Self Improvement
Tips Blog

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Do you want to make positive changes in your life?

We offer useful hints and self improvement tips about the many aspects of personal development, motivation and success to help you to help yourself to a better life!

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May 27, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: There's Always A Benefit

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: There's Always A Benefit

Some of the worst things that can happen to any of us often turn out to be blessings in disguise. Sure, sometimes they can be extremely well disguised, at least at the time. However, in hindsight and over time, they often prove to be just what we really needed. I know this has often been the case in my life.

Sometimes we can be so preoccupied in feeling sorry for ourselves and staring at the door that has just closed, that we become blinkered and don't even notice the door (or doors) that just opened for us.

We all know the old saying that every cloud has a silver lining. In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill refers to this as 'the seed of equivalent benefit' that can be found it every setback we experience – if we look for it. Hill firmly believed this is one of the most important character traits of all successful people.

No doubt this can be sometimes easier said than done, but as with most things in life, our attitude is critical. You'll certainly be able to do this easier if you have an overall positive outlook to life.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Quote of the Day: 'Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.' – Author Unknown

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May 24, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Good News Or Bad News?

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Good News Or Bad News?

You may well have heard the old story about a peasant farmer who's only real possessions were a small plot of land and his old horse that worked the land. One day the horse disappeared and all the neighbours said how unlucky the man was. The man simply said 'we will see'. Not long after, the horse returned and brought a strong, beautiful, wild horse with it and all the neighbours told the man how fortunate he was. The man patiently replied, 'We will see.' One day the horse threw the man's son who broke his leg, and all the neighbours told the man how cursed he was to have ever found the horse. Again the man answered, 'We will see.' Soon after the son broke his leg, soldiers came to the village and took away all the able-bodied young men, but the son was spared. When the man's friends told him how lucky he was that his son had broken his leg, the man would only say, 'We will see.'

The story could go on forever.

The farmer may seem far too laid-back, blasé and removed from the pressures of modern life to be much of an example for us today. Surely he was just a simple man lacking the education and sophistication we have today.

But is that really the case?

I think the main message of the story is that we never know what's around the corner. We'll be much happier and less stressed if we accept things we can't control. Whatever happens to us, good or bad, we aren't aware of the bigger picture and what may happen next.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'Happiness can exist only in acceptance.' - Author Unknown

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May 21, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: It Takes Discipline But This Can Save You Hours!

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: It Takes Discipline But This Can Save You Hours!

This is actually one of the secrets of effective time management. If you can discipline yourself to group your tasks and try to do as many of the same types of tasks together rather than just reacting to things as they arrive, you will save a great deal of time and get a lot more done each day.

This is a more proactive approach to managing your work and your day. You'll not only get more done, but you'll feel more in control and less at the beck and call of everyone else.

It should be possible to do this for the types of tasks most of us have to deal with, like making phone calls, responding to emails or letters, as well as other types of tasks specific to your line of work.

When dedicating chunks of time to similar tasks, apart from reducing distractions, something else happens too. You'll find you get into a flow, or a rhythm and you'll accomplish much more and much faster than you usually do. The difference can be so dramatic that it can almost seem like magic.

It will never be possible to eliminate interruptions and distractions totally, but with effort and discipline you should be able to reduce them. This will certainly help you manage yourself and your time better you'll be much more effective and productive. You'll also suffer much less stress as you'll be more in control of your time and life and feel less like a slave to technology and other people.

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'The effectiveness of work increases according to geometric progression if there are no interruptions.' - Andre Marois

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May 19, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Group Your Tasks Into Chunks

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Group Your Tasks Into Chunks

If you work in an office you'll also most likely have co-workers and a boss who will also interrupt you. It may not be possible to do much about those types of interruptions, but it is worth thinking about how we handle emails.

It can be difficult to avoid interruptions from emails and the temptation is always to open our email program to check for new emails many times a day, or to leave your program open all the time and click on a new email when we hear it arrive, no matter how involved we may be in something else. This can cause us to completely lose track of what we were doing, sometimes for hours, as we'll often find ourselves responding and being taken in a completely different direction.

The self employed often suffer even more than employees by being contactable any time of the day or night. This is ironic given that most people go into business on their own because they want more freedom.

How much time do you think you could save if you allocated two or three set times per day to read and respond to emails and kept you email programme closed at all other times? Obviously not everyone will be able to do this and it will depend on your line of work and your boss. Email is an instant medium, but if you were sick or taking a day or two off work, emails may not be responded to for days. How often would a two or three hour delay in responding really matter?

Could you do the same with the phone? Could you have people leave messages and you respond when it suited your schedule rather than theirs? Again, not everyone could get away with this, but can you imagine how much more effective your time management would be if you could?

To be continued….

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'One of the points about distractions is that everything that they do is destabilizing.' - Bruce Sterling

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May 16, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Does Technology Help?

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Does Technology Help?

Obviously what you can listen to without it becoming intrusive depends entirely on the level of concentration required. I find writing, coming up with new ideas and technical/IT tasks usually requires the most concentration, whereas it would be no problem listening to the radio whilst doing other tasks requiring less active thought.

This is only one example of how distractions can reduce our productivity. Whether you work from home or from an office, you are highly likely to have your work interrupted by emails and phone calls. And with mobile phones and all the other portable devices available, we can now be contacted pretty well any time and any place.

Technology is designed to make thing happen quicker, improve communication and make us more efficient, but is this really always the case? Does it always help us, or can we effectively become slaves to technology rather than technology serving us?

