Personal Development Requires An Open Mind!

My wife and I were out for a walk, and as we reached a place she had been a few days before, she told for me of a very interesting event that had taken place. She said:

"I was walking along here when I saw some very large mushrooms, and my first thought was to pick them. This first, spontaneous, thought came from my subconscious mind, but then - as usual - the conscious mind activated with its 'logical thinking'. It said, "Do not pick them now! If you wait just a few more days they might be even bigger and tastier." Of course, I listened to this logical advice and waited.

When I got back to pick these great mushrooms someone had cut the grass and also the mushrooms, so they were simply not there anymore!"

When I heard this story I immediately started to think about greed and the way we often do not take advantage of the moment, always thinking it might be better later. Greed is one of the seven mortal sins, and it is a forbidden word to use if you want to live a happy and prosperous life.

The outcome of this story is just as I have told you, but there is another dimension. She did not listen to her subconscious mind which, over the years, has been programmed with all the experiences you've had through your senses. She simply let the logical, conscious brain take over the decision and ignored the subconscious - with that disappointing result!

Can it be that there are many other situations in life where the same thing happens? Well - do you know what? There are thousands and thousands of opportunities you've already missed, just because you let your conscious mind take control over your subconscious!

Another critical important matter about personal development:

If you really want to get somewhere with your Personal Development, you need to be very curious and not just accept things as they appear to be! No-one will reach a higher level than anyone else if they remain the same as everyone else. You need to do more and you need to investigate for yourself the things you see and hear.

One of the most naive things to do, is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different outcome.

I can promise you this will never ever happen!
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How To Develop Personal Development Skills.

You want to be a better you. You want to be better in your field of career. You want to be a better individual. You want to be a better citizen of your nation. You just want to learn more and break away from your normal self. Furthermore, striving to be better and developing your skills can help you figure out if who you really are which can then lead you to the peak of success. Hence, it is just safe to say that aiming to be a better person can do you no harm.

Improving your personality skills or your whole self, per se, entails a step-by-step process, which you should be aware of. Here is the process on how to improve and develop personal development skills:

o    Set Your Goals- This is the very first thing to do when trying to improve yourself. You have to determine what you want in life and what you want to attain in the long run. This is essential in order for you to find out if what you need do to be a better person.

o    Make Your Development Plan- Once you have determined your goals in life, the next step is for you to make your own personal development plan. The plan will serve as your guide in achieving your goals.

o    Put Your Plan Into Action- Putting your personal development plan into action is the most difficult step in improving yourself. Nevertheless, you can make it somehow easier and simpler by just starting with small steps one at a time. After all, it is better to start with small steps slowly but surely rather than start with bigger insignificant steps forward.

o    Be Responsible- You have to be responsible in everything and anything that you do. Accept all your shortcomings wholeheartedly and promise yourself to make everything correctly the next time around. Moreover, you also have to be open-minded when it comes to the results of your pursuit in becoming a better and successful person. In doing so, you can easily accept any possible failures and simply move forward.

o    Make Sure You Improve Yourself Daily- Personal development skills are already within you. You just need to improve those skills in order to be a better person, attain happiness, and be successful at the end of the day. In fact, it is preferable for you to improve your personal development skills daily to have fruitful results. 

Indeed, improving yourself is not an instant process but rather a gradual one. Hence, you really have to be aware of how you can slowly improve, as well as develop personal development skills in order to be a better individual and be successful in time.
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Setting Personal Development Goals.

How often do you think about setting personal development goals? In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it's easy to lose track of the goals we have for our personal, professional, and family lives. We "wear many hats" and often find ourselves just getting by, feeling adrift in the world, and ignoring what we really want to achieve.

Taking the time to reflect on your life-where you want to be five years from now, next year, next month, next week, and even today-is important to get a clear understanding of who you are, your values, what's important to you, and what it will take to truly make you happy and fulfilled.

