So you want to make your life better. Before making that effort to make your future a little less bleak, it is best that you first organize and change the life that you are now leading to something a lot better. Doing so could help you broaden your perspective and ultimately make your life happier.

The following are basic tips and advice to help you make that positive change to better your personality.

Start simple.

To make an effective change, start out with something that is do-able. Clean your place, your house, or your apartment. Better yet, throw some old, unnecessary stuff away. This could also serve as a metaphor for the psychic wastes you may be hoarding in your life. Go and try to get trash bags, preferably three - one bag is for the trash, one bag is for the things you can still sell (in a garage sale perhaps), and one bag is for the things you can easily put away.

A basic garage sale could be held during weekends. Make sure that you have a clean space.

Start doing a makeover.

From the money you have probably gotten from the garage sale, try to be generous to yourself for a change. Get a makeover. There are affordable haircuts available. Go shopping as well. Try to get those trendy items of clothes. Just make sure you do not overdo it. If you have friends who have a fashion sense, try to get their opinion on what looks best and worst for you.

Think things over.

Assess where you are right now. Do you like your job? Do you love your job? How much do you hate it? As much as possible, try to think positive and have a positive perspective in your workplace. However, if you cannot stand to work there anymore, get out. As much as possible, try to find the things that best suits your unique personality and everything else will follow.

Treat your loved ones better.

If you have a special someone in your life, besides family, treat them in the best way possible. If you want to be fancy about it, buy them gifts or stuff that they do not expect. An expensive watch perhaps? If you are single, go out and enjoy life. Start meeting people. Hang out with your friends. You will know when is the right time to settle down if you have found that one special person. So relax. Everything will turn out all right.

Treat yourself better.

Go and work out. You could join a gym or just jog on your own. It is a great and effective way to look and feel good, as well as to meet a lot of people.

Better yet, go and get yourself a hobby that you love doing, not just for the sake of having a hobby. You could also consider doing volunteer work. You will not only feel good about yourself, you could improve your karma as well. Plus, you will help a lot of people too.

Try to achieve spiritual health too.

Besides the outside efforts, try to feel good on the inside too. Join a temple, church, or synagogue, or whatever it is that would make you feel comfortable in. It is similarly important to better one’s health from the inside out, and vice versa.

Overall, the development of your personality depends on your choices. Always remember that if you do well to yourself, you will do well to others, and vice versa.

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The first definition in the dictionary for the word politics  is  the art or science of government or governing,  but if we read on a bit further, we find:  intrigue or maneuvering within a political unit or group in order to gain control or power,  and then  the often internally conflicting interrelationships among people in a society. So when we say that politics and offices go together, we are recognizing the difficulties that people have getting along together in a group, and the great possibility of at least some of them using underhanded methods to gain ascendancy over the others.

Now this does not mean that all offices will necessarily be hotbeds of political maneuvering and below-the-belt tactics, but at the same time, we must be aware that this tendency exists and be prepared for it if we should find it. Burying our heads in the sand and pretending it doesn’t exist will not make it go away.

Who is concerned by office politics?
Short answer: everyone. This is not a cynical insinuation that everyone uses them, but rather a reminder that even those who don’t use them may come across them at any time, either as a victim or an observer.

Also keep in mind that, even though this book is mainly concerned with the office environment, no group is entirely immune to them. Associations, those with noble objectives or simple clubs devoted to leisure activities, scientific institutions, cultural organizations, schools, churches: they all have one thing in common – they bring people together in groups, and no matter how noble or innocent their objectives are, they can all become the scene where the drama of power struggles are likely to play out.

Within the office, there is usually a hierarchy: first, a director, superior, team leader, CEO, etc. This person has people under his direction and responsibility. And then there are the members of the team, who are in the position of equals in regard to one another, but in a subordinate position in relation to the director. We must keep this in mind, because the political strategies used will be different depending on the heirarchical relationships of the people involved.

What are the objectives of people who resort to office politics?
People who resort to office politics can have quite valid goals; very often they do it in order to get a promotion or a raise. Or a person who is in a position of responsibility doesn’t want to see someone else come along and take over their position. Or they might want others to have a favorable opinion of them. Well, who doesn’t? That’s perfectly normal and natural. Or they might want to influence others. That too is just a part of living, from parents who want their children to eat their vegetables (a spoonful for Mommy, now a spoonful for Aunt Bertha… ) to a high school girl who wants to get the football captain to ask her out, to a director who wants her employee to finish a project by a certain date.

