Space: Perception And Effect

Think about the word 'space' and our perception varies from person to person. As humans we desire for space. It shapes our personality and makes us unique. Not to forget the fact that we live in a country that is infused with a diverse culture and therefore it is inevitable that each cultural value will eventually shape our beliefs.

The world views space and structure mainly through visual elements. Therefore a brick, tree, door, window, and carpet are only a few visual elements that combine and allow us to experience space.

Remember space is all about perspective. So, depending on our position in society, we inhabit space differently. Every minute of our lives we are in physical dialogue with the space. The spaces we occupy directly influence our psychological well-being and creative output.

To elaborate more on this concept of space, we take a few examples to understand what space means to us.

At public bathrooms in restaurants/pubs/motels, our minds immediately switch to a defensive one where our prime notion of cleanliness and privacy is at an all time high. It is a 'necessity'. On the flip side, think about your home; it is one place where your defenses are off, and you're more relaxed. It is where your true identity is shaped.

We also see the importance of a simple queue. Instead of hoarding the counter, a queue restores sense of order in society by eliminating the class barrier. Similarly, a hotel room's main goal is to make you feel as if you're the first person to live in it. In offices, you're surrounded by white walls in square boxes. Your soft-board therefore when filled with personal memories such as a photograph or your kid's drawings, will create a sense of being close to your loved ones at all times, thus increasing productivity.

In terms of colour and the way space is used, the human mind reacts differently to situations. Say, you give a man a puzzle in a tight room, where the ceilings are low. He will complete the puzzle quickly, as there is a sense of "restriction". Similarly you feel more relaxed with the colour blue as it signifies open skies, vast oceans, and beaches, because airy like spaces help us feel free.

And finally, there is an 'escape' space, where for a few minutes or hours, one would wish to get out of the hands from 'family, colleagues and bosses'. It could be anything; a game on your phone, a walk in your area or simply get lost in your thoughts.

Therefore, to put it in simple terms, the psychology of space is the perfect interplay between the man and space.

https://ezinearticles.com/?Space:-Perception-And-Effect&id=9371103

Message From the Universe: Recharge Your Batteries With Some Time Off

"Remember when it was really fun to catch raindrops on your tongue, walk under archways because they were there, and roll around in the sand at the beach? To go all the way to the store for a tiny treat, lie on the grass looking for "God" in the clouds, and make scary monster faces in the mirror? To watch the stars because they were winking at you, count the flowers in the garden by the door, and put Cocoa Puffs up your nose?

Well, I'm happy to inform you, most of it still is.

Ah-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h...

The Universe"

The journey of life is not solely reserved to working your butt off and not really enjoying the fruit of your labor. You need to listen to your body and take the time to relax. How many of your vacation days have you taken lately? Many have accumulated enough of these days off to take a sabbatical year and get paid for it. Vacation days are given to employees to allow them to recharge their batteries, to allow the body to de-stress, decompress a bit and take advantage of what life can give you. Do not forgo these days by pursuing your goals of reaching the top. Many thinks that taking days off shows laziness and by doing so, management will notice and will give away your promotion to someone else. If you understand and believe your value at the company, you wouldn't think this way. Quantity doesn't necessarily mean quality. You can stay at the office 24/7 making others believe you are working your ass off but your performance lacks result. That lack of performance will also be noticed by management and will end up making them wonder what are you really doing 24/7 at the office. Putting more time will just exert your energy quicker and your performance will suffer. Work smart without putting in crazy hours.

If you look at CEO's daily schedule, you will notice a few things in common. They take the time to work on themselves as much as they work for or with the company. They exercise daily, eat well, wake early, manage their time, take time to learn new things, attend seminars, spend time with family, and enjoy their life in the meantime. They do work very hard at work, but they also work very smart and do not believe that putting 20 hours of work daily will increase their productivity. There is no secrets here ladies and gents, you are on your job because you know what you are doing, or at least I hope you do. Always try learning new things, bettering yourself in the process, focusing on projects that will allow you to create new opportunities for yourself and your employer. Take the time for yourself as well and make sure to allow 30 to 60 minutes of physical exercise everyday. Control what goes in your mouth with the food you eat. You have heard the slogan before: "You are what you eat", so, if you eat crappy food, what does that make you? Oh yes, and if you have vacation days, TAKE THEM for god's sakes!

https://ezinearticles.com/?Message-From-the-Universe:-Recharge-Your-Batteries-With-Some-Time-Off&id=9614580

Message From the Universe: There Is No Easy Way Out

"If you could choose the easy way or the fun way, which would you choose?

Hint: Looking for the easy way usually means you're messing with the "cursed hows."

Right! The fun way.

Tallyho,

The Universe"

Like the Rocky song: "There is no easy way out, there is no shortcut". The crazy thing is that when we do find an easy way to anything, we always second guess ourselves anyways. We always wonder why or how is it so easy? There must be a catch. We then ignore our inner voice, our gut instinct and end up doing it the hard way. Why go through it? Might as well travel the fun path to accomplish the task right? At least the journey wouldn't be boring or excruciating. Imagine if you work like crazy, sacrifice everything, struggle, waste months and months on a venture, ignore your family and friends when inviting you to fun things to do, basically you are putting everything into that venture. Let's just say everything crumbles down and you lose everything. Wouldn't be the result more devastating at this point versus if you would have taken the time to enjoy the journey and spent time with family and friends and create a good balance between work and fun? You might think that if you do have fun while working towards your goals and the end results wouldn't be what you expect, you might say to yourself:" I didn't give my best, or I didn't sacrifice enough, or I didn't put everything I should have or this or that or whatever else". You immediately start concluding that the end result is solely your fault and no external factors could be involved in the success or failure of your venture.

We reap what we sow and most times, we accuse ourselves for not giving enough time or put energy in whatever we do to accomplish our tasks to reach ultimate happiness. We start blaming ourselves for our demise, which in some case can be our fault but not when other factors are involved in the equation of life. As long as you create a good balance, a sturdy structure to make your life more fun and not forgoing what life has to offer, whatever journey you take will never end up in disappointment because of the path you took when creating balance with everything you do. You are allowed to have fun.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Message-From-the-Universe:-There-Is-No-Easy-Way-Out&id=9684717

How You See Yourself Means Everything

Indeed, how you see yourself means everything since it is impossible to know how another person is going to feel, think or even look at you. When you realize it, you can then focus on the only sure thing in your life that you can control, and that is how you think, perceive and feel about yourself.

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you speak to yourself? If yes, what do you say? Are you thinking about yourself negatively or positively? Do you take action or are you pushing things until a later time?

Whatever you do, you have to understand that you cannot control how others feel about you. It is hopeless to think that everyone would like you. There will always be people who will mistreat you, judge you, criticize you, or spread lies about you while others will support you, love you, speak kindly of you or be your greatest fan.

