tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11244736081460947352024-03-08T03:06:55.942-08:00Be A Better YouSelf Help Personality Development to Better You!Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-58429577481379160222009-07-05T02:32:00.002-07:002009-07-05T02:33:19.631-07:00Every Problem Has a Solution: Adventures in Creative Thinking<p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every Problem Has a Solution: Adventures in Creative Thinking<br /><br />How many times have you caught yourself saying that there could be no other solution to a problem – and that that problem leads to a dead end? How many times have you felt stumped knowing that the problem laying before you is one you cannot solve. No leads. No options. No solutions.<br /><br />Did it feel like you had exhausted all possible options and yet are still before the mountain – large, unconquerable, and impregnable? When encountering such enormous problems, you may feel like you're hammering against a steel mountain. The pressure of having to solve such a problem may be overwhelming.<br /><br />But rejoice! There might be some hope yet!<br /><br />With some <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_problem_solving" title="Creative problem solving" rel="wikipedia">creative problem-solving</a> techniques you may be able to look at your problem in a different light. And that light might just be the end of the tunnel that leads to possible solutions.<br /><br />First of all, in the light of creative problem-solving, you must be open-minded to the fact that there may be more than just one solution to the problem. And, you must be open to the fact that there may be solutions to problems you thought were unsolvable.<br /><br />Now, with this optimistic mindset, we can try to be a little bit more creative in solving our problems.<br /><br />Number one; maybe the reason we cannot solve our problems is that we have not really taken a hard look at what the problem is. Here, trying to understanding the problem and having a concrete understanding of its workings is integral solving the problem. If you know how it works, what the problem is, then you have a better foundation towards solving the problem.<br /><br />Not trying to make the simple statement of what problem is. Try to identify the participating entities and what their relationships with one another are. Take note of the things you stand to gain any stand to lose from the current problem. Now you have a simple statement of what the problem is.<br /><br />Number two; try to take note of all of the constraints and assumptions you have the words of problem. Sometimes it is these assumptions that obstruct our view of possible solutions. You have to identify which assumptions are valid, in which assumptions need to be addressed.<br /><br />Number three; try to solve the problem by parts. Solve it going from general view towards the more detailed parts of the problem. This is called the top-down approach. Write down the question, and then come up with a one-sentence solution to that from them. The solution should be a general statement of what will solve the problem. From here you can develop the solution further, and increase its complexity little by little.<br /><br />Number four; although it helps to have <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking" title="Critical thinking" rel="wikipedia">critical thinking</a> aboard as you solve a problem, you must also keep a creative, analytical voice at the back of your head. When someone comes up with a prospective solution, tried to think how you could make that solution work. Try to be creative. At the same time, look for chinks in the armor of that solution.<br /><br />Number five; it pays to remember that there may be more than just one solution being developed at one time. Try to keep track of all the solutions and their developments. Remember, there may be more than just one solution to the problem.<br /><br />Number six; remember that old adage," two heads are better than one." That one is truer than it sounds. Always be open to new ideas. You can only benefit from listening to all the ideas each person has. This is especially true when the person you're talking to has had experience solving problems similar to yours.<br /><br />You don't have to be a gung-ho, solo hero to solve the problem. If you can organize collective thought on the subject, it would be much better.<br /><br />Number seven; be patient. As long as you persevere, there is always a chance that a solution will present itself. Remember that no one was able to create an invention the first time around.<br /><br />Creative thinking exercises can also help you in your quest be a more creative problems solver.<br /><br />Here is one example.<br /><br />Take a piece of paper and write any word that comes to mind at the center. Now look at that word then write the first two words that come to your mind. This can go on until you can build a tree of related words. This helps you build analogical skills, and fortify your creative processes.<br /><br />So, next time you see a problem you think you can not solve, think again. The solution might just be staring you right in the face. All it takes is just a little creative thinking, some planning, and a whole lot of work.<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/305c6148-863c-4b83-8e4b-a751be20abef/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=305c6148-863c-4b83-8e4b-a751be20abef" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-89895317334078361052009-07-05T02:32:00.001-07:002009-07-05T02:32:35.617-07:00Genuine Happiness from Within<p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Genuine Happiness from Within<br /><br />Life isn’t the sweetest candy. Sometimes, when I feel like the world is just too heavy, I look around and find people who continued to live fascinating and wonderful lives. And then thoughts come popping into my mind like bubbles from nowhere – “How did their life become so adorably sweet? How come they still can manage to laugh and play around despite a busy stressful life?” Then I pause and observed for awhile… I figured out that maybe, they start to work on a place called ‘self’.<br /><br />So, how does one become genuinely happy? Step 1 is to love yourself.<br /><br />My theology professor once said that “loving means accepting.” To love oneself means to accept that you are not a perfect being, but behind the imperfections must lie a great ounce of courage to be able to discover ways on how to improve your repertoire to recover from our mistakes.<br /><br />Genuine happiness also pertains to contentment. When you are contented with the job you have, the way you look, with your family, your friends, the place you live in, your car, and all the things you now have – truly, you know the answer to the question “how to be genuinely happy.”<br /><br />When we discover a small start somewhere from within, that small start will eventually lead to something else, and to something else. But if you keep questioning life lit it has never done you any good, you will never be able to find genuine happiness.<br /><br />I believe that life is about finding out about right and wrong, trying and failing, wining and losing. These are things that happen as often as you inhale and exhale. Failure, in a person’s life has become as abundant and necessary as air. But this should not hinder us from becoming happy.<br /><br />How to be genuinely happy in spite all these? I tell you… every time you exert effort to improve the quality of life and your being, whether it is cleaning up your room, helping a friend, taking care of your sick dog, fail on board exams and trying again, life gives you equivalent points for that.<br /><br />Imagine life as a big score board like those which are used in the NFLs. Every time you take a step forward, you make scoring points. Wouldn’t it be nice to look at that board at the end of each game and think to yourself “Whew! I got a point today. I’m glad I gave it a shot.”, instead of looking at it all blank and murmur “Geez, I didn’t even hit a score today. I wish I had the guts to try out. We could have won!” and then walk away.<br /><br />Genuine happiness isn’t about driving the hottest Formula 1 car, nor getting the employee of the year award, earning the highest 13th month pay, or beating the sales quota. Sometimes, the most sought after prizes in life doesn’t always go to the fastest, the strongest, the bravest or not even the best. So, how do you become genuinely happy? Every one has his own definition of ‘happiness’. Happiness for a writer may mean launching as much best selling books as possible. Happiness for a basketball rookie may mean getting the rookie of the year award. Happiness for a beggar may mean a lot of money. Happiness for a business man may mean success. So, really now, how do we become genuinely happy? Simple. You don’t have to have the best things in this world. Its about doing and making the best out of every single thing. When you find yourself smiling at your own mistake and telling your self “Oh, I’ll do better next time”, you carry with you a flame of strong will power to persevere that may spread out like a brush fire. You possess a willingness to stand up again and try – that will make you a genuinely happy person.<br /><br />When you learn to accept yourself and your own faults. You pass step 1 in the project “how to become genuinely happy”.For as long as you know how to accept others, you will also be accepted. For as long as you love and know how to love, you will receive love ten folds back.<br /><br />Again, throw me that same question “how to become genuinely happy?”. I’ll refer you to a friend of mine who strongly quoted- “Most of us know that laughter is the best medicine to life’s aches and pain. But most of us don’t know that the best kind of laughter is laughter over self. Coz then you don’t just become happy… you become free.”<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/21bc3c1a-e8a8-4bfc-a103-5a3e6f82bc11/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=21bc3c1a-e8a8-4bfc-a103-5a3e6f82bc11" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-36141357492079715282009-07-05T02:31:00.001-07:002009-07-05T02:31:54.063-07:00How Natural Medicine Can Help You<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 310px;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Dwanandhari_Deva.jpg"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Dwanandhari_Deva.jpg/300px-Dwanandhari_Deva.jpg" alt="Lord of Ayurveda" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="300" height="456" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Dwanandhari_Deva.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How Natural Medicine Can Help You<br /><br />When you get sick, you go to the doctor. And the doctor will, of course, prescribe medicines. You will go and buy medicines. You take them, and hopefully, you get well.<br /><br />This is how the health profession goes on nowadays – a cycle of diagnosis and prescription.<br /><br />If anyone were to give you herbs for medicine, you would probably say that that person was a quack.<br /><br />But nowadays, studies are being conducted to see if there are really is any merit to what is called natural medicine.<br /><br />Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural medicine. In ancient cultures, village medicine men served as the doctors of the community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that followed them.<br /><br />Many categories of the healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among these are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine.<br /><br />Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices that were in place before the advent of modern medicine.<br /><br />This includes herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese, Ayurvedic(or Indian), and Greek medicine.<br /><br />Upon the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are based on the healing properties of some herbs was forgotten.<br /><br />For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in traditional medicine.<br /><br />Natural medicine can be considered as a lost art. This does not mean that it has lost efficacy over time. In some cases, natural therapy is actually better than modern medicine. This leads some doctors to seriously consider and study the possible uses of natural medicine<br /><br />Before we continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies are legitimate. It would help to only try those remedies which have been thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free.<br /><br />Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments such as cough, colds, fever, skin rashes, and its ilk are likely to be recommended by health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine. This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects.<br /><br />Currently there are numerous organizations that study the effects and advocacy of natural medicine – among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive and relatively risk-free.<br /><br />As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to be bogus medicine. This represents a challenge for both the user and the agencies because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use or advocate are legitimate.<br /><br />There exist today many alternative medical treatments that fall under natural medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective. You could mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other alternative medical treatments. It would pay to consult the experts as to the legitimacy of these treatments.<br /><br />Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine. Right now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices. In that case of minor ailments your expert we actually advise you to take natural therapies instead.<br /><br />The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and prescribing treatments for such. Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick. Natural medicine strives to make each patient practice good health habits. These habits include good diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatment.<br /><br />It is this same line of thought that leads our parents to tell us to eat our vegetables. Yes, a healthy lifestyle and will do no harm to our well-being. And this is the foundation of natural medicine – may it be massage, herbal medicine, aromatherapy or others.<br /><br />It is funny but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the knowledge of sages past. This, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in natural medicine are encouraging. So staying tuned to studying these remedies is worthwhile until we can verify that these therapies are truly helpful to our health and our society.<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/37d15227-0227-4718-892f-c5db0771a1c2/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=37d15227-0227-4718-892f-c5db0771a1c2" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-9257675821208734902009-07-05T02:29:00.002-07:002009-07-05T02:30:49.056-07:00How to Become the Person of Your Dreams<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 310px;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mariah_Carey_2_by_David_Shankbone.jpg"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Mariah_Carey_2_by_David_Shankbone.jpg/300px-Mariah_Carey_2_by_David_Shankbone.jpg" alt="w:Mariah Carey at the premiere of Tennessee at..." style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="300" height="471" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mariah_Carey_2_by_David_Shankbone.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How to Become the Person of Your Dreams<br /><br />“What would you like to be when you grow up?” I bet you often hear this question asked many times when you were still young. But have you given this question some deep thoughts?<br /><br />Different people have different dreams. So what’s your aspiration? Do you want to become a doctor, lawyer, pilot, or entertainer? Or would you want to be like Tom Cruise or Bill Gates? Let me tell you now, you can become what you want to become. You can be anything you want to be as long as you put your mind and heart to it.<br /><br />Here are some tips and words of encouragement to keep you all fired up.<br /><br />Learn as much as possible about the person you aspire to be. Let’s say you dream to become a basketball player. Gather all facts and information about the sport. Research on the internet, read books, watch the games and analyze team strategies; in other words, strive to be an expert.<br /><br />You must have the desire and passion to know everything you can about the subject. If you can have a real person to imitate or look up to, the better. For example, you may see yourself as Michael Jordan (for basketball), Mariah Carey (for singing), or Heide Klum (for modeling). Feel, talk, and act as if you’re that person you’re emulating. You’ll quickly acquire the behavior and qualities of that person. This formula works like a charm, so just give it a try.<br /><br />Take motivated action and start pursuing your dreams. Don’t wait for everything to be perfect. That will never happen. There will always be bumps and obstacles ahead. The important thing is to start right now and adjust along the way.<br /><br />Persist until the very end. Never let failures distract you. Just keep pushing yourself to the limit. If you think that a task seems impossible to accomplish, banish that thought immediately. Your mind has the capacity to bring into reality anything you desire. As long as you stay focused and patient on your objective despite any setbacks or discouragements, you will become successful much sooner than you may think.<br /><br /><br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/7b42b96f-92af-4312-90ea-c8c1d11e6cc1/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7b42b96f-92af-4312-90ea-c8c1d11e6cc1" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-22464645786387115442009-07-05T02:29:00.001-07:002009-07-05T02:29:42.182-07:00How to Save Yourself from Negative Influences<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 310px;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Profanity.svg"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Profanity.svg/300px-Profanity.svg.png" alt="swearing in cartoon" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="300" height="514" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Profanity.svg">Wikipedia</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How to Save Yourself from Negative Influences<br /><br />Watching the news can be hazardous to your health.<br /><br />It's a fact, especially when you're watching events related<br />to terrorism, kidnapping, murder, accidents, or calamities.<br />These incidents make you worry and will leave you feeling weak<br />and insecure. Imagine the uncomfortable feeling of becoming a<br />victim someday. This will have a negative effect on your<br />outlook in life.<br /><br />Your surroundings have a big impact on you. How can you think<br />and grow rich if you're bombarded with messages that relates<br />"how difficult life has become" or "how poor most of us has<br />turned out to be?"<br /><br />You can't change your environment, but you certainly can<br />control your mind. This is where visualization comes into<br />play. Use your imagination, just as you would when you're<br />still a little child. Imagine your home as a palace, your<br />simple meal as fine dining gourmet, and your nearby park as<br />your favorite vacation spot. Just imagine. Unconsciously,<br />your thoughts will transform the images into their physical<br />components.<br /><br />If the media can indirectly influence you just by reporting<br />what's happening around, imagine what impact everyday people<br />have on you. These are the people that you see and meet<br />everyday. These are also the same people who are expressing<br />their own views of what is right and what is wrong.<br /><br />When we grow up in a negative environment, we tend to acquire<br />the traits and characteristics of people around us.<br /><br />Many gangsters have been brought up by folks who have either<br />misguided them or have taught them the wrong things in life.<br />Through the years, they have instilled within themselves the<br />vices of people around them.<br /><br />Here's another case.<br /><br />Pick a nice person, throw him in a group of bad-mouthed<br />individuals who incorporates swear words in their everyday<br />language. Sooner or later, you'll notice that nice person<br />speaking in the same manner as the group.<br /><br />This just goes to say that anyone who joins in the company<br />of a like-minded group will have a big chance of being<br />influenced by the personality of that group. So what<br />can you do if you're surrounded by people who deviates<br />from your way of thinking?<br /><br />You can't just avoid them. They'll think of you as a snob.<br />Don't change the way you treat them, but simply learn how<br />to shield out pessimistic comments or suggestions.<br /><br />Sometimes, they will dictate you to do what you are against<br />to do. Be firm with what you believe in. Do not let them<br />affect your decisions. You know that you can do what they<br />thought would be impossible. If you have to suffer the<br />ridicule, so be it. You will have the last laugh anyway.<br /><br />Moreover, you should be with people who have the same<br />principles and ideologies as you do. You will be more<br />encouraged to continue your dreams if you have a support<br />group or mentor who will prod you to pursue your goals<br />despite the setbacks.<br /><br />When I was starting my internet endeavors, no one (and<br />I mean not even one) of my relatives and friends believed<br />me. But I did not let their discouragement stop me from<br />becoming successful.<br /><br />I remained firm in my quest to make a living online. I<br />made friends with respected internet marketers who shared<br />the same vision as mine. They have also experienced the<br />same treatment from non-believers; but they have proven<br />that what the mind can conceive, it can achieve. Through<br />their help, I was able to put aside my doubts and achieve<br />my goals.<br /><br />You have the power to make your dreams a reality. Now<br />show the world what stuff you are made of.<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/707b9d51-d7e7-47b7-85dd-febb020d996f/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=707b9d51-d7e7-47b7-85dd-febb020d996f" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-5407491527380173732009-07-05T02:28:00.001-07:002009-07-05T02:28:51.640-07:00How to Visualize and Affirm Your Deepest Desires<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 310px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Basketball_net_with_sunset.jpg"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/00/Basketball_net_with_sunset.jpg/300px-Basketball_net_with_sunset.jpg" alt="Picture of a basketball net." style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="300" height="400" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Basketball_net_with_sunset.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How to Visualize and Affirm Your Deepest Desires<br /><br />It's been a long time since I played basketball. But I have a passion for it. Everyday I would think that I am making jump shots from every angle of the court. Then I would also imagine that I've won the championship, that I'm also the highest scorer in the game. I would really love to play again, but I'm too busy with my job & other stuffs.<br /><br />Then the opportunity came when my friends invited me to play. I haven't been practicing, but I'm making more accurate shots than those who have been playing every day.<br /><br />What made the difference?<br /><br />Well, that's the power of imagination & visualization. If you want to be a lawyer, visualize as one. Act like one. Think of what suit you’re wearing, the judge you’re convincing, the case you're handling, and the courtroom you’re in. Visualize the evidences. Smell the victory. Make everything real.<br /><br />You should also affirm. Believe that you are what you are visualizing. So you want to be a lawyer? Tell yourself, "I'm the best lawyer in the world." Don't say to yourself, "I will be the best lawyer in the world."<br /><br />Affirm strongly. Say "I am," not "I will," because "I will" suggests something that will occur only in the future. You have to experience it NOW, not in the future.<br /><br />You must sink into your subconscious your deepest desire. The subconscious mind can do what the conscious mind cannot. <br />Here's an exercise.<br /><br />1. Get a comfortable & quiet place to rest.<br /><br />2. Relax your whole body. Command every part of your body to relax starting from your feet up to your head. <br /><br />3. Count back slowly from 20 to 1, where in each count you relax deeper & deeper. Upon reaching 1, you are completely relaxed.<br /><br />4. Now affirm your deepest desire. If you want to be a lawyer, say," I am the greatest lawyer in the world." As you're saying that, picture yourself to be the best lawyer ever, winning every case you've come across. You may say "I am now explaining to the jury my winning proposition" or anything that will affirm what you're conceiving in your mind as of the moment.<br /><br />5. After about 10 to 20 minutes of continuous confirmation and visualization, count slowly from 1 to 20. Upon counting, slowly be aware of your surroundings. Feel refreshed and invigorated after doing this exercise.<br /><br />6. Repeat this exercise everyday. <br /><br />What you have just learned is a very powerful technique to greatly enhance the power of visualization & affirmation by imbedding it into the subconscious. What once is nearly impossible to achieve will become easier to reach from now on.<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/6a01b765-36d7-4dfc-b794-ce47b5f91299/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6a01b765-36d7-4dfc-b794-ce47b5f91299" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-43333507610206568182009-07-05T02:27:00.001-07:002009-07-05T02:27:45.715-07:00Helpful Tips to Overcome Procrastination<p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Helpful Tips to Overcome Procrastination<br /><br />Many among us, on many instances, have the habit of putting<br />aside to a later time or day some things that needs to be done<br />or acted upon like a project, work, job, or duty. For purposes<br />of discussion, we will confine ourselves to procrastination on<br />repair works typically at home. It equates to other<br />circumstances as well.<br /><br />Procrastination is one habit that is hard to beat. We<br />procrastinate for various reasons:<br /><br />1. When we think that the work that needs to be done can<br />afford to wait or be delayed.<br /><br />2. When we are busy with something else we think is more<br />important.<br /><br />3. When we do not like the work involved or when it is<br />difficult to do.<br /><br />4. When we are not sure if the work that needs to be done<br />will be effective.<br /><br />5. When the things needed in the work are not yet available<br />or incomplete.<br /><br />6. When we forget about it.<br /><br />And many other reasons like laziness or a combination of the<br />above.<br /><br />Hard to beat as it is, we stand to gain more and virtually<br />loose nothing if we overturn this habit.<br /><br />Check out these helpful tips:<br /><br />1. When we think that a work can afford to be delayed, it can<br />also afford not to be delayed. By having the work done without<br />further delay, we feel a sigh of relief making the load of work<br />on our back lesser or lighter, which eventually makes us feel<br />better.<br /><br />2. After being busy with something more important and you have<br />time to spare, this spare time can be used to attend to the<br />things on the pending list.