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Eliminate Worry

 

Everyone gets the same amount of time every day. We get all there is: 24 hours, 1,440 minutes. So, with time being such a precious commodity, why is it that so many of us spend our days worrying? Worry has almost become a national pastime for most. I suppose that if we had a contract to live for a lifetime, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But we don’t. We just have now.

Some of you may be reading this and thinking, “Yeah, he probably doesn’t have anything to worry about.” But that’s not true. I have plenty to worry about. I just choose not to. And I’d like to suggest that you follow suit and resolve right now, as you read this article, that you are not going to invest even one of those 1,440 minutes worrying—about anything.

Clearly understand, there isn’t any situation that isn’t made worse by worry. Worry never solves anything. Worry never prevents anything. Worry never heals anything. Worry serves only one purpose: It makes matters worse. How? Well, quite simply, when you’re focused on worrying about something, you’ll never be able to focus on a solution. Be aware that your mind cannot focus on two things at the same time; it can either focus on the current situation and worry, or it can find a solution. The choice is always yours.

James Kurtz said, “If we worry, we don’t trust. If we trust, we don’t worry. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its grief, but it does empty today of its joy.”

If you have been worrying about something or someone, you can eliminate that worry through displacement. Let its positive opposite crowd it out of your mind and then follow through with constructive action. Everything in the universe has an opposite, even your worries.

You could be worried about not having sufficient time to do some of the important things you have to do today. The truth is you do have enough time if you are willing to give up something else. The busiest person you know, yourself included, would have time to go downtown and pick up a check if you won a lottery. You might neglect doing something else to make the time, but trust me, you would get the check.
When a worrisome thought occupies your attention, choose the positive opposite to the thought, and focus your attention on that. No one is without problems; they are a part of living. But let me show you how much time we waste in worrying about the wrong problems. Here are some figures I picked up years ago, and I think they’re just as valid today as they were when I came upon them. Here is a reliable estimate of the things people worry about.

Things that never happen—40%;

Things over and in the past that can’t be changed by all the worry in the world—30%;

Needless worries about our health—12%;

Petty, miscellaneous worries—10%; and

Real, legitimate worries—8%.

In short, 92 percent of the average person’s worries take up valuable time, cause painful stress—even mental anguish—and, for the most part, are unnecessary. Remember what Dr. Kurtz said, “Worry empties today of its joy.” Don’t worry, be happy!

— Bob Proctor
Select from dozens of Bob Proctor's audio programs on MP3 available at http://bit.ly/WniDc0

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An Investment in Children’s Books Is an Investment in Their Future

There are a myriad reasons why an investment in children's books really is an investment in their future learning and development.

Reading books can stimulate children of all ages, in highly different ways. For kids aged zero to two years, effectively babies and young toddlers, it's more about the visual stimulation, touch and bonding between parent and child that is most important.

Typically, baby books are brightly coloured, textured and chunky - making them perfect for getting baby's senses going. As they get older, they are more excited by books with button-activated noises, lights and lift-flaps, as different areas of their brain begin to develop and pay attention to what's going on in front of their eyes.

Two to three-year-olds become more interested in the actual words, as they explore the world of talking. They tend to find one page or book and focus on it, asking their mums and dads to read it over and over again - frustrating for adults but great for kiddies' memory skills! Their favourite characters, such as those from movies, are a particular favourite at this age, as they really feel they are engaging with the character's 'life'.

As your little ones grow and begin to reach the ripe old age of five, they can handle slightly more complex texts and character stories. By this stage, they can predict what might happen, repeat the words they hear and learn about the subjects portrayed in books. For this reason, it is crucial to introduce not only works of fiction, but perhaps creative non-fiction, allowing them to learn about subjects like animals, history and fantasies such as pirates and mermaids.

When children begin to get older, they can really expand their vocabulary and knowledge by reading aloud from books, rather than just to themselves. This is also an excellent way for them to feel more grown-up, particularly if you are pro-active in asking them to read you a bedtime story!

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Louis Sharman is a freelance author writes article on various topics. To learn more about various bookstores and Online Bookshops he recommends you to visit http://www.foyles.co.uk

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On Confidence (or – Don’t Be Scurred!)

 

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States.

If you're an American, you've heard this quote before. Probably most people in English-speaking countries have heard it as well. Have you ever really thought about it, though? I mean really took the time to analyze the message, dig some deeper meaning, find the truth in it? Probably not. This quote is absolutely 100% fact. There is nothing to fear.

Fear is a paralyzer to action. Fear is the ultimate demotivator. Fear really is the only thing to be afraid of, because fear is the only thing that keeps us from doing the things we want to do.