What is more important is how you see yourself. You have to be proud of who you are, and not be worrying about what someone else thinks of you. Why should you spend years trying to please other people, or wanting them to see the good in you? It is a waste of time. Just realize that you are good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, kind enough, or successful enough. You need to believe in yourself.

How You See Yourself Is Believing

At first, there are always people out there who will be haters. It does not matter the good that you do for yourself or this world. So do not let those individuals undermine how you see yourself because it can destroy you. Instead, use their ignorance and dislike as a drive to push forward.

On the other hand, you might not believe in yourself or your abilities. You may even feel sad or discouraged. Well, don't! Get up and look at yourself in the mirror and observe the person that is staring back at you. Realize that to believe in yourself; you have to love yourself first.

Do you know someone who is an incredible person, talented, beautiful, intelligent, but they do not see it? No matter what you tell them, they do not believe you or themselves. It may be you, right now, facing that mirror. You must know that how you see yourself is crucial, much more than how others see you. It determines the results in your life long before you even get to them.

See Yourself by Imagining

At the end of each year, people often come up with some New Year's resolutions and goals to change some things in their life. But even if they always begin with the greatest intentions, most never follow through. In my experience, anyone who ever decided to do something once a year never got very far.

You may have huge goals in mind, but what often happens is that you get the strange tendency to underestimate your capacity and you see yourself not being able to achieve what you want.

Therefore, the thoughts you have about yourself is what is stopping you from taking action and doing what is necessary. If, however, you decide to see yourself as someone who can learn new things and can imagine all of the things you can accomplish, then your conviction will directly support what your desires are.

See Yourself Letting Go

So, you have to realize that you need to let entirely go of caring or worrying about what anyone else thinks about you. Instead, start aiming solely at how you should feel about yourself. And block out other's opinions of you and focus all your attention on being the person you want you to see yourself to be.

When you forget about seeking other people's approval, you begin to live your life focused on doing the best you can each day. You no longer need to compete with anyone else but yourself.

Remember, no one is perfect. All of us make mistakes. We have to learn from them and move forward determined not to make the same mistake again. You have to make the most of your gifts, talents, and potential. And never compare yourself with other people's skills.

See Yourself Being Confident

As you start to let go and switch how you see yourself, your confidence grows. Then your talents and abilities blossom in ways you never thought possible. And your life is suddenly full of blessings beyond measure in every facet of your life. So the only opinion that you need to focus on is yours.

As a result, it makes you happier, more success comes your way, and you enjoy a better life. You have to believe and see yourself capable of what you feel is right for you and stick to it. Life is not about waiting to feel good. It is about having confidence in yourself, fully living in the present moment, and appreciating who you are.

Therefore, ignore people who drag others down into a state of misery with them. Those people are insecure and feel like they are not good enough and that it is why you have to avoid them. If you see yourself prosperous, you will be. But if you see yourself unsuccessful, that precisely is what you will be.

Your Thoughts Create Your Reality

You become what you think. So, your thoughts are things, and they continuously create your reality. Whatever you think about increases, expands and multiply in your life, so that is why it does not matter what others think about you. It is what you think about yourself that matters.

Therefore, let me encourage you to carefully consider believing in yourself and celebrate the abilities and qualities you have. Make the way in which you see yourself your main concern because it is indeed the source from which all your choices, decisions, actions and results are based. And it makes all the difference in the world.

Remember that you can be anything you want if you just focus on doing your best. How others see you is not important. But how you see yourself means everything. So stay true to yourself and never be afraid of doing what feels right to you. Decide, believe and stick to it.

https://ezinearticles.com/?How-You-See-Yourself-Means-Everything&id=9856669

Lessons I Learned From My Car Accident (By Anne Theriault)

I was recently involved in a bad auto accident and I find myself wondering what life lesson this had for me. That was a huge eye opener on life and that in a blink of an eye it could all be gone... just like that.

I was knocked unconscious by the impact and the air bag so the good thing is I don't remember anything about the accident. My first memory is lying in the back of the ambulance being given oxygen as the paramedics tried to bring me back from my unconscious state.

As I lay in the emergency room, I found myself analyzing my life and thanking God that I was still alive. The good news is, nobody else was hurt and my dog Casey wasn't with me.

Since that day, the physical recovery has been difficult, but not as difficult as the emotional recovery. I have learned a lot about myself and about what really matters in this world.

I am not invincible and I cannot control everything that happens in my life. I gotta learn to let go of the reins a bit and just go with the flow. I need to be better about accepting the things that come my way that I didn't plan for. And still be a better person after.

As someone who is in constant motion, it taught me to slow down a little.

I have learned to live each day honestly and fully.

I feel blessed and am very grateful that I have family and neighbors who stepped in to help me cope with this ordeal. There are so many good people in this world. Sometimes we get so caught up in the drama of world news, politics, social media and current events, we forget to look at the big picture. Look for the good in everyone... everyone is dealing with something we don't know about.

If you have a bucket list... start doing those things. If you don't have a bucket list... make one. We all have dreams and aspirations for ourselves and for our family. Waiting for "someday"... well, that "someday" may never come.

As I continue to heal physically and emotionally, I have a different perspective on life. The things that matter in life are not "things." When tragedy strikes, you can either let it break your spirit, or use it as an opportunity to grow and look at life with a different perspective.

I have chosen to grow from it.

https://ezinearticles.com/?Lessons-I-Learned-From-My-Car-Accident&id=9900620

Relaxation As Part of the Creative Process

The creative process is a series of flows going and coming from different directions. Some flows come from sources of inspiration, go into the artists mind and flow out from the artist and into the audience. Other flows encircle two fellow artists, while others come from fans to the artist in the form of support, admiration, or income.

But as far as the act of creation is concerned the flows that go through the artist sometimes become problematic and cause difficulties. The artist takes elements they perceive in the environment and fuses those elements together in unique ways with emotional aspects of their psychology derived from their philosophy of life. They combine these factors with the work of their hands using earthly materials to create aesthetic products.

The flows and the process of creation form a system and like other systems they can get damaged or break down. The reasons vary greatly from one artist to another as to why damage or corruption causes the system to slow or fail altogether. Failing altogether isn't as common as slowing or burning out, which is typically caused by the system running or flowing in one direction for too long.

The body and mind are an interface that works well in harmony to control the flows from the environment and the mind as they move through the body. Interestingly, the environment and the mind are constantly emitting impulses or providing stimuli to the body via the nervous system, which consists of the electrical circuits that run throughout the body. The mind is constantly providing orders to various body parts to get them to do its bidding while the environment is a gigantic theater of sensory input without end.

This makes the body a conduit for the flows going in to the mind from the environment and back out to the environment and from the environment coming in to the mind and back out from the mind to the environment. The mind can also provide its own stimuli in the form of inspiration, memories, dreams, and ideas-realms of creativity-which also flow through the body, out to the environment, and back in again.

