power of self motivation

Power Of Self Motivation
So how do you stay calm, composed and maintain self esteem in a
tough environment? Here are some tips you may to consider as a
starter guide to self improvement.

Imagine yourself as a Dart Board. Everything and everyone else
around you may become Dart Pins, at one point or another. These
dart pins will destroy your self esteem and pull you down in ways
you won't even remember. Don't let them destroy you, or get the
best of you. So which dart pins should you avoid?

Dart Pin #1 : Negative Work Environment
Beware of "dog eat dog" theory where everyone else is fighting just
to get ahead. This is where non-appreciative people usually thrive.
No one will appreciate your contributions even if you miss lunch
and dinner, and stay up late. Most of the time you get to work too
much without getting help from people concerned. Stay out of this,
it will ruin your self esteem. Competition is at stake anywhere. Be
healthy enough to compete, but in a healthy competition that is.

Dart Pin #2: Other People's Behavior
Bulldozers, brown nosers, gossipmongers, whiners, backstabbers,
snipers, people walking wounded, controllers, naggers, complainers,
exploders, patronizers, sluffers... all these kinds of people will
pose bad vibes for your self esteem, as well as to your self
improvement scheme.

Dart Pin #3: Changing Environment
You can't be a green bug on a brown field. Changes challenge our
paradigms. It tests our flexibility, adaptability and alters the
way we think. Changes will make life difficult for awhile, it may
cause stress but it will help us find ways to improve our selves.
Change will be there forever, we must be susceptible to it.

Dart Pin #4: Past Experience
It's okay to cry and say "ouch!" when we experience pain. But don't
let pain transform itself into fear. It might grab you by the tail
and swing you around. Treat each failure and mistake as a lesson.

Dart Pin #5: Negative World View
Look at what you're looking at. Don't wrap yourself up with all the
negativities of the world. In building self esteem, we must learn
how to make the best out of worst situations.

Dart Pin #6: Determination Theory
The way you are and your behavioral traits is said to be a mixed
end product of your inherited traits (genetics), your upbringing
(psychic), and your environmental surroundings such as your spouse,
the company, the economy or your circle of friends. You have your
own identity. If your father is a failure, it doesn't mean you have
to be a failure too. Learn from other people's experience, so
you'll never have to encounter the same mistakes.

Sometimes, you may want to wonder if some people are born leaders
or positive thinkers. NO. Being positive, and staying positive is a
choice. Building self esteem and drawing lines for self improvement
is a choice, not a rule or a talent. God wouldn't come down from
heaven and tell you - "George, you may now have the permission to
build self esteem and improve your self."

In life, its hard to stay tough specially when things and people
around you keep pulling you down. When we get to the battle field,
we should choose the right luggage to bring and armors to use, and
pick those that are bullet proof. Life's options give us arrays of
more options. Along the battle, we will get hit and bruised. And
wearing a bullet proof armor ideally means 'self change'. The kind
of change which comes from within. Voluntarily. Armor or Self
Change changes 3 things: our attitude, our behavior and our way of
thinking.

Building self esteem will eventually lead to self improvement if we
start to become responsible for who we are, what we have and what
we do. Its like a flame that should gradually spread like a brush
fire from inside and out. When we develop self esteem, we take
control of our mission, values and discipline. Self esteem brings
about self improvement, true assessment, and determination. So how
do you start putting up the building blocks of self esteem? Be
positive. Be contented and happy. Be appreciative. Never miss an
opportunity to compliment. A positive way of living will help you
build self esteem, your starter guide to self improve

Meditation new

Life is full of stress related experiences, where one goes through the
highs and lows, constantly or continuously. I have heard that the art
of meditation can help me overcome these circumstances. I want to know
about meditation. Can you please tell me something about how to
meditate and how can one experience complete relaxation in meditation?
This is what a novice who is suffering from some psychological
upheaval asked a yoga professional. And the simple answer that came
from the expert is: meditation is the way to increase concentration.
You just sit with legs crossed, spine straight, and light a candle in
front of you. Now keep gazing at the unwavering flame till your eyes
can bear and then just close your eyes. So, now you have done
meditation.
Wow! What an explanation. But is this what we call meditation?
No! But unfortunately this is what has been understood by a common
man. In reality, no answers can ever suffice to elucidate what
meditation is all about and how the regular daily practice of a
certain meditation technique can evolve the over all personality of an
individual.
Meditation is an experience, not a philosophy. And one goes on looking
into the books to research on meditation. When we are looking at the
wrong place, how will we find what we are seeking? The need is to be
in the benevolence of the master and seek from the master. Master is
the one who is well versed with the intricacies involved and it is
because of sheer compassion that master shares this treasure.
Today, we have cds and cassettes of meditation techniques which are
readily available in the market but the real essence of meditation can
be understood and experienced in the presence of an enlightened
master. These cds are just a stepping stone towards the unknown path
and master is the gateless gate through which the seeker passes and
become one with one's own nature.
You can be the creator of your own manifest destiny. Through daily
meditation practice and focus on changing your life for the better. In
fact, you have the ability to redefine yourself in any direction you
desire. The power that you can cultivate is limited only by your own
imagination.
As I have mentioned earlier, this will change the lives of people who
you come into frequent contact with. Therefore, you must always be
kind, trustworthy, and considerate to others. You should make a change
in that direction at this very moment.
Why the sudden need for character improvement? It goes hand-in-hand
with using power and influence wisely. Remember Lord Acton's saying:
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." The
power of your mind has the ability to alter reality. Therefore, this
is a power that must be controlled.
How is this possible? Here is an example: If you had two identical
twin boys, who haven't eaten for two days, and you put an apple in
front of them; what would they do?
Most likely, they would fight over it, and the winner would eat, most
or, all of it. You and I know they should divide it equally, but each
of them has really felt starvation, and that is a reality you and I do
not feel at the moment. So we are not talking about imagination, but
three legitimate points of view, that each becomes our own reality.
Meditation will allow your mind to see multiple points of view,
without judgment. If you can see only one point of view, you haven't
meditated long enough. The best leaders, negotiators, and diplomats,
know that you have to understand the opposing viewpoint, to move
forward, on any issue. There is always justification, on both sides,
in any conflict, but true compromise is meeting the opposition in a
different reality, than you both started from.
If you had the ability to travel in the space shuttle, your view of
earth, from within your space vehicle, would be much different from
the person living in poverty, within a refugee camp. You could not
see, or feel, that person's pain, and each of you would have a vivid
picture of life on earth.
You can meditate from a mountain top, but once you have seen the full
picture, you have an obligation to help mankind, with acts of
kindness. Once you have discovered how easy it is to help others, you
are no longer struggling with; "who is right and who is wrong."

Self meditation really works. Countless of learned and loving people
have practiced it all through the ages, because it clears the mind and
opens the heart. Highly educated priests and sages spent their all
lives pursuing and teaching the way to illumination. The techniques
have been included into the world's great philosophies and religions,
and have been used by millions of people through the ages.
The current interest in self meditation has enthused many modern
teachers to simplify the ancient techniques, and to strip them of the
cultural accumulation of centuries. In this way, self meditation has
become reachable to people who may not wish to get involved in a
religious tradition, but who do wish to change themselves and to perk
up the quality of their lives and relationships.
The state of self meditation can some-times occur impulsively, when
all the conditions are just right. However, most of us need to work
quite hard at our self meditation techniques in order to get into the
right frame of mind.
There are 5 basic requirements:

The body must be at ease and still
The internal energies need to be in balance
The mind must stay focused and not be allowed to stroll
The heart must be at peace
You must wait patiently, without expectations
You first need to learn how to sit contentedly in a suitable position,
and to practice this position until you can stay in it, tranquil yet
alert, for 1/2 to 1 or more.
You may need to practice breathing exercises to bring the internal
energies into a state of synchronization. Otherwise you will be
vulnerable in your practice by restlessness of one sort or another -
traditionally known as disruption.
You should focus your mind on 1 thing only, which can be an external
or internal object. You should become aware of when your mind stroll
as it will and gently bring it back into focus.
Your heart should become naturally passive and serene as a result of
attending to your body, breathing, and mind. If it remains disturbed
or unhappy, there are many techniques to help you to gain inner
stillness when negative emotions beset you.
Having got yourself ready for the state of self meditation to arise in
you, do nothing. Maintain your stillness and wait serenely - simply
grateful for the chance to receive. You are like a radio receiver
tuned in to catch anything may come to you from beyond.

