Living with an Attitude of Gratitude

Creating an attitude of gratitude is one of the easiest steps we can take to improve our lives. The happiness that we create for ourselves by showing our appreciation has far-reaching effects, both for ourselves and for those we come into contact with. The potential for gratitude to spread beyond those people also increases significantly – it can be highly contagious. There are so many different ways that we can express an attitude of gratitude. Here are just a few:

Say “thank you”. This is the most basic and well-known way to show appreciation to others. Saying “thank you” is a great way to express your gratitude and can be done in several different forms. You can say it in person, over the phone, in a note, or in an email. Using this when it’s least expected can have significant results in lifting someone’s spirits. For example, a quick note to your child’s teacher thanking her for her hard work and patience might give her the boost of energy that she needs right when she needs it most. You may never know what effect this has had on her, but it will have an effect.

Stop complaining about your life. Even as tough as life can be sometimes, remember that there is always someone that has things worse than you do. Constant complaining about what is wrong in your life will keep you focused on that. The opposite is true as well – focusing on what is right in your life will keep you focused on that. Focusing on the negative will bring you down while focusing on the positive will lift you up.

Focus on what you have, not what you don’t have. This is very closely related to not complaining about your life. Being grateful for what you do have keeps you in a positive place, whereas focusing on what you don’t have keeps you in a negative place. Focusing on what you do have, regardless of how little or how much that may be, is a great expression of gratitude.

Model your attitude. Modeling your attitude of gratitude is a great way to spread it to others. We’ve all heard the Golden Rule to “treat others the way you want to be treated”. Showing your appreciation to others shows them that you like to be treated this way too. An attitude of gratitude can be quite infectious!

Be satisfied with simple things and be mindful of little things. Being grateful for the little things in our lives is just as important (if not, more so) than being grateful for the big things. Our lives are filled with little things every day that we can be grateful for. What about that front row parking spot you found when you were running late? Or the beautiful weather outside? How about the store clerk that went out of her way to help you? This may take a little practice, but there are many little things throughout the day that we can be grateful for if we take the time to notice them.

Give to someone else. This is the best way to spread your gratitude of attitude. There are so many different ways to give to someone else. You could volunteer your time to help those less fortunate or give you time to children by mentoring them. The possibilities are endless but could make a huge difference in someone’s life without you evening knowing it. If they in turn give to someone else, the cycle could continue without end.

Keep a gratitude journal. Let’s just be honest here: there are some days when it is hard to find anything to be grateful for. Keeping a gratitude journal can help with that. There are preprinted journals so you can just fill in the blanks or you can make your own. The important thing is to find at least 5 things each day to be grateful for, no matter how big or small those things are. A gratitude journal can serve two purposes: it will help you stop and remember what you are grateful for or it can serve as inspiration on days when you find it difficult to find anything to be grateful for by reading over past days.

Practice random acts of kindness. This can be one of the most fun and rewarding ways to live a life of gratitude, especially when it’s done anonymously. Surprise someone with something unexpected. You may never know what it meant to them but it will likely make their day. Try putting a note in your child’s lunch or bringing treats to the office to share. Even a small gesture can mean so much to someone.

Living a life of gratitude is one of the easiest ways to live a happier life. It takes very little effort to show someone you appreciate them but will mean so much to them. There are so many ways to make gratitude a part of our life and to spread that attitude to others. Make today the day you start living a life of gratitude and spread your light to the rest of the world!

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About the Author

April Mims is a life and career coach specializing in work/life balance issues and life and career transitions. Her coaching practice is Nexus Coaching Partners. She is passionate about empowering clients to balance the demands of a successful career and a strong family life. April invites you to a complimentary 30-minute coaching session to see if coaching could benefit you. To learn more or subscribe to The Nexus Connection newsletter, visit http://www.nexuscoachingpartners.com.

Personal Development & Attracting Success - Brian Tracy

Break Bad Habits Now With Affirmations

Affirmations can be really helpful to break bad habits if you are persistent about it.

In order for you to really break bad habits you must: a) be aware that the unconscious mind exists and b) learn how to manipulate its existence.

And affirmations are great and powerful techniques in which, if used effectively, could bring out and address directly to your unconscious being.

By uttering simple positive statements of the way you wish to live your life, then reiterating them out loud daily, you teach your unconscious thoughts in order to guide you to a better path to be reflected by your whole senses.

