gentledang's Blog

Archive December 2008

December 30, 2008

I'll Be Happy When...

Are you happy? What will it take for you to be truly happy? If you’re like many people you’re waiting for something to happen or someone to come into your life or something to change before you can be really happy and enjoy your life. Most people are constantly putting off really living their lives until things are just right, or until something happens.

Things like, if I could just be making more money, or if I could just lose weight, or if I could just get the job that I want, or the partner I want, or if my spouse would just be as I want him/her to be, then I’d be happy. The bad news is, you’ll be waiting a long, long time. Before you know it, life will have passed you by and you’ll be wondering what happened to your life. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Some of you may even be at that point now, wondering what happened to your life.

It’s a trap many people fall into and once in, they find it difficult to know how to get out. There’s no really easy answer to this of course, no one thing that you can do that will make everything perfect. But there are things that you can do to change things, to start being truly happy, and one of those things is gratitude.
Before you dismiss this as too simple, not transformative enough or just something you’ve heard before, stop for a moment and think about it. When you’re constantly waiting for something to happen before you can really live your life and be happy, what you’re saying is that you’re not happy now. What you have is not good enough, you want something different. Example: “I don’t like my body, but when I lose 50lbs then I’ll like it, and then I can start doing the things I want to do.” When we are constantly dissatisfied with what we have in life then the only thing that will happen is that we’ll attract more situations into our life to be unhappy or dissatisfied with.

It’s hard to think that something so deceptively simple as gratitude can have any impact at all, let alone profound change, but I assure you it can. Try it, what have you got to lose? Start now by thinking of what you can be grateful for. If you make a point of doing this every day, you’ll not only start to appreciate yourself and your life more, I guarantee you that you’ll start attracting more positive people and situations into your life.

I know that sometimes it’s difficult to think of something to be grateful for. Don’t worry if you’re finding it difficult, just start. It’s best if you can get a journal to write in, because then whenever you do struggle to think of something, writing in your journal can be a good reminder. This can be your gratitude journal. Is your life really so bad that you can’t think of anything? You hate your job – what about the fact that you have a job. You don’t have a job – what about the fact that you can walk, use your hands, have eyes to see, are able to work and look for work. You can be grateful that you got out of bed this morning. Grateful that you have a television to watch, hot water for your shower, food to eat. Start being grateful for the people in your life, your family, your friends, your co-workers, the person who delivers your mail or picks up the trash.
Try looking at every situation that you feel frustrated or angry about and see what you can find to be grateful for. You’re stuck in traffic – be grateful that you have a car, that you can listen to music or educational CD’s in your car. Your computer’s not working – be grateful that you have a computer and know how to use it. The electricity bill arrives and you don’t have enough money to pay it – be grateful to the electric company for providing you with the electricity, be grateful for the money you do have.

When you start to do this, to think in this way and to actively look for things to be grateful for, you really will find that you start to feel better. It’s so much better to think this way than to constantly be thinking about what you don’t have or what you don’t like. It changes your energy, it will help you feel calmer and less stressed, and then the wonderful thing is that you’ll start to find that things do change for the better. Not because you’re trying to make them happen out of dissatisfaction with the way things are, but because you’re focusing on the abundance that you already have, which allows more to flow to you and you’re in the perfect stat energetically to receive it.

Go ahead, try it See what a difference it can make to you. Just one more simple thing that can make a very big difference.

“Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more.”
- Brother David Steindl-Rast

Linda Binns shows you how to be more successful in all areas of your life by working with your environment. Sign up for her free 9-step E-course at http://www.HarmoniousLifeChoices.com.

Linda Binns is author of Feng Shui for Your Relationships: Changing Your Environment to Create Better Relationships. She has been a Feng Shui Practitioner, Author, Speaker and teacher for over 10 years. She has appeared internationally on television and radio and in local publications. Linda is also the founder of The Feng Shui Success Institute – which teaches in-depth Feng Shui training and practitioner certification.

Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_729353_24.html

happy, happiness, self, improvement

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6 Principles To Succeed At Anything!

