "success is a state of mind." There are people who would argue that success is a natural result of proper planning, preparation and focused action, and that viewpoint certainly holds a grain of truth - but there are also many exceptions to disprove that "rule." Have you ever wondered how two people can attempt the same objective in the same way and only one of them succeed? Is it sheer luck? Timing? Tenacity? More often than not, it's a person's mind-set that determines whether they fail or succeed.

What is a mind-set, anyway? Typically a mind-set refers to your predominant state of mind day to day. It's what you think about, focus on, and expect from your daily experiences. Think negatively, expect the worst, feel pessimistic about your options and that's exactly what you'll seem to draw into your life. Likewise, think positively, expect the best and focus on a successful outcome and you get it most of the time.

Makes sense, right? But how exactly does this work? Why is a success mind-set so important? There are three big reasons:

1) A success mind-set boosts your confidence and self-belief.

A lack of belief in yourself usually comes along with a sense of powerlessness and futility, which is the exact opposite of a success mind-set. Lack of confidence means you see no point in trying to be successful because it won't happen anyway. Obviously, this type of mind-set is a recipe for failure in any endeavor.

Having a true success mind-set, on the other hand, means you believe in yourself and your capabilities. You believe you can succeed at nearly anything you try, and you're willing to give it your best shot. Even better, the more you do try, the more confidence and self-belief you build - until you're virtually unstoppable!

2) A success mind-set strengthens your determination.

Without a success mind-set, one failure is enough to convince you that pursuing your goals is a waste of time. Tenacity and determination don't exist in your world. If you don't become a raging success the first time you try, you surmise that it simply wasn't meant to be. Unfortunately, few things worth having are obtained so easily!

A success mind-set, however, strengthens your awareness that a failure is not the end of the story - it's just one more way that didn't work out the way you planned. In fact, a true success mind-set makes it obvious that the only true failure occurs when you stop trying.

3) A success mind-set encourages fruitful actions.

Have you ever found yourself wandering in circles because you didn't know the best way to approach a specific goal? Perhaps you had an idea of the best course of action but you felt intimidated by some of the action steps required. As a result, you may have kept sabotaging your efforts as you searched in vain for an easier or less frightening way to your goal.

With a true success mind-set, you'll always know the most effective action steps that will lead directly to your goal. As already discussed, you'll also have the inner confidence and determination to pursue them - which is a sure recipe for . . . you guessed it; success!

If I had to sum up how to develop a success mind-set into as few words as possible, I'd say this:

- Go for your dreams.
- Think positively.
- Believe in yourself.
- Believe you can do better.
- Learn, grow and develop yourself.
- Be willing to take chances.
- Give it your all.
- Expect the best in every situation.
- Be willing to fail.
- When you fall down, get back up and try again.

Keep doing that and you can't help but become successful, from the inside out.

Three Ways to Balance Your Life

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:43:00 +0000

When your life seems out of control and you've got endless demands tugging at you from all directions, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, fatigued - and just plain stressed!

Believe it or not, balancing your life does not require massive changes. You don't have to quit your job, abandon your family and escape to a remote retreat in order to feel peaceful and happy. In fact, true balance is something that starts WITHIN YOU first and foremost - no matter what else is happening in your outer life circumstances.

Below you'll find three simple ways to begin building a greater sense of inner peace and harmony:

1) Quiet time.

One of the first things we tend to sacrifice when we're busy is our personal time. Instead we devote all of our energy and attention to caring for others, multi-tasking, meeting responsibilities and "being productive." Over time this depletes our energy and we begin to feel more and more burdened by our responsibilities.

To live a more balanced life, quiet time to yourself is CRUCIAL. You may believe that you don't have any time available for yourself, but something amazing happens when you consistently MAKE time; you find yourself feeling happier and more energetic, your focus improves - and you still get plenty done! Just a few minutes spent sitting quietly in meditation or reading a book can do wonders in transforming stress into peace and happiness.

2) Self-care.

Beyond making time for things you enjoy, there are other ways to nurture and love yourself on a daily basis. Getting a full 8 hours of sleep (or as much as you personally need) is a great start, as well as eating nutritious food, exercising daily and speaking kindly to yourself.

Have you ever noticed that when you're really tired or stressed, even the smallest problem can seem like a nightmare? On the other hand, when you're feeling well-rested and centered, you're much better able to handle upsets. Caring for yourself is one sure way to consistently replenish your energy, inner peace and joy - which means you'll have the strength to handle whatever comes your way.

3) Flexibility.

Did you know that one of the biggest causes of stress is rigid expectations? We all do it from time to time; get a mental picture of how our lives "should be" - and get really annoyed when our outer circumstances don't cooperate! One of the biggest gifts you can give yourself is a flexible state of mind. In other words, learn how to detach from unrealistic expectations and go with the flow.

When you have a flexible mind-set, you're able to deal with crises and problems much more easily because you're not working against a preconceived notion of how things "should be". You're able to tap into your creative problem-solving skills and move through challenges without all the drama and frustration. Be like the tree that bends with the breeze - and you're much less likely to break!

These inner changes can make a dramatic difference in your state of well-being, but you may also want to examine your outer life circumstances and see if there are other small changes you can make to help support your inner work.

For example, you might choose to let go of certain obligations that are no longer meaningful or enjoyable to you. Just because you agreed to host weekly meetings for a support group three years ago doesn't mean you have to keep doing it forever - especially if it's become a drain on your time and energy!

Be willing to let go of activities that no longer complement the lifestyle you desire, and you'll create a space for greater fulfillment, joy and peace.

Organizing for a Peaceful Atmosphere

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:42:00 +0000

There are many physical benefits to organization, but did you know that organizing your space can also have positive mental and spiritual benefits?

Purging your home and workplace of clutter and unnecessary items can symbolize a deeper process of cleansing and purification. As you toss old, useless clutter and better organize what’s left, you are in effect creating a sensation of lightness and freedom that can benefit you both mentally and spiritually.

On an energetic level, the effects of cleaning and de-cluttering can be even more profound because the process clears stagnation and calls in a flow of fresh, invigorating energy (also called “chi,” “ki,” or “qi” – which means “universal life energy”).

What does this mean for you and your space? More peace, prosperity, harmony and success!

Below you’ll find some quick tips on how to organize for a more serene atmosphere:

1) First and foremost, clearing away clutter is crucial. Clutter drains your energy, scatters your focus and leaves you feeling overwhelmed and restricted. Take as much time as necessary to remove items that are no longer needed and put away items to be kept. However, don’t toss them carelessly into drawers and closets; be sure to organize and place them neatly where they belong. Clutter is clutter, and you’ll experience the same negative effects even if it’s hidden away.

2) Once your surroundings are ordered, it’s time to do a physical cleaning job. Grab a vacuum cleaner, mops, buckets, dusting cloths, glass cleaner and any other supplies you’ll need, and clean like you’ve never cleaned before! It’s important to do a thorough job because you are not just cleaning away visible dirt – you are also removing any residue left by stagnant, negative energy. You may not be able to see it, but you can still be affected by it on some level if you don’t remove it completely.

3) Finally, take a breather and look at your surroundings. Notice that they look better, but also notice the difference in the way the environment feels. Does it feel lighter and calmer? Most people can feel the difference right away.

You’re not done yet, however! Now you’re going to call in some beneficial energy to take the place of what you just cleared out. There are many ways to do this, and none of them are better or more effective than the others. Choose one or more that appeal to you.

One of the most common techniques is to “smudge” the area using a bundle of dried sage leaves. (These can be purchased in herb shops or online.) Light the end of the sage stick and blow out the flame so the leaves smolder and release fragrant smoke. Walk through the rooms of your home and waft the scented smoke into the air. As you do, state aloud that you are removing negative energy and inviting a flow of fresh, beneficial energy to take its place.

Another technique is to simply light scented incense and candles in every room. The scents don’t really matter except that they are pleasing to you, but some popular choices include: lavender, rosemary, lemongrass, sage, sandalwood, myrrh, frankincense and rose.

Finally, you can use meditation and visualization to call in positive energy. Simply sit comfortably and perform deep-breathing exercises to bring yourself into a meditative state. Then imagine brilliant white light infusing every room of your home. Imagine that it fairly hums and crackles with an electrical charge, zapping any negativity that still lingers and replacing it with peace and harmony.

Doing this process just once can create quite an impressive change in the atmosphere of your home, but doing it on a regular basis can be even more effective. Try it once every 3 months for starters, but do it as often as you need to if you sense the atmosphere becoming heavy and sluggish again.

