Self Reminders for When You Feel Like Giving Up

By Tatiana Michelet of Info Self Development.com

FOR many of us, there comes a time in our lives when everything starts to look bleak and pointless and even the smallest of actions hold no significance.

During these dark days, which always defy logic, we feel like giving up and the temptation to do this becomes all the more intense. But, giving up is never the answer!

Whenever you feel like throwing in the towel, here are a few things to remind yourself of and things you can do to change your mindset:

Accept change. Change is an inevitable and natural part of life. That’s why learning to let go of the past and looking forwards is a much better way to spend your energy than resisting change.

Accept that you no longer look like your twenty-year old-self and remember you can still connect to your youthful glow and carefree spirit by loving your natural self, whatever age you are.

Keep busy. If you’re busy, you’ll never have time to overthink things and sabotage your thoughts. Focusing on a goal or work will keep you productive and give you a sense of purpose.

A sense of purpose in life, however great or small, will drive you to keep going.

Failure is not permanent. Mistakes are part of growth and self discovery. Mistakes made you and broke you then they brought you into the present but you are not your mistakes.

Just because you have failed at something right now, does not mean that you won’t succeed at it in the future.

That’s the beauty of fate and free will. Nothing, not even failure, is written in stone. Learn from your mistakes and move on.

Don’t let other people’s opinions affect you. Honesty can come across as brutal but it’s delusional to aspire to please everyone and be all things to all people.

Worrying about the opinions of those who don’t love you and seeking the approval from people for whom you will never be good enough, only brings stress and sadness.

Instead, opt for the feedback of someone who appreciates and stands by you, even when you are at fault.

And remember most people’s opinions are insignificant and don’t matter one bit! Only consider the feelings of people in your life who really matter.

It’s okay to cry. Don’t be afraid to let your frustrations and emotions out in order to make yourself feel better.

Crying is purging old, dark holes and the worn soul and is a natural and necessary part of being human. If you feel like crying, just go with it.

Life is too short to be unhappy. We are only given one chance at living, so why waste it dwelling on all the things we don’t like and remaining in a constant state of unhappiness?

Try to smile and be happy and live in the moment as often as possible.

Travel into your memory archives only briefly to find at least one instance when a nightmare day ended up in a dream come true.

Look around, it’s beautiful. The smallest of joy can be found in the natural living things that surround you.

The next time you feel defeated, as soon as you sense Sneaky Fear stealing your motivation and positive energy, just take a moment to inhale the breeze or merge with sunsets and their beauty.

The fight is not over yet. There is no bar to measure success and no rules about how to achieve it. Remember, it is not over until you give up; you are the one who is in control.

You are still alive and therefore your meeting with great opportunities is still ahead of you. Life is never a straight line so go with the flow and don’t be too hard on yourself.

Know that you are loved. Don’t hesitate to lean on the people who care about you when you are feeling down and like giving up.

Companionship is a great healer and can also be found in animals, in fact many people consider their dog to be their best friend.

Let your faith be bigger than your doubts. Keep reminding yourself that you’ve made it this far and you’ll go even further because life has a plan for you.

Every single person on this planet has a purpose to follow and so do you. You are just as important as the rest of us.

When life’s messes are complicated and overwhelming, a little faith in the universe goes a long way.

Nobody is perfect. To be humane is to have flaws. Else, you’d be whole and called God. You are not expected to excel at everything. Participating is what matters most. Being present.

Article source: http://tiny.cc/oa270x

24 Wise Questions You Should Ask Yourself – The Year Gone & The Year Ahead

By Bernadette Logue

THE greatest block in your life is YOU.

The greatest solution to that block is also YOU.

If you do not learn from your experiences, and take control of your own energy (your beliefs, thoughts, feelings and actions) then you will surely continue to reap the same results and repeat the same patterns.

If those results and patterns are working for you, then great! 

If they are not, then below are 24 questions to help you tap into your own inner wisdom for the answers that will propel you ahead as a clearer, more inspired, empowered and insightful you.

Everything in your life stems from your energy and the paradigm through which you view the world. So it’s time to own that and POWER UP.

24 Questions

Grab a pen and paper, and answer these questions in relation to the year now gone and the year ahead:

1. What have I been doing, and continue to do, in my life that I know is NOT working for me?

2. Why have I not yet taken action to ‘course correct’ my journey in order to get different results?

3. What am I procrastinating about doing?

4. What negative habits do I have that I know I need to let go of? Click here to refer to our list “28 Habits that Block Your Happiness & How to Let Them Go”

5. Regarding the greatest challenges that I faced last year, what lessons did I learn that I can apply this year for my benefit?

6. Is there anything I intended to achieve last year which did not eventuate?

7. Did I invest my attention, time or resources into my personal growth, knowledge, well-being and/or happiness in any way?

