Be An Optimist at All Times

Everyone wants to be physically healthy. You want to be mentally healthy as well. The true measure of “mental fitness” is how optimistic you are about yourself and your life.
In this article, you learn how to control your thinking in very specific ways so that you feel terrific about yourself and your situation, no matter what happens.
Control Your Reactions and Responses…There are three basic differences in the reactions of optimists and pessimists. The first difference is that the optimist sees a setback as temporary, while the pessimist sees it as permanent.
The optimist sees an unfortunate event, such as an order that falls through or a sales call that fails, as a temporary event, something that is limited in time and that has no real impact on the future. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees negative events as permanent, as part of life and destiny.
Isolate the Incident…The second difference between the optimist and the pessimist is that the optimist sees difficulties as specific, while the pessimist sees them as pervasive.
This means that when things go wrong for the optimist, he looks at the event as an isolated incident largely disconnected from other things that are going on in his life.
See Setbacks as Temporary Events…For example, if something you were counting on failed to materialize and you interpreted it to yourself as being an unfortunate event, but something that happens in the course of life and business, you would be reacting like an optimist.
The pessimist, on the other hand, sees disappointments as being pervasive. That is, to him they are indications of a problem or shortcoming that pervades every area of life.
Don’t Take Failure Personally…The third difference between optimists and pessimists is that optimists see events as external, while pessimists interpret events as personal.
When things go wrong, the optimist will tend to see the setback as resulting from external factors over which one has little control.
If the optimist is cut off in traffic, for example, instead of getting angry or upset, he will simply downgrade the importance of the event by saying something like, “Oh, well, I guess that person is just having a bad day.”
The pessimist on the other hand, has a tendency to take everything personally. If the pessimist is cut off in traffic, he will react as though the other driver has deliberately acted to upset and frustrate him.
Remain Calm and Objective…The hallmark of the fully mature, fully functioning, self-actualizing personality is the ability to be objective and unemotional when caught up in the inevitable storms of daily life.
The superior person has the ability to continue talking to himself in a positive and optimistic way, keeping his mind calm, clear and completely under control.
The mature personality is more relaxed and aware and capable of interpreting events more realistically and less emotionally than is the immature personality.
As a result, the mature person exerts a far greater sense of control and influence over his environment, and is far less likely to be angry, upset, or distracted.
Take the Long View…Look upon the inevitable setbacks that you face as being temporary, specific and external.
View the negative situation as a single event that is not connected to other potential events and that is caused largely by external factors over which you can have little control.
Simply refuse to see the event as being in any way permanent, pervasive or indicative of personal incompetence of inability.
Resolve to think like an optimist, no matter what happens. You may not be able to control events but you can control the way you react to them.
Action Exercises:
Now, here are three actions you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, remind yourself continually that setbacks are only temporary, they will soon be past and nothing is as serious as you think it is.
Second, look upon each problem as a specific event, not connected to other events and not indicative of a pattern of any kind. Deal with it and get on with your life.
Third, recognize that when things go wrong, they are usually caused by a variety of external events. Say to yourself, “What can’t be cured must be endured,” and then get back to thinking about your goals, for even in the middle of a lonely and abandoned desert, there's an o-a-s-i-s!

Keeping a Positive Attitude in Tough Times

Times are tough, and 2009 appaers to be tougher, huh?. We are constantly being bombarded with negative thoughts. There is a financial crisis that is being compared to The Great Depression. The value of investments has dropped precipitously. It is an election year that seems to bring out the worst in candidates and is filled with mud slinging and negative campaigning. There are threats to our security throughout the world.
With all of this going on around us, how do we maintain a positive attitude that is so important to long term success? There are several principles that help guide us through the day-to-day difficulties that we face and to maintain a positive outlook.
First, the only way to navigate through the obstacles and bumps in the road that we face, is to have a long term vision of what we want to accomplish and a good plan on how we are going to get there. Henry Ford said “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal”. Setting and achieving daily goals is essential to building confidence and having a positive outlook towards the future.
Second, expose yourself to positive thoughts every day. Positive thoughts create energy while negative thoughts destroy energy. Read inspirational stories. Tune out the negative news and listen to the positive. Utilize affirmations. Make a list of everything that you are thankful for and read it regularly.
We have a choice of how we focus our energy. We can focus on the past, the present, or the future. While we can always learn from the past so we don’t repeat the same mistake in the future, dwelling on the past is unproductive. Second guessing past decisions doesn’t change the outcome. We all go through life making mistakes that we wish we had not made. There is no value in continually playing the “should have” or “could have” game.
While spending an inordinate amount of time and energy replaying the past is unproductive, so is spending too much time worrying about the future. Sure, it is important to set goals and have an idea of the direction that you want to go. But ,in the scheme of things, we actually have very little control over the future.
The most productive time is spent living in the present. In reality, the only thing we really can control is what we are doing right now. I have always said that time management really comes down to making moment by moment decisions about what we are doing. A positive outlook comes from having the confidence that we are doing the best we can right now given the circumstances that we are in and moving forward.
Finally, to keep today’s events in perspective, some headlines from Time magazine in the 1970’s can be of help.
- War on Terror (referring to bombing on Pan Am plane)- Mid-east Violence- Social Security- Weak U.S. Dollar- Stagnant Stock Market- Personal Debt- Federal Deficit- Corporate Fraud- Housing Bubble- Gas Prices
There is some comfort to know that we have been through similar challenges in the past and we’ll get through the current ones as well. Think positive and look for opportunities for even in the forsaken lonely hot desert, there is an Oasis.