Motivation and Momentum

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:42:00 +0000

One of the most difficult parts of goal achievement is simply getting started. It’s easy enough to dream and plan, but many people get stuck in this phase indefinitely and avoid taking action. Planning and dreaming might make you feel like you’re doing something about your goals, but if you never actually take a step forward you’ll never achieve them. In order to see measurable progress, you have to step out of your comfort zones and take action.

When you finally do gather your courage and begin moving forward, what usually happens? You realize it’s WAY harder than you thought it would be, right? It feels like you’re trying to run uphill. You keep tripping over obstacles, facing setbacks and delays, dealing with fear and anxiety, and fighting a daily battle to stay motivated.

It’s during this difficult phase that most people give up. They decide that “it isn’t meant to be” right now, so they set their dream aside and vow to try again later. Or worse, they resign themselves to a mediocre life because they don’t believe they have what it takes to succeed. They’ve “failed,” so they’re not going to try any more.

Have you done this? Most people have!

However, this doesn’t have to be the end of the story. You can pick up your dreams, dust them off and try again. But this time you should know about a little something called Momentum.

You see, the difficult phase I just described is what happens at the beginning when you’re trying to gain momentum. Most people quit during this phase because they think it’s ALWAYS going to be this hard. What they don’t realize is that every effort they put toward the achievement of their goals will build on the previous efforts. With every step forward the process gets easier and easier. Finally, they’ve put so much energy and effort into the process that momentum begins to take over. Suddenly they realize that they don’t have to push so hard to keep moving forward. It becomes fun . . . even easy to achieve their goal.

This same experience can be yours! All you have to do is keep moving forward. Keep working toward your dreams and never quit. Momentum WILL take over eventually!

If you want to get momentum working even more quickly for you there are a few ways to do it, but they can be summed up in one sentence:

Be willing to work harder, faster and take bigger risks than you have in the past.

The reason why momentum can be delayed sometimes is because many people take very tentative steps toward their goals. They’re afraid to really give it their all, so they hold back much of the energy and power they could be devoting toward their goal. Even if they’re not aware of it, they may feel more comfortable working at a slower pace, so they avoid taking big risks and instead take baby steps.

There’s not a thing wrong with this approach if it suits you! However, if you want to make faster progress and build momentum quickly, think about taking bigger steps and giving your full energy and focus toward making it happen. By doing so, you’ll push through the difficult beginning and find yourself coasting before you know it.

Learning to Love Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:41:00 +0000

Loving yourself can be difficult when you have limiting and derogatory messages playing in your subconscious mind. Most of these messages are recorded during childhood, but their effects can be far reaching! Did you know that you’re still being influenced by the things your parents and others said to you decades ago?

When someone told you that you were no good, you believed them. When someone told you that you’d never amount to anything, you believed them. When someone told you that you were stupid or learning disabled or weird, you believed them. And you still believe them to this day – even if you’re not consciously aware of these underlying beliefs.

Is it possible to overcome old messages and replace them with new, empowering messages? Yes! Here are three good ways to start:

1) Romance yourself. Think about the last love affair you had. At the beginning you and your partner probably devoted a lot of time, attention and affection to each other, right? You felt passionate and swept away by the beauty of your partner and he/she probably felt the same about you. One of the best ways to learn to love yourself is to enter into a similar process – with yourself! Treat yourself like royalty! Do things that make you feel happy. Hug yourself. Sweet-talk yourself. Buy yourself nice things. Spend quality time with yourself simply because you deserve it.

2) Explore your existing beliefs. You may suspect you have old, limiting messages rattling around in your head but still be unsure about what they are exactly. In order to discover the beliefs that are holding you back, you may need to go on an expedition. Begin exploring your existing beliefs by writing in a journal. Give yourself prompts or questions like these: “My earliest memory of feeling stupid was . . .” “My mother always made me feel . . .” “My father always treated me like . . .” and so on. The idea is to think back to an earlier time in your life and see if you can discover when and where your limiting beliefs got started. Then, challenge those beliefs. Are they still true? Were they ever true? Decide what you WANT to be true, and begin to replace the old belief by focusing more on your new and improved beliefs.

3) Emphasize your good qualities! When you have low self-esteem, you tend to keep focusing on the things that are “wrong with you,” and dismissing the things that you have going for you. Start to turn this around by praising and encouraging yourself in your self-talk. When you accomplish something, congratulate yourself! Say things like, “Wow, I’m really proud of myself for doing that. It wasn’t easy, but I pushed through the rough spots and gave it my best shot.” You can also make a point of simply giving yourself positive self-talk daily. Recite affirmations like these: “I am a valuable person. I have a lot to offer the world. I’m talented and successful.” The more you do it, the more you’ll come to believe it!

How to Make Wise Decisions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:41:00 +0000

Have you ever felt nervous about making a decision that could affect the rest of your life? Sometimes even seemingly minor decisions can send you into a fit of anxiety when you begin thinking of all the things that could go wrong.

It's fairly common for people to vacillate back and forth between several choices, whether they are related to career, money, business, opportunities, or even relationships. How do you know which choice is the best one for you in any given situation? Sometimes the best choice is obvious, but other times they all seem to hold a glimmer of possibility - and the threat of regret.

The good news is that making wise decisions is a matter of weighing the potential pros and cons of every available outcome. Below you'll find a simple 3-step process to help you make wise decisions no matter what part of your life they may affect.

1) What Do You Stand to Gain?

When you've got more than one option to choose from, a great first question to ask of each one is, "What do I stand to gain from choosing this option?" If the rewards are big, you might be willing to withstand a bit of risk in order to benefit from the opportunity. Conversely, if the payoff would be small, you might not feel so confident about taking a chance right now.

2) What Do You Stand to Lose?

The next question to ask is, "What do I stand to lose if this option doesn't work out?" No one likes to think of the negatives in a potential opportunity, but you could save yourself a lot of heartache with a bit of foresight! If your losses could be huge with a particular option, you might decide to hold off for awhile to see if the odds improve over time.

3) What's the Worst Thing that Could Happen?

Finally, take it one step further and ask, "What is the worst thing that could happen if I choose this option, and would I be willing to accept those consequences?" It may seem like a very pessimistic question, but it's extremely effective at clarifying the situation! If you couldn't handle the consequences of making such a choice, then you know immediately that it's not the right choice for you at this time. If, on the other hand, the consequences wouldn’t be so bad, you know it’s a viable option for you.

What do you do if all of your options hold the same potential rewards and consequences? Go with your gut! Take a few minutes to think carefully about each possibility, and then choose the one you feel strongest about.

When it comes right down to it, there are no guarantees in decision-making. You simply weigh the pros and cons, listen to your intuition, and do the best you can. In the end, there really isn’t any such thing as a "bad" decision, because you do learn something from each one you make. If you keep that in mind you should grow more confident with each choice you make, which will help you make even better decisions in the future.

How to Expect the Best

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:40:00 +0000

Do you ever find yourself getting stuck in negative thought patterns and expecting the worst possible outcome in every situation? It’s a common mind-set that proves difficult to change when you finally decide you’ve had enough. Unfortunately, negative thoughts tend to breed and multiply on their own – even when you’re not consciously trying to think negatively.

The good news is that turning a negative outlook into a positive one just takes a bit of patience and persistence until the positive thoughts begin to take over.

Below you’ll find three simple steps to begin forming positive expectations on a daily basis:

1) Develop self-awareness to recognize negative expectations. One problem with negative thoughts is that they often form below your conscious level of awareness, and you get so used to them being in your head that you hardly notice anymore. To turn the tide of negativity, you’ll have to develop a stronger level of self-awareness. One good way to start is by performing self-checks several times a day. Pay attention first to how you feel. If you’re feeling positive and productive, most likely you’ve been thinking positive thoughts.

However, if you notice that you’re feeling irritable, pessimistic or stressed, you’re probably focusing more on negative thoughts. When that happens:

2) Challenge and change the negative thoughts. Believe it or not, it’s fairly easy to challenge and change negative thoughts with a little willpower and concentration. For example, if you find yourself feeling doubtful about your ability to finish your work on time, you might engage in a bit of self-talk like this: “Okay, so I’m feeling a bit worried right now, but really everything is okay. I’m strong, I’m smart and I’m capable of finishing my work on time. I’ll do my best and everything will work out fine.” Even though nothing has changed in your outer circumstances, this type of self-talk can get you thinking and feeling more positive.