<br /><br />3. Delaying work that is difficult makes the work even more<br />difficult. A leak on the roof may not be harmful if it doesn't<br />rain; but once it rains, water goes into the house resulting<br />in wet floors and carpets and eventually, the extent of<br />damage could be more than can be imagined.<br /><br />4. When we are not sure if work that needs to be done will be<br />effective, we must seek advice from people who are more<br />knowledgeable on this field. Procrastinating won't help.<br /><br />5. Delayed work due to incomplete materials will remain delayed<br />unless we fill in the incomplete items. Again, procrastinating<br />won't help.<br /><br />6. Make a list of all pending work in the house and post it on<br />the refrigerator door to constantly remind us about them.<br /><br />Bottom line is:<br /><br />We may feel lazy at times and tend to delay some work that<br />needs our attention. It's understandable that 'starting' to<br />get a job done is the most difficult part, but once you have<br />started, half of the job is already done and the second half<br />will be easy.<br /><br />Every time you feel like procrastinating, picture yourself as<br />the job that needs to be done - like a prisoner wherein<br />justice being delayed results to justice being denied.<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/51aeb911-c6d5-49bf-b462-d5d83bcd60cf/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=51aeb911-c6d5-49bf-b462-d5d83bcd60cf" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-21397601235130177642009-07-05T02:26:00.000-07:002009-07-05T02:27:00.506-07:00How To Criticize And Still Be Nice<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 310px;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:B%26W_girl_portrait_with_sunglasses.jpg"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/B%26W_girl_portrait_with_sunglasses.jpg/300px-B%26W_girl_portrait_with_sunglasses.jpg" alt="Iranian girl using sunglasses in northern moun..." style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="300" height="400" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:B%26W_girl_portrait_with_sunglasses.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How To Criticize And Still Be Nice<br /><br />Have you ever encountered an experience when someone told you<br />how fat you've become? Maybe your boss have commented on how<br />bad your work turned out to be. Maybe you've heard from other<br />folks how people view you as cold and unapproachable.<br /><br />Hurts, doesn't it?<br /><br />Believe it or not, some people can be so tactless that they<br />are not even aware when they've hurt anyone's feelings. The<br />receiving parties, especially the sensitive ones, would be<br />offended by their remarks. This would result in conflicts<br />and arguments.<br /><br />You know you're doing them a big favor by saving them from<br />shame or disappointment, but would they realize your good<br />intentions instead of feeling hurt by your brutally frank<br />comments or advices?<br /><br />They might probably think you're too rude or impolite.<br />But what can you do if you really need to assert an honest<br />criticism, but you're afraid of hurting others' feelings?<br /><br />Want to know the secret?<br /><br />All you have to do is sandwich your negative comment between<br />two positive remarks.<br /><br />For example, your best friend Paul is going on his very first<br />date. He's all excited and raring to go. Now Paul doesn't<br />have any fashion sense. He's wearing a bland shirt and old<br />jeans. You know all along how he hates to admit that he's<br />wrong. So what will you do to save Paul from an embarassing<br />first date?<br /><br />Would you say to him that the outfit he's wearing is<br />repulsive? That would hurt his ego.<br /><br />Well, you can first point out the things that you like in his<br />overall appearance. Comment on his well-groomed hair. Tell<br />him he looks cool when wearing his sunglasses. Ask him where<br />he bought his perfume because it can certainly attract women<br />like bees to honey. Be sincere and honest.<br /><br />Then, insert in a nice and suave manner your point of view<br />and advice. You can tell him something like:<br /><br />"Your shirt seems to be very comfortable to wear, Paul. Since<br />this is your very first date, I think Sandra (his date) will be<br />much more impressed if you would wear something like the outfit<br />that you wore on my birthday. You look smashing when you put<br />on clothes like that."<br /><br />Afterwards, make another positive statement. You could say<br />something like:<br /><br />"You would definitely make a big impact on Sandra. She would<br />fall heads over heels over your gorgeous appearance and cheerful<br />personality. Have a great time on your date, Paul."<br /><br />Do you think Paul would be offended by such pleasant comments?<br />Not a chance. You have wittingly inserted a slightly negative<br />feedback into a plethora of acceptable and ego-boosting<br />remarks.<br /><br />People love compliments. They believe they got the qualities.<br />They want other people to intensify the great abilities that<br />they believe to possess. People wanted to hear their greatness<br />purported from someone else's mouth, and they would be very<br />glad if other individuals would know about it.<br /><br />So if you want to criticize anybody, remember to praise him<br />first. It will leave a positive impression that you're a<br />nice guy. Then say what you have to say, but in a smooth<br />and non-offensive manner. Finalize with another positive<br />reinforcement to establish a foundation of goodwill.<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/774900a4-daf4-4baf-926d-94bcc94294d9/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=774900a4-daf4-4baf-926d-94bcc94294d9" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-51741709731145704912009-07-05T02:25:00.000-07:002009-07-05T02:26:12.616-07:00How To Use The Past, Future, And Present In Attaining Success<p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How To Use The Past, Future, And Present In Attaining Success<br /><br />Did you know that your past, present, and future can affect directly or indirectly your outlook in life?<br /><br />THE PAST<br /><br />Have you ever done something that is so regrettable you couldn't forgive yourself? Have you ever made a mistake that up to the present time you're still blaming yourself? Are you still torturing yourself with the thought that only if you could've done it differently, you're living a much better life right now?<br /><br />Good news for you! You don't have to keep this burden in your heart<br />for as long as you live. Release it. Set yourself free.<br /><br />If you keep bad memories, you're depriving yourself of good mental and emotional health. You're making yourself a prisoner of the past.<br />This will adversely affect your capacity to act at the present moment.<br />You will not be able to think clearly and you will lose your focus if you are still lingering in the shadows of your dark past.<br /><br />No matter what you do, you couldn't reverse or otherwise change history. So let bygones be bygones. Why worry about something you have no control of?<br /><br />Let go of the past, but keep the LESSONS. Whatever lesson you've learned will be of utmost importance to the fulfillment of your goals in the future. These lessons are your mentors that may sometimes teach you the hard way; but nevertheless, success comes to those who are willing to take the risk and pay the price for their actions.<br /><br />And what about the successes you had in the past? How did you feel when you've accomplished something exceptional? It feels great isn't it?<br /><br />Well then, use these past experiences in your present endeavors to encourage you and to motivate you. These memorable experiences will bring a positive aura of enthusiasm and will remind you that you have the power to achieve anything with the right attitude.<br /><br />Recall these affirmative memories in everything that you do and you will see amazing results in all your undertakings. <br /><br />THE FUTURE<br /><br />Now how can the future influence your success if it hasn't occurred yet? The answer is simple.<br /><br />Your burning passion to attain your ideal life in the future will become the motivating factor that will prod and push you to take the essential steps at the present moment.<br /><br />Conceive your future in the most vivid and comprehensive way possible.<br /><br />For instance, if you want to get rich, then take into consideration:<br />1) How much money you desire to make, when you intend to get them, and your action plan to have that exact amount by your target date<br />2) The vision of your lifestyle when you've attained the money; like the people you are in contact with, the activities you are engaging in, the food you are eating, the places you are visiting...Well, you get the picture.<br /><br />These are the guiding forces that will chart the right path to your intended destination. If you envision yourself as having attained them and focus all your efforts regardless of the impending obstacles ahead, then your inner power will release the right kind of energy that will enable you to do nearly anything in pursuit of your desired end.<br /><br />THE PRESENT<br /><br />The present moment is the time to ACT. Ready or not, you must do some action now! Mistakes will be made, but you could always revise them.<br /><br />Put procrastination aside. One delay or excuse will generate a chain reaction of more postponements and alibis that will never end. Before you knew it, open opportunities have already passed you by.<br /><br />Never let fear get on your way. Some people are struck by the threats of failures, setbacks, or criticisms. What they don't realize is that majority of successful people had to pass through "the eye of the needle" in order to get where they are now.<br /><br />Act intelligently. Use your past mistakes as guides to avoid future blunders. Let the vision of your ideal life in the future compel you to<br />carry out your plans and catapult you to reach your deepest desires.<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/bc1b3602-36f0-4b9d-a2d7-67e761e19309/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=bc1b3602-36f0-4b9d-a2d7-67e761e19309" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-2247961474313591772009-07-05T02:24:00.000-07:002009-07-05T02:25:23.583-07:00How To Start, Survive, and Finish Your Journey To Super Success<p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How To Start, Survive, and Finish Your Journey To Super Success<br /><br />"The more you hate, the more you love."<br /><br />What an ironic statement. Whoever said those words must<br />have been drunk. The bottom line is this: It is extremely<br />difficult to like or love something that you despise.<br /><br />But what can we do to solve this dilemma? What if you're<br />trapped in an environment that you don't want to be involved<br />in? What if you're sick and tired of your job that you<br />feel like puking every time someone mentions your work?<br /><br />Of course, you take inspired and motivated action to<br />get out of your present rut and start living the life<br />you've always dreamed of.<br /><br />Guess what? It's not going to be easy. You will have to<br />come out of your comfort zones to discover potentials and<br />opportunities waiting for you. You have to conquer your<br />fear and take calculated risks. You have to stay focused<br />and persevere despite the difficulties you will encounter.<br /><br />Success doesn't come easy. It takes heart and passion. It<br />may also take some time before you can actually reap the<br />fruits of your labor.<br /><br />But how do you actually survive this stage? This is the<br />moment when you're working extra hard to reach your goals.<br />This is also the instance when you're enduring whatever<br />adversity hits you.<br /><br />For example, you're employed in a job that you hate. You<br />know deep inside that you would not like to stay in the<br />rat race throughout your life. So you decided to engage<br />in a part-time business or to study night courses. Good<br />move, my friend.<br /><br />So far so good. A few days later, time started running<br />out for you. Your family complains that you've never<br />spoken a word to them in such a long time. You're<br />getting crazy over your very hectic schedule. Soon<br />enough, your attitude changes negatively. You get mad<br />and frustrated over the tiniest setbacks. You hate the<br />world for all the misery it has brought upon you.<br /><br />Stop right now!<br /><br />That is not the way to go. You are attracting negative<br />elements into your life. Yes, you have to work harder,<br />dig deeper, and sacrifice more to attain your ambitions.<br />But no, you don't have to hate the world and feel bad<br />about your difficult situation. Remember the Law of<br />Attraction. If you hate the world, the world hates you<br />back.<br /><br />So what do you have to do?<br /><br />Learn to love your current situation. See all the<br />positive sides of life. Be enthusiastic. Love your<br />boss, your coworkers, your family, your friends, and<br />even strangers that you meet on the streets. It may<br />not be easy, but nothing is impossible with a strong<br />will power. Just don't fall in love so much that you<br />totally forget about your dreams.<br /><br />Balance is the key. Dream and take some positive<br />action to move you toward your goals. Take it one<br />step at a time. But while you're slowly crawling into<br />the long journey to success, be patient and be as<br />enthusiastic as possible. Don't hurry up too much that<br />you totally forget how to enjoy life.<br /><br />One fine day, you will finally attain what you have<br />always longed for. But when that day comes, don't<br />spit back on the face of those who belittled you<br />before.<br /><br />Stay humble. Don't look down on others when you see<br />that you are becoming more successful than they are.<br />Help them. Inject your positive aura into their<br />personalities. When you give, you will yield back<br />equal or greater rewards.