Be Grateful.

Be Grateful

Be grateful that you don't already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be grateful when you don't know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be grateful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be grateful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be grateful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be grateful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be grateful when you're tired and weary
Because it means you've made a difference.

It is easy to be grateful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

- Unknown

30 Ways To Live A Life Of Excellence!

"Excellence is the result of caring more than others thinks is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than others thinks is possible." ~ Uknown

Here are the top 30 ways to live a life of excellence:

1. Discover your purpose. – Our physical life started when we were born.  Our real life starts when we discover our purpose.  What is your purpose?  What is your mission statement for your life?  Mine is, “To touch others’ lives, help them achieve their highest potential and live their best lives.”  This one statement gives me clarity and focus on what to do, from my daily plans to my long-term goals.
2. Follow your passion. – To do what you love is truly the only way to live.  Don’t just pursue as a hobby; turn it into your career.  I didn’t use to be a personal development blogger or a coach.  I was a marketing major and I was working in brand management as a career.  However, it wasn’t my passion.  So a year and a half ago, I quit my regular job to pursue my real passion.  Despite having no experience in the personal development industry, I slowly carved my niche in this area and established myself and my expertise.  Today I’m pursuing my passion as a career, and loving it.
3. Set your goals. – If you can have whatever you want, what would you like?  What are your biggest goals and dreams?  Set them.  The life I’m living today is a result of goals I set in the past.  If you don’t set any goals, it’s safe to say that you’ll be running in place for the foreseeable future.  Is that what you want?
4. Create a life handbook. – A life handbook is a concept I created where you have a book to write your life purpose, goals, dreams, plans, values, mottos, and other things that are important to you as you pursue your best life.  I started my life handbook in 2007 and it has been my #1 tool to living my life to the fullest. 
5. Have the right mindset. – The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts.  If you think life sucks, life will indeed suck.  On the other hand, if you are set to live your best life, the paths will open up in front of you.  Maybe it’s all the ‘good triumphing over evil’ I firmly believe that where there’s a will, there’s a way.  No one can stop you if you have the right mindset.
6. Create your bucket list. – A bucket list is a list of things to do before you die.  All of us are going to die one day.  What are all the things you want to do/see/say/experience before you die?  It can be seeing the world, living your dreams, going skydiving, falling in love, among countless others.  I created my bucket list last year with over 100 things, and every day I accomplish what’s on it and add new things I want to do.  
7. Get mentors. – You have dreams and big visions, and there are people who have likely been there and done that.  Get them to mentor you.  It’ll definitely cut down the learning curve and ease your journey.  With a mentor, you can unlock your potential and achieve so much more.
8. Stop worrying so much. – The majority of our fears exist only in our head.  Get rid of them and spend the energy on something productive.
9. Get closer with your parents. – Many of us only have functional relationships with our family.  Some of us might even have estranged family relationships.  I know I used to have that, then I realized it was foolish.  Our parents went through a lot of hardship by bringing us up, and no one’s ever going to share a connection to us the way they do.  Today I’m much closer to my parents than I was in the past, and I’m grateful for that.
10. Let go of negative friendships. – If you have friends who discourage you and pull you down, it’s time to get rid of them.  Getting rid might be too harsh for some, so distancing is a good alternative.  I had several negative friends in the past, then I just reduced contact.  Instead of wasting time and energy resisting them, I was then able to focus my energy on people and things that make me happy.
11. Surround yourself with positive people. – Do you know you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with?  Your attitudes, beliefs, accomplishments and success are a function of the people you spend time around.  Think about the people who inspire you and spend more time with them.  You’ll be amazed at the effects they’ll have on you.
12. Release your limits. – They say the sky is the limit.  I disagree.  We are our own limits.  It’s then about releasing our limits so we can live our best lives.  What are you limiting yourself from doing?  Stop holding yourself back.  Go out and get what you want.