You can use:

1) Situational statements: one of a kind affirmations which provide a definite aim in your life. Some examples are:

a) "My heart and lungs are healthy."

b) "I am very happy to be earning $120, 000 per year."

2) Timeless affirmations. These are statements which can be made use at any point in your life.

a) "My body is healthy and strong."

b) "I am so happy in every aspect of my life"

In speaking these words over and over daily, they penetrate into our subconscious mind till it becomes our reality.

Moreover, the positive language of these "feel-good" affirming sentences blocks off negative thought processes, and in effect, fosters positive attitude.

To fortify this belief, each day, every morning, when you get ready for the day, you can try to spare at least 10 minutes of your time in uttering these affirmations out loud. Simply listen to your own voice as you speak these and try to be detached and unemotional as you can.

And lastly, it is very important that you must try to obstruct any negativity and concentrate 100% of your language and attention to the affirmations that you are saying out loud.

About The Author
The author of this article, Amy Twain, is a Self Improvement Coach who has been successfully coaching and guiding clients for many years. Amy recently published a new home study course on how to boost your Self Esteem. Click here to get more info about her Quick-Action Plan for A More Confident You.

The author invites you to visit: http://www.innerzine.com

Motivation - Ability to Accept 100% Responsibility

Author: Michael Lowe

Simply by accepting the fact that our choices have created our conditions in life, there is a special power that instils us. Sure, there are certain things that may be beyond our control. Get an insight into the various things that can actually motivate you!

Every aspect of getting motivated involves, you! However, there is an unbelievable aspect which is common for each human being. The ability to shift blame from one person to another is something which has been going on since ages. Right from the earliest civilisations or even since the beginning of time when God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of a specific tree, this has been a prevalent aspect. It seems that over thousands of years we have changed very little. In fact, at the core of human nature resides an exceedingly great ability to shift blame. So often we feel quite justified to accuse the government, financial situation, company policy, society and even our spouse for our current state of affairs.

One thing is for sure: victims always pin their bad luck or personal misfortune on someone or something outside their own sphere of control. You can pick them the very moment you hear them say, "It's not my fault!" However, some people accept 100% responsibility for everyone else but themselves. It is important that you accept the entire responsibility of yourself. At the core level every successful individual believes that "I am where I am in life because this is where I chose to be!" Therefore, the first step in making your mission possible is to realise that "the buck stops here". That fact is that ultimately, we are responsible for what we do. Even if somebody's advice turns sour and causes us great pain, can we really blame them? While they may have given us bad advice, we took it!

Thus we are responsible for our present conditions. For instance, you see your current weight problem as something outside your sphere of control, then there's nothing you can do to change it. It's not your fault! You're just fat! However, if you want to bring your problem of being overweight as your own responsibility, you should just have the power to change it. The lesson here is that there are no such things as circumstances, there are only results.

"Man is not the creature of circumstances. Circumstances are the creatures of men." - Benjamin Disraeli

Simply by accepting the fact that our choices have created our conditions in life, there is a special power that instils us. Sure, there are certain things that may be beyond our control, but just for a few moments, consider few of the things that you can choose. For instance, you can control:

• Your thoughts
• What you believe
• Your attitudes and behavior at any given time
• What words that you select and your tone of voice
• How you use your imagination
• Whether to act now or continue worrying

Article Source: http://www.sooperarticles.com/self-improvement-articles/motivational-articles/motivation-ability-accept-100-responsibility-854963.html

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Consider how your life would change if you were to make better choices in these areas. Life is a series of choices, so choose life! Choose a better way of living and a better quality of life! Motivation instils the aspect of choosing for yourself and for your children a future that will bring you richness, joy and inner fulfillment all the days of your life.

Using Quotes For Stress Management

Author: Limuelle Santos

Stress clouds your view of the world and your purpose in it. That's why you have to constantly feed yourself with positivity. Stress management and inspirational quotes are one quick and easy way to do just that. When you hear positive messages, words of comfort and encouragement; your spirit is refreshed and renewed. Meditating on these words can bring you peace and a chance to disconnect from whatever is causing you stress.

Inspirational quotes give you a new way of looking at things in life, a new perspective that maybe you hadn't considered before. Someone else who has already gone down the path you're going and has experienced a good deal of stress in his or her life offers a reprieve and a way to deal with it better.

