How Life Can Be A Dream - Achieving Your Goals

by Dr. Robert C. Worstell

A lot of people - probably most of us - have at some point dreamed of being especially outstanding. Fantasies of being the star player on a team, or the homecoming queen, or fantastically rich - all these abound. Some simply want to be successful and have happy relationships.

For all our big dreams and great aspirations, our dreams remain just that - dreams. And our hopes for future success and notoriety seem to collect dust up in our mental attic.

Just in recognizing their presence could become another sad reminder in our lives. By reviewing the glorious hopes, we can find that far from living this life of excitment, we are only stuck in the daily grind of our routine jobs. Often, just barely existing under the debt and threat of job loss.

But what do you know? Life could be so much better, if only we learned to convert these dreams to realistic action.

Most people stop working to achieve any goal because they believe in a little white lie called "impossible." People have a lot of phrases to justify taking no action toward their goal: "I can't do this." or "It's too hard." "It's too unrealistic." "No one can do this."

And if our industry leaders and celebrities all thought this way, there would probably never be any inventions, discoveries, or breakthroughs which make up the list of human accomplishments.

Remember that scientists were baffled when they took a look at the humble bumblebee. Theoretically, they said, it was impossible for the bumblebee to fly. Unfortunately for the bumble, bee no one has told it so. So fly it does.

Another self imposed limit is where people suffer from dreaming totally outrageous dreams and not acting on them. The result? Broken dreams, and tattered aspirations.

To the degree you limit yourself with doubt and assumptions of pre-ordained failure, you may never be able to have any breakthrough past what you now consider to be impossible. Sky high dreams can only fail when you take no action toward any goal you've set.

You can try this exercise. On a sheet of paper, write down a goal you'd like to achieve. Now under that, make three headers - Things you know you can do; Things you might be able to do; and Things which are impossible to do.

Now work out the steps you can see right now that would help you achieve that goal. Put them under each header according to how hard you think they are to attain or achieve.

Now work out the steps you can see right now that would help you achieve that goal. Put them under each header according to how hard you think they are to attain or achieve.

As of the items you wrote under things I could do are accomplished, you can move the goals that are under things that are ‘impossible for you to do’ to the list of things ‘you might be able to do.’

Moving through this process, you may find that the goals you once considered impossible are now far more realistic and doable. The impossible has begun to look possible.

You see, the technique here is not to limit your imagination. It is to aim high, and start working towards that goal little by little. However, it also is unwise to set a goal that is truly unrealistic. Break that star-high goal into little tiny steps which you can do right now. As you get these done, then you'll find that the 'might be able to do' steps are also able to be accomplished when you break them down. After awhile, you can see that nothing is particularly impossible to achieve.

It's only those who dream and never take action who inherit disappointment and disillusionment.

On the other hand, if you told someone a hundred years ago that it was possible for man to be on the moon, they would laugh at you. If you had told them that you could send mail from here to the other side of the world in a few seconds, they would say you were out of your mind. But through sheer desire and perseverance, and building on all the little and doable steps in between, these impossible dreams are now realities.

So dream on, friend! Don’t get caught up with your perceived limitations. Think big and work hard to attain those dreams. Plan your work and work your plan. As you step up the ladder of progress, you will just about find out that the impossible has just become a little bit more possible.

Because your life could be a dream - if you really you want it to be.

Known for extensive writing in self-help and personal development, Dr. Robert C. Worstell (see author interview) has just published a New Age fiction book, "The Dreamer Dreamed" which explores the concept of how life could be a dream, among other ideas. This book employs his understanding of various spiritual meaning books and research.

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If You Can Dream, You Can Have the Cream

By A Horton

Napoleon Hill, renowned personal development Guru once said "Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve". This is such a powerful statement and when explored a little further. It shows that if you allow yourself to have huge expectations and you can find it within yourself, to see yourself actually living them; nothing is beyond the realm of possibility for you.

The super achievers I have studied, all had these two elements present. They all held really big pictures of possibility in their minds. Their vision of what they saw for themselves in the future was massive and they all believed without exception that they had what it took, could learn what they needed, or could get someone, with the necessary skills to support them, so that they would achieve their huge expectations. There was a complete belief that they would eventually succeed, they did not doubt the possibility for a second.

Understanding Your Expectations and Belief

• Where do you see yourself five, ten or twenty years from now?
• Do you have huge expectations and dreams?
• Can you actually feel and see yourself living those dreams?
• Do you believe what it takes to achieve the huge dreams you hold in your mind?
• Do you feel the fire of inspiration burning in your belly?

Explore your answers above. If you want to finally break out of average and start to realise all you are capable of achieving, then allow yourself to have huge expectations and find a way to believe that they are not only possible for you, but that you can actually already see yourself living the meaning and fulfilment they will bring.

My research has shown that super achievers all have a number of crucial elements present.

These are:

• A crystal clear vision, which they think about regularly and can easily and passionately articulate and communicate to anyone who will listen.
• 150 % belief in their ability to bring their vision to life.
• An Understanding about exactly why they want to achieve their vision.
• They were all inspired from within and showed incredible passion and a deep rooted desire to succeed.
• A remarkable ability to network and build mutually beneficial relationships with people.
• An incredible commitment towards lifelong learning.
• An unbelievable work ethic and self-discipline, where they schedule time and carry out goal specific actions daily.

Principles of extraordinary achievement

The principles for success as stated below are said a little differently by Napoleon Hill, but ostensibly his seven principles of extraordinary achievement are very similar to my research findings.

He believed the following:

• Definiteness of Purpose: He believed that if everyone had a clear plan and purpose they then had a solid foundation for inviting extraordinary achievement into their experience.
• Mastermind Alliance: He saw working as a collective mind, where more than two people worked together in harmony with each other, as a crucial element to success and super achievement.
• Applied Faith: He felt that with sufficient faith, people could turn their aims and desires into plans and purpose and finally, their tangible physical or financial reality.
• Pleasing Personality: Napoleon Hill felt that being likable was a crucial factor for success. He saw the sum of one's spiritual and physical traits or said differently a great personality, as the secret to success.
• Personal Initiative: All super achievers showed staying power and completed everything they started.
• Positive Mental Attitude: All super achievers are free thinkers, who hold onto a positive mental attitude.
• Enthusiasm: Enthusiasm is faith in action. All super achievers have a burning desire to succeed, which comes from within.

I hope this article has been of value to you. I have shared both my own research and the wisdom of one of the greatest personal development leaders of all time, with you in this article. You now have all the information you need to achieve remarkable success in your life. The only thing standing in the way of you achieving greatness is you. Dare to pull the trigger and allow yourself to make it happen for you.

Andrew is one of the most sought after Motivational Speakers and Sales Training experts in South Africa. You can trust him to deliver a motivational message that will re-energise your team and help them to ignite the fire of inspiration in their bellies once again. Should you want to inspire or re-energise your team, visit my website for details on one of the best Motivational Speakers around.

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Why is it important to improve yourself?

Sometimes, when all our doubts, fears and insecurities wrap ourselves up, we always come up with the idea of “I wish I was somebody else.”  More often than not, we think and believe that someone or rather, most people are better than us.- when in reality, the fact is, most people are more scared than us.

You spot a totally eye-catching girl sitting by herself at a party, casually sipping on a glass of Asti Spumanti. You think to yourself, “she looks so perfectly calm and confident.” But if you could read through her transparent mind, you would see a bunch of clouds of thoughts and you might just be amazed that she’s thinking “are people talking about why I am seated here alone?... Why don’t guys find me attractive? …I don’t like my ankles, they look too skinny… I wish I was as intelligent as my best friend.”

We look at a young business entrepreneur and say “Wooh… what else could he ask for?” He stares at himself at the mirror and murmur to himself, “I hate my big eyes… I wonder why my friends won’t talk to me… I hope mom and dad would still work things out.”