13. Believe in yourself. – The majority of the times I’ve been able to achieve something is because I started out believing I could do it, rather than acquiring that belief after I achieved it.  If I didn’t think I could do it, I probably would never have succeeded.  My past experiences have taught me that all you need to have in order to succeed is to have a sense of self-belief - a sense that you can control your own future.  That’s all.
14. Wake up early. – I used to wake up late every day, like 9-10am.  I never thought much about waking up early until a couple of years ago.  After I switched to waking early at 5am, my days have been incredible.  I feel more productive, I get more done, I’m more eager to work to keep the momentum going.  It’s something you have to try yourself to know the difference.
15. Eat a healthy diet. – A healthy diet just-starts a life of excellence.  What’s in your daily diet?  Junk?  Fast food?  Fried food?  Or healthy, nutritious food?  Fruits?  Vegetables?  I’ve been a vegan since 2008 and have been loving it.  While I tried it out as just a 30-day trial, I immediately saw the benefits of being a vegan and stayed the course ever since.  
16. Exercise regularly. – Aside from a regular gym routine, try other sports to spice it up your workouts.  Frisbee, badminton and swimming are some of my favorite sports.  These make exercising a lot more fun.
17. Plan your days. – Do you plan your days?  Did you wake up today knowing what you are supposed to do today?  If not, maybe it’s time you do.  Planning doesn’t have to be long and tedious, it can just be a 30 second process.  Every night, think about a few small things that you want to accomplish tomorrow and write them down.  When you wake up the next morning, review this list before you do anything else.
18. Nurture those whom you love. – The magical feeling of love.  The fluttering of your heart.  The internal smile you get when you think of those who you care for most.  It’s impossible to live a life of excellence without sharing quality time with those whom you love.
19. Try something new. – Routines stagnate us.  New experiences help us grow and they make life interesting.  Make an effort to try something new every week.  I get very invigorated whenever I’m doing something new.  It can be a whole new activity or just a small experience, such as talking to a stranger.
20. Stop watching TV. – Why stop watching TV?  The bulk of content on TV is consciousness lowering.  TV has been proven by research to be linked with lower life satisfaction.  TV ads motivate you spend more money frivolously.  TV wastes lots and lots of time.  I could go on forever.  I quit regular TV watching almost 5 years ago and never looked back.  I recently wrote an article on my blog called 10 Reasons To Stop Watching TV and found out a good number of my readers dropped TV in their lives as well.  Try it out for 21-days and see how you feel.  
21. Stop obsessing over the news. – A lot of news today resonates with fear, guilt, shame and hate.  Depending on your news source, many are largely sensationalized and biased as well.  You don’t need to watch the news every day for an hour to know that there are car accidents, murders and wars out there.  Focus your energy on how you can address those problems instead.
22. Don’t be trapped by dogma. – Don’t feel compelled to follow others all the time.  Pave your own path.  Follow your heart.  Don’t fall into the trap of operating on everyone’s whim.  Listening is okay, but doing what everyone wants is simply unhealthy.  Execute the good feedback and follow your vision.
23. Be compassionate. – Show love and kindness to all the people around you.  Respect everyone.  They may not react in a kind way immediately, but they will notice and appreciate your kindness. To love is to be human.
24. Smile more. – It takes more muscles to frown than to smile.  So let’s smile more often.  
25. Criticize less, appreciate more. – Do you like overly critical people?  I’m sure you don’t.  They are a dread to be around.  So let’s be less critical.  Don’t stare so hard at what’s missing.  Learn to see and appreciate what’s there instead.
26. Keep a journal to self-reflect. – I had a paper journal for several years, but after I started The Personal Excellence Blog I use the blog as my journal.  By having a place to freely let out our thoughts and ponder over them, we get a lot more clarity about ourselves.  
27. Forgive those who hurt you. – To forgive is to let go of a prisoner and to realize that the prisoner all along was you.  Don’t hold on to past hatred.  Let it go.  You’ll find new, wonderful things entering your life once you do.
28. Enrich your mind great books. – Books contain concentrated volumes of wisdom.  It’s not surprising then that most knowledgeable people are also very well-read.  
29. Coach someone. – There’s no better way to learn than to teach others.  Is there someone who can benefit from your help?  Offer to coach them for free.  It’ll be an enlightening experience for both of you.
30. Meet new people. – Most humans have a habit of stagnating in a small circle of friends, but it doesn’t help us grow.  Get out there and meet new people.  You’ll be surprised at the lessons they will teach you and the new opportunities they will inject into your life.