<br /><br />Are you ready to begin the journey? Start it with<br />the courage and desire to improve your life. Survive<br />and go through it with persistence, enthusiasm, and<br />positive thinking. Finish it with a resounding bang<br />of accomplishment and with the desire to help others<br />succeed as well.<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/31c94418-b4f3-44d5-b11b-165b3a3e4e2f/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=31c94418-b4f3-44d5-b11b-165b3a3e4e2f" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-88872475856078713482009-07-05T02:23:00.000-07:002009-07-05T02:24:26.647-07:00The Road to Intuition<p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Road to Intuition<br /><br /><br />Have you had that experience when all of a sudden you just had this huge hunch that something is about to happen, and to your surprise, that intuition was eventually translated to reality?<br /><br />When you feel strongly about something without logical basis to it, that's called intuition. It comes in three impressions: clairvoyance or "the third eye", sensing clearly and feeling through listening.<br /><br />Clairvoyance is when your eye goes beyond what it can see. This is when you know what is happening somewhere.<br /><br />Sensing clearly is basically what we refer to as "hunch" or "gut feel." This is the time when you are overwhelmed with a feeling and you can't explain it and all you can say is "I just know."<br /><br />On the other hand, feeling through listening or clairaudience is being able to "listen" between the lines. Intuition also happens at times when a certain sound, whatever it is - be it a car's honk or a bird's twitting - ushers in an intense feeling.<br /><br />They say only a number of people are gifted with intuition. Astrologers even insist that people born under the Scorpio or Pisces signs are naturally intuitive it almost borders on E.S.P. But studies have been sprouting left and right that proclaim that anyone can develop intuition.<br /><br />Why the need to develop intuition, you ask? Why not let your emotional and psychological state as it is? First and foremost, intuition promotes good communication. It makes you more sensitive to the people around you; it often keeps you from hurting those you love because you are intuitive enough to understand them. Intuition also makes you far more creative than ever. Intuition means releasing more creative juices for any means of expression. Lastly, intuition has a healing power. This healing power is not in the physical sense, but in delving deep into your soul to eradicate some negative energy buried in it.<br /><br />With that being said, are you ready to develop your intuition? Here are some ways to unlock this gift:<br /><br />1. Hypnosis<br /><br />Oh yes, get yourself hypnotized. Hypnosis is not limited to watching a pendulum move back and forth. Perform self-hypnosis or you can avail of hypnotic programs that can strengthen your intuition.<br /><br />2. Meditation<br /><br />Meditating means finding peace in yourself. If your mind and heart are cluttered with too many baggage and hurt, you wouldn't be able to quiet down that part of you that could eventually initiate intuition. There are so many ways to meditate: take a yoga class, or just simply practice some breathing that could bring you straight to Zen.<br /><br />3. Think positive!<br /><br />A worry-free, fear-free state could do so much to improve your intuitive ability. By staying positive, you attract good energy that would be able to easily recognize imminent feelings and events.<br /><br />4. Just let go.<br /><br />What does this mean? If you are on the brink of making a huge decision, let go of all the inhibitions and head to a quiet place where you could find out where the letting go has brought you. Sometimes you just have to listen to the voice within you, and that voice wouldn't come out unless you let go.<br /><br />5. Never expect.<br /><br />After letting go of the inhibitions and all those things that stop you from thinking and feeling clearly, never expect for an answer right away. Never expect that the "hunch" would fall on your lap immediately. Give it a little time then you'd just get surprised that -- wham! -- now you have your answer.<br /><br />6. Believe in your first impressions.<br /><br />When you see someone for the first time and think that he is a bit too arrogant for your taste, chances are that impression actually holds true. Most of the time, first impressions are brought by intuition.<br /><br />7. Stay happy!<br /><br />See? All you need to be intuitive is to stay happy! Happiness attracts immense power and such power includes intuition. In tapping your intuition, your motivation must be happiness and contentment. Given that premise, intuition will fall to you easily.<br /><br />Intuition is helpful, because sometimes it leads you to something that cannot be achieved otherwise. A lot of lives have been saved by intuition alone. Decisions are easier done if armed by this gift. Develop intuition now and reap benefits you have never imagined.<br /><br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/768a1401-ccdd-4d8a-9c5e-9391d7bfc083/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=768a1401-ccdd-4d8a-9c5e-9391d7bfc083" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-64017705048688437152009-07-05T02:20:00.000-07:002009-07-05T02:21:00.142-07:00Daily Allowance for Relaxation<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 250px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/19731694@N00/2123257808"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2114/2123257808_ea0c2612b1_m.jpg" alt="meditation" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/19731694@N00/2123257808">HaPe_Gera</a> via Flickr</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daily Allowance for Relaxation<br /><br />Stress is the curse of living in modern times. Everyone suffers from stress. And the stress we suffer takes a heavy toll on our bodies, emotions and minds.<br /><br />Feeling stressed out, worn out by fatigue or just simply having a miserable day, the best thing to do is relax.<br /><br />Watching television may be a form of relaxation for some, but is not a recommended method by experts. When we watch TV we are bombarded with commercials, ads, sounds and images. So how do we achieve relaxation? If there are thousands of ways we can get stressed, one of them is not meeting deadlines, there are also many ways we can relax.<br /><br />In recent studies, experts have determined that heart disease is linked to anger and irritability is linked to mental stress. Too much stress brings about ischemia that can lead to or cause a heart attack. Relaxation takes on added importance in light of this matter. Managing your anger and attitude is significant to heart health, and relaxation can help you manage stress.<br /><br />One way of relaxation is transcendental meditation. Recent studies have also shown that this method might reduce artery blockage, which is a major cause for heart attack and stroke. People practice transcendental meditation by repeating uttering soothing sounds while meditating, this is to achieve total relaxation. The researchers found that practitioners of transcendental meditation significantly reduced the thickness of their arterial wall compared with those who didn't practice transcendental meditation.<br /><br />Another study on another method of relaxation, acupuncture, seems to reduce high blood pressure by initiating several body functions for the brain to release chemical compounds known as endorphins. Endorphin helps to relax muscles, ease panic, decrease pain, and reduce anxiety.<br /><br />Yoga is also another method for relaxation and may also have similar effects like acupuncture. In another study, participants were subjected to several minutes of mental stress. Then they were subjected to various relaxation techniques, such as listening to nature sounds or classical music. Only those who did Yoga significantly reduced the time it took for their blood pressures to go back to normal. Yoga is a form of progressive relaxation.<br /><br />Breathing is one of the easiest methods to relax. Breathing influences alamost all aspects of us, it affects our mind, our moods and our body. Simply focus on your breathing, after some time you can feel its effects right away.<br /><br />There are several breathing techniques that can help you reduce stress.<br /><br />Another easy way to achieve relaxation is exercise. If you feel irritated a simple half-hour of exercise will often settle things down. Although exercise is a great way to lose weight, it does not show you how to manage stress appropriately. Exercise should also be used in conjunction with other exercise method.<br /><br />One great way of relaxation is getting a massage. To gain full relaxation, you need to totally surrender to the handling and touch of a professional therapist.<br /><br />There are several types of massages that also give different levels of relaxation.<br /><br />Another method of relaxation is Biofeedback. The usual biofeedback-training program includes a 10-hour sessions that is often spaced one week apart.<br /><br />Hypnosis is one controversial relaxation technique. It is a good alternative for people who think that they have no idea what it feels like to be relaxed. It is also a good alternative for people with stress related health problems.<br /><br />Drugs are extreme alternatives to relaxation. They are sometimes not safe and are not effective like the other relaxation methods. This method is only used by trained medical professionals on their patients.<br /><br />These relaxation techniques are just some of the ways you can achieve relaxation. Another reason why we need to relax, aside from lowering blood pressure in people and decreasing the chances of a stroke or a heart attack, is because stress produces hormones that suppress the immune system, relaxation gives the immune system time to recover and in doing so function more efficiently.<br /><br />Relaxation lowers the activities within the brains' limbic system; this is the emotional center of our brain.<br /><br />Furthermore, the brain has a periodic need for a more pronounced activity on the right-hemisphere. Relaxation is one way of achieving this.<br /><br />Relaxation can really be of good use once a relaxation technique is regularly built into your lifestyle. Choose a technique that you believe you can do regularly.<br /><br /><br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/520a84af-b20f-41ca-a30b-9690d84d640b/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=520a84af-b20f-41ca-a30b-9690d84d640b" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-25513911645935275022009-07-05T02:19:00.001-07:002009-07-05T02:19:57.671-07:00Control Your Fear Before It Controls You<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 105px;"><a href="http://www.daylife.com/image/00Ikf8e0XegTy?utm_source=zemanta&utm_medium=p&utm_content=00Ikf8e0XegTy&utm_campaign=z1"><img src="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00Ikf8e0XegTy/95x150.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES - FEBRUARY 17: Actress Marisol Nic..." style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="95" height="150" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image by <a href="http://www.daylife.com/source/Getty_Images">Getty Images</a> via <a href="http://www.daylife.com">Daylife</a></span></p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Control Your Fear Before It Controls You<br /><br />"Fear Factor" is one of my favorite TV shows. It<br />highlights the courage of the participants to engage in<br />the most fearsome and disgusting acts.<br /><br />Most of the contestants are willing to sacrifice their<br />dignity for the sake of the prize money. So what does<br />that imply? It implies that with the proper mindset,<br />determination, and will power, you can conquer your fear.<br /><br />Everyone has some sort of fear. It may be brought about<br />by any one or more of the following reasons.<br /><br />1) by a traumatic past incident (like being bitten by a<br /> dog)<br />2) by the influence of other people<br />3) by their own negative way of thinking<br /><br />But are you going to let fear take over your life? Will<br />you remain a hostage of your fear forever?<br /><br />You must take the necessary steps to overcome your fright.<br />It's all in the mind.<br /><br />Do you envy other people when you see them enjoying wild<br />rides, and you're just stuck in a corner because you're<br />too terrified to give it a try?<br /><br />My suggestion is to face your fear head-on. Imagine<br />yourself enjoying the experience instead of exaggerating<br />the things that make you worry. (Unless of course you<br />have health problems, then taking wild rides may not be<br />a good idea).<br /><br />Do you want to be a doctor but you're afraid that your<br />intellect can't handle the pressure or you're worried<br />about financial insecurity?<br /><br />Well here's the good news. If you're really determined<br />to achieve your deepest desires, a powerful force will<br />enable you to reach them amidst every obstacle that comes<br />in the way. I'm not kidding.<br /><br />Someone or something will always be there to help you<br />attain your goals. Just have faith in your abilities.<br />Your will power have the utmost capacity to accomplish<br />anything with the proper mindset.<br /><br />You could use visualization to help you in defeating<br />any kind of fear.<br /><br />Are you afraid of heights? Then imagine yourself being on<br />top of a mountain, overseeing the magnificent sights. Enjoy<br />and feel the moment. Take away all worries and anxieties.<br /><br />Then just do it! Face it head on! Go to the top of a<br />building and savor the great feeling of being able to<br />face your fear.<br /><br />This applies to whatever thing that triggers your fear<br />factor. Just imagine being able to defeat it, then<br />confront it with the definite belief that you have the<br />capacity to do everything you want if you just put your<br />mind to it.