Wouldn’t it be nice if you have a genie at your disposal?  You know, that gigantic magical creature appearing from the opaque smoke of Aladdin’s lamp who can grant three out of this world wishes?  Oh, how you’d love to give up a limb to purchase such an impressive product, right?

Fame, fortune, good health, loving relationships…all these would then be yours for the taking.  It’s like staring at a catalogue of the universe and pointing out the ones you want to be delivered at your doorstep.

But all those are just wishful thinking!

Well, not exactly.

There is actually a secret kept hidden from men that can allow the realization of their deepest desires and aspirations.  The secret is creative visualization.

Basically, creative visualization harnesses the power of your inner mind by converting your abstract thoughts into concrete reality.  It is founded on the premise that whatever exists in the physical level must first take place in a higher plane, which is the mental level.  Just take a look at the visual masterpieces of some of the greatest artists known to mankind like Michaelangelo, Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso.  Before they have picked up their respective paintbrushes, mixed the paint in their palettes or set up their reliable easels, they already have a well-defined image in their mind of what they are about to paint, one that is bursting with different vibrant shades.  They just didn’t go about splashing random colors on their canvass and prayed for the best.

Just like them, it would take serious effort and intense concentration to achieve your masterpiece.  Here are some guidelines for a calming creative visualization.

First, seek out your comfort zone.  Whether you prefer to meditate in silence at a church, a secluded oratory, a tranquil temple, in your disarranged cubicle or even in the comforts of your own bedroom, the most important thing you have to remember is that you have to be at ease.  Noise should be reduced at a minimum so that you can shut out from your actual environment.

Second, decide on your goal.  What is your pressing need for the moment?  If it is good health, then focus on attaining a healthy body. Imagine your medical examinations with positive outcomes and laboratory results on a normal level.  If you want abundance, imagine cash coming in your house.  Conjure images of checks in your name arriving at your mailbox.  Should you decide to heal a broken relationship, visualize yourself shaking hands with your partner.  Just create a distinct mental image of what you really want and let it stay on your mind.

Third, give positive feelings to your mental image. Be optimistic. Suffuse yourself with pure, unadulterated joy during that moment.  Feel exhilaration, excitement and peace.  Strip yourself of all the negative vibrations.  Let go of heartaches and heartbreaks.

Be consistent in performing this exercise.  If possible, set aside a few minutes of your time every day, preferably upon waking up in the morning and before going to sleep at night.  This will solidify your expectations and put you in the right mood as you go through the motions of your daily life.  Believe that the best will happen to you and your dreams will be realized sooner than expected.

Popularity: 2% [?]

How often do children get bullied by other kids? It is hard to pinpoint a bullying incident at pre-school level. But oftentimes, it happens, though not as violently or intentionally inflicted as the ones at school age. It can be pushing a classmate to get in front of the line, getting a seat, or eating someone else’s snack.

Pre-schoolers, naïve as they are, don’t know that what they’re doing is wrong. Based on educator Jean Piaget’s theory of Cognitive Development, children ages 0 to 2 years old are in the Sensorimotor Period. In this phase, children are egocentric – everything is “I” based: “This is my ball.” Or, “that chair is mine.” Thus, meeting other children for the first time is a challenge for them, as well as learning big words: “Share” and “Wait”.

Response of Parents

Both the parents’ and educators’ active participation in preventing or solving bullying incidents is essential.

An educator must immediately reprimand a child when he/she is bullying a classmate. Small bullies might grow up to be big bullies and not correcting the child’s attitude will greatly affect how he or she will handle his or her interaction with peers as grown-ups. It is also helpful to tell stories about getting along with classmates and the importance of friends.

Isolating the baby bully is not an option. If the bully must learn how to properly interact with his or her classmates, the others kids must also learn how to deal with him or her.

Correct Your Child

If your child is a bully or shows some bully attitudes, he or she must be corrected as soon as possible. Mommy and Daddy must get the whole story and explain that what the kid did was wrong. Also, ask why he or she did such a thing.

Active parenting and close coordination with the teachers are the best ways to handle the incident. Spending quality time with your child provides a sense of security and helps him or her cope with the stress of going to school and being with other children. Pre-school is a new world for your child and being out there all alone will definitely be a shock.