Most of us are now so dependent on the instant communication of email and used to responding immediately, that it can take up a lot of the working day. But is it always necessary to respond immediately?

To be continued….

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'Work is hard. Distractions are plentiful. And time is short.' – Adam Hochschild

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May 13, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Dealing With Distractions

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Dealing With Distractions

Most of us would like to be more productive and be able to get more done. Two of the single problems we all face daily that inhibit our productivity and time management are interruptions and distractions. Or, more accurately, how well we deal with interruptions and distractions.

Distractions can come in many, many forms and we can even easily distract ourselves. I mostly work from home which means I can spend all day working with the radio or music on if want to. However, despite being a great music lover and owning a large amount of music, I often have no music on because sometimes I find it distracting. I almost never turn the radio on as I can easily find myself listening to the talking, news and ads rather than working. The same goes for my favourite CDs. Instead, I often listen to instrumental music or classical music in the background as there are no lyrics to distract me.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'Other people's interruptions of your work are relatively insignificant compared with the countless times you interrupt yourself '– Brendan Francis

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May 8, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Do You Get More Done By Multi Tasking?

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Do You Get More Done By Multi Tasking?

Working on a single task without interruption or distraction until it is finished will certainly allow you to complete the task much more quickly and efficiently. If you're working on a big project, this won't always be possible, and working on the same thing for hours on end without a break can be counterproductive. In these cases, breaking things down into manageable chunks and working on each section until completed, then taking a break, or going on to something different, can help to keep you more mentally alert and efficient.

Effective time management is one of the most important of all skills if you are serious about success and achievement. If you try to juggle multiple tasks at the same time it's unlikely you will do any of them effectively or quickly. You will be much more effective and productive by developing your ability to focus on the task at hand and your powers of concentration.

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'To do two things at once is to do neither.' - Publilius Syrus

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May 4, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Women Are Better At It Than Men

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Women Are Better At It Than Men

Female readers may scoff, as it's generally accepted that women are much better at multi-tasking than men. I'm sure this is true, largely due to skills and instincts learned and adapted over many thousands of years, right back to when our homes were caves. Women had to be able to raise children, cook, make clothing, grow crops, and much more. Maybe they didn't do them all at the same time, but whatever they were doing they also had to have one eye on their children and family to make sure they weren't in any danger, and that no intruders or wild beasts were nearby. In those days this was literally a matter of life and death. The main thing men had to do was go out and hunt dinosaurs and find food for the family without being eaten alive in the process.

But if you are working on more than one task at the same time, are you really giving either of them your full attention and using your time most effectively? It has been estimated that any task may take up to 10 times longer to complete if you keep leaving and coming back to it. This is because you are rarely able to immediately pick up exactly where you left off. You'll usually have to spend time familiarising yourself with the material again, which will mean rereading and possibly even redoing work you've already done.

Isn't that similar to what we do when we try to do more than one thing at a time? Most of us will find that throughout the course of a working day we have a constant flow of interruptions from phones, email, co workers, etc to contend with. We are already being distracted from our work and having our productivity reduced. Won't trying to do too many things at once make it even worse?

To be continued….

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.' - Anonymous You can claim a FREE copy of Napoleon Hill’s classic THINK AND GROW RICH here and click here to Discover the Best Success and Self Improvement Resources on the internet!

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May 1, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Multi-Tasking In Practice

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Multi-Tasking In Practice

Let's look at some simple examples of multi-tasking:

Can you effectively read and watch TV at the same time and really concentrate on both? Perhaps, if what you are reading and watching is quite lightweight, but what if it's complex? I'm sure many of us were convinced as kids, and maybe even managed to convince our parents, that we could do our homework or study with the radio or TV on. But could we really?

What about eating an apple whilst driving your car and concentrating on a conversation on the radio? I think this can be quite easily done, but if you think about it, eating an apple requires no concentration, and driving is second nature requiring only limited concentration. I think it would be a different story if you were trying to navigate your way through heavy traffic in an unfamiliar area, or driving through torrential rain or snow.

What about driving and using a mobile phone? I think the same applies as above, and using hand held mobile phones is now illegal in many countries as it is accepted that it can cause accidents. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has taken a wrong turn or got lost due to being too involved in a conversation, even on a hands free phone.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'Often he who does too much does too little.' – Italian Proverb

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Apr 28, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Multi-Tasking And Effective Time Management

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Multi-Tasking And Effective Time Management

Nothing is more precious than time, and the pace of modern life is faster than at any time in history, and it's only going to get faster. There are always more and more demands on our time and more things we are expected to deal with. Not only that, but we are also expected to be able to deal with many of these things at the same time.

Multi-tasking seems to be the norm and is expected of all of us. But is multi tasking actually the most effective way to manage your time? Can you really concentrate on, and give your full attention to more than one task at a time? Do you ultimately get more done, and done properly, if you do more than one thing at a time?

To be continued….

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'I learned that we can do anything, but we can’t do everything.. at least not at the same time. So think of your priorities not in terms of what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything.' – Dan Millman

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Apr 26, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Modelling and Adapting

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Modelling and Adapting

Modelling success doesn't just mean direct copying and bringing nothing to the party yourself. You should be emulating rather than copying – taking the best bits and adapting and improving, adding your ideas, your creativity and information learned through your research, to suit you particular circumstances and goals.

The Japanese were emulating success when they sold their improved products back to the rest of the world. Ray Kroc was emulating success when, years after buying the rights to reproduce the McDonalds brothers' business model, he opened up next door to them and forced them out of business.

