http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/motivation/know-yourself-your-inner-power.html http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/motivation/know-yourself-your-inner-power.html Thu, 25 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
So, as I sit here and stew, let us see if we can work this all out. Where does all this negative emotion come from? Well, obviously from the thing that was said to me. The person I had the “conversation” with spoke words. These words were taken by my mind, analysed, and a proper “reaction” was produced based on the result of the analysis. No matter how deep we go into human psychology and the workings of the mind; that really is the simple description of what happened. That’s all we need to concern ourselves with. We can keep it simple, and then try a simple approach to addressing the problem.

The problem is whatever the person said. Words…Just words. How can words have such a powerful effect? The answer is that they don’t. What has the effect is the power we give those words…our rating of them…our belief in them. So if someone calls you an idiot, you might be offended. Why? I mean you know you are not an idiot. Most likely the person knows it too. Why the negative response? Why can’t you ignore it? Well, because you are wired that way. You can’t stand to see that anyone would say you were an idiot. It is not enough that you know you’re not an idiot. You need this person to acknowledge that as well. And what’s wrong with that? I think it’s natural for us to want other people recognize the message we are trying to convey by our words or actions (whether or not the message is true or false). Sadly, no matter what we do, there are people who will always interpret things how they choose. Basically, no matter how much you show James how much of a genius you are, James (Sorry if your name is James) will still call you an idiot, and probably feel he is better than you.

It’s absurd! James isn’t better than you are. No one is. You have to remember that. Know thyself. Derive your strength from that. What do you do about those who refuse to accept your side of the story? Leave them. Ignore them. Walk away after putting your point across. But don’t get drawn in. I am not going to get overly religious on you, but I want to make a point. Jesus Christ said “Turn the other cheek”. I think people misinterpret that as a sign of passivity; of a desire to avoid confrontation; even of weakness. I disagree. I think it is an act of someone who is so powerfully aware of their own inner strength and value that they there is nothing you could do to take that away. Abuse me, torture me and kill me, yes. But you will never change the truth. People who can deal with the hurtful utterances of others go very far because they don’t allow these words get to them. Put in another way, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. There’s a bit missing there. That bit is “…unless I allow them”. It’s in your power to choose your reaction to what others say or do. Believe in yourself, first and foremost. You will be able to withstand negativity from others without being unnecessarily hurt by it.

Just remembering this principle of faith in oneself is enough to make my anger and frustration start to dissipate. I can feel it evaporating slowly as I finish this article. Happy days! I shall leave you with a quote made by Marcus Aurelius almost 2000 years ago…“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment”.

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Donald Ogilve owns www.masteryourfate.com, Self-Improvement and Success Resource Site. Go here for FREE EBOOKS, Product Recommendations and tip on Life Mastery and Business Success.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/creativity/ways-to-crank-up-your-creativity.html http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/creativity/ways-to-crank-up-your-creativity.html Fri, 19 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
Some people’s creative abilities are closer to the surface and one can easily see the manifestations of them. People say that their creativity is “inborn”. For others, expressing creativity takes more time and cultivation. The important thing to note is that we can all be creative. You just have to take steps to extract it from within you. Try the following:


1. Change your perspective.

You might have heard the phrase ‘Think outside the box’. You should try looking at the situation from a different point of view. Change your perspective. Consider all factors that are affected by your problem or your concern. Try to breakdown the problem into several elements then shuffle them. Think of what would happen if an idea is replaced. This aspect is important in enhancing creativity because it helps you remove possible fixations that may hinder creativity.

2. Mentally move away from your current location.

Imagine how another person would react if subjected in the same situation. Picture how different situations would continue when dealing with the same problem. Application in different settings can be also be done; and then from there, adapt a solution to the current setting.

3. Let your imagination run wild.

Exercise your imagination. Modification can trigger creativity because you see things in a different light. You can also try to exaggerate or think of the extremes, be it magnification or minimization of something. Thinking of the possible differences between these two situations could produce ideas. This is the ultimate brain exercise.

4. Your comfort spot.

The environment has to be right. You should have somewhere you can focus without being unnecessarily disturbed so you can give a problem your full attention. This should extend to the people you are with. You tend to do better at something when you are with like-minded people. To put it simply, hang out with creative people to help enhance your creative abilities.

Most of the time, people tend to be more creative when they are with people who are doing the same thing. It was also found that if you wish to be more creative, you should try hanging out with creative people.

5. Time, time, time.

You can’t rush creativity. Hurrying does not help in the outflow of ideas. Your mind tends to go into a state of slight disarray when you are trying to force things. Studies show that results produced in this state are generally lacking. If you are low on time, then keep a list of activities like this one close to you. Go over each of the activities and exercise each one. Give it time.


6. Get help…communicate your ideas to others.

A different view of the problem could help. Better yet, many different views! Never be shy to ask. Diversity is very helpful in relation with creativity. Organize a brainstorming session. The spontaneous generation of new ideas helps in formulation of more ideas. The products of brainstorming can be the raw material in the construction of the idea.

Remember that in brainstorming, 4 rules are followed for it to be successful:
- There should be no criticisms. Criticism hinders the free flow of ideas. This can be postponed until the session has ended.
- Combining and/or modifying ideas are encouraged.
- Quantity is preferred over quality in brainstorming.
- Weird or strange ideas are encouraged.


These are just some ideas to get your creative juices going. They can be adapted to suit each individual. A large amount of it is down to you. How inventive can you be? How open are you? Remove the boundaries from your mind and you will find your creativity will increase.

