Life – Page 10 – Personal Growth Cafe

October 5, 2019March 27, 2018

I think I can, therefore anything in the horizon is possible.

I am always open to the possibility of success.

I look for ways to succeed rather than excuses to fail, and so I enjoy the thrills of success.

Confidence and an optimistic attitude are the traits that pave the way.

In the classic story, The Little Engine That Could, it was the smallest engine in the train yard that climbed the mountain to save the day.

He just kept saying, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…” all the way up.

In the same way, I know I don’t have to be the strongest, smartest, most beautiful, most educated, or most experienced person to succeed.

All my lights don’t have to be green in order for me to get started on my journey to success.

The world is filled with examples of people who’ve succeeded despite the tremendous odds against them!

What makes the difference?

Attitude!

I develop my winning attitude daily with affirmations and positive self-talk.

I congratulate myself for even trivial achievements because what are they? Successes of course!

If I feel my confidence waning, I remind myself of my past successes to build it back up again.

When I encounter a challenge, I waste no time in continuing to move ahead.

I just tell myself, “I think I can,” and jump right into searching for a viable solution.

Today my mantra is, “I think I can.”

Nothing is out of reach for me if I decide it is what I want.

My can-do attitude can always bring me success!

When you start toward a new goal, what is your attitude?

What goal have you achieved simply because you thought you could?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Also, as your gift for taking this to heart – and this is profoundly important… to us ALL – go to UnitingPlanetEarth.com/ignition/ and do the Uniting Planet Earth 7-Day Quick-Start Ignition Program… and Allow it to Transform Your Life.

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October 4, 2019March 27, 2018

Never walk away from failure. On the contrary, study it carefully and imaginatively for its hidden assets. – Michael Korda

October 4, 2019March 27, 2018

How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking

If you find yourself afraid of an upcoming speech, you’re not alone.

The fear of public speaking is one of the top fears out there, but you can still do something about it.

You hear over and over again that practice makes perfect, and this also applies to public speaking.

Any sort of public speaking – even when you speak out in your group of friends – can ease you into the public speaking role.

Here are some actions you can take to reduce your fear of public speaking:

1. Be prepared. In most public speaking situations you can use notes.

Make sure you organize your notes and break them down into an organized list where you highlight two or three key talking points.

If you can’t use notes, simply make it a point to practice your speech until you feel comfortable saying it in front of others.

You might still have some fear, but being well prepared can definitely combat this feeling.

2. Don’t expect perfection. It’s important not to expect that your speech will be perfect.

In fact, chances are your audience doesn’t expect perfection either.

They understand that everyone makes mistakes and they, themselves, may be afraid of public speaking!

You might skip over a part of your talk or stutter a little, and these are all natural human mistakes.

3. Speak in small groups. If you’re uncomfortable speaking in front of a large group, then start small.

Practice on small groups and ask for feedback afterwards.

You can have a confidential feedback form, or you can just ask participants what they thought of your speech.

4. Have a backup plan. It’s always advisable to have a back up plan in life situations and public speaking is not an exception.

Think about what you might want to say if you get stuck.

If your mind goes blank, take a deep breath and start your backup plan.

Chances are you’ll find yourself back on track before you know it.

5. Relax. It’s important to get yourself into the right mindset before you have to speak.

Consider starting a ritual that you find relaxing in order to keep your mind off of your fears.

You could meditate or do a crossword puzzle, whatever it is, just choose an activity that helps you relax.

The Audience

The audience is the whole reason that you’re afraid to make your speech, but it helps to know that they’re on your side.

Keep a positive attitude because chances are good that the audience wants you to succeed in your speech.

In the end, it’s important to remember that even if you do mess up, it’s not the end of the world.

As long as you’ve prepared yourself well enough and have a back up plan in place, you’ll be able to pick yourself back up if you trip up anywhere in your speech.

After your presentation, it’s important to take notes and critique yourself on how it went.

Write down your observations on what you did well in addition to areas of improvement.

As you continue to practice your public speaking skills, you’ll get better and more comfortable in time. Just keep at it!

How are you learning from the experiences you’ve encountered?