3) At the same time, while you’re changing negative thoughts to positive, work daily on developing a general positive expectation habit. Each day when you wake up, affirm confidently, “Today is going to be a great day! Everything will go my way and I’ll enjoy plenty of lucrative opportunities and fun!”

When you encounter obstacles or problems, see them as opportunities to learn, grow and strengthen yourself. Perception is 99% of the game! If you simply work on shifting the way you look at the experiences of your life, you can easily conquer your negative thought habits.

The more you focus on changing your perspective to emphasize the positive, you’ll empower yourself to create better circumstances in your life. Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying better and more frequent opportunities and attracting other likeminded, successful people to connect with.

How to Develop a Positive Attitude

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:40:00 +0000

When it comes to your quality of life, attitude is everything! In fact, it could even be said that whatever you focus on the most, you tend to bring into your life, whether by choice or circumstance. Have you ever known someone who had a terrible attitude? Perhaps they were extremely negative and pessimistic and not much fun to be around; or they complained non-stop about how terrible their life was. Did you find it draining to be in their presence?

A negative attitude will not only make you miserable, but everyone around you too!

A positive attitude, on the other hand, turns you into a person that everyone wants to be with; a person that constantly experiences great things, and a person who loves their life! Do you want to be that kind of person? If so, read on for some easy ways to develop a positive attitude.

1) Do what you love. This applies to hobbies and fun activities, but it also pertains to one of the biggest parts of your life – your work! Do you enjoy your job? Are you spending most of your time on something that makes you feel purposeful and fulfilled? If not, consider exploring other career options and moving toward a job you’ll love. When you regularly do things that make you happy, you can’t help but feel better about yourself and your life, which fosters a positive attitude.

2) Expect the best, always. It’s easy to get into the habit of seeing doom and gloom in every situation, but doing so keeps you forever focused on the negative. Instead, make a conscious decision to expect the best, even if your first impulse is to think negatively. Affirm as often as you can, “This is going to work out great! Wonderful things are going to happen today!” The more you do it the more you’ll begin to believe it, and the more you’ll begin to experience just that.

3) Build yourself up. Think and speak positively to and about yourself every day. Most of us are in the habit of talking down to ourselves, which leaves us feeling hopeless, frustrated and pessimistic. Get into the habit of building yourself up with positive self-talk and positive thoughts. Affirm your good qualities and downplay your negative qualities. Affirm that you are a work in progress; not perfect but great nonetheless!

4) Build others up. As often as you can, make an effort to encourage, support and compliment the people you encounter each day. That goes for people you know as well as strangers you meet in your daily travels. The more you focus on emphasizing the positive in others the more likeable you’re going to be, and the better you’re going to feel about yourself too!

5) Think strength. The more you worry about your weaknesses and “failures” the more pessimistic and negative you’re going to feel. Instead, consistently affirm your strengths, talents and capabilities. You’ll end up feeling empowered and in control of your circumstances, which cannot help but improve your attitude!

How to Conquer Your Fears

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:39:00 +0000

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by fear - so much so that it prevented you from doing something you wanted to do? Believe it or not, this is a common problem faced by many people daily.

Fear has the power to hold you back from taking risks, following your dreams, or becoming successful at anything you attempt to do. If you allow it to control you for long enough, it can eventually erode your quality of life and keep you locked in a prison of inactivity.

What many people fail to realize is that fear is nothing more than a conditioned response. It's a natural reaction to a frightening or unfamiliar situation. While it is usually automatic, there are things you can do to overcome it.

1) Check your expectations.

One major contributor of fear is the prevalence of negative expectations. Do you usually find yourself expecting the worst in every situation? Do you worry obsessively about what could go wrong, rather than focusing on your strengths and capabilities?

If you make a conscious effort to expect the best, see the positive side of each situation and keep reminding yourself that you can handle more than you often think, you'll find yourself with much less fear to deal with. Even if feelings of fear do manage to creep into your consciousness, you'll still be able to keep them in perspective and balance them against an underlying sense of confidence.

2) Discredit your fears.

Experts will tell you that the majority of things you fear will never come to pass anyway. While this may be true, it sure doesn't feel that way when fear has a chokehold on you! However, if you look a little more closely at your fears when they arise, you may be able to dismiss at least a few.

For example, if you have a fear of public speaking and your boss wants you to give a presentation at work, you might feel like your life (and perhaps your livelihood) is on the line. You may fear getting fired, or worry that your colleagues will lose respect for you if you don't do a good job.

But is any of this likely to happen? In most cases, no. Rather than worrying about what "might" happen if you don't give a solid presentation, you might brainstorm ways to help improve your performance, such as being well prepared, practicing your delivery on friends and family members, writing notes to yourself and so on.

3) Do the very thing you fear.

When you remember that fear is simply a feeling, it loses much of its power. It can't harm you and except in truly threatening situations you can choose to ignore it and move forward anyway.

If you weigh the pros and cons in any situation, you may decide that the possibility of negative consequences is minimal so there's nothing to stop you from ignoring your fear and going for it! This will be determined by you on a case by case basis, of course. The point isn't to become reckless with your decision-making but rather to empower yourself to know when a fear is groundless and easily overcome.

How to Attract Money

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:39:00 +0000

One of the most common goals people set when first learning about the Law of Attraction is to attract more money into their lives. They're sick of struggling, sick of not having enough, and they're eager to find relief. Unfortunately, attracting money is often one of the most difficult objectives, simply because money carries such heavy emotional weight in our lives. There's a lot riding on the success (or failure) of our goal to attract more money! Namely, our peace of mind, happiness, security - and much more.

Unfortunately, placing such strong emphasis on the outcome of money attraction only creates more blockages. The more you think you desperately "need" more money; the more you believe you can't be happy without it; the more frustrated you get when it isn't showing up - the longer it's going to take to attract it.

The good news is that there are a few simple things you can do to make the process easier:

1) Lighten up!

The more tense and serious you are about attracting money, the harder it's going to be. If you instead look at it like a fun game, you'll be devoting a perfect mixture of light, positive energy to the process - which is a natural prosperity attractor! In fact, make it your mission to be lighthearted and easygoing about money and everything else in your life from now on. Not only will you end up attracting more money, but also more love, joy, peace, fun and passion in all areas of your life.

2) Be what you want to attract.

Another common blockage is the perception of "here and there." You believe you are HERE, in the midst of lack and struggle, and you are trying to get over THERE, where there is peace and abundance aplenty. What you'll eventually realize is that there is no "here or there." There is only right now, and whatever you are communicating to the universe right now is what you are creating in your physical reality. Rather than focusing on trying to ATTRACT more money, BECOME a person who has all the money they could ever need. Think, feel and act as if your goal is already achieved, and the universe will make it so! Focus daily on feeling happy, abundant, peaceful, secure, and grateful and you will attract life circumstances that correspond with those feelings.

3) Let go.

Don't worry about "how" your money will come. Don't focus obsessively on winning the lottery, receiving an inheritance or anything else specific. Let the universe decide how it will come. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to receive more money and act on them if you see them, but otherwise detach and know that it's on the way! This is easier said than done, but the more you try to control "how" your abundance comes, the more blockages you create.

Additionally, be sure to let go of WHEN money comes into your life. You might be tempted to set a deadline, but the universe has its own timing and wisdom. Be willing to trust and let go, and you open a gateway for immense blessings to flow into your life.

Failure Doesn’t Exist

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:38:00 +0000

Have you ever held back on doing something because you were afraid of failure? Most people have! Let’s face it; no one likes to fail. None of us likes to feel like we’re ineffective, weak or lacking in any way, and that’s exactly how failure makes us feel.

However, you may be surprised to know that failure doesn’t exist – until YOU say it does. In the dictionary, failure has several definitions: 1) a failing to do or perform 2) a state of inability to perform a normal function adequately 3) a fracturing or giving way under stress 4) a lack of success.

Look carefully at those definitions and you’ll probably realize they have one thing in common when it comes to goal achievement: failure is a PERCEPTION.

If you believe you have failed, then you have. If you believe you don’t have the ability to succeed, then you don’t. If you believe you can’t handle the pressure of achieving your goals, you can’t. If you believe you’re not successful, you aren’t. Failure only exists in your own mind! The moment you decide to give up or stop working toward your goals, failure is born.

But what if you never do that? What if you continue working toward your goals, one step at a time for as long as it takes? There’s no failure then, is there?

This insight should be very encouraging if you’ve been working toward goals and not yet seeing positive results. Simply keep going and you cannot fail!