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Donald Ogilve owns a Self-Improvement website, www.masteryourfate.com. Click here to unleash your creativity now.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/success/success-follow-the-well-beaten-path.html http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/success/success-follow-the-well-beaten-path.html Fri, 19 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
Success should be less of an “end” in itself, and more of a “means”. Success should be a way of life. A truly successful man has mastered life, and thus has control of the direction of his destiny. It is a characteristic of the world we live in that most men prefer that destiny to point straight towards the proverbial pot of gold. That is fine as well. If it is money and riches you want, then you should have it. You should not be denied!

So how do you get the money and riches? Is it what you do? What about who you know? Perhaps it’s your geographic location? All of these play a role certainly; but if you want success, a good way to start would be to find a successful person and ask him how he did it. Then find another and do the same. Then find another…and another. Then you can act on your desire, suitably armed with a wealth of knowledge that would mean you are already “successful”, even before the manifestation of the wealth you seek. Of course you have to have the right frame of mind and focus and all of that, so I am not saying there isn’t more. The good thing about this approach is – particularly if you don’t know where to start – that you can also develop the focus by learning from others.

When you arrive at a strange train station and you want to reach “The Plaza” on James Street, how do you get there? You can consult the complicated map. That would get you there, if you are skilled at reading maps. It might be faster to ask someone. The map might leave out the large body of water that has blocked the path. A person would give you that information. If you’re afraid of being misled, you could ask someone else…and then re-consult the map. With this approach, you’ll be confident of getting to the location long before you actually reach it. It’s that state of confidence that makes you the victor long before the battle is over.

It’s the same with success. People who have reached the peak of their lives (or of life as we know it) have certain habits and carry out certain actions. They have each found their own way to that point. They know a way to get there. Most of them know multiple ways to get there, simply because they have done it. One might sneer at this. It’s easy to assume that it’s only because they are successful that they have anything to tell. They might easily have failed, and then perhaps we wouldn’t know of them. Well, most of them did! In fact, many “failed” repeatedly. I read somewhere that 4 millionaires being interviewed (each made their first million before they turned 35) started, on average, 18 businesses before each hit the jackpot. Imagine 17 failures. Then imagine speaking to one of them and learning how to avoid, maybe, 13 of those steps. You would already be closer to your goal.

The point is, as far as success is concerned, the most important ingredient comes from inside you. There is determination, focus, power of will and others. Then there is knowledge. It is that knowledge that gives direction to all the other forces. Once the direction is known…action! With that action comes a definite movement towards the ultimate goal.

So, in closing, I say this…learn from those who have gone before you. They are many, and their methods are vastly different. You don’t have to do exactly as they have done, but you can apply their methods and knowledge to your own journey. Once you act on this knowledge, I can assure you that you will start to think like a “successful” person. Once that happens, it is only a matter of time before that success is made manifest in your life.

Here’s to your success.

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Donald Ogilve runs a Self-help website www.masteryourfate.com. Click here to find out what makes Winners win in life.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/motivation/deprogramming.html http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/motivation/deprogramming.html Fri, 19 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
How does it determine the best action? Well, generally, that is a result of the experiences you have had up until the moment of the decision. You see, the brain kicks into gear when you are born. It’s Grand Purpose…Self Preservation. It needs to keep you alive. To do that, it must make sure that you are equipped to handle the world around you. It takes in everything and tries to breakdown all it stores into categories and groups. Good, Bad, Likes, Dislikes. Basically, it creates boxes and labels them; then organizes events, circumstances, objects into these boxes. It also has reactive behaviours stored in connection with these boxes.

As these boxes and their contents increase, we have more and more defined reactions to life. Long after the incidents that cause the addition of objects to boxes, the references remain. Result – our attitudes towards certain things are formed. We don’t truly remember why, whether the reason is valid or not. We just accept that “I like that person” or “This makes me uneasy”. Or course there are loads of situations that we react to, based on intuition etc. The point is that there are also loads that we have no input whatsoever into how the brain has chosen its reaction, at least not anymore.

Soon, these boxes start to determine your state of mind. You are no longer in control. Your brain has it filed away somewhere that since your football coach thinks you suck, the greatest possibility is that you do suck. More importantly, this situation is in the “Sad Things” box. And this box has certain reactions linked with it…inadequacy, sadness, depression, anger (No doubt, because the same situation crosses into the “Angry Things” box somewhere along the line). So, surprise, surprise, you are sad! And if it rains or is cloudy…that’s another item for the “Sad Things” box to accentuate the situation. It’s not really your fault you see. It’s the box!

The Brain has taken over. Most of us are on Auto-Pilot. You have to take control back. You need to be there to catch that pre-defined action that the brain throws out at you. You can then choose not to react accordingly. Those boxes have to be purposefully emptied so you can start to see things anew again.

This is a tough task. You have been this way all your life. In trying, you will meet with fierce opposition from your mind. You cannot win this battle my friend. You can, however, see the actions the brain presents in a different light. These actions are simply recommendations. More and more you can catch yourself react to things that happen around you. As you become more “aware”, you stop yourself from proceeding with the directed action, and “respond” in your chosen way. This is how you can start to deprogram.

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Donald Ogilve owns www.masteryourfate.com, Self-Improvement and Success Resource Site. Go here for FREE EBOOKS as well as tips and recommendations on Life Mastery.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>