How can this make you more confident in your abilities?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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October 3, 2019March 27, 2018

Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things. – Peter Drucker

October 2, 2019March 27, 2018

How to Wean Yourself from Being a Workaholic

If you find that you spend too much of your time working, your life will soon be much less satisfying than it once was.

It’s easy to get caught up in your work.

Sometimes you don’t even realize it until it seems too late, but it’s never too late to break out of the bad habit!

The Underlying Problem

Often times you get swept up with becoming a workaholic because of an underlying problem.

It’s true that sometimes you’re just getting too much pressure at work to get things done on time, but more often than not, you’ll find that you’re using your work to hide from other problems.

Ask yourself these questions:

Are you working too much because of financial strain?

Are you trying to avoid your home life?

Are you using work to avoid some other issue you’re facing?

If you’re overworking yourself because of financial reasons, you can only do it for so long.

Sooner or later your mental and physical health will begin to suffer.

You need to work hard with an end date in mind.

If this doesn’t work for you, perhaps it’s time to find a better paying job.

If you’re avoiding problems at home, you absolutely must concentrate on solving these problems.

They aren’t going to go away just because you’ve been escaping the situation.

The only way things will improve is if you take action to resolve what’s plaguing you.

Balance Out Your Life

Once you’ve solved any underlying problems, you’ll want to bring balance back to your life.

In order to wean yourself from your work, there are certain tips you can utilize to change your working habits.

Try some of these techniques:

1. Make time for yourself. Realize that you and your health are ultimately more important than your work.

Schedule time for yourself and treat that time as more important than any of your other deadlines.

2. Unwind at the end of the day. Decide on a firm bedtime and unwind before going to bed.

Decide when you’re going to sleep and, approximately 30 minutes beforehand, engage in a relaxing activity that has nothing to do with your work.

3. Exercise. Incorporate a moderate exercise routine into your schedule a few times each week.

Exercise will help you relax and release some of your stress from work.

It’s great for both your physical and mental health and is one more good way to wean yourself from overworking.

4. Take days off. You need days off from your work from time to time.

It’s just a fact.

If you have a traditional job where you have weekends free, you must spend them away from work.

On your days off, avoid even thinking or talking about work. Let your mind be free!

Start Slow

Remember that these changes don’t have to happen all at once, but you can start incorporating them into your life one at a time.

Your life simply can’t be all about work.

Remember to spend time doing activities that you enjoy besides work.

Take some time today to implement just one or two of these strategies and you’ll soon realize that there is life outside of work!

How important is personal time for you?

What activities do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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October 2, 2019March 27, 2018

The secret of success is making your vocation your vacation. – Mark Twain

October 1, 2019March 27, 2018

How to Write Your Own Affirmations

Affirmations are everywhere, and they have the strong ability to lift your spirits to get through hard times.

This is because we’re all highly suggestible, even if we think we’re not!

Affirmations help us to keep a positive attitude about life.

It’s only natural that we’ll get more out of these positive sayings if we formulate them ourselves.

Writing our own affirmations makes them personal to us, which can then help us to get through our own individual situations.

When you start writing your own affirmations, keep these tips in mind:

1. Make them personal.

When you write affirmations, it’s important to remember to use “I” in them. They are personal to you after all.

Example: “I am having an exceptional day today!”

2. Use the present tense.

Affirmations are built in order to change our feelings now, which is why you want to stay positive and strong in this moment.

When you use the past tense, you get nostalgic.

When you use the future tense, you get hopeful.

The present tense helps you feel the difference right now.

Example: “I am feeling relaxed.”

3. Be down to earth. This just means to use your own style and try not to make your affirmations too formal or wishy-washy.

You want to capture your own voice.

Bad Example: “Presently I feel the urge to enjoy my existence.”

Good Example: “I enjoy my life.”

4. Be short. Affirmations are meant to be short, simple and sweet.

Stay on target and make your affirmation a one-liner. If it’s too wordy, try breaking it up into a few affirmations.

The trick is to stick with one simple idea at a time.

Example: “I am in perfect health.”

5. Make it positive. Affirmations are positive statements, so avoid negative words like “not.”

You’re using affirmations to make a life improvement and positive statements motivate you to make this improvement.

