meaning of life – Personal Growth Cafe

June 25, 2012July 3, 2012

Virtues of Living Simply

Have you ever been so overwhelmed by your life that you wish you could just chuck it all and live a simpler existence?

What’s fascinating is there are so many ways you can alter your life to make it easier for you and your family to enjoy everything that life has to offer. Living simply encompasses many positive qualities.

Whether you quit your job as an accountant and buy your own little bed and breakfast inn or move closer to the office, sell your car and walk to work, the possibilities are endless in terms of how you can live a simpler life.

Here are some ways that living simply can benefit you:

1. You’ll save money. When you restructure your life to live more simply, it usually involves spending less money. The impact of saving money is great if you’ve got children who’ll be going to college. Also, the money you don’t spend due to living simply can be banked for your own retirement.

2. You’ll spend more quality time at home. When you make an effort to simplify, you clear away the chaff. Eliminate activities from your schedule that don’t benefit you. Your spare time increases when you live a simpler life.

3. The things you truly enjoy will be at your fingertips. There are certain items you love and others you can clearly do without. Get rid of the items you no longer have a use for.

• For example, maybe you love your iPad, books, and drawing utensils, but you no longer need your fishing poles, the trampoline, and a closet full of outdated files.

• Living simply gives you quick and easy access to the things you love without having the clutter and mental baggage around you of the things that no longer benefit you. Plus, it will leave more space for the items and activities that bring you pleasure.

4. Your surroundings will be more comfortable. As you adapt a minimalist lifestyle, you’ll find yourself rearranging your home exactly the way you’ve always wanted. You’ll focus on comfort. A good reading light, a cushion behind your back, and a long afternoon to spend in your beloved home may be exactly what you seek to feel the comfort you’ve been lacking.

5. You’ll experience more serenity in your life. After all, when you have fewer personal belongings, there’s less to worry about, clean, and take care of. Tranquility is the end result.

6. Your children will grow up to be less focused on material goods. When you live minimally and raise your children in the same ways, they’ll learn about living a simpler lifestyle. You’ll introduce them to an easier, less frivolous way to live, grow, and prosper.

7. It’s less important to follow the crowd or keep up with the Joneses. As you disconnect from the hustle and bustle of going through the motions just because others do, you’ll eventually arrive at what’s actually the main elements of life for you and your family.

8. Your health will likely improve. If you simplify by buying more locally grown produce and fewer processed foods, your family’s health will improve. More fruits and vegetables and fewer canned and boxed items will reduce unwanted sodium and chemicals in your nutritional diet.

• Remember, there’ll be more time for exercise when you step away from the rat race a well.

9. Your life will revolve around your priorities. What’s important to you? When you simplify, you’ll surround yourself with things that matter to you and participate in activities that have meaning to you.

The virtues of living simply are countless. Depending on how you decide to simplify, you’ll begin to experience more joy and serenity.

Cutting out the extra junk in your life will pave the way for you to live exactly the way you want, with a life that’s brimming with activities and things you love. Discover the deeper meaning and purpose of a life lived simply.

June 25, 2012July 4, 2012

Love Your Home: Creating Your Own Paradise

Do you have fantasies about where you’d like to live someday? Maybe it’s a beautiful little seaside town in the south of France or a log home in the mountains of Denver. Fortunately, you can have a bit of your dream right now, where you live today, without uprooting your life!

Although it’s important to strive toward making your dreams a reality, you’ll live a happier existence in the meantime if you work to create your own paradise wherever you live.

Try some of these tips to ensure you’re living your best life in the here-and-now:

1. Accept where you’re living. Whether you’re in a one-bedroom apartment or your great aunt’s condo downtown, for now, you’re calling it home. This is your own bit of paradise for today. Tell yourself that you’re okay living where you live because it’s simply a stepping stone that will lead you to the place you want to eventually be.

2. Set the mood. Do you wish to lift your spirits and energy level when you walk in the door? If so, decorate with brighter colored textiles in furniture, upholstery, and curtains. Have splashes of vivid art on the walls.