You can achieve whatever you want to achieve in your life if you are committed and determined, and prepared to work hard and learn what you need to know. You will make mistakes, but you don't have to learn everything through trial and error. You can learn from the experts and the people who've already been there, made all the mistakes and learnt the hard way. Utilising and adapting this information into your plans can dramatically accelerate your progress.

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'What you get by reaching your destination is not nearly as important as what you will become by reaching your destination.' - Zig Ziglar

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Apr 16, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Do What The Superstars Do

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Do What The Superstars Do

The entertainment world is full of examples of artists modelling themselves on other successful entertainers, some more blatantly than other Even great and seemingly original artists like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan had influences and people they copied and learnt from.

Modelling success works on all scales. If you want to start a small business, it really doesn't make sense to try to come up with completely new systems or ways of operating. There will certainly be business models and working practices already in place at other organisation that you can follow.

On a more personal level, if you are trying to develop certain character traits or skills, one of the very best ways to do this is to spend time with someone who already has those traits or skills and observe, or even ask them for advice.

If you want to learn why some people are highly successful, and get a better understanding of the thought processes of successful people, why not try approaching someone you respect and admire? Many successful people are only too happy to help other people and offer advice.

If you can't think of anyone you could approach directly, you can still gain an enormous amount of valuable information by research and observation, and reading books by and about successful people.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'Life is a unique combination of 'want to' and 'how to' and we need to give equal attention to both.' - Jim Rohn

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Apr 12, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Modelling On A Grand Scale

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Modelling On A Grand Scale

An extreme example of modelling success was seen in Japan after World War II. Japan was as ruined, in every sense of the word, as any country had ever been. Yet within a couple of decades, it was amongst the most powerful economic forces on earth. How did that happen?

It was partly due to the support of America and other nations in helping to rebuild the devastated infrastructure. But the Japanese also were committed to rebuilding and worked very, very hard. They also worked smart.

One of the main reasons for their huge success was that they looked at existing products from other countries, copied the best bits, improved on them, (including manufacturing techniques) and sold better products back to rest of the world at cheaper prices.

Japan may not be as powerful economically now as they once were, but they are still one of the most powerful countries in the world. What's more, their methods have been modelled by other countries, particularly by other Asian countries that have also become much more prosperous in their wake.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'The most successful people in life are generally those who have the best information.' - Benjamin Disraeli

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Apr 9, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Modelling And Emulating Your Way To Success

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Modelling And Emulating Your Way To Success

One of the greatest shortcuts that anyone can take to achieving success is to follow the examples of successful people. One thing that you can safely count on is that whatever goals and ambitions you may have, there will be someone who has been successful in doing the same or similar. Not only will there be someone who already successfully done something similar, but more than likely, someone will have written about it.

Libraries and bookshops are full of books on virtually any subject you want to learn about, not to mention the internet, where you can access pretty well unlimited information from the comfort of your home. Therefore, it's highly likely that you will be able to find information that can help you to achieve your goals, whether your goal is to bake the perfect apple pie or study to be an astronaut.

There are many different ways that success can be modelled.

Say, for example, you work for a big organisation with quite a rigid structure and you want to climb the corporate ladder. It may well help to try dressing better, more like the people a step or two higher than you, and model what they did to be promoted. If possible, befriend them and study their behaviour and actions. Look at your behaviour and honestly ask yourself if it's holding you back. Adopting some of the traits of people that have been promoted may well help to get you noticed.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

'If you want to be successful, find someone who achieved the results you want and copy what they do, and you'll achieve the same results.' - Anthony Robbin

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Apr 7, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: We Need to Be Able To Adapt To Change

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: We Need to Be Able To Adapt To Change.

The easiest way to cope with external changes over which you have no control is to actually accept that you can do nothing about the change. Then you can look at into how what the change means to you, how to make the best of it and what opportunities or advantages the new situation offer. Then you can take action in line with the changes and this will allow you to be flexible in your approach and help you to adapt and cope with any new obstacles.

Change is now happening at a much greater pace than at any time in history and it’s only going to get faster and faster. Considering employment alone, with very few exceptions, a job for life is a thing of the past. Changing jobs quite often is now the norm, and most people will even change careers several times during their working life.

Adapting to change effectively is now really an essential skill that we all need to work at in order to lead happier and more stress free lives.

Problems adapting to change are often caused not by the change itself, but by the way we view the change. If we can adjust our viewpoint, the way we think about and see the change, it can have incredible results. We can become positive rather than negative and see the change as an exciting new adventure. It can make us look for and find new opportunities, and let us look positively to the future rather than wasting time and energy looking back to what is now past.

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“When you are through changing, you are through.” ~Bruce Barton

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Apr 5, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Reactions To Change

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Reactions To Change

A common first reaction to enforced change is shock and denial that change is happening. We may just continue to think about the things as they were and deny any change is taking place. We may then react irrationally and experience uncertainty, fear about the future, frustration, self doubt, anger, sadness, even depression. In time we often become more rational and start to think about the new situation and look for opportunities and possibilities. It can take time, but usually we then accept the change and decide to make the most of the new situation.

The way we instinctively deal with change broadly falls into approaching change either positively or negatively.

Some people stubbornly resist change over which they have no control, refuse to accept the changes, or may even deny that change is taking place. They can be so deeply entrenched they refuse to let go of the old and accept the new. This further reduces adaptability and makes you more fragile and volatile. This inevitably increases stress and in some case can lead to illnesses, or in extreme cases, even to partial or serious mental or physical breakdown.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” ~Author unknown, commonly misattributed to Charles Darwin

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Mar 31, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Types of Change – By Choice or Forced?