Isn’t it funny? We look at other people, envy them for looking so outrageously perfect and wish we could trade places with them, while they look at us and thinks of the same thing. We are insecure of other people who themselves are insecure of us. We suffer from low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence and lose hope in self improvement because we are enveloped in quiet desperation.

Sometimes, you notice that you have an irritating habit like biting off your finger nails, having a foul mouth, and you – of all people, is the last to know.

I have a friend who never gets tired of talking. And in most conversations, she is the only one who seems to be interested in the things she has to say. So all of our other friends tend to avoid the circles whenever she’s  around, and she doesn’t notices how badly she became socially handicapped – gradually affecting the people in her environment.

One key to self improvement is to LISTEN and TALK to a trusted friend. Find someone who you find comfort in opening up with even the most gentle topics you want to discuss. Ask questions like “do you think I am ill-mannered?”,  “Do I always sound so argumentative?”,  “Do I talk too loud?”,  “Does my breath smell?”,  “Do I ever bore you when were together?”.  In this way, the other person will obviously know that you are interested in the process of self improvement. Lend her your ears for comments and criticisms and don’t give her answers like “Don’t exaggerate! That’s just the way I am!”  Open up your mind and heart as well. And in return, you may want to help your friend with constructive criticism that will also help her improve her self.

One of Whitney Houston’s songs says “Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.” True enough. In order to love others, you must love yourself too. Remember, you cannot give what you do not have.

Before telling other people some ways on how to improve themselves, let them see that you yourself is a representation and a product of self improvement. Self improvement makes us better people, we then inspire other people, and then the rest of the world will follow.

Stop thinking of yourselves as second-rate beings. Forget the repetitive thought of “If only I was richer… if only I was thinner” and so on.  Accepting your true self is the first step to self improvement. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others only to find out at the end that we’ve got  10 more reasons to envy them.

We all have our insecurities. Nobody is perfect. We always wish we had better things, better features, better body parts, etc. But life need not to be perfect for people to be happy about themselves.Self improvement and loving yourself is not a matter of shouting to the whole world that you are perfect and you are the best. It’s the virtue of acceptance and contentment. When we begin to improve ourselves, we then begin to feel contented and happy.

Enjoy Your Life: Change Your Point of View

"Two men look out through the same bars: One sees the mud, and one sees the stars."- Frederick Langbridge, A Cluster of Quiet Thoughts

If you've been placed second in a writing contest, will you jump for joy and push for better results the next time or will you be discouraged and find an excuse not to join again?

In life, you are always filled with choices. You may opt to have a pessimist’s view and live a self-defeated life or you may decide to take the optimist’s route and take a challenging and fulfilling life.

So why nurture an optimist’s point of view? And why now?

Well, optimism has been linked to positive mood and good morale; to academic, athletic, military, occupational and political success; to popularity; to good health and even to long life and freedom from trauma.

On the other hand, the rates of depression and pessimism have never been higher. It affects middle-aged adults the same way it hits younger people. The mean age of onset has gone from 30 to 15. It is no longer a middle-aged housewife’s disorder but also a teen-ager’s disorder’ as well.

Here’s how optimists are in action and researches that back up why it really pays to be an optimist:

Optimists expect the best

The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe bad events, which will last a long time and undermine everything they do, are their own fault.

The truth is optimists are confronted with the same hard knocks of this world. What differs is the way they explain their misfortune---it’s the opposite way. They tend to believe defeat is just a temporary setback, that its causes are confined to this one case.

Optimists tend to focus on and plan for the 'problem' at hand. They use 'positive reinterpretation.' In other words, they most likely reinterpret a negative experience in a way that helps them learn and grow. Such people are unfazed by bad situation, they perceive it is a challenge and try harder.

They won’t say “things will never get better,” “If I failed once, it will happen again” and “If I experience misfortune in one part of my life, then it will happen in my whole life.”

Positive expectancies of optimists also predict better reactions during transitions to new environments, sudden tragedies and unlikely turn of events. If they fall, they will stand up. They see opportunities instead of obstacles.

People respond positively to optimists

Optimists are proactive and less dependent on others for their happiness. They find no need to control or manipulate people. They usually draw people towards them. Their optimistic view of the world can be contagious and influence those they are with.

Optimism seems a socially desirable trait in all communities. Those who share optimism are generally accepted while those who spread gloom, panic and hysteria are treated unfavorably.

In life, these people often win elections; get voted most congenial and sought for advice.

When the going gets tough, optimists get tougher

Optimists typically maintain higher levels of subjective well-being during times of stress than do people who are less optimistic. In contrast, pessimists are likely to react to stressful events by denying that they exist or by avoiding dealing with problems. Pessimists are more likely to quit trying when difficulties arise.

They persevere. They just don’t give up easily, they are also known for their patience. Inching their way a step closer to that goal or elusive dream.

Optimists are healthier and live longer

Medical research has justified that simple pleasures and a positive outlook can cause a measurable increase in the body's ability to fight disease.

Optimists’ health is unusually good. They age well, much freer than most people from the usual physical ills of middle age. And they get to outlive those prone to negative thoughts.

So why not be an optimist today? And think positively towards a more fulfilled life.

Why not look forward to success in all your endeavors? Why not be resilient? Like everybody else you are bound to hit lows sometimes but don’t just stay there. Carry yourself out of the mud and improve your chances of getting back on the right track. And why not inspire others to remove their dark-colored glasses and see life in the bright side?

Happy as You Want to Be

Almost everyone have heard the hit single 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin. The song has a very catchy way of conveying its message of being happy to everyone. Bobby Mcferiin's simple message surely made a lot of people by telling them not to worry.

Living a happy, resilient and optimistic life is wonderful, and is also good for your health. Being happy actually protects you from the stresses of life. Stress is linked to top causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and stroke.

One of the better things ever said is - 'The only thing in life that will always remain the same is change', and in our life we have the power to make the necessary changes if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too would change.

Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different, accept people for who or what they are, avoid clashes, constant arguments, and let go of all kinds of resentments. If arguments seem unavoidable still try and make an effort to understand the situation and you might just get along with well with

Happiness is actually found in everyone, increasing it is a way to make a life more wonderful and also more healthy.

To be happy is relatively easy, just decide to be a happy person. Abraham Lincoln observed that most people for most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, how bright or dull their outlook to be. The choice is simple really, choose to be happy.

There are several ways by which you can do this.
 
Being grateful is a great attitude.  We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the taxi driver for bringing you home safely, thank the cook for a wonderful dinner and thank the guy who cleans your windows. Also thank the mailman for bringing you your mails, thank the policeman for making your place safe and thank God for being alive.

News is stressful. Get less of it. Some people just can't start their day without their daily dose of news. Try and think about it, 99% of the news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do.

A religious connection is also recommended. Being part of a religious group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers and meditations foster inner peace.

Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste. Time management can be viewed  as a list of rules that involves scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

Laugh and laugh heartily everyday.  Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say -'Laughter is the best medicine'.
 
Express your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you. They will most likely reciprocate your actions. Try not to keep pent up anger of frustrations, this is bad for your health. Instead find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.
 
Working hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us, they give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel worthy of your time.

Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new everyday.  Learning also makes us expand and broaden our horizons. And could also give us more opportunities in the future.

Run, jog, walk and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.

Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins and hazardous places.

These are the few simple things you can do everyday to be happy.