All of this flowing and non-stop sensory input keeps the body in a state of enervation, which causes damage, slowing, overloading, and burn out. Enervation is simply when the body feels drained of energy or experiences exhaustion from too much stimulation (overloaded circuits).

Physical Relaxation

For artists, relaxation is the only method of reversing the effects of enervation and is therefore a vital practice to achieve creative longevity. The use of drugs (illegal or prescription) or hypnotism is no substitute for relaxation. In fact, they are in themselves additional forms of stimulation and sensory input that would further agitate the body in a state of enervation. Avoid them if possible when relaxation is required.

Exchanging one form of stimulation for another doesn't constitute relaxation. Like the alcoholic who exchanges one drug with another by replacing alcohol with nicotine or caffeine, they are merely switching one addiction for another. Such compromises bring about new problems and the individual remains an addict for the whole of their lives without really living drug free.

True relaxation means refraining from artificial forms of stimulation and sensory input to experience one's self and one's environment in a natural state. When the alcoholic switches to nicotine or caffeine, they are actually mitigating the effects of withdrawal by forming new addictions.

For the drug addict, going through withdrawals is actually the gateway to living drug free. Withdrawals are actually the body's method of removing drug toxins from its systems so that they can be expelled as waste products. This along with other therapeutic techniques is what finally allows a person to eventually arrive at a drug free existence.

Similarly, the artist can recuperate from the artificial forms of stimulation and sensory input derived from the creative process by going through a kind of withdrawal. Because each form of artistic labor will have its own particular challenges to achieve a state of relaxation, each type of creative work will have its own form of withdrawal and will require the invention of strategies to remove the unique stresses that are specific to that art form.

For the chef, try a period of eating only pure flavors to help you relax your palate. This would comprise eating only raw fruits, slightly cooked vegetables, and meats or starches with little or no seasonings at all. Periodic short or prolonged fasts might have the most benefit in the long term to keep the palate sharp and the digestive system strong.

For musicians, go with a period of quiet. Because we exclusively use our ears to find, test, and combine new sounds, it's our ears that suffer the most stress during the creative process. The height of tall buildings and the remoteness of the mountains will help you rise above the sounds of cities and human life, while the distance and expanse of wide open spaces in the desert, grasslands, and bodies of water will bring you peace through extremes of noise reduction.

In contrast, relaxation for the athlete and dancer might consist of either active or passive processes such as resting or stretching depending on the movements they are normally performing.

For the illustrator and painter relaxation might actually pertain to several practices to resolve several issues. Stretching might work to help relax the effects of restricted and repetitive movement, while meditation (sitting with eyes closed or in a pitch black room) will work to de-stimulate the eyes.

Notice how relaxation actually constitutes sensory deprivation of one or more of the senses. The reason is because what we're trying to resolve is enervation (chronic nervous stimulation), which can only be alleviated with its opposite: sensory de-stimulation or deprivation. Other approaches for achieving sensory de-stimulation will include noise cancelling headphones, a sound-proof chamber, meditation, dim lighting, a walk in the forest, travel to a secluded out-of-the-way location, and extended time in an empty house or hotel room.

The purpose of all these approaches is to greatly reduce the amount of stimulation our brains and bodies undergo during the creative process because the focused effort of the act of creation almost always comes at the expense of our body and its need for relaxation. But much more important than the purpose is the effect we are trying to achieve which is resetting or refreshing our senses, so as to return to our work with "new eyes."

Mental Relaxation

Resolving enervation and the physical toll it takes on our bodies is just one component to achieving complete relaxation, while altering mental function will be the other. Sensory deprivation will help alleviate the accumulated stress collected in the nerves of the body, but what about the accumulated stresses in the mind. Just as the creative energy of the body can slow or burn out by flowing in one direction for too long, so can the function of the mind in the creative process.

The focused intensity of the act of creation usually comes at the expense of our minds, especially when our attention acts in a single capacity or mode for too long. Ironically, sensory deprivation will not assist the mind in its ability to refresh itself, because the senses are not its only channels of stimulation. Dreams, creativity, and imagination are unique aspects to the function of the mind and require a different approach when trying to achieve mental relaxation. However, the same principle still applies when dealing with the issue of relaxation.

Just as we resolved burn out caused by excessive or prolonged sensory input, the mind can also be helped. The focused intensity of creative thought can be relaxed by "free thought" because focused intensity and unregulated thought energy are opposite forms of mental activity, which means they can be used to counteract one another. In other words, structured or guided forms of thinking can be relaxed into more fluid or "free" forms of thought.

Within each artistic discipline these forms of mental activity express themselves as extremes such as the difference between the novelist and the poet in writing, the realistic painter and the abstract painter in painting, the ballet dancer and the modern dance performer in dance, as well as tonal and atonal or microtonal music in composing.

Sometimes stretching oneself as an artist can be a form of relaxation, but only if you explore an opposite artistic extreme than what you're normally used to. So if you tend to write in more structured forms, relax by attempting to author a bit of poetry and vice versa. This stretching technique can also be a great benefit because it allows you to find new material to bring into your normal creative mental function.

Improvisation and accidental art approaches are also interesting areas to explore because they combine what we know or have learned with expression without the need to necessarily create something with structure and conscious intention. In other words, approaching our craft with the skills we've acquired but without the goal of creating structure is a form of relaxation for the creative process by getting us to act more spontaneously. The openness of mind required in these approaches slackens the desire for creative outcomes to turn contrary artistic efforts into relaxation techniques. The contrasts and deviations of approach between each pair of opposite as shown above actually holds the keys to therapy within each art form and medium.

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9 Tips to Stop Being So Easily Annoyed And Offended

Some people never appear to be angered by anything. Others are so delicate that they're almost upset by the way someone takes a breath. Being conveniently upset is often a triggered by an unrealistic need for perfection or a vulnerable vanity. That's excellent news! It indicates that you're the cause of your feelings. You have the power to alter your reactions.

Free yourself from really feeling annoyed:

1. Think positive intentions. Not everyone is a master wordsmith. Some people have a flair of claiming things the wrong way. Until you're specific, think that the possible transgressor had the most effective of objectives, yet inadequate technique. Concentrate on the motif of the remark.

Assumptions could trigger all sorts of obstacles. Stay clear of thinking the most awful up until you have proof to support those ideas.

2. Take into consideration that they could be right. Nobody prefers to be slammed, yet most of us deserve it at times. No one is perfect.

3. Ask yourself why you really feel angered in the first place. What's the reason? If you're annoyed that your buddy is 20 mins late, just what exactly is the source of your stress? Is it the inconvenience? The idea that your pal does not respect your time? Your idea that responsible individuals are prompt, and you do not like irresponsible people?

You could be the source of your very own irritation. The more convinced you are that things need to be a certain way, the more often you'll be dissatisfied.

4. Allow others to be themselves. No one is wandering the Earth trying to make you miserable. Every person is living their life in their very own way.