Adjustment is always needed since our environment constantly changes.
Thus, it affects both the emotional and physical aspects of the person
creating either negative or positive feelings. This can result to
stress.
Stress is a part of everyday lives since time immemorial. But if an
influence is positive, stress can motivate a person to an action
resulting to a new consciousness and a stimulating new perspective.
But if the influence is negative, stress can create a feeling of
rejection, distrust, depression, and anger. In return, health problems
can be developed such as an upset stomach, headaches, insomnia,
rashes, heart disease, stroke, ulcers, and high blood pressure. People
can experience stress during a job promotion, new relationship, child
birth, or death of a person close to them.
Stress can hinder or help people depending on their reactions to the
circumstances of life. It does not matter if all are positive stresses
since it adds excitement and anticipation to life. But somehow
competitions, deadlines, frustrations, sorrows, and confrontations
also add enrichment and depth to life.
You don't need to get rid of stress. All you need to do is manage it
in a way that it can give you benefits. Remember that insufficient
stress can act as depressants letting you feel dejected or bored.
While excessive stress lets you feel stocked.
To avoid stress build ups, you can try meditation. Besides it being
cool to do, you can obtain an immediate calming effect regardless of
your meditation posture. In this manner, you can reduce your stress.
1. Practicing your breathing is the first process you should learn. If
you observe that stress is starting to disturb you, just do a couple
of light breathing. Concentrate on your breathing quality. Make sure
that it's light and still. Then slowly breathe deeper.
2. The next step is to balance your posture and make it even, head up
and back straight. Most people who are stressed out often do a
slouching posture while frowning.
3. Clear your thoughts. Start to imagine that you are swimming in
relaxing waves. Feel the flowing waves in your consciousness that is
taking away all you stress and anxiety. Make sure your body receives
the constant flow of the waves.
4. Acknowledge your stress and review its root causes. This is a very
important step. Denying stress in the meditation process is not good.
Clearly speak to your mind that the stress is true but you have the
capacity to handle it by thinking straight and finding ways to deal
and cope up with it immediately.
5. Repeat this statement during your meditation process for at least
ten minutes or more. Then take control of your stress totally. Think
of the person who caused you such stress and made you out of control.
Control your mind and remove the stress from it.
6. Finally, concentrate on a decision that you have the right to a
peaceful and free mind and nobody can say or do anything against this
right, as you end the meditation process. Every time you need
meditation, just dictate this decision to your mind.
These steps can do something to change your outlook whenever stress
disturbs you. Never be afraid to try, just believe on the benefits
that it will give you in the end.

Have you been under too much stress lately? Or are constantly tired
because of work and other commitments? Are you lethargic and need
something to boost your energy? Then meditation is for you. Meditation
describes a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought
or awareness. It is the art of relaxing your mind by turning the
attention inward to a single point of reference.
Meditation is one of the oldest arts of India. Hindu religion lays
greatest stress on Meditation. According to scriptures Meditation is
the path to achieve godhood. Now days many forms of meditation have
developed, but the aim is common. In normal practice Meditation is
used for many other advantages for body mainly for stress relief, and
other medicinal benefits.
What Meditation does-
It is a great to distress or relax. It helps improve concentration. It
helps keep an altered state of awareness. It is the suspension of
logical thought processes which helps relax the mind. It helps the
mind to maintain its self-observing attitude. It helps a lot to get in
touch with your mind and soul, which is a rejuvenating experience. It
refreshes the mind and soul and keeps it healthy. It helps promote
positivism in our mind and get rid of negative thoughts.
There are various methods of meditation. Yoga, prayer, vipasana,
sufism, etc. Each of these forms helps to meditate. Meditation is best
done in early the morning and in a quiet place. To gain the maximum
benefits of meditation, it is best to do it consistently at the same
time, everyday. This helps create a pattern and makes it easier to
concentrate. Meditation helps keep the mind and soul young and
healthy. It is a healthy practice that helps distress and relaxes.
Select a peaceful place and begin Meditation. If you can perform it at
a set time everyday that will be better.


When it comes to learning meditation, one requires to learn several
important techniques in order to achieve success and obtain maximum
benefits. Remember that effective meditation includes a lot of
techniques.
The techniques of meditation vary from one culture to other. However,
the art of meditation is one. It is universal. These techniques have
been developed to suit different personalities.
You would find that certain techniques demand concentration, focus and
attention. There are also other techniques that are expansive.
'Vipassana' form of meditation is such a technique. It allows one to
enjoy free flow of thoughts in conjunction with observation.
Here are some of the most common techniques used in:
a) Mantra meditation:
A mantra can be defined as a grouping of different sound vibrations
that have an effect on the physical as well as mental consciousness.
Traditionally, these are given to a student by a Teacher or 'Guru'.
However, in the absence of a Guru, the practitioner or the student can
opt for his own mantra.
One needs to follow an important rule when selecting a mantra.
According to this rule, one must choose a mantra that appeals to the
mind fully when spoken verbally. When chanting mantra, powerful
vibrations are created. These are said to be directed to the
appropriate 'Chakras' in order to attract certain divine forces.
This technique works towards healing the physical, spiritual and
psychological body of the practitioner. One must fully enjoy the
rhythm of the mantra when it is chanted. It is also necessary to
surrender oneself to the whole experience.
b) Steady gaze or Trataka:
This is a simple but very beautiful technique of meditation. You need
to use a regular candle for this technique. Some people prefer using
other objects of their choice. You should set up the candle at an
arm's length. It should be placed in level with eyes.
Perform steady gazing with eyes open first. After a while, you can
close your eyes and gaze at the after image of the flame. This should
be gazed at the eye brow center. Do not move through out the practice.
Now, relax your breath and lengthen and deepen it. Repeat the process
for sometime.
c) Chakra meditation:
Charka meditation refers to a simple way for neophytes to explore the
charkas via self help. This helps in providing a sense of awakening in
them gently. This is done in a balanced integrated manner.
You can perform it either sitting or lying. You need to close your
eyes, adjust your body and clothing. Let your breath relax, slow and
then deepen. Do not make an attempt to control it. Once you are
settled down, begin with Ujjayi pranayam and do this for sometime.
Bring awareness towards the spinal passage. Do it for a few minutes.
Ascend with inhalation and descend with exhalation. Try to locate
charkas within that channel. Don't locate the exact location. Only
focus in general area. Feel the location of these charkas and repeat
its name mentally as you pass by it.
You need to mentally repeat from Mooldhara to Ajna and then reverse
the order. Prior to finishing, let go of breath sound and then names.
Now, chant mantra 'Om' for about three times.
connie thompson to meditationzen
show details Mar 26 (5 days ago) Reply




My definition of "meditation" is a somewhat broad one. I consider it's
an opportunity for each of us to realize our higher consciousness (or
to realize our oneness with our higher consciousness) and to let go of
resistance.
Benefits and Techniques of Meditation
There are many benefits to meditation, which I see as side effects or
extras, rather than the primary purpose of meditation. However, many
individuals are inspired to meditate because of the benefits or
perceived benefits, such as improved health, greater calmness, less
sleep at night. Regular meditators are generally more attentive,
aware, and calm.
Given my broad definition, you can perhaps understand that I recognize
the existence of hundreds of techniques and advocate a variety. Some
are more supportive than others; some are more conducive to continuing
a long term practice than others; some are easier to learn than
others. A technique is a means to assist you in reaching the deeper
purpose of meditating.
Guided Meditation: One Approach
One of the techniques I use with people is the "guided" meditation. A
guided meditation is one in which a voice is used to guide the
process. The voice can be your own or someone else's. Some folks feel
more relaxed or more clear as a result of guidance and support of
another's voice.
A soothing voice is more conducive to a meditative state than a harsh
one. Simplicity is more helpful than complex words or complicated
ideas. A slow pace, rather than a fast cadence, tends to foster
greater depth. A regular practice is helpful for going deeper.
Enhancing Your Guided Meditations
Here are suggestions for the most effective guided meditations or
guided visualizations, whether you wish to lead others verbally, or
you wish to benefit the most from being guided by someone else, or you
wish to guide yourself.
Align with the Divine. When we are in touch with our higher
consciousness, words flow through us. Or perhaps they do not flow
through us, in which case, silence is a perfect condition.
Establish Intention. A guided meditation that begins with a stated
intention will find perfect rhythm and sound and depth, regardless of
the spoken words. The best statements of intention are simple and
broad, like "to relax" or "to align with the divine" or "to be more
aware."
Be Present. New meditators are often concerned with "getting the words
right." However, a satisfying guided meditation is deeper than words.
Showing up fully will do more for lifting consciousness than a well-
edited script.
Breathe. Breathe and instruct others to breathe to enhance grounding
and relaxation. Some meditation teachers have rules about breathing. I
keep in simple: breathe in and breathe out. And notice.
Be Conscious of Energy. You may see energy or feel it or sense it or
know what is happening energetically. If you feel confusion, invite
clarity to be present. If you sense resistance, give your attention to
safety or ease or comfort or relaxation.
Honor Both Uniqueness and Universality. If you guide others into a
meditative state, remember that individuals are unique beings with
their own set of beliefs which are not to be undermined, but honored.
The deeper we move into a meditative state, the more universal are the
experiences, with space for each of us to have our own unique
expression.
Let go of Expectations of End Results. Sometimes we get fixated on how
we think things "should be" and miss living right now. A guided inner
experience can provide power to open to new possibilities, if we just
show up for the experience.
Feel and Express Gratitude. It's a joy to do inner work, which usually
prompts us to greater and greater gratitude. Gratitude is a powerful
consciousness from which to live and to express outwardly.
Live in the Consciousness of Loving Kindness. Sometimes when we are
carrying on our daily lives, we forget the calmness of a meditation.
It's important to train ourselves to live this calmness and joy.
Practice, Practice, Practice. It's important to practice until
meditation is part of your life style. If one approach feels good one
day and another another day, then you are trusting your own inner
guidance if you shift from one technique to another.
becky hicks to meditationzen
show details Mar 26 (5 days ago) Reply