And always remember the quote from Abraham Lincoln, he says that, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Techniques on How to Meditate for Beginners

by Neeraj Sharma

How to meditate properly is perhaps one of the most common ordeals of those who are beginners in meditation. How to meditate for beginners is actually not that hard as long as you know where to start and what specific steps to follow. When it comes to meditation, it is crucial that we keep in our minds that it is not the odd New Age activity that most of us think of it. Meditation does not necessarily involve having to head to Eastern parts of the world and travel up to the mountains, purely eat vegetables or be in a specific religion to practice it. Meditation is merely an instrument that helps us be ourselves and get in touch with a deeper sense of who we are. It is a great way for us to see the kind of life that we lead and how it unfolds before us and how we can allow things or people that come in our way to influence us. As a beginner in meditation, one must be aware that it has three fundamental concepts: mindfulness, practice and tranquility.

Mindfulness
Mindfulness in the context of meditation is actually an ancient Buddhist practice that has significant relevance in our day to day life. It may an ancient Buddhist practice but you do not have to be in Buddhism to follow it. Mindfulness means paying close attention and being sensitive of the things happening in and around us. When it comes to practicing mindfulness, you can practice it by placing your focus on purpose and the present moment without passing judgment. This may seem such a simple practice but it is said to be the very heart of meditation and is what helps in cultivating consciousness, clarity and acceptance of the reality of life.

Breathing Pattern
In meditation, breathing is a very important component because this is how promotion of relaxation can happen. There is the breath awareness meditation where it requires an individual to stay in one full inhale as it comes in and one full exhale as breath is released. During these moments, it is important to keep the mind open and free. Letting go of all thoughts and ideas is crucial in order to really be able to achieve a higher state of consciousness. When you feel that your mind starts to wander, you can slowly bring back your focus to your breathing and connect the moments of mindfulness altogether as you take in each breath.

Samadhi
The word Samadhi is actually the Sanskrit word which means concentration or literally "single-pointedness". This is actually a type of meditation where you bring your whole focus to an object or to your breathing and you need to focus deeply into awareness of the object. This is actually one of the most commonly practiced types of meditation that even beginners can use it. Through regular practice, the mind is able to become more proficient in concentration and focus and Samdhi is also a very calming and pleasant type of meditation. When you do a Samdhi meditation, you may want to try of thinking of a candle flame for starters or any object that will not tempt your thoughts to wander and distract you.

To learn to meditate London is not really that hard to do. The important thing in meditation in London is you are able to direct your focus and energy to really learn about it and not get easily frustrated along the way.

Join Sadhu Guru London yoga classes for beginners. Learn yoga to get lot of benefits, how to meditate for beginners, how to meditate properly, learn to meditate London.

The First Key To Success: Be Specific About Your Goals And Dreams

By Paula A Parker

Everyone likes to set goals and to dream big, but actually reaching those goals and dreams is often difficult. One crucial problem may be that you aren't being specific enough when thinking about and articulating what it is you want to achieve.

It's hard to begin or maintain a goal when your objectives are too vague. Take a common goal of trying to lose weight. Many dieters fall into the "my objectives are too vague" category and it causes them to lose incentive. For instance, they may set a weight loss goal of losing 40 or 50 pounds, but then what? After a few weeks, with no real plan in place, they get discouraged.

By being specific and detailed about your goal, however, you increase your chances for success. You could set up a very specific goal of losing two pounds a week: one and a half pounds through diet, and a half pound through exercise. Now you can easily calculate how many calories you need to eat each day, and how much exercise you need to meet your weight loss goals.

Of course, this is only the beginning of the battle, but getting off on the right foot with a real and specific plan in place puts you ahead of the game and encourages you to stick with your goal. This simple but effective concept can be applied to any goal you have and will help you stay on the path to success.

Take another very common example. Some people when asked what they wish for most in life will say, "I want to be rich."

Okay, well, who doesn't? "One day I want to be rich" is a very enticing dream, but what road map can you follow to be rich? How do you even start to achieve such a vague goal?

Instead, you might set a more specific and definable goal of opening your own business. This, by the way, probably won't make you rich, but now you can see you have a real starting point. You are no longer living in dreamland. You now have something to work toward, something real to achieve.

And who knows, as you go along in the process of defining and achieving, you may find that your dreams change along with you. Maybe being wealthy really isn't that important to you, afterall. Maybe the personal satisfaction of starting and running your own business is achievement enough for you. And if you can make a decent living out of it, then you really have achieved something.

These are just two examples of how giving your goals and dreams specific details can help you get started on your way and increase you chances for success. It's okay to set big goals and have great expectations in life. Just remember, a dream will always remain a dream unless you can give it a specific and achievable definition.

Paula A. Parker is a freelance writer and owner of http://www.behappyzone.com where she writes inspirational articles about finding happiness and maintaining a positive outlook in life. You can read more about reaching goals in her article: Keeping Your Dreams Alive

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20 Tips for Increasing Your Self-Confidence

by Teresa Meehan PhD

Who can't benefit from an occasional dose of confidence building tips? The following is a quick list of things you can do today to improve how you feel about yourself. For a more step-by-step approach, sign up for our free newsletter and download your free eCourse today!

Here we go:

1. Think about someone who is confident and act, talk and walk like him or her. Model their mannerisms and behavior. It works for them; it will work for you.

2. Smile a lot more. That doesn’t mean putting a silly grin on your face! But smile when you walk down the street, when you meet people and generally be happier even if you’re not feeling that way.

3. Learn from the past; don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s gone; it’s never coming back. Instead learn from it for next time.

4. Buy yourself some new clothes, get your hair done, treat yourself to something new. It will make you feel better and will give your ego a boost.

5. Are you prepared for situations? Are you prepared enough to meet any challenge that may come up? Are you prepared for that meeting, that presentation, that job interview, when you meet someone for the first time? If not, get to it.

6. Play to your strengths. Know what you are good at and expose yourself to these opportunities at every opportunity – because you’re good at it, you’ll enjoy it and have more confidence.

7. Improve your weaknesses. Know and appreciate what these are and put a plan in place to improve them over time.

8. Learn how to say no to people. Don’t be afraid, you’ve got nothing to be afraid of. Just watch the reaction on their face after you’ve said it the first time and there will be no going back.

9. Be positive. Look on the “can do” side of things rather than the “can’t do”. You’ve accomplished lots in your life and you will accomplish lots more in the future.

10. Be in charge of your thoughts at all times. What is a thought? It’s just a question that you’ve asked yourself and the thought is you’re answer. If you’re thinking negative thoughts, you’re probably asking a negative question. Change the questions to be more positive.

11. Whenever you feel a negative thought coming, STOP, THINK, and say, "Is this really important in the grand scheme of things?" A lot of the time it isn’t.

12. Do you let the words of others affect you? Do you mind what they think of you? Remember that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. It’s not what they say to you that’s the problem. It’s what you say to yourself after they have stopped talking that’s the problem. Change the way you think.

13. List the words that you use on a consistent basis when you feel let down or annoyed. People use different words to mean the same thing and depending upon the intensity of the word – this will have an effect on your confidence. Instead of saying “I’m enraged about this” say, “I’m a little annoyed”. Make a substitute list for the words that you use. Make sure they are lower in intensity and then use them. You’ll be surprised with the results.

14. At the end of each day, list your achievements and successes. You'll be surprised at how much you accomplished.

15. Be appreciative of what you have to be thankful for in your life right now. Who do you love? Who loves you? Who do you help out?

16. Every morning when you’re in the shower, play over in your head the events of the day as though they have already happened and they were a success. Visualize all of the meetings that you had, the people you talked to, the outcomes you had. Visualize success and confidence, and it will be so!

17. Improve your body language. The way that you move your body has a massive impact on your confidence level. Move your body assertively and walk with your head up, shoulders back and as though you’ve got somewhere very important to go. Feeling low in confidence? Change you body language.

18. Emotion is created by motion. As in tip 17, make sure you move around consistently. This creates energy and gets the blood pumping around your body – it makes you feel better and more confident.

19.
Learn to brag about yourself. Yes, you heard me! Talk about your achievements and successes more than you currently are.