Act now.  We only live once.  Let’s live our lives in excellence.

Celestine Chua 

When it comes to love.

"When it comes to love, so many times it is so hard to let go of what we can't control because we are busy holding on to false expectations. Emotionally attaching yourself to your own sentiments rather than facing reality can actually make you a victim of your own personal desires. Everyone is uniquely different, with personalities, standards and limitations. Where one can give abundantly, someone else may not be able to give at all. To put expectations on others of that which I expect of myself, is not fair to them or me. More times than not, this leads to disappointment and dissension. Hold on to hope, but let go of expectations. What will be will be. You can’t make someone love you, all you can do is be someone who can be loved, the rest is up to the person to realize your worth." 

After a While.

After a while you learn
The subtle difference between
Holding a hand and chaining a soul
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't always mean security.

And you begin to learn
That kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes ahead
With the grace of a woman
Not the grief of a child

And you learn
To build all your roads on today
Because tomorrow's ground is
Too uncertain for plans
And futures have a way
Of falling down in mid flight

After a while you learn
That even sunshine burns if you get too much
So you plant your own garden
And decorate your own soul
Instead of waiting
For someone to bring you flowers

And you learn
That you really can endure
That you are really strong
And you really do have worth
And you learn and you learn
With every good bye you learn.

Veronica A. Shoffstall

Positive Attitude Tips.

Are you looking for positive attitude tips? Do you need help maintaining a sunny disposition and a glass half-full attitude? You can change your overall attitude much in the same way you can change your fitness level. It may feel challenging at first, but after a little attitude training you might actually find yourself feeling downright optimistic.

Surround Yourself With Positive People
If you find your friends and family are getting you down, schedule yourself such that you are too busy for the naysayers and only have time for those who help you see the sunnier side of life.

Meditate on Your Blessings
A mere 15 minutes a day of quiet meditation can help you feel centered and positive. Sit in a comfortable spot, focus on your breathing and repeat in your mind a list of your blessings. If your mind drifts to negative thoughts, simply replace that thought with a new positive thought. Don't indulge in worrying, venting or fuming during this exercise. Instead, focus on repeating words that make you feel good about your life.

Write Out a Gratitude List
Take the time to quick jot down a list of the positive things in your life. Write them out as fast as you can, without allowing yourself to think too long about any particular thing. After you're done, tuck the list in your pocket so you keep those positive thoughts with you for the rest of the day.

Stop Yourself When You Start to Complain
Police yourself when you find yourself saying negative things. Instead correct yourself by either amending any negative statements or changing the topic.

Listen to Someone Who Has It Worse Than You
If you're feeling down, have coffee with a friend or relative that needs a helping hand. By listening to their woes, you may see the positive things in your life more clearly.

Crack a Joke
Even gallows humor has its rightful place. Making a joke-and the very act of laughing-will help you feel better. Laughter therapy is formally practiced in some circles, with very positive reviews.

Practice Random Acts of Kindness
Become known for your generosity. Open doors for strangers, compliment your coworkers, bring in a platter of treats for your coworkers or share the bounty from your garden.

Eat Properly
Eat a healthy diet of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats; take vitamins, especially the B vitamins. Drink plenty of water, tea and juice. Indulge in a piece of dark chocolate once in a while. If you take care of yourself physically, you'll feel better emotionally.

Go For a Walk
Or a run. Or play a game of tennis. If you're physically active for 30 minutes, your body will release endorphins, which affect mood positively. Physical activity relieves tension and makes you feel better about yourself.

Give a Hug
It doesn't matter if you're comforting someone or just greeting someone, a hug will help you feel better about things. It will also probably help someone else feel more positive, too.

By: Rachel Mork

3 Simple Ways Gratitude Can Change Your Life – It Works!

What is the single biggest roadblock to your dreams?
Fear.
Is fear of the unknown, fear of losing control, or fear of making the wrong decision keeping you from the life you’ve been longing to live? Is your confidence being sucked dry by your fears?

I have the perfect antidote – gratitude.

The power of gratitude is unrivaled by any other emotion, even love. In gratitude there can be no fear. If you don’t believe me, the next time you are afraid or worrying about the future, stop and be grateful for anything, then notice what happens.
Just by thinking the words “I’m grateful for…” can change your entire outlook on life in that moment.

Do you allow your fears to overcome you, forcing you into the fetal position, distracting you from the power of truth that lies deep within your soul? Of course, if you were being attacked by a band of murderous thieves, gratitude most likely won’t save your life. But the real question is much more simple…are the fears holding you back the “save my life” kinds of fears?
Then why do you continue to allow them to rape your confidence, and steal your hopes, dreams and aspirations of who you want to be?

#1: The Power of Gratitude Doesn’t Equal The Value Of The Subject
The little things really do matter and they can be your building blocks to unwavering confidence. You can be grateful for big things like your health or a roof over your head. But you can also be grateful for a new episode of your favorite TV show or even ice cream in the refrigerator.
It doesn’t matter what you are grateful for, the effect is the same – you feel lighter, are more present and usually gain perspective on the fear that is trying to gain control of you. It’s the frequency level of gratitude itself, not the perceived importance of the object that makes the power shifts in your heart, mind, body and soul.  Sometimes just being aware how blessed you are to have the sight to see a bird fly can inspire a moment of gratitude.

#2: The Power of Gratitude Is Your Key To Success
John A Walsh, Senior EVP of ESPN recently told me, “The key to success is fearlessness combined with a commitment to being open to learning new things.”
While fear can be the catalyst for anger, it can also be a mechanism for massive transformation, as long as you are aware of it and learn to control it. One of the ways to be fearless is to be in a constant state of gratitude for everything that comes your way. See every roadblock as your friend – as if they are the universe’s way of helping you stop, regroup, get focused and centered.
Gratitude is the key to making this happen effortlessly. By managing your fears, you can move into a state of fearlessness and confidence to be open to new ideas and opportunities that come your way. Wait until you get really good at this and start taunting life to “bring it on”, because you are confident there is nothing you can’t handle and know on the other side of every great challenge is a huge space for celebrating.