Some bullying incidents would be very trivial to an adult’s eyes – what’s the big deal with grabbing and eating somebody else’s food, or laughing at other children’s mistakes? These seem to be petty and, well, they’re just kids. Grabbing someone else’s snack today may turn into a bank robbery in the future; or laughing now may be a character attack when he or she is of adult age.

Correcting small problems at age three would definitely prevent humongous troubles in mid-life. A parent must not panic if a child behaves so. It can still be controlled. Helping their children deal with this now would be a favor if they do it for themselves. If a parent does not correct a toddler, there is no way he or she can help his or her delinquent juvenile as an adolescent.

Hope For Parents

Parents and teachers must work together to help kids who bully other children. They must definitely be present to assist and guide their kids to be good and kind-hearted individuals. It is wrong to pass on the responsibility of taking care of your children to caregivers and teachers. They can only do so much to help – the kids are yours, not theirs.

Bullying is just one of the things a child must learn to deal with. Trying to solve this problem alone is a big task for your child. A toddler’s job is just to play and learn as much as he or she can. Other forms of stress like bullying and taking care of themselves are too much to ask of a child. Being there for him or her, therefore, is a must.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The employee with the greatest sense of humor is often the most liked person in any office setting. Aside from lightening an otherwise stressful and boring environment, having a sense of humor will also ensure that everybody’s sanity is intact at the end of the day.

Often, the person with the sense of humor is the one who has the most lunch and after-office invitations from colleagues. He or she is the person the staffs turn to when they want to feel at ease or escape for a few minutes from the daily hustle and bustle.

Though a sense of humor is what will make people flock to you and love you more in the office, you should also be wary about the things you say. If you’re not careful with your words, they could all come back to you and backfire. The next thing you know, instead of making people happy, you could be arousing conflict among your workmates, or, worse, your boss.

Here are some recommendations to ensure that your sense of humor does not cross any sensitive line and get you fired.

1. Choose your words wisely.

Accept that you will never be able to please everyone around you. While some of your workmates might find you hilariously funny, there are those who might be sensitive to what you say.

Personal jokes and poking fun at someone’s appearance, intelligence, or whatever, is not funny at all. It is destructive and will not earn you brownie points. Stick to jokes that are general and avoid personal attacks, as they can hamper inter-office relationships and invite resentment.

2. Pace yourself.

You have to have good timing when you throw in a joke. Sometimes, the tension in the office is too high that cracking a joke does not really help solve matters. It’s not always appropriate to use your sense of humor in any situation. There’s a time to be serious.

If you really need to crack a joke because you feel it will lighten the mood, start slow and start small. If people respond positively, then that’s when you make another remark. If nobody seems to appreciate a small joke at this time, a huge joke might not be in order.

Don’t get carried away. If you’re the ‘office clown’ it’s really not your responsibility to make people laugh all the time. Don’t pressure yourself.

3. Do well first.

People tend to give you more credit and respect if you do well in your particular job. So, before you crack a joke about the office environment or about the tension that surrounds you all, make sure first that you’ve done your job well. After all, that’s what you’re at the office for. A person who neglects his duties and only focuses on ‘making people laugh’ is no good at all. Be one and your boss will surely fire you from your post before you can say, “I’m just kidding.”

Remember that the office is a place for work. While a great sense of humor is highly welcome, you must always keep in mind that there are tasks to be done and that merely cracking jokes won’t get the job completed. However, a good, well-time joke will also help motivate your colleagues to doing better. The key here is timing and content. Keep these two to heart.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Are saddlebags, love handles and spare tires inching their way into your body? Do you spend minutes looking at the mirror wishing you had the perfectly fit body of Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt? Do most physical activities you have previously enjoyed, morphed into pure torture? Does your diet mostly consist of salt, sweets and fats?

If you answered yes to one of the questions stated above, then you surely have plenty of reasons to get lean the healthier way. Keep in mind that losing weight is not for aesthetic reasons only.