20. And finally – You only live once, so any time that you are down just ask yourself in 10 or 20 years time – will what I am worrying about really matter?

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Unleash the Power of Belief

by Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler

You might sometimes wonder why you just did or said something. Actually there is an immense power deep in your subconscious mind that silently controls your thoughts and actions - your beliefs.

Each of us has our own unique set of beliefs and assumptions for virtually every aspect of our life, including money, success, 
relationships, body image, intelligence, etc. The list goes on and on.

These beliefs actually run our lives. Why? Because of the power of beliefs we are deeply convinced that they are valid. In fact, we automatically assume they are valid without even thinking about it.

The nature of beliefs may seem a mystery, but they are basically simply emotion-packed thoughts you revisit over and over again. Any repeated thought builds strong physical neural networks in your brain. The thought then becomes an automatic subconscious pattern.

Once they become strongly engrained in our brain-based neural networks, we assume they represent reality and are beyond question. Most of us can get very defensive if someone (even our own self) questions our beliefs. So they remain unquestioned, and often just run right over any personal dream or goal that goes against them.

Thoughts Can Override Beliefs.

I discovered the amazing ability of a single thought to override a belief when I first began to use biofeedback in a clinical environment.

The wife of a prominent local surgeon came to me hoping biofeedback could give her relief from crippling back pain. Mrs. Roberts (not her real name) had been in a high speed car crash three years earlier. She had miraculously not broken any bones, but her back pain had never healed.

She hobbled into the clinic leaning heavily on a cane, and revealed a belief she would NEVER heal from the back trauma caused by the accident (she was driving, and her best friend had died in the crash).

I attached sensors to her back, and we both observed the muscle-related EMG spikes as she painfully tried to move her legs. then I hooked up sensors to her arm, and had her tense and relax her muscles. She saw the clear difference between relaxed and tensed muscles on the screen.

Then I suggested that her back pain "might" be muscle bracing that had become a chronic habit. I proposed an experiment during which she would just think about allowing her back to relax.

I placed the EMG sensors on her back and turned the screen away from her as she began to think about allowing her back to relax. Sure enough, the spikes reduced dramatically.

I froze the screen and rotated it so she could see the results. Her jaw dropped. The power of her thoughts HAD actually reduced the chronic muscle spasms in her back.

I asked her how her back felt. She was even more amazed. It had begun to warm as her circulation was partially restored. After only three biofeedback sessions she was able to release her muscle spasms with a single thought.

A few weeks later the cane was gone and she considered herself totally cured from her pain. Actually, what happened is that she cured herself from a crippling belief (I don't think I'll ever heal) with a single powerful THOUGHT of relaxing the muscle spasms in her back.

Old beliefs CAN be replaced with success-affirming positive thoughts.

Put This to Work in YOUR Life.

Here's how to control the power of belief in your life. Most of your self-limiting beliefs had their beginning in your early childhood from negative judgements of your elders. Replacing the resulting limiting beliefs requires dealing with the subconscious ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) now attached to those beliefs.

If you do have limiting beliefs, your ANTs will constantly reinforce that belief. The only solution is to create new positive beliefs to replace the old negatives.

Here is a major insight to remember: It does not matter if you truly do believe your new positive beliefs at first. Your mind is a creature of habit. The more often you focus on your new positive beliefs, the faster they will be stored on brain-based neural networks. Your neural networks are like paths through a meadow. Left unused, the neural networks holding your limiting beliefs will gradually disappear and be replaced by the new networks you are installing.

About the Author

The author of this article has written several books that can get you started. Go take a look, and download a free audio by the author while you're there =>> CLICK HERE FOR A FREE MP3 and Build Mind Power

Self Growth Techniques for Personal Success

By Katrina D Briggs

What is self growth? It is about shaping yourself to become a better person with solid values, ethics and a well balanced approach to life.  It is the process of working on your areas of improvement and turning them into areas of strength and opportunities. Just how can you do that? Here are five simple techniques for starters:

 

1. Learn from others. Start with your immediate family and closest friends. What are some of their traits that you admire? What have they accomplished that makes you want to be like them? Talk to them and ask them what they did to achieve self growth that led to their professional and personal success. Then check out famous people whose work you admire and read articles on how they got to the top of their profession. Learn as much as you can about their individual techniques and see which ones you can adopt for yourself.

 

2. Observe admirable people. Look at how they conduct themselves, from the way they walk, talk, sit and generally behave in public. Such refinement can only be a product of effective self growth techniques, which include polishing one’s looks, movements and skill sets to complete the overall package of the person. Look at how they treat others and are treated in turn. You can take a page out of their demeanor to propel yourself towards personal success and professional recognition. This isn’t to say you should mimic their every move; just derive the best practices possible from them that you can employ for your own good.

 

3. Assess your own attitude. How have you been behaving by your lonesome? Are you a person of integrity – always doing the right thing even when no one is looking? How are you with other people around? Do you exercise kindness and consideration for others, or are you being fueled by your own selfish needs for personal success? Bear in mind that in order to succeed at self growth, you must possess a mature disposition and a kind heart. Aim to be a caring and morally upright person no matter where you go. The universe has a way of rewarding people who treat others well and punishing those who won’t hesitate to trample on the feelings and rights of others.

 

4. Envision the kind of person you would like to be one day. This is a great self growth exercise that can provide you inspiration on your journey to professional and personal success. Paint a picture of the Ideal You – the kind of individual you wish to become in the future. How do you see yourself in that image? Do you see a nation-building politician, the next Mother Teresa, or the next Steve Jobs? Use your imagination as your mood board to guide you as you work on your greatest ambition.

 

5. Get rid of vices that may be harmful to your self growth. Are you quick to turn to painkillers when you feel the slightest muscle twitch? Do you tend to gorge on sugary snacks and drinks to keep your energy levels up as you slave over a very important project? Remove all self destructive habits from your system and start living clean! You won’t be able to enjoy personal success if your health takes a nosedive and renders you bedridden most of the time. So go have that physical check up and get tips from your physician and nutritionist on how to live a healthier and more wholesome lifestyle.

 

The change starts within you. Find your purpose, work on it and remember to enjoy the journey as well. Good luck and may you serve as an inspiring role model to others.

About the Author:

There are many self growth techniques. It's just a matter of you choosing those that suit your personality and can easily be incorporated into your life. Your journey to a better you starts today!

Articles Source: Self Growth Techniques for Personal Success

It's Persistence, Not Luck, That Leads to Success

By Lisa Ryan

"When I thought I couldn't go on, I forced myself to keep going. My success is based on persistence, not luck." Estee Lauder

Do you know what you want out of your life? Can you see your future clearly in your mind's eye and do you know down to the very core of your being that you're working towards your life's purpose? If so, congratulations! If you're not quite there yet, take a few moments and imagine what your life would be life if you were living on purpose. How wide is the gap between what you want to be doing and what you're currently engaged in?

Sometimes we get "stuck" in a situation that is clearly not where we want to be. Maybe it's because of financial considerations, family expectations, or self-imposed limitations. If you dread going to work every day, it may be time to reconsider the track you're on and look for ways you can progress towards what you want out of life.

It's easy to advance towards your goals when things are going well, when you're "in the flow." You feel great, you're on a "high," and things couldn't be better. Because of your positive momentum, when challenges first happen, you turn on your inner turbo-boosters and plow forward.

However, when it seems nothing is going right, challenges are abounding, and you're not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, you may start questioning your sanity, your motivations, and whether you should be continuing down this crazy path.

Here are some tips to keep you on track so you can reach the pinnacle of your personal and professional pursuits, whatever they are:

1. Acknowledge yourself for each and every little victory. So often we are looking for what is going wrong, what has gone wrong or what could go wrong that we don't see how many things are going well. At the end of each day, write down your list of "wins" and take a moment to celebrate your accomplishments.