Self Motivation Tips Made Smart and Easy

Orchestrating your success comes at a cost. But who says that cost always must be difficult? Obviously self motivation is a huge factor for success. The following are self motivation tips that are easy to implement and smart strategies for action.
Avoid Naysayers - there is nothing worse than being around a person or people who are pessimistic, critical, doubting, negative, or gloomy. Without a doubt, these types of people are all around motivation killers. It is unfortunate that these people are everywhere. Run in the opposite direction when you see them coming. If you cannot avoid them, then tune them out. Do not listen to them. Better yet, invest in a pair of ear plugs. It is money well spent ant time well managed.
Find humor in your situation - When you are faced with tasks or goals that are difficult to achieve, you can become too serious. You can spend so much time focused on overcoming the obstacles that prevent you from action that you lose perspective. Sometimes the best approach is to be able to laugh about it. It lightens the mood, puts you in a better frame of mind, and generates lasting joy. When you are in a better frame of mind, it opens the doors of opportunity to find new approaches and ideas for goal/task achievement.
Listen to yourself - Whether or not you know it, you talk to yourself constantly. Your subconscious mind is always thinking words and sentences subconsciously reinforcing action and behavior. If what you are saying is negative then tell yourself to shut up. Replace negative thoughts with more positive thoughts.
Understand your choices - Life is about choices. From your choices you experience consequences. Every time you contemplate or struggle with taking action think of the benefits and negatives associated with your decision. If you take action, then you are one step closer to achieving what you want. If you do not take action then you get nowhere. Worse yet, you may fall backwards. Ever hear of the saying, "one step forward, two step backwards?" Here is a new one for you to think about. "No steps forward. No motivation. Hence, no meaning in living.
Tap into your feeling of dissatisfaction - One of the best self motivation tips out there is fed off of any dissatisfaction you may feel about your current situation. As always, emotions are powerful motivator. Do not lose out on one of the best forms of leverage you have.
Find your motivation theme music - You have heard music which energizes you and prompts your body to movement. Find yours. Every time you need to find that extra something to get you going play your song. Sometimes it pays to try something different. Give this a try. I use it all of the time when cleaning - the task I wish I could avoid at all cost.
There you have it. Six self motivation tips ready to move you to action. Always remember, self motivation is a habit you want to cultivate. So, get moving. Your success awaits you. Even when abandoned in the desert of life’s struggle, there’s always an oasis of hope beside.

IN PRAISE OF LOVE

Amid the fragile reality
Of moral humanity
Love is the beauty and the majesty
The sanctity and the purity
That binds boundless divinity
With finite humanity

Love is the mysterious faculty
The spiritual authority
That liberates the human personality
From the cruelty and the iniquity
The vanity and the futility
Of prodigal humanity

Love is the viable remedy
The veritable therapy
For the tragedy and the ignominy
The absurdity and the illogicality
Of decadent humanity

Love is the essential quality
The fundamental entity
For personal sanity
For collective security
And for wholesome humanity.



Amid the fragile reality
Of moral humanity
Love is the beauty and the majesty
The sanctity and the purity
That binds boundless divinity
With finite humanity

Love is the mysterious faculty
The spiritual authority
That liberates the human personality
From the cruelty and the iniquity
The vanity and the futility
Of prodigal humanity

Love is the viable remedy
The veritable therapy
For the tragedy and the ignominy
The absurdity and the illogicality
Of decadent humanity

Love is the essential quality
The fundamental entity
For personal sanity
For collective security
And for wholesome humanity.

