Life Lessons From the Wild Boars

Not long ago, the world waited with bated breath while watching the rescue of 12 boys, members of the Wild Boars soccer team, and their coach, who were caught in a flooded subterranean cave deep under the mountains of Chang Rai, Thailand. We witnessed the extraordinary worldwide commitment to their safe return to their families as rescue workers from different nationalities, ethnicities and cultural backgrounds dedicated their time, effort and means, once even at the expense of their own lives to the task at hand. Nothing mattered other than saving these children.

We see this kind of selfless devotion to the lives of others over and over again, during many times of crises, all over the globe. And once the crisis has past, we sigh with relief and turn our attention back to our ordinary lives.

But here's the thing. If we so choose, we can infuse our ordinary lives with some of the heroism and dedication that absorbed our minds and hearts over the Thailand boys and their rescuers. We all face stressful challenges in our day-to-day lives (not as stressful as what those children and their parents went through, but stressful nonetheless). Instead of giving up, we can step up, and be the very best of ourselves in situations that cause us unhappiness, anger, grief or despair.

How?

1. Adopt a more compassionate response toward others and ourselves.

None of the rescuers spent time or energy on the fact that they were in no way related to the Thai boys, that there would be no profit in it for them, that they had no obligation to help. The rescuers, regardless of background or belief, simply worked together toward a common goal.

You're having problems at work? Or with your family? With your health? Appreciate a basic truth: everyone is simply doing the best they can with what they've got from where they are. Including you. Once you accept that, you can then forgive yourself and others for whatever pickle you/they are in, and seek to understand the situation. Understanding what's going on from everyone's point of view is what lets you effectively deal with the situation.

2. Skip right past blame and finger pointing.

The rescue workers in Thailand didn't waste time debating whose fault the crisis was, or insist that so-and-so be blamed and raked over the coals. They just pitched in and did what needed to be done. In other words, they got on with the solution.

Nothing good comes out of blame or finger pointing. It's a giant waste of your creativity and mental capacity. Ditch it. Whatever your specific situation, aim yourself firmly in the direction of problem-solving and have at it. Just like the rescue workers, you'll be much more likely to succeed.

We are all capable of far more than we think we are. It takes focus, a willingness to leave our egos aside, and engage our mighty selves (yes, you are mighty!) in doing what is necessary to resolve whatever the issue may be. It really doesn't matter whether your personal crisis is small (your baby is crying - again!) or large (a dreaded diagnosis), a compassionate response, dumping blame and finger pointing and concentrating on finding a solution will serve you exceedingly well.

https://ezinearticles.com/?Life-Lessons-From-the-Wild-Boars&id=10003226

17 Ways to Boost Your Creativity

Whether you're solving a problem, writing a blog post, crafting a review or creating your next product, creativity is one of your best tools for getting the job done with finesse and style. With that in mind, here are 17 methods anyone can use to become more creative:

1. Free write - this is where you just start writing anything and continue to write as the words and ideas flow. At first it may be silly nonsense, but you'll be surprised how fast your words and ideas can coalesce into something truly inspired.

2. Carry a notebook - by jotting down ideas as soon as they appear, two things happen. First, you don't forget your ideas because you've got a written record. Second, the act of writing them down tells your subconscious that you want ideas, which will encourage it to give you even more.

3. Make lists - the very act of writing things down frees up your mind to be more creative.

4. Take mini-breaks - get up, walk around, play 5 minutes of hopscotch - whatever. Just take a breather.

5. Get up and go - leave your computer at home, take your notebook and get away from the office. Go anywhere - a park, the mall, a coffee shop, a museum - just get out, get away and soak up some different surroundings.

6. Get near water, especially if it's moving - studies show that being near moving water floods you with negative ions, which makes you feel good and can boost your creativity. Remember how you get some of your best ideas in the shower? That's why.

7. Talk nice to yourself - positive self talk on how creative you are will produce more ideas. Beating yourself up for being a dummy won't.

8. Do drugs - caffeine, that is. If you don't normally drink caffeine, one cup of coffee or tea can have remarkable effects on your thinking. If you do use caffeine daily, the effect won't be nearly as pronounced.

9. Clean off your desk - nothing stifles creativity like a messy, cluttered desk.

10. Read something different - an article on a topic you know nothing about, a page out of the dictionary, a chapter out of a random book, etc. You never know what it will trigger for you.

11. Practice using your non-dominant hand - writing or bouncing a ball with the "wrong" hand can help activate the connection between the two sides of your brain.

12. Be open to new ideas - all too often we dismiss an idea before giving it a real chance. Even if you think it's a bad idea, try playing devil's advocate and find all the reasons why it's a good idea - you might be surprised.

13. Collaborate and mastermind - two heads are better than one, and 5 are better than 2. Form a mastermind group, present a problem, and then let the ideas flow. The only rule: No one shoots down an idea.