Here are three tips to help you stay strong and focused on your goals:

1) Never give yourself an out. Most people do this without even realizing it. They are willing to work hard on achieving their goals, until the going gets too rough or their motivation dwindles. Don’t do that! Commit to making your goals happen, no matter what! Never quit, never contemplate admitting failure, and never lose your inner determination.

2) Don’t get hooked on a specific timeframe for completion. It’s okay to set a general timeline, but be aware that some circumstances will be beyond your control, so you can’t say for sure when your goal will be achieved. If you do that, you’re just setting yourself up for failure! Instead, get a general idea of when you’d like your goal to be completed, but then take it a day at a time and focus on making progress, not reaching the finish line in as little time as possible.

3) Finally, be sure that you don’t view obstacles and setbacks as failures. The two are completely different. An obstacle, setback or delay means only one thing: it’s not time for your goal to be completed yet. That’s it! It doesn’t mean you failed; it doesn’t mean you’re weak; it doesn’t mean you’ll never achieve your goals. It simply means you’re not done yet. You’ve got to keep moving forward and find a way around or through the obstacle.

Have You Checked Your Self-Talk Lately?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:38:00 +0000

Did you know that you talk to yourself all day long? No, not the mental chatter about activities and chores that you need to remember throughout the day. That’s a form of self-talk too, but I’m referring more to the things you say to yourself on a regular basis; and more importantly, the tone in which you say them.

When you make a mistake, do you berate yourself angrily? Do you put yourself down or call yourself derogatory names? When you have a hard time making positive changes in your life, do you bemoan what a “worthless” person you are and conclude that you’ll never do anything right?

Negative self-talk can be incredibly damaging to your self-esteem, especially if it’s a big part of your daily life. When you keep saying things like that to yourself, eventually you begin to believe them!

Most often these messages begin as statements uttered by the adults in your life when you were a child. They may have said something negative about you when your actions displeased them, or perhaps they had a habit of saying unkind things even when you didn’t deserve it. As painful as these experiences can be, even worse is when you pick up where they left off and keep repeating the same negative messages to yourself over and over!

The good news is that you can change your self-talk any time you want. You just have to know how to become aware of the tone of your messages and consciously replace them with more encouraging ones.

Try these simple steps for starters:

1) Develop awareness of your self-talk. It may take practice, but if you keep “listening” in to your inner voice, you’ll begin to notice when you talk negatively to yourself.

2) Challenge the negative messages. When you notice yourself saying something negative such as, “You’re such a screw-up, you can’t do anything right” – stop yourself and challenge that belief. Is that really true? Maybe you mess up sometimes, but do you ALWAYS mess up? Probably not.

3) Replace the negative messages with positive messages. When you realize you’re saying unkind and untrue things to yourself, simply turn it around in your mind. Using the above example, you might say, “Wow, that’s not true at all! I do plenty of things right. It’s true I make mistakes, but so does everyone. I’m a good person and I try my best. That’s good enough for me.”

Over time, your efforts will pay off in the form of stronger self-esteem and respect for yourself and your capabilities. It probably won’t happen overnight, but the more you work at turning your self-talk in a more positive direction, the better you’ll feel about yourself.

Everyday Simplicity

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:37:00 +0000

With the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, we can often find ourselves yearning for a quieter, simpler way of living. If your life has come to resemble an endless race to the finish line, take a look at the suggestions below to bring a greater sense of calm and simplicity back into your life.

1) Less is more. It’s amazing how much “stuff” we can accumulate in our homes because we think they’ll contribute to our lives. It’s true that we gain enjoyment from material possessions, but the more we accumulate the more burdened we often feel. Eventually we find ourselves living under a constant cloud of confusion, scattered thoughts and stress.

Begin immediately to clear out the material possessions you no longer need or want, and donate them to a local charitable organization. This will accomplish two things: first, you’ll feel lighter and less cramped in your home; and you’ll also feel good about giving these items to people who can actually use them.

2) Pare down your activities. An active life is good for you, but not if it leaves you feeling stressed and fatigued! Most of us take on much more than necessary as far as obligations and even recreational activities are concerned.

Take a few minutes to think about the things you do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Do you really need to do all of them? Have you taken on responsibilities that really aren’t yours? Are you spending time on activities you no longer enjoy? Make a list of at least a few activities or obligations that you can eliminate, and then go ahead and do so – even if you have to pare them down gradually.

3) Spend time in silence. A deceptively simple way to live a life of simplicity and ease is to shut out the mental and physical “noise” of your busy life on a regular basis. Sitting in silence for just a few minutes can drastically reduce your stress levels and leave you feeling calm, centered and happy.

If you live near a park or natural setting, you can even boost the effectiveness of this activity by spending time in nature. While not completely silent, natural settings have soothing sounds like running water, singing birds and wind sighing through trees – which automatically trigger feelings of peace and well-being.

When it comes right down to it, living a simpler life is about learning how to slow down and connect more deeply with your inner self. Whether you do that by simplifying your surroundings, calming your schedule or enjoying a quiet respite each day, the result is the same – a happier and more peaceful you!

Empowerment in Action

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:37:00 +0000

If you’ve ever been stuck in a rut of inertia before, you probably know the sense of helpless futility that takes over your life. You want your life to change, but you feel powerless to do anything about it yourself. You may find yourself constantly making plans to improve your life, but never quite getting around to taking action because it seems so intimidating.

Though taking action can intimidate and frighten you, it can also empower you! If you learn to use it effectively, it can provide the fuel to keep you moving forward toward more fulfilling life circumstances. When you do this, you realize that there was never anything to fear in the first place, and you’ll never get stuck again!

Below are three simple steps that show you how to get started:

1) First, be sure you understand that your life is the way it is right now because of your hesitation in taking action! This is important, because you’ll understand the importance of moving forward no matter how anxious it makes you feel at first.

Then, decide on one action to take to get the ball rolling. Think about your life right now, and ask yourself which situations you want to change first. You might choose your career, relationships, health, financial situation, or anything else that makes you feel powerless and stuck. Then think about one simple action you can take to inspire some positive change. It doesn’t have to be a huge action, just SOMETHING to start building momentum.

2) Once you’ve decided on your action step, you’ll have to push yourself to take it no matter what! This may seem incredibly difficult or even scary, but remember that most often the things you fear are not going to happen. In fact, you may not even have a clear reason for feeling scared – you’re just afraid of the “unknown”. Give yourself a pep talk or push yourself in any way you have to in order to move forward at least a little bit. After you take that first step, be sure to let go of any expectations of the things that will happen because of it, and allow yourself to feel great simply because you did something about it!

3) Repeat with the same step, and/or others. Once you’ve taken one step forward, you’ll need to keep pushing yourself to take others. Consider this: Even if you take a hundred small steps in a month, you’ll be putting forth positive effort to make changes in your life, which cannot help but bring about better circumstances!

The good news is that taking action quickly begins to build momentum. Just as chronic non-action can create a cycle of negativity and stagnation over time, being proactive can create a positive cycle that continues to grow! It gets easier the more you do it, which eventually makes it seem almost effortless – and you continue to empower and strengthen yourself with every step you take.

Create Your Day

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:37:00 +0000

Do you tend to let your outer circumstances set the tone for each day? Do you allow other people and events to trigger feelings of anger, frustration, impatience and more?

When you do this, you are not using the power you have available to you! By using the Law of Attraction, you can turn every day into a great day. One way to do that is by using intentions and visualization to create your day.

When you first wake up in the morning, spend 10 minutes or so thinking about the types of things you’d like to experience that day. How would you like your workday to go? What kind of people would you like to meet? Would you like to receive some great opportunities to advance your career or financial situation? How would you like to feel for the majority of your day?

Grab a blank journal or notebook and jot these details down! Once you’ve gotten all the details written down, spend a few minutes vividly imagining each scenario in your mind, exactly as you would like it to happen. Pretend you’re watching a movie in your mind, seeing it all play out exactly as you’d like it to.

Most importantly, allow yourself to feel as if they were actually happening now. Immerse yourself in feelings of excitement, joy, happiness and gratitude as you enjoy one great experience after another. Use this same process for every experience you’d like to have that day.

By the time you’re finished you should be feeling fantastic; buzzing with good spirits and high expectations!

Then continue with your normal routine, taking special care not to be “attached” to any specific events or experiences, just simply staying open to whatever comes. Keep affirming that great things are going to happen to you that day, and you feel great about all of the blessings and abundance in your life.

At the same time, avoid getting entangled in feelings of worry, anxiety, frustration, and anger as much as possible throughout the day because those feelings will interfere with the positive energy you’ve already put out.