WHATEVER GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

A young boy entered a cave-like structure. He aptly realized to his utmost shock and surprise a strange phenomenon, whose explanation has grown beyond his wildest imagination if he was ever certain of anything, he was so sure of the fact that he was alone in the cave. So what a surprise engulfed him when he distinctly detected a sound not far away from him.
Partly curious and partly scared, he quickly queried the strange sound: “who are you?” To his greatest chagrin, the strange voice quickly retorted in a tricycle fold of vocal resonance: “who are you?”. The poor lad just couldn’t believe his ear. “The stranger is retorting”, he imagined. Acquiring some modicum of courage, he sneered with a commanding voice, “Get out of here”! In a striking stretch of response, the voice backs at him thrice in descending tonality. Feeling very much enraged, embittered and scared, the boy snarled to the strange voice: “you are mad”. Getting a similar retort in a snarling manner, immense fear gripped the lad. Fear over toppled his courage and he heeded to his heels.
Crying profusely, he ran to his mother and related the whole incident. After relating his experiences, the wise mother enjoying some dose of laughter and in a piece of material advice urged her son to get back to the spot and speak more kindly to the invisible strange voice.
Emboldened by the maternal motivation, the young boy ran back to the cave and surprisingly the stranger has not yet gone. So, he spoke with a sweet voice: Hai, how are you doing?” The invisible voice also quizzed with a sweet voice: Hai, how are you doing?”, three times. The little lad was so delighted and he further said: “you must be very good”. He got the same reply thrice in a most sublime and kind words as the voice quickly retorted: “you must be very good”.
Unable to contain his delight, the little lad ran home happily and cheerfully, telling the mum that the stranger now spoke so kindly to him. The mum quickly admonished the son thus” be kind to the people and they will in turn be kind to you for whatever goes around comes around” in deed, nature is reciprocal, what one gives out one receives: love begets love, kindness begets kindness, and in like manner, hatred begets hatred. What are you sowing in nature?

CALMING THE STORMS OF LIFE

Life is victory over our storms

Like the turbulent sea it rages endlessly

Sure, we have battled all the while
Against the stormy sea and the violent wind
With the treacherous waves
Breaking into our frail boat
And threatening violence and death
We are all adrift at sea
And are paralyzed with fear
As chaos and disaster
Stare us in the face
Abandoned to our own resources
We are powerless and helpless
Before the storm
And are face to face
With the futility of our ability
Walk over the waters Lord c
Calm the violent storm
And transform our fretful circumstances
Into a theophany, an epiphany
That like Moses in the desert
We may recognize your voice of assurance
In the blazing fire that surrounds us
Like a rampart
And heal our collective fear
Of storms and tornadoes
And earthquakes and wild fires


Walk then over the waters Lord
March firm on the turbulence
And let the stormy sea of disorder and chaos
Be a place of providential encounter
With the One who calms the storm
And stills the sea
Let the turbulent waters
of armed robbery and banditry
be the divine milieu
for a privileged revelation
Of the One
Who commands the troubled waters
And walks tall over the abyss of death

Walk over the waters Lord
Rebuke the wind
And let the tempestuous waves
Of trials and tribulations
Against which our frail boat
Must battle today
Be the harbinger of the Incarnate One
Who conquers evil
By his majestic presence.

IS IT MY FAULT?

When things turned against my view
When people resent my company
When even my trusted pals keep a farther distance
When my success crashed in a night
When I have none dear to love
Is it my fault
Is it my making

When my innocence becomes my source of burden
When assault my charity begets
When my goodwill is ill rewarded
When a bowel of bitterness my dish of joy is supplanted
When my laughter is enjoyed alone, with none to share my affections
Is it my fault
Is it my own making

When I am misunderstood for the right
And accused beyond defense
When all eyes fall on me resentfully
For no fault of mine at all
When I force myself to be happy
But tears of abandonment come rolling by
Is it my fault
Is it my own making

Yeah, can it be my fault or my making
When my focus becomes beclouded
And all foundations of courage shattered
When my future cracks in my very before
And poverty in me despair begets
When banality and brutality reigns supreme
With no good words to heal our wounded world
Is it my fault
Is it my making

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

I woke up this morning with a start. I feel so full of myself, in fact, I was so happy and contented- piping through the window the early morning sun set stole inside my apartment and reawakened my very being to the beautiful scenes of the environs. Oh what a wonderful to live in, with things coming in their season and phasing out. What a wonderful world to habit with nature nurturing our lives, and assuring our safe and comfort almost automatically.

Yeah, what a beautiful world we have with the green vegetation providing the needed fresh oxygen, the birds of the air providing soft melodious tone, the fishes of the ocean, the beast of the fields, rivers and seas, mountains and hills, thunder and lighting, clouds and sky, all in place to provide a wonderful living and comfort in this terrestrial habitat.

Each time I think of our lives here, I am filled with delight. Do you know why? Not far fetched- because I am a human being. Just because I am a human being, the whole of nature was made to assure my comfort.

When I am hungry, the nearest fruit plant satisfies my hunger. Any available meat/fish assures my steady supply of protein. When I am thirsty, the waters are there at my disposal. The fresh air is there for me- free. In fact the good things of life, the priceless commodities of our living are there in nature free of charge.

Oh, what a wonderful world to live in