2. Learn from your lessons. It's been said that a lesson is repeated until the lesson is learned. When something goes wrong, take a moment and assess exactly what happened. Then try something different, even a slight shift can make a big impact. This may take you out of your comfort zone, but doing things in a different way will lead to different - and probably better - results.

3. Be grateful. Get into the practice of looking for people, events and circumstances for which you can be thankful. You don't have to wait until something really "big" happens. When you wake up in the morning, before you get out of bed, think of three things that you appreciate about your life. Then think of three more things that you can be grateful for in advance of them happening during the day. In this way, you'll set a positive expectancy for your day and chances are that your day will turn out as good, or even better, than you originally imagined.

Think of your challenges as just another part of your story. Every delay, mistake, and denial is part of what it takes to make your victory stronger and more satisfying than if it happened easily and without trials and tribulations. You are on your way, and your efforts will pay off in ways you may not have imagined. Go for it!

PS - Persistence pays. Slow and steady wins the race - it's all just a matter of time.

Lisa Ryan is the Chief Appreciation Strategist with Grategy. She is a keynote speaker, gratitude expert, and author of five books including "The Upside of Down Times: Discovering the Power of Gratitude" and she is featured in two documentaries: "The Keeper of the Keys" with Jack Canfield and "The Gratitude Experiment.".

Learn more about Lisa Ryan at http://www.grategy.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Ryan
http://EzineArticles.com/?Its-Persistence,-Not-Luck,-That-Leads-to-Success&id=7818701

6 Easy Ways to Re-energize

by Cathryn Harper

You know your body runs on energy, right? Well, just like your exotic racecar, when you're out of fuel, or when you put the wrong fuel in, things don't run so well. And, if you haven't maintained things like you should, there could be a performance drag, or worse, even failure.

So, what are you waiting for? Your body, just like that gorgeous car, needs attention in order to keep going. But, you say, you're tired? You can't take the time to address that fuel problem or those performance issues just now? You might be surprised at how easy some of this kind of maintenance is.
Breathing - Most of us don't get enough oxygen for a big part of the day, barely breathing in and out without taking so much as one deep breath. Every hour or so, get up, reach for the sky, and take about five long, slow, deep breaths through the nose, exhaling through the mouth. Ahhhhh. Feels good, right? What? Did you hear something? That was your body saying thank you.

Limit caffeine - Most of us reach for the caffeine in the morning to jumpstart our systems, but it is a quick fix that, in just a short time, sends our systems crashing, makes us cranky, or worse yet, keeps us from getting enough sleep. Give yourself a week off of the java and see what happens. You might be surprised how much it actually zaps from you.

Choose the right snacks - Hit the wall at work? It might be late afternoon, and you're feeling slow and tired, so you reach for some sugar. Well, guess what? In an hour, that sugar will be metabolized, and you, my friend, will again feel tired and sleepy. If you really need to appease your sweet tooth, choose something with a little fiber attached, like fruit. Added bonus: no weird artificial flavors or colors.

Find the right sleep rhythm - Just no energy all day long? You might not be getting enough sleep. Everyone has dances to their own internal circadian rhythms, but if you're not getting enough sleep, it's probably stealing your thunder by day. Experiment with different doses and note how you feel the next day. Also, the average sleep cycle, going from REM sleep and non REM sleep, lasts for approximately 90 minutes. Waking during the middle of a cycle can sometimes make you tired all day. Try setting your alarm 30 minutes earlier or later to see if you hit on the right timing, hitting just at the end of a sleep cycle, and waking refreshed and energy ready.

Eat a balanced diet - You can shovel in a boatload of fast food calories and still be tired. Yes, your body needs fuel, but filling it up with fat laden calories, full of energy zapping ingredients and little nourishment just doesn't work. Do a little due diligence with regard to diet, and see if you can't find some foods that you like that will give you the vitamins and nutrients you need to make it through the day with energy to spare.

Stay hydrated - Make sure you're drinking enough water throughout the day. That doesn't mean you need to have a water bottle strapped to your hip. Just listen to your body. When it says its thirsty, get up, walk to the water fountain, and take a good, long drink. Soda doesn't count. Actually, it counts against you, so stick to water.

That's the top six, but there are a few other things you might want to tackle if you still feel sapped of energy after making these changes. If you're under a boatload of stress, find a way to mitigate it through activities like meditation, yoga, Pilates, fishing, bike riding, whatever; just get out there and forget your cares for a while. Also, avoid things that bring you down emotionally. Toxic people can rub off on you, too, dragging you down. Try to disengage from those personality types and stay positive! Consider some of these suggestions, and prepare to be energized.

Cathryn is a working mother of three. A self-professed health and fitness nut, Cathryn loves to research and write about health and wellness related topics. Click here "Ways to Re-energize" to read more relted aticles.

Article Source: 6 Easy Ways to Re-energize

What Is in Your Mind Will Determine Your Destiny

Author: Jahiel -yasha- Kamhi

We need to be honest with ourselves!

We are sometimes angry, frustrated, envious or simply unsatisfied with everything in our life because we do not want to accept a reality: Often, our own mindset has kept us away from success and satisfaction.

Our life decisions did not come from nowhere; they came from inside us, from our own way of thinking and understanding how life works. Unfortunately, many times we are simply wrong. We are ready to blame everything and everyone except the main cause:  Ourselves! 

But this is natural! It could be your subconscious mind and thoughts that are against you and you do not know that. Sometimes you cannot understand your own subconscious mind, and I cannot understand my subconscious mind, as well.

That is the way minds work. 

Your conscious and subconscious minds plant the seeds for a successful or unsuccessful life. 

If you cannot see solutions, possibilities or opportunities in your life, your mindset will keep you stuck in a still position, unfortunately sometimes this is forever! Understandably, you may blame life, family, friends or a government. Of course, you do not want to feel responsible for your own life. It is the easiest, but the wrong way, not to feel guilty. 

 If you open your mind and see and understand how your life and mind works, you are on your way to a much better life. If you change your mindset, struggles, envy, resentments and other obstacles will be the past tense for you. 

This is not an easy job to do. It will take time, effort, patience and support from your side. Your determination and desire for change will keep you on the pathway to a better life. 

Your thoughts are energy. Your determination and desire for success and your visualisation of success will create energy, and life itself will take care of the rest! That's how life works.

But, do not forget just one small step: ACTION. 

Dreaming, planning and preparing, without action is fruitless and useless. Theory works on paper, but only action works in reality. Changing your mindset is not a theory; it is an action. 

If you did not achieve your goal, think about what you said to yourself about your goal.

Did you have positive or negative thoughts, too low or too high expectations about your dream? How strong was your focus and determination for achieving your dream? The thoughts you constantly hold in your mind are very powerful tools. They may give you a push to success, or hold you in a rut indefinitely. 

As I said: What is in your mind will determine your destiny. 

Jahiel Yasha Kamhi

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/psychology-articles/what-is-in-your-mind-will-determine-your-destiny-6580557.html

About the Author

Jahiel holds a degree in Medical Biochemistry and a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry. He is passionate about writing, and conveying positive ideas that help people live life with more passion and purpose. His mission is to promote a good mental and physical health. Jahiel's core message is to inspire and encourage people, to give them hope and help them live their everyday life. Being thankful for what is good in life rather than focusing on the negative is his message. With hope, all things are possible. Yasha can be contacted at jasakamhi AT hotmail.com.

Reduce Stress and Be Happy

Anything taken too much is bad for the health. A little stress is actually good, as it could serve to help you function at your best. However, stress that seems a little too much could take a physical, as well as mental, toll to your body. Stress should be managed in order for depression or anxiety to be prevented.

So how should you do it then? The following are tips and advice to help manage stress.