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Types of Change – By Choice or Forced?

It can be difficult enough adapting to changes that you make by choice. Last year, after happily living in central London for many years, I moved to rural Ireland and married my long term girlfriend. These were lifestyle changes I made through choice and they still required adjustment and adaptation.

What people definitely don’t like and can have a lot of difficulty adapting to, are changes being forced on them that they have no control over. The generalisation that people hate change really relates to this type of change.

Some people respond to change they cannot control better than others. No two people respond the same to change, and some people will respond better to some types of change than they will to others.

There are various reactions most people have to change. Although this varies from person to person and depends on the circumstances, there are some common reactions to change.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” ~Victor Frankl

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Mar 27, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Dealing With Change

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Dealing With Change

Change is inevitable, if fact it’s the only thing that we can really be sure of in life. It often said that people hate change and will resist it as much as possible. But do people really hate and resist change?

I certainly don’t think this is always the case. People are always changing aspects of their lives voluntarily. They change their jobs, they change their partners, they redecorate their houses and change the furniture, they travel to other places, they change their hairstyles, their clothes, in fact, they change almost every aspect of their lives on a regular basis.

Change may result from a choice that we make for ourselves or it may be imposed upon us. Changes that we choose include most of the above examples, and things like getting married, moving house, moving to a new job, etc. Changes that are typically beyond our control include redundancy, illnesses, bereavement, changes to your job, office relocation etc.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” ~W. Edwards Deming

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Mar 25, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Other Uses For Mind Maps

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Other Uses For Mind Maps

Mind Maps are also excellent for taking notes of lectures or meetings, and for solving problems, which is really what my example above is. Because the information is laid out in a way more in line with how our brains work, Mind Maps also encourage creativity, stimulate our brains to help solve problems, and help us to remember information.

Learning how to more effectively solve problems and how to achieve more in less time are two skills that really go hand in hand. There are few things worse than feeling overwhelmed to the point of immobilisation, so it’s great to know there are simple and easily learned techniques that can really make such a difference.

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year - and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!” - Anthony Robbins

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Mar 22, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Working with Mind Maps

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Working with Mind Maps

Once your Mind Map is completed, you can work from this page, or put the items into one or more prioritised lists, or an action plan you can then work from. It’s also likely you will find (as I did) that, once committed to paper and broken down, your problem will not seem as overwhelming as you thought it was.

There’s another variation on this method, instead of putting the various items in interconnected circles, you can write the items on the lines branching out from the main subject in the centre of the page, and then on more lines branching out again into sub topics and related topics.

In this case you end up with a diagram that looks like many branches of a tree going in different direction from the centre. It’s also remarkably like a drawing of how our brain cells interconnect. It’s not easy to describe a diagram in words, so to give you an idea of how Mind Maps look, I’ve included a link where you can see an example and learn more:

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_01.htm&affnum=10244

To be continued…. Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” – Henry Ford

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Mar 20, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: How Mind Maps Can Help Us

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: How Mind Maps Can Help Us

To help me clear my mind so I could think straight, I sat down with a blank sheet of paper to draw a Mind Map. If this is something you haven’t heard of, it’s actually very easy and quick to do.

The first step is to define the central issue, problem or desired outcome. If there are several complicated and separate issues, do one for each major item. In my case I wrote ‘Rent flat for maximum rent to excellent long term tenant ASAP’ and put a circle around it. Then, a couple of inches away, spread around the central circle I wrote down the major things I had to deal with to make this happen, put circles around each and linked them with a line from the central bubble so it looked a bit like spokes on a wheel.

Then from each of these I continued doing the same thing with the other items relating to each sub heading. And so on, adding items and sub items, until you got everything down. This is something like a brain dump.

In the end I had a sheet of paper covered with circles interconnected by lines that may have looked like doodling or scribbling to anyone else.

However, it contained everything I needed to do to achieve the central objective.

Not only that, I had clearly down on paper everything that I had previously held fuzzily in my mind, making it infinitely easier for me to see how to best take effective action. This gave me clarity and a framework from which to take action with confidence.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions.” - John Randolph

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Mar 18, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: A Great Way To Help Solve Problems

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: A Great Way To Help Solve Problems

There's an alternative to working from a list, an extremely effective method for putting things in writing that you may have heard of called Mind Mapping. This method was developed by Tony Buzan, one of the world’s leading experts on brain research. I use this method from time to time and whenever I do I kick myself for not using it more often. I’ve been very busy for the last few weeks, and on top of that I had some bad news a couple of weeks ago. I’m fortunate to own a flat in London that I used to live in and now rent out. I’ve had an excellent tenant for the last few years and he unexpectedly advised me that he would be moving out as he was leaving the country.

This was a blow as I knew there would be a lot involved in getting a new tenant. The flat would need decorating and some repairs, should I pay someone to do this or do it myself? Would I use an estate agent to find a tenant or advertise it myself? What was the market like and how long would it take to rent?

There would have been enough to deal with if I was still living in London, but as I’m now living in Ireland, that makes it a lot more complicated. I would have to go over to deal with the departing tenant. How long do I need to go for to get everything done? How long can I afford to be away from my other commitments? Do I need to hire a car and for how long? What do I need to take with me?

For a day or so all these things were running around in my mind on top of everything else causing a sort of mental fog and certainly slowing me down.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got.” - Lee Iacocca

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Mar 15, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Dealing With Overwhelm

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Dealing With Overwhelm

Do you sometimes get the point that you have so much to do and so many problems that you not only don’t know where to start, but you mind is so addled that you can’t even think straight?