• If you prefer to set a calm and tranquil tone in your own little heaven, use calmer colors like sage greens, beige, and mocha to present a more serene picture when you enter the room.

• No matter where you live, you can set the mood you want most by painting your walls and using evocative colors.

3. Consider options for your comfort. Do you want different furniture pieces to make your space fit you better or be more comfortable? Maybe you need a more efficient desk to sit at when you’re working at home. Perhaps different lighting fixtures would help.

• The key to creating your sanctuary is to set up each room exactly how you want it. This can be done on a budget, too. You don’t have to invest a fortune to create the look and feel that you desire. Consignment shops and thrift stores can be great sources for inexpensive items for your new look.

4. Learn to love the home you have. Find specific aspects of your space that bring you joy and contentment. Maybe it’s the way the sun streams in the east window of the kitchen in the mornings. Or perhaps you enjoy the open layout between the kitchen, dining, and living room areas. Notice and take full advantage of what you do like about your home.

5. Check out design websites, apps, and books for décor ideas. Look for inspiration such as furniture arrangement, carefully placed treasures, wall colors, and use of textiles to obtain the look and feel you want. Recognize that regardless of the size and location of your home, there are countless ways to alter it to suit your tastes and introduce the qualities you want.

Show some love to yourself and your home by creating a sanctuary right where you live now. With just a few simple changes and a fresh perspective, you can have your own paradise no matter where you live!

June 25, 2012July 4, 2012

How to Make a Vision Board to Reflect Your Life Goals

Do you feel you need a push to focus on your goals? It can be very effective to have daily reminders of what you want to accomplish. But how is it possible to keep your goals in mind every day? One way to consistently work toward bringing your dreams to life is to make a vision board.

What is a Vision Board?

A vision board is a craft project – a collage that includes pictures and words that reflect your life goals. The board can address your life in general or one or more specific areas you choose.

A vision board shows what you’re seeking in life. It prompts you to consider what you want. Before starting your board, ask yourself what your goals are. What do you want your life to be like?

Preparing to Construct Your Vision Board

Follow these preparation steps:

1. Gather supplies. Use a large square or rectangle of poster board or foam core board as the base of your vision board.

• You’ll need colored ink markers, magazines with plenty of words in headlines and pictures, scissors, and glue.

2. Ponder what you’ll include in your board. Decide the life area(s) you wish to address: all aspects, such as prosperity, relationships, family, sports, health, school, jobs, and careers or just 1-2 of your most-sought-after goals.

• You’ll use pictures and words about the things you desire, the place(s) you want to live, and anything else representative of the lifestyle you seek.

3. Plan time to start work on your vision board. Schedule a day and time to make your board when you’ll be uninterrupted. Allow yourself 3-4 hours. You might not complete it in one sitting. That’s okay. It’ll take some time to browse through magazines and select images to clip and use.

Vision Board Day!

It’s time to get started.

1. Reflect on your most important goals. Set a timer for 20 minutes and clarify to yourself what you want in life.

• Right now, what’s important to you? What do you want to pursue? It’s okay if you’re not sure. But give yourself time to think about it. When you emotionally connect with your goals, you’re more likely to achieve them.

2. Find the pictures you want to use. Browse through magazines and clip images that reflect your goals and dreams. Then, without gluing, arrange and re-arrange the pictures on the poster board until you love how it looks.

• Leave a space somewhere on the poster board to place a favorite picture of you.
• Once you have a pleasing arrangement, affix your collage with glue.

3. Include words to express goals and desires. Write words that connect you with the pictures. Express your thoughts and emotions using markers. You might choose to clip words from magazines (larger print is best) and glue them on your vision board.

4. Glue on a picture of yourself that you like and voila, you’ve just created your vision board!

5. Recognize it’s a process. You might start out making your vision board about your career and discover you’re really more interested in deepening friendships or making money from a job you’ve never tried. That’s okay; switch gears on this board or even construct another board later.

6. Display your vision board. Hang it in your den, bedroom, or somewhere you’ll see it every day. Stop and look at it, touch it, and say out loud, “I’m working for that!” Let yourself get excited about the prospect of achieving your goals.