8. What goal, dream or aspiration do I have for myself for the coming year that I’m ready to make happen?

9. Where is fear currently controlling me?

10. Am I feeling professionally fulfilled?

11. What would I most like to learn how to do or be for the year ahead?

12. How have I been using my “free time” and has that helped me feel inspired, vibrant, healthy and fulfilled?

13. Are my current habits for eating, drinking and exercising working for me or against me?

14. Am I holding any resentment towards others or myself?

15. How could I be of service in the year ahead in a way that will make the world a better place?

16. Which of my relationships need more of my loving attention to prosper?

17. Which of my relationships are toxic and no longer serve myself or the other person?

18. What have been my strengths and achievements in the past that I can celebrate?

19. Am I living a life that is meaningful to me?

20. Am I proud of who I am, how I behave and what I offer into the world?

21. What feelings dominated my experience of life last year?

22. What feelings do I most want to experience as I look ahead?

23. What I am most passionate about in my life that I’d like to do more of?

24. If I could improve one aspect of my life, what would it be? (e.g. relationships, career, finances, health, state of mind, emotional balance, adventure, self-expression…)

Set Your Vision

After you’ve answered these questions, it’s time to create a vision for yourself.

Let your answers above inform your vision for what is most important to you, in terms of how you want to be and what you want to do, what you want to achieve or to change, what actions are a high priority, and what positive energy and success mindset you want to enter… so that it flows on to create the results you deserve and desire.

Write your vision down! Make it real by taking it out of your imagination and putting it on paper. That act is one of declaration, taking something from an idea and turning it into a tangible written vision. This focuses your attention on what you want.

Article source: http://tiny.cc/bms3bx

How To Get Your Head Right In Tough Times

By Douglas R Kruger

Whether it's worldwide recession or just a momentary bump in your industry, tough times test character. They test bank accounts too. But they are finite and you can get through them. You just need a survival plan.

The most important implement in overcoming trying stretches is your own mindset. Here are 7 suggestions for getting your head right in tough times:

1. Start By Recognizing It – Denial is death. When the numbers start to dwindle, you cannot simply pretend it away. Your starting point is to acknowledge that you're facing a difficult stretch and to resolve to do something about it. Start with the declaration: "It's a rough patch, but I'll get through this and come out stronger!"

2. Don't Blame The Jeans – The dieter who blames the jeans is in trouble. But the one who owns the butt will get it right and it's the same for you. You can expend all of your energy bewailing your scenario, blaming the economy, the industry, the old government, the new government, China and the crew of the Starship Enterprise. But ultimately, these outside forces don't care how mistreated you feel. Blaming the jeans won't fix the butt.

It's like the sales team who spend the first six months of the year moaning about targets being too high. When they finally get around to accepting that the targets are what they are, and that they have to do something about it, it's already too late. But the early starter is well on his way to meeting his goals.

3. Choose Doing Over Stewing – You can think your way into a black hole. Or you can think of creative solutions. Your brain is entirely your own to manage and employ. When times are tough, the worst thing you can do is to let it wallow.

Instead, choose to get angry enough to do something about your situation. The more time you spend doing, the less you have for available for stewing. Draw up 'to-do' lists for actions that you can take. When the despair tries to press its way in, keep it at bay with a bout of relentless action.

4. Expand When Others Contract – When times are tough, most people contract. They practice Recession-Think. Recession-Think is a self-fulfilling prophecy. It goes like this: "No-one's buying. So I won't try to sell."

Recession-Think is based on rumour more than experience. Practitioners of Recession-Think haven't tested the notion that people are not buying. They have simply bought into popular dialogue. And they allow it to cause their energy to shrink.

The person who ignores the gloom and goes out and sells anyway will prosper, even in tough times. Their philosophy is: "Times are tough / I must do more!" They have the same information, but they have reached a different conclusion. They are expanding.

Make sure your inner energy is an expanding starburst, not an imploding black hole.

5. Go And Be Where The Energy Is – There are always people who are prospering in your industry; even during tough times. You need to go and be among them. Now more than ever, you need ideas, inspiration and positive reinforcement.

Go to the conventions, and soak up two incredibly important nutrients – useful ideas and positive energy. Sometimes the connections alone can be worth business. But you'll never make them unless you go there.

6. Speak Vision In Stories – You need your team to keep fighting, and fighting harder than ever. You won't achieve this with micro-managing or doom-saying. Quite the contrary: during tough times, you need to be the motivational speaker, and they need to see that you mean it.

You have to internalize the possibilities, then turn them into picture-stories for your staff. Create highly specific stories about how things can be on the far side of this hiccup. Keep telling your stories, and keep guiding your team toward the goal.

7. Focus on the Top Line – Panicked business-owners tend to focus on saving every penny. They get hung up on the cost of paper-clips. It's a tremendous misuse of their energy and focus. Yes, you should keep an eye on the bottom-line, but it should only be an incidental one.

You should use the greatest part of your energy and time on increasing the top line. You need income. There is very little sense in expending 90 per cent of your energy trying to hold on to an insufficient amount of money. The main thrust of your energy should go to generating more money.

Select what you can control and determine what you can't. Put massive drive into money-generating behaviour, and don't allow your nay-saying mind to worry about the rest. Fight for the thing that matters to you; it can be done, and remember that difficult times are finite.

Finally, don't forget to look at the stars from time to time. This is not a metaphor. Every now and then, you need to stare up at the heavens and feel incredibly small. Be removed from your worries for a moment and remember the wonder of life. There's something good for you, just around the corner. Just keep your head in gear. You'll make it!

Douglas Kruger is a professional speaker, trainer and author of the '50 Ways' series of books. His most booked keynote speeches are: The Rules of Hamster-Thinking, The Big Bum Theory, and How To Position Yourself As an Expert. See him in action or read more of his articles at: http://www.douglaskruger.co.za. Email him at: kruger@compute.co.za or follow him on Linked In or Twitter: @douglaskruger.

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