Write it out, schedule it out.

It is best to write down everything that seems to be overwhelming. You will find a things-to-do-list much easier to manage than having errands all crumpled up in your head. Writing down the tasks, and putting a specific schedule and time to do them, helps anyone manage activities one chunk at a time. Crossing out an activity that has already been accomplished is very rewarding and could actually help you feel more relaxed when doing the other tasks at hand.

One at a time works.

Focus and put all your attention specifically on one task at one time.  It does not help to feel panicky about the other undone or to-do tasks. Thinking about them only adds unnecessary stress and could even hamper in doing the task you are attempting to accomplish at present. 

Relax and take it slow.

At least, try not to expend too much energy on activities that are currently not priorities. This is in order for your energy to be not easily expended on the tasks that are not that important, at least for now.

Delegate, delegate, delegate.

You need not do everything all at once, and you need not do everything on your own. Ask for help, get help, or pay for help.  When there is a feeling of being overwhelmed that is cropping up, hire someone to mow the lawn or get a sitter for your children. The feeling of being pressed to finish something on time will somehow be eliminated if tasks are delegated. It takes a load off unnecessary worry and anxiety. Moreover, it is easier checking up on how things are, than worrying yourself sick doing everything on your own, all at once.

Give yourself a reward.

You deserve it. Acknowledging your accomplishments, no matter how big or small, is an effort that is necessary before getting on to the next tasks and activities. It reduces stress and could even make you happier in doing the next task. 

Give yourself a break.

You need it to be more productive. A ten to fifteen minute break during your work is necessary. Go visit a café nearby, take a quick brisk walk, or do anything to put your mind off work, at least for a while. This is necessary to refresh and recharge. Believe it or not, you can also stay in your work and sit with your eyes closed as you visualize a peaceful landscape or a relaxing scene. This frees the stress from your muscles and your mind.

Relax and be cool. Doing so makes you healthier, happier, and a lot more productive. 

The Powers of a Positive Attitude

I am going to ask you to something very weird right now. First of all, I want you to listen to your thoughts. Now tell me, what thoughts fill your head? Would you label them as positive, or negative?

Now let's say you are walking down the street with these thoughts. Do you think anyone who would meet you would be able to tell you what’s on your mind?

The answer to number one is up to you. But, the answer number two can be pretty generic. Although people will not be able to tell you exactly what you think, they will more or less have an idea of how you are feeling.

Here's another question. When you enter a party filled with friends, do they all fall silent as if something terrible had happened? Or does everybody there perk up as if waiting for something exciting to happen?

You know what? The answer to all these depends on your frame of mind.

Thoughts are very powerful. They affect your general attitude. The attitude you carry reflects on your appearance, too – unless, of course, you are a great actor.

And it doesn't end there. Your attitude can also affect people around you.

The type of attitude you carry depends on you. It can be either positive or negative.

Positive thoughts have a filling effect. They are admittedly invigorating. Plus, the people around the person carrying positive thoughts are usually energized by this type of attitude.

Negative thoughts on the other hand have a sapping effect on other people. Aside from making you look gloomy and sad, negative thoughts can turn a festive gathering into a funeral wake.

A positive attitude attracts people, while a negative attitude repels them. People tend to shy away from those who carry a negative attitude.

We can also define attitude as the way of looking at the world. If you choose to focus on the negative things in the world, more or less you have a negative attitude brewing up. However, if you choose to focus on the positive things, you are more likely carry a positive attitude.

You have much to gain from a very positive attitude. For one, studies have shown that a positive attitude promotes better health. Those with this kind of attitude also have more friends. projecting a positive attitude also helps one to handle stress and problems better than those who have a negative attitude.

A positive attitude begins with a healthy self-image. If you will love the way you are and are satisfied, confident, and self-assured, you also make others are around feel the same way.

A negative attitude, on the other hand, has, of course, an opposite effect. So, carrying a negative attitude has a twofold drawback. You feel bad about yourself, and you make others feel the same way.

If you want to have a positive attitude, you have to feature healthy thoughts. This is probably very hard to do nowadays since, all around us, the media feeds us nothing but negative thoughts. A study shows that for every 14 things a parent says to his or her child, only one is positive. This is truly a saddening thought.

If you want a healthier outlook in life, you need to think happy thoughts, and you have to hear positive things as well. So, what can you do? Well, for starters, you could see a funny movie, you could play with children, spend some time telling jokes with friends. All these activities fill you with positive stimuli, which in turn promotes positive attitude.

Although it is impossible to keep ourselves from the negative things around us, you can still carry a positive attitude by focusing on the good things, the positive things in life.

And this positive attitude you now carry can be of benefit to other people. Sometimes when other people feel down, the thing people mostly do is try to give them advice. But sometimes, all they need is somebody to sit by them, and listen to them. If you have a positive attitude you may be able to cheer them up without even having to say anything.

If positive attitude is really great, why do people choose to adopt a negative attitude instead? One who carries a negative attitude may be actually sending a signal for attention. Before you get me wrong, feeling sad, angry, or gloomy is not wrong itself. But dwelling on these thoughts for far too long is not healthy either. There is a time to mourn.

As always, if you are beset by troubles, even in your darkest hour, focus on the good things in life, you will always have hope. Problems become something you can overcome.

You do not have much to lose by adopting a healthy, positive attitude. Studies show that such an attitude actually retards aging, makes you healthier, helps you develop a better stress coping mechanism, and has a very positive effect on all the people you meet every day. So, what's not to like about a positive attitude? Adopt one today.

Build your self esteem, a starter guide to self improvement

So how do you stay calm, composed and maintain self esteem in a tough environment? Here are some tips you may to consider as a starter guide to self improvement.

Imagine yourself as a Dart Board. Everything and everyone else around you may become Darts, at one point or another. These darts will destroy your self esteem and pull you down in ways you won’t even remember. Don’t let them destroy you, or get the best of you.  So which darts should you avoid?

Dart #1 : Negative Work Environment
Beware of “dog eat dog” theory where everyone else is fighting just to get ahead. This is where non-appreciative people usually thrive. No one will appreciate your contributions even if you miss lunch and dinner, and stay up late. Most of the time you get to work too much without getting help from people concerned.  Stay out of this, it will ruin your self esteem. Competition is at stake anywhere. Be healthy enough to compete, but in a healthy competition that is.

Dart #2: Other People’s Behavior
Bulldozers, brown nosers, gossipmongers, whiners, backstabbers, snipers, people walking wounded, controllers, naggers, complainers, exploders, patronizers, sluffers… all these kinds of people will pose bad vibes for your self esteem, as well as to your self improvement scheme.

Dart #3: Changing Environment
You can’t be a green bug on a brown field. Changes challenge our paradigms. It tests our flexibility, adaptability and alters the way we think. Changes will make life difficult for a while, it may cause stress but it will help us find ways to improve our selves. Change will be there forever, we must be susceptible to it.

Dart #4: Past Experience
It’s okay to cry and say “ouch!” when we experience pain. But don’t let pain transform itself into fear. It might grab you by the tail and swing you around. Treat each failure and mistake as a lesson.

Dart #5: Negative World View
Look at what you’re looking at. Don’t wrap yourself up with all the negativities of the world. In building self esteem, we must learn how to make the best out of worst situations.

Dart #6: Determination Theory
The way you are and your behavioral traits is said to be a mixed end product of your inherited traits (genetics), your upbringing (psychic), and your environmental surroundings such as your spouse, the company, the economy or your circle of friends. You have your own identity. If your father is a failure, it doesn’t mean you have to be a failure too. Learn from other people’s experience, so you’ll never have to encounter the same mistakes.