As often as you can remember, call to mind images of the things you visualized earlier and allow good feelings to flow over you again. Affirm and know that wonderful things are happening, even if you don’t see them quite yet.

By using this process on a daily basis, you’ll eventually start to notice that good things are starting to happen. You’ll find yourself being in the “right place at the right time” and generally enjoying greater opportunities and abundance.

Committing to Your Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:36:00 +0000

Have you ever set a goal and not achieved it? Most people have. In fact, it’s quite common for people to get stuck in an endless cycle of setting goals and then quitting them shortly afterwards – and accomplishing nothing at all.

Why do people do this? One of the biggest reasons is a lack of commitment to their goal. Without commitment a goal will gradually shrink in importance, and the temptation to quit will seem much more attractive, especially when obstacles cause setbacks and delays.

On the other hand, if you make a serious commitment and then continually remind yourself of it, you’ll be much more likely to persevere and achieve the goal.

Here’s how to commit to your goals:

1) First and foremost, you have to make sure that every goal you set is of VITAL importance to you. This can be tricky because we so often fool ourselves into thinking we want one thing when we want something entirely different. Take some time with this part of the process, and be sure that you get to the heart of what you really want. Why do you want it? What will it do for you? What positive things will it bring to your life? How will it help you? How will it make you feel when it’s accomplished?

Write all of this down and keep it handy so you can refer to it as often as necessary if you feel your commitment beginning to slip.

Also ask yourself if your goal is worth the effort and sacrifice that will be needed to achieve it. If you can honestly answer yes, you are on the way!

2) Think about what will happen if you don’t follow through. Would nothing much happen if you don’t achieve your goal? If not, then you need to raise the stakes! You have to make your goal the most important thing in the world, and if you don’t do it, you’ll deal with negative consequences. Even if you have to indulge in a bit of “make believe” in order to do this, do it. For example, play up the fact that you’ll lose respect for yourself if you don’t follow through; or you might agree to give up something you love if you don’t make it happen.

3) Then, each and every day, renew your commitment. It’s easy to be committed you’re your goal is new and your motivation is high, but you need to be able to STAY committed – no matter what! Each day when you awaken, read through the goal you wrote down on the first day, and stress again how vitally important it is to you. Promise yourself that you’re going to do as much as you can to work on your goal that day, and every day until you achieve it.

When it comes right down to it, no one can achieve your goals for you. If you want to achieve them, you’ll have to find the determination necessary to keep going. Inactivity and procrastination are usually nothing more than bad habits. Turning those habits into something more positive and productive is as simple as taking it a day at a time and working your hardest to change your life. The more committed and determined you are to making your goal happen, the more likely you’ll do just that.

Boosting Self-Esteem With Affirmations

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:36:00 +0000

When you consider that low self-esteem is usually the result of negative messages being absorbed by the subconscious, it makes sense that feeding your mind more positive messages can make a powerful difference!

What stops most people is the uncertainty of what to say, and how to word affirmations for optimal effectiveness. Below you’ll find some simple tips to help you write effective affirmations for improving your self-esteem.

1) Present tense. First, it’s helpful to word affirmations in present tense, not future. You wouldn’t want to say, “I will learn to love myself” because that makes it sound like you’ll get around to it “someday.” Instead you could say, “I choose to love myself.” The wording of that affirmation does two things: it empowers you with the addition of the words “choose to,” and it puts the timeframe in the present moment.

2) Believable. At the same time, your affirmations should be believable to you. If you tried to say, “I am a wonderful person with a lot to offer the world,” you may not really believe that, so your subconscious mind might reject it. Instead, try to focus on a process rather than an end result in your affirmations. Say something like, “I am learning to embrace my uniqueness and share it confidently with others.”

3) Use the right tone. When you recite affirmations, you can do so aloud or just mentally, but you should focus heavily on the TONE you use. Rather than saying the words without emotion like you were reading a newspaper – really inject an element of love and tenderness into them. Your subconscious mind picks up on the emotional aspect of what you’re saying more than the actual words. Imagine the difference between saying the words, “I really love myself” with a tone of love and compassion, or sarcasm. Which do you think would have a greater impact on your subconscious mind?

4) Repetition. Once you’ve got some affirmations formed to work on your self-esteem, try saying them several times a day. Remember, your subconscious mind is constantly playing back old, negative messages – so you want to counteract those as much as possible. Keep reciting your more positive thoughts on a regular basis - especially when you become aware that you’re thinking negatively about yourself.

5) Give it time. Finally, remember that it will take time to change those old, negative messages in your mind to something more positive. It may take a few weeks or even months before you’ll notice an obvious difference in how you feel, and you may be tempted to think it isn’t working. Keep with it, and you will begin to see a difference eventually! Most likely it will be a gradual change. Little by little you’ll start feeling more positive, and notice that you’re feeling a bit happier and lighter. That’s your signal that it’s working!

Affirmations That Attract Prosperity

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:35:00 +0000

Do you have a hard time focusing on prosperity? Do you find yourself struggling with negative thought habits that only seem to attract more lack and difficulty into your life? Affirmations are one simple tool you can use to turn it around.

Affirmations work by delivering new messages to your subconscious mind. Most often, this involves replacing old, limiting messages with new, empowering messages.

However, the way you word your affirmations will usually determine how effective they are.

If I asked you to recite this affirmation: “I am a millionaire,” how effective do you think it would be? Would you turn into an overnight millionaire? Would money start falling out of the sky to land in your lap? Probably not. Why? Simply because you know the statement isn’t true. If you try to feed your subconscious mind a belief that you are a millionaire, it creates a conflict with your current set of beliefs. Your subconscious mind does not like conflict, and it doesn’t like change – so nothing in your life changes either!

In order for affirmations to work, you MUST word them in a way that your subconscious mind won’t resist. In other words, make them believable.

Compare the above affirmation to one like this: “I am becoming more prosperous every day.”

That one feels better, doesn’t it? Your mind doesn’t try to resist it because you can actually imagine it happening (even if it hasn’t begun to happen yet).

Another power-boost for affirmations is to word them in a way that places more responsibility on you. For example, instead of affirming, “I am becoming more prosperous every day,” you could say, “I am open to the best opportunities to make money quickly and easily.” The wording of such an affirmation makes you feel more in control of your circumstances. Rather than waiting anxiously for money to fall out of the sky, you send a message to your subconscious mind that you can control how much money you have by being alert to great opportunities.

Affirmations can vary in the length of time required to firmly “take root” in your mind. For the most part, it depends on the intensity of your opposing beliefs and the level of effort you put forth in turning those beliefs around. If your focus on lack is very strong, you’ll probably have to expend a fair amount of energy and effort to train your mind to focus on prosperity.

However, it is time and effort well spent because the more you focus on positive thoughts and prosperous beliefs, the more you’ll find yourself attracting good things into your life.

Here are a few good affirmations to help get you started on the road to prosperity:

• I use my thoughts and emotions to attract abundance effortlessly.
• I am becoming more prosperous and successful every day.
• I know I have what it takes to be as successful as I want to be.
• I am talented and resourceful.
• I create a better life one positive thought at a time.

Be Happy Now

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:35:00 +0000

Are you still waiting for your circumstances to change before you’ll allow yourself to be happy? Most of us have preconceived ideas of what would make us happy, and we refuse to be satisfied until those things happen.

The problem is that even once specific things happen in our lives, we’re rarely satisfied with them! Instead, we shift our focus to something even bigger and better, believing “it” will make us happy (or happier). We never allow ourselves to reach a point of contentment. Have you done the same thing to yourself?

The good news is that you can decide to be happy NOW – even if not everything in your life is perfect. Below you’ll find 3 easy ways to do so:

1) Be grateful. Gratitude is one of the most powerful states of mind that you can adopt. Not only does it make you feel good, it shifts your focus from what you don’t have to what you DO have, and keeps it there! As you focus more on what you are grateful to have in your life (even the really small blessings!), you worry less about anything that may be lacking. The result? A more pervasive sense of happiness!

2) Take time to smell the roses. If you spend most of your days feeling rushed and scattered, it’s hard to feel happy and content. In order to be truly happy, you need to make time for yourself to relax, dream, and take pleasure in life’s simpler moments. Beginning today, make sure to spend time doing things you love on a regular basis. Read books that stimulate your imagination; listen to great music; take long walks, and generally make an effort to enjoy your life as it is right now.