If you are convinced that your well-being relies on your determination, then apply these tried and tested “get lean” guidelines to help you out. Not only will you lose those ugly bulges, you will also be launching a stronger, sexier and more self-assured you in the upcoming months. Still wondering how to do it? Here are the secrets:

1. Set SMART goals. Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, result-oriented and time-bound in order to be highly effective. For example, if you want to shed off excess pounds, say how much weight you want to lose in a week or a month. It should be realistic. Health experts advocate losing no more than one pound a week to maintain the body’s equilibrium. If you want to have a 24-inch waistline, express in concrete terms how it should be done as well as the target date.

2. Prepare a timetable and/or diary. This will reflect your progress. Daily, weekly and monthly activities in order to get lean will be included. This means household chores and outdoor exercises should be listed as well as improvement in food preferences from unhealthy to healthy ones.

3. Commit with a partner. He or she will serve as a support system in your long and oftentimes arduous journey to fitness. Choose someone who can wholeheartedly support you even through the toughest times. It’s really a great boost to the ego to have someone to talk to when you feel like giving up. Verbalize your innermost feelings when you feel an intense urge to quit.

4. Chant the “Yes, I can” mantra. Dispel those negative thoughts and replace them with positive pep talks. The moment you wake up in the morning, fill your mind with upbeat reminders to lift your energy throughout the day.

Now you know how to get lean the healthier way. Best of luck.

Popularity: 2% [?]

So much has been happening in our world. In today’s society, we cannot afford to not maximize our traits to be successful in life. Confidence and self-esteem is important in our personality. It matters in building relationships, taking in challenges, self-expression, and self-improvement.

One way or another, a confidence and self-esteem boost is sometimes needed to combat life pressures. If you find yourself withdrawing from society, having difficulty in accepting compliments and being fair to yourself, being negative all the time, having reluctance in trusting your own opinion and taking on challenges, and expecting too little from yourself, then you are in need of a confidence and self-esteem boost. The following are easy tips to boost your confidence and self-esteem.

1. Feel good!

Know the things that make you feel good. Focus on these things, be it good memories such as your achievements, a happy weekend, or an important person. Having these things would remind you of how blessed you are; then you will feel good about yourself. Engage in activities that make you feel good and give you a sense of accomplishment.

2. Don’t be self-conscious.

Don’t focus your attention to yourself. This hinders self-confidence. This can be done through the following steps…

a. Instead of bringing all of your attention to yourself, focus on something that you can observe and study everyday. The important thing is that the attention is off you.
b. In a situation, think of what you should do or your purpose. This is because being idle would only trigger your being self-conscious. It is better for your mind to be pre-occupied with other things.
c. Socialize!

3. Do not take unwarranted criticism from others and from yourself.

Remember that people who look confident are not perfect. In addition, even though you don’t have self-confidence, it doesn’t mean you exude it. Don’t make negative statements about yourself. This will destroy your self-image. Keep in mind if others can do it, you can do it too.

Self-esteem is also about not thinking negatively about you. When you start feeling bad about yourself, this does not mean that it will always be like that. In addition, it is not wrong to try to help yourself through reading self-help books or visiting self-help sites. At least, in this way you will be guided in your transformation.

4. It is more than thinking positively.

Positive thinking is very much important in building self-confidence and improving self-esteem. However, it is more than positive thinking. The drive to do the right thing is vital to the whole process. This is because self-confidence and self-esteem does not end in thinking highly of yourself, but in the way you carry yourself when you are with others and when you are subjected to different situations.

5. Use your successes to your advantage.

When you succeed, do not blame it on luck, chance, or on someone else. Be sure to take credit for your talents and skills that lead to your successes. It is important that you know how to translate your successes to accounts about yourself. On the other hand, look at failures as just temporary events in your life and not the factor that identify you. This way, you know where you’re good at and where you’re not.

Confidence and self-esteem is vital to facing the stresses in life. The stated tips could help in boosting your confidence and improving your self-esteem. For some, these are just easy to follow; while for others who have severe self-esteem issues, these might be unreachable. Make sure that you personalize the tips according to your situation.

Popularity: 2% [?]

What contributes frowning to one’s face? Is it not sadness? This state of being is one of the many reasons why people who have emotional breakdown put their lives at risk. When deeper sadness or depression consumes the individual, illness and disturbance clog his mind and feelings.

Most people who suffer from depression or extreme sadness are affected with the way they deal with their fellowmen. Depressed people are sensitive and demand special attention. At times, depression swallows them and affects their relationship with other people, particularly their families and those who stay closer to them.