Making a vision board keeps you oriented toward your life desires. Construct a new board later as you reach current goals and add new ones. Motivate yourself to attain your goals and dreams through making your own vision board.

June 24, 2012July 4, 2012

Enjoy Lifelong Learning on a Shoestring Budget

Lifelong learning enables you to enrich your mind and expand your career opportunities even if you completed your formal education a long time ago. If you’re on a limited budget, there are still many ways, both in your community and online, to build your knowledge and skills.

Educational Opportunities in Your Community

1. Visit your local library. Borrowing books is a good enough reason to make a trip to your local library, but they now offer much more. Search the downloadable media for audio books and test-preparation guides for graduate school exams and civil service tests. Browse the event calendar for free lectures and courses.

2. Give yourself a museum membership. Museum memberships are a great bargain compared to the ticket prices for sporting events or movies. Being a member will usually give you access to special events and classes for the whole family.

3. Take advantage of education benefits at work. Check your employee manual for tuition discounts and other benefits your employer may offer. Ask if you can organize a lunchtime speaker series. Many local professionals will welcome the opportunity to share their expertise on financial management or vegetarian cooking.

4. Do an internship. In a tough job market, internships are one way to get the training you need to succeed. Target organizations where you can make a contribution while learning new skills.

5. Volunteer your services. Volunteer work goes far beyond stuffing envelopes. Sign up to assist with a project outside your usual line of work. Most communities have nonprofit clearinghouses with a wide variety of choices or contact a favorite charity you already support.

6. Let your kids instruct you. Ask your kids to teach you what they’re learning in school. It’s a great way to help them master their coursework while you pick up a new language or review geometry.

7. Teach a class. Try teaching a class on a subject where you have some expertise at your local church or community center. Preparing for classes and interacting with students is an effective way to deepen your own knowledge.

8. Retire to a university town. University towns are becoming increasingly attractive to those who are retiring with smaller savings than they expected. You get access to all kinds of educational resources with a lower cost of living than many major cities.

9. Search for financial aid. If your goals require that you go back to school, there are options for defraying the costs. Talk with the financial aid office at the university you select about scholarships, loans, grants, and veteran benefits that may be available to you.

Educational Opportunities In The Digital World

1. Take free university courses. Hundreds of respected universities and colleges offer free online courses. You can download audio and video courses from Oxford or Ivy League schools on every subject imaginable, from poetry to physics.

2. Switch to smarter YouTube channels. Tear yourself away from the videos of kittens petting puppies to visit organizations like the Aspen Institute that airs nonpartisan seminars on critical world issues or the Nobel Prize where past and current Nobel Laureates talk about cultural and scientific advances.

3. Turn on the subtitles. Foreign movies are a fun way to help you learn a new language or brush up if you’re getting rusty. Use the subtitles while you watch to learn correct pronunciation and expand your vocabulary. Some television stations also air subtitled foreign news programs where you can learn about world events while you improve your language skills.

Enjoy the thrills of new discoveries and the satisfaction of improving your mind. Many educational opportunities cost little or nothing, so all you need is a commitment to lifelong learning.

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012

Watch this video! It’s very touching. And makes you think about the value of one life

Make sure you have some tissue paper nearby. I got a little choked up watching this myself, and I’m not a crier.

It really moved me.

It also helps me appreciate the importance of one “second chance”, and how we should all take every day as precious, and make sure we’re living each day to the fullest!

Also, after you watch it, reflect on the meaning of your own life.

And honestly explore how well you’ve been honoring your purpose for being here.

And the way you’re meant to serve others.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately.

What’s clear to me is this is how I’m meant to be of greatest service to the most people.

It’s what I’m passionately enthusiastic about, and it’s also my greatest gift, and contribution…. to you!

Post your comments below and let’s explore this more deeply.

Warmly,
Dan

P.S. Who do you know who would love to see such a touching video?

Use the share button (the stylish “<" sign in the bottom right of the video above) and let your Facebook friends, Twitter contacts or friends in your inbox know about it. They will be redirected to this page to watch that video themselves!