“A Better You” Your 7 days program to self-improvement

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.

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.

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.

1. Know your purpose
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.

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.

2. Know your values
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.

The number shouldn’t discourage you, instead it should motivate you to do more than you can ever dreamed of.

3. Know your needs
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!

4. Know your passions
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.

5. Live from the inside out
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.

6. Honor your strengths
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.

7. Serve others
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.

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.

Motivation for Mediocrity

Do we, as a society, motivate for true success? Or do we motivate just to get by? In your job, are you motivated to be above average or just to keep off the bosses “naughty list”? One more question: Why do we motivate ourselves, our employees, even our children for mediocrity?
The following are four suggestions to fly higher than mediocrity.
1. Always go farther.
What ever is asked of you or whatever your responsibility is, do more than you are ever expected.

2. Share the praise.
Remember, whatever success or victory you experience, you do NOT experience alone. There are others that help you get to where you strive to be. Always share the praise. That will raise you above mediocrity. Mediocrity will covet the praise and horde it like a child snatches the last piece of candy so no one else will get it.

3. Ask for more.
When you do experience a victory and are pulling away from mediocrity, do not hang up your efforts. Ask for more. Or find more to do. This will set yourself apart from the mediocre crowd.

4. Treat others nice.
Always remember how you would like to be treated by others. Take that thought and treat others the same way. This is also the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Great rule. Live by it. It’s a principle that is anything but mediocre.
Follow the above four tactics and you’ll find yourself flying high above the mediocre mindset.
Just remember when you’re training for a job, raising your children or preparing you mind for any task, mediocre is so average. Do you want to be just average?

www.selfimageimprovement.com

Happiness is Under Your Feet

Where are you looking for happiness?

Are you working hard to create a bright future? Do you believe that you can’t be happy, unless this future becomes a living reality?

Do you believe that happiness comes after a long period of suffering?

Attention, my friend. You are depriving yourself from happiness.

Here is an astonishing fact:

“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.” – J. Robert Oppenheimer

You are the one who has the power to grow happiness in your life. Happiness is a choice not a result. You choose to be happy.

I want you to do this simple exercise. Think about 10 things that you are most grateful for in your life.

How do you feel?

Life is not too bad, right?!

The negative circumstances have the power to dominate your thoughts and make you feel that everything in life is bad. It hinders you from creating happiness in your life. You always feel like you shouldn’t be happy, right now, just because your ideal future is not manifested.

Choose to be happy now. Here is another exercise.

Smile!! Yes, I mean it. Smile

How do you feel?

Do you want another exercise? OK, here it is…

Look at a picture of a smiling baby, or listen to a baby when he laughs.

How do you feel?

My friend, happiness is under your feet. Choose to be happy, now!

www.selfimageimprovement.com

Why Motivation and Inspiration from Love Life Can Lead to Career Development

Renaissance poet John Donne’s famous line – no man is an island – succinctly describes man’s innate dependence on relationships and social structures. Human beings, just as most species in the animal kingdom, also need other people’s company, love, appreciation and approval.

Most, if not all, books, essays, poems, stories, myths, traditions that man have created all these countless years are either inspired by or about relationships – family, country, and, most especially, romantic connections. Even murder and war stories are made more interesting and real by adding paramour links between characters.

The human being’s preoccupation with romantic liaisons is proof that man needs a special person to inspire him or her to succeed in whatever endeavor and venture he or she takes on. A loving and passionate relationship with someone usually brings out the best in all of us. Furthermore, it gives us more motivation to be on top, to make our loved one proud of us.

We have seen in newspapers and television news programs that an unharmonious relationship between husbands and wives, or partners, lead to depression, self-destruction, and even bloody endings. Such incidents will make us conclude that a person cannot properly thrive in a work environment if his or her personal relationship is in shambles.

Most of the time, career development can be partly attributed to a healthy married life or a rewarding and inspiring love relationship. Although determination, patience and hard work are also factors in getting ahead of the corporate rat race, living in a loving and supportive atmosphere at home will help make an individual motivated to strive and aspire for more.

Here are some reasons why a harmonious and inspiring love life can boost your career:

Amorous relationships inspire us all

People need a loving relationship to help prompt them to do their best, much like poets and artists need their muse to produce lyrical phrases and artistic masterpieces. Franklin Roosevelt wouldn’t be able to snap out of his depression as result of his physical condition if not for the gentle urging and inspiration of his wife, Eleanor.

In contrast, some individuals with strained relationships with their wife, husband, partner, boyfriend or girlfriend lack the motivation to do well in other aspects of life, including their career. Instead, a number of broken-hearted people resort to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain that they feel.

Although the state of a person’s love life is not directly responsible for his or her achievement or demise, it is, in a roundabout way, a factor in his or her success or failure.

Harmonious and loving relationships encourages us to focus on our career.

In order to be the best you can be, you need the support and unconditional love of your partner. Most committed people who are driven and focused in succeeding in their careers usually have healthy and harmonious relationship with their lovers.

On the contrary, those experiencing difficulties in their relationships are usually distracted and out of focus. Sometimes individuals having love-related problems cannot perform even simple tasks, such as answering the phone or encoding a letter. Pain caused by broken marriages or relationship splits usually drive people to depression.

Even if you don’t acknowledge it, the state of your personal and love life hugely affects your productivity and creativity. A happy and fulfilling relationship with the person you love will drive you to be the best and can help you overcome obstacles in your career. Although a supportive and loving relationship is not the only key to career development, it is an important factor to make us believe in our capabilities.

Remember Live Your Life By Choice, Not By Chance.