Self Improvement - there is always room to improve, always challenge yourself.
“Self-improvement is the name of the game, and your primary objective is to strengthen yourself, not to destroy an opponent.” - Maxwell Maltz
A person goes to college to learn a skill which will allow them to get a good job, be successful and make lots of money. This provides them with security and the ability to have a great life. It also gives them additional ability to help others. There is nothing in what I just said which says they gain in order to 'destroy' others.
Working on improving yourself isn't just about going to school, it is about improving yourself in three ways. There may be more but these three are ones I consider important.
One - improve your mind. Learn something new or different each day. Our brain is capable of so much and the more one learns, the more information we have to make better informed decisions. This is one reason older people are said to give sage advice. Now sage can mean a suffriticose labiate plant with grayish green foliage, much used in flavoring meats, etc.
But for our purpose it means, having nice discernment and powers of judging. Back to my point, the older we get, the more information we have to draw from when making decisions. Learn something new or different each day.
Two - improve your body. Walk around the block at least once a day or use the stairs. At my age I feel like I am simply trying to hang on to what I have. Staying healthy has advantages in both keeping your mind healthy, your body healthy and your bank account healthy. An example of this is provided by Fidelity Investments. I could show what doctors say, but let us look at where it effects us most, in our banking accounts.
An article by Fidelity says, "staying healthy is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to avoid unnecessary healthcare expenses. Getting the most for your healthcare dollars can be as simple as making a plan to eat right, maintaining an appropriate weight level, and exercising at least 30 minutes daily. By following a simple diet and exercise plan, you'll reduce your likelihood of developing certain diseases and illnesses, and you'll potentially avoid the cost of unnecessary medical visits." So walk around the block at least once a day or use the stairs.
Three - improve your spirit. Build a more positive view of yourself and life around you. A cardiologist, Meyer Friedman talked about your personality type and its effect on you. "The impatience, hostility and all-consuming drive for results that typify Type-A men and women, produces a one-dimensional personality, one with a profound and deadly absence of spiritual life. By "spiritual" he doesn't mean certain beliefs or religious tenets but a basic concern with human relations and other interests that enrich life. Without this spirituality, changing diet and exercise habits to lower cholesterol levels and improve health overall isn't enough to protect a Type A's heart."
Basically, with a renewed spirit you can face difficulty in life much better. It doesn't mean you won't have anguish or pain, just a better means of facing it. It means improving your attitude about things, about life and about others. Build a more positive view of yourself and life around you.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Self Significance
Self Significance - you do matter in this life, the contribution you make in life is real.
“To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything: the ability to discriminate, to love and to remain indifferent. To lack it is to be locked within oneself, paradoxically incapable of either love or indifference.” - Joan Didion
In psychology, self-esteem or self-significance is a person's subjective appraisal of himself or herself as intrinsically positive or negative to some degree. How you see yourself as being an important part of the world around you becomes an integral part of who you are. If you feel that you are insignificant or non-contributing, then opportunity in life will pass you by.
Yet knowing that you touch many people in large and small ways has to be understood. The store is abound that give examples. Think of the Christmas classic, Its A Wonderful Life and all of the lessons one can learn from it. Many people would scoff at the ideas presented in it, but I can't think of a more simple way of explaining to you that you do mean something to this life.
When we leave this life, there will be people that carry on bits and pieces of your legacy. Your life has part in shaping the lives of others and life in general. You may not have noteriety of a Mahatma Ghandi or Abraham Lincoln, but your life does matter, your life impacts.
So understand and believe in yourself, in your significance to life around you. Those close to you know of your significance as do those that you cross paths with in daily life.
“To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything: the ability to discriminate, to love and to remain indifferent. To lack it is to be locked within oneself, paradoxically incapable of either love or indifference.” - Joan Didion
In psychology, self-esteem or self-significance is a person's subjective appraisal of himself or herself as intrinsically positive or negative to some degree. How you see yourself as being an important part of the world around you becomes an integral part of who you are. If you feel that you are insignificant or non-contributing, then opportunity in life will pass you by.
Yet knowing that you touch many people in large and small ways has to be understood. The store is abound that give examples. Think of the Christmas classic, Its A Wonderful Life and all of the lessons one can learn from it. Many people would scoff at the ideas presented in it, but I can't think of a more simple way of explaining to you that you do mean something to this life.
When we leave this life, there will be people that carry on bits and pieces of your legacy. Your life has part in shaping the lives of others and life in general. You may not have noteriety of a Mahatma Ghandi or Abraham Lincoln, but your life does matter, your life impacts.
So understand and believe in yourself, in your significance to life around you. Those close to you know of your significance as do those that you cross paths with in daily life.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Self Confidence
Self Confidence - believe in yourself, have confidence in your ability.