3) Love the journey. Many of us make the mistake of pinning all of our expectations on some vague, far-off result, like the completion of goals. We believe that once we “get there” everything will be perfect and we’ll finally be happy. However, there is much to be gained from enjoying the journey TO your destination! Make it your mission to revel in every moment that you’re working toward higher goals. Enjoy the sense of self-mastery and accomplishment you gain with every goal you achieve. Make it a worthwhile journey and you’ll savor the end result that much more!

The most important thing to understand about happiness is that it is largely a CHOICE you make from moment to moment. Though certain serious situations make it difficult to feel happy at times, most often we allow the little things to bother us and block any happiness we would otherwise feel. Embrace happiness, and it will grow to monstrous proportions in your life!

101 Helpful Affirmations

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:33:00 +0000

Affirmations are great tools that can help you overcome fear, build your confidence, develop an abundance mind-set and more. The problem is that many people aren't sure exactly how to write effective affirmations. Do they always have to be in present tense? Can they contain "negative" words like can't, won't, not, and so on?

There are plenty of differing opinions on the right and wrong ways to write effective affirmations, but the bottom line is that an affirmation can be considered effective if it works for YOU! The whole point of affirmations is to shift your thoughts and emotions to a more positive place so you feel more confident, happy, secure, abundant, or anything else you're trying to accomplish.

Take a look at the sample affirmations below for starters and feel free to use them if they resonate with you. If not, try altering them slightly until they trigger the mind-set and emotional state you're trying to attain.

Affirmations for Healthy Weight and Body Image:

- Today I love my body fully, deeply and joyfully.
- My body has its own wisdom and I trust that wisdom completely.
- My body is simply a projection of my beliefs about myself.
- I am growing more beautiful and luminous day by day.
- I choose to see the divine perfection in every cell of my body.
- As I love myself, I allow others to love me too.
- Flaws are transformed by love and acceptance.
- Today I choose to honor my beauty, my strength and my uniqueness.
- I love the way I feel when I take good care of myself.
- Today my own well-being is my top priority.

Affirmations for Self-Confidence and Self-Belief:

- Fear is only a feeling; it cannot hold me back.
- I know that I can master anything if I do it enough times.
- Today I am willing to fail in order to succeed.
- I believe that I have the strength to make my dreams come true.
- I'm going to relax and have fun with this, no matter what the outcome may be.
- I'm proud of myself for even daring to try; many people won't even do that!
- Today I put my full trust in my inner guidance.
- I grow in strength with every forward step I take.
- I release my hesitation and make room for victory!
- With a solid plan and a belief in myself, there's nothing I can't do.

Affirmations for Abundance and Prosperity:

- I open to the flow of great abundance in all areas of my life.
- I always have more than enough of everything I need.
- Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!
- Today I expand my awareness of the abundance all around me.
- I allow the universe to bless me in surprising and joyful ways.
- My grateful heart is a magnet that attracts more of everything I desire.
- Prosperity surrounds me, prosperity fills me, prosperity flows to me and through me.
- I exude passion, purpose and prosperity.
- I am always led to the people who need what I have to offer.
- As my commitment to help others grows, so does my wealth.
- My day is filled with limitless potential in joy, abundance and love.

Affirmations for Life Purpose:

- The better I know myself, the clearer my purpose becomes.
- My unique skills and talents can make a profound difference in the world.
- Today I follow my heart and discover my destiny.
- I am meant to do great things.
- I am limited only by my vision of what is possible.
- My purpose is to develop and share the best parts of myself with others.
- Today I present my love, passion, talent and joy as a gift to the world.
- I need not know the entire journey in order to take one step.
- I fulfill my life purpose by starting here, right now.
- My life purpose can be whatever I decide to make it.

Affirmations for Inner Peace:

- All is well, right here, right now.
- Peace begins with a conscious choice.
- Today I embrace simplicity, peace and solace.
- A peaceful heart makes for a peaceful life.
- I trust the universe to deliver my highest good in every situation.
- By becoming peace, I create peace in every experience.
- I am filled with the light of love, peace and joy.
- Peace comes when I let go of trying to control every tiny detail.
- Where peace dwells, fear cannot.
- Today my mission is to surrender and release.

Affirmations for Opportunity:

- Today I open my mind to the endless opportunities surrounding me.
- Opportunities are everywhere, if I choose to see them.
- I boldly act on great opportunities when I see them.
- My intuition leads me to the most lucrative opportunities.
- An opportunity is simply a possibility until I act on it.
- Some of the best opportunities are made, not found.
- Today I see each moment as a new opportunity to express my greatness.
- I expand my awareness of the hidden potential in each experience.
- Let each of my experiences today be a gateway to something even better.
- Each decision I make creates new opportunities.

Affirmations for Love:

- I am ready for a healthy, loving relationship.
- All of my relationships are meaningful and fulfilling.
- As I share my love with others the universe mirrors love back to me.
- I see everyone I meet as a soul mate.
- I trust the universe to know the type of partner who is perfect for me.
- Today I release fear and open my heart to true love.
- I am grateful for the people in my life.
- I am the perfect partner for my perfect partner.
- I deserve a loving, healthy relationship.
- I deserve to be loved and I allow myself to be loved.

Affirmations for Healing:

- I am strong and healthy.
- My energy and vitality are increasing every day.
- I open to the natural flow of wellness now.
- My inner guidance leads me to the right healing modalities for me.
- Abundant health and wellness are my birthright.
- Thank you for my strength, my health and my vitality.
- I am feeling stronger and better now.
- I love taking good care of myself.
- Today nurturing myself is my highest priority.
- Thank you for the opportunity to balance my mind, body and spirit.

Affirmations for Inner Clarity:

- Today I awaken to my higher wisdom.
- My inner voice guides me in every moment.
- I am centered, calm and clear.
- I always know the right actions to achieve my goals.
- When I know where I'm going, getting there is a cinch!
- Today I am completely tuned in to my inner wisdom.
- Harmony is always a sign that I am balanced from within.
- Thank you for showing me the way to my dreams.
- I trust my feelings and insights.
- I am detached and open to divine guidance.

Affirmations for Self-Love:

- I am filled with light, love and peace.
- I treat myself with kindness and respect.
- I don't have to be perfect; I just have to be me.
- I give myself permission to shine.
- I honor the best parts of myself and share them with others.
- I'm proud of all I have accomplished.
- Today I give myself permission to be greater than my fears.
- I love myself no matter what.
- I am my own best friend and cheerleader.
- Thank you for the qualities, traits and talents that make me so unique.

The nuts and bolts of socialization

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:11:00 +0000

Socialization is not as easy as it sounds, and to completely understand and it is an on going process throughout life. There are a lot of different parts to socialization so we will try to cover them as brief as possible. The infamous psychologist Sigmund Freud stated that biology pays a significant part in human development. He believed that humans have two simple needs, and the first is the need to bond, and the second is the aggressive drive in which he coined as death instinct. Freud stated that these are two opposing forces that works in the unconscious level and causes some internal torment. The unconscious theory of psychology is both controversial and debatable because there is really no concrete proof that it exists.

He also combined personality and the basic drives into three separate parts which are known as the id, ego, and superego. The id is an individual’s basic drives in the unconscious mind, and it demands attention from people. A popular example for this is why a young child demands a bundle of attention and materialistic objects. However, this is usually neutralized that’s why one of the common words added to an individual’s dictionary is no. To avoid being angry and unsatisfied a child most come to think consciously and with rational abilities. It will be illogical and impractical if a child could get everything they want and this is known as the ego stage. The last part is known as superego and this happens when an individual use cultural norms to help make decisions. This happens during the conscious stage as well, and an example is study hard to get good grades and get accepted into college. The id and the superego will always have a battle with each other, but with a socially adjusted individual the ego helps balance these two out. The superego is an important stage because if an individual don’t have it then they will develop an attitude that center around themselves and would not be willing to make sacrifices in life. During his time, sex was a controversial topic and was not viewed as a basic drive for human beings. Now-a-days things have changed quite greatly but are still controversial because it shines women in a negative light. Another psychologist that did great discoveries for the development of children around their environment is Jean Piaget.

He was a Swiss psychologist that main concentration was in cognition or the mental processes of individuals. He put together four basic stages for cognitive maturing. The first stage was known as the senorimotor stage. During this stage an individual experiences things solely through their senses such as smelling, tasting, and listening.

The second stage is called the preoperational stage and occurs around age 2. This is the stage when a person starts talking and use signals such as the classic “good bye” wave. In this stage an individual sill lacks abstract development. For example if you pull liquid into two separate containers and one is tall while the other is wide, then children in this stage will automatically assume that the taller glass contains more liquid even though it’s the same amount of fluid in both containers. The third or concrete operational stage is which individuals can experience a more logical connection to their surroundings. An example is when an individual can note that a day can have one the more significance. If it’s Sunday than not only do an individual go to church but they also have no school.