December 29, 2008

6 Principles To Succeed At Anything!

Many of we women as children were told that 'life's a struggle'. So no surprise then that life, or even just knowing what we want, turns out to be hard or difficult. We believed what we were told, and made it real.

In fact, life and achieving can be a delicious adventure.

So, every time you hear that 'struggle' voice all you need to do is thank it for its advice, however wrong, and let it know that "right now I'm ....". Insert on the dotted line whatever you are in fact doing in the moment, like reading this article, writing a report, or baking chocolate cake. My favourite!

Instead of fighting your 'gremlins', this simple act of acknowledging them and focusing on the 'now' makes them subside in intensity and frequency with a delicious relief. They just don't know that life can be a ball whatever your circumstances.

Use these 6 Principles To Succeed At Anything and discover how...

#1 - Know What You Want! We're usually trained to talk about and focus on what we *don't* want. Crazy, huh? "I don't want to be poor.? So what do you imagine the brain programmes in? Only use what you don't want as a starting point, and then ask yourself, "What do I want instead?" Your brain will then programme in the correct message, the thing that you want, big time every time!

#2 - Be Aware & Alert! Use all of your senses to monitor what's happening so you can check out whether you're moving towards what you want or not. Want to pass your brain surgeon exams? How good are your knowledge and practical skills? How positively does your consultant behave with you? What's the quality of the feedback you're getting, and did your last patient survive? If not...

#3 - Be Flexible! If what you're doing isn't working then change it! Einstein said that to keep on doing the same old thing and to expect different results is insanity. Think about and experiment with different ways to achieve what you want. That hammer's not opening the tin? Well just find the right tin-opener then!

#4 - Establish Excellent Rapport! Get sensitive with what's going on with you to be able to do that 'Aware & Alert' thing. *And* build mutually rewarding relationships with other people who can support you in achieving what you want.

#5 - Keep Your Spine Straight! Check that out now. How do you feel when you straighten your spine? A whole different experience, eh?

#6 - Take Positive Action! If you don't get your butt into gear and do something positive to achieve what you want, and then the next thing, and the next thing... absolutely nothing will happen. So... go girl go!

Use these 6 Principles To Succeed At Anything on a regular basis and I guarantee you'll succeed at whatever you choose to do.

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With 30 years' expertise in personal & professional development, Sharon Eden MA is a Certified Coach, Registered & Accredited Psychotherapist & NLP trainer, and founder of Women of Courage. Take just 20 seconds to sign up for her Ezine rich with tips & techniques to boost your purpose, passion & power AND get her '5 Day Energiser Plan' absolutely free. Sign up now at http://www.womenofcourage.co.uk

Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_730375_24.html

succeed, success, self, improvement

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Why Its Important to Stop and Reflect

December 28, 2008

Why Its Important to Stop and Reflect

A poem many of us may know begins with the line "What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?" We are all in such a rush to get to our next destination we have no time to stop and reflect on where we have been and what we have done. There always the fear that if we stop the others who keep on going will overtake us and we will be left behind in life's race. But suppose we could do even better with less need to rush along?

Reflection is a huge part of the learning process. And the more knowledge you have, the more power you wield. This knowledge may provide you a way to stop rushing along with the others and find a simpler method of achieving success without the need to always keep running.

All our lives are lived in stages. We are infants who learn by observing how others behave. Then we go to school where a formal system of teaching us begins and continues for twelve years. Some of us go on to college for another few years before working. Our working lives too are a series of stages, with one promotion and change of work after another, until we retire. In each stage we do the best we can with the tools and knowledge at our disposal. But we could have more and be better equipped.

Hindsight has a very negative connotation. But if can also be used for good. Taking time to reflect on things that happened in the past using the hindsight of the knowledge and experience you have gained since then, will often show you ways in which you could have improved you performance in the past. So what good does that do you now? Well, suppose you look back to the first time you baked a cake. Whatever the results may have been, good or bad, looking back after a few years of cooking experience behind you will allow you to see ways that in which you could have produced a better cake that time. Now suppose you have done this exercise after your second baking attempt. The second attempt will be better than the first, because you have learned more. But if you had reflected in detail on the first attempt, you may have found still more areas for improvement than the obvious ones you picked up on. The third cake will not just be an improvement on the second but will be the result of all that you have learned from your pervious experiences. This will not only help you to do better, but will give you the confidence to think of ways to reduce the work involved and make things easier for yourself. In other words, a way out of the race to keep up.