Sometimes, you may want to wonder if some people are born leaders or positive thinkers. NO. Being positive, and staying positive is a choice. Building self esteem and drawing lines for self improvement is a choice, not a rule or a talent. God wouldn’t come down from heaven and tell you – “George, you may now have the permission to build self esteem and improve your self.”  

In life, its hard to stay tough specially when things and people around you keep pulling you down. When we get to the battle field, we should choose the right luggage to bring and armors to use, and pick those that are bullet proof. Life’s options give us arrays of more options. Along the battle, we will get hit and bruised. And wearing a bullet proof armor ideally means ‘self change’. The kind of change which comes from within. Voluntarily. Armor or Self Change  changes 3 things: our attitude, our behavior and our way of thinking.

Building self esteem will eventually lead to self improvement if we start to become responsible for who we are, what we have and what we do. Its like a flame that should gradually spread like a brush fire from inside and out. When we develop self esteem, we take control of our mission, values and discipline.  Self esteem brings about self improvement, true assessment, and determination. So how do you start putting up the building blocks of self esteem? Be positive. Be contented and happy. Be appreciative. Never miss an opportunity to compliment. A positive way of living will help you build self esteem, your starter guide to self improvement.

5 life-changing meditation skills and how to grow them

Meditation is one of the most powerful things you can do to transform your life for the better!

No matter what you desire, inner skills are essential to get you there.  Why is that?  It's because, the results in your life are directly related to your inner
state--your intentions, thoughts, and feelings--and how these inspire you to take action.  

What you bring to life from the inside determines what you receive from life on the outside.  To change your life in the direction you desire, you must align 
your inner state with what you truly want.  You can achieve this through meditation.

Let's talk about five inner skills that you develop through meditation practice.  Developing these skills may be the single most important thing you can do 
to become a powerful co-creator in your life.

Let's look at some of the many benefits of developing your inner skills through meditation:

* Stress reduction and deep relaxation, 
* Better health and immune function, 
* Deeper connection to "who you are" and "what you are here to do," 
* The ability to let go of what no longer serves you
* The ability to release negative states, past pain, and worry about the future 
* Attunement to inner guidance so you sense your best next step
* Relaxed confidence and enthusiasm for where you are headed
* Improved communication and ease in your relationships, and 
* Empowerment to live your dreams and achieve peak performance.  

Let's explore the five essential skills of meditation that give you these benefits.

1. Self-observation: When you meditate, you learn to witness your intentions, thoughts, feelings, sensations, and experiences without being caught up in,
identified with, attached to, or overwhelmed by them. 

You come to understand that you have intentions, thoughts, feelings, sensations, and experiences, but these do not define who you are.  You are responsible for your actions, but these do not define you either. You are "something else" altogether.  You are a witnessing presence who can inhabit anything.

Self-observation also enables you to understand inner cause and effect--how your intentions, thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and actions shape your life experiences.  As you better understand inner cause and effect you can more effectively step into your life experiences to shift them in line with what you truly desire.

2. Detachment: As you observe yourself on the inside, the attitude you take toward yourself is absolutely important.  In meditation, you learn to be honest  with yourself and gentle with yourself.  You learn to recognize and accept whatever you see without judging it as "good" or "bad."  

You learn to witness everything without attaching yourself to it, without thinking that anything makes you worthy or unworthy. You are perfect just the way you are.  It's interesting that when you realize that, you initiate the most positive inner change. In meditation, you release your self-judgments and clear your mental filters, so you experience life in a more relaxed, inclusive, fluid, and joyous way.  

Detachment enables you to let go of that which no longer serves you so you can act in a way which expresses your authentic path, essence, and purpose. Detachment actually enables you to experience life more richly and directly by releasing the negative thoughts and "bad" feelings that interfere with your ability to be present and enjoy with what is happening now.

3. Discernment: As you clear the clutter of self-judgment, past pain, and worries about the future, you open up to present opportunities and sense inner guidance that tells you how to act on them.  You improve your ability to intuit your authentic path. You become tuned into using your inner body to sense what you are here to do now.  You also learn to sense what is "off track" from your authentic path. Meditation develops mental precision and the ability to discern fine detail.  

4. Choice: As you witness inner cause and effect, you come to understand that by choosing different intentions, thoughts, feelings, and actions you can have different experiences.   

Through meditation you also discover a natural, relaxed, positive, clear, and coherent state of being that is always available to you--a Core Energy State. You learn that you can access this powerful state no matter what is happening around you.  The more familiar you become with this state, the more easily you'll recognize when you've wandered away from it--and you'll have the inner skills to return to it.  

Shifting to a Core Energy State is like shifting into your home frequency, your most essential vibration, and to what is aligned with that.  From a Core Energy State you will more easily choose your best intentions.  You will more easily follow your authentic path by choosing to grow your unique gifts and talents to share them with others.

Check out this guided meditation exercise to help you shift into a Core Energy State:

5. Focus in this Moment: Finally and, perhaps, most importantly, meditation develops your ability to stick to your choices in the present moment, especially when challenges arise. You'll be empowered to choose where you're coming right now and to manage your energy and attention, so that you realize what you truly desire. 

Not only will you know what is right for you, but you'll be able to maintain your positive focus in the face of whatever comes your way.  In that way, you become a conscious participant in the creation of your life rather than a victim of circumstances thrown about by the conditions of life.  

The key to focus is to stay in this moment.  Meditation trains you to be present with what is happening now rather than being distracted by the pains of the past
or worries about the future.  You'll learn to calmly center yourself in your body and clearly sense what Life is guiding you to do right now.  

Through meditation you learn to appreciate the perfection in what is actually happening, so you more deeply enjoy our life.  When each of us discover and 
share that love of life, that inner spark, we all change for the better.

If you haven't done so already, be sure to check out my Core Energy Meditation program

And above all....

Enjoy your practice!

- By Kevin Schoeninger, Meditation Master
The Mind-Body Training Company

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Can You Really Improve Your Self Confidence With Subliminal Messaging?

We all know a friend who is naturally confident, they are comfortable in their own skin, naturally social and they are generally outgoing in any new situation.

Perhaps you are more socially anxious or feel awkward when meeting new people. You perhaps feel as if your confident friends are fortunately blessed with confidence and you will never be like this, however, this is just not the case.

Confidence is a skill just like spelling, or reading or any other, and this means anyone can develop it. The only reason that these people are confident and you aren't is that they have "learnt" their confidence from an early age - and they have experienced positive responses to their social skills and efforts (perhaps being praised or rewarded for outgoing behavior in some way) so they kept getting more and more confident. You didn't receive such a positive response, but instead were laughed at even, or perhaps rejected when you made efforts to act more outgoing, so instead of growing more confident you entered a negative spiral and became more introverted.

Confidence is all in your mind - i.e. in the way you think and act, and probably even more importantly your self beliefs and beliefs about what you are and are not capable of. If you can change these patterns of thinking within your mind and change your self beliefs then you will also become more confident.

How Can I Reprogram My Self Beliefs?

This is where subliminal messaging comes in!

Subliminals will gain access to your subconscious mind naturally and make changes to these negative self beliefs. Slowly they will replace them with positive beliefs and plant powerful seeds of confidence instead - basically to stop you thinking in the way that you do and to instill the types of personality traits shared by these naturally confident people.

Just imagine the feeling of having the same set of self beliefs as someone who is just naturally confident - feeling excited by social interactions, feeling more extroverted, really wanting to voice your opinion - think how confident this set of self beliefs would make you on the outside!

Make a change today with this life changing subliminal confidence album, or if you have not used subliminal messages before you can try three free subliminal messages.

Positive Thinking Leads to Constructive Solutions

I am certain that if you constantly focus your energy on all the things, that are wrong in your environment, you are not placing yourself in the best frame of mind to achieve anything meaningful with your life. You are surrounded by negativity all the time, in the form of newspapers and news bulletins on radio and TV. So if you want to freshen your attitude and feel more positive, it is time to shift your newspaper, radio and TV time, towards something more positive. I am not advocating that you stop listening to the radio or watching TV altogether. I am however suggesting that you become more selective about the programs you watch or listen to.