I know I sometimes do, and I think it would be safe to say that most of us reach this point from time to time, with the possible exception of those people who are just naturally very organised, or have worked very hard to make it second nature.

I’ve written before the value of writing things down and working from lists. This can be a great way of getting more done. It’s been said that this simple act of writing a ‘to do’ list and ticking things off as completed, instead of just keeping things in your head, can increase the amount achieved in a given time frame by 100% or even much more!

From personal experience, I believe this is definitely true. However, for those times when you feel overwhelmed or stuck on a problem, a linear ‘to do’ list may not be the best option. This is simply because our minds don’t actually think in straight lines.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

"Don't start your day until you have it finished on paper first." - Jim Rohn

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Mar 10, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: You Can Be More Confident!

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: You Can Be More Confident!

If you don’t yet have the character trait you want, or haven’t yet achieved what you want, act as if you already have. This has been referred to as ‘fake it until you make it’, but it works and there are countless people who’ve developed confidence and become the type of person they wanted to be and found great success through this method.

The impact that lack of self confidence can have can vary from minor inconvenience to crippling immobilisation. Anyone can learn to be more confident if they really want to and are prepared to make the effort. Some people manage to increase their confidence by sheer determination. They face there fears and just do it. Others need some help, and there are many excellent books, audio program, and other methods such as meditation or hypnosis available that can dramatically increase self confidence.

We all owe it to ourselves to do whatever we can to increase our self confidence, as it can open many doors and new opportunities that can enrich our lives in ways we may never have even considered.

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.” - Peter T. Mcintyre

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Mar 5, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Try These Tips To Build Your Confidence

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: More Tips To Build Your Confidence

What can we do to be more confident in any situation?

Here's some more ideas:

Before taking the step you fear, take time to visualise yourself confidently doing it or having already completed it. Make this picture as vivid as possible - see it, hear it, even smell, touch and taste it if possible and FEEL how great it feels having done it. Give it emotion by concentrating on how great it will feel. This will make it so much easier to achieve as your subconscious mind can’t tell the difference between something real and something strongly imagined.

If it’s a particular new venture you’re considering, learn from people who’ve done or are doing whatever it is you want to do. Do research and read everything you can. Success leaves clues, whatever it is you want to do you can be sure someone else has done something similar and written about it. Seek out this information as it will help to build your confidence.

If you need help or advice for a new endeavour, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Most people like to help others and are often flattered to be asked, as you probably have been when asked for advice or help. Besides, who knows how you may be able to help them in the future?

To be continued….

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily into the trap of being our own worst enemies.” - Roderick Thorp

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Mar 2, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: What can we do to be more confident in any situation?

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: What can we do to be more confident in any situation?

Consider some of these ideas:

Silence your biggest critic and negative influence, the internal nagging voice that questions you and holds you back from trying new things and taking risks. We all have this internal voice and there are times it can be our greatest ally, but if we have low self esteem or confidence it can be our worst enemy, reinforcing our self doubts and stopping us from trying anything new.

Try to block it out, or when you hear it, try changing they way it sounds so it sounds, like it’s inhaled helium, or sounds like a cartoon character and just laugh at it. This should make it hard to take it seriously.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily into the trap of being our own worst enemies.” - Roderick Thorp

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Feb 29, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: You Can Build Self Confidence

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: You Can Build Self Confidence

Whether it’s specific fears or a general lack of confidence, increasing our self confidence can make a big difference to our lives, and we can learn strategies that will us more confident. We can also learn how to mentally prepare ourselves for uncomfortable situation. The more we can do this and see results, the more our confidence builds, and the more capable we will feel to tackle bigger and bigger challenges.

Doing things we are scared of and surprising ourselves with just how capable we really are is probably the very best way to build confidence. This may be a bit tricky as this means we have to face and overcome the things we are most scared of to increase our confidence. It can be a bit of a chicken and egg situation.

Ask yourself what’s the worst thing that could happen? Although this sounds negative, establishing the worst possible outcome to any action you fear taking can help enormously. Instead of mentally debating countless different outcomes, identify the worst one, and when clarified, more often than not, it won’t be anywhere near as serious as you thought.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.” -Author Unknown

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Feb 27, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Building Confidence

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Building Confidence

Whether it’s specific fears or a general lack of confidence, increasing our self confidence can make a big difference to our lives, and we can learn strategies that will us more confident. We can also learn how to mentally prepare ourselves for uncomfortable situation. The more we can do this and see results, the more our confidence builds, and the more capable we will feel to tackle bigger and bigger challenges.

Doing things we are scared of and surprising ourselves with just how capable we really are is probably the very best way to build confidence. This may be a bit tricky as this means we have to face and overcome the things we are most scared of to increase our confidence. It can be a bit of a chicken and egg situation.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.” -Author Unknown

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Feb 25, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Building Self Confidence

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Building Self Confidence

Feeling a lack of confidence at some time, or in some specific area of our lives, or some particular situation, is something most us can relate to.

Some people may just generally lack confidence whilst other may have specific fears.

Everyone is afraid of something. It’s normal to be worried about our wellbeing, whether it’s physical, emotional or financial.

Is there a fear that is holding you back in life? Does this fear now, or has it ever, served a useful purpose in your life?

The reality is we have to act despite our fears, and this is the very best way to overcome fears and to increase self esteem and self confidence, although this can be easier said than done.

Avoiding fears has the opposite effect; it lowers self esteem, confidence and self respect, sometimes until it controls our lives.

To be continued….

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.” -Author Unknown

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Feb 22, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Laughter and a Sense of Humour Can Make a Big Difference!