Sometimes, our lives converge, and also the opportunity for somebody to be dissatisfied exists. Some individuals might be too brusque, superficial, or cheap for your preferences, However they may likewise might not be thrilled with you.

Provide everyone the space they need to operate in their own manner. You'll obtain much more acceptance if you provide much more acceptance.

5. Decide not to be offended. You could pick your reaction to any situation. You don't need to end up being dismayed and upset when somebody does or states something you don't like. You could opt to neglect the scenario and just carry on. You can decide to consider the action or comment from various points of view.

6. Be flexible. The longer you hold onto adverse feelings, the longer you're harming your own. Forgive others so you can move on with your life.

7. Approve yourself. Often times, we're angered since we do not like the truth.

No one wishes to be called fat, lazy, short, or impatient. Yet several of us fall into one or more of these categories. We simply do not like to be reminded of the fact! Accept your absence of perfection and you won't be so effortlessly upset.

8. Develop your self-confidence. Research studies show that those most quickly angered typically have reduced levels of self-esteem. When you feel much better about yourself, you will not be so quickly troubled by the words and also habits of others.

9. Recognize exactly how you're harming yourself by being overly sensitive. If you're quickly upset, you're not very happy in general. It just isn't feasible. When you understand just how much your sensitivity is hurting you, it will be easier to transform. Exactly how has being upset hurt you in the past?

An old African proverb says, "If there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm." The ability to appreciate and also approve of yourself identifies how conveniently you're upset. When you can approve your flaws and also those of others, it's very hard to be upset. It is necessary to offer yourself and others the space to be themselves.

https://ezinearticles.com/?9-Tips-to-Stop-Being-So-Easily-Annoyed-And-Offended&id=9477026

5 Ways to Love Yourself Better (By Jessica J Lockhart)

A few days ago I was talking to some of my clients during a workshop and discussing possible ways to learn how to love ourselves better. There was so much interest that I decided to share with you the tips I gave them. Feel free to use them all or just some. They have an accumulative effect but can also be used one at a time. Enjoy loving yourself better from now on.

Praise yourself

Grab a piece of paper and for once, make the effort of defining what you LIKE in yourself, instead of finding whatever it is that you believe needs changing/improving. Identify 3 things you like in each of the following fields:

physical - define 3 things you like in your body, including your face: your hair, your walking style, your height, your posture... anything.

emotional - define 3 traits in you that you like: generous, hard-working, sentimental... anything.

abilities - define 3 skills you have that you like: good handwriting, well organized, fast learner... anything.

Each morning after breakfast and each evening before you go to bed, look at yourself in the mirror, look deeply into your eyes, and remind you of those 9 things you like in yourself. Praise them. Praise yourself for them. Remember that there are AT LEAST 9 things in you that you like. Celebrate those 9 things.

It might be hard, specially at the beginning, because we're so used to doing just the opposite and looking for flaws, mistakes and the like. But do try. Give yourself a break and be fair; stop JUST looking for the bad in you and start looking for, and praising, the GOOD.

Identify and improve your model

First of all, ask yourself who your teacher was. Who taught you how to love yourself as a human being? Did you learn it from your parents? From a friend? Most of us learn by imitating our role models, even subconsciously. Once you identify who you learned it from, ask yourself if you really like the way that person loved him or herself. Is that the type of love you want to give yourself? If it is, can you improve it? If it isn't, can't you find a better role model to imitate? The role model doesn't need to be a person you know but could also be a character in a book or movie. Yes, I know they might not be "real" but what they're portraying is the type of love you want to give yourself. Focus on that and learn what they do to transmit that love. At the end of the day, you just want to learn how to do it better.

Change your "yes buts" for "yes ands"

If you're like many others, each time somebody praises you, your mind immediately looks for some kind of fault in you to counteract the positive comment that you may receive. For example, someone says something nice about your hair or clothes today; your mind instantly reminds you of the... "yes, but even if that looks OK today, it's usually horrible," or "yes, but look at my nose, even the best haircut can't hide that ugly thing on my face," or something of the kind. Sounds familiar?

I challenge you to turn your "yes buts" the opposite way around. Each time you hear OR THINK something negative about yourself, I want you to make the effort to consciously say, think or repeat a "yes but" in a positive sense. Example: you think, "gosh, my hair looks awful today!" (which would normally make you feel bad for some more time after the thought happened). This time I want you to "yes and" it in a positive way... "yes, and that means I need to try that new hat on," or "yes, and that's why I will do it in a different style today" or anything that ends the thinking process on a positive note.

Our brains follow established paths. Let's create some new ones for ourselves.

Value your actions

If you started applying the first recommendation, you should already be valuing 9 positive things in you. Now I want you to feel grateful as well. Every evening, before going to sleep, think of 3 things you did right. Value your work or your contribution. Celebrate having done those good deeds and congratulate yourself for them. Feel grateful for everything that led you to being able to do what you did. Feel grateful for the people who made it possible; feel grateful for your skills, knowledge or abilities; feel grateful for having been there when you needed to; feel grateful for having decided to do whatever it is that you did... Feel grateful for being you. Gratitude is a very powerful feeling that makes our brains release dopamine, which reduces anxiety, improves our mood and our levels of energy and motivation.

Give yourself hope

Another little but powerful tool to love oneself better is giving ourselves the gift of hope. At night, after feeling grateful for what you did, give yourself permission to dream. And I don't mean sleeping. Before you actually go to sleep but once you're already in bed, I want you to daydream. The only rule is that the dreams are positive. If a negative thought tries to enter your mind, make the conscious effort to replace it and go back to your happy reverie. Imagine the good things that will happen to you tomorrow or this week. Visualize the dreams. Imagine them in great detail and have the fun of an artist creating a wonderland. Let yourself enjoy the happy feeling; after all, it's only in your imagination. But... your brain doesn't know it! When we make the conscious effort to imagine and try and experience happy feelings, our brain believes the "dream" and starts releasing chemical products that make us feel good: endorphines, oxytocin and the like. As a result, our bodies relax and not only can we actually sleep better, which is an important gift in itself, but once again, our brain discovers new paths into happier feelings. Consider this time a gift to yourself. We're not daydreaming to create a new reality; this is not the power we're trying to use. The goal is to have a nice, hopeful time to let our bodies and minds unwind and make us feel good about life.

These five simple exercises will gradually help you love yourself better. By loving yourself better, you will start having better feelings about yourself and, as a result, about the world. You'll soon start feeling better in general. After all, we can't change the world unless we change ourselves first.

Choose the type of life you want to live. Choose to love yourself first and others will see the love in you.

Enjoy life, ALL of it,

https://ezinearticles.com/?5-Ways-to-Love-Yourself-Better&id=9972976

Low Self-Esteem Is Not a Permanent State of Mind

Many teens who are plagued with low self-esteem and self-worth believe that this is a permanent state of mind. But as I will discuss in this article, low self-esteem isn't a permanent state of mind. So, we have no need to identify with it.