Once you take stock of where you've been, where you are now, and where you want to be, you are ready to take the first step towards setting personal development goals! Make yourself accountable and ensure that you're constantly moving forward by creating a timeline and, most importantly, writing it down. Start with the big milestones to mark your progress, and then add smaller goals along the way. Achieving these intermediary goals should be a cause for personal celebration. You've taken another step toward realizing your ultimate goal. Celebrate every success to reinforce self-confidence, motivation, and determination.

Of course, setting personal development goals requires being realistic about your objectives as well, including an understanding of your limitations, aspirations, and ability. As you take each small step to achieve each intermediary goal, you will undoubtedly gain a newfound confidence that propels you forward to tackle the next step of setting personal development goals.

You must also make a commitment to the future, knowing that setting personal development goals and then achieving those goals does not occur randomly. It's a result of hard work and focusing on taking those crucial small steps every day, every week, every month, and every year-as long as it takes.

Think of each step of setting personal development goals as building a house. First you need a strong foundation, which is the cementing of your goals. Then you rise up as the frame is built and the house begins to take shape, which is symbolic of every small achievement along the way. Finishing the roof completes the house and gives you a reason to celebrate all of your hard work.

By now you've probably noticed a pattern: make your goals crystal clear, write down a timeline that includes every small and significant task, and consider how you will reward yourself for achieving every intermediary victory. You deserve patting yourself on the back for all of them, so imagine the elation and fulfillment when you achieve that big goal you once thought was out of reach.

Once you succeed at accomplishing what seemed like an unattainable goal, what's next?... You start again! You know the steps you need to take and you have the motivation and confidence. You also have the blueprint of a house only you can build.

"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may bet better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge now exists to make things better."

 The Importance Of High Self Esteem.

Improving your self esteem is an important aspect of personal development, since, if your own value of yourself is low, then you are going to project that self effacement to others. That will do little for your personal advancement and you are likely to spend your life in the background.
A fundamental fact of personal development is that everybody is born with the same self esteem. How it develops after that is up to us, our teaching and our environment. Some develop a strong feeling of self-worth while others become self effacing and shrinking violets.
However, even if you have a bad opinion of yourself, you can still improve your belief in your abilities by focusing on personal development and your self esteem. There are many factors that can affect this aspect of your personality, such as never being praised at home, physical and sexual abuse, bullying etc. If you do nothing and just disappear into the background, you will never attain your full potential.
Here are some simple initial steps to personal development and the beginning of your future.
1. Note Your Positives;
Write down all the things you are good at. Note any achievements, no matter how small, and any aspects of your character that you feel proud of, such as honesty, compassion, fidelity or loyalty. Any one of these could put you above several famous politicians in integrity! Be aware of your abilities and skills, take a positive attitude to your attributes and you are on the road towards developing a high level of self esteem.
2. Believe In What You Are Doing;
If you believe that what you are doing each minute of your life is the right thing, then your self-belief should not be in question. Personal development is about developing yourself, improving your worth to yourself and hence being positive in all you do because you know it is right. Ignore others that laugh because you help those less fortunate than yourself. Pity those that smirk when you show compassion to others.
3. Take Responsibility For Yourself;
On a less philosophical note, stop blaming others for your actions: only you are responsible for what you do. Don't always seek approval from others - it doesn't matter what they think, it's what you think that matters, and if you do something of which you are later ashamed simply to receive approbation, don't blame those that stimulated you but blame yourself. Learn to say NO and your self esteem will improve.
4. Learn From Others;
Try to mix with those with a positive outlook and feel good about themselves. Others can help with your personal development without knowing they are doing so. It's amazing how infectious self belief and high self esteem can be!
5. Work Hard And Know Yourself;
Work hard and do the best you can do in your job, studies or in trying to attain a specific objective. Failure will not result in self debasement because you know you have done your best. Sure, you will likely feel bad at failing, but everybody does. Know your weaknesses and your strengths and use the latter to work on the former. Personal development involves understanding your personal capabilities but also those aspects of life at which you are less capable. Not everybody can be a college professor, but everyone can have a high degree of self esteem and feel good about themselves if they accept themselves for what they are.
Self esteem has little to do with what other people think about you. It is what you think about yourself, and an important part of your personal development is developing a high self esteem by knowing who you are and having a good opinion of yourself. If you think you need some improvement, then take the steps needed to achieve that. Then, you can look in a mirror and feel content!

