Self-Awareness is Important.
5 Reasons Why Self-Awareness is Important. There are many great ways of improving yourself. One of these ways is to look for the positive attributes you possess and appreciate that part of you. Another important way of becoming a better person is by acknowledging your weaknesses and actively working on improving. These two methods of self-improvement define what it means to be self-aware. Being self-aware can help you relate well with people and increase your ability to achieve your goals. These are not the only benefits of self-awareness, however. Here are some more reasons why it is important to be self-aware.
Human beings are social beings who thrive on relationships. Self-aware people are very successful when creating relationships. This is because they can realize exactly what they want in each person they meet. That certainty comes from knowing oneÕs own abilities and challenges. Self-awareness also promotes emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence helps us relate to the feelings of other people. Lacking this skill can leave us in conflict with others. The best way to improve your level of emotional intelligence is by learning your emotional patterns.
Promotes versatility and open-mindedness
Knowing yourself can be very crucial to affecting the approach that you have on issues. Self-awareness in itself is the ability to actively seek to listen to the body and mind to know your natural response to change. This consciousness can thus help you have a clear focus when dealing with issues. You are also able to accept opinions, feedback, and criticism from other people without being subjective. Ultimately, you can have multiple solutions to a single problem.
Promotes productivity
Self-aware people are fast thinkers. They understand themselves and can focus on the challenges of the day without hindrance. Without understanding yourself, there is a big challenge where you are held back by uncertainty. This results in time wastage caused by pondering over many different courses of action even when a swift decision is needed.
Improves leadership skills
One of the most important attributes of a good leader is swift decision-making. A leader should also be impartial and confident. All these are things that we gain by becoming self-aware. Knowing yourself removes internal fear and you can focus on important matters.
Promotes Overall Objectivity
Being self-aware promotes objectivity. Self-aware people are also self-confident. This means that they can easily make decisions without being clouded by poor judgment.
5 Tips To Avoid Being Negative
Everyone does get negative at some point in his or her life. Whether it is at work or home negative situations happen almost all the time. It is rather unfortunate that we cannot avoid them and thus beg the question of how we can change these negative thoughts to positive ones. It is important to be positive in adverse situations, even though it might sound hard or rather impossible, it is very much possible to stay positive no matter the situation. Learning the power of positive thinking assists us to remain in a positive state of mind even amid a tragedy. Additionally, knowing how to convert that negative energy into positive energy can lead to a healthy and comfortable lifestyle.
Tips To Avoid Being Negative
I have come up with five ways of how you can avoid being negative and when you put these five key points in mind you will be cheerful and even see some light of positivity in any situation that you may encounter.
1. Stay around positive people.
Hanging out with positive people will certainly help you stay positive. You should avoid negative people because they will only rub their negativity off on you. They will bring you down from trying to achieve positivity to being a cynical person once more.
2. Remind yourself what you are grateful for.
In negative situations, we tend to find ourselves thinking of the good things in our lives. You should voice those good thoughts and practice gratitude. Develop a culture of talking about the good things that happen to you other than focusing on the bad ones. Also, it is ideal to keep a journal of all the good things that you have done daily. By acknowledging what you are grateful for will help you nature a grateful heart and mind, even in adverse situations.
3. Own up to your mistakes.
If you mess up, take responsibility. If you do something good, reward yourself. Do not blame other people for things that are your fault. This only brings negative energy towards you by thinking all the negative things about that situation. Instead, accept the situation as it is and move on with life.
4. Avoid drama in your life.
Drama is an unfortunate and nasty characteristic to have. Part of avoiding drama is preventing dramatic people. Avert the gossip at all costs. It will do you no good and only helps to spread negativity.
5. Be kind to people.
By being kind, you will not have time for negative thoughts. Do various acts of kindness every day. This will keep you in a happy spirit. Besides, karma will also pay you back handsomely for your kind deeds.
Conclusion.
Negativity is everywhere, heck even in weddings, days that are considered to be the happiest in a person’s life. You will most likely find a few negative people there. It is important to transform yourself into a positive thinker since you will end up living a happy and healthy life. So be positive, and life will be positive with you.
Embrace and Just Be Yourself
Fears, doubts, and insecurities are all around us, outside and inside of us. Sometimes it may even seem easier to “just want to be someone else” as we wrap ourselves up in these negative feelings. The grass may appear much greener on the other side based on our perceptions and ideas. Which may or may not be slanted in the right direction, based on the past or current experiences we have had. The reality is often the exact opposite and others are more afraid than we are.