14. Sleep on it - give your subconscious your problem or need: "I need 3 new blog post ideas by tomorrow morning." Then let it go and see what your subconscious finds for you.

15. Make friends with mistakes - when you goof up or make the wrong decision, realize it's not the end of the world, it's simply something that didn't work for your current intended purpose. This allows your creativity to continue to flow. Post-it Notes were, after all, the result of a botched attempt at creating a super strength adhesive that would never come unstuck.

16. Purposely break rules - not the big ones like "do not steal," but the little ones like "this is what a blog post / new product / video should look like."

17. Be you - don't worry about what others might think, because no great idea is without naysayers anyway. In fact, if everyone thinks your idea is great, then it's probably not.

One last tip: Ask "Why?" and "Why not?" a lot. Often times we just accept things as they are, when there could be a whopper of an idea just staring us in the face the whole time.

https://ezinearticles.com/?17-Ways-to-Boost-Your-Creativity&id=8586504

Conduct Your Relationship With Love and Care

Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Matthew 22:37(a). Jesus said, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." John 15:12.

When we respond to our significant other with anger or sarcasm, or short and choppy replies out of frustration, we are sending harsh and fighting signals to them. It is unusual for a couple to never have conflicts, misunderstandings or disagreements. However, our response - that is attitude as well as words - is the very spark that either inflames the situation or triggers the calm toward resolution. Fellas, how do we respond?

Here is a better way to solving a problem in your relationship. First, take a deep intentional breath. Next, what do you understand the problem to be that has your stress level rising? Then, before speaking convince yourself that your girlfriend/wife did not intend to irritate or touch your rawness. Now, you may respond with calm and a loving attitude in order to prevent the anger from getting higher and more dangerous. With a loving approach you may enjoy the result of having stopped what could have been a serious argument from happening at all.

When you honestly want to have a successful marriage or relationship and keep your love life fresh and ongoing, you want to understand your partner from a different perspective. The below list contains the core issues or main issues that couples face in an ongoing relationship. This list is not all of the issues you have or may face, but it is the list of those which couples have reported that are most common.

Communication

The most frequent cause of broken relationships is a failure to openly and honestly communicate. Silence, when a few calm words would be appropriate, can destroy a relationship. Do not dread communication with your loved one. Just sprinkling a little bit of love on them is a good thing and, shows no fear.

Their day was a hard day's work or maybe just a bad day. You can take the pain away by using calm and loving communication. In this way, you change from being the selfish taker to being the care giver which your loved one needs and deserves from you.

Sometimes the communication gap has been there for so long it can be difficult to break the ice. If you are in a this situation, then consider one or more of the following suggestions:

First of all, do you have regularly scheduled dates? If not, this may be the beginning of reviving the romance for both of you. Turn the TV off and sit down with your loved one and ask "what day this week would you like to go out?" Set a specific date to go out with your loved one. The next question to ask is what would they like to do best? Movie, dinner, or dancing or getting a baby sitter and just sit at home talking or playing your favorite game. Whatever is decided, you take the initiative and immediately arrange all the details. Do not ask your loved one to make the arrangements [if they offer to do so, then consider that as different]. Remember, spending time at home and having a really loving time of healthy talk is a great way to reconnect. But if you do not set a specific time and date, your special evening may never happen.

If you live together, take special precautions to limit your TV watching time. Generally, if you're focused on watching a TV show, you are not bonding with your partner. [NOTE: this is also true with your children.]

Stop the interruptions. When you are spending time with your loved one, turn your phones off so that nothing interrupts your time together. No one that important is going to call or text.

If you have children, then be sure to make arrangements for them. Either wait until after they are put to bed to begin the evening together or schedule a sitter or take them to a friend's or relative's house to watch them.

Each of us must learn and remember that raised voices and words spoken in anger have a lasting effect on children who witness the unpleasantness. Children have love and affection for both parents. So long as one parent is not abusing the children by forcing them to choose one parent over the other, they will only be very confused, embarrassed, and stressed when parents yell and speak angrily to one another. Use reasoned good sense. If you have a difficult matter or one that is more likely to degenerate into a loud argument, plan accordingly. Would a public place be more appropriate?

Always be intentional in keeping quiet until your partner has finished talking. DO NOT INTERRUPT THEM. If both of you are frequently guilty of interrupting each other, then it is time for both of you to establish some rules to follow so that things change.

When you are fidgeting (one foot then the other or twirling your fingers) while your partner is talking, you are communicating your disinterest in what they are saying. DO NOT FIDGET. Be attentive and look into your partner's eyes while they talk. Your body language tells your partner whether or not you are truly interested in what they are saying.

Tips to solve problems

Be truthful, always. No exception. Be honest about everything that is going on with you. Relationships are formed on impressions and expectations or assumptions. However, they only last as the two people become truthful with each other which results in trusting one another. When your loved one's trust in you is broken, it is nearly impossible to re-establish that lost trust. When this occurs, the relationship is more likely to permanently fall apart.