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Laughter and a Sense of Humour Can Make a Big Difference!

Taking life and ourselves less seriously will also go a long way towards developing our sense of humour, and there’s no doubt that having a good sense of humour will make our lives richer and more enjoyable.

There are countless things we enjoy doing, eating or drinking that we are told that we shouldn’t do because they are bad for us. It’s incredible to know that scientific research actually supports something as easy to do and as much fun as watching a good comedy program or film, and that it can do us the world of good in many ways. Surely one of the very best ways to enjoy yourself must be to sit down for a couple of hours and watch something that never fails to make you laugh out loud. Even things we may think we are now too mature and adult to watch, like classic cartoons we loved as a kid, can give us just as much pleasure now as they ever did – if we let them. The fact they can also be so good for our mental and physical health and wellbeing is really the icing on the cake!

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs, jolted by every pebble in the road.” - Henry Ward Beecher

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Feb 20, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Children Know The Secret!

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Children Know The Secret!

Most adults laugh around 5 to 15 times per day, whilst children laugh anything from 100 to 400 times per day! Most children can laugh at anything, and you don’t need any scientific research to tell you that children know the how closely related laughing and enjoying life are.

Smiling and laughing more easily and more often clearly can have very real and profound benefits to our mental and physical health. Surely this makes it well worth the effort to go out our way to smile and laugh more. I’m not suggesting that we should all go around with a silly grin permanently on our face, or laughing all the time at anything or even nothing. Life is serious and we all have responsibilities, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look for the funny side to things and take ourselves a little less seriously. In almost any situation we find ourselves in, no matter how serious, there will be some sort of funny side to it if we actively make the effort to look for it.

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“If you can look into the mirror without laughter, you have no sense of humor.” - Unknown

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Feb 18, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: More Benefits of Laughter

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: More Benefits of Laughter

Research has also been presented to the American College of Cardiology indicating that laughter boosts blood flow and may reduce your risk of developing heart disease.

In this study, 95% of the volunteers in the study had better blood flow after watching a comedy clip, while 70% had a worse blood flow after watching a stressful film clip. Other research has shown many other benefits brought about by laughter, such as helping to fight infections, relieving hay fever, easing pain, helping to control diabetes, decreasing blood pressure and heart rate and increasing oxygen in the blood.

To be continured...

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything - even poverty - you can survive it.” - Bill Cosby

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Feb 16, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: You’ve Got To Laugh!

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: You’ve Got To Laugh!

There is new science called psychoneuroimmunology which studies how our mind affects our health. Doctors at California's Loma Linda University Medical Center have carried out research to find out if laughter can improve the immune system. They exposed a group of adults to an hour of comedy videos and took blood samples during and after the hour. The samples showed increases in ‘good’ hormones such as endorphins and neurotransmitters, and decreases in cortisol ad adrenalin – stress hormones. No such changes were found in a control group not exposed to the videos for the same period.

The researchers found that antibody producing cells increase in number and cells which combat viruses are activated as a direct result of laughter. Laughter is like a safety valve that releases stress and tension, causing our stress hormones to drop, which allows our immune system to work more effectively.

One of the researchers, Dr Stanley Tan stated "All these neuro-hormones act like an orchestra, each instrument makes a particular note. Laughter makes the entire orchestra more melodious or balanced. In other words, laughter brings a balance to all the components of the immune system." Physical exercise can also have similar results, but isn’t it fantastic to know that we can actually reduce stress and improve our mental and physical well being by something as simple and enjoyable as laughing!

To be continued...

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your step as you walk the tightrope of life.” - William Arthur Ward

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Feb 14, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: The Best Stress Buster

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: The Best Stress Buster

One of the greatest health problems in modern society today, if not THE greatest, is stress. The American Institute of Stress claims that over 75% of all doctor visits in the US are stress related. The pace of modern life is so fast and we all have so many demands on our time that we all sometimes suffer from stress.

Stress can affect different people in different ways, but will almost certainly cause everyone in either the short or long term to experience reduced effectiveness, productivity and overall mental and physical wellbeing. This usually applies even to those people who seem to thrive on stress. In the most extreme cases, stress is known to cause serious illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, suppression of the immune system, and many others physical and mental conditions.

There are many different things we can do to deal with stress, and there’s no doubt that we all need to have a way of dealing with stress that works for us, or we are likely to end up with one of any number of stress related heath problems.

Whilst it’s natural to think that stress is a bad thing, researchers have now established that there are two types of stress – good stress and bad stress. The great news is that good stress is actually the opposite to stress as we generally think of it, and it counters the negative effect of bad stress. Even better news is that one of the forms of good stress is laughter.

To be continued...

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“Optimism and humor are the grease and glue of life. Without both of them we would never have survived our captivity.” Philip Butler, Vietnam POW

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Feb 12, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Lucky Streaks?

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Lucky Streaks?

What about lucky streaks in sport? Say you had two basketball players, one who averaged scoring with 60% of his shots, and one who averaged scoring with 30% of his shots. Which of those players do you think is more likely to have what is known as a lucky streak? Obviously it’s more likely to be the players with the 60% average, and if so, is that just luck? Or is it that he either had more natural talent in the first place, or that he believed in himself and worked extremely hard to develop his skills to achieve such a good average?