You want to go hiking in the mountains, but you're afraid of heights. You want to walk through the woods, but you're afraid of snakes, or spiders. You want to travel the world, but you're afraid to fly. You want to live out your dreams, but you're afraid of going broke (even though you already are). You want to hit on that girl or guy, but you're afraid of rejection. Don't be.

The feeling of achieving the pinnacle of that mountaintop far outweighs the fear you feel when you look down over the world. Nature is more scared of you than you are of it. Planes are statistically safer than cars. Money isn't real. Most people aren't scary. But you're letting your fears outweigh your confidence. Hopefully, once you've finished reading this article, that won't happen any more.

Have you ever watched an illusionist (magician who uses tricks of the eye to perform "magic") perform? Most of us are very inspired, and shocked, by the acts they perform, because what we believe we see them doing is perceived by us to be dangerous and scary. So then why don't the magicians ever appear to be scared? Because they've no reason to be. The things they do could be done by any human being on earth, "magician" or not. Their acts look scary, but in fact have very little danger involved at all. And most things tend to follow this pattern.

The way you perceive the world has more impact on how you live your life than any actual circumstances or situations you find yourself in. If you're getting mugged, with a gun stuck in your face and a hand out waiting for your wallet, what do you do? If you're fearful, you fumble around for your wallet, produce it, and as soon as the mugger turns around, you run your ass off in the other direction.

If the guy really wanted to shoot you, though, wouldn't he have just pulled the trigger and robbed your corpse? Doesn't that seem a little easier? Do you think he WANTS you to put up a fight? No. He wants your money; he just doesn't know how to ask properly. So he threatens you for it. And if you're intimidated, he gets what he wants and learns nothing. But if you ask him, "hey, how come you didn't just shoot me and rob my dead body? What do you need the money for?" you'll probably get an answer. People are nicer than you give them credit for. Even most muggers.

The problem with them is they just never learned what it means to connect with people. They know that killing is wrong, which is why they didn't just shoot you right off the bat, but they don't know how to approach or interact with people without being threatening.

So what do you do with these misguided souls? You talk to them. Find out why they need your money. Are they hungry? Would they like to go get a bite to eat instead of robbing you? Are they homeless? Would they like some help finding a warm bed, instead? Would they like to go to the bar and get a drink? Most people who are criminals aren't crazy (though of course there are some who are); they're just scared. They're scared of starving, scared of freezing to death, scared of alcohol withdrawal. The money in your pocket isn't going to help them, and they know that, but I really think that in most cases, they're not looking for your money. They're looking for someone who will give them a chance, let them prove themselves, help them connect with people and guide them to being a person worth befriending. People have an innate need to be liked and loved. It's been proven time and time again that almost no one WANTS to be hated. "Love and Belonging" is the third of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, right after eating and breathing, and then security. It is a NECESSARY aspect of life for a human being to achieve their true potential, and if you look at that chart, self-confidence comes AFTER love and belonging.

So show these people some love. Take them out to the bar; find out their story. Befriend them. Introduce them to your friends and family; take them under your wing. If you put some faith in them and show your own confidence when you're around them, it will rub off. But if you fear them, they'll fear you, and the rest of humanity as well. Nature is funny that way.

Are you scared of dogs? If so, then you've probably noticed that dogs act funny around you. They're either shy, with their tail between their legs, hiding behind their masters, or they're mean and vicious toward you; it depends on how the owner treats them. How did I know that? Well, I've owned a lot of dogs, and believe it or not, they're a lot more like people than you'd think. Have you ever heard that animals can smell fear? Well, it's partially true, as fear in people can release certain hormones, and most dogs' noses are good enough to smell it. But the real reason it seems that animals "smell" fear is that it's a natural reaction for an animal, or a person, to reciprocate whatever feeling another being is putting off.

If you show fear, people will panic with you. If you show anger, people get angry. If you're depressed, you depress whomever you're hanging out with. If you show kindness and compassion, people show it back. If you show confidence, you can inspire people to be confident.

Obviously, there are those times when people are inconsolable, can't be reasoned with; their emotions have a deathgrip on their mind and they can't be set free. But these times usually last no more than a few hours, maybe a few days at most. Most of the time, your feelings and your personality, depending on its traits, will rub off on the people you socialize with, as theirs will rub off on you. But one trait that never rubs off is lack of confidence.

A lack of confidence is like being a ghost. You can occasionally show people that you exist by flicking a light, or making a barely-audible noise, but for the most part you go unseen and unnoticed. And your problem is NOT that other people think you're unattractive, or think you're boring, or think you're worthless; it's that YOU think those things. Other people are just naturally reciprocating YOUR feelings. Which makes you feel more insecure, which makes them find you more unattractive, which makes you feel more insecure, which makes you more unattractive, and so on and so forth.