While there’s no harm in any of the above desires, there is harm caused when people choose to use means that hurt others. When a promotion is obtained by destroying the reputation of one’s rival, or a director uses unwarranted pressure to get the project done, or when parents use humiliation to influence their children, there’s something wrong, and while the person who is perpetrating the harm may believe that the end justifies the means, the person on the other end of the stick has a different view of the situation. Our goal in this book is to keep you from finding yourself on the wrong end of the stick, but without harming others.

Another reason some people use these methods is to cover up their own incompetence, whether real or imagined. Some people have so little self-confidence that they can’t imagine that they could get the promotion or even keep their present job if they are judged on their competence alone, so they try to load the dice by making others look bad.

And some people really are incompetent, and they either know it and are desperate to cover up, or they deny it even to themselves and refuse any implication that they could be wrong about anything. This is all the more uncomfortable when that person is the boss, and according to the Peter Principle, it not only happens, but is almost inevitable. According to the Peter Principle, people who are competent in their jobs are promoted, and this will continue until they reach their level of incompetence. Once they have reached their level of incompetence, they will not be promoted any more, but will remain in their position. As this process continues throughout a company, the end result can be a lot of incompetent people in positions of responsibility.

Dilbert, on the other hand, affirms that Peter was an optimist. (Dilbert, the well-known comics character created by Scott Adams, is an expert on office politics.)

And there are still other, darker reasons for using these kinds of tactics. One person might be jealous of a co-worker who got a promotion instead of him, another may feel that she has been treated unjustly, and feel justified in taking revenge. Some people have an ingrained victim mentality, and lash out at whoever happens to be near them. Some people will be conscious of these attitudes; in others they will be working on a largely subconscious level.

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Everyone has an image to take care of. Whether you like it or not, people will often scrutinize your looks. If you want to create your image, decide now! You can stand by and improve your own image or be a shadow of someone else. Many people shy away because they are so conscious of their appearance. Here are just five simple steps on how to enhance your image and to build the must have self confidence.

1. Feel good about yourself. Positive thinking is a good enhancer of personality. Nothing compares to an aura of self contentment and serenity. Shyness is developed by negative thoughts that others are far better than you. Stop that nonsense and start appreciating yourself. Look at the mirror every morning and say to yourself “You are a beautiful creation of God!”

2. Positive image starts in you. A good character is admirable and gives you credibility. Live harmoniously and be at peace with everyone. How can you project a positive image if your real life doesn’t say so? You can really feel shameful if you have criminal records. The real idea of an enhanced image is brought about by living decently.

3. Appearance.  Good looking and fashionable people are the ones who get more attention from the audience. Being shy can also be a product of not so being confident on how you look in front of people. To enhance your image, you may want to consider these points relative to your appearance:

•    Clean body that comes with clothes. Be sure that you are clean from head to toe. Hygiene and proper grooming are important aspects in image enhancement. Putting on that clean apparel from top to bottom can give you an edge in any occasions. Making sure that your body and what you’re wearing are neat will help you feel secure about yourself and your appearance.

•    Proper color coordination. Be careful on what you wear as this can be a mirror of your personality. Combination of colors should be perfect. Neck ties should be matched with your inner shirt; belts and shoes should have the same color.

•    Put on the right make up. Woman should always be conscious about her make up. Any color will do for fair skinned while light shades of purple and pink goes with dark skinned women. Choosing the right lipstick should also be a priority.

•    Clean cut hair. You wouldn’t want to look like a rock star over a corporate meeting. Make sure that your hair is well trimmed and that it doesn’t cover your face.

4. Gaining a positive image will also be incorporated in your movements and ease in front of a crowd. You should develop eye contact and facial expressions appropriate to certain circumstances. Smiling is one sure way of gaining some people’s trust. This can also involve the proper actuations in a social gathering. Etiquette is necessary to develop your presence in any events.

5.  Seek the help of a professional image enhancer. There are also certain books which will help you with the information on how to develop your image and do away with shyness. You can invest on these things to make sure that you are properly guided.

Enhancing your image is one good way of overcoming your shyness. It can boost your self confidence knowing that you appear respectable and neat in front of anyone. Positive image can spell success thus it should always be cultivated.