It is a scientific fact that sound stimulates our mind, it has the
power to change our moods, trigger emotions and imagination and even
go so far as to alter our states of perception.
Our mind responds to our brainwave frequencies - the electrical pulses
in our brain determine which brain wave state we are presently working
in.
The most commonly categorized frequencies are;Beta, Alpha, Theta &
Delta.
The Rooms of our Mind
An easy way to understand this is to imagine you are stood in the
center of a circular room, there are several different colored open
doorways around this room. Each doorway leads to a hall set with its
own ambiance and powers.
The Alpha Hall...
Imagine we walk through the green doorway, you notice above the
doorway is the sign; 'Alpha Hall'. In the Alpha hall there is a lovely
relaxing atmosphere, you can hear soft bells ringing and birds singing
all around you, the air is fresh and clean. There are many things to
look at that remind you of the different parts of your life. All
around there are comfortable sofas, cushions and chairs inviting you
to sit in them and rest. In this room you can focus on everything very
deeply and you feel a sense of understanding.You are very relaxed and
soothed and can't help but settle into one of the soft, plush sofas
and allow yourself to soak up the atmosphere. You find you are able to
sort though the thoughts in your mind and make better judgments and
decisions.
The Beta Hall...
After a while and feeling wonderfully refreshed you leave the alpha
hallway and return to the circular room, you then enter through the
red doorway and see the sign above 'Beta Hall'. This room has an
electric, vibrant atmosphere and you instantly feel an energy rush.
There are clocks ticking, office desks, computers, phones ringing, gym
equipment and lots of interesting activities ready for you to work
with. You feel alive and ready to take on the world. Ideas begin to
form in your mind and you decide which activity you are going to
perform first.
The Theta Hall...
When you leave the Beta hall and return to the circular room you
decide to go though the purple colored doorway. Above is the sign;
'Theta Hall'. When you enter the Theta hall your body starts to feel
weightless. You begin to forget the immediate things on your mind and
your present circumstances, instead you see yourself in a more
meaningful way, as though you have taken a step back and have reached
the control center of your being. You feel you can conjure up various
situations and surroundings, almost as though you are in a dream
state. It's a magical room where anything is possible. In this hall
you can study your life and behavior from a new perspective and
understand and decide on the things you need in your life back in the
circular room.
The Delta Hall...
Back in the circular room you enter though the blue doorway, above is
the sign; 'Delta Hall'. Inside the Delta hall it is as though it were
night with a bright moon and sparkling stars in the sky. There is a
distant singing that sounds like angels are serenading you. You
immediately feel drowsy and notice there are beds and resting places
all around. The atmosphere feels safe and healing, any pain you have
seems to melt away. You rest in a soft, downy bed and allow the warmth
to soak into you and feel a wonderful healing energy enter your body.
You drift away into a rejuvenating deep sleep.
Brainwave entrainment music attempts to guide the brain toward planned
frequencies and combinations to produce the target response in our
brain such as deep relaxation, meditation, pain relief.
. elvira wright to meditationzen
show details Mar 26 (5 days ago) Reply




you're no one. Your value just went down the chute! Same with all the
other things you attach yourself to, your car, your house and your
money. Poof, they're gone, and so is your essence. Bull!
Learning to let go of your Ego allows you to let go of any attachment
to material things and the need to control your surroundings, people
in your life and all your stuff. "But wait Steve, aren't we here to
learn how to manifest more stuff?" Well, yes. It's a bit counter
intuitive isn't it? We're back to 'letting go, and letting God'.
At this point I hope you get the point that you need to allow yourself
to just be, without any attachments to outcomes or results. It's when
you let go that the things you want in life begin to appear. You have
an internal guidance system, your true self, that points you in the
right direction to happiness and fulfillment (yes, and the stuff), you
just need to remember who you really are and tap into that.
You knew when you were a kid how to have fun and be happy. I bet you
had more fun with a cardboard box and a crayon than whatever came in
the box. Somewhere along the line, you just forgot how to do it. Now
I'm going to give you some tools with which you can remember.
Let's begin with gratitude. When was the last time you were really
thankful for the things you already have? A home to live in, a car to
drive or the food you eat every day? When was the last time you really
tasted and savored the food you eat? I'm not trying to beat your down
here, or guilt you like your Mom did about the starving kids in China
or Africa. I'm just saying slow down and really, really appreciate
your corn flakes, or your kids or that fact that your car starts most
mornings. Be completely grateful for what you have without thinking
about what you don't have. OK? OK.
I'll give you more Manifestation tools in Part Three, but first.....
Let meditate!
So, hopefully you have been practicing at least 5 minutes a day, and
congratulations if you are! Maybe you are even up to 20 minutes a day,
KUDO's to you! (Just a small ego stroke for ya, ha ha.) Go to place
where you prefer to have your quiet time. Again, this should be a
place where you wont be disturbed and preferably darkened. If you
like, light some candles and your favorite incense. Now find some nice
music to play in the background. There are plenty of meditation CD's
you can purchase for this purpose, don't worry if you don't have any
right now though.
Sit either on the floor, in a chair or on cushions that will allow you
to keep your back straight up and down. Keeping your spine erect helps
allow the energy to flow through you easily and keeps you 'grounded'
during the meditation. There are two ways I suggest you hold your
hands. Either place your hands on your legs near your knees, palms up,
with your index fingers and thumbs lightly touching, or hands
overlapping, again, palms up, in your lap and forming a kind of cup.
Choose whatever is most comfortable and feels right for you.
Breath in taking full deep breaths, allowing your diaphragm to fully
expand, pause for a few seconds and exhale completely, expelling all
the air in your lungs. Continue to focus on this method of breathing
for a few minutes until it becomes natural and rhythmic and you begin
to feel relaxed. Now think about something you are grateful for, for
the next several minutes. Allow yourself to feel total joy around this
experience.
Next, think about something you would like to manifest in your life.
Imagine already having it in your possession. Feel the joy it brings
you to have this thing right now. Completely focus on the feeling of
already having in your life. If thoughts creep up like "I can't ever
get that" or "That would be nice, someday" gently let go of these
thoughts and return your focus on the feeling of having it today,
right now!
Continue focusing on the object of your desire for about 5 minutes,
then return your focus on your breathing. Simply let go of any
thoughts you have. As your mind wanders, and it will, take notice and
just redirect your thought to your breath.
When you are ready, begin to slowly return your consciousness to the
room you are in, and become aware of your surroundings. Ahhhhhhh, I
bet that felt great! Remember not to judge your meditation, you will
get better and better the more you practice.
Keep up this new meditation daily if possible. Each time you may
choose to focus on the same thing you want to manifest, or something
different each time. Just be as consistent as you can. Next time, more
tools sweep away your Ego and more meditation techniques to manifest
the life of your dreams.
Nowadays it seems that even the mainstream magazines are discussing
the numerous benefits of meditation. What was once an activity
reserved for the eclectic in our culture has now taken a strong
foothold in the fabric of Western society.
But there are still many of us who would scratch our heads if asked to
explain meditation. What is it exactly? To meditate means to focus
your thoughts on something with the purpose of quieting the incessant
chatter of the mind. If done properly, your brainwaves reach a level
of consciousness called alpha state, and it is in this state that your
mind and body begin to heal.
The healing benefits of meditation are threefold - physical,
psychological, and spiritual. The meditation benefits touted the most
in our culture are the physiological benefits that can be tested and
proven. For example, due to a steady increase in coronary disease over
the last few decades, many individuals are turning to meditation as a
way of improving their heart health. The effects of meditation when
practiced regularly include reduced blood pressure and cholesterol,
which means an overall decrease in your heart's workload. Less work
for your heart means it will be pumping for many years to come.
Other meditation effects on the body include a decrease in chronic
pain and stress and better breathing due to improved lung and heart
efficiency. Some studies also suggest that meditation may help those
with sleep disorders or even those who suffer from autoimmune diseases
such as fibromyalgia.
Other benefits of meditation are those which take place in the mind,
and sometimes these are equally as important as the physical benefits.
Psychological benefits of meditation include improved creativity,
learning ability, and memory. And, let's face it - who doesn't need a
little help with their memory? Studies also show an increase in
overall happiness and emotional stability, while feelings of
depression, anxiety and irritability tend to decrease.
In addition to the physical and psychological effects of meditation,
we cannot discount the deep spiritual implications of this ancient
art. For centuries enlightened cultures have sought the spiritual
benefits of meditation and have discovered its awesome ability to
momentarily separate us from our material needs and desires and put us
in contact with something greater. We can use meditation to open up
our minds to receive deeper wisdom, which helps to lead us down the
path of self-improvement or even self-enlightenment.
The best part is that we don't have to be a shaman, or Gandhi, or
attend a Buddhist temple to reap these spiritual meditation benefits.
In fact, there exists a number of ways in which people like you and I
can partake in the physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits of
meditation.
Mindfulness, transcendental, and breathing meditation are just a
sampling of the types of meditation you can use to bring your mind
into a relaxed state of healing. In mindfulness meditation we allow
thoughts and feelings to enter our mind, but we do not judge them. We
practice living fully in the present moment. With transcendental
meditation, we use a mantra, which we repeat in order to quiet our
thoughts. Breathing meditation harnesses the rhythmic power of our own
breath. Feel inspired to investigate other types. As long as the form
of meditation benefits the body, mind, and soul, it is useful.
Feel overwhelmed by your choices? You can also purchase meditation
tapes in order to experience the positive effects of meditation. Let
an expert guide you through the process. Or, look for local churches
or meditation centers that offer classes. Whatever form of meditation
you choose, remember you must practice it regularly in order to
experience the incredible benefits of meditation.
http://www.meditationandmore.com
connie thompson to meditationzen
show details Mar 26 (5 days ago) Reply