#3: Gratitude Is Contagious
Just one dose of gratitude and your dance partners, “Ms. Worry Wart” and “Mr. What If”, fade into wimpy wall flowers. (Good riddance – they are the worst dance partners you could pick on the planet to ask to polka.)

Start tapping your toes to the tune of the three G’s: Gratitude, Grace and Giving.
Start each day and end each night with three affirmations of gratitude. Show grace to the people you love by being grateful for them, especially in moments when all you really want is for them to grovel for your forgiveness. Be grateful people in your life care enough about your opinion to argue with you by remembering the opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.
It’s in your most stressful moments you should find ways to tap into gratitude not griping.
Believe every situation, person, and perceived slap in the face is there to serve YOU
Being grateful in times of duress isn’t always easy, until you see “it works.” Trust me, there are very few “push buttons” in life, but in this case, if you do nothing else today, find gratitude.
Try giving gift of gratitude to others and watch as it comes back tenfold. The light inside of you is dying to shine so glow with gratitude – gifting you and those around you into magical moments of greatness.

By. Lori Taylor

20 Bad Habits Holding Good People Back.

A change in bad habits leads to a good change in life…

Here are twenty bad habits many of us repeatedly struggle with:

1. Expecting life to be easy. – Nothing starts easy; everything begins at some level of difficulty.  Even waking up in the morning sometimes requires notable effort.  But one beautiful thing about life is the fact that the most difficult challenges are often the most rewarding and satisfying.
2. Overlooking your true path and purpose. – What really matters in life is not what we buy, but what we build; not what we have, but what we share with the world; not our capability but our character; and not our success but our true significance.  Live a life that makes you proud – one that matters and makes a difference.  Live a life filled with passion and love.  Read A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.
3. Chasing after those who don’t want to be caught. – Do not chase people.  Be you, do your own thing and work hard on your passions.  The right people who belong in your life will eventually come to you, and stay.
4. Not asking for help when you know you need it. – No matter how far you’ve gone down the wrong road, you can always turn back.  Be STRONG enough to stand alone, SMART enough to know when you need help, and BRAVE enough to ask for it.
5. Letting one dark cloud cover the entire sky. – Take a deep breath.  It’s just a bad moment, or a bad day, not a bad life.  Everyone has troubles.  Everyone makes mistakes.  The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles.
6. Holding on to things you need to let go of. – Letting go doesn’t mean giving up, but rather accepting that there are things in life that should not be.  Sometimes letting go is what makes us stronger, happier and more successful in the long run.
7. Spending time with people who make you unhappy. – People can be cruel, and sometimes they will be.  People can hurt you and break your heart, and sometimes they will.  But only YOU can allow them to continuously hurt you.  Value yourself enough to choose to spend time with people who treat you the way you treat them.  Know your worth.  Know when you have had enough.  And move on from the people who keep chipping away at your happiness.
8. Not making time for those who matter most. – When we take things for granted, these things eventually get taken away.  Too often we don’t realize what we have until it’s gone.  Too often we are too stubborn to say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.”  Too often it seems we hurt the ones closest to us by letting insignificant issues tear us apart.  Appreciate what you have, who loves you and who cares for you.  You’ll never know how much they mean to you until the day they are no longer beside you.
9. Denying personal responsibility. – You’re getting almost everything you’re getting right now based on the decisions you have made; and you will continue to receive the same things until you choose differently.  You always have some element of control.  There are always other options.  The choices might not be easy, but they are available.  You will not get a different result until you exercise a choice that forces you to grow by habit, by action, and by change.
10. Letting everyone else make decisions for you. – Never allow someone or something that adds very little to your life, control so much of it.  You’ve got to stop caring about what everyone else wants for you, and start actually living for yourself.  Let go of the people and things that continuously hold you back and no longer serve you, because you only get one shot at life.
11. Giving up who YOU are. – Remove yourself from any situation that requires you to give up any one of these three things:  1) Who you are.  2)  What you stand for.  3)  The goals you aspire to achieve.  Read Quitter.
12. Quitting as soon as things get slightly difficult. – An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward; and such is life.  When life is pulling you back with difficulties, it means it’s going to eventually launch you forward in a positive direction.  So keep focusing, and keep aiming!
13. Doing too much and pushing too hard, without pausing. – Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never find it, but because they never stop long enough to enjoy it.  Sometimes we are so focused on what we want that we miss the things we need most.
14. Discrediting yourself for everything you aren’t. – STOP discrediting yourself for everything you aren’t.  START giving yourself credit for everything that you are.
15. Running from current problems and fears. – Trust me, if everyone threw their problems in a pile for you to see, you would grab yours back.  Tackle your problems and fears swiftly, don’t run away from them.  The best solution is to face them head on no matter how powerful they may seem.  Either you own your problems and fears, or they will ultimately own you.
16. Constantly mulling over past hardships. – You’ll never see the great things ahead of you if you keep looking at the bad things behind you.  To reach up for the new, you must let go of the old.  You are exactly where you need to be to reach your goals.  Everything you’ve been through was preparation for where you are right now and where you can be tomorrow.
17. Denying your mistakes. – Remember that most honorable people of all are not those who never make mistakes, but those who admit to them when they do.  And then go on to do their best to make the wrong things right.
18. Expecting your significant other to be perfect. – Remember that you will never find a PERFECT partner to love you in the exact way you had envisioned, only a person who is willing to love you with all that they are.  Someone who will accept you for who you can and cannot be.  And although they will never be PERFECT, finding a partner like this is even BETTER.  Read The Mastery of Love.
19. Focusing on the negative. – Positive thinking isn’t about expecting the best thing to happen every time, it’s about accepting that whatever happens is good for this moment, and then making the best of it.  So stay positive, and hold on to what’s truly important.  Let your worries go.  No matter how you look at it, some outcomes just don’t make sense right away.  Choosing to carry on with your goals through this uncertainty is what matters.
20. Never allowing things to be good enough. – We are human.  We are not perfect.  We are alive.  We try things.  We make mistakes.  We stumble.  We fall.  We get hurt.  We rise again.  We try again.  We keep learning.  We keep growing.  And we are thankful for this priceless opportunity called life.      