Some people believe that they are born lucky and if so, that’s great. But it’s not great if you believe you’ve been born unlucky. The reality is that they’re probably both right… and wrong. It may be possible to be born lucky or unlucky but it’s nowhere near as important as what you believe. If you believe you’re unlucky you’re bound to have an aura and attitude that ensures you’ll attract what you expect. But the opposite is also true – with positive expectation, optimism and belief you can be as lucky as anyone. What would you rather experience in your life? So, are you feeling lucky? It really is all about attitude and belief and it’s your choice.

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck - who keeps right on going - is the man who is there when the good luck comes - and is ready to receive it.” – Robert Collier

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Feb 10, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Luck, Coincidence or Hard Work?

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Luck, Coincidence or Hard Work?

Wiseman also found that the lucky people tended to follow their instincts, hunches and gut feelings, whereas the unlucky people tended to rely on logic and rationale.

The unlucky people also tended to be creatures of habit with little room for spontaneity in their lives. The lucky people tended to enjoy and actively seek more variety in their lives. Perhaps most importantly of all, the lucky people were optimists, they expected the best to happen and always looked for the best in any situation, whereas the unlucky people did just the opposite, often being able to find negatives in even the best situation.

Wiseman concluded that luck is much more than just coincidence. Rather, it is a manifestation of your attitude, beliefs, expectations and interaction with the world. We all tend to act in a certain manner that is in line with our expectations. Our subconscious mind moves us in that direction and in the path of events that fulfil our expectations. We also tend to behave in a manner that is likely to bring our expectations to fruition.

For example, we’ve probably all worked with someone who managed to get promoted incredibly quickly, who some co workers considered to be just lucky. However, it’s more likely that this person truly believed they would be promoted, and as a result worked very hard, exuded the attitude and gave out the signals of someone worthy of promotion, hence attracting the attention of their superiors.

To be continued...

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” -Thomas Jefferson

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Feb 9, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Feeling Lucky?

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Feeling Lucky?

Is there such a thing a being born lucky, or born under a lucky star? There certainly are people who seem to be lucky, just as there are people who appear to have much more than their fair share of bad luck.

Dr Richard Wiseman, head of psychology research at an English university, spent 8 years studying hundreds of people who considered themselves either especially lucky or unlucky. He conducted many interviews and experiments, personality and IQ tests and other research.

In one test, he asked participants to count the number of photographs in a specially prepared newspaper. The people who considered themselves to be unlucky completed this exercise much quicker than the people who considered themselves lucky. The reason for this was that after a couple of pages there was a half page ad that said “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper” and later in the newspaper there was another half page ad saying “STOP COUNTING! TELL THE EXPERIMENTOR YOU’VE SEEN THIS AND WIN £150”. The lucky people stopped and read both ads and many asked if they should continue, or for the money, but the unlucky people tended to completely miss or ignore the ads and concentrated on the original task of counting the photos.

It seemed that the people who considered themselves unlucky tended to stick to one thing and not allow distractions, even if there could be opportunities to their benefit. Wiseman’s research also showed that the unlucky people tended to be more anxious and tense, which can affect the ability to notice opportunities.

To be continued...

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“Be ready when opportunity comes...Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet.” – Roy D Chaplin Jr

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Feb 6, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: You Can Even Do It Yourself!

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: You Can Even Do It Yourself!

Hypnosis can be induced by an expert on an individual basis, or even to a whole group. You can also learn self hypnosis, and listening to recordings can be an excellent method of reaching a hypnotic state and making positive changes.

Being hypnotised is actually a natural, psychological state experienced as a trance. A trance is when your attention is narrowly focussed and other distractions are ignored or blocked from conscious awareness.

We actually drift in and out of trances or hypnotic states every day of our lives without even realising it. Think about times you’ve been totally engrossed in an activity such as playing sport, reading a book, watching a movie, playing a game, engaged in a work task, or lost in an activity you really enjoy. This seems so normal that we rarely even notice it happening.

Hypnosis is really nothing more than relaxing and going into a state of intense concentration. In the above examples the concentration is external. However, by concentrating internally and using affirmations, visualising, meditating, or even daydreaming, you can bring about changes and ensure your subconscious mind is actively working for you. This can certainly help to overcome any blocks that may be holding you back and make a dramatic difference to your results in your quest for success and happiness.

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“Hypnosis is not mind control. It's a naturally occurring state of concentration; It's actually a means of enhancing your control over both your mind and your body.” - Dr.David Spiegel, Assoc. Chair of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine

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Feb 4, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: The Many Applications of Hypnosis

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: The Many Applications of Hypnosis

Hypnotism was first developed in the 18th century by the Austrian physician Franz Mesmer, (it was originally called "mesmerism") who induced a hypnotic and trancelike state in human beings as a curative remedy.

In the mid 19th century James Esdale, a Scottish surgeon considered the father of hypno-anesthesia, used a similar method to successfully anesthetize surgery patients before the discovery of Choloroform as an anaesthetic.

Hypnosis is now used to help people with issues such as self confidence and self esteem, public speaking, creativity, decision making, saving and making money, shyness, optimism, motivation, assertiveness, self sabotage, worry, weight and body image issues, self hate, self disciple and many more.

Many researchers now also believe that issues from our past stored in the subconscious mind are also the cause of most health problems, so hypnosis is also successfully used to treat such medical conditions as migraines, high blood pressure, stress, addictions and dependencies, sexual problems, pms, poor circulation, irritable bowel syndrome and back ache.

To be continued.....

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

“…hypnosis is effective in alleviating chronic pain associated with various cancers. Hypnosis can also be a part of the treatment program for irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory conditions of the mouth, temporomandibular disorders, and tension headaches, the panel concluded.” - National Institute of Health, 10/95

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Feb 2, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: How Hypnosis Can Help

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: How Hypnosis Can Help

Another method that can be extremely effective in changing all types of behaviour is hypnosis. Hypnotism is largely misunderstood and has been given something of a bad name by stage and TV hypnotists who specialise in making people do all sort of ridiculous things they would never do under normal circumstance.