There is a childhood saying: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." So untrue. Words do carry power - the power to harm or to help. So rather than surrounding yourself with negative, hurtful words; fill yourself up with positive, motivating words that will bring healing to your very soul. The idea is to flood yourself with so much positivity, beginning with words that you tell yourself or that you hear from others, so that there's absolutely no room for any negativity in your life.

The right words at the right time are like a refreshing spring to the soul; they can be life-changing. Suddenly your mind is open to new possibilities and you don't feel so closed in. You begin to see your situation with fresh eyes. The good is illuminated in the midst of the bad, and your strengths from past situations are remembered.

One quote on stress management, by Richard Carlson, that many people are familiar with is: "Don't sweat the small stuff... and it's all small stuff." How powerful is that one, little statement! We trivialize the minutest things in our lives and then find ourselves in debate with those we love.

The rise in blood pressure and temperature and the headaches that often ensue after a heated argument aren't worth it - and did you know that stress is one of the leading causes of heart disease, stroke and other illnesses? Stress accelerates illness, makes healing more 'difficult, makes the body toxic, and just leaves you feeling awful - if you let it.

You can have more successes, happier days and better relationships when you actively choose to be positive. Inspirational quotes can become your mantra and can be chanted aloud or silently within whenever you feel a surge of stress or a feeling of being overwhelmed. Keep inspirational words with you wherever you are - on the walls at home, on your car's bumper stickers, on your keychain, on your PC, on your t-shirts, on bookmarks, on post-it notes at work, in your e-mail signatures, etc. Literally surround yourself with inspirational quotes that you can pull from when you're facing a challenging moment situation, and positivity will become a lifelong habit.

I leave you with these great words that I know will encourage you wherever you are today:

"He who smiles rather than rages is always the stronger." - Japanese proverb

"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." - William James

"When we commit to action, to actually doing something rather than feeling trapped by events, the stress in our life becomes manageable." - Greg Anderson

One sentence can change the whole day.

Article Source: http://www.sooperarticles.com/self-improvement-articles/motivational-articles/using-quotes-stress-management-906886.html

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Gain inspiration by reading Quotes On Change and Quotes On Love.

Meditation Techniques Can Help You Find Inner Peace by Torrel Butler

It is very easy to become stressed when you work a great deal of the time. In many homes, only one person can find a job, so that person has to work very hard to make ends meet. Sometimes too much work, lack of exercise, and added problems can manifest themselves in mental and physical conditions. However, there are things that you can do to help ease some of the tensions that can accumulate in your life. Concentration meditation techniques can help you feel better physically and mentally.

Concentration Method For Mental Exercise

In this mental exercise, you sit in a comfortable position. One of the best positions is with legs crossed on the floor. If you have tile or hardwood flooring, it may be best to sit on some kind of pad. Personal comfort is also very important in this exercise.

As you sit, close your eyes and relax. Try not to think of anything for a few minutes. After you feel yourself relaxing, concentrate on something in the room. It can be any object that you wish to focus your attention on. Many people find it is easier to concentrate on something when it is placed on the floor, a few feet from them.

Sit and focus on the object of your concentration. Study it very carefully and notice details about it. Close the eyes again and rest them for a minute or so. Repeat this a few times, until you feel totally relaxed.

Open your eyes again and softly or slowly concentrate on the object. Try very hard not to blink your eyes, but you will need to blink them periodically, to keep them from drying out. Devote your full attention to the object and you will notice that everything else in the room is changing.

Like a camera that is focused on a certain thing, the background will begin to fade away and slowly blur. Do not become alarmed when this happens, as it is perfectly normal. Continue to concentrate until the only thing left is the object. Try to stay in this state of mind as long as you can.

When you make everything else disappear, you will feel a calmness wash over you. After a while, close your eyes and rest for several minutes. Many people report a feeling of renewed energy from this exercise. Repeat this exercise often, whenever you feel stressed or anxious.

Meditation techniques can help to bring calmness and alleviate problems associated with stress. One important technique is the Concentration Method. As you focus on one particular object, everything else in the room will disappear. With many people, stress and problems will also disappear for a while. Repeat this exercise, whenever you want a break from problems and stressful situations.

Choose Happiness Now

Do circumstances need to change before you allow happiness into your life? The majority of us have many preconceived ideas which we think will make us happier, however we steadfastly refuse to be convinced or satisfied until such things happen.

A common stumbling block however is the fact that even if certain things happen to us, we’re rarely satisfied with the outcome! Our focus then shifts to even bigger and better things which we believe will makes us more happy or happier. We don’t allow ourselves to reach a degree of contentment. I have no doubt many of you have done the same thing!