An accomplished meditation expert will probably tell you that you must
not fall asleep during meditation. The aim is to be in control of your
mind during the meditation session, and falling asleep quite clearly
takes away that control. Similarly, somebody who practices mantras
will inform you that the mantra should be exhibited orally, and very
many times.
There are times in life, though, where it can pay to adapt valuable
concepts and practices, and mould them into your own life and
lifestyle. A full meditation session of any type really cuts deep into
the day, and while it would be beneficial for everyone to indulge in a
regular full session, some people just cannot, or will not, fit it
into their daily schedule.
As for mantras, many Westerners would feel very self conscious of the
oral repetition which, to others, may sound rather zombie like.
However, there is a time of day when you can "cheat" on both the
mantra and the meditation, and still get some amazing results. That
time is after you have gone to bed, after you have finished your other
bedtime activities, like reading War and Peace, but before you fall
asleep.
When you sleep, your subconscious mind does not rest; at least, if you
give it something to work on, it will not rest. If you count sheep to
get to sleep, though, your subconscious will maybe think: "Oh my,
we're into farming now. Looks like the quiet life from now on." The
secret is not to think about going to sleep, confine sheep to the oven
for your evening meal, and give your subconscious some serious
activity for the night.
From 1990 to the mid 1990's, I discovered the power of the
subconscious to resolve work related problems, in highly complex
projects that I was involved in managing. One in particular was very
high pressured, high profile at the time, and very complex. It was an
outsourcing project, worth about $50m a year, and of a type not
attempted in Europe before. The responsibility was enormous, we were
breaking new ground, and there were lots of problems.
Yet, I never worried about the problems, and did not have to. Most
could be resolved in working hours, and it was my practice not to take
work home. Difficult problems that there were no immediate solutions
for were set aside at the end of the working day. I did not lie awake
worrying about them, but I did focus on communicating them to my
subconscious just before I slept. The solution, at least in outline
plan, was always ready and waiting by the time I got to work the next
day; without fail.
I had never read about meditation at that stage, but later realized
that what I was doing naturally was a quick meditation technique, with
a particular purpose in mind.
Since then, I have added to that technique, and use it not just for
problems, but for achieving what I want to in the future. I have even
used it, at its most magnified, for a couple of emergencies. My
bedtime meditation now comprises:
1. Lying in bed, on my back, focusing on my breathing to get into a
totally relaxed state, as for a normal, long, meditation session.
2. As soon as I feel I am able to communicate directly to my
subconscious at a deep level, I focus, one at a time, on the things I
want to achieve in the next few years. Each one I repeat in my mind,
like a visualized mantra; not orally so that I keep my wife awake, but
through imagery I hear what I am repeating, and see what I will be
achieving.
3. The words I am saying are all in the present tense, thus stating to
my subconscious that "this is how it is...it's up to you to get me
there."
So far, the plans that I have been imposing on myself are gradually
coming to fruition. They are long term and ambitious, but they will
happen.
How I will get there I do not know, as I have learnt with these
techniques that the end result may be achieved in an unexpected way. I
mentioned earlier using these techniques in an emergency, and have
done so twice in the past two years. On the last occasion, the night
before the last pre-court hearing over a lease contract, our opponent,
against all expectations, suddenly caved in. Why she did so I would
never have guessed in a million years.

soft skills

Communication Skills
Why you need to get your message across
Effective communication is all about conveying your messages to other people clearly and unambiguously. It's also about receiving information that others are sending to you, with as little distortion as possible.
Doing this involves effort from both the sender of the message and the receiver. And it's a process that can be fraught with error, with messages muddled by the sender, or misinterpreted by the recipient. When this isn't detected, it can cause tremendous confusion, wasted effort and missed opportunity.
In fact, communication is only successful when both the sender and the receiver understand the same information as a result of the communication.
By successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively. When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that you actually send do not necessarily reflect what you think, causing a communications breakdown and creating roadblocks that stand in the way of your goals – both personally and professionally.
In a recent survey of recruiters from companies with more than 50,000 employees, communication skills were cited as the single more important decisive factor in choosing managers. The survey, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Business School, points out that communication skills, including written and oral presentations, as well as an ability to work with others, are the main factor contributing to job success.
In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many individuals continue to struggle, unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively – whether in verbal or written format. This inability makes it nearly impossible for them to compete effectively in the workplace, and stands in the way of career progression.
Being able to communicate effectively is therefore essential if you want to build a successful career. To do this, you must understand what your message is, what audience you are sending it to, and how it will be perceived. You must also weigh-in the circumstances surrounding your communications, such as situational and cultural context.
Communications Skills – The Importance of Removing Barriers
Problems with communication can pop-up at every stage of the communication process (which consists of the sender, encoding, the channel, decoding, the receiver, feedback and the context – see the diagram below). At each stage, there is the potential for misunderstanding and confusion.

To be an effective communicator and to get your point across without misunderstanding and confusion, your goal should be to lessen the frequency of problems at each stage of this process, with clear, concise, accurate, well-planned communications. We follow the process through below:
Source...
As the source of the message, you need to be clear about why you're communicating, and what you want to communicate. You also need to be confident that the information you're communicating is useful and accurate.
Message...
The message is the information that you want to communicate.
Encoding...
This is the process of transferring the information you want to communicate into a form that can be sent and correctly decoded at the other end. Your success in encoding depends partly on your ability to convey information clearly and simply, but also on your ability to anticipate and eliminate sources of confusion (for example, cultural issues, mistaken assumptions, and missing information.)
A key part of this is knowing your audience: Failure to understand who you are communicating with will result in delivering messages that are misunderstood.
Channel...
Messages are conveyed through channels, with verbal channels including face-to-face meetings, telephone and videoconferencing; and written channels including letters, emails, memos and reports.
Different channels have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, it's not particularly effective to give a long list of directions verbally, while you'll quickly cause problems if you give someone negative feedback using email.



Decoding...
Just as successful encoding is a skill, so is successful decoding (involving, for example, taking the time to read a message carefully, or listen actively to it.) Just as confusion can arise from errors in encoding, it can also arise from decoding errors. This is particularly the case if the decoder doesn't have enough knowledge to understand the message.
Receiver...
Your message is delivered to individual members of your audience. No doubt, you have in mind the actions or reactions you hope your message will get from this audience. Keep in mind, though, that each of these individuals enters into the communication process with ideas and feelings that will undoubtedly influence their understanding of your message, and their response. To be a successful communicator, you should consider these before delivering your message, and act appropriately.
Feedback...
Your audience will provide you with feedback, as verbal and nonverbal reactions to your communicated message. Pay close attention to this feedback, as it is the only thing that can give you confidence that your audience has understood your message. If you find that there has been a misunderstanding, at least you have the opportunity to send the message a second time.
Context...
The situation in which your message is delivered is the context. This may include the surrounding environment or broader culture (corporate culture, international cultures, and so on).
Removing Barriers at All These Stages
To deliver your messages effectively, you must commit to breaking down the barriers that exist within each of these stages of the communication process.
Let’s begin with the message itself. If your message is too lengthy, disorganized, or contains errors, you can expect the message to be misunderstood and misinterpreted. Use of poor verbal and body language can also confuse the message.
Barriers in context tend to stem from senders offering too much information too fast. When in doubt here, less is oftentimes more. It is best to be mindful of the demands on other people’s time, especially in today’s ultra-busy society.
Once you understand this, you need to work to understand your audience’s culture, making sure you can converse and deliver your message to people of different backgrounds and cultures within your own organization, in your country and even abroad

The Art of Making Conversation

Social conversation is the most common of all interchanges that go on in the workplace and the community at large. It is by far the most common among societal inhabitants. It is the polite interchange between colleagues and associates in the workplace; it is the "niceties" among strangers; and it is the small talk that changes strangers into familiar beings. It is social interaction.
It forms the social weave of organizations, corporations and informal alliances. It identifies cultures and the people in them. It is our way of getting to know people, becoming comfortable with them, learning more about them. Without it, conversation would be much more rigid and cumbersome.

There is also the academic side of conversation. This is where we demonstrate our capacity for information, and our formulation of ideas and concepts. Business is built on facts and ideas; social relationships are deepened by information and concepts learned from others. Here is where we aim at our goals and choose our words very carefully to support the goals. The other person is also striving toward his or her goals. This makes conversation a competitive game; all too often, it is a game of "one-upmanship." With practice, we can turn this conversation into an exchange of ideas and information that can be used to great advantage. We must recognize it is a game of give and take, of speak and listen.

There are many magic elements that, when used properly, unlock one’s natural qualities and let those qualities shine. Because these qualities are natural and unique to us personally, they readily increase our social and business popularity. These magic elements that do all of the unlocking of popularity include a pinpoint sense of timing, a method of keeping listeners attentive, an ability to key into the climate of the conversation, and the ability to use our five senses to add sparkle to any conversation.
Surely, you have noticed how good conversationalists quickly feel at home when conversing with an individual or a group of people. They seem to subtly take command of the group, artfully blending the various personalities in the group together and keeping everyone stimulated.
They skillfully fan the flames of the conversation so they don’t die out, leaving an opportunity for them to acquire what they seek. This is a trait that is noticed and admired by much of the population and it’s the same population that does not feel they have such ability.
Surveys tell us that nearly 60 percent of all survey respondents indicate they do not feel they have the gift of gab. Once we understand what the "gift of gab" truly is, it becomes very simple for anyone to master.