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Shyness is a malady that affects almost anyone no matter what his sex or economic status is. No one can really expect how a person can be so shy but it has something to do with the way a person is reared, the lack of self esteem or some other factors that is beyond his control.

There are people who may appear bold outside but they really are shy deep inside. They just know how to handle their shyness. However, there are also people who could not control their shyness that they inhibit from normal activities that they should be doing regularly.

So one how does one get rid of shyness? It has something to do with the psychological make up of a person. Thus, if you are a shy person then you have to improve your self confidence and believe that you are a special person who also possesses certain gifts that can be shared with other people.

If you are so shy that you do not even have friends then you should do something about it. Start by joining clubs or organizations with small memberships and then participate in their activities.

If you cannot do this then you can start by doing something by yourself first until such time that you have gathered enough confidence to talk and relate to people who are doing the same stuff.

You can start with a hobby like scrap booking or baking. When you have gathered enough expertise in your hobby, you would be more of yourself and you would have more things to talk about.

If you are buying specialty papers or other accessories for your scrap booking project, you would also bump into others who are into the same thing. While in a mall or a specialty shop, you can ask these people questions about the hobby or you can help someone who is just beginning his hobby.

Being constantly exposed to people of the same interests will give you more courage to socialize with them on a bigger level. Perhaps, you can join a scrap booking party or even organize your own scrap booking party. You will then be able to build a close knit of friends from among the hobbyists.

You can also do the same things with other hobbies. This would not be so difficult because you are doing something you love and interacting with people who love the same things as you would be more comfortable than dealing with total strangers.

As you become an expert in your hobby, you would be able to develop enough self confidence to socialize with other people even those outside your circle of friends comprising your hobby group.

Using your hobby as a springboard, you can then experiment by talking to other groups of people who may have different interests. Your new-found confidence will help in getting out of your shell and finally release you from your shyness.

By being an expert in your chosen hobby, you would have something to talk about with much confidence since you know the craft inside and out. Some people would even approach you first because they want to get your opinion on such hobby.

Shyness is really a psychological thing and a person who conditions his mind and who is determined to beat shyness can rise above the condition.

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Shyness can start at an early age and this can have a great effect on your life as an adult if it goes unchecked.  A parent who notices some symptoms of shyness in his child should help his child become more confident by encouraging him to play with other kids or to learn special skills that will expose him to groups of people.

A person who is so shy he can sit down for hours in a party talking err and mumbling to himself, should do something about his condition if he wants to lead a normal life.  Shy people normally do not have many friends and support groups so they should take the first move and help themselves get over their shyness.

There is no easy way to cure shyness but you can gradually get rid of this malady by doing some things that will help you.  You can start getting rid of shyness by greeting every person you happen to pass by a good morning or a good day.  These are two words but if you are able to muster enough courage to say them to these people then you are on your way to ridding yourself of shyness.

If you have a good or even just a passable voice then you can take up singing as a hobby.  Singing can be a solo thing and you can sing at the top of your voice in your bedroom, in your bathroom while taking a bath and no one can hear you except your family members.

Once you have mustered enough courage to sing in public then practice on songs that goes perfectly with your voice range.  This way you are able to give a good performance and it will help you boost your confidence.

If you are a student then you can join school activities like the Intramurals or other programs where you can showcase your singing prowess.  Success and popularity are like magnets that attract people so if you are able to sing well at these events, you will have a small group of people who will start talking to you all the time or would even go far to accompany you during mealtimes.

If you are an office worker then why not showcase your singing prowess during the office party?  Everybody loves a winner and if you can show them you can sing well then you would be an office favorite especially during programs.

Singing will give you the opportunity to believe in yourself and show yourself that you have a special talent you can share with others.  As you gain a lot of confidence in your singing you would be able to socialize better and to develop rapport with people.

Singing is a hobby that requires training and hard work.  You will not learn how to sing overnight so you have to invest time and effort in singing.  As you practice your skill in singing you would be able to unlearn shyness and then learn some socializing skills that will help you get along with other people later on.

Shyness is really lack of character and deficiency in your self worth.  If you can prove to yourself that you can do something if you work hard enough to achieve it like singing, then you would be more confident that you have something special within you that would make it worthwhile for other people to at least talk to you.

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When you are given a project in school or at work, do you immediately make a step-by-step list of the tasks that you should perform in order to complete the project? Or, do you do everything that you can randomly and just try to organize and put together the project in the end, when you gathered have enough material?