               By. Marc Hack

Letting Go of Emotional Baggage.

"Emotions are simply reminders that we are alive." 

                        Melanie Moushigian Koulouris

Emotions...we all have them. 

Some of us are just more successful than others at dealing with them. When we don't deal with them, they hang around. Many of us have created some type of emotional baggage we carry around. Past experiences have created emotional responses and at times these old emotions can come back to haunt us and impact our current lives.

Although it might feel that way, emotions don't just come from out of the blue. Behind every emotion is a thought. So, a negative emotion is really just a symptom of a negative thought. We think we are being treated badly and get angry. We think we might fail and we feel fear. But few people take the time to identify the thoughts that are creating the emotions they experience. They may even criticize themselves for having feelings, or they blame others for creating the emotion, but don't make any real effort to try to uncover the root cause of the emotion.
Often the focus is on ways to "deal with" by overcoming the emotion. Some people use drinking, drugs, overeating or other addictive behaviors to handle their emotions. Others may use support groups, relaxation techniques, or exercise to deal with emotions. But regardless of whether we use a positive or negative method of dealing with the emotion, we are only dealing with the symptom and not the cause. Attempting to block or fight the emotion ignores the thought behind the emotion.
In order to really let go of the emotional baggage, we must change the thoughts behind those emotions. So we have to shift our focus and start first by identifying the reason for the emotion. What thoughts are causing us to feel the way we do? What are we doing to empower and retain that thought? Our thoughts are based on our beliefs, so we must determine if we truly believe the thought that we are having. If not, we can make the choice to replace that negative thought with a more positive thought.
Shakespeare said, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
Our feelings then are really just a response to the stories we tell ourselves. These stories are the interpretations we bring to events that occur. These interpretations are our thoughts superimposed on events. And the thoughts about the events may or may not be true. So in reality, we are reacting to a life that is found only in our minds.
Letting go of anxiety and worry. Anxiety and worry are emotions that are frequently caused by our inability to foresee the future. So many things in life happen that are beyond our control, and we can't even see what will actually happen.
To begin to release anxiety and worry, we need to shift our focus and instead of thinking about what might happen, we can have thoughts about how we want to prepare so that we can deal with whatever happens. We can focus on what we want to bring to the experience. We can focus on how we want to interact with others. Changing our thinking to focus on our goals and priorities and making our decisions on the basis of those priorities (instead of what we think might happen or what we want to happen) can release us from the pain of worry.
Letting go of frustration. Many of us have very rigid ideas about how life is "supposed" to be. But things don't always work the way we want them to. We keep bumping up against the nature of the world and find ourselves frustrated. We can even create a "crisis" out of our inability to get our way.
To begin to release the frustration we feel, we can change our thoughts about what we expect from life. Release your attachment on the outcome of what you do and focus instead on what you are putting into your life. Use children as your example. Infants and children often get angry or frustrated when things don't go their way, but generally they get over it very quickly and try again or move on to something else.
Letting go of anger or resentment. Anger or resentment of others can be caused by the thought that other people "should" do things the way we want them to. Our desire to control other people and our opinions of how they should act can create these negative emotions. We need to change our thoughts about other people's behavior and we can change the emotions. Eliminate the "shoulds" and focus on how we want to interact with them.
We can also feel anger and resentment towards ourselves. The thought that we should be perfect or that we should know everything can cause us to have negative feelings about ourselves when we make a mistake or fail at something. Again, changing our expectations and our thoughts about mistakes can release these emotions. We can consider a failure or a mistake as a learning experience and not as a catastrophe.
Letting go of the victim mentality. Blaming others for what happens to us can create feelings of being a victim. Or we can blame a situation instead of considering that it is our reaction, our thoughts about the event that is causing the feeling. We need to accept responsibility for our lives and how we react instead of blaming others. Shift thoughts to recognizing your role in the situation and what you have learned or gained from the experience.
Letting go of disappointment. Disappointment can be a result of feeling that we don't measure up, that we aren't good enough. Climbing the ladder of success, whether in business or our social lives, involves trying to get more, get better, or be the best. We try to pull more money, power, or status into our lives in order to convince ourselves or others that we are enough. To release these emotions, we need to redefine our thoughts about what success means and let go of the need to be the best.
Gaining emotional freedom. What stops us from being emotionally free? We do. Pain and suffering exists when our thoughts don't match reality. We need to question our thoughts to determine what is true for us. Truth can open emotional wounds and heal them. We must evaluate the thoughts that are causing the pain and change them.
It is also important to truly feel our emotions and then let them go. Again, children can be our role models. You will notice that children are not afraid to express what they feel, but then they move on very quickly to other feelings. We must learn to really notice how we feel and completely experience the emotions. Acknowledge painful emotions, and take joy in the positive emotions. Then move on, past those feelings. Feelings that are repressed can come back to haunt us later, so that the feelings we have about a certain event or issue is actually a composite of the thoughts and feelings we have had in the past. For real emotional health, we need to be able to express our emotions at the right moment in the right way.