We will never attain our goals or master our objectives until we learn exactly what the other person wants out of the conversation. We do that by concentrating on what we can do for them and postponing what we want them to do for us.
To do that, we must understand a little of what makes that person tick. If we think more about what our listener wants to hear and less about what we want to say, the response to our conversation will more often be what we are seeking. We will be in control of the conversation.
Human Motivators
This is far easier than it sounds, when we realize that people have certain motivators or certain needs that must be met to make them feel at ease and comfortable:
As people:
• We need to belong, to feel we are part of something bigger than ourselves.
• We need a sense of personal power over the circumstances in our lives.
• We need to be recognized for our efforts and accomplishments.
• We need to be loved, no matter the form that takes.
• We need freedom to think and choose as we wish.
• We need a sense of worth, a feeling of pride and importance.
• And we need emotional peace and security to keep our balance and maintain it.

By understanding human motivation and helping others realize these needs, you will become a powerful new person with an exciting personality and great influence. This can be handled through conversation.
Once you learn these techniques and practice them a few times, you will notice they become an instinctive part of your personality.
Conversation starters
The easiest way to get a conversation started is to encourage the other person(s) to start talking. Simply ask a question that cannot be answered yes or no, or offer a story they can listen to.
"What did you think about -----" "Let me tell you how -----" "Here is something I think is worth thinking about ------" "Have you heard about -----" and so on.
Keep in mind not to talk about yourself. Give the other person a way to get into the conversation, give them some interest in the conversation, and, most of all, keep it brief and to the point.
A particular conversational hint concerns male and female conversations based on gender alone. While these styles are not absolute, they have been proven to produce improved conversational interaction between members of the opposite gender.
Consider that men are objective by nature; they see life as objects, facts, specific goals, the bottom line. They talk in terms of the objective, physical world.
On the other hand, women tend to feel the world. They are much more subjective by nature, feeling emotions, sensing nuances, relating to emotions, and seeing and hearing things in relation to how they fit together.
In conversation with either gender, at the conclusions to your remarks ask, "What did you think about that incident?" or "How did it make you feel?" or "Tell me a little bit about how you saw it."
This should help you to know with whom you are talking. Ask questions and involve the other person — that encourages them to talk. Then, be prepared to listen.


Listening is a very important part of conversation. Therefore, we all must practice our active listening skills. Those are the skills we use when we consciously listen to the speaker, where we try to understand what he or she is saying, and when we try to understand what the speaker meant by what was said.
It must be a conscious effort because most often we resort to thinking about what we want to say, to what is important to us, and we fail to hear the other person. We are also busy anticipating the opportunity to get our "two cents" in. We often find that our mind wanders in conversations.
Active listening
Active listening helps us avoid such wanderings.
Why should we want to listen better? Listening gives the information we need to know about the other person’s motivation, needs and concerns. Like a great detective, you will learn a great deal by simply doing a good job of listening. Listen to not just the words. Listen for the meaning behind the words themselves. It is very important to you in gaining the upper hand in conversation, negotiations or management.
Here are five steps to active listening that will make a difference in your ability to listen and persuade:
1. Listen to the content. Listen to what the speaker is saying in terms of facts and ideas
2. Listen to the intent. Listen to the emotional meaning of the speaker and what he or she is saying. Use your intuition to "hear" the underlying messages.
3. Assess the speaker’s nonverbal communication. Read and interpret what the speaker is "saying" with his or her body language and other nonverbal signals.
4. Monitor your nonverbal communication and the emotional filters. Be aware of the messages you are sending with your nonverbal communication. Be aware of the emotional filters that affect your understanding of the receiver.
5. Listen to the speaker non-judgmentally and with empathy. Try to put yourself in the speaker’s shoes and understand what is shaping his or her feelings. Don’t prejudge the speaker.
Sound difficult and hard to do? Perhaps in the beginning.
Active listening means more effective communication. Putting these five steps into practice is important, and requires time and effort.





Common barriers to listening
Like emotional and mental filters, there are physical and mental distractions or barriers that impair your ability to listen effectively. These barriers are not filters. They are not part of the brain that decides what input to use. Rather, they are things that get in the way of your ability to listen in the first place. With emotional and mental filters, you listen selectively. In most cases, barriers can be controlled so that you may practice active listening.
There are three types of external barriers: physical, noise and movement All of these can be controlled, especially if you are in control of the environment.
There are also internal barriers: distraction, lack of motivation, misreading non-verbal clues, hidden agendas, standards and expectations, prejudging and emotions vs. intellect.
The Twelve Most Effective Listening Techniques
1. Eliminate as many external distractions as you can.
2. Eliminate as many internal distractions as you can.
3. Come prepared to a meeting so you can actively listen to others.
4. Take notes if you begin to daydream.
5. Do not respond only to what is implied. Respond to the total message.
6. Identify words that trigger your anger, and control your reaction. Try to understand why these words make you instantly angry.
7. Respond to a speaker non-judgmentally.
8. Do not prepare your response while someone is still talking.
9. Do not go into a communication situation with your mind already made up.
10. Understand ahead of time what your options may be regarding certain words or ideas that may be expressed. Don't pre-judge: just be prepared.
11. If you realize you are not listening, physically move forward in your seat or, if standing, move toward the speaker, if possible.
12. Do not rely on others to interpret what happened or what was said.


INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
Ten Ways to Improve Your Interpersonal Skills
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Try these 10 helpful tips for improving your interpersonal skills:
1. Smile. Few people want to be around someone who is always down in the dumps. Do your best to be friendly and upbeat with your coworkers. Maintain a positive, cheerful attitude about work and about life. Smile often. The positive energy you radiate will draw others to you.
2. Be appreciative. Find one positive thing about everyone you work with and let them hear it. Be generous with praise and kind words of encouragement. Say thank you when someone helps you. Make colleagues feel welcome when they call or stop by your office. If you let others know that they are appreciated, they’ll want to give you their best.
3. Pay attention to others. Observe what’s going on in other people’s lives. Acknowledge their happy milestones, and express concern and sympathy for difficult situations such as an illness or death. Make eye contact and address people by their first names. Ask others for their opinions.
4. Practice active listening. To actively listen is to demonstrate that you intend to hear and understand another’s point of view. It means restating, in your own words, what the other person has said. In this way, you know that you understood their meaning and they know that your responses are more than lip service. Your coworkers will appreciate knowing that you really do listen to what they have to say.
5. Bring people together. Create an environment that encourages others to work together. Treat everyone equally, and don't play favorites. Avoid talking about others behind their backs. Follow up on other people's suggestions or requests. When you make a statement or announcement, check to see that you have been understood. If folks see you as someone solid and fair, they will grow to trust you.
6. Resolve conflicts. Take a step beyond simply bringing people together, and become someone who resolves conflicts when they arise. Learn how to be an effective mediator. If coworkers bicker over personal or professional disagreements, arrange to sit down with both parties and help sort out their differences. By taking on such a leadership role, you will garner respect and admiration from those around you.
7. Communicate clearly. Pay close attention to both what you say and how you say it. A clear and effective communicator avoids misunderstandings with coworkers, collegues, and associates. Verbal eloquence projects an image of intelligence and maturity, no matter what your age. If you tend to blurt out anything that comes to mind, people won’t put much weight on your words or opinions.
8. Humor them. Don’t be afraid to be funny or clever. Most people are drawn to a person that can make them laugh. Use your sense of humor as an effective tool to lower barriers and gain people’s affection.
9. See it from their side. Empathy means being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand how they feel. Try to view situations and responses from another person’s perspective. This can be accomplished through staying in touch with your own emotions; those who are cut off from their own feelings are often unable to empathize with others.
10. Don't complain. There is nothing worse than a chronic complainer or whiner. If you simply have to vent about something, save it for your diary. If you must verbalize your grievances, vent to your personal friends and family, and keep it short. Spare those around you, or else you’ll get a bad reputation.




















Decision making skills and techniques
We use our decision making skills to solve problems by selecting one course of action from several possible alternatives. Decision making skills are also a key component of time management skills.
Decision making can be hard. Almost any decision involves some conflicts or dissatisfaction. The difficult part is to pick one solution where the positive outcome can outweigh possible losses. Avoiding decisions often seems easier. Yet, making your own decisions and accepting the consequences is the only way to stay in control of your time, your success, and your life. If you want to learn more on how to make a decision, here are some decision making tips to get you started.
A significant part of decision making skills is in knowing and practicing good decision making techniques. One of the most practical decision making techniques can be summarized in those simple decision making steps:
1. Identify the purpose of your decision. What is exactly the problem to be solved? Why it should be solved?
2. Gather information. What factors does the problem involve?
3. Identify the principles to judge the alternatives. What standards and judgement criteria should the solution meet?
4. Brainstorm and list different possible choices. Generate ideas for possible solutions. See more on extending your options for your decisions on my brainstorming tips page.
5. Evaluate each choice in terms of its consequences. Use your standards and judgement criteria to determine the cons and pros of each alternative.
6. Determine the best alternative. This is much easier after you go through the above preparation steps.
7. Put the decision into action. Transform your decision into specific plan of action steps. Execute your plan.
8. Process decision information faster with mind mapping techniques
Natural organization of your decision making information in a Evaluate the outcome of your decision and action steps. What lessons can be learnt? This is an important step for further development of your decision making skills and judgement.

Final remark. In everyday life we often have to make decisions fast, without enough time to systematically go through the above action and thinking steps. In such situations the most effective decision making strategy is to keep an eye on your goals and then let your intuition suggest you the right choice.