The last stage is known as the formal operational stage and an individual has the ability to think very abstractly. They have a deeper understanding of things can solve some concrete math or logic problems. Even though Piaget based his theories on cognition he didn’t really consider the effect that society would have on an individual developing stages, and some individuals don’t go through all stages as a result of this. In some parts of the world especially in the very traditional cultures individuals don’t go through all stages. However don’t think that his only happens in the United States because it may surprise you that a large portion of Americans can’t read or write. A sociologist that built on Piget’s discoveries was named Lawrence Kohlberg.

What he studied is individual’s moral rationalizing capabilities or how they how they come to reason on what is right, and what is wrong. As young children we don’t rely on our guilt feelings but more like what feels good to us. What feels good is usually associated with what is right, and this is known as the pre-conventional stage. In the next stage or conventional stage, which usually happens in the teen years, individuals usually will become less selfish and try to adjust to society’s needs. In the final or post-conventional stage people look up and beyond their society’s norms and ethics to help make their decisions.

An example of this is debating the law because the average person will not question it, but some people may think that just because something is not against the law doesn’t mean its right. Most individuals will not make it to this stage. However, there were some common errors in Kohlberg’s study and this was a very common one. There was a gender bias because all of his subjects were male and he generalized female morality based on males and you can see the obvious flaw here.

Luckily, Carol Gilligan fixed this error and compared the moral development of boys and girls. What she concluded that men were more by the rules. If they hear that someone broke into a hospital and stole medicine then they will view it as wrong. However, a woman may look into it deeper and consider why an individual would break into a hospital and steal medicine and would be more sympathetic to those that steal for a meaningful purpose such as Robin Hood. Perhaps it was to save his sickly life when he didn’t have the capital to pay for it.

Socialization and is it all that important?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:45:00 +0000

Socialization is extremely critical for human beings, without it life would be dull. In 1938 it was an unfortunate but true case study of this. A girl named Anna was born to a mentally impaired woman that lived with her father. She was sent countless of places but was then returned home due to financial restraints. She was then forced into the attic and was given only enough milk to live on and lived there until she was five.

She wasn’t given no affection, no smiles, no hugs, or anything else, just coldness. Luckily, social workers saved the girl and sociologist Kingsley Davis went to see the girl immediately once he heard of the tragedy. The girl was completely unresponsive, he reported and she did not laugh nor speak. However, with some help and guidance the girl did learn how to walk, speak a little, and even care for herself. However, she died at the young age of 10. This is an example of how lack of socialization can harm someone both physically and mentally. The term socialization refers to the way humans adapt to their surroundings and learn their culture. Unlike animals that behavior is biologically programmed, humans learn and adopt over time. Social experience and interacting with people is what helps forms an individual’s personality or an individual’s consistent pattern such as emotions, thoughts, and behavior. Animals generally tend to act similar such as a cat.

A cat in America will usually act the same as a cat in Egypt, but the same can’t be applied to humans. We build a personality it just doesn’t come automatically to us, and we build it by our surroundings but as the case I mentioned earlier, without socialization a personality doesn’t form. In Anna case it is defiantly clear that humans depend on other people to not only mature physically, but mentally. About a century ago it was believed that people was born with certain instincts that would form personality and behavior.

An example is Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution that led people to think this. The US economic system led some people to believe that some behaviors just occurred “naturally,” such as some people are born criminals, or women tend to think more emotionally while men think more rationally. People also used this thinking for centuries to justify their “ethnocentric” view on society.

They claimed that members of a technologically inadequate society were not as biologically evolved as they were so they were viewed as being less human. Why not exploit others if they seem to be less evolved and not as human as us? You can obviously see the flaw in this. In the twentieth century a psychologist who helped explained behavior clearer is known as John B Watson, and developed the theory of behaviorism. This refuted the theory mentioned above and stated that behavior was not something that people are born with, but more learned by their surroundings.

He also stated that people around the globe are equally human beings, just they share different cultures and that behavior can be correlated to not nature, but more with nurture. However, that does not mean that biology does not play any part of behavior.

Most people usually share biological traits with their parents such as height and hair color, and their parents genetic makeup could influence their intelligence and artistic talents such as art or music. But, as again it deals with socialization, and individual can’t develop a personality without interacting so children tend to pick up habits from their parents through years of socialization. Also, it’s interesting to note that people brains can’t fully develop if they didn’t utilize it when they were a child. So yes, it’s quite important to get mysterious games and puzzles for your children so you can help them develop a more elastic brain.

So avoiding people is not good for numerous of reasons. An interesting and classic study was conducted by psychologist Harry and Margaret Harlow using monkeys. It would be illegal to use human beings for a study like this. Since monkeys show the closest correlation to human beings than they were used for this experiment. The experiments included testing monkeys in various environments and comparing the results to one another. When a baby monkey was placed in complete isolation (except for food and nutrients) for six months they reported some deformities in their development. They found that when they returned to their group that they were extremely fearful and subservient. They then placed a baby monkey in cage with an “artificial mother,” and this mother was made of wire and had a wooden head, and a feeding tube for a nipple.

These monkeys also showed some deformities because when they were placed back in their group they were unable to interact properly. However, for the last experiment a baby monkey was placed in a cage with an artificial mother made of “soft cloth,” than the monkey held on to the artificial mother very closely and show very little sociological deformities. So what was the difference between the artificial mothers?

Well, with the hard wired one the monkey was unable to hold on to the mother because it was rough and didn’t give back. However, with the soft artificial mother the baby monkey held on to it very deeply because it was soft more like the way a mother is and it developed a bond with it. So, this experiment confirms how important it is for infants to receive love and hugs so that they can develop properly. It’s also interested to note that the psychologists studied that the infants can recover from as much as three months of isolation, but around six months the behavior was noted to be “irreversible.” Like the story I mentioned earlier with Anna, after ten days the sociologist visited her she showed immediate improvement and even smiled. A year later she show some slow but steady progress showing some interest in objects and people and even teaching herself how to walk. About six months later she could take care of herself such as feeding and even played with toys.

Even though she showed drastic improvement by the age eight she showed the mental development of that of a two year old, and at the age ten she died of a blood deformity. This is evidence that some things are irreversible but this statement can easily be argued. As noted earlier she was born to a mentally disabled mother so that could have stunted her developing process even greater and the mystery remains unsolved even to this day. A more up to date case of child isolation took placed when a California girl was tied up in a dark garage in a basement.

The girl name was Genie and when she was saved at the age of thirteen she weighed only about sixty pounds. She had the mental capacity to that of a one year old, and her language remains that of a young child. Today she lives in a home of mental disabled adults. This is evidence that socialization is crucial for the development of humans and animals for that matter. Human beings can sometimes recover from damage but to what extent is the answer, and I will assume it will remain the same because every individual is different.

Sell that Merchandise

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:37:00 +0000

Merchandise stores have a couple of objectives. They need to make a decision on the price that they re willing to sell the merchandise, and the quality of service that they need to give customers, that’s basically it. There are a couple of well known department stores in the world and they are Wal-Mart http://www.walmart.com/ and Target http://www.target.com/. A department store can have the option of setting high prices for items and providing quality service, or they can become a discount store.

A discount store sells items a frugal price but provide little to none customer service. Target is a discount store and that’s why they are so distinguished. They provide good customer service, and high quality brand name products. Target prices are extremely competitive because they sell well known material with a nice discount. A merchandising business makes their income by the purchasing and selling of goods. Every merchandising company whether it’s wholesale or resale uses a similar accounting formula. For a retail company the management is a difficult task because the buying and then selling of goods make it an uneasy task. The accountings for a merchandidng business compared to that of a manufacturing business are just about equal.

The cash flow management is important for a merchandising business and it requires organizing a company’s receipts and payments of money. If a company is not capable of paying their bills when they are needed then that is when they will go out of business. This is very true for merchandising business, and the goods that are sold are known as merchandise inventory. The normal transactions that merchandising business go through is known as the operating cycle. First, the business purchases the merchandise inventory, and pay for it on either cash or credit and second, they sell the merchandise inventory for wither cash or credit. What’s risky about a merchandising business is because the purchases are usually made on credit which means that they have to wait some time before they actually receive the money for it. However, this is not really a huge issue. The proper management of cash flow is extremely crucial for a merchandising business because they have to keep financing the inventory (goods in stock) until they are sold which can be risky. The financing period is the time from the purchase of goods for inventory, until the customers come in and purchase the products. This is also commonly referred as the cash gap.