Most teens who experience low self-esteem believe that they are plagued with this condition forever as if it is some disease. Some even feel so awkward and frustrated because of low self-esteem that they seek out counselling and other guidance. However, this need not be the case if you consider low self-esteem situational and short-term.

Most of us experience low self-esteem from time to time. However, very few of us are defined by our low self-esteem. Instead, we should view low self-esteem as something that comes and goes and that you can control instead of it controlling you all the time.

One way to ensure that you don't get overwhelmed when you experience low self-esteem and you feel vulnerable is to remove yourself from the immediate situation that is making you feel low and go to a place where you can center. You have all the resources that you need within you.

To center, you should take a few deep breaths and then preferably sit down alone, without your Blackberry and listen to your breath. Then close your eyes and focus on your breath. Breathe deeply. Then start counting your breaths. When you get to ten, start over at one. Keep doing this for a few minutes. Then stop counting your breaths and just relax in this space of calm.

Then open your eyes, and sit quietly for a few minutes. Ask yourself how you feel now. Do you feel as low as you did a few minutes ago? Did you have low self-esteem while you were meditating? Psychologists firmly believe that the practise of relaxing with your breath can reduce a lot of negative self-talk which leads to low self-esteem.

So, if you catch yourself experiencing low self-esteem and self-worth, here are a few tips to follow.

• As soon as you notice that your negative self-talk has sucked you into a vortex of low self-esteem and self-worth, pause.

• Take a few deep breaths.

• Remove yourself from the immediate situation. If you are around a bunch of people, tell them that you have to leave for a few minutes.

• Do a short meditation session like the one outlined above.

• If you are still overwhelmed, go your own separate way for the rest of the day.

• Don't keep rehearsing the negative situation in your mind. Instead, every time the situation replays itself in your mind, pause and take a few deep breaths. Then acknowledge that you had a negative thought and let the thought go. This will be hard to do at first, but once you master it, your self-esteem will be in tact regardless of what others say and do to you.

By taking these steps, you will be taking control of your health, happiness and well-being. And you won't be dependent on other people being nice to you all the time. You will be nice to yourself, and that will be within your control. That is one way to build self-esteem.

https://ezinearticles.com/?Low-Self-Esteem-Is-Not-a-Permanent-State-of-Mind&id=9645498

5 Tips on How to Stay Focussed

For students, losing focus on the work or goals is a common thing and this usually happens more when they perform those tasks which lie beyond their comfort zone. So, here are some tips which you should follow to train your brain in such a way that you will always be able to complete your work without losing your focus.

1. Time Management:-

"Time is everything", the one who doesn't manage his time deliberately will always lose focus on his work. Now question arise "how", suppose someone has assigned you some task and give you deadline to complete it, initially you will take that task lightly because you know you have enough time to complete it, as we all know time flies, and what happens at the last moment you end up with losing your focus and would not able to put your all attention to that task due to the fear of deadline. So time management is must! Make a TO-DO list and work accordingly.

2. Be Positive:-

Positivity plays a very vital role in keeping you stay focused. If you are doing any work, try to look for the positive sides of that work because it will motivate you to complete that work without any distractions. A positive mind is more creative, hence you will be able to work with your full potential.

3. Have Good Surrounding:-

You're surrounding or environment matters a lot, when you have people with similar goals, you all will support and motivate each other to stay focused on your achievements and also, you will learn lots of new things from each other and this will give you a boost to achieve your goals.

4. Learn how to avoid distractions:-

You may think that checking your messages on Facebook, WhatsApp relaxes you but this is not true, actually these things are distracting you from focusing on your core work, you have to manage all these things in such a way, like, first you should complete your work or task more efficiently and then you can reward yourself with virtual socializing.

5. Self-motivation:-

It is the best practice to keep oneself more productive, try to self-motivate yourself whenever you feel like you are losing your focus on your work, there are number of ways through which you can easily self-motivate yourself like:-

· Think about the achievements in your life.

· Determine what other people see as your strengths.

· Listen to music that gives you energy.

· Surround yourself with a positive environment.

https://ezinearticles.com/?5-Tips-on-How-to-Stay-Focussed&id=9839095

How to Deal With Your Anger in Constructive Ways

Wow, some people just know how to push your buttons, don't they? Wait, I KNOW he did not just cut you off in rush hour traffic and you are already late as it is?! And why is she always so mean and nasty to you? This is her job. It's what she gets paid to do. You would think Ms. Thing could understand that and just do it without the attitude. And why is it so hard for him to just leave you alone? You're trying to be professional about this whole situation but he better not let the suit fool him! Hey, anybody ever heard of a thing called customer service around here?! And why is she up in here like you did not clearly and specifically tell her not to bring that person with her? Now you have got to deal with this nonsense when all you wanted to do was have a good time. It's like the whole world is trying to make you angry!

There's no use denying it, so you may as well admit how you feel. You're angry and quite frankly you have every right to be. Yes, you do and don't allow anyone tell you different. No one gets to tell you how you should feel. You must trust your own emotions to guide you. I'm not saying you should be turning over chairs and slamming doors. Anger is, like every other emotion, designed to alert you. It's a message. Objectively speaking, it's just data.

How you deal with your anger says more about you than it ever will about that button-pusher. Besides, the person who is hurt the most by your anger is not the one that caused it, it's the one holding it. The longer you stay angry, the more damage you are doing to yourself. Sure, you can pick up that hot coal to throw at someone else but you are just going to burn your own hand first. So let me share with you a few constructive things to do with all that anger:

1. Recognize Anger For What It Is

When you get a message, it's important not to ignore it. You can spend time acting like anger is something more benign but that is just a waste of time and energy. Pretending you are not angry makes as much sense as pretending you are not holding a burning hot coal. Oh, you think we don't notice that look on your face? The sooner you recognize it, the less pain and injury you will inflict on yourself. I'm not saying you have to announce it to the world. This is about allowing yourself to acknowledge to yourself that you are angry. Once you recognize and own it, you give yourself space to choose how to appropriately respond.

2. Focus On Dealing With Your Anger

First things first. That incredible hulk shtick is so not attractive. Now that you recognize you are angry, give yourself a moment to take some deep calming breaths. Focus on things that allow you to calm down. I'll be honest with you here, even the most intense emotions can begin to pass within a few minutes if you recognized them and don't push them away. That said, you are worked up enough as it is. If you are talking to yourself -out loud or in your head - be sure that your words are more positive and peaceful. If you can't pull yourself to speak positive words, just stay in the space of admitting how you feel and acknowledging this is not what you want. Better yet, just focus all your attention on taking a few more deep, calm, relaxing breaths.

3. Ask Yourself How

There are several Hows to ask at this point. Now that you are aware of your anger and calming down, you are in a better place to choose how you want to respond. Ask yourself: How have you handled this type of situation successfully before? How can you handle this current situation in the best possible way? How can you honor your own needs and still be respectful? How can you do things differently so that you don't end up here again? How can you make sure the most important things are handled well? A great way to handle anger constructively is to find ways to prevent the situations that make you angry. Asking yourself how activates your problem solving skills.