By. Sherry Dawson

LIVE IN THE MOMENT!

To live in the moment, or now, means being conscious, aware and in the present with all of your senses. It means not dwelling on the past, nor being anxious or worrying about the future.

When we concentrate our attention on the present we focus on the task at hand. We give our full attention to what we are doing and we let go of outcomes.

Seizing each moment in life allows us to prolong its value and make it more meaningful. Rather than seeking quantity of time, when we live in the moment we enjoy and savor every minute. We don't sacrifice quality for quantity.

Of course, this doesn't mean we don't need to plan, set goals or prepare for the future. We can do all of these things and still enjoy each moment as it unfolds.

For instance, if we have set a goal to exercise each day, we would carry on with it while enjoying the actual process, or moment, of exercising (or at least be in the moment of it).

When we train ourselves to live in each moment, we immerse ourselves in it and begin to discover its beauty and wonder. We learn focus and how to manage our energy. Professional athletes understand and employ this kind of focus very well. They know that accomplishment and success are a result of the skillful management and balancing of energy.

To make every moment count we must embrace it. Everything we do and every person we come in contact with deserves our full attention. Even when resting we should savor the moment. It gives us the opportunity to recharge, renew and gain clarity.

Quite often we put huge expectations on ourselves and our lives. We rush to do this, hurry up with that, without actually enjoying the process. What's the rush? Where do we think we're going?

If we don't stop and think about where we're at, we're probably missing the point. Instead, when we appreciate each moment and garner the lessons from it, we live consciously, purposefully and responsibly.

Likewise, when we live in the past and don't let go of painful experiences, perceived wrongs, or difficult times, we condemn ourselves to a present and future of the same. We cannot change the past. We can, however, come to terms with it, know that it's over, and move on.

Living in the moment means letting go of the past and trusting in the future. When we are positive and optimistic in the present, we open the possibility of a positive and promising future. We owe it to ourselves to make every moment count - now!

Tips for Living in The Moment

• Train your mind to focus on the current activity.
• Engage in, and feel what you are doing. Enjoy the process.
• Learn relaxation techniques in order to be present in each moment.
• Take notice of your surroundings - sights, sounds, smells, ambiance.
• Listen attentively to the conversation of others, music, even silence.
• Savor your food and drink. Taste each morsel.

Benefits of Living in The Moment

✓ You become more connected with your thoughts and feelings
✓ Are more connected to others
✓ Feel more gratitude and enjoyment of life
✓ If you live in the moment, it won't pass you by
✓ Feel more focused, peaceful and alive
✓ Feel less anxious and fearful

Like all skills, training yourself to enjoy and live in the moment takes time and practice. Begin now and see life from a fresh, new perspective. Carpe diem!

 By. Zorka Hereford 

How To Manifest Things You Want Quickly.

Law of attraction. These 3 simple words have a lot of power behind them. Whatever you want in life, you must attract.Unfortunately, many people focus on what they DON’T want or what they DON’T have, and continue attracting just that. They end up attracting a lack of something or even bad luck.