<br /><br />Face the thing you fear the most and you'll never have to<br />fear anything again in your life.<br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span></p> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/41310c93-dc52-4de8-a14b-feb5ec9b858d/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=41310c93-dc52-4de8-a14b-feb5ec9b858d" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-89597990749682906642009-07-05T02:18:00.001-07:002009-07-05T02:18:50.249-07:00Coaching - an Easy Way To Make Things Happen<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 160px;"><a href="http://www.daylife.com/image/0aHP9OV5yA371?utm_source=zemanta&utm_medium=p&utm_content=0aHP9OV5yA371&utm_campaign=z1"><img src="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0aHP9OV5yA371/150x97.jpg" alt="SEATTLE - APRIL 11: The Dalai Lama (L) greets..." style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="150" height="97" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image by <a href="http://www.daylife.com/source/Getty_Images">Getty Images</a> via <a href="http://www.daylife.com">Daylife</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coaching - an Easy Way To Make Things Happen<br /><br /><br />When you hear the word “coach”, what comes first into your mind? Do you picture a basketball team with a man/woman shouting out directions? Or perhaps a football team with a man/woman pacing to and fro and calling out the names of the players?<br /><br />Coaching is no longer reserved to sports teams; it is now one of the key concepts in leadership and management. Why is coaching popular?<br /><br />Coaching levels the playing field.<br /><br />Coaching is one of the six emotional leadership styles proposed by Daniel Goleman. Moreover, it is a behavior or role that leaders enforce in the context of situational leadership. As a leadership style, coaching is used when the members of a group or team are competent and motivated, but do not have an idea of the long-term goals of an organization. This involves two levels of coaching: team and individual. Team coaching makes members work together. In a group of individuals, not everyone may have nor share the same level of competence and commitment to a goal. A group may be a mix of highly competent and moderately competent members with varying levels of commitment. These differences can cause friction among the members. The coaching leader helps the members level their expectations. Also, the coaching leader manages differing perspectives so that the common goal succeeds over personal goals and interests. In a big organization, leaders need to align the staffs’ personal values and goals with that of the organization so that long-term directions can be pursued.<br /><br />Coaching builds up confidence and competence.<br /><br />Individual coaching is an example of situational leadership at work. It aims to mentor one-on-one building up the confidence of members by affirming good performance during regular feedbacks; and increase competence by helping the member assess his/her strengths and weaknesses towards career planning and professional development. Depending on the individual’s level of competence and commitment, a leader may exercise more coaching behavior for the less-experienced members. Usually, this happens in the case of new staffs. The direct supervisor gives more defined tasks and holds regular feedbacks for the new staff, and gradually lessens the amount of coaching, directing, and supporting roles to favor delegating as competence and confidence increase.<br /><br />Coaching promotes individual and team excellence.<br /><br />Excellence is a product of habitual good practice. The regularity of meetings and constructive feedback is important in establishing habits. Members catch the habit of constantly assessing themselves for their strengths and areas for improvement that they themselves perceive what knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to acquire to attain team goals. In the process, they attain individually excellence as well. An example is in the case of a musical orchestra: each member plays a different instrument. In order to achieve harmony of music from the different instrument, members will polish their part in the piece, aside from practicing as an ensemble. Consequently, they improve individually as an instrument player.<br /><br />Coaching develops high commitment to common goals.<br /><br />A coaching leader balances the attainment of immediate targets with long-term goals towards the vision of an organization. As mentioned earlier, with the alignment of personal goals with organizational or team goals, personal interests are kept in check. By constantly communicating the vision through formal and informal conversations, the members are inspired and motivated. Setting short-term team goals aligned with organizational goals; and making an action plan to attain these goals can help sustain the increased motivation and commitment to common goals of the members.<br /><br />Coaching produces valuable leaders.<br /><br />Leadership by example is important in coaching. A coaching leader loses credibility when he/she cannot practice what he/she preaches. This means that a coaching leader should be well organized, highly competent is his/her field, communicates openly and encourages feedback, and has a clear idea of the organization’s vision-mission-goals. By vicarious and purposive learning, members catch the same good practices and attitudes from the coaching leader, turning them into coaching leaders themselves. If a member experiences good coaching, he/she is most likely to do the same things when entrusted with formal leadership roles.<br /><br />Some words of caution though: coaching is just one of the styles of leadership. It can be done in combination with the other five emotional leadership styles depending on the profile of the emerging team. Moreover, coaching as a leadership style requires that you are physically, emotionally, and mentally fit most of the time since it involves two levels of coaching: individual and team. Your members expect you to be the last one to give up or bail out in any situation especially during times of crises. A coaching leader must be conscious that coaching entails investing time on each individual, and on the whole team. Moreover, that the responsibilities are greater since while you are coaching members, you are also developing future coaches as well.<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/d9958e9f-80a4-43e3-9b58-738edfa001f3/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d9958e9f-80a4-43e3-9b58-738edfa001f3" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-1983883521281691952009-07-05T02:16:00.000-07:002009-07-05T02:17:53.086-07:00Chaos Theory: Self-hypnosis for Your Own Peace of Mind<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 86px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Mind-Breathe/dp/B000008DQZ%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dza06-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB000008DQZ"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/213bRdk6uGL._SL75_.jpg" alt="Cover of "Peace of Mind"" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="76" height="75" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Cover of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Mind-Breathe/dp/B000008DQZ%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dza06-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB000008DQZ">Peace of Mind</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chaos Theory: Self-hypnosis for Your Own <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Mind-Breathe/dp/B000008DQZ%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dza06-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB000008DQZ" title="Peace of Mind" rel="amazon">Peace of Mind</a><br /><br />Your boss ends the day with a stack of papers and instructions that you submit the report in the next 42 hours. Your significant other doesn’t answer your calls. Your mother sends you guilt-tripping messages. Your landlady ignores you when you tell her a part of your ceiling is leaking. You feel a throbbing pain in your temples. Your credit card bills take over even in your dreams.<br /><br />Easy does it.<br /><br />Take a deep breath, close your eyes and unravel your thoughts.<br /><br />Sometimes, taking control over a chaotic life, a stressful situation, a physical ailment or an emotional dilemma starts within you – your mind, your subconscious, specifically.<br /><br />And communicating with your subconscious - negotiating with your own self - can be achieved through self-hypnosis. How to do it? Here’s a sample basic procedure.<br /><br />1. Find a venue conducive for relaxation: a quite room, with the temperature comfortable and the lights just right (not too dim, not too bright). Light a candle and incense if you desire.<br /><br />2. Surround your place with sound pleasant to your ears. Play relaxing music. Bring in a portable fountain. Hang some chimes where the breeze blows. The sound of music is soothing.<br /><br />3. Find a comfortable position. Surround yourself with pillows, blankets, and the like. A caring, healing sensation eases stress.<br /><br />4. Tell yourself: “I am light, I am comfortable, I am at ease. All my tensions, worries and anxieties are gone. I am light, I am comfortable, I am at ease.” Repeat many times while breathing deeply.<br /><br />5. Picture what you want your life to be. Visualize every detail, every situation that you want to happen. Imagine it so as if it is really happening.<br /><br />6. Repeat no. 4. Breathe in and out, and imagine yourself being surrounded by a bright, luminous light starting from your forehead until it fills the room.<br /><br />7. Wake up when you’re ready.<br /><br />Repeat this procedure regularly. This exercise helps you clear your thoughts. It may lead you to self-revelations that would help you assess the situation on how you live your dreams. It may or may not work, your goal may or may not be achieved – the universe has reasons humans may not fathom. The important thing is this: self-hypnosis will help you become a better person – calmer, more attuned to yourself, and more willing to help others. With your tensions and worries away, who knows what you can do!<br /><br /><br /> </span></p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/21991e70-1514-401a-98b7-90eb6d3b7d95/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=21991e70-1514-401a-98b7-90eb6d3b7d95" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-18165550948903810612009-07-05T02:15:00.002-07:002009-07-05T02:16:44.822-07:00Building Solid Relationships Using the Power of Words<p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Building Solid Relationships Using the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Power-Ice-T/dp/B000002LF6%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dza06-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB000002LF6" title="Power" rel="amazon">Power</a> of Words<br /><br />We may not be aware of it; but the words we utter daily<br />may have different interpretations, even if you think that<br />they mean the same thing.<br /><br />Here's an example.<br /><br />Would you rather have someone tell you that you are "slim,"<br />or would you like to hear that you are "thin?" Being slim<br />has a slightly positive effect because it is attributed to<br />health and fitness.<br /><br />Rather than saying you have failed, just mention that you<br />have not yet achieved success. Get the picture? Always<br />try to speak words in the most positive manner you can<br />think of.<br /><br />Here's another important advice.<br /><br />Never compare the negative qualities of one person with<br />another.<br /><br />A former boss of mine has this to say to me when I made<br />an error in my previous day job, "James (not real name) is<br />doing a much better job than you are. He's not committing<br />any mistake like you do."<br /><br />That crushed my heart. My boss thought this would motivate<br />me to do better. Nope, it just hurt my feelings and lowered<br />my self-esteem. Of course, I would never make the same<br />mistake again after her harsh scolding. I've learned my<br />lesson well. But she could have said it nicely.<br /><br />Experiences arising from discouragement and condemnation<br />will have a negative effect on the recipient.<br /><br />Some parents might believe that instilling fear on their<br />children would improve their performance. They would<br />say, "You're always failing. Why can't you be like your<br />brother? You're such a disgrace to this family."<br /><br />Now that's not the proper way to do it. They should inspire,<br />encourage, and motivate their children; not belittle them<br />even further.<br /><br />They should tell their children that they have the capacity<br />to achieve great things, if they would only put a little more<br />effort. Teach them values that would make them feel important<br />and loved.<br /><br />You may even go as far as giving them qualities that they<br />do not yet possess. By giving them confidence and by making<br />them believe that they have such characteristics, they will<br />eventually acquire such traits. Tell them how bright you<br />think they are, and you will soon be surprised at the<br />results. They will significantly improve if you firmly made<br />them believe that they have the capacity to do so.<br /><br />So if you ever wanted to persuade or encourage someone to do<br />better, make sure that he or she is motivated out of<br />inspiration, and not out of fear. Give advice that cares,<br />and not offensive words borne out of hatred or anger.<br /><br />Think first before you speak. Many relationships have been<br />ruined by the wrong choice of words. Some people voice out<br />anything that comes to their mind, without first filtering<br />the good words from the bad ones. This might result in<br />misunderstandings and arguments, which could have easily<br />been prevented if we speak out in a way that is neutral<br />and non-offensive.