If you have chosen the first option, then you may not be making the most of your mind’s potential. Making a linear, step-by-step list of the things that you need to do in order to accomplish a goal is much like how a computer’s ‘brain’ works.

On the other hand, if you have chosen the second option, then you have a wider array of choices when it comes to the paths that you can take to achieve your goal, since this is basically how mind mapping works.

Mind mapping is a concept or technique wherein your thinking process will be externally reflected in the form of an illustration or diagram. This was developed by Tony Buzan, who, in his web site www.imindmap.com, encourages people to “unleash the remaining 99% of their brain” through mind mapping.

This concept essentially follows the natural way that the human brain works. For example, when you think of or visualize the color red, your brain instinctively associates the word ‘red’ with apple, blood, cherries, a scarlet shirt that you may have worn at one time – anything that is associated with the color is what comes to your mind instead of just the word itself. So, from just one root word, your brain will immediately associate it with other words to broaden the scope of the topic.

This natural working of the brain, when illustrated on paper, is mind mapping. You can start by writing in the center of a piece of paper one word, representing one idea. From there - through the process of association – you can come up with several branches which all connect to your central idea.

The relationship between the main idea and all the branches that will stem out from the central theme is how the end process will look like. With mind mapping, you can organize your thoughts more coherently, new ideas will be better expressed and developed, you can retain information faster because of the fact that visual illustrations that you mapped out yourself is easier to remember than any list – all these and more are the benefits of mind mapping.

Aside from these benefits, there are hundreds of instances at work and in your home life where you can make use of the process of mind mapping to maximize your brain’s potential and save you a lot of time and effort when planning.

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However little or too much food that you give yourself, it all boils down to the metabolism process. It is not right to starve yourself, but neither should you eat a lot. It is recommended that you just eat the right amount that will provide for your body’s needs.

Eat Little and Often
Eating small portions of your regular meals more often during the day is said to be better than devouring large amount of food during the times of the day when you ought to eat a lot.

The reason for this is because ten percent of the calories is being used by the body in digesting the food you ate and absorbing it further. In doing so, eating more frequently will really do your body good, as long as you keep the food intake minimal.

Small Portion Sizes
There is a vast diversity in the kinds of food available now for everyone to choose from. This causes more and more people to eat more than they should, not minding the calories that they give their bodies.

Even the portion sizes have increased nowadays. This fact can be proven by the study that was done by the researchers at the University of North Carolina. They found out that there is a significant change in the portion sizes of the key food groups in America between the years 1977 and 1996.Such change was brought about by people’s tendency to consume more salty snacks, beverages, burgers, fries and the likes than ever before.

The Size Matters
It is only typical for a person to eat everything that is on the plate, whether or not the stomach can take it in. This is because the body is psychologically set to finish off the food even if the stomach is already full.

There are studies being done that shows how people feel more satisfied when given lesser portions of food, as long as they eat often. Keeping your body healthy will also make you happy, so watch what you eat and as much as possible, try to boost your metabolic rate regularly.

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We know that Complementary Medicine is practiced when conventional medicine is used in tandem with Alternative Medicine methods. So perhaps you have also heard of Dean Ornish, M.D. – physician extraordinaire. This doctor has been able to prove through his patients that a combination of dietary changes, meditation, and exercise can effectively halt and even reverse the progression of instances of heart disease. This is the first research program that has been able to prove such claims.

Ornish, a holistic cardiologist who is a former student of Swami Satchidananda, has been so successful at preventing heart disease from progressing in his patients over the past 25 years that he was able to convince Medicare to shoulder the expenses of the patients who took part in his program. Ornish commented that the fact that the program could reap savings for Medicare was more convincing than if he had informed Medicare that the participants aimed to become one with the universe. This shows that though Western health care systems are oriented towards the bottom line, they may still be convinced of the efficacy of alternative forms of medical care.

Ornish has been working at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute to prove that even patients with severe cases of heart disease stand to benefit from his highly-effective program. The program emphasizes changes in diet and lifestyle that go beyond what was previously recommended by medical practitioners before. Ornish and his colleagues at the Institute opted to devote their efforts towards heart disease since it is the leading killer of people in the US alone. But his research on the positive impact of lifestyle changes can help not just people with heart disease but patients who have other life-threatening conditions as well (such as arthritis, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.) The program may also be able to reduce the risk for participants to become victims of various forms of cancer (like prostrate cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer.)