If you’ve been trying to manifest money, love, happiness, health, success, or anything else through the law of attraction, then here are some tips on how you can get what you want a lot faster:

Be Grateful Now.

Although it may seem hard at first, think about the things you really appreciate in life, and feel thankful for them. Think about the really small things, like that pretty flower you saw on the way to work, or those new shoes you just bought. Be thankful for being able to read, and for having been born in a country with a good education system. If you focus on those things for which you are grateful, you will attract MORE things for which you will be grateful. This is how law of attraction is supposed to work.

Speak of what you want.

Look at pictures of what you want. Save pictures of what you want. Write about what you want. Now, don’t treat it as something that you actually “want”, but as if it’s something you’re going to get. You can’t just *believe* that you’re going to get it ‘” you have to *know* you are going to get it. It’s YOURS. Time means nothing when it comes to the power of manifestation.

Believe that you are worthy of it.

Very often people have deep psychological issues that stem from a lack of self-worth. You have to not only consciously believe that you deserve something, but subconsciously as well. Try hypnosis or NLP if you must. You need to do whatever you can to truly believe that you deserve what it is you desire.

Raise your vibrations. Learn some positive affirmations.

This is one of the best law of attraction tips you can learn. If you are in a good mood, you will be able to attract good things into your life. Listen to upbeat music, mediate, exercise, watch funny films or TV shows: these are just a few examples of things you can do to raise your vibrations.

Act as if everything you want is already yours.

It will be easier for your subconscious mind to attract everything if you “trick” it into thinking it’s already yours! This technique is kind of tricky, and you have to be in the right mood in order for it to be effective. You have to truly act and feel as if your dreams have already come true. Think of how excited and happy you would be if your dreams came true right this second. Shove away any resistance from your conscious mind.

If you follow these 5 law of attraction tips, you should be able to manifest everything you could ever want!

By. Jill Magso

13 Tips To Face Your Fear & Enjoy the Ride.

Everyone is afraid. I am, you are, everyone is! The only difference between you and the successful people you admire is that they are willing to work and move through their fears in order to get where they want to be.

If you don’t learn how to face your fear it will grip your mind, body, and spirit. It will wage a war against you and your dreams. Know this need not be. Once you understand how you can dissipate fear, it shrinks and is no longer a threat.

The next time you’re in a scary place try the following exercises.

1. Journal your fears

Write about your fear and its origin. How has it held you back in the past? Set aside time and without judgment, reflect on what you’ve written. You gain insight and loosen fears grip by observing it. When you write down your fear, fear loses its power over you.

2. Lean into your fear

Do the things that frighten you. Take one small step, then another. Action builds courage. Tell yourself, “This fear will pass.” Your world expands as your courage and willingness to grow expands. Open up your world, today to face your fear.

3. Relax your body

Unclench your jaw, soften your forehead, open your fists, slow down your pounding heart, and breathe. Take mini relaxation breaks throughout your day. Learn to live in a relaxed state.

4. Journal your past success

We tend to beat ourselves up when we fail and fail to celebrate when we succeed. Strengthen your belief in yourself by reflecting on each decade of your life and every success you’ve experienced. You can begin as early as age five when you learned how to ride a bike. Write it all down. You’ll be inspired, motivated and amazed by your list and how and can be used to face your fear.

5. Stop your story

Fear is an illusion. We make up frightening stories about our past and our future and rehearse them until we are terrified. Our stories are often about the pain of the past or the fear of the future. Change the fearful stories you tell yourself. You can find safety by learning to live in the present moment. You always have the option to create new stories filled with positive expectations of the future.

6. Laugh at your fear

Make fun of your fear by laughing at it. Really let it rip. Try and see how silly it is to hold back and give your power away to something that isn’t real!

7. Dwell on abundance

Learn to think, speak, and live as an abundant person to face your fear. Stop paying attention to all forms of negative media. Celebrate your life. Be generous. Give. Donate. Share.

8. Live vicariously

Study the success of Victor Frankl, Steve Jobs, Southwest Airlines, J.K. Rowling and other greats. Take note of their bold lifestyle and follow their path to greatness.

9. Believe in yourself

Focus your attention on being ready, willing, and prepared for the success, joy, wonder, connections, good fortune, and awesome circumstances that are yours if you are willing to work and be open to it. You deserve the best no matter what. Accept that fact about yourself.

10. Learn something new

Do you lack information or direction? Develop your intuition. Get a mentor. Join Toastmasters. Be a life-long learner. Give it your all. Burn the midnight oil. Take action on what you learn. Fear fades in an environment of this kind.

11. Take your fear and shove it

Let go of looking stupid, feeling embarrassed, being ignored and facing rejection or failure. Accept failure as a part of life. Get through it and get over it.