I had a rather large girl (not my type, but pretty enough, all the same) hit on me at the bar last night. She asked me to come sit and talk with her, and I agreed; I'll talk to anyone about anything. But once I got over there, she lost all confidence. She stared at her cell phone for 15, 20 minutes at a time, not saying a word. When I would bring up something to talk about, she'd listen, and respond appropriately, but she never brought up any conversation topics of her own. So I talked about my interests; the Fed, how I want to start a revolution, about my ex-fiancee, about judgement, and greed, and zombies. Then I asked what she was passionate about.

She said horses. I asked if she owned one, and she said no, because she didn't have enough land for it. I asked if she had ever worked on a horse farm, and again she said no. And when I asked why, she told me "because who would want ME to work on their horses?" Wow. We live in an area where there are TONS of farms, most with horses, but NOBODY would want to hire this girl? No way. This girl's problem was not that she wouldn't bust her butt to take care of someone's horses, but that she was too afraid to go ask someone if she could. She's so afraid of rejection that she doesn't even want to TRY to follow what she's passionate about. People do this far too often, and it makes me very sad.

Do you love your job? Does it make you happy to walk into the doors of your office every day? A few people are answering yes; but for most of you, the answer is a big, resounding HELL NO. Why? Shouldn't you love what you do for a living? How can you be really good at something you don't like doing? You can force yourself to complete your daily tasks, of course, but then you waste so much energy doing what you DON'T want to do that when you get home you're too tired to focus any energy toward your real interests. Hence, part of the reason the divorce rate is so high now. This is also part of the reason more and more kids are little assholes these days; with a big mouth full of cuss-words, and a serious sense of self-importance.

People are too drained from forcing themselves to slave away for money at a job they don't like to actually do any parenting, or love-making. So why keep doing it? For God's sake, go do something you like so when you get home you can tell your wife and kids all about your day without sounding like a damn half-asleep robot. Do what you're PASSIONATE about. Fear, like money and the federal government, only has as much power over you as you allow it to. If you don't live your life with confidence, then you'll never truly live your life. If you allow the fears of being broke, or being injured, or being rejected to control you, then they will. And if you don't, they won't.

When you get scared of doing something, always ask yourself "what's the worst that could happen?" You can come up with all kinds of wild-ass theories and hypotheticals, but 99% of the time, none of these things will happen. And 99% of the time, you're overanalyzing, letting your fear be your security blanket, so you don't have to deal with any potential consequences. But you won't fall off the mountaintop; you won't get a deadly spider bite; your plane won't crash; you won't starve or freeze from being broke; and you won't get utterly shut-down by that cute girl/guy at the bar. Because people are better than that. YOU are better than that, smarter than that.

If you really analyze your actions, you will see that fear is always what keeps you from acting. I can't do this because I'm afraid of _______. But there's nothing to fear. "The worst that could happen" almost never comes to pass. And if you're passionate about something, you'll encounter hardships and strife, but when all is said and done, you'll still be doing something you love, and you'll be driven to figure out how to do it again without the hardships. That's the beauty of the human mind.

We can always fix any problems we have, but not if we're too scared to find or face the problems in the first place. Be fearless. Do what you want to do instead of what you're told you should be doing. You can always find 10,000 reasons that something can't work, but it only takes one solution. Be fearless.

Author: Jeremy Blackbird http://forthegreatergoodblog.com

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Mottoes – Motivation, Inspiration, Transcendence

Recently, at my daughter's Year 12 Graduation, during the rollcall and the handing out of certificates, each graduating student's motto was read out. These included, "Start each day as if it's your birthday," "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," "Smile and be around people who smile back," and my daughter's "The best way out is through."

I got to thinking about my own mottoes; the many. Those quotes and mottoes that inspire me most are those I need most; revealing those life issues I struggle with most.

Our mottoes are the reflection of our struggles.

Mottoes wouldn't hold us if we didn't need them. Mottoes don't represent things we are experts in, but they represent the areas of life we would like to master. Mottoes actually reveal the hypocrite in us. But if we are honest we will know where we want to grow and how far we have to go to get there.

ADOPTING A MOTTO OR CREATING ONE

Mottoes, and Words of God, direct us on our way.

Whenever we read something inspiring, something that resounds within us as meaningful, we can be assured that both consciously and unconsciously we have a need for it. We know somehow this motto could improve our lives, make us happier, more content, more motivated and inspired, more valued, and more purpose-driven.

We all want the successful life. And this is the sort of life that comes individually wrapped; a life that comes as a mystery for us to unwrap - through getting to know of ourselves, our purpose in life; that for which God has called us to.

So the motto has relevance as far as two things are concerned:

1. They help us identify the call God has placed on our hearts, and

2. They help us identify the gap between the vision we have of that call and our present reality.

If we haven't discerned our life motto or mottoes yet, we could take the opportunity to develop one. Such a self-reflective process is enjoyable because we are getting to know ourselves more.