On the contrary, enthusiasm is a feeling similar to happiness but the emotion involved is intense. Enthusiasm is often associated with divine inspiration, an intense emotion deeper than happiness itself. However, our society’s status these days hinders people from being enthusiasts. Instead, many are grieving and saddened with what they see in the surroundings and in the whole world. Most people who were victimized by wars and social problems find enthusiasm impossible to feel. Why, even the richest people on earth feel sad at times. If this is the case, is it true that enthusiasm is elusive?

Many sigh because of sadness and bad experiences. We can say that indeed, happiness or enthusiasm is a relative state of being. This is the reason why many people resort to illicit drugs, thinking that they can escape the bitter experiences they are experiencing. They thought they can fake happiness for a few hours. Little did they know that no matter how difficult life is, happiness is still available and waiting to be rediscovered. How can you promote and contribute to enthusiasm and happiness?

1. Set goals and seek life’s purpose. Happiness cannot be achieved overnight so starting early means experiencing happiness the soonest.

2. Take away all the bitterness you kept for years. Learn to say “sorry” and accept your limitations.

3. Keep your life simple by allotting time for you to relax and enjoy wholesome recreation.

4. Learn to develop self-worth. Love your deeds and do favors for yourself. Adopt changes if necessary and if you feel like you are bored in doing routines.

5. Humbly accept others’ support and appreciate small gifts from them.

6. Try rendering support or reciprocating the kindness shown to you.

7. Develop hobbies that will contribute to your self-worth. Some women and housewives, for instance, love gardening. They at times talk to their plants. They find this rewarding in most ways.

8. Read some inspirational books. Keep simple but inspiring messages and share these to others. Remember that giving brings joy to every person; learn the value of generosity at all times.

9. Constantly communicate to others your inspiring and up building stories. Learn to accept feedbacks from your listeners.

10. Learn to be flexible, accept the fact that everything does not just happen the way you think everything should be.

Keeping these simple things in mind, we can say that happiness and enthusiasm are not that difficult to find. Many people pay huge amounts of money just to have the opportunity to gain worthwhile experiences. In the end, these people are convinced that the real happiness they seek cannot be bought. It can be achieved in many ways; but to find it, they must be humble enough to compromise some wants in exchange of the need to be happy.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The key to most successes in life is will power. Whether you’re planning to embark on an extensive weight-loss program or you’re simply trying to kick-off your smoking habit, you need to have will power. High-powered executives and entrepreneurs are where they are now because of their will to reach the top and to stay there for the longest possible time that they can.

Essentially, will power is your ability to put into action a carefully planned vision. It taps your emotions and your mind’s infinite power to accomplish the goals you’ve set - be it dieting, quitting smoking, bagging a promotion, winning the next election, changing the world, writing a hit song, landing your dream acting role, etc. In most cases, it is the most important thing you would ever need because it highly predicts your plan’s success or failure.

Three steps are usually included in the application of your will power: (1) Goal-setting; (2) Planning a course of action; and (3) Execution. Most people fail to reach their goals because they fall short in number 3. What you should do is to devote a hefty amount of time with numbers 1 and 2 to make sure that your execution goes smoothly and that your will to achieve your goals will be followed through by specific actions. You would need to gather up all of your energy to make a huge thrust forward from number 2 to number 3 in order to prevail.

Will power can bring forth great things. Keep in mind, however, that will power can only push you up to a certain extent. Like gasoline in a fast running car, it will eventually get depleted. If you push too hard, you might end up falling off your track. For example, you might end up feeling too deprived from your diet that on your third week, you’d already be having chocolate ice cream. You could have been too focused on getting that promotion that you’ve already neglected your relationship with your co-workers and worse, with your family. As with all things, you need to have control.

Aside from putting your mind into your set objectives, you need to make sure that your environment is conducive to achieving those.  Clean your fridge before starting with that new diet plan. Organize your contacts and hire a more aggressive agent so you can land that dream role. It’s all part of planning ahead and a way to conserve your will power. More importantly, it prevents you from losing momentum in what you’ve already done to get to your goals.