Use a decision tree analysis to systematically arrive at your smartest choice
Decision trees are particularly useful for working through complex multistage decisions. They also give a systematic way to incorporate the uncertainty introduced by uncontrollable events.
Simplify your selection process with a decision matrix
Process your decision making situation one byte at a time to build a decision matrix. Then do a straightforward calculation to arrive at the relative overall ratings for your alternatives.
The power of intuition in decision making
Intuition can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your decision making, especially when it complements rational analysis. Get a better idea of where intuition fits best and how to use it properly.

















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Time management skills and techniques
Time management skills are your abilities to recognize and solve personal time management problems. The goal of these time management lessons is to show you what you can do to improve those skills.
With good time management skills you are in control of your time and your life, of your stress and energy levels. You make progress at work. You are able to maintain balance between your work, personal, and family lives. You have enough flexibility to respond to surprises or new opportunities.
All time management skills are learnable. More than likely you will see much improvement from simply becoming aware of the essence and causes of common personal time management problems. With these time management lessons, you can see better which time management techniques are most relevant for your situation.
Just get started with them. Many of your problems gradually disappear.
If you already know how you should be managing your time, but you still don't do it, don't give up. What you may be overlooking is the psychological side of your time management skills, psychological obstacles hidden behind your personality.
Depending on your personal situation, such obstacles may be the primary reason why you procrastinate, have difficulties saying no, delegating, or making time management decisions.
The psychological component of your time management skills can also be dealt with. The time management skills information below will point at a relevant solution for your situation.

Get Organized Now!
Ideas, tips, tools and more to help you organize your home, your office and your life!

How to avoid procrastination
Ability to beat procrastination and laziness is among the most important time management skills to learn. Identify your causes of procrastination and start fighting it now.

Decision making skills and techniques guide

Good decision making skills is the foundation for life and time management skills. Information on decision making skills and techniques with links to related decision making articles and resources.
Prioritizing techniques save your time and energy

Prioritizing skills allow you to focus on what is most important. Learn to set priorities wisely, and you will achieve more and will have more of personal or family time.
What is planning and why you need to plan

Planning as an important time management technique. Planning optimizes your efforts of achieving a goal.

Action plan techniques
Learn to plan efficiently. Simple and powerful techniques to convert your goals and ideas into an effective action plan.

Effective delegation skill and techniques
Why delegation skill is important for personal time management, how to choose delegatee, how to delegate. How to train your delegation skill.

Build coping skills to withstanding life's challenges
Well-developed coping skills help you maintain control and do the best that could be done when faced with outstanding challenges.

Do you often feel foggy in your brain or struggle to maintain energy?
Then I would highly recommend learning more on this subject. While you cannot increase the number of hours in your day, you can increase the energy and mental performance you put in those hours, and the quality of life you get out of them.

Analyze and improve personal time management skills with a time log
Time log is a very effective time management learning tool. Your minimal effort and a few tips and techniques can eliminate much of wasted time and help you reach balance.

A personal digital assistant ( PDA ) outperforms other time management tools
Advantages of a portable hand held personal digital assistant, or PDA, compared to paper notes or other personal time management tools.



















Personal Goal Setting
Find Direction. Live Your Life Your Way.

Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn this vision of the future into reality.
The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you have to concentrate your efforts. You'll also quickly spot the distractions that would otherwise lure you from your course.





More than this, properly-set goals can be incredibly motivating, and as you get into the habit of setting and achieving goals, you'll find that your self-confidence builds fast.
Achieving More With Focus
Goal setting techniques are used by top-level athletes, successful business-people and achievers in all fields. They give you long-term vision and short-term motivation. They focus your acquisition of knowledge and help you to organize your time and your resources so that you can make the very most of your life.

By setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in the achievement of those goals. You can see forward progress in what might previously have seemed a long pointless grind. By setting goals, you will also raise your self-confidence, as you recognize your ability and competence in achieving the goals that you have set.
Starting to Set Personal Goals
Goals are set on a number of different levels: First you create your "big picture" of what you want to do with your life, and decide what large-scale goals you want to achieve. Second, you break these down into the smaller and smaller targets that you must hit so that you reach your lifetime goals. Finally, once you have your plan, you start working to achieve it.

We start this process with your Lifetime Goals, and work down to the things you can do today to start moving towards them.


Your Lifetime Goals
The first step in setting personal goals is to consider what you want to achieve in your lifetime (or by a time at least, say, 10 years in the future) as setting Lifetime Goals gives you the overall perspective that shapes all other aspects of your decision making.

To give a broad, balanced coverage of all important areas in your life, try to set goals in some of these categories (or in categories of your own, where these are important to you):
• Artistic:
Do you want to achieve any artistic goals? If so, what?
• Attitude:
Is any part of your mindset holding you back? Is there any part of the way that you behave that upsets you? If so, set a goal to improve your behavior or find a solution to the problem.
• Career:
What level do you want to reach in your career?
• Education:
Is there any knowledge you want to acquire in particular? What information and skills will you need to achieve other goals?
• Family:
Do you want to be a parent? If so, how are you going to be a good parent? How do you want to be seen by a partner or by members of your extended family?
• Financial:
How much do you want to earn by what stage?
• Physical:
Are there any athletic goals you want to achieve, or do you want good health deep into old age? What steps are you going to take to achieve this?
• Pleasure:
How do you want to enjoy yourself? - you should ensure that some of your life is for you!
• Public Service:
Do you want to make the world a better place? If so, how?
Spend some time brainstorming these, and then select one goal in each category that best reflects what you want to do. Then consider trimming again so that you have a small number of really significant goals on which you can focus.

As you do this, make sure that the goals that you have set are ones that you genuinely want to achieve, not ones that your parents, family, or employers might want (if you have a partner, you probably want to consider what he or she wants, however make sure you also remain true to yourself!)
Starting to Achieve Your Lifetime Goals
Once you have set your lifetime goals, set a 25 year plan of smaller goals that you should complete if you are to reach your lifetime plan. Then set a 5 year plan, 1 year plan, 6 month plan, and 1 month plan of progressively smaller goals that you should reach to achieve your lifetime goals. Each of these should be based on the previous plan.

Then create a daily to-do list of things that you should do today to work towards your lifetime goals. At an early stage these goals may be to read books and gather information on the achievement of your goals. This will help you to improve the quality and realism of your goal setting.

Finally review your plans, and make sure that they fit the way in which you want to live your life.
Staying on Course
Once you have decided your first set of plans, keep the process going by reviewing and updating your to-do list on a daily basis. Periodically review the longer term plans, and modify them to reflect your changing priorities and experience.






Goal Setting Tips
The following broad guidelines will help you to set effective goals:
• State each goal as a positive statement: Express your goals positively - 'Execute this technique well' is a much better goal than 'Don't make this stupid mistake.'
• Be precise: Set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can measure achievement. If you do this, you will know exactly when you have achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.
• Set priorities: When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones.
• Write goals down: This crystallizes them and gives them more force.
• Keep operational goals small: Keep the low-level goals you are working towards small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward. Derive today's goals from larger ones.
• Set performance goals, not outcome goals: You should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible. There is nothing more dispiriting than failing to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your control. In business, these could be bad business environments or unexpected effects of government policy. In sport, for example, these reasons could include poor judging, bad weather, injury, or just plain bad luck. If you base your goals on personal performance, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals and draw satisfaction from them.
• Set realistic goals: It is important to set goals that you can achieve. All sorts of people (employers, parents, media, society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions. Alternatively you may set goals that are too high, because you may not appreciate either the obstacles in the way or understand quite how much skill you need to develop to achieve a particular level of performance.
SMART Goals:
A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART mnemonic. While there are plenty of variants, SMART usually stands for:
• S Specific
• M Measurable
• A Attainable
• R Relevant
• T Time-bound
For example, instead of having “to sail around the world” as a goal, it is more powerful to say “To have completed my trip around the world by December 31, 2015.” Obviously, this will only be attainable if a lot of preparation has been completed beforehand!


Achieving Goals
When you have achieved a goal, take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of having done so. Absorb the implications of the goal achievement, and observe the progress you have made towards other goals. If the goal was a significant one, reward yourself appropriately. All of this helps you build the self-confidence you deserve!

With the experience of having achieved this goal, review the rest of your goal plans:
• If you achieved the goal too easily, make your next goals harder.
• If the goal took a dispiriting length of time to achieve, make the next goals a little easier.
• If you learned something that would lead you to change other goals, do so.
• If you noticed a deficit in your skills despite achieving the goal, decide whether to set goals to fix this.
Failure to meet goals does not matter much, as long as you learn from it. Feed lessons learned back into your goal setting program.