However, hypnosis and hypnotherapy are also considered and accepted as legitimate and highly effective methods of changing behaviour and treating a wide range of mental and physical and problems. Hypnosis is also widely used to treat all types of phobias and to change bad habits.

What is hypnosis? One dictionary defines it as "a state of concentrated attention where the subconscious mind is able to take suggestion without censoring the material with the conscious mind." This definition indicates that with the conscious mind out of the way, the subconscious mind is much more able to adopt behavioural changes.

To be continued.....

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams, who looks inside awakes." - Carl Gustav Jung

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Jan 30, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Clearing Blocks Through Meditation

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Clearing Blocks Through Meditation

One way of doing this is through meditation. There are many different types of meditation, although they all have similar aims - to totally relax you so that you are able to reach a state where you are effectively operating on a subconscious level of awareness.

An easy way to try meditation is to sit or lie comfortably in a quiet room, clear you mind of all thoughts and relax your body until you enter a trance like state between sleeping and being awake. Many people experience a similar state before fully waking in the morning or before falling asleep at night.

In this state you can use affirmations or visualisations to help replace limiting belief with empowering beliefs, and many people have success in changing their lives through these methods.

However, many people find it very difficult to successfully meditate and make changes without some guidance.

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

"You don't get in life what you want. You get what you are." - Les Brown

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Jan 28, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Our Amazing Subconscious Mind

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Our Amazing Subconscious Mind

It is impossible to overestimate the incredible power of the subconscious mind.

Most of our brain’s activity does not occur consciously. It is our subconscious mind that controls all the organs that makes our bodies function, It’s our subconscious mind that allows us to drive our car, listen to the radio and eat an apple all at the same time, without really paying much attention to any of these activities. It’s our subconscious mind that makes our daily living possible by allowing us to do hundreds, if not thousands of actions every day without even thinking about them.

Our subconscious mind never sleeps and takes in and stores everything that we see, hear and experience. This includes information that our conscious mind may have long ‘forgotten’ or may not have even noticed in the first place.

If your subconscious mind has stored information based on your life experiences that are causing it to work against you, you really need to take steps to eradicate these blocks and ensure your subconscious mind is actively working for you.

This usually needs to done by getting in touch with your subconscious mind and replacing the limiting beliefs with empowering beliefs. The good news is that this can be quite easily done, provided you are prepared to put in some effort.

To be continued.....

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

"Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them." - Albert Einstein

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Jan 27, 2008, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Overcoming Obstacles and Blocks

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Overcoming Obstacles and Blocks

Many people who are working at improving their lives and creating a better future for themselves find they have difficulty in making real progress towards achieving their goals. They may know what they want, have goals and made plans for their achievement, and be taking action. However, they find they aren’t getting the results they were expecting.

One common problem can be, that without even being aware of it, many people actually sabotage themselves, due to deep seated mental blocks they have no idea even exist. For example, Joe may be working hard to achieve financial security and create enough wealth to enjoy the lifestyle of his dreams.

Now, let’s say that when Joe was growing up, his parents had to constantly struggle to make ends meet and there was lucky to be enough money for food, shelter and clothing, and rarely any left for anything else. This could be driving Joe to work hard for financial security, but his childhood experiences may well have left him with deeply held beliefs at a subconscious level that he doesn’t feel entitled to, or deserve to be any better off than his parents were.

When this happens we experience incongruity between our conscious desires and our subconscious beliefs. This can cause blocks due to our subconscious mind actively working against conscious desires, making it unlikely we will succeed in reaching our goals.

To be continued.....

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

"Your thoughts are like the seeds you plant in your garden. Your beliefs are like the soil in which you plant these seeds." - Louise Hay

You can claim a FREE copy of Napoleon Hill’s classic THINK AND GROW RICH here and click here to Discover the Best Success and Self Improvement Resources on the internet!

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Dec 12, 2007, Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Your Attitude is Your Choice

Self Improvement Tip of the Day: Your Attitude is Your Choice

Other people can influence our attitudes, as can all forms of the media and our life experiences. Unfortunately, it often seems there are more negative than positive influences. We cannot control other people or events, and things will happen that we don’t like that may affect us in some way. But what we can and must control is how we react to these things. No person or event can control or change our attitude - unless we allow it.

Likewise, no one else can really cause us to become upset or angry. When this happens we are giving other people control over our lives and relinquishing control of our most basic human right – the control of our own mind.

I’m sure you’ve all seen those signs in offices that go something like ‘Everyone brings joy to this office, some when they enter, and some when they leave.’ Which one of these people would you like to be known as? Would you like to be known as a person whose attitude gives the impression they are walking around with a permanent rain cloud over their head; or would you rather been known as a someone people look forward to seeing? Which person do you think has a happier and more fulfilling life?

A wise man once said, something like ‘it’s not your aptitude, but your attitude, that determines your altitude.’ If your attitude is not working for you, it’s probably working against you and holding you back in ways you don’t even realise. No one else can control your attitude, it’s all down to you. If you truly want to, you can change your attitude and it will change your life.

Self Improvement Tips Quote of the Day:

’You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.’ – Brian Tracy

You can claim a FREE copy of Napoleon Hill’s classic THINK AND GROW RICH here and click here to Discover the Best Success and Self Improvement Resources on the internet!

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