Will power is so important, but it’s hard to maintain. It’s your defense against temptations that would distract you from achieving your goal. It allows you to resist a fun late night-out with your friends to be in time for dinner with your family. It’s what you have against smoking that one single stick that would have otherwise brought you back to where you started. Your will gives you the power to transcend difficulties, making them seem easy and worth going through, just to reach your goals. It’s probably the most important thing followed only by the actual steps you take.

Looking at a larger perspective and placing it in the context of your entire life, your will power enables you to do as the classic lines from Invictus go. It allows you to be the master of your fate and to be captain of you soul. Surely, you’d want that.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Poor self-esteem is something that hundreds of thousands of people deal with on a daily basis. This article will give you four common causes of low self-esteem and some tips on what you can do to improve your self-esteem.

What are the Causes of Low Self-Esteem

Low self-esteem can be the product of a variety of situations. Here are four common causes of low self-esteem:

1. Drug addictions – The abuse and addiction of any drug can be horrible on a person’s psyche. Addictions can lead to immense depression as well as plunging self-esteem levels.

2. Lack of interaction with parents as a child – Quite possibly the number one cause of low self-esteem in many adults is the poor or lacking positive interaction with one or both parents when they were a child. This positive interaction with children is extremely important in fostering a healthy self-esteem.

3. Negative socializations – Another common cause of self-esteem issues has always been negative social situations. Children can be horribly mean to each other. Likewise, adults in certain social circles with agendas can seriously hurt a person’s self-esteem.

How to Improve Your Self-Esteem

If you are experiencing a plummeting self-esteem, there is hope. You can begin to take measurable steps towards healing and elevating your own self-esteem. In fact, that’s why it’s called self-esteem…because you are the one who controls it. Here are some things you can do to improve your esteem:

· Remove yourself immediately from negative situations.
· Surround yourself with positive people.
· Keep a gratitude journal to record all the wonderful things about yourself.
· Use positive affirmations.
· Ask for help from friends and family.
· Seek professional assistance.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Are you a naturally negative person? Do you have trouble seeing the good in anything? Many people find themselves in this pit of negative thinking after having gone through a sequence of “bad” things happening to them. One way to help yourself out of this is to practice positive thinking on paper. Here are some tips to help you get started:

· Read books on self-improvement. Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is head to the library and check out several books on self-improvement. Reading these books will help you develop yourself. They can also help you learn how to think more positively.

· Keep a self-improvement journal. Buy yourself a nice journal and ink pen. At the beginning of the journal, write a list of goals you’d like to accomplish. Every day make a record of what you did to reach one of your goals. Every day you should work towards one of these, positive thinking, being the main goal. At the end of every month, go back and read your journal entries to see what kind of progress you’ve made. At the end of the year, you’ll have a record book full of entries and you will be able to see how you’ve grown and are thinking more positively about yourself.

· Start a positive thinking note card journal. Check your local office supply store or Wal-Mart for a book of wire-bound index cards. Every time you see a quote you like, write it on an index card. Continue doing this until the entire book of note cards is filled. Place the book on your desk or carry it around with you for quick boosts of positivity.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Do you make big plans for your life, only to end up disgusted and frustrated because you can never seem to follow through with them? Motivation plays a huge factor in how we live our lives. Lack of motivation leads to stagnation, which in turn creates an unproductive and unfulfilling life.

MAKE A PLAN
The groundwork for motivation is a plan. Without a solid plan of action, you’ll stay stuck doing the same things again and again, even though you get nowhere. Make a list of your goals for 1, 5, and 10 years. Envision where you want to be, what you want to accomplish.

GIVE YOURSELF INCENTIVES
Sometimes it’s necessary to trick your brain by giving yourself incentives. Set benchmarks for your life plan, along with special incentives for reaching each one. When you can see measurable accomplishments, reward yourself with an incentive.

GET EXCITED
If you can’t get excited about your goals, you’ll never become motivated enough to do something about it. Setting goals that are boring and dull will only lead to you quitting early on. When you can truly get excited about what you are doing with your life, you will find this gives you an extra boost of motivation.

BE HAPPY
Depression and lack of self-esteem and confidence plays a huge role in loss of motivation. When you feel like nothing you do is good enough, and you are miserable and unhappy, you are much less likely to become proactive towards reaching your goals. Find your happy place and your motivation level will rise.

Popularity: 6% [?]