What if the person you think has everything going for them looks in the mirror and hates the way they smile, or how large they think their eyes are? What if everyone else in their family has brown eyes and they are made to feel out of place for having blue ones?
If the messages they have heard from family, friends, or loved ones have always been negative regarding a certain characteristic or feature, their self-esteem will have taken solid hits from that.
It’s comical how others are envied for superficial beauty, wealth, or relationships that people would fight to trade places with them because many of them are looking at us and thinking the same thing. You appear as the smartest person around and they wish they had the same people or conversation skills that you do. That feeling of quiet desperation to “be someone else” results in a lack of confidence, low self-esteem, and any hope that we can ever improve our situations in life.
This is a perception and not your reality.
Rather than spend your life wringing your hands about who you can’t be, or what you don’t have in it, concentrate on finding out how to make things better for yourself. Ask questions and find solutions to how to be a better person and to accept yourself for who you are. You can always learn new skills, ask trusted friends or advisers for areas they think you could improve in and how.
Just because that’s the way “you have always been” doesn’t mean that’s the way you must always remain.
Taking steps to self-improvement can open up new doors of experiences and opportunities for you. Then you can, in turn, inspire and motivate others.
Get rid of the regrets in your conversations with yourself and focus on being a first-class citizen in your own mind.
Accept yourself for who you are, improve what and where you can, and stop constantly comparing yourself to others. All of us will always be insecure at times but that doesn’t have to be a life sentence for being unhappy. Loving ourselves no matter what begins with the act of self-acceptance. Once we achieve that, contentment will follow.
How To Use The Law of Attraction To Reduce Stress?
As much as stress is witnessed in a large portion of our lives, is it important that we practice and appreciate some of the best possible ways to help us calm down our nerves? Stress can manifest itself in many ways causing physical, emotional, or even mental issues. It is therefore very critical for stress victims to recognize the source of anxiety and find the optimal approach to either minimize or end it.
The law of attraction together with stress management can help you achieve the much-needed balance. And although most stress reduction techniques are subjective; meaning that what may work for you may not work for another, the law of attraction can work for almost anyone. The law uses the power of the mind to achieve a specific outcome where the conscious and subconscious thoughts are put into focus – It is simply using our thoughts to attract what we want.
There are four steps to be followed when using the law of attraction to reduce or end stress:
1. Focus on what you want
This is achieved by focusing on your life and finding out the main cause of stress. Is it your partner? Is it school? Does it work? Would you do a different job to have a piece of mind? – You should focus on what you want and have a rough sketch of how you are going to achieve that.
2. Ask what you want
Once your focus is on whatever it is that you want, it is now the time to put the power of your mind to work. Let the universe and the energy of your thoughts work together; Choose a different partner, apply for a better pay job, ask for a raise, or you can explore your talent. Let the people feel and know your desire.
3. Visualize whatever you want
To visualize whatever you want is to feel, behave, and act as if you already have what you desire. Positive thinking is critical in the law of attraction; negativity and fear should not be within you. Your general outlook should be optimistic then relaxation will follow. Pessimism and doubt should be avoided to have the law work according to plan.
4. Let go your preconceptions
You never know; there may be another way to reduce your stress level that you’ve never thought of. It is for this reason that you should always remain open to other outcomes to improve your life. This can mean extra cash from working overtime, getting another job, or even getting your superior’s job.
The law of attraction is often used together with other stress relief options to effectively gain the desired outcome. The power of positive thinking is indeed a very powerful option.
How Kindness Can Get You Further In Life?
There are two things I know for sure about kindness.
1. Kindness is not weak.
2. Often, kindness is not easy.
Kindness is often characterized as an individual who is missing his backbone. Someone who apologizes for something that’s neither his responsibility nor doing nor who is standing in the background being trampled on and taken advantage of because he has no boundaries.
True kindness, however, is neither weak nor easy.
It takes strength, patience, and wisdom to be kind. The “kind” acts that we do to be “nice” to avoid conflict, confrontation, or seem to mean aren’t kind at all. Unfortunately, by being “nice” we neglect the potential negative impact of our actions.
Everyone has heard of people doing random acts of kindness and paying kind acts forward without expecting anything in return for themselves.
The payout or payoff as many self-help people would say is that they get a good feeling and make their own lives happier just by doing kind acts for others. If you are kind to yourself, kind to others, and kind and gentle to the earth, as Michael J. Chase has said in speaking engagements, your life will be better. Also, your relationships are sweeter and your health is much improved.