<br /><br />Words are very powerful indeed. Use them responsibly for<br />the benefit of all.<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/0990f700-ee09-4794-bb25-62f2b8e24f37/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=0990f700-ee09-4794-bb25-62f2b8e24f37" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-67428618272798320222009-07-05T02:15:00.001-07:002009-07-05T02:15:42.972-07:00Build Your Self Esteem: a Starter Guide to Self Improvement<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 198px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Build-Your-Self-Esteem-Gael-Lindenfield/dp/0694518735%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dza06-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0694518735"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AFCT12THL._SL300_.jpg" alt="Cover of "Build Your Self-Esteem"" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="188" height="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Cover of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Build-Your-Self-Esteem-Gael-Lindenfield/dp/0694518735%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dza06-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0694518735">Build Your Self-Esteem</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Build Your Self Esteem: a Starter Guide to Self Improvement<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Imagine yourself as a Dart Board. Everything and everyone else around you may become Dart Pins, at one point or another. These dart pins 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 dart pins should you avoid?<br /><br />Dart Pin #1 : Negative Work Environment<br />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.<br /><br />Dart Pin #2: Other People’s Behavior<br />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.<br /><br />Dart Pin #3: Changing Environment<br />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 awhile, 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.<br /><br />Dart Pin #4: Past Experience<br />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.<br /><br />Dart Pin #5: Negative World View<br />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.<br /><br />Dart Pin #6: Determination Theory<br />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.<br /><br />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.”<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/cd0a0e4e-1f0f-485c-bec1-73cf728e3bd9/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=cd0a0e4e-1f0f-485c-bec1-73cf728e3bd9" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-62788472970820444582009-07-05T02:14:00.001-07:002009-07-05T02:14:55.332-07:00Bring Innovation Into Your Life<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 169px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98649704@N00/218548740"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/94/218548740_e6a7e9f551_m.jpg" alt="JK Rowling portrait" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="159" height="240" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98649704@N00/218548740">donjuanna</a> via Flickr</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bring Innovation Into Your Life<br /><br />It's a talent that everyone has, yet they think they don't. The power of innovation. If you've ever marvelled at somebody's creative prowess, guess what, you can create and innovate too. It just takes time. Everyone is born creative. The box of crayons in kindergarten were not limited to those who possessed potential; because the truth is, everybody has potential.<br /><br />You know how long it took to learn to ride a bike or drive or to never commit the same mistake again? It's the same with innovation. It takes a bit of practice and a lot of time before this mind function comes easily when called. This article will teach you a few tips on how to bring innovation into your life.<br /><br />Don't listen to what other people say. Follow the beat of your own drum. Allowing for the input of other people will only bring cacophony to the music you are trying to make. If you have an original idea, don't waste your time and effort trying to make people understand. They won't. And the help you will probably get comes in the form of negative feedback. If all those geniuses listened to their peers, we would probably still be living in the middle ages.<br /><br />Spend time on it. I cannot stress that enough, although, please do not mistake this tip to tell you to quit your day job entirely. Do not. This involves some tricky time management but with a little discipline you'll be able to squeeze both in.<br /><br />Exercise. Take a walk. Run a mile or two. Send all those endorphins coursing through your veins. Exercising certainly clears and relaxes your mind and allows for anything to pop up.<br /><br />Record your dreams. Aren't some of them just the craziest things that your conscious mind would never have thought of? If you've had these dreams before, and I'm sure have, this only shows you the untapped innovative power you have lying within. So jot down those notes. Those dreams may just create an innovative spark in you.<br /><br />Find your own style. You can always tell a Van Gogh from a Matisse. You'll know Hemingway wrote something by the choice of words on the paper. So it is the same with you. People will appreciate your innovation more because it is uniquely yours and that no one else would have thought of what you were thinking. That will let people see how valuable an asset you are.<br /><br />Don't hide behind nifty gadgets or tools. You don't need the most expensive set of paints to produce a masterpiece. The same way with writing. You don't need some expensive fountain pen and really smooth paper for a bestseller. In fact, J.K. Rowling wrote the first book of the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-J-K-Rowling/dp/0747544387%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dza06-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0747544387" title="Harry Potter" rel="amazon">Harry Potter</a> Series on bits of tissue. So what if you've got an expensive SLR camera if you're a crappy photographer? Who cares if you've got a blinging laptop if you can't write at all? The artist actually reduces the number of tools he has as he gets better at his craft: he knows what works and what doesn't.<br /><br />Nothing will work without passion. What wakes you up in the mornings? What keeps the flame burning? What is the one thing that you'll die if you don't do? Sometimes people with talent are overtaken by the people who want it more. Think the hare and the tortoise. Ellen Degeneres once said that if you're not doing something that you want to do, then you don't really want to do it. And that's true. Sometimes you just want something so bad you become a virtual unstoppable. And that is passion. Passion will keep you going.<br /><br />Don't worry about inspiration. You can't force it; inspiration hits when you least expect it to, for those unpredictable yet inevitable moments you should prepare. An idea could strike you on the subway, yet alas, you poor unfortunate soul; you have no sheet of paper to scribble down a thought that could change the world. Avoid these disasters. Have a pen and paper within your arm's reach at all times.<br /><br />I hope this article has helped you bring more innovation into your life. Keep in mind that you're doing these things for your own satisfaction and not anybody else's. But soon enough they will notice, and everything should snowball from there.</span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/72937c5c-614c-4f7b-922f-5d14aaeec4cd/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=72937c5c-614c-4f7b-922f-5d14aaeec4cd" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-48070954174848996452009-07-05T02:13:00.001-07:002009-07-05T02:13:56.300-07:00Bad Luck ... Or Blessing In Disguise?<p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bad Luck ... Or <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Blessing-Disguise-Eileen-Goudge/dp/0718135768%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dza06-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0718135768" title="Blessing in Disguise" rel="amazon">Blessing In Disguise</a>?<br /><br />There was a woman who was in such a hurry to go to the airport.<br />She told the cab driver to step on it. She was so engrossed<br />with her own thoughts that she was not aware they were going<br />on a different route.<br /><br />Suddenly, a man went inside the cab and took her handbag where<br />she placed her visa, passport, and all her money for the trip.<br /><br />The driver, who was in cahoots with the robber, left her in the<br />middle of that dark street. She cursed the world for being so<br />mean to her, and she kept on thinking how unlucky she was to<br />be in that situation.<br /><br />That very same night, she heard a shocking news. Tears flowed<br />down her face. Flight 230 has crashed! It was the plane where<br />she was supposed to board into. If she have not lost her<br />precious belongings, she could have lost something far more<br />important - her life!<br /><br />Sometimes bad things really happen. We lost our money, failed<br />our exams, or get rejected by others. There are times when<br />nothing seems to go our way.<br /><br />So what do we do about it? Are we going to be disappointed?<br />The answer is a resounding "No!" We must take all these<br />frustrations out of our chest and start all over again with<br />the consistent faith that we will get what we deserved.<br /><br />So what if you failed the exams? Maybe you'd be more<br />successful and much happier in another field. You were<br />rejected by your boyfriend/ girlfriend? There are plenty<br />of others out there who are much better and who are much more<br />deserving of your love and affection.<br /><br />Don't waste your time and energy on things that can't be<br />changed. Continuous worrying will only affect your health<br />on the long run, and you'd be doing much more damage than<br />what was previously done.<br /><br />Set yourself free. Move onwards with the conviction of a<br />winner.<br /><br />What if we turn the tables around? What if you never ran<br />out of good luck?<br /><br />There was this man who won the lottery. He thought he was the<br />luckiest person in the world. He became greedy and wasted<br />all his money on everything he could get his hands on.<br /><br />One day, he made it on the front page of the newspaper again.<br />But this time, it was a different story. He was killed<br />because of his riches.<br /><br />If you attain good luck, never be too secure about it either.<br />Pray for protection and guidance. Life is so unpredictable.<br />You just won't know what will happen next.<br /><br />Live one day at a time. Sometimes we subject ourselves to<br />unnecessary mental and emotional torture. We ask ourselves,<br />"What if I don't get this done in time?" or "What if my<br />family leaves me and I've got no one else to turn to?"<br /><br />Work at the present moment. Do what must be done at present<br />and the future will turn out just fine. Believe me. And<br />believe in yourself. As Captain Planet always says: "The<br />power is yours!"<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/7e6625b8-8815-4b9f-b429-9bd0ce45991a/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7e6625b8-8815-4b9f-b429-9bd0ce45991a" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-86439168048205152542009-07-05T02:12:00.000-07:002009-07-05T02:13:16.218-07:00A Guide to Starting a Healthy Life<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 310px;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Soldier_running_in_water.jpg"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Soldier_running_in_water.jpg/300px-Soldier_running_in_water.jpg" alt="Marine of the United States Marine Corps runs ..." style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="300" height="466" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Soldier_running_in_water.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Guide to Starting a Healthy Life<br /><br />How many times have you gone to sleep at night, swearing you'll go to the gym in the morning, and then changing your mind just eight hours later because when you get up, you don't feel like exercising?<br /><br />While this can happen to the best of us, it doesn't mean you should drop the ball altogether when it comes to staying fit. What people need to realize is that staying active and eating right are critical for long-term health and wellness -- and that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The more you know about how your body responds to your lifestyle choices, the better you can customize a nutrition and exercise plan that is right for you. When you eat well, increase your level of physical activity, and exercise at the proper intensity, you are informing your body that you want to burn a substantial amount of fuel. This translates to burning fat more efficiently for energy.<br />In other words, proper eating habits plus exercise equals fast metabolism, which, in turn gives you more energy throughout the day and allows you to do more physical work with less effort.<br /><br />The true purpose of exercise is to send a repetitive message to the body asking for improvement in metabolism, strength, aerobic capacity and overall fitness and health. Each time you exercise, your body responds by upgrading its capabilities to burn fat throughout the day and night, Exercise doesn't have to be intense to work for you, but it does need to be consistent.<br /><br />I recommend engaging in regular cardiovascular exercise four times per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session, and resistance training four times per week for 20 to 25 minutes per session. This balanced approach provides a one-two punch, incorporating aerobic exercise to burn fat and deliver more oxygen, and resistance training to increase lean body mass and burn more calories around the block.