4. Why You Mad, Son?

You are a brilliant person. No, I'm so serious. You are brilliant! You are also your best teacher. You handled the situation wonderfully. Congratulations! Before you file this moment away in the past, don't forget to take the good with you. Pay attention to the wisdom you are giving yourself in this situation. There are tips and tools you are giving yourself to be a stronger, more powerful, more purposeful, more peaceful you. No one said you had to love the circumstances. Choose to pay attention and figure out what this moment was showing you about yourself regardless of how you feel about the people and circumstances. Take away from this situation the lessons you are giving yourself about what makes you angry and how you can constructively deal with those triggers.

5. Don't Forget About the Other Guy

Do you remember those button pushers? Of course you do! As your brilliant self is showing you how to pay attention to the data, bring yourself into a calmer place, figure out how to not be here anymore, and get even more brilliant that you were a moment ago, I don't need to remind you this is not just about you. The best way to handle this moment is to be more aware and considerate of someone else's needs and emotional state of mind. Why it that? Well, as you show up in a loving way, the answers you need about how to handle that button pusher begin to reveal themselves to you. You will never get to the best solutions coming from a place of rage and hatred. Let them hate. You stick with the greatest weapon of all LOVE.

How much of your own anger could you dissipate if you were more appreciative toward the people around you? Yes, you are truly brilliant but you could really stand to be more thoughtful. I'm just saying. Wait a minute, I'm not suggesting you have to find ways to be nice to that button pusher in this moment. What I am saying is turn your appreciation towards someone else who needs it. It's not just about noticing when someone is feeling happy, or grumpy. Spend more of your time considering how your own actions are impacting others. Being angry is no reason to mistreat others.

It is impossible to speak life to someone else and not feel better yourself. Don't believe me, try it. Move to the right so the driver behind you can pass by. Allow that car to merge in front of you with a friendly smile & wave hello. Compliment her on the job she is doing right instead of bringing up the things she is doing wrong. In silence, look at someone and think "I'm sending love to you. I am sending love to you." Notice how that changes your mood and helps you to think of more positive things to think, do, and say.

The more love you spread, the more love you feel. The more you give, the more you receive. It is very tough to be or stay angry, when you choose to focus on being loving, and filling the day with life. The most powerful way to constructively deal with your anger is to deal with more love.

I'm curious about what works for you. Did I miss something? What ways have you found to feel more love when you are angry?

https://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Deal-With-Your-Anger-in-Constructive-Ways&id=7907483

Message From the Universe: Move Forward NO Matter What, And Have Fun at It!

"Start it; you don't have to be fancy.

Keep moving; you don't have to go crazy.

Visualize; you don't have to admit it.

See the end result; it doesn't have to be material.

Expect miracles; they don't have to be huge.

Pretend you've arrived; you don't have to dance on tables.

And above all else, have fun.

This is why you started it, right?

Life, what a trip -

The Universe"

Just reading this message from the Universe gives me the chills on how true it is for what is going on in my own life. I am sure that many others feel the same way. Many of my daily motivational messages might not cater to everyone's feeling on that specific day, but I am sure that someone out there is reading it and saying: "Wow, that is exactly how I feel at this moment" or" seems like this message is talking to me personally". No matter what this message does to you on that specific day, it is probably making a positive change into your life. Your journey towards your destination should be filled with fun times, because either way, when reaching your destination and obtaining the things you wanted the most will still be there, either the journey was fun or miserable. Might as well make it fun right? I am not saying to not focus on the task ahead, or get drunk every night at clubs if you consider THAT fun, but do not forget the reasons as to why you are doing all of this. Are you looking for financial freedom? Looking to be happier? Want more freedom to the do things you love the most, like traveling or whatever else tickles your loins? So what are you waiting for? The best moment will probably never come. Don't wait for it to come either.

If you need to start a new business, don't wait for the right amount of funds being thrown in your laps, just go at it and figure the rest as you move towards that goal. When you visualize the goals, be clear and feel that you are headed there. Meditate everyday to the feeling of reaching the goals you've been given yourself through the whole development stage of the business. Once this visualization is done, start looking for these wonderful miracles life has to offer, open your eyes to what is going on around you, there are signs out there, start recognizing them. Once you have recognize these amazing miracles, say to yourself that you are so close to the goal where all your dreams and expectations will materialize. Just imagine your fortune like the coin pusher in Arcade across the country. You put in a quarter, it pushes the coin in where hundred of other quarter are being pushed to the edge until they all fall on the receptacle for you to collect. You look at how the coins are all compressed into ONE area but yet, do not fall. You continue putting coins into the machine in the hope that it push the rest of the quarters located up front to where they have to be, in your pocket. You feel you are always so close by putting in more and more of your quarters (time and energy) into the machine (your business venture) to finally reach your destination, whichever it may be. Don't forget to have fun in the process.

https://ezinearticles.com/?Message-From-the-Universe:-Move-Forward-NO-Matter-What,-And-Have-Fun-at-It!&id=9532687

A Case of The "If Onlys"

Ever had a case of the "if onlys"? You know, as in; "If only I'd gotten that job," "If only that guy/gal hadn't broken up with me," "If only I hadn't been passed over for that promotion," "If only I'd won the lottery!" "If only I had more talent," and so on.

Unfortunately, once you get started on your "if onlys" you can keep the list going for days. I certainly have. It's like binge-watching Netflix. How do you cry "Halt"?

But here's the thing: the "if onlys" don't get you anything. I mean zip, nada, nothing. Not even the satisfaction of "Whew, that was exhausting but now I'm totally caught up on (insert name of favorite show)." I take it back. They do get you something. They get you to stay stuck in your past and prevent you from seeing, much less acting on, a desirable future.

What do you think would have happened if Chris Norton, who broke his neck playing football for Luther College, at 18 years of age, had accepted the doctors' verdict of having only a 3% chance of ever feeling or moving below his neck? What would have happened if Chris had dwelt on all the "if onlys" of his plight? To name but a few: if only I hadn't played in the game that day. If only I'd chosen to go for basketball or swim team or track instead of football! If only I'd fallen differently on the field. If only I'd just broken my arm or leg instead of my neck. If only I'd been bruised instead of paralyzed.

If Chris had indulged in all those "if onlys" and many more, he would never have done what it took to move his arms and legs again, certainly wouldn't have managed to walk across the stage five years later to receive his college diploma, nor would his next goal have been of walking seven yards down the aisle to marry his sweetheart. He certainly wouldn't have become the motivational speaker he is today, nor the founder of the SCI CAN Foundation, dedicated to raising money for specialized hospital and rehab center equipment for others with spinal cord injuries. All this by the age of 25.