Chase is a unique person.
He did not experience much kindness in his early life; rather, he endured hard times that caused him to do much soul searching. Eventually, he had a startling and profound realization that completely turned his life around. Rather than keep this new knowledge for himself along, he decided to share it with others and teach them what he had learned. The main way he did this was to write a book about the philosophy of kindness, which explains how spreading good feelings helps everyone in the world.
He’ll be the first to tell you that kindness is about much more than just being ‘nice’.
Paying for the coffee for the car behind you at the drive-thru is being kind, and taking brownies in for your coworkers is kind. As he asks in “Am I Being Kind” it’s far more than just being nice, and once you discover these things deep inside yourself, you’ll truly understand its full potential for enhancing your own life.
It’s so easy to be kind if you just think about it as you go about your day.
It won’t take anything from your wallet, but it certainly pays in at least a moment or two of happiness for everyone involved. When you do something kind, hopefully, it encourages that person to do the same; and it continues from one person to the next and the next and the next. The result? A better outlook, a renewed sense of the good in others, a desire to be kind and experience positive feelings for you and others. Don’t just read about it here though, try it for yourself and see how your attitude and mood change; it’s hard to be negative or depressed after a simple act of kindness.
Even if you’re depressed and feel like you have nothing to give to others, you should realize that this is not true.
The next time you have that negative attitude, turn it around by doing something kind for someone else. Share positive feelings, and in turn, you will feel more positive about yourself and your life, and so will those around you. Everyone benefits when people are kind.
How To Find Your Calling In Life?
Many people go around perplexed about their calling in life. Some might wonder what their calling in life has to do with anything. There is a good reason for people to think about their life calling. The reason is that most people need to feel a higher cause for their lives and existence. Most people have a spiritual side. They need to feel that they aren’t born to just live through a series of experiences, just to die.
They need to feel that there are reasons why they experience the things that they do.
They need to feel that they, or we can use the various experiences that we go through in life for a higher calling or good.
So, with all of this said, just how does one go about finding their calling in life?
There are many ways to go about this task. For one thing, a person can set aside some time for contemplation and meditation. Deep contemplation and meditation are necessary for this accomplishment. So find a nice quiet place that allows you to open up your mind. Think about the things that you have experienced so far in your life. Joyful or painful, those experiences have taught you something about people, and about yourself. Think about how you handled those situations. Did you learn how to handle the situation healthily? Did you handle things in an unhealthy way? Do you know the difference? All of these questions and more can be clues to finding your calling in life.
Particularly for those who have lived lives full of pain and suffering, using those experiences to find your life purpose can be healing.
If people thought that they were simply suffering in vain, then this could make a person feel that they have no worth, or that their lives don’t matter. If they can share their sufferings, and how they overcame those sufferings, then they now have a life purpose. Their purpose could be uplifting others who have suffered the same fate. You could become a light of hope and aspiration to those who might feel that nobody understands what they are going through.
Another way to find your calling in life is to meditate and contemplate on the things that make you happy, and that makes you feel joy.
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to use your energy, especially professionally doing the things that bring happiness and joy to others? Of course, it would! So take the time to calculate out how you can use your positive energy and light as the purpose for your life.
Finding your life purpose can take years, and sometimes it takes all of your life to look back, and realize what your purpose in life was.
However, once you find it, you will find such a sense of fulfillment and peace that others who don’t realize their life purpose will never have.
How To Overcome Feeling Depressed?
In the normal course of our life, we come across a lot of things, most of which affect our emotions either positively or negatively. Among such things are our lifestyles, the people we associate with, our achievements and objectives, the weather conditions, our state of mind among others. Luckily, most of these factors are within our control which means that you can always manipulate them to work to your advantage.
The last thing you want is to let this emotion get the better part of you.
Depression is one of those emotions that need to be handled with a lot of care as it does not only affect the state of your health but in extreme cases can lead to death. This article will take you through some important tips on how you can overcome depression.
Work on your lifestyle:
Available research indicates that one of the major causes of depression today is our way of life; that is our eating regime, exercises, the way we associate with people, the way we live in our homes among others. Health experts recommend that you eat a healthy diet and pair it with some regular workouts if you want to help manage your mood swings. Some diets are known to cause a lot of anxiety to different types of people which means that the earlier you know about such foods, the higher your chances of managing such situations. On the other hand, workouts are known to keep your mind and your body engaged which reduces the chances of you thinking about your issues that may be causing depression.