Only you can decide to Choose Happiness Now even if your life is far from perfect. I have listed below 3 easy ways to adopt this way of thinking:


1) Show Gratitude

To show gratitude, allows you to use one of the most powerful states of mind.
It allows a feel good factor, which shifts your focus from what you don’t have to what you DO have. Once you focus on the things you are grateful for in your life (even the most trivial things!), you concern yourself less about anything that may be missing or lacking. The end result brings about a more pleasing sense of happiness.

2) Take time to chill out.

If most of your days are spent rushing here, there and everywhere, the likelihood is you will find it hard to feel happy and content. To find true happiness, there is a need to allow yourself the time to relax and enjoy the pleasures of life’s simpler moments. Why not start today, spend some time on a regular basis doing the things you love to do. Perhaps read books; listen to your favourite music; if you’re the outdoor type, take long walks or ride a bicycle, just make an effort to enjoy your life right now.

3) Enjoy the journey.

The majority of people today often make the mistake of allowing some vague expectation, such as the completion of pre-determined goals and believe once these are accomplished and they have ‘arrived’ everything is going to be perfect and they will find happiness. Don’t get me wrong, setting goals is essential, however there is also plenty to be gained by enjoying the journey that leads to reaching your goals. Decide right now to enjoy this journey, make it special and you’ll savour the end result even more.



Happiness like many other things in life is your CHOICE, once you have understood this, you will have taken a big step to a happier state of mind. I know certain situations sometimes dictate our feelings and make it difficult to feel happy, most often or not it’s the silly little things that block our happiness which we would otherwise feel. Make HAPPINESS you’re No 1 priority and watch it grow in your life!

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20 Confidence Quotes to Build Up Your Worth

Author: KatherineClemmons27

Confidence doesn't always come to people naturally. Sometimes, it is necessary to do some inner-modification. Studies show that people can control the way they act and think about themselves by changing their current self-perspective. It is not always a one-day process and sometimes it can take months for even small results. Regardless, what you think of yourself today is what you become tomorrow. Here are 20 confidence quotes to build up your worth. 

1. I can do anything I put my mind to.
2. My limit is set by my own standards.
3. No one can dictate what kind of person I am.
4. My dreams are always attainable; I just need to keep a clear focus.
5. My physical appearance is only half of my true beauty.
6. I am stronger than I think I am.
7. I am a healthy and beautiful person.
8. I do not need to compare myself to others because I am one of a kind.
9. My goals and dreams are created by myself. Therefore, I will use my creativity to achieve them.
10. I don't need to feel beautiful to be beautiful.
11. I am a confident person.
12. I can talk to anybody without fear of rejection or ridicule.
13. Conversation is a natural activity for me.
14. I have no problem relating to others.
15. People are here to help me achieve my goals, while I help them achieve theirs. 
16. My physical flaws are not flaws at all. I must embrace them.
17. People don't judge me based on my looks, just as I don't judge them based on theirs.
18. I am a strong and independent person. I have already accomplished so much, yet there is still so much that I can accomplish.
19. People admire me because of my kindness and generosity. 
20. Life isn't always easy, but it is overcoming the hard times that make me a stronger and more beautiful person.

Say these quotes to yourself or think them to yourself every morning and throughout the day. You will become who you think of yourself to be. Hopefully these quotes will help you build up your worth, and hopefully other people will see this worth, as well.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/motivational-articles/20-confidence-quotes-to-build-up-your-worth-5583819.html

About the Author

Katherine Clemmons is a writer who enjoys writing on a number of different verticals.  For more on having confidence, The Good Life offers readers information about how having confidence can help you in life. 

Tips to Improve Self Confidence By Daniel D Craig

Self-confidence is not a trait that all of us are born with but it is something that can be developed over time. Don't worry if you are lacking in this department you are not doomed forever. There are hundreds of tips and techniques you can use right now to help you. Here are a few ways to improve self confidence

Remind Yourself Of Your Strengths

Make a list of areas of expertise you have, hobbies you have a lot of knowledge of, professions, sports etc which you know that you excel in, concentrate on the achievements that you have. The promotion you got, the book that you wrote, the puppy you saved from drowning in the lake, anything that makes you feel good about yourself. You will automatically feel confident. Write all of these things down and study this list regularly. It seems to be human nature to forget all the good stuff in our lives and only remember the bad. I can hear some of you saying 'I haven't achieved anything', or 'i'm no good at anything' this is your lack of self-confidence talking!! Everybody is good at something or has achieved something good in their life. I don't want to hear 'I'm no good at anything'. No matter how small or insignificant you think it is, write it down.