Turn your back on your "if onlys." Leave them where they belong, in the past. What is done, is done, and you can't undo it. What you can do, however, is look to solutions, resolutions and other possibilities, in your present and in your future, just like Chris Norton. We humans are capable of amazing things once we turn our focus and attention to them. So don't waste your precious creativity, your resources, your mind, on lamenting your "if onlys." Face whatever challenges you experience boldly, square on, and conquer them.

https://ezinearticles.com/?A-Case-of-The-If-Onlys&id=9914159

Should You, LOVE, Yourself?

Do you deserve the respect and admiration, of others? Why do you believe, you are worthy of this? Would you, even. like you, if you met yourself? Should you LOVE yourself, as you presently are, and if not, are you, ready, willing, and able, to make yourself, better, and more deserving? This might require a degree of self - examination, in an introspective, objective manner, so you can know, what you are doing well, your personal strengths, as well as areas of weakness. With that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, using the mnemonic approach, how to proceed, with the maximum possibility and potential, of true, self - help.

1. Listen; learn; lessons: It is often challenging to help yourself, because, we often, fail to see ourselves, objectively, as others do! Instead of believing you have all the answers, take the time, and make the effort, to effectively listen, and learn the lessons, from every conversation, and experience, in order to make yourself, the best, you can possibly be!

2. Open - mind; options; optimize; opportunities: You owe it, to yourself, to proceed, consistently, with an open - mind. Consider the options and alternatives, and seek to optimize your personal possibilities, and self - meaning! Prepare to recognize life's opportunities, and/ or, become capable of creating the best opportunity, for you!

3. Value; values; visions: Are you, a person, of genuine value, on a regular, consistent basis? Do your personal values, provide you with a degree of pride, and self - satisfaction? How do you visualize, yourself? Do these, make you feel, deserving of the love and respect of others, on a consistent basis?

4. Empathy; energy/ energize; emphasis; excellence: When you effectively listen, and learn, from others, what they need and prioritize, and proceed, with the utmost degree of genuine empathy, others will respect you more, as a human being! This positive emphasis, when combined with demanding your utmost degree of personal excellence, in everything you do, makes you, a better person. When you energize others, by the quality and focus of your actions, rather than merely by some empty rhetoric, you will also, experience, a high degree of enhanced personal energy, and self - meaning!

Although, many people, feel unloved, and unwanted, few are willing to examine, whether they deserve the respect of others, etc. Should you LOVE yourself? Only, if you examine yourself closely, and do, all you can, to make yourself, the best, you can possibly be!

https://ezinearticles.com/?Should-You,-LOVE,-Yourself?&id=10126839

Okay, So You Messed Up - Now What?

Okay. So you did something wrong. Maybe you made a social blunder; maybe you carried out some task and failed. In short: You messed up.

For people with low confidence, failure can be downright devastating.

I know. Because I used to be ashamed of things I did or said. All the time.

And I'm not talking about calmly realizing one's wrongdoing and immediately learning from it. I'm talking an involuntary panic-anxiety-attack-like-muscle-spasms-complete-with-grinding-teeth-and-making-noises sorta sensation.

With an inner voice going like: "Screw you! You messed up, and you're useless! You're unable to do anything right, and you should be locked away! You messed up, and that's all you're ever gonna do!"

Every day, several times.

And it doesn't even have to be something big. It could be a misused word, a social faux pas... anything.

When non-fident people react drastically to making any kind of mistake, it's because non-fidence is often accompanied by low self-esteem, perfectionism, and insecurity.

When we have low self-esteem, we tend to judge ourselves more vigorously than we would our peers. If we don't like ourselves, we're hard on ourselves. Simple as that.

But moreover, if we don't allow for ourselves to make mistakes, we develop perfectionism. Which, in turn, makes it seem so much worse to us when we do make a mistake. - Or even do something in a manner less than "perfect". (Which, as I've written about before, is a BS notion.)

And then there's the insecurity, which doesn't allow for much space for mistakes, nor for even trying. This is governed by the amygdala - the reptilian part of our brain - most commonly known for our "fight or flight" mechanism.

See, amongst our primitive ancestors, social identity was way more important than today. Dangers were all around. If you messed up something, it could get you expelled from your tribe and thrown out into the wilderness on your own.

All of this perfectly illustrates the dangerous downward spiral of non-fidence. If we have low regard for ourselves we make less space for ourselves to make mistakes. This, in turn, causes making mistakes to be even more likely, which, then, will only lead to much more self-loathing and shame.

Because we DO make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. We know this perfectly well, yet tend to act like we're the only flawed person alive.

But here's the kicker:

Confident people make WAY many more mistakes than less confident people.

The more confident you are, the less regard you give to other people's opinion about you. The higher you think of yourself, the less you worry about making mistakes. You know perfectly well that your rights outnumber your wrongs. You know perfectly well that you're able to learn from your mistakes.

Indeed, if you don't make mistakes, you can never learn. And if you don't learn, you don't grow.

In other words:

For every time you messed up something in life, you had the opportunity to learn, grow, and prevent yourself from making the same mistake again.

So get out there and mess up. Badly. Learn, improve, repeat. And as you learn and grow, watch as your confidence grows with you.

ACTION ITEM:

The next time you're embarrassed about something, use the following method:

1. Stop what you're doing.
2. Breathe. Ten long, deep breaths.
3. Think. Realize that whatever negative response on your part are merely thoughts, and that they're not necessarily true, constructive or favourable.
4. Choose how you want to feel about what happened. Do you genuinely want to be ashamed? Or would you rather accept, learn, and grow?

The choice is yours.

https://ezinearticles.com/?Okay,-So-You-Messed-Up---Now-What?&id=9733260

Can Self Esteem Be Taught?

Of course it can, in fact we have all, as a society been taught to believe self esteem is even a thing. Prior to 1980 most people hadn't even heard of self esteem. The first use of the term can be traced back to 1890 but even then the concept of self esteem didn't really even become an accepted as a psychological concept until the late 1960's. This came about as the rise in consumerism and consumption started to put the individual at the centre of his or her destiny.

A major influence on the self esteem movement was Nathaniel Brandon who is often credited as the father of the self esteem movement. So if you're having self esteem issues as you might like to call them, you can blame him. This was affected by enlightened self interest and radical individualism espoused by An Rand. Whilst Branden's views may not be what they once were, he is widely credited with opening the door of self esteem to popular culture. This occurred sometime around the late 80's as self esteem began to move from the world of academia into the public consciousness.

Helped along by political types, a member of the California State Assembly even claiming low self esteem is the cause of drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and even school underachievement. Seeing boosting self esteem as a form of social vaccine. All this despite no evidence and many studies showing evidence to the contrary.

Unlike many fads that come and go, self esteem has hung in there and become part of the social fabric and popular culture of the western world. These unsubstantiated and erroneous beliefs about self esteem became part of the teachings about how we should view ourselves. So effectively much of our society has been taught to believe in self esteem. It has become reality based on collective belief and wish instead of evidence or fact.