Get some rest:
Usually, after a busy day or activity, there is a high chance that your mind or the body will be exhausted which may result in depression if you fail to get some rest.
Most people especially the parents have a lot on the plate be it taking care of their family, doing the normal chores among other activities that they would wish to do before they can get some rest. In the long run, such activities cause dizziness and fatigue as you are forcing your mind to handle more than it is supposed to. Most physicians recommend that you at least sleep for six hours a day to give your mind enough time to get enough rest.
Finally, there is time for everything, do not let your work issues affect your family life.
Most people make the mistake of dragging their purses to their work which ends causing more problems and making the situations even worse. It is therefore highly recommended that you draw a line to everything, leave your work issues at your office and have fun with your family. Try as much as possible to remain relaxed without worrying about tomorrow or how your days have been.
How To Stay Positive In Stressful Situations?
Sometimes nothing seems to turn out the way you had planned, no matter how hard you attempt. Regardless of where the stress is stemming from, it is essential to equip yourself with resources to rise above the negativity and stay positive. Maintaining a positive attitude can help alleviate stress and assist in accomplishing your objectives. When you feel like you have hit a dead end, and start to sense any negativity, stop! Here are a few tips on how to remain positive even when you are in challenging situations.
Count your blessings
Regardless of how rough things are, if you think about it, you have lots of things to be grateful for. Whether it’s having a job when a lot of people are jobless, having a supportive family, or simply being in good health. By revisiting everything you have in your life, you can’t hold on to the negativities. You will feel confident, proud, and positive. There are countless things in your life that you can be thankful for.
Reward yourself
When you achieve something, regardless of how little it is, pat yourself in the back for the job well done. The list of ways that you can reward yourself is endless. You can reward yourself with new opportunities to explore something new or to learn something new. You can even take your friends out for coffee. A positive attitude can hardly arise if you don’t even feel great about yourself.
Exercise regularly
Another great way to manage stress and remain positive is by exercising regularly. If you don’t exercise, try to find something that you enjoy doing such as swimming, biking, playing golf, playing tennis, or going for a walk. Breathing exercise can also help alleviate stress. Breathing has been proven to help manage stress and can help a lot in countless situations.
Take time out
If all you think about is work, you can easily be overwhelmed by stress. Be sure to give yourself time off and read a book, listen to music or do whatever it is that you find relaxing. You can also go out with your family and friends. This will help you remain focused and positive when you are on your workstation. You will ultimately thank yourself for it.
There you have it! How to always stay positive in a challenging environment. While you will not alleviate stress overnight, following these simple steps will help you develop and maintain a good attitude about your family, your work, and your life.
How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others?
Almost all of us have this one common destructive daily habit, that is, to compare ourselves to others. We compare houses, jobs, phones, cars, relationships, money, and social positions, and so on. What this habit does is create negativity within us and this may also reflect in our behavior. So what should we do? How can we get rid of this habit of comparing? If this is what you are now thinking, then the three tips given below will surely prove to be of help.
1. Understand that you never will win if you do not stop comparing
Even if you keep repeating this in your mind, and realize this consciously, it will help. Despite whatever you do, how much effort you put in, how hard you strive, there always has to be someone who is better than you or has more than you.
Of course, you may feel nice if you buy a new smartphone which is better than the one your colleague has. But pretty soon you will find someone who has a phone better than yours. So, understand that comparing is futile.
2. If at all, compare yourself only to yourself
Rather than comparing yourself with others, it will be better if you develop the habit of comparing yourself to yourself. Sit back and think how much you have progressed, how much you have grown, and how close you have reached towards your aims.
This habit will help develop kindness, appreciation, and gratitude towards yourself as you notice how much you have done, and all the hurdles you have crossed. So you will be feeling good about yourself without feeling less of others.
It will be a good idea to make this a habit, say by spending a few minutes every weekend to write down how much you have achieved, how close you now are to your life goals, what you have learned, etc.
3. Learn to be kind
Perhaps you never might have even imagined so, but the way you behave with others also has an impact on how you think about yourself. If you have this habit of always criticizing and judging others, chances are bright you will also criticize and judge yourself often, even if unconsciously. So, try to help others and be kinder to them and you automatically will learn to be kinder to yourself.
Just try to focus on the positive things in life, the positives in others, and the positives within yourself. The more you start seeing just the good things in others and humans,
Figuring out how to pardon someone who wronged you is not an easy thing. Most times we imagine that we are over it and have forgiven them but in most cases, we usually hold a grudge against them. However, holding resentment only hurts you the most. You only end up stressing yourself over it which cannot only cause psychological problems but also more serious health problems. It is therefore essential to learn the act of forgiveness and to avoid grudges.