<br /><br />Here's a sample exercise program that may work for you:<br /><br />* Warm Up -- seven to eight minutes of light aerobic activity intended to increase blood flow and lubricate and warm-up your tendons and joints.<br /><br />* Resistance Training -- Train all major muscle groups. One to two sets of each exercise. Rest 45 seconds between sets.<br /><br />* Aerobic Exercise -- Pick two favorite activities, they could be jogging, rowing, biking or cross-country skiing, whatever fits your lifestyle. Perform 12 to 15 minutes of the first activity and continue with 10 minutes of the second activity. Cool down during the last five minutes.<br /><br />* Stretching -- Wrap up your exercise session by stretching, breathing deeply, relaxing and meditating.<br /><br />When starting an exercise program, it is important to have realistic expectations. Depending on your initial fitness level, you should expect the following changes early on.<br /><br />* From one to eight weeks -- Feel better and have more energy.<br /><br />* From two to six months -- Lose size and inches while becoming leaner. Clothes begin to fit more loosely. You are gaining muscle and losing fat.<br /><br />* After six months -- Start losing weight quite rapidly.<br /><br />Once you make the commitment to exercise several times a week, don't stop there. You should also change your diet and/or eating habits,' says Zwiefel. Counting calories or calculating grams and percentages for certain nutrients is impractical. Instead, I suggest these easy-to-follow guidelines:<br /><br />* Eat several small meals (optimally four) and a couple of small snacks throughout the day<br />* Make sure every meal is balanced -- incorporate palm-sized proteins like lean meats, fish, egg whites and dairy products, fist-sized portions of complex carbohydrates like whole-wheat bread and pasta, wild rice, multigrain cereal and potatoes, and fist-sized portions of vegetable and fruits<br />* Limit your fat intake to only what's necessary for adequate flavor<br />* Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water throughout the day<br />* I also recommend that you take a multi-vitamin each day to ensure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs.<br /><br />I suppose that's all I can think of for now. I should extend my thanks to a doctor friend of mine. Without him, I wouldn't be able to write this article, or keep my sanity.<br /><br />Enjoy life, we all deserve it.</span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/8484e555-b94e-4ae8-89d3-6ab9d546675a/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8484e555-b94e-4ae8-89d3-6ab9d546675a" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-43473476918275647962009-07-05T02:11:00.002-07:002009-07-05T02:12:26.882-07:00A Better You: 7 Steps to Self-Improvement<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 310px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:XYZ_model.jpg"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/30/XYZ_model.jpg/300px-XYZ_model.jpg" alt="A right-handed Cartesian coordinate system, il..." style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="300" height="421" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:XYZ_model.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Better You: 7 Steps to Self-Improvement<br /><br />I seem to lost count on how many times I've read and heard of celebrity marriages failing almost left and right. Not that I care (and personally I don't), it seems strange that we often see movie and TV stars as flawless people, living the fairytale life of riches and glamour. I suppose we all have to stop sticking our heads in the clouds and face reality.<br /><br />There are many ways to lose your sense of self-esteem despite of how trivial it could get. But whatever happens, we should all try not to lose our own sense of self.<br /><br />So what does it take to be a cut above the rest? Here are some of the things you can think and improve on that should be enough for a week.<br /><br />1. Know your purpose<br />Are you wandering through life with little direction - hoping that you'll find happiness, health and prosperity? Identify your life purpose or mission statement and you will have your own unique compass that will lead you to your truth north every time.<br /><br />This may seem tricky at first when you see yourself to be in a tight or even dead end. But there's always that little loophole to turn things around and you can make a big difference to yourself.<br /><br />2. Know your values<br />What do you value most? Make a list of your top 5 values. Some examples are security, freedom, family, spiritual development, learning. As you set your goals for 2005 - check your goals against your values. If the goal doesn't align with any of your top five values - you may want to reconsider it or revise it.<br /><br />The number shouldn't discourage you, instead it should motivate you to do more than you can ever dreamed of.<br /><br />3. Know your needs<br />Unmet needs can keep you from living authentically. Take care of yourself. Do you have a need to be acknowledged, to be right, to be in control, to be loved? There are so many people who lived their lives without realizing their dreams and most of them end up being stressed or even depressed for that matter. List your top four needs and get them met before it's too late!<br /><br />4. Know your passions<br />You know who you are and what you truly enjoy in life. Obstacles like doubt and lack of enthusiasm will only hinder you, but will not derail your chance to become the person you ought to be. Express yourself and honor the people who has inspired you to become the very person you wanted to be.<br /><br />5. Live from the inside out<br />Increase your awareness of your inner wisdom by regularly reflecting in silence. Commune with nature. Breathe deeply to quiet your distracted mind. For most of us city slickers it's hard to even find the peace and quiet we want even in our own home. In my case I often just sit in a dimly lit room and play some classical music. There's sound, yes, but music does soothe the savage beast.<br /><br />6. Honor your strengths<br />What are your positive traits? What special talents do you have? List three - if you get stuck, ask those closest to you to help identify these. Are you imaginative, witty, good with your hands? Find ways to express your authentic self through your strengths. You can increase your self-confidence when you can share what you know to others.<br /><br />7. Serve others<br />When you live authentically, you may find that you develop an interconnected sense of being. When you are true to who you are, living your purpose and giving of your talents to the world around you, you give back in service what you came to share with others -your spirit - your essence. The rewards for sharing your gift with those close to you is indeed rewarding, much more if it were to be the eyes of a stranger who can appreciate what you have done to them.<br /><br />Self-improvement is indeed one type of work that is worth it. It shouldn't always be within the confines of an office building, or maybe in the four corners of your own room. The difference lies within ourselves and how much we want to change for the better.</span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/59f939d6-ef85-471b-8d20-c70d6f161dd5/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=59f939d6-ef85-471b-8d20-c70d6f161dd5" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-12467574769945320622009-07-05T02:11:00.001-07:002009-07-05T02:11:42.867-07:007 Stress Management Techniques<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 182px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43105198@N00/110923600"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/34/110923600_8165e5ec88_m.jpg" alt="Mental Health: Stress and Work" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="172" height="240" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43105198@N00/110923600">xeeliz</a> via Flickr</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 Stress Management Techniques<br /><br />They say there's more than one way to skin a cat. The same goes when you start tearing your hair out with all the frustration, grief, anxiety, and yes, stress. It's a state of mental conditioning that is like taking that bitter pill down your throat, causing you to lose your sense of self, and worse your sanity. Just thinking about it can drive anyone off the edge.<br /><br />And they say that the proactive ones are already living off the edge.<br /><br />As one stressed-out person to another, I know how it feels, and believe me there are many variants when it comes to stress. Coping with life, and carrying the problems that may or may not belong to you can scratch away the little joy and happiness that you can carry once you head out that door. You can't blame them for being like that; they have their own reasons, so much like we have our reasons to allow stress to weigh us down. They say that stress is all in the mind, well, what's bugging you anyway?<br /><br />There are several ways to manage stress, and eventually remove it out of your life one of these days. So I'll try to divide it into a seven-day course for you and I promise it's not going to be too taxing on the body, as well as on the mind.<br /><br />1. Acknowledge stress is good<br />Make stress your friend! Based on the body's natural "fight or flight" response, that burst of energy will enhance your performance at the right moment. I've yet to see a top sportsman totally relaxed before a big competition. Use stress wisely to push yourself that little bit harder when it counts most.<br /><br />2. Avoid stress sneezers<br />Stressed people sneeze stress germs indiscriminately and before you know it, you are infected too!<br /><br />Protect yourself by recognizing stress in others and limiting your contact with them. Or if you've got the inclination, play stress doctor and teach them how to better manage themselves.<br /><br />3. Learn from the best<br />When people around are losing their head, who keeps calm? What are they doing differently? What is their attitude? What language do they use? Are they trained and experienced?<br />Figure it out from afar or sit them down for a chat. Learn from the best stress managers and copy what they do.<br /><br />4. Practice socially acceptable heavy breathing<br />This is something I've learned from a gym instructor: You can trick your body into relaxing by using heavy breathing. Breathe in slowly for a count of 7 then breathe out for a count of 11. Repeat the 7-11 breathing until your heart rate slows down, your sweaty palms dry off and things start to feel more normal.<br /><br />5. Give stressy thoughts the red light<br />It is possible to tangle yourself up in a stress knot all by yourself. "If this happens, then that might happen and then we're all up the creek!" Most of these things never happen, so why waste all that energy worrying needlessly?<br /><br />Give stress thought-trains the red light and stop them in their tracks. Okay so it might go wrong - how likely is that, and what can you do to prevent it?<br /><br />6. Know your trigger points and hot spots<br />Presentations, interviews, meetings, giving difficult feedback, tight deadlines…. My heart rate is cranking up just writing these down!<br /><br />Make your own list of stress trigger points or hot spots. Be specific. Is it only presentations to a certain audience that get you worked up? Does one project cause more stress than another? Did you drink too much coffee?<br /><br />Knowing what causes you stress is powerful information, as you can take action to make it less stressful. Do you need to learn some new skills? Do you need extra resources? Do you need to switch to decaf?<br /><br />7. Burn the candle at one end<br />Lack of sleep, poor diet and no exercise wreaks havoc on our body and mind. Kind of obvious, but worth mentioning as it's often ignored as a stress management technique. Listen to your mother and don't burn the candle at both ends!<br /><br />So having stress can be a total drag, but that should not hinder us to find the inner peace of mind that we have wanted for a long time. In any case, one could always go to the Bahamas and bask under the summer sun.</span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/b0f5227c-54c8-4647-954f-afd219e0f2c8/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=b0f5227c-54c8-4647-954f-afd219e0f2c8" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-47428415311546146192009-07-05T02:09:00.000-07:002009-07-05T02:10:46.093-07:007 Steps to Successful Coaching<p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 Steps to Successful Coaching<br /><br />Have you ever been a coach to a neighborhood team? I know how it feels the first time I've coached a team of seven-year-old soccer kids and how much they can really test my patience, not to mention sanity as they run around kicking the ball like ants to a huge, white crumb. It feels strange at first, having to be stared at by a bunch of kids who they will know that I'm not the one in the field. Sounds wrong in a sense, right? But what is the dead about coaching?<br /><br />Coaching is all about being a, well, 'coach' in the corporate world of handlers, front-liners and even a couple of benchwarmers biding their time to be given a chance to perform. I know how that feels when I go back to my regular day job. Some players are just MVP material, and some of them are just to support the MVP's so why bother sticking around? It sounds ironic when they say 'there is no I in team', but even the underachievers can be sore losers as well.<br /><br />These are steps that can be done within the day, and no matter what, it takes determination to be a coach.<br /><br />1. There is a WHOLE lot of talk these days about Corporate Team Building. There are many, many options: vacation packages, rope courses, on-going office games, ice-breakers, etc. Management can also purchase videos, books, and seminar packages to assist them in building up their organization into a team worthy of belonging. A little later I will give you some ideas of where you can go for information on these team-building tools.