Money and financial issues are the most common cause of conflict in your relationship. No one is automatically trained and disciplined in keeping financial matters from becoming serious indebtedness. You must be willing to learn the art of record keeping and budgeting. No one can live on hopeful expectations. Whether you share bills and expenditures with each other or only one has the lions share of income and responsibility, it is vital that both of you know and understand the financial details. When something happens that causes a shortage of money to become a problem, both must be prepared and willing to solve. It doesn't have to be a bad thing to share your money with your partner.

Understand that being in a relationship means being there for one another. Real love is being there in good times or bad. When issues arise between you - and they will - know that "what you choose to do in face of the difficult issue" is more important than the issue. Love will take away all pain when each of you show love in good times or bad. When you show love wherever possible, your relationship will bloom like a beautiful, healthy flower.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Conduct-Your-Relationship-With-Love-and-Care&id=9388646

Self-Development: Is Being Curious An Important Part Of Being Able To Heal?

If one had a TV that stopped working, there is a strong chance that they would want to know why. This comes down to the fact that if they were to simply ignore it, they wouldn't be able to watch anything.

Being curious about what is taking place is then going to have a positive effect on their life, and this is not something that will cause them to experience pain. If it did, it could be because they will have to end up paying money in order for it to be fixed, and this will cause them to experience discomfort.

Not As Bad

However, even if one did have to pay to get the TV fixed, it is unlikely to be as painful as it would be if they had to go without one. As a result of this, they are going to be willing to tolerate the pain that they would have to go through.

This is an approach that one will take in many other areas of their life, and it will stop them from having to suffer unnecessarily. If one was unable to respond in this way when something isn't right, it would cause them a lot of problems.

Pleasure and Pain

One way of looking at this would be to say that through having the ability to experience pain, it gives one the ability to take action. Therefore, through paying attention to this pain, it will then allow one to experience pleasure.

But even though that is the case, it could be said that it is the need to know what is wrong that will get the ball moving, so to speak. Without having this need, there would be no reason for one to do anything.

Not Separate

Still, if one didn't experience some kind of discomfort, there is the chance they wouldn't have the need to be curious. Thus, it might be better to say that these two things are not separate, and they rely on each other in order to function.

But with that aside, what this emphasises is how important it is for one to be curious when it comes to solving a problem. When this doesn't exist, it can mean that one will end up putting up with something that will cause them to suffer in one way or another.

Pain

What this will then mean is that the pain they are experiencing will be overlooked and one will try to carry on with their life. But while this might work in the short-term, it is unlikely to work in the long-term.

This is an approach that one can take when they have mental and emotional problems and/or when their relationships are not going as they would like them to go. One is then not facing their life head on; they are doing what they can to avoid it.

The Traditional Route

Now, this is not to say that one won't go and see their doctor about what is going on for them, as they could end up being put on some kind of medication. Yet even if one was to do this, it doesn't mean that it would allow them to heal themselves or to improve their relationships.

What this could result in is one being disconnected from how they feel, and this is not exactly going to make their life more fulfilling. Along with this, the side effects could end up causing them even more problems as time goes on.

Resistance

And while being curious about why their life is the way it is would give them the chance to move forward, it will also cause them to experience pain. It is then similar to one wanting to go into a dark room to find out what is in there, but the fear of what they may find stops them from having a look.

This powerful ability is then going to be out of action and one will continue to experience life in the same way. It is then not going to be someone else who is holding them back; they are going to be the ones who are sabotaging their life.

Problems

It can then be normal for them to put up with feeling depressed, down, fearful and/or anxious, for instance. Their relationships could be unfulfilling, or they could be abusive in some way.

The people around them could tell them to stay strong and be supportive of what they are going through, but this is not going to change their life. Alternatively, one could be surrounded by people who act as though they have it all together and they could try to rescue them.

Being Curious

If one was to get to the point where they have had enough of suffering, it could cause them to look for answers. They are then aware that this will cause them to experience even more pain, but this won't stop them.

Perhaps they realise that even though this pain might be stronger, it is unlikely to be something that will last forever. This is because the mental and emotional problems that one can have as an adult can be symptoms of something that took place in the past, as can their relational challenges.

A Process

If one was to look for answers, they could end up doing an internet search and/or reading a book, for instance. The first step has then been taken, and they could soon find what they are looking for.

This is not to say that this will be it, as they could soon have the desire to find out about something else. One could also look for something and find that they can't find the answer straight away, but this is part of life.

Awareness

At the end of the day, one's personal growth is important, and even if one can't find something or what they do doesn't work, it doesn't mean they should give up. The main thing is that one keeps going, and through being this way, there is the chance they will gradually find what they are looking for and heal themselves in the process.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Self-Development:-Is-Being-Curious-An-Important-Part-Of-Being-Able-To-Heal?&id=9441000