You need not always reflect alone. Sitting with other to analyze the past means more minds focused on the issue which will result in a great understanding of what you need to do in the future. The more minds shining their light on a past situation, the more light the past will shed on the present. Reflection does not mean looking back and beating yourself up for the mistakes you made or the opportunities you let slip through your fingers. Those have all long since been lost in the mists of time and there's nothing you can do about them. But being able to look back and use the knowledge you have acquired since then to understand how you can improve today is the base of future success.

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Helena Ederveen is an expert in assisting you to understand why you have developed snoring, sleep apnoea, excessive tiredness and other related issues. Helena is a clinical Nutritionist, Master Practitioner NLP, Advanced Eriksonian Hypnosis Practitioner.Go to snoring remedies

Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_728258_24.html

reflection, self, improvement

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CONQUER YOUR FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

December 27, 2008

CONQUER YOUR FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

We all know that being in the public eye is not only a huge part of running a business but also a key aspect to being taken seriously as a professional in Network Marketing, Sales, Corporate Relations, etc. Unfortunately, the fear of public speaking can make or break our success in life.

Conquering the FEAR that most people experience when they speak in front of others is most easily understood in four steps that just happen to coincide with the actual letters in the word itself.

F – Fight/Flight
E – Excitement
A – Adrenaline Rush
R – Rehearse
F - Fight/Flight

A person’s initial response to an unfamiliar situation is either Fight or Fight. If you choose ﬂight, then you are basically saying, “I’m out of here”. You run from being pulled out of your comfort zone and refuse the idea of change. People that seek success and aren’t afraid of confronting their fears usually make the other choice...FIGHT! They recognize that they are outside of their comfort zone and are willing to face those fears head on. Yes, it is very scary but don’t let fear take control by running away from your dreams!

E – Excitement When you make the decision to walk in front of an audience and open your heart up to a bunch of strangers, you are excited and eager to forge forward on your journey. The realization of being personally responsible for the initiation of your own dream and acting on that dream is so exciting that it is overwhelming for the human body. So, what happens next?

A – Adrenaline Rush You made the choice to ﬁght your fear of public speaking, you’re excited about this choice and now your adrenaline begins to rush throughout your entire body. Your knees begin to knock, your hands shake, your skin becomes clammy and worst of all...YOU CAN’T BREATHE! An adrenaline rush will cause you to second guess your choice of ﬁght, but don’t give into those negative emotions. The last and most important step in conquering your fear of public speaking is to rehearse. You must do it over and over and over again until you are comfortable in your new environment, you deliver an outstanding presentation, and you embrace your audience like you’ve known them for years. Rehearsal is the step that will determine the quality of your public speaking.

Motivating champions worldwide!
John Di Lemme

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"177 Motivational Quotes to Live the Championship Life"

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Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_727864_24.html

public, speaking, fear, self, improvement

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Integrate Your Right and Left Brain Hemispheres

December 25, 2008

Integrate Your Right and Left Brain Hemispheres

As I continue with my study of right and left brain magnificence, I came upon the Daniel L. Pink interview on Oprah's soul series.

He wrote the book, "A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Rule The World."

Oprah was so excited by the book that she bought and gave away 4,500 copies to the graduating class of Stanford University, when she gave the commencement speech there.

When Pink was told about the give-a-way, he thought his friend was playing a practical joke on him!

Pink says that gone are the days when left brain work is not integrated with the capabilities of the artistic right brain. The strictly analytic professions such as MBA's, computer coders, lawyers and doctors are going to have to soften their worldview to include a strengthening of right brain talents such as artistry, empathy, story telling and big picture thinking.

In fact, medical students today are schooled in "narrative medicine." The thinking here is that an important part of diagnosing a disease is contained in the patients story, a right brain emphasis.