<br /><br />2. The truth about motivation is waiting to be grasped! It is ripe and ready for you to put into action today. Don't settle for mind-numbing gibberish. Get practical in 3 small ways to begin looking forward to your alarm clock sounding off each morning before you huddle with the team.<br /><br />3. Experience is the best thing despite of what course you graduated in. There is something about being a people person who knows how to stir the energetic side of one individual, and more so when you mix it up with an entire team.<br /><br />4. To question a person by his or her performance is sometimes required, but never question their knowledge or their intelligence. Sadly, I have seen a few mistakes from past coaches who never seem to understand what a player has to go through to get the job right. It will lead to further aggravation and maybe even hostility. If you want the job done right, then go do it yourself. You'll see how it is to be at the receiving end and it will help your set a much better course for improvement.<br /><br />5. Sending a player to the bench is probably the worse experience a coach has to go through, especially if your player is the top performer. In dealing with this kind of person, see to it that he spills his guts voluntarily. Egotism in a performer tends to make them lose their focus on even the smallest mistakes, then you can catch him or her red handed. Be firm, but understanding about it.<br /><br />6. Don't allow your position to blind you from what you are supposed to do. Even coaches are human enough to think that they are far more superior, but only by rank. Even if you have been in their shoes when you were their age, it's better to dole out a piece of wisdom in order for them to realize that this will be for their own benefit.<br /><br />7. Lastly, you should learn to trust yourself and your team. Decisions and performance are primarily your goals, and there are many of them to see if they could perform the task much more efficiently. So before you think about sending one member to the bench, have a good chat with him or her and see if they have any problems. If it's too personal, then just encourage them to do their best and it also helps to give them a good, encouraging slap on the back.<br /><br />I guess there's all there is to it. Being a corporate drone myself, I know how important it is for a company to be successful, and we're all part of that success. Coaches are there not to make your work a little difficult just because you have either an attitude problem or not much a performer, but they're the guides who will help you perform as hard as you can possibly can. You'll do them proud one of these days, as well as you.</span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/87528f2f-d695-4441-90a3-f073a645af01/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=87528f2f-d695-4441-90a3-f073a645af01" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-9152040598972497842009-07-05T02:08:00.002-07:002009-07-05T02:09:45.756-07:007 Incredible Lifesaving Tips to Manage Your Anger<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 173px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49503137874@N01/2602793471"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/2602793471_8249ef6189_m.jpg" alt="anger" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="163" height="240" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49503137874@N01/2602793471">mckibillo</a> via Flickr</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 Incredible Lifesaving Tips to Manage Your Anger<br /><br /><br />Experiencing anger is extremely dangerous to your health. It<br />causes your adrenaline and blood pressure to rise up at above<br />normal levels. Moreover, you could end up hurting someone or<br />doing something that you will regret later on.<br /><br />Here are 7 fantastic tips to help you be the one in control of<br />yourself, and not the hazardous madman called "Anger."<br /><br />1) Relax and visualize.<br /><br />Calm yourself down. Take a deep breath. As you exhale, imagine<br />all those bottled-up fury come out of your nose and mouth.<br />Release it and be free. Repeat this step over and over until<br />you feel peace inside.<br /><br />Then visualize being in a place where you feel most happy, calm,<br />and relaxed. It may be a place like a beach, garden, scenic<br />locations, or anywhere else you might think of. Just imagine<br />being there and inhaling the essence of your serene environment.<br />By doing this, you will not find it hard to attain inner peace.<br /><br />2) Pour out your anger to safe outlets.<br /><br />You had a big quarrel with your former friend. He betrayed your<br />trust. You want vengeance and you're raving mad.<br /><br />Hold it. Restrain yourself.<br /><br />Try your best to get away from him as far as you can. You don't<br />want to hurt anyone. Anger can possess your brain into doing<br />something that you wouldn't dare do before.<br /><br />How do you then release your anger if you can't restrict it<br />anymore?<br /><br />Buy a punching bag, then pour out all your rage in it. Punch it,<br />kick it, strangle it. Imagine the punching bag is your enemy.<br />When you're done, you will feel a sense of satisfaction. You may<br />even punch and kick through thin air if you desire.<br /><br />Another way to release it is "SHOUT!" Find a distant place where<br />you can be alone - a place where no one can hear you. At the top<br />of your voice, yell out loud "Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhh."<br />You can choose any word you like as long as you release all those<br />angry demons out of your chest.<br /><br />3) <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html%3FASIN=0671730304%26tag%3Dza06-20%26lcode=xm2%26cID=2025%26ccmID=165953%26location=/Forgive-Forget-Lewis-Smedes/dp/0671730304%253FSubscriptionId=0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82" title="Forgive and Forget" rel="amazon">Forgive and forget</a>.<br /><br />Nothing could ease your mental and emotional pains better than<br />by forgiving someone that has hurt you in the past. It is very<br />unhealthy to burden yourself with unnecessary torture brought<br />about by unpleasant memories of other people's demeaning acts.<br /><br />Moreover, if they have taken something important away from you,<br />would it make sense to also sacrifice your health and lifestyle?<br />Of course not.<br /><br />4) Exercise.<br /><br />Engaging in exercises increases your endorphins. Your angry<br />mood could miraculously change to a happy one if you get involved<br />in exercises that you enjoy doing.<br /><br />5) Have a circle of "sponge" friends.<br /><br />Do you feel relieved when you voice out all your problems to close<br />friends and relatives? That's the power of voicing out your inner<br />feelings.<br /><br />Always have someone to talk to when you're down, when you're<br />depressed, when you're mad, or in any other occasion when you feel<br />you have to get the thorns out of your chest.<br /><br />6) <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Listen-TQ/dp/B0002M5TEI%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dza06-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0002M5TEI" title="Listen..." rel="amazon">Listen</a> to soothing music.<br /><br />It calms your soul. A 20 minute session of listening to relaxing<br />music while resting comfortably could soothe the upset spirit.<br />Take deep breaths often.<br /><br />7) Pray.<br /><br />Deadly consequences arise when people could not hold back their<br />fury. Ask for guidance that you will be able to control your temper.<br />Prayers bring inner peace to those who ask for it.<br /><br />There you have it - 7 essential rules to release yourself from the<br />treacherous killer known as "Anger." Manage your anger, save your<br />life.<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/c54e87ba-4af1-4ff6-b6e6-a5d521de52e4/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=c54e87ba-4af1-4ff6-b6e6-a5d521de52e4" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124473608146094735.post-68487604117966200472009-07-05T02:08:00.001-07:002009-07-05T02:08:45.473-07:007 Destructive Habits of Incompetent People<p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Michael Cobb<br /> <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/">http://www.be-a-better-you.com</a> </span></p> <p align="left"><a href="http://click-here-4.info/?i=17226/buarticles"> </a><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 Destructive Habits of Incompetent People<br /><br />WARNING! If you want to have a fantastic life, never engage<br />yourself in these 7 deadly habits that incompetent people do.<br /><br />NUMBER 1 - They Think, Say, & Do Negative Things.<br /><br />Yup. They see problems in every opportunity.<br /><br />They complain that the sun is too hot. They cursed the rain<br />for ruining their plans for the day. They blame the wind<br />for ruining their hair.<br /><br />They think that everyone is against them. They see the problems<br />but never the solutions.<br /><br />Every little bit of difficulty is exaggerated to the point of<br />tragedy. They regard failures as catastrophes. They become<br />discouraged easily instead of learning from their mistakes.<br /><br />They never seem to move forward because they're always afraid<br />to come out of their comfort zones.<br /><br />NUMBER 2 - They Act Before They Think.<br /><br />They move based on instinct or impulse. If they see something<br />they like, they buy at once without any second thought.<br /><br />Then they see something better. They regret & curse for not<br />able to take advantage of the bargain.<br /><br />Then they spend & spend again until nothing's left. They<br />don't think about the future. What they're after is the<br />pleasure they will experience at present.<br /><br />They don't think about the consequences. Those who engage<br />in unsafe sex, criminality, and the like are included in<br />this group.<br /><br />NUMBER 3 - They Talk Much More Than They Listen<br /><br />They want to be the star of the show. So they always engage<br />in talks that would make them heroes, even to the point of<br />lying.<br /><br />Oftentimes they are not aware that what they're saying is not<br />sensible anymore.<br /><br />When other people advise them, they close their ears because<br />they're too proud to admit their mistakes.<br /><br />In their mind they're always correct. They reject suggestions<br />because that will make them feel inferior.<br /><br />NUMBER 4 - They Give Up Easily<br /><br />Successful people treat failures as stepping stones to success.<br /><br />Incompetent ones call it quits upon recognizing the first signs<br />of failure.<br /><br />At first, they may be excited to start an endeavor. But then<br />they lose interest fairly quickly, especially when they<br />encounter errors.<br /><br />Then they go & search for a new one. Same story & same results.<br />Incompetent people don't have the persistence to go on and<br />fulfill their dreams.<br /><br />NUMBER 5 - They Try to Bring Others Down To Their Level<br /><br />Incompetent people envy other successful individuals. Instead<br />of working hard to be like them, these incompetent ones spread<br />rumors and try every dirty trick to bring them down.<br /><br />They could've asked these successful ones nicely. But no, they're<br />too proud. They don't want to ask advise. Moreover, they're<br />too negative to accomplish anything.<br /><br />NUMBER 6 - They Waste Their Time<br /><br />They don't know what to do next. They may just be contented on<br />eating, getting drunk, watching TV, or worse, staring at the<br />blank wall with no thoughts whatsoever to improve their lives.<br /><br />It's perfectly fine to enjoy once in a while. But time should be<br />managed efficiently in order to succeed. There should be a<br />proper balance between work & pleasure.<br /><br />NUMBER 7 - They Take the Easy Way Out<br /><br />If there are two roads to choose from, incompetent people would<br />choose the wider road with less rewards than the narrower road<br />with much better rewards at the end.<br /><br />They don't want any suffering or hardship. They want a good life.<br /><br />What these people don't know is that what you reap is what you<br />sow. Efforts & action will not go unnoticed.<br /><br />If only they would be willing to sacrifice a little, they would<br />be much better off.<br /><br />Successful people made it through trials & error. They never<br />give up. They are willing to do everything necessary to achieve<br />what they aspire for in life.<br /></span></p> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article provided by Michael Cobb. Visit Michael's <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth website</a> at <a href="http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles">http://www.be-a-better-you.com/articles</a> or the <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">Self Help, Self Improvement, Motivation and Personal Growth Blog</a> at <a href="http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com/">http://be-a-better-you.blogspot.com</a> for more great articles, tips and resourses.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span><br /> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article may be freely used and distributed in its original<br /> form on the condition that the above resourse box (including<br /> links) and this paragraph are left intact.<br /> ---------------------------------------------------</span> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/9917a3b0-45c4-40e6-8e80-91d7704dc725/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9917a3b0-45c4-40e6-8e80-91d7704dc725" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Carey Suantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00031618269008398000noreply@blogger.com0