Avoid all the crisis type reporting, which repeats throughout the day on Channels such as CNN, Sky News etc. Rather invest this time to watch Discovery Channel, National Geographic or even a few good movies on TV. Use every medium possible to help you develop a positive attitude and to support you to see opportunity. The doom and gloom channels and news reports focus on all the worst negativity, which is going on around you and can never support you to be positive or energised.

Never Abandon your Positive Attitude
People, who abandon their positive attitude, are seldom, if ever aware of all the abundance and opportunity around them. The tend to be blind to everything positive, have a poor work ethic and do not have any drive to take daily action. The attitude you project to the world, will have a major effect on the level of success you manage to achieve.

I know I cannot simply instruct you to be positive and as if by magic, you will immediately just change your attitude and tune out of all the negativity all around you. Telling you to just be positive in a world, which is saturated with so much negativity, is as effective suggesting that you take a swim in the ocean, without getting wet.

Wrestle Back Control
Winning the war against negativity can never happen in a day. It is a gradual conscious process, where you wake up every day determined to be a little more positive that day than you were the day before. You must consciously look around your world and try to identify all the positive things going on. Strive to ignore all the negativity. You must consciously focus on positivity and strive to be solution orientated, looking for opportunities everywhere.

Checklist for positivity:
Fill your day with planned activities, which will help you achieve the success you desire. A disorganised and unplanned day, invites negativity in. This is a simple law of nature, if you do not fill your day with positive, developmental things, the universe will randomly fill it with things you may not necessarily like. A disciplined schedule helps you to remain focused and remain inspired.
Plan at least three positive activities every day, which will support you to feel good. One early in the morning, one at mid-day and one in the late afternoon. This will help you to remain positive throughout the day.
Write your goals at minimum twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening. This will help keep you inspired and focused on where you are going.
Write positive saying and reminders, in visible places around your workplace and home. Read them as often as possible, especially if you are feeling low.
Exercise every day for about 30 minutes. This will not only energise you, but will also help you to remain more positive and driven.
Remove all toxins from your life, things like nicotine, poor nutrition, alcohol etc. These toxins accumulate in your fat cells and cause huge chemical imbalances in your body.
Nothing in your life is more valuable than your ability to maintain and consistently deliver a positive attitude every day. The more positive your attitude, the better your health, mental state and financial wellbeing will be. Money and success are far more likely to move towards someone with a positive, upbeat and solution orientated attitude, than it would to someone who is negative and down all the time.

Andrew Horton is one of South Africa's top sales training experts. He will support, uplift and inspire sales professionals to explore the limits of their potential and awaken the sales giants, which resides within all of them. His sales training presentation is aimed at inspiring sales professionals, helping them to become re-energised and eager to achieve their sales targets. The sales tools and powerful tried and tested practical sales techniques, they will be introduced to during his presentation, will help any sales professional to immediately up their game and to become a real sales giant, within their markets. Visit my website at http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

Where Do You Put Your Focus?

By W Timothy Johnson

This is something I have been carefully monitoring for the last couple of months. The focus that I refer to is not what's on your mind, but rather what is your frame of reference?

Do you have a lack reference or an abundance reference? Do you say the following things a lot?

• I need to speak to more prospects.
• I want to have a million dollar a year income.
• I should clean my office.
• I wish I were already successful.
• I want a better lifestyle.
• I should have a better relationship with my spouse.

Do you notice the common thread there? All the sentences are about things that you have no conviction about. You may NEED to speak to more prospects. But will you? You may WANT a larger income, but will you get it?

Each of these statements uses phrases that evoke images of the past, as in I didn't do it before and I am not going to now. The words need, want, should and wish are all tools that will keep you from success. They show that your focus is on what you do not have, are not doing nor will do. They reinforce that you have made bad decisions in the past and will do so again.

When you say that you need to do something, do you do it? Sometimes, but not always. These words are common among those that have no real goals nor a direction. These words are lack based. They show that you do not believe in the things the sentences are about.

Try these:

• I will speak to more prospects.
• I will have a million dollar a year income.
• I will clean my office.
• I am successful.
• I require a better lifestyle.
• I desire a better relationship with my wife/husband.

Notice that these are about the same things. Only there is certainty about them and they evoke surety of results. The person who talks like this will be one who is positive about where they are going, because they already know the destination. They may not always have a specific plan, but they are generally headed in the right direction. Speaking and thinking with conviction changes your attitude which affects your actions which affects your results.

So keep an ear out for the way you use words. It is one of the most powerful tools you have, your vocabulary, yet most have no idea the real meaning behind what they say and think.

Did you find this article helpful? If so visit http://www.success-maniacs.com/11-success-principles/ for a free report called The 11 Success Principles.

For more information and help visit the Success Maniacs blog at http://www.Success-Maniacs.com.

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Self Growth Techniques for Personal Success

By Katrina D Briggs

What is self growth? It is about shaping yourself to become a better person with solid values, ethics and a well balanced approach to life.  It is the process of working on your areas of improvement and turning them into areas of strength and opportunities. Just how can you do that? Here are five simple techniques for starters:

 

1. Learn from others. Start with your immediate family and closest friends. What are some of their traits that you admire? What have they accomplished that makes you want to be like them? Talk to them and ask them what they did to achieve self growth that led to their professional and personal success. Then check out famous people whose work you admire and read articles on how they got to the top of their profession. Learn as much as you can about their individual techniques and see which ones you can adopt for yourself.

 

2. Observe admirable people. Look at how they conduct themselves, from the way they walk, talk, sit and generally behave in public. Such refinement can only be a product of effective self growth techniques, which include polishing one’s looks, movements and skill sets to complete the overall package of the person. Look at how they treat others and are treated in turn. You can take a page out of their demeanor to propel yourself towards personal success and professional recognition. This isn’t to say you should mimic their every move; just derive the best practices possible from them that you can employ for your own good.

 

3. Assess your own attitude. How have you been behaving by your lonesome? Are you a person of integrity – always doing the right thing even when no one is looking? How are you with other people around? Do you exercise kindness and consideration for others, or are you being fueled by your own selfish needs for personal success? Bear in mind that in order to succeed at self growth, you must possess a mature disposition and a kind heart. Aim to be a caring and morally upright person no matter where you go. The universe has a way of rewarding people who treat others well and punishing those who won’t hesitate to trample on the feelings and rights of others.

 

4. Envision the kind of person you would like to be one day. This is a great self growth exercise that can provide you inspiration on your journey to professional and personal success. Paint a picture of the Ideal You – the kind of individual you wish to become in the future. How do you see yourself in that image? Do you see a nation-building politician, the next Mother Teresa, or the next Steve Jobs? Use your imagination as your mood board to guide you as you work on your greatest ambition.

 

5. Get rid of vices that may be harmful to your self growth. Are you quick to turn to painkillers when you feel the slightest muscle twitch? Do you tend to gorge on sugary snacks and drinks to keep your energy levels up as you slave over a very important project? Remove all self destructive habits from your system and start living clean! You won’t be able to enjoy personal success if your health takes a nosedive and renders you bedridden most of the time. So go have that physical check up and get tips from your physician and nutritionist on how to live a healthier and more wholesome lifestyle.

 

The change starts within you. Find your purpose, work on it and remember to enjoy the journey as well. Good luck and may you serve as an inspiring role model to others.

About the Author:

There are many self growth techniques. It's just a matter of you choosing those that suit your personality and can easily be incorporated into your life. Your journey to a better you starts today!

Articles Source: Self Growth Techniques for Personal Success