One interesting aspect of Ornish’s beliefs is that he considers love to have a relationship with the healing of a patient. He thinks that one’s survival hinges on the love one experiences from the people around him. Sustaining love comes from the community. In short, no man is an island, no man stands alone. This is why the Ornish program has a support group component integrated into it. Ornish cited other research that show it is more likely that people who have feelings of loneliness and depression will become ill and die early compared to individuals who enjoy caring and ties with their community.

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If you have not heard of the term mind mapping yet, now is a good time to learn about it. You will certainly be missing out on a lot of things if you are still using the old
‘listing’ technique or taking down notes when studying, mapping out a plan or drafting an outline for a project at school or at work.

Not only does mind mapping eliminate the need for tedious lists, but it also works the same way that the human brain works, so coming up with a mind map or concept map is a breeze for anybody who wants to try it out.
So how does mind mapping work? This technique involves the illustration of ideas on paper. Think of it as literally drawing a ‘map’ of what you are actually thinking.

First, what you need to do is write in the center of the paper a word which represents the main theme or central idea. From that one word, you can think of other words associated with this central idea which can be connected to the main word with the use of branches. A branch from the main theme could have a sub-branch which is another word associated with the keyword, and so on – let the process evolve from there.

Once the entire paper is filled out with your ideas, the entire illustration will merge into a whole, which you can easily remember, picture in your mind and understand.

Now that you have a basic idea of what mind mapping is, take a look at the numerous benefits of mind mapping:

• You can save a lot of time and effort when using the mind mapping technique, instead of the traditional ‘listing’ method.
If you are fond of using itemized lists when taking down notes from a lecture, or even planning a vacation trip – imagine the amount of time and effort that you will save if you will use mind mapping instead. With mind mapping, you can eliminate the unnecessary details and just concentrate on what is important to you.

• Mind maps are easier to understand and remember.
This is especially applicable for students who are studying for an exam. Use mind mapping during a lecture, and you will find that the illustration will help you remember facts better, rather than relying on the traditional notes. This is because it will be easier for you to imagine an illustration rather than memorize a bunch of lists about the topic discussed.

With mind mapping, you can use your brain to its utmost potential and enjoy the advantages of having a better time at planning, organizing your thoughts, remembering facts and analyzing data – skills that you can apply both at work and in your home life.

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Mind mapping is a breakthrough concept wherein you will use the properties of association to come up with a drawing, map, or illustration of the ideas lodged in your brain about a particular topic.

Sounds confusing? Actually, mind mapping is a lot easier than what you think. This is because this technique or concept follows the natural workings of the brain – which associates one word with another word to have a clear picture of the overall idea.

For example, if you say technology, there are several things that will instantly come to your mind. This central theme can branch out to the Internet, gadgets, mobile devices, telecommunications – the list is practically endless. Thus, mind mapping will give you more leeway when it comes to freedom of expression in the sense that one keyword is not just limited to one sub-topic, but it can branch out to several sub-topics. This will help you easily remember and understand the main concept which is represented by one word.

To have a deeper understanding of the process of mind mapping, take a look at the following example and how-to guide:

1. On a piece of paper, write down the central idea or the main theme of the topic that you want to tackle. Enclose it in a box or circle.

2. From this main word, what other words can you associate with it? Take the aforementioned example which is technology. How many branches of technology are there? From the circle of box that you have drawn in the middle of the paper, draw branches or curved arrows surrounding the main theme and connect them all together.

3. If you can think of other sub-topics under the branches of technology, place another batch of boxes or circles to represent these sub-topics.

4. Let all your ideas branch out until you are satisfied with the results and you have exhausted all the possibilities.

The resulting illustration will be the result of your mind mapping. Now, isn’t this easier than making copious and detailed notes about the branches of technology and all the other sub-topics under it.

You will surely remember this map by heart because you are the one who made it – which is a plus factor, aside from the fact that visual maps are easier to remember than attempting to memorize pages of lists.

There are also mind mapping software available for you, since a lot of people find the process so useful and time-saving. No matter which method of mind mapping you choose, be it using a mind mapping software or through the traditional pen and paper – the important thing is that you can enjoy the benefits of living up to your brain’s potential by making use of this ingenious mind mapping technique.

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