If you concentrate on a subject that you have limited knowledge of you will feel less confident, especially if you compare yourself to someone else who has more experience in the chosen subject as you will automatically feel inferior to them. End result-your confidence is shaken. This is why we must remind ourselves of the things that we do feel confident in.

What you need to remember is no-one is an expert at everything, you have strengths as does everybody else. Anyone who thinks they know it all, usually knows very little. ( I used to work with someone like this, as probably you have too. Irritating aren't they?) Confident people know this so they don't let other people's knowledge threaten their self-confidence.

Dress To Impress

Another great way to improve your confidence is to dress smart. If you look good you will feel great. As superficial as this sounds it has a profound effect on your self-confidence. Spend some money on some new clothes, think of it as investing in yourself. Taking care of your appearance is a massive confidence booster not to be overlooked or underestimated. When you look smart it changes the way you conduct yourself and interact with other people, you act in a more confident manner.

How To View Failure

How you view failure is another way to dent your confidence. If you take failure to heart at every hurdle you come across then your confidence will hit rock bottom. Failure is a part of life and should be celebrated. As long as you learn from your mistakes then it is no waste of time. All of the richest, most successful people in the world have failed at some time or another, NO-BODY gets it right all the time.You are no different.You WILL make mistakes, all you need to do is dust yourself off and try again.

Daniel craig is a internet entrepreneur who struggled with self confidence in his early years. Shy and awkward in social situations and with members of the opposite sex when he hit his twenties he finally decided to do something about it. After many months of trying and testing different techniques he has discovered the secrets of confidence building.

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The Psychological Side Of Self Improvement

You will find many people in the world with strong opinions about self improvement. If you talk to people, you would come across multiple concepts about self improvement. However, what you would truly find rare is someone who has some tips about the psychological aspect of self improvement. This is surprising because the most important aspect of self improvement is psychological. The reason for this is simply that self improvement starts at the mental level and then translates into actions.

If you are a person who is looking to improve himself then you should know that you have to start the process in your head first. Here are some tips that will help you with the psychological aspect of self improvement.Stop trying too hard to make the changes. It is common for a person to try too hard to bring about the changes that he really wants to see in himself. Unfortunately, while the intent is important, moderation is more important. This means that the people who try too hard tend to find themselves taking longer to make changes in themselves. The trick is to be easy about the changes and give them their due time to happen. Ideally, you should understand what you want to do and then try to absorb it instead of being conscious about it all the time. This way the changes would become second nature to you.

Try to look deep into the problem to resolve it

When it comes to self improvement, many people make the mistake of approaching the problem superficially. Not going deep into the problem means that you are only trying to cure the symptoms. The trick to resolving a problem or a limitation is to go deep into it and figure out the real reason why it exists. For example, the problem with a person who feels that he is not good at public speaking is not that he cannot speak in public. It is the fact that he feels that he does not have enough qualification to tell people what to do. Therefore, the problem here is about confidence instead of lack of public speaking skills.

Start with small instead of big changes

Self improvement is about long term changes. This means that you have to make sure that the changes last for a long time. This is only possible if the changes are ingrained instead of being on the surface. Effectively, if you want to change something in yourself then you will have to make sure that the changes are deep inside and not just superficial. The trick is to make the changes gradually which means that you should break down a big change into small changes. This makes them more achievable than they would be otherwise.

Learn to make a difference to the world around you

There is more to you than just your thought process or your qualities. As you most probably already know, the world around you and people surrounding you also influence you as a person. Effectively, it becomes important for you to change your surroundings around you and the people around you as well. Changing the people around you does not mean that you should try to change their personalities. It just means that you need to find people who influence you in a positive manner. The people around you should not demand undue things from you. They should instead inspire you to greater things in life by supporting you in your efforts.

Make sure that you are objective about everything in life

Just because something did not work out properly, it does not mean that you are a lesser person or you did something wrong. Being objective would allow you to be surer of your own capabilities and not blame yourself or your fate. Effectively, you will be happier about your efforts and your life in general.

This is surprising because the most important aspect of self improvement is psychological.