So, if it takes 50 days to sell inventory, and 60 days to collect sales for it, an the creditors payment conditions are 30 days, then the financing period is 90 days. In the financial period the company will currently be out of cash and will need to borrow money from creditors such as banks if they don’t have the funds available.

A merchandising business specialist is defiantly Claire’s Stores, Inc. They specialize in selling to teenage females and young adults. They are testing what products are selling and which ones are not. Target generally has a low financial period because they usually receive payments by cash, as opposed to credit which takes longer. The sell of goods on Visa and MasterCard are considered cash sales because they take the money right from the purchaser’s account. Generally the smaller retail stores have more sales on cash then credit, while the bigger ones sales come mostly from credit.

The average merchandising store will have a combination of both. Also, cash flows is not the only concern of a merchandising business because they also take into account profitability. The reason why merchandising businesses sell goods at such a large price is so that they can have enough money left to make an income. Profitability management is a very hard task and it includes getting a decent margin, and to maintain appropriate levels of operating expenses. Getting a decent margin will depends on the appropriate pricing of merchandise, and purchasing merchandise for a fair price.

To keep the operating expenses going smoothly it depends on controlling expenses and operating everything properly. At important times throughout the year the management should compare its estimated budget to its actual one. For example, if a company has estimated that they will spend 10,000 on purchasing merchandise but actually spent $10,150 then they went over a little. However, it can be countered if they estimate that they will make $17,000 from the profit but actually ended up making $19,000.

A company must also look at home their advertising is going because if they are under spending then they may not be getting the recognition that they are looking for, but if they are overspending and not getting the results they attended then they are wasting their money. They should also pay special attention to their insurance expense as well. Another important aspect of the management system is to choose the inventory system properly.

Management must choose one or a couple of systems that will get the job done in a timely manner. There are two basic systems used in accounting for this and they are perpetual and the periodic inventory system. When using the perpetual inventory system, numerous of records are kept for the quantity available and the cost of the individual items as they are sold. This detailed system gives the management team a better chance of the wants or needs of customers because they have an idea what is in stock. The cost of an individual item in this system is recorded in the Merchandise Inventory account, and when the item is sold it is transferred to the Cost of Goods sold account.

However, for the periodic inventory system the item that is not sold is checked often, but usually towards the end of an accounting period. No records are kept for the inventory throughout the accounting period. The inventory is only accurate for the balance sheet date. The reason why some retail stores use this method is because it cuts down on the clerical work. This method is acceptable for small business, but I’m not sure it will work too well for large businesses. Generally companies that sale items in bulk amounts or high quantity but low quality such as discount retail stores will favor this method. On the other hand, companies that sell high priced but high quality but low quantity items such as jewelry stores will tend to use the perpetual inventory system.

The main transactions of merchandising businesses come from buying and selling. Merchandising business uses assets, merchandise inventory, and accounts receivable. A merchandising business is extremely opened to theft and fraud. The reason for this is its quite easy to that the cash and inventories are easy to steal and its difficult for a large company to keep track of all of the transactions that goes on each day. So, that’s why it’s extremely critical for a merchandising business to take the precautions to protect their assets which is commonly referred as internal controls.

To maintain control of the inventory, it is required in both systems to take a physical inventory. This is a physical count of the merchandise that is currently available. This can get tricky at times because humans can miscount, so accuracy is very crucial during this process. The merchandise inventory is all of the goods that will be sold in the future. These include all goods whether in boxes on the shelf or currently on the self. The ending inventory is inventory that cannot be sold, or are not intended to be sold. These include merchandise that has been damaged, but it’s a good idea to sell the damaged goods at a significantly reduced price if they can to get rid of it.

The count for the business is usually taken at the end of the fiscal year or when the business will significantly slow down such as in January or February. However, they will generally do this when their store are closed, or sometimes on the weekends. It’s very common for companies to experience loss of merchandise from their own employees. When using the periodic system there is no way of finding out how this happened because the loss of merchandise is automatically included in the cost of goods sold.

For example, if a company lost $2,000 during an accounting period then that will automatically included in the cost of goods sold. However, with the perpetual system this makes it a lot easier to identify losses because the merchandise inventory account is constantly updated with sales, and returns of goods. Once the amount of loss is calculated the merchandise inventory account will be updated.

Personality and what’s the Real You?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:58:00 +0000

Personality like many things in life is sort of concrete and can be difficult to define at times. The basic definition is the relatively stable characteristics that are enduring and distinctive which means it separates people from the crowd. Psychologists that study personalities try to analyze why people act differently to different situations such as why one person acts shy when they first meet a stranger or while some people are just natural and funny and be themselves. Some scientists believe that this is genetically engraved and that people don’t have much control over this. Other psychologists believe that it’s the environment has a significant say in the way people act. The truth is that personality is a multi dimensional topic and requires pieces from various theories because everyone is unique.

One theory is the psychodynamic perspective which was discovered by Sigmund Freud. This theory basically states that personality merely exists on the surface and to find someone true personality you have to dig deep in mind.

Psychologists who favor this approach believe that personality is an unconscious process, or that the individuals are not aware that they conceited or confident. He was known for his controversial theory that young boys have a sexual attraction to their mother, maybe he was referring to himself with his romantic relationship with his mother who was 20 years younger than his father.

A theory about the unconscious mind that makes somewhat sense is when people are having a conversation and calls someone they know a different name. For example, if a woman broke up with her boyfriend and got a new boyfriend and calls her current boyfriend her ex boy friend name it could mean that he is still in her thoughts. Freud also believes that dreams hold important motifs in behavior. He also believed that personality can be constructed into layers like an ice berg. The part that is buried far below the water is the id or the unconscious aspect. A good example will be children because a lot of time they will act on pleasure without thinking about the end result much.

If people would have a strong id personality than this would be a very scary place to live. People would act on natural impulses rather than conforming to society norms. The ego is nice to have because it helps people realize reality and help conform to society norms. For example, a lot of people realize that they can’t have their sex and aggression levels high and unmanaged and when they let it go than it usually lead to crimes like rape for one. Last, the superego also referred as the conscious aspect is the moral decider.

It decided what is right and what is wrong. A lot of psychologist didn’t follow Freud’s unconscious theory and a psychologist that was heavily against it was Alfred Adler. He believed that people were motivated by purposes and goals to achieve something in life. He also believes that people had the ability to be aware of what’s going on in their life and to consciously monitor their day to day events.

He also believed that people try to compensate for things they don’t have. For example, a person that tries to be superior may being doing it for their own insecurities because they will feel better about themselves by bringing other people down. This theory was known as individual psychology, in which states that people are motivated by purposes and to attain goals. When people attempt to overcome their insecurities this is known as compensation. When psychologists ignore the unconscious mind they tend to look at the environment more when determining personality, and this is known as the behavior approach.

They believe that you can only determine personality by what you see on the outside surface. For an example, if someone is shy, work hard, and are motivated to achieve something, this is apart of their personality. This theory was founded by an early psychologist named BF Skinner. He also believed that a person personality can change due to the stress in the environment, so he believed that personality was never consistent. So a person that is shy can be shifted to someone that is aggressive and out going, and a person that is out going can be shifted into a shy personality all due to their environment.

If a person is giving a positive reinforcement for a particular behavior, than it is more likely that it will come up again in the future. A different approach from Freud and Skinner’s theory is the humanist approach discovered by Carl Roger. This approach is a less pessimistic view, and finds the good in humans and believes that humans have the freedom to choose their own destiny. The central theme in Roger’s approach is self concept which is an individual’s view of their own abilities, behavior, traits, and personality.

If a person has a distorted self concept than most likely they will be awkward to hang around and associate with. When analyzing self concept Rogers talked about distinguishing yourself between the real self and the ideal self. The ideal self is the type of person that we would like to be. If a person has a large conflict between their real self and the type of person that they would like to be than the more awkward or maladjusted they will act.

To correct this we should try to focus more on our real self and develop a positive view on it and stop caring about what other people want or expect of us and try to have more positive experiences in our everyday lives. Another way we can help develop a more positive view of our real self is by a concept known as unconditional positive regard.

This term can be defined by being accepting of different individuals regardless of their behavior which is kind of hard to do. When a person is being rude, aggressive, or disrespectful, as weird as this sounds they still need support and to be loved. This doesn’t mean to hug someone after hey punch you, but more like “I don’t like the way you are acting but I still care about you and respect you as a person.”