Remember too that your goals will change as time goes on. Adjust them regularly to reflect growth in your knowledge and experience, and if goals do not hold any attraction any longer, then let them go.
Key points:
Goal setting is an important method of:
• Deciding what is important for you to achieve in your life;
• Separating what is important from what is irrelevant, or a distraction;
• Motivating yourself; and
• Building your self-confidence, based on successful achievement of goals.
If you don't already set goals, do so, starting now. As you make this technique part of your life, you'll find your career accelerating, and you'll wonder how you did without it!
GOAL SETTING
The car is packed and you're ready to go, your first ever cross-country trip. From the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the rolling hills of San Francisco, you're going to see it all.
You put the car in gear and off you go. First stop, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
A little while into the trip you need to check the map because you've reached an intersection you're not familiar with. You panic for a moment because you realize you've forgotten your map.
But you say the heck with it because you know where you're going. You take a right, change the radio station and keep on going. Unfortunately, you never reach your destination.
Too many of us treat goal setting the same way. We dream about where we want to go, but we don't have a map to get there.
What is a map? In essence, the written word.
What is the difference between a dream and a goal? Once again, the written word.
Goal setting however is more than simply scribbling down some ideas on a piece of paper. Our goals need to be complete and focused, much like a road map, and that is the purpose behind the rest of this article.
If you follow the 7 goal setting steps I've outlined in this article you will be well on your way to becoming an expert in building the road maps to your goals.
1. Make sure the goal you are working for is something you really want, not just something that sounds good.
I remember when I started taking baseball umpiring more seriously. I began to set my sites on the NCAA Division 1 level. Why? I knew there was no way I could get onto the road to the major leagues, so the next best thing was the highest college level. Pretty cool, right. Wrong.
Sure, when I was talking to people about my umpiring goals it sounded pretty good, and many people were quite impressed. Fortunately I began to see through my own charade.
I have been involved in youth sports for a long time. I've coached, I've been the President of leagues, I've been a treasurer and I'm currently an Assistant State Commissioner for Cal Ripken Baseball. Youth sports is where I belong, it is where my heart belongs, not on some college diamond where the only thing at stake is a high draft spot.
When setting goals it is very important to remember that your goals must be consistent with your values.
2. A goal can not contradict any of your other goals.
For example, you can't buy a $750,000 house if your income goal is only $50,000 per year. This is called non-integrated thinking and will sabotage all of the hard work you put into your goals. Non-integrated thinking can also hamper your everyday thoughts as well. We should continually strive to eliminate contradictory ideas from our thinking.
3. Develop goals in the 6 areas of life:
Family and Home Financial and Career
Spiritual and Ethical Physical and Health
Social and Cultural Mental and Educational
Setting goals in each area of life will ensure a more balanced life as you begin to examine and change the fundamentals of everyday living. Setting goals in each area of life also helps in eliminating the non-integrated thinking we talked about in the 2nd step.
4. Write your goal in the positive instead of the negative.
Work for what you want, not for what you want to leave behind. Part of the reason why we write down and examine our goals is to create a set of instructions for our subconscious mind to carry out. Your subconscious mind is a very efficient tool, it can not determine right from wrong and it does not judge. It's only function is to carry out its instructions. The more positive instructions you give it, the more positive results you will get.
Thinking positively in everyday life will also help in your growth as a human being. Don't limit it to goal setting.
5. Write your goal out in complete detail.
Instead of writing "A new home," write "A 4,000 square foot contemporary with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths and a view of the mountain on 20 acres of land.
Once again we are giving the subconscious mind a detailed set of instructions to work on. The more information you give it, the more clear the final outcome becomes. The more precise the outcome, the more efficient the subconscious mind can become.
Can you close your eyes and visualize the home I described above? Walk around the house. Stand on the porch off the master bedroom and see the fog lifting off the mountain. Look down at the garden full of tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers. And off to the right is the other garden full of a mums, carnations and roses. Can you see it? So can your subconscious mind.
6. By all means, make sure your goal is high enough.
Shoot for the moon, if you miss you'll still be in the stars. Earlier I talked about my umpiring goals and how making it to the top level of college umpiring did not mix with my values. Some of you might be saying that I'm not setting my goals high enough. Not so. I still have very high goals for my umpiring career at the youth level. My ultimate goal is to be chosen to umpire a Babe Ruth World Series and to do so as a crew chief. If I never make it, everything I do to reach that goal will make me a better umpire and a better person. If I make it, but don't go as a crew chief, then I am still among the top youth umpires in the nation. Shoot for the moon!



7. This is the most important, write down your goals.
Writing down your goals creates the roadmap to your success. Although just the act of writing them down can set the process in motion, it is also extremely important to review your goals frequently. Remember, the more focused you are on your goals the more likely you are to accomplish them.
Sometimes we realize we have to revise a goal as circumstances and other goals change, much like I did with my umpiring. If you need to change a goal do not consider it a failure, consider it a victory as you had the insight to realize something was different.

Healing

You Were Born a Healer!
by Chunyi Lin

Many years ago a student came up to me at a class and said,
“Chunyi, you were born a healer.”
I smiled and replied,
“Yes, I was born a healer. And you were born a healer, too.”
You were born a healer. Each and every one of us was born with the ability to help ourselves and others to heal; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. You just need to be made aware of that beautiful fact and learn how to put your healing abilities to use.
Many people find this hard to believe but I know it to be true. I know it from the experiences of my own life and from the wonderful transformations I see in so many thousands of my students everyday.
If you find this hard to believe, just keep reading and by the end of this article I promise you will learn a simple technique for utilizing your healing gift. It is the first technique I teach to all my Spring Forest Qigong students. You can learn it very quickly and put it to use right away to help yourself, and even more importantly, to help others to heal.
Editors note: Chunyi Lin is a certified international Qigong Master with a master’s degree in holistic healing. He is the founder of Spring Forest Qigong, and coauthor of the #1 Amazon.com bestseller, Born A Healer. Master Lin is also a member of the Transformational Leadership Council founded by Jack Canfield. His vision is “a healer in every family and a world without pain.” In the end of this article you can find the exclusive gift from Master Chunyi to FinerMinds Readers: “Open Your Heart - Change Your World” Meditation Audio.
First, some background information might be helpful and a few tips on how to unlock and enhance your healing energy.
Qigong
What I want to teach you is based on a Chinese concept called Qigong that dates back many millennia. Put simply Qigong is practice for helping you get the most out of life, to be the best you can be, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
Qigong works by helping you enhance and balance your energy and keep it flowing smoothly. The basic principle of Qigong is that everything in the universe is energy, literally everything. Every cell in your body is a form of energy, even your thoughts.
Chinese scholars studying the workings of the universe came to this understanding more than four thousand years ago. In the western world, Albert Einstein came to the same conclusion early in the 20th century.
When your energy is in balance and flowing smoothly that’s when you are the happiest, healthiest and most productive you can be. What some people call “peak performance.”
When your energy becomes blocked and doesn’t flow smoothly, that’s when problems happen. The bigger or greater the number of energy blockages, the more serious the problem.
While energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can be transformed. Qigong works by helping you transform the energy in your body to remove blockages and return to energy balance.
This is the same principle as acupuncture. But, acupuncture requires a skilled professional applying needles to specific energy points to remove the blockage. Through the practice of Qigong you can remove the blockage on your own.
For thousands of years the practice of Qigong was a closely guarded secret.Even today, traditional Qigong techniques can be very difficult to learn and require years of rigid, disciplined practice to develop proficiency while the most powerful healing principles are reserved for a chosen few.
Spring Forest Qigong
In my years of training to become a Qigong Master, I spent days and weeks and even months at a time alone in a cave in deep meditation. Throughout these meditations a message kept coming back to me, “Qigong is simple. Qigong is for everyone.”
I came to realize that at its essence Qigong is very simple and simple is actually better. I created Spring Forest Qigong to make the true healing power of Qigong available to everyone. Spring Forest Qigong techniques are designed to be simple enough for anyone to learn and practice while actually enhancing the benefits.
Here are a few simple tips to help you get started balancing and enhancing your energy flow right now.
Energy Breathing
Breathing is fundamental to life but the way most people breathe is actually unhealthy. Most people breathe too fast, twelve to twenty breaths per minute. Breathing this way utilizes less than half of your lung capacity and actually adds to stress and tension. Who needs more stress and tension?
Breathing slowly, gently and deeply allows your lungs to expand fully and dramatically increases your uptake of oxygen. Oxygen, after all, is the body’s primary fuel. The more fuel we have, the better we function. The more effectively we breathe, the more effectively we live.
Breathing effectively is fundamental to Spring Forest Qigong. What I want to share with you here is a simple yet powerfully effective method for enhancing the benefits of breathing. I call it “Energy Breathing.” Energy breathing is an easy way to enhance your mind-body-spirit connection. That is the key.
Your mind and body are not separate things. Your mind affects every part of your physical body, just as your physical body affects your mind. If your body is tense, if your breathing is shallow or rapid, your mind cannot be focused and calm.
If your mind is focused on all the stress in your life, your body will be stressed, also. You need to have your mind and body working in concert to get the most out of life. This is especially true of your breathing.
Your spirit is your connection with the infinite. In energy breathing you connect your mind and body with the limitless power of the universe. You are mind, body, and spirit. It only makes sense to make the best use of all three aspects of you.
How you do energy breathing is very simple.
Energy Breathing Step-by-Step:
• Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
• Put a smile on your face (this helps relax your mind and body).
• Place the tip of your tongue gently against the roof of your mouth (this connects the two main energy channels in your body).
• Breathe through your nose in slow, gentle, deep breaths.
• As you breathe in, gently pull your lower stomach in a little.
• As you breathe out, let your stomach out.
Yin and Yang: The upper part of the body belongs to yang energy; the lower part of the body belongs to yin energy. Breathing in is a part of yin energy; breathing out is yang. One of the reasons we get sick is that yin and yang energies are not communicating well. By pulling your lower stomach in as you inhale and letting it out as you exhale, you are enhancing the communication of the yin and yang energies.
Harnessing the Power of the Mind
What you’ve just read is the body part of energy breathing. Now we connect it with the mind and spirit by utilizing simple visualization and mental focus. Say in your mind the “password”:
I am in the universe. The universe is in my body. The universe and I are one.
If you choose to use a different password, that is fine. The words are not as important as their meaning—you are not alone, you are connected with the infinite.
As you breathe in,
• Imagine you are using your entire body to breathe
• See and feel the air, the limitless energy of the universe, flowing into your body through every part of your body.
As you breathe out,
• Visualize any tiredness or stress, pain or sickness, any doubt or worries changing into smoke
• Visualize it shooting out of your body to the ends of the universe.
As you continue breathing in this way, feel your mind and body becoming completely relaxed. Know that every cell in your body is being restored to its perfect, balanced state, revitalized and rejuvenated.
To end your energy breathing session,
• Take one final, slow, gentle, deep breath
• Slowly open your eyes
• Rub your hands together, palm to palm
• Gently massage your face . . .
• Running your fingertips gently up each side of the bridge of your nose to your forehead, then out and down to your chin in a circular motion
• Repeat this motion several times.
That’s all there is to it. Energy Breathing is just that simple.
The key is to allow yourself to relax and enjoy the experience. Do not concern yourself with whether you are “getting it right.” There is no right. There is only good, better, and best. The more you practice energy breathing, the better off you will be, and the more you will empower yourself to be your best.
Breathing is what you must do to stay alive. Breathing effectively, even just fifteen minutes a day, can empower you to truly live.
Sword Fingers
Now, as promised, a simple technique you can start using immediately to help yourself and, even more importantly, to help others to heal.
As I mentioned previously, in Qigong teaching any pain or sickness is caused by an energy blockage or blockages. You will need more advanced Spring Forest Qigong training to learn how to detect energy blockages so to begin with you will focus on the problem area.
For example, if a friend has an injury, simply ask your friend where the pain is. Perhaps it is a sore shoulder. (The technique is the same if you are working on yourself.) This is what you do.
Sword Fingers Steps
• Put your index finger and middle finger together on one hand and point them straight forward as if they were a ray gun. I call this your Sword Fingers.
• Point your Sword Fingers at your friend’s sore shoulder from about six inches to a foot or so away. The distance doesn’t matter just don’t touch the shoulder.
• Now, visualize light, beautiful, healing light or energy, is shooting out of the end of your fingers into your friend’s sore shoulder. (Again, you can also just say it in your mind and know it’s happening.)
• Next, move your Sword Fingers up and down in a chopping motion visualizing the healing light is breaking up the energy blockage in the shoulder. Keep doing this for thirty seconds to a minute.
• Now, you stop the Sword Fingers and open your hand and spread your fingers. Visualize the healing light is flowing from the tips of your fingers and thumb into the area where you’ve just broken up the energy blockage.
• Use your “energy fingers” to take hold of the remaining energy blockage, pull it out and throw it away. Again, do this from six to twelve inches away and don’t touch the shoulder. (An important point here is that there is no good energy or bad energy just too much energy in this case and you are helping to bring energy balance.)
• Continue pulling out the blockage and throwing it away for a minute or two. As you start pulling the blockage out it may feel heavy or sticky like pulling taffy. Some people notice this immediately for others it takes more time.
• Whether you feel the energy or not just know in your mind that it’s happening. When the energy feels lighter or after no more than two minutes stop pulling out the blockage and move to the final step in Sword Fingers.
• Now, visualize beautiful, healing light and energy is flowing from the palm of your hand into the area where you removed the blockage. You might want to use a light pumping motion.
• Continue sending this healing energy into the area for thirty seconds to a minute. This movement helps get the energy flowing through the area again and bring it back into balance.
• As you are sending the energy from your palm, say in your mind, “Your pain is gone. You are completely healed.” “Your blockage is gone. Completely healed.” No need to say it aloud. Just say it in your mind and know it’s happening.
• Finally, give your friend a smile and say to your friend, “Feel better, now.” Don’t ask if the pain is still there. That will focus their mind back on the pain. Give them a positive message.
If you are skeptical, that’s fine. But, give it a try. Many skeptical people are amazed the very first time they use Sword Fingers.
If you believe it works, it works. If you don’t believe it works, it still works though it might take a little longer. Try it a few times and see what happens. Just open your mind to the limitless possibilities of the universe and allow your natural healing ability to flow.
I know you can do it. I know it because I know you were born a healer.