Patients can now go online or purchase software where they enter symptoms of a current illness, and the software will analyze the data. The result is a diagnosis or several diagnosis that the patient can discuss with her doctor, nurse practitioner, nurse mid-wife or physician's assistant.

This sort of computer task makes it imperative for the doctors et al of today to approach their patients holistically and not simply as a disease entity.

No one will ever be able to program a computer to exhibit listening skills, compassion and communion, all human attributes.

The sooner Doctors "get it" on this scale, the better.

Suffice to say, if the doctors of today insist on holding on to their left brain analytical approach to patient care, they will become dinosaurs very quickly.

The same is true of lawyers. Online divorce centers, for instance, charge $249.00 to complete a divorce proceeding.

What will this do to the lawyers who charge $180.00 an hour for services?

And there are sites online where generic legal documents can be bought at $14.95 a piece, People then take these documents to their lawyer for customization.

The lawyers who will survive in this environment are those that take on the more complex problems not solved by software and database programs such as counseling, mediation, and courtroom storytelling, all right (brain)-directed thinking.

In fact, for any career to survive in this Conceptual Age, as Daniel L. Pink calls it, people will have to enlarge, use and master their right brain capabilities.

Pink says that we must integrate six particular abilities which he calls the six senses: symphony, design, meaning, empathy, story telling and play.

Only by connecting to a cause larger than oneself, can true satisfaction be realized.

How do we use the six senses to strengthen right brain muscles?

Symphony 1) Listen to the great symphonies in order to see all the smallest notes form the whole.

2) Learn how to draw: this will develop your ability to see the relationship between one stroke and the next to appreciate the whole creation.

3) Keep a log of metaphors. An example that Pink uses and wrote down: "Pollsters have colonized the minds of our leaders."

Or a friend of his said: "I don't feel rooted."

4) Follow links on Google to discover a unique version of six degrees of separation. (Meaning we are only six people removed from every single person on the planet).

From the initial link you visit, select one of its links, and continue repeating the process seven or eight times, always clicking a new link from the current site.

What patterns or themes do you pick up?

What AHA connections between seemingly unrelated themes catches you unaware?

Design 1) Carry a notebook with you and note the designs in the world that make you feel good. Also note those that make you feel discordant.

2) Read design magazines.

Meaning 1) Practice gratitude to enhance feelings of well being which will deepen your awareness of life's meaning.

2) Ask yourself, if you inherited $20 million dollars, would you still do what you are doing now? If not, why not?

3) Take a news, reading, email, computer and cell phone fast, one day a week.

Empathy 1) Practice eavesdropping to develop greater powers of empathy. Listen carefully to what is being said. Then imagine yourself as one of the people in the scene. What are you (that is him or her) thinking or feeling in that moment? What are your emotions?

Writers are notorious eavesdroppers. Consider that F. Scott Fitzgerald kept a notebook in which he wrote "overheard conversations."

Story telling 1) Go to a story telling festival. At these 2-3 day gatherings, hundreds of people from all walks of life take the stage to tell a saga.

I've never been to one but they sound fascinating.

2) Opening lines--Ask everyone at your next party to write an opening line on an index card and toss them all in a hat. Then taking turns, have everyone take a card and right away tell a story that begins with what is written on the card.

Play 1) Visit a laughter club, which the author explains to Oprah. The people start out by saying, "Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha," and there's no way that hearty laughter does not erupt from this.

2) Take cartoons and cover up the captions, and ask your friends to come up with their own jokes.

3) Dissect a joke. What made you laugh (if you did laugh!)? Sometimes I'll laugh as soon as a person starts to tell a joke. Why do I do this? She didn't even get to the punch line and I laugh!!

The idea is to practice all six right brain senses, allowing the left brain to integrate, as it will.

Strive for the balance of both right and left brain to work magic in your life.

Allow the great Cosmic Dance to choreograph your Existence.

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Kate Loving Shenk is a writer, healer, musician and the creator of the e-book called "Transform Your Nursing Career and Discover Your Calling and Destiny." Click here to order the e-book:
http://www.nursingcareertransformation.com
Check Out Kate's Blog:
http://www.nursehealers.typepad.com
http://www.katelovingshenk.com/blog
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