In getting to know ourselves more we get to know God more.

There is a great deal of drive and satisfaction we can derive from having a motto that motivates and inspires us. The motivational and inspirational value of the motto drives us on toward a place of character where we transcend the present self; a better reality by far than backsliding.

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Our mottoes drive us on toward excellence; toward every vision of the abundant life. Mottoes which are meaningful engage our hearts, inspiring us to transcend our present selves.
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© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

Steve Wickham is a Registered Safety Practitioner and holds Degrees in Science, Divinity, and Counselling. Steve writes at: http://epitemnein-epitomic.blogspot.com.au/ and http://tribework.blogspot.com.au/

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Letting Go.

I think so many of us are too hard on ourselves for what we didn't accomplish or what we should have done.  The first step is to forgive yourself for all the things you didn't do that you should have and all the things that you did do that you shouldn't have.  Get rid of the guilt.  Negative feelings don't do you much good.  The way to deal with them is to forgive yourself and forgive others.

Forgiveness is a tricky term.  It does not only mean that you apologize, although regretting what you did is part of it.  You may want to make amends if you can, but there are some circumstances where there is nothing more you can do.  Even when you cannot mend fences with others, you need to tell yourself:  "Yes, I did it and it would have been better if I hadn't, but now I want to forgive myself for having done that negative deed."
Forgiveness helps you come to terms with the past.  I've learned how to forgive myself, and this has helped me no longer feel deep regrets or sadness about my past.
There's a difference between using your past and wallowing in it.  Say I had an experience with a nasty person and I got nasty back, but I don't want to be that way anymore.  I can use that experience to work out a different response whenever someone is not so pleasant to me.  If I don't like my reaction, I can change my response.
You can review your past, benefit from your successes, and learn from your mistakes without judging yourself.  This is an excellent time to do a life review, to make amends, identify and let go of regrets, come to terms with unresolved relationships, and tie up loose ends.
Morrie Schwartz

You can change your attitude and change your life.

It is the energy you bring into the room.  You can have a positive attitude about the events in your life , or you can come from a place of complaint and misery.  You decide.  You can consciously choose to respond in a positive way to almost any event or circumstance-a positive attitude is simple a choice you make.

Now we all know people with negative attitudes .  They are the ones who constantly complain , whine , and moan.   Nothing seems to go right for them. They are the perpetual victims in life. This is because they are operating at a lower frequency , and through the Law of Attraction they are attracting even more to complain about. The reason they tend to stay ''stuck''in their negative lifestyles is because they are constantly focusing their thoughts and energy on their negative present and negative past. By doing so , they are creating the same future over and over.

On the other hand , we also know people with positive attitudes-the ones who always seem to be happy , the ones who really seem to have a handle on things in their life. They are more fun , their energy feels great to be around , and they are operating at a higher frequency.

Surround yourself with these positive , nourishing , uplifting people whenever you can. Spend your time with spiritually evolved people who encourage your growth and applaud your successes. Wrap yourself in a support network of inspirational people with positive attitudes and energy.

You can change your attitude and change your life.

Namaste.

Jack Canfield.

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Open Your Heart to Goodness

Open your heart to goodness.
The act of forgiveness takes place in our own mind. It really has nothing to do with the other person.

When we blame another, we give our power away because we’re placing the responsibility for our feelings on someone else. People in our lives may behave in ways that trigger uncomfortable responses in us. However, they didn’t get into our minds and create the buttons that have been pushed. Taking responsibility for our own feelings and reactions is mastering our “ability to respond.” In other words, we learn to consciously choose rather than simply react.

We can’t talk about resentment without also talking about forgiveness. Forgiving someone doesn’t mean that we condone their behavior. The act of forgiveness takes place in our own mind. It really has nothing to do with the other person. The reality of true forgiveness lies in setting ourselves free from holding on to the pain. It’s simply an act of releasing ourselves from the negative energy.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean allowing the painful behaviors or actions of another to continue in your life. Sometimes, forgiveness means letting go. You forgive them and release them. Taking a stand and setting healthy boundaries are often the most loving things you can do—not only for yourself, but for the other person as well.

No matter how much chaos may be going on around us, no matter how many things may be going wrong or not the way we want them to, no matter what our bodies may be doing at the moment—we can love and accept ourselves. For the truth of us—the very truth of our being—is that we’re eternal. We have always been and we always will be. And that part of ourselves goes on forever. Rejoice that this is so. As we love and accept ourselves exactly as we are, it makes it easier to go through the so-called difficult times. We’re no longer fighting ourselves. We’re accepting. We’re becoming tender. We’re cherishing ourselves. We’re comforting ourselves and making it easier for ourselves.

Louise Hay