What can you do? Refuse to rate the self, start by accepting yourself because you can breathe, and start to notice when you are trying to rate your entirety. When things go well try being happy stop yourself at that point if your habit is to start making sweeping generalisations about yourself as a result. When things don't go well its OK to be unhappy, but rating yourself because of it is not only unhelpful, it's also incredibly inaccurate. Learning to accept yourself unconditionally is the best place to be.

https://ezinearticles.com/?Can-Self-Esteem-Be-Taught?&id=9837151

Metaphors Gone Wild: Cliffs and Patterns

Author Kurt Vonnegut once gave this advice to those with a creative bent: "We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down." Yes, there is risk-taking involved in exploring new territory, but how else can we develop our metaphoric wings?

Here are tips for making that exhilarating leap.

INVOLVE ALL YOUR SENSES

Not only should you enhance your receptivity to sensory input--sights, sounds, smells, taste, and feel--you can try various combinations. The late Gregory Hines, for example, once revealed that he developed tap routines by listening to the ordinary sounds coming his way as he walked down New York City streets. Nature itself is an inspiration--just ask any plein air painter. And, if you watch "Chef's Table" on Netflix, you know the culinary masters want to figure out how to make a dessert float, or how to capture the smell of spices in a pillow placed at the guest's table.

Trying expressing ideas in words not usually associated with a given sense. (You'll find metaphors coming in handy here.) For example, if you could taste anger, would it taste like salt on your tongue or vanilla ice cream. If you could feel it, would it feel like sandpaper or velvet?

EXPAND YOUR THINKING

One of the best ways to stimulate new thought is to ask "What if... " questions. For example, "What if women ruled the world?" Then, consider what the consequences of such a reality would involve. One result might be toilet seats that are more often down than up. When faced with a personal problem or a work-related one, give thought to new possibilities with questions related to the situation.

TOLERATE CONFUSION

Research has repeatedly shown that creative individuals have a higher tolerance for confusion than most of us do. When you are tempted to stop cerebral storms because you feel overwhelmed, allow the thoughts to continue bombarding each other inside your head. Being too orderly or too organized may stop us in our tracks when we should, in fact, be moving forward toward a given destination.

HAVE SELF-IMPOSED LIMITS

Just for fun, once in a while, set some limits. The heightened awareness can easily produce some surprising results. So, see how many sentences you can produce that have only five words. The first word must start with an A; the second with a B; the third with a C; the fourth, with a D; and the last word, with an E. An example might be "Any boy can develop enlightenment." The sentences don't have to be profound, but they must have no repeated words--within a given sentence and within the whole collection of sentences. If you can create 20+ sentences in a five-minute period, you have genius potential.

In a famous hiring situation, applicants were asked to work in groups to come up with 30 ways to improve a bathtub in five minutes. The second aspect of the challenge was to have one person removed from the team and to come up with 30 ways (with repeating any) to improve a bathtub in only four and a half minutes. The second list often had better ideas than the first.

PATTERN YOUR THOUGHTS ON YOURSELF

There is no one quite like you in all the world. Extend this uniqueness to the development of new concepts. Avoid the old patterns, for--as creativity guru Edward de Bono tells us: "Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns."

https://ezinearticles.com/?Metaphors-Gone-Wild:-Cliffs-and-Patterns&id=9866518

Change The World - Create A Confidence Legacy Today

What is a confidence legacy?

The Oxford Dictionaries define "legacy" as:- "Something left or handed down by a predecessor."

For this definition, you are the "predecessor" i.e. after you have died.

So it reads - a legacy is "something you will leave or hand down to others after you have died."

So a confidence legacy is - is something you will leave or hand down to others with regard to confidence after you have died.

So, will you leave the world more confident than it was when you were born? And if it is to be more confident, in what ways will it be more confident, and what confident resources will you be leaving the world (i.e. books, videos, memories of how you lived and what you did etc.)?

It's not cheery to talk about dying, but it will happen, and it's best to plan your life with that in mind. To help you do this, I've two quick exercises for you to do.

The first exercise will help you work out how you want people to remember you after you have died?

All you need to do is:

Step 1 - List the categories of people in your life e.g. partner, family, friends, neighbours, work colleagues etc.

Step 2 - Write a short speech for each of the categories - and the speech is what you'd like them to say about you at your own funeral.

Once you have done this you'll have clarified how you'd like people to remember you after you have gone. This gets you to the core of what you really want out of life, and what is important to you. Once you know this you can start planning your life so you know what you need to do from today onwards, in order to make those speeches really happen.

The second exercise, really narrows down on what is important to you and what sort of general legacy you'd like to leave.

All you need to do is just imagine yourself on your deathbed, about to die. What sort of things will you be thinking about? What will you be remembering? What regrets will you have? What would you like to have achieved in your life? What would you like to own, and where would you like to have travelled to? How many people are your friends? Who will love you? How will your family be? What sort of legacy will you be leaving the world?

An additional question to ask yourself at the end of this exercise is - "What sort of confidence legacy will you be leaving the world?"

Write your answers out so you don't forget them.

Now that you know how you'd like to leave the world when you die, and what sort of confidence legacy you'd like to leave, you can now ask how can you leave this legacy? What do you need to do to make it happen.

In order to work this out, all you need to do is just brainstorm in what ways you can leave a legacy of confidence.

Examples could be:-

1 - The example of you having lived a confident life. This is you leading by example.

2 - A book about confidence

3 - Online videos about confidence

4 - A confident family. They are confident because you've raised them to be confident.

5 - Your neighbourhood full of confident people.

6 - All your friends and acquaintances, and work colleagues (both past and present) being confident.

These become your confidence legacy goals, and knowing your goals means you can start to create your plan as to how you are going to achieve your goals.

You'll need to come back to your goals and plan regularly (I'd say daily) in order to (I) develop it so that it lasts you a life time, (ii) to pull out actions that you need to do today, and (iii) complete some actions today towards your confidence legacy goals.

If you decide to leave a confidence legacy once you die, you will receive a lot of benefits.

The benefits you'll receive include, you'll:

1 - Be more confident now,

2 - Maintain your higher level of confidence for longer,

3 - Enjoy your life more, and

4 - Achieve more

You will also get a tremendous sense that you are contributing to the future of the world. This will give you a dramatic boost of confidence.

Having such a longterm goal means that when confidence shaking things happen to you, you'll be more confident as they'll be put into perspective and will appear smaller to you.

We should all plan to leave a confidence legacy. Can you imagine what our world would be like if we did? If everyone made it one of their life goals to leave everyone in the world, and future generations more confident, what a positive future that would be.

So just before you finish, decide that you'll leave a confidence legacy, and leave the world a better place. Give people something positive to remember you by. Do the two exercises, and enjoy feeling your confidence increase as a result.

https://ezinearticles.com/?Change-The-World---Create-A-Confidence-Legacy-Today&id=9744231