12. Help others

Give to the beginners. Be a good leader. Take others with you and help them succeed as well. What would life be like if we believed in, “All for one, and one for all?” We all want the same things in life. Let’s help each other move ahead.

13. View life as a creative and wild adventure

Life can be brimming with good times of beauty and adventure or overwhelming with challenge and tragedy. Choose to stay present and breathe through it all. Be grateful for the varied landscape, hold onto your hat, and enjoy the ride.

 By. Tess Marshall

5 Steps to a Happy Life with a Positive Attitude.

Step 1: Believe Happiness is a Choice

For me, this was a hard one at first. I thought that people were either unhappy or happy (and I was one of the unhappy ones). I used to blame this on all kinds of outside forces –- fate, experiences, parents, relationships –- but never really stopped to think that I could choose to be happy.
Sure, this isn’t always easy, but it is always, always an option. Teaching myself to see that happiness is a choice has been one of the greatest things I’ve ever done for myself.
Now when I find myself in a bad situation, I know that it’s up to me to find the good, to be happy regardless of what’s happening around me. I am no longer pointing fingers, placing blame. I realize that everything happens how it happens and it’s up to me to choose how I want to feel about it. I am in control of my happiness level and no one can take that away from me.

Step 2: Rid Your Life of Negativity

If you want to live a positive, joyful and happy life, you cannot –- absolutely CANNOT -– be surrounded by negative people who are not encouraging your happiness. When I was a pretty negative person, I tended to attract other negative people.
When I decided to make the change to live a more positive life, I had to rid my life of all of the negative people in it. This, as you can imagine, wasn’t easy. Getting rid of people hurts -– even when you know they aren’t good for you or your current lifestyle.
Not only did I have to get rid of the negative people, but I also had to get rid of the negative things too. I had to stop doing certain things that were causing negativity in my life. I had to take a step back and examine which behaviors were good for me and which were not.
I learned to focus on the positive things I was doing and let go of the negative ones. This process was not easy and to be honest, is still ongoing, but I know this: having negativity in your life prevents you from living a truly positive existence.

Step 3: Look For the Positive in Life

There is the positive aspect in everything. In every person, in every situation, there is something good. Most of the time it’s not all that obvious. We have to look. And sometimes we have to look hard.
The old me just sat back and allowed things to happen by default. If I saw negative, I went with that feeling. I didn’t want to look harder or think too much about the good. I found it much, much easier to sit back and just accept what I saw (which was usually the bad).
Now, when I’m faced with a difficult or challenging situation, I think to myself, “What is good about this?” No matter how terrible the situation might seem, I always can find something good if I take the time to think about it.

Everything –- good and bad -– is a learning experience. So, at the very least, you can learn from bad experiences. However, there’s usually even more to it than that. If you really take the time to look, you will usually find something good, something really positive, about every person or situation. 

Step 4: Reinforce Positivity in Yourself
Once I started thinking more positively and adapted to a more positive attitude, I realized I had to reinforce these thoughts and behaviors in myself so they would stick. As with any sort of training, practice makes perfect, and, yes, you can practice being positive.
The best and easiest way to do this is to be positive when it comes to who you are. Tell yourself you’re awesome. Tell yourself you look good. Tell yourself that you love and accept yourself completely. Tell yourself you did an awesome job at work or raising your kids or whatever it is you do.
Be honest with yourself, but do your best to look for the good. And, whatever you do, don’t focus on the negative. Nothing good can come of telling yourself that your butt’s too big or your latest career goal wasn’t met.
It’s okay to not like everything about yourself (yet), but don’t spend energy dwelling on the negative. Remind yourself of the good in you. We all have positive attributes and it’s up to you to remind yourself of them every day.

Step 5: Share Happiness with Others
Not only do you need to be positive with yourself for this new positive attitude to really take effect, you also need to be positive with others. You have to share your wealth of positivity with the world.
The best way I’ve found to do this is quite simple and basic: be nice. Be nice to other people, no matter what. Tell someone he or she looks nice today. Tell someone they did a great job on that presentation. Tell your parents or children (or both!) how much you love them and how great they are.
When someone is feeling down, do what you can to cheer him or her up. Send flowers. Write notes. Don’t gossip. Be kind to all living things. All of these things sound basic enough, but, for someone like me, they didn’t used to come easily.
In the past, I didn’t wanted to see the good in myself and, therefore, didn’t want to see it in others either. I used to be critical and condescending. Now I strive to be encouraging and supportive. I try not only to treat others, as I would like to be treated, but also to consider how they would like to be treated.
People appreciate positivity and the more you are sharing it with others, the more you are practicing it and reinforcing it in your own life.

By. Dani of http://www.positivelypresent.com/