Acknowledge the cause of the grudge.
To start with, try to find out the root cause of your grudge. You can only try to find a solution after you are aware of the problem. At times you may come to realize that you were just overreacting and holding a grudge over such a petty thing. Once you have seen the main problem you can then settle on a decision to push ahead from that point.
Consider the positive side.
Everything in life has its positive and negative sides. Instead of getting angry at the whole issue, try and take it as an invaluable lesson to you. Take in an important lesson or leave with a superior understanding that can assist you to let go of the issue and not despise the one who wronged you.
Put yourself into their shoes.
At times we may be quick at judging people when they do something bad to us but try putting yourself into their shoes and you may get a better understanding of why they had to do what they did. This doesn’t legitimize their actions; however, it will assist you to comprehend them. The better you understand their intentions, the easier you will find it to forgive them.
A grudge could be a result of just a small misunderstanding or confronting the issue the wrong way. Without being biased, clarify your feelings on the issue. At that point, choose if this is something you will chip away at in your own heart or by reach the other individual to come up with a solution. Wait until you have calmed down and then confront the other party in a calm and non-judgmental way. You may choose to solve it among yourselves or try involving a third party. But regardless of the approach, this will help you to get rid of the tension built up in you allowing you to feel more relaxed.
Finally, forgive them.
Forgiveness does not imply that you will forget the whole incident. It only means that you have accepted your disparities and acknowledged that we are all humans who are prone to error. Forgiveness isn’t easy but it is worth it. It allows you to get rid of that burden off your heart, therefore, giving you peace.
Why You Should Look At Mistakes as Lessons Instead of Regrets?
“I wish I had put more effort in my classes, by now I would have risen many ranks higher. If only I could turn back time and avoid the mistakes that made my business go under. It’s because of not taking her seriously that she left and now is in the arms of another man.” These are some examples of regrets that some of us are having now. Yes, you aren’t at the position you would have wished to be at. Yes, you are nearing 40 years and you still haven’t found your footing. But this doesn’t mean you have to keep beating yourself up for past failures and mistakes. And as Richard Branson once said,d “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and by falling over”.
Robert Kiyosaki’s famous quote “Don’t waste a good mistake, learn from it” is aimed at encouraging people to not live on regrets but rather learn from their mistakes.
These sentiments are supported by Albert Einstein who said that if you have never made a mistake then you have never tried something new. I mean, if you didn’t fail, how would you know you were ill-prepared? Or if you did get that job, how would you know that your skills are a bit behind?
The way you view a mistake will determine how fast you dust yourself and move on.
The mistake is a doorway to learning about yourself better. Theory and practice are different, and by making mistakes you can know how knowledgeable you are and how far you can go. This helps you prepare yourself better just as Napoleon Hill said ‘every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit’.
Accepting you made a mistake and moving on is better than analyzing and re-analyzing your situation.
Living on regret is the same as insanity which Albert Einstein defined as doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting different outcomes. Truth is that if you are wise you can never repeat the same mistake. Would you continue driving while drunk after getting involved in a fatal accident? Would you run your business hands-off after winding up because you over depended on an incompetent person? Of course not!
“If you live for long, you’ll make mistakes. However, if you understand and learn from the mistakes, you’ll be a better individual. It’s how you handle hardships, not how it has affected you. The key thing is never to give up, and never quit.” – Bill Clinton.
From this quote by the former US president, we see that no one is immune to mistakes. The difference between the wise and the ordinary person is that the former accepts and learns from it while the latter will be absorbed in it and live in regret. This is well brought out through this popular quote by Winston Churchill, one of the founding fathers of the US “All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes”. Mistakes should be viewed as stepping stones and an eye-opener and not a barrier to success or happiness.
Yes, you are living a life of regret.
You are knee-deep in debt, your partner has issued you divorce papers, you just flanked your finals, your business is getting liquidated, or you are losing your home. However, nothing stays forever. Even the strongest storm eventually passes just like daylight eventually shines in the darkest of nights. Wipe your tears, dust yourself up, get up and face life.
“Experience is simply the name we make our mistakes.” – Oscar Wilde
And as I conclude, I would like to encourage you to press on and always fix your eyes on the goal. Remember, Bill Gates, the world’s richest man said “it’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure”.