TIME MANAGEMENT quotes

Time
• The time is always right to do what is right.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Time Management
• What can be done at any time is never done at all. -- English Proverb
Time Management
• Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. --Carl Sandburg
Time Management
• You control your life by controlling your time. Hyrum Smith The Ten Natural Laws of Time and Life Management
Time Management
• The secret of a person's success is discovered in his daily agenda.
- John C. Maxwell
Time Management
• The whole purpose of time management is to enable you to have more time to spend with the people you love, doing the
things you enjoy. -- Brian Tracy
• Time Management
• Time is the wisest counselor of all. --Pericles.


Time Management
• Nothing in business is so valuable as time. --John H. Patterson

Time Management
• I must govern the clock, not be governed by it. Golda Meir

Time Management
• Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. H. Jackson Brown
Time Management
• I recommend you to take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves. -- Lord Chesterfield
Time Management
• If we take care of the minutes, the years will take care of themselves. --Ben Franklin
Time Management
• Time is lessened when we preoccupy ourselves with something greater than our own existence. JoAnne Bonomi
Time Management
• To be in control of your time is to be in control of your life. L. Walkup

Time Management
• You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it. - Charles Buxton
Time Management
• Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them. -- Dion Boucicalt

Time Management
• Lost time is never found again. --Benjamin Franklin
Time Management
• You may delay, but time will not. -- Benjamin Franklin
Time Management
• Time wasted is existence; time used is life. Edward Young
Time Management
• Time management involves "considering your obligations and making choices about how to use your time" (grad school).
Time Management
• Perhaps the most valuable result of al education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not. Thomas Huxley (1825-1895)
Time Management
• Management of time is the number-one skill to master in college. How you use time can determine your success or failure in college. Walter Pauk
Time
• To waste your time is to waste your life. Alan Lakein
Title
• Always concentrate on the most valuable use of your time. This is what separates the winners from the losers. Brian Tracy
Time
• We never shall have more time. We have, and we have always had, all the time there is. Arnold Bennett
Time
• There is no such thing as lack of time. We all have plenty of time to do everything we really want to do. Alan Lakein
Time
• Every morning when the alarm goes off, we have a totally new opportunity to do what we want with the hours we have been gifted. And we are gifted with that clean slate every day for the rest of our lives.
• Hyrum Smith, Originator of the Franklin Planner, 2000




Time Management
• Time Management is not so much about managing time (Time Management) as it is about managing self (Self-Management). Walkup - Class notes

Time Management
• Time Management is as much about doing less (dropping worthless activities, saying NO to people & distractions) as it s about doing more (meaningful activities). Walkup - class notes

Time Management
• Planning is the creative process of transforming a dream into a reality, and the ideal to the real. It is creating and designing your life. Take time to plan; when there’s a plan, there’s a chance. Walkup - class notes

Time Management
• You DO have enough time for the things you really want to do! Walkup - Class notes

Time Management
• I have plenty of time for what matters. Walkup - class notes
Time Management
• The dread of doing a task uses up more time and energy than doing the task itself. Rita Emmett
Time Management
• What gets rewarded gets done
Time Management
• Whatever you think you can or you think you can't you're right! Henry Ford




Time Management
• Time is life! Jean Reynolds

Time Management
• The time is always right to do what is right.
--Martin Luther King Jr.
Time Management
• Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. William James
Time Management
• Goals are dreams with a deadline. Dottie Walters
Time Management
• Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed. Peter Drucker
Time Management
• The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work. Richard Bach
Time Management
• Time wasted is existence; time used is life. Edward Young

Time Management
• Procrastination is opportunity's natural assassin. Victor Kiam

Time Management
• Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.
Don Marquis
Time Management
• Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today because if you enjoy it today, you can do it again tomorrow. James A. Michener.


• It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are. Roy Disney

• There is no perfect time to write. There's only now. Barbara Kingsolver

Time Management
• We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes. John Kennedy


Time Management
• He who makes no mistakes makes nothing. L. Walkup

Time Management
• Time is the stuff of which life is made. Benjamin Franklin

Time Management
• The first step is the hardest. --Madame De Vichy-Deffand

• Begin somewhere; you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do.
• -- Liz Smith
Time Management
• The beginning is half of every action. --Greek proverb
Time Management
• How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. -- Annie Dilliard
Time Management
• A day will never be anymore than what you make of it.
Practice being a 'doer'!
-- Josh S. Hinds


Time Management
• Work expands to fill its time for completion. Parkinson's Law

Time Management
• Don't mistake activity for achievement.
Business does not equal productiveness.
Anon
Time Management
• What counts is not the number of hours you put in, but how much you put in the hours. Anon
Time Management
• Alan Lakein’s question from How to get Control of Your Time and Your Life: “What is the best use of my time right now?”
Time Management
• Our greatest danger in life is in permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important.
• Charles E. Hummel.
Time Management
• Time is the ultimate equal opportunity employer. -- Denis Waitley
Time Management
• We cannot waste time. We can only waste ourselves.-- George Matthew Adams

Time Management
• You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it. -- Charles Buxton
Time Management
• The essence of time management is to focus on production. Ask yourself, 'What am I expected to produce, not what am I expected to do, but produce."-- Brian Tracy
Time Management
•
You've got to put down on paper the ten things that you absolutely have to do. That's what you concentrate on. Everything else - forget it.
• Lee Iacocca.

Time
• Time hasn't stopped for any troubles, heartaches, or any other malfunctions of this world, so please don't tell me it will stop for you.
• --C.S. Lewis

Time
• Time is neutral and does not change things. With courage and initiative, leaders change things.
• --Jesse