Example: “I am at peace with my mind.”

6. Make it believable. You don’t want your affirmation to sound like something out of this world.

If it’s not believable, you won’t take it seriously and your subconscious will just dismiss it.

Example: “I am choosing to be happy today.”

Believe in the Power of Affirmations

When you say your affirmations, believe them to be true.

Affirmations are truly powerful sets of words as long as you believe what you’re telling yourself.

Affirmations alone have been known to help people cure addictions.

Women even use them during childbirth to help them stay calm and collected during natural delivery.

First, set your eyes on your goal and then write your affirmations to get yourself there.

Write Them Down

Practice always makes perfect.

Write down the affirmations you’re feeling.

Then go over the list above and make sure that your affirmations follow the rules.

Once they do, start using your affirmations and feel the difference.

Say your affirmations to yourself daily.

Take deep breaths and keep your eyes on your goal.

Also if need be, tweak your affirmations.

These positive sayings aren’t written in stone, so as you change, your affirmations can change, too.

It’s best to keep your affirmations in a place where you can see them.

You can simply keep a list in your pocket or you can post them around the house.

Paste them on the bathroom mirror, on your computer, or wherever you know you’ll see them each day.

Affirmations can make all the difference in reaching your goals.

Give them a try and enjoy the benefits these positive statements can make in your life.

How has your life changed because of positive affirmations?

How can you continue to spread happiness in your life?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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October 1, 2019March 27, 2018

You are educated when you have the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or self-confidence. – Robert Frost

September 30, 2019March 27, 2018

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

September 30, 2019March 27, 2018

How Your Support Group Can Ensure Your Success

It’s natural to strive for solving your problems on your own.

Sometimes pride holds you back from asking for help, or it could be embarrassment or fear.

Either way, you’ll soon realize that you can solve your problems quicker and more efficiently by joining or developing a support group.

The Benefits Of Support Groups

Support groups have many benefits.

Just the venting factor alone can be enough to make support groups worth it.

Even if a solution may not exist, just knowing there are others enduring your situation can help you feel at ease.

A support group can provide many other added benefits:

1. Confidence. Support groups can restore your confidence.

With confidence and drive, there will be nothing in between you and your ultimate goals.

2. Emotional Release. You may often forget the true importance of an emotional release.

When everything is all bottled up inside of you, you can get agitated and your emotions will manifest themselves in unhealthy ways.

Support groups give you the important emotional releases that can open you up to a breakthrough.

3. Information. Knowledge is power.

Support groups give you an amazingly concentrated way of sharing a wealth of knowledge.

When you listen to a speaker or counselor, you’re only getting one perspective.

When you listen to the members of a support group, you can share real experiences through many different perspectives.

4. Relationships.

Being a member of a support group will not only help you find success in the topic of the group, but with general relationships as well.

Support groups can be thought of as little samplings of the world at large.

When you frequently listen and relate to others, you’ll become a better communicator.

How To Develop A Strong Support Group

Developing your own support group is always an option.

In fact, all you need is a couple of other people that would like to be a part of the same type of group as yourself.

You simply need to determine what methods of communication will work best for the group.

If it’s best to meet face to face, inquire about times and potential venues to hold your discussion sessions.

Nowadays, online support groups and forums are also an option.

This is helpful because you’ll always be able to refer back to the helpful advice and personal reflections from others in the forum.

There is also no set time that everyone has to meet.

You can simply post or chat with the group when it’s convenient for you.

How To Find A Good Support Group

Nowadays with all the social networks, it’s getting easier to get involved with others going through similar experiences.

You can search Google for relevant forums or websites, and you can also take a look at Facebook groups and MeetUp.com, too.

If you’re involved with any type of one-on-one counseling, you can also inquire if there are any group sessions in your local area.

Often times your insurance company will cover support group sessions – at least partially.

If this is the case, get on the phone with someone from your insurance company and see if they can match you up with a good group.

A good support group will strengthen you and help you build your confidence.

Find a group that you can identify with and get active, today!

How do you feel when you know there are a lot of people willing to support you?

How can their helping hand allow you to grow into a better person?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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