"Self confidence gives you the freedom to make mistakes and cope with failure without feeling that your world has come to an end or that you are a worthless person." - author unknown
The freedom from doubt and having a belief in yourself and your abilities to accomplish things in life. And also having the strength to continue believing in oneself when failure does occur. You may see it referred to as self esteem in some areas. But equating self confidence with freedom from doubt is not always a true statement. Confidence is needed when an outcome is uncertain, so true confidence could actually be one of feeling comfortable with uncertainty and not knowing what the outcome will be.
Having self confidence is often a result of a positive learning environment and positive self-talk. This positive learning environment is important in the development of self-confidence because people learn by watching. Being negative is bound to bring on negative self-talk, low self-confidence and a poor attitude. If you live and work around people that are always negative, you will not get positive reinforcement of your abilities. You will eventually come down to the level of others.
Yet if you place yourself among positive people, those that push on regardless of the outcome, you will gain confidence by example. To believe in your own ability and understand that there is so much you can do. Others can have confidence in you but until you have confidence in yourself, it will never matter. Work on this aspect of your life and possibility will become clear in your world.
"Self confidence gives you the freedom to make mistakes and cope with failure without feeling that your world has come to an end or that you are a worthless person." - author unknown
The freedom from doubt and having a belief in yourself and your abilities to accomplish things in life. And also having the strength to continue believing in oneself when failure does occur. You may see it referred to as self esteem in some areas. But equating self confidence with freedom from doubt is not always a true statement. Confidence is needed when an outcome is uncertain, so true confidence could actually be one of feeling comfortable with uncertainty and not knowing what the outcome will be.
Having self confidence is often a result of a positive learning environment and positive self-talk. This positive learning environment is important in the development of self-confidence because people learn by watching. Being negative is bound to bring on negative self-talk, low self-confidence and a poor attitude. If you live and work around people that are always negative, you will not get positive reinforcement of your abilities. You will eventually come down to the level of others.
Yet if you place yourself among positive people, those that push on regardless of the outcome, you will gain confidence by example. To believe in your own ability and understand that there is so much you can do. Others can have confidence in you but until you have confidence in yourself, it will never matter. Work on this aspect of your life and possibility will become clear in your world.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Self Concept
Self Concept - knowing what your nature is, is important in knowing who you are.
“An individual's self-concept is the core of his personality. It affects every aspect of human behavior: the ability to learn, the capacity to grow and change. A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in life.” - Dr. Joyce Brothers
The definition of self concept is (from Wikipedia) the mental and conceptual awareness and persistent regard that sentient or conscious beings hold with regard to their own being. In other words, knowing who we are as an individual. It isn't what other people think we are, it is knowing yourself.
The Encyclopedia of Psychology describes it as '... the way in which one perceives oneself-can be divided into categories, such as personal self-concept (facts or one's own opinions about oneself, such as "I have brown eyes" or "I am attractive"); social self-concept (one's perceptions about how one is regarded by others: "people think I have a great sense of humor"); and self-ideals (what or how one would like to be: "I want to be a lawyer" or "I wish I were thinner").'
So daily we assess ourselves, we rate ourselves, we compare ourselves, always evaluating the various aspects of who we are. Is your view or evaluation of who you are accurate? I have read from various sources that you need to be accurate, positive and strong in knowing your nature. Doing so will assist you in being the most successful in relationships with other people.
A benefit of all this is the ability to control the various parts of your emotional world in such a way that provides consistency and balance to your life. So know who you are and be better prepared to engage in life.
“An individual's self-concept is the core of his personality. It affects every aspect of human behavior: the ability to learn, the capacity to grow and change. A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in life.” - Dr. Joyce Brothers
The definition of self concept is (from Wikipedia) the mental and conceptual awareness and persistent regard that sentient or conscious beings hold with regard to their own being. In other words, knowing who we are as an individual. It isn't what other people think we are, it is knowing yourself.
The Encyclopedia of Psychology describes it as '... the way in which one perceives oneself-can be divided into categories, such as personal self-concept (facts or one's own opinions about oneself, such as "I have brown eyes" or "I am attractive"); social self-concept (one's perceptions about how one is regarded by others: "people think I have a great sense of humor"); and self-ideals (what or how one would like to be: "I want to be a lawyer" or "I wish I were thinner").'
So daily we assess ourselves, we rate ourselves, we compare ourselves, always evaluating the various aspects of who we are. Is your view or evaluation of who you are accurate? I have read from various sources that you need to be accurate, positive and strong in knowing your nature. Doing so will assist you in being the most successful in relationships with other people.
A benefit of all this is the ability to control the various parts of your emotional world in such a way that provides consistency and balance to your life. So know who you are and be better prepared to engage in life.
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