How About A Pep Talk From The Brilliant Tony Robbins!

Building Your Assertiveness Skills And Putting Them Into Practice.

1. Cultivate Contentment With Life- The more you ask for what you desire, the more likely you are to get it. When you regularly obtain what you want, you’ll find more satisfaction in your life.

2. Have Freedom To Ask For What You Want- In being assertive, you can feel free to share your emotions with others in appropriate ways, without hurting their feelings.

3. Enjoy More Stable Relationships- One of the wonderful side effects of demonstrating effective assertiveness skills is that you’ll experience more stable relationships with less conflict.

* Although you most likely understand what being assertive involves, you may be thinking that sometimes responding passively is best. After all, you’re an easy-going person and you don’t expect to be satisfied all the time. But when you act passively, you run the risk of holding in your feelings and becoming dissatisfied because of it.

* Keeping emotions inside can take a toll on relationships. Trying to dismiss your emotions instead of discussing them, can result in speaking inappropriately later, when you finally let out your frustrations. This type of response can be damaging to any relationship.

* You have a right to be open and honest about how you feel in your interactions with others. And if you express yourself assertively, chances are good the other person will not be hurt or offended. Most likely, they’ll listen and respond to your needs, which can only improve your emotional connection.

4. Others See You As Honest- When you habitually communicate assertively, people know you aren’t going to pull any punches. They believe you’re going to honestly say how you feel and they don’t have to worry about what’s going on with you.

5. Manifest Greater Self-Confidence- Interestingly, the more you express your own wants and needs, the more your confidence will grow. Those who assert themselves regularly in the course of their daily lives tend to believe they’ll be successful in whatever they do.

* When you state what it is you’re after, people are often willing to accommodate you. How’s that for a confidence-builder?

6. Attune Yourself With Your Self-Worth- Can you imagine doing anything that will make you feel more worthy than simply and honestly asserting yourself? After all, nothing else says, “I know that I’m a worthwhile person” better than being forthcoming about what’s on your mind.

7. Set The Example- As you freely and appropriately express yourself, those around you see the enriched life you lead and are encouraged to go after those same rewards. They’ll emulate the confidence you demonstrate with your assertiveness skills.

Happiness Is Just A Matter Of Mind.

Though one could be infinitely happy by just enjoying the nature and family and all the human-made things, there are still millions of people who are unhappy. The developed countries, are in the fortunate position of having both God-given and man-made things. However, the majority of people are still unhappy! In the developing countries, where for millions there is a real scarcity of even basic needs, people seem to be happy. Believe it or not, there are some people who are engaged in difficult tasks such as warfare, and are still happy! 

It is our mind that must have right attitude towards being happy!

One quote says;

'The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell or a Hell of Heaven.'

One can give various examples of how mind can influence our body::

* Pavlov's dog starts salivating at the sound of the bell without any food in sight.
* If we are tense we often get headache, backache, and spondylitis, etc.
* Heart attacks are directly linked to worry and tension.
* Right mental attitude helps in curing many bodily maladies.
* By self-talk, motivation, and positive attitude we can become happy and successful.
* Through hypnosis one can have command over another person's mind and body.
* Through meditation one can have a healthy body and extra sensory abilities.

The mind has extraordinary powers and as far as happiness is concerned, it has the ultimate power. We should, therefore, have a positive attitude towards life. Instead of concentrating on the negative aspects of life and people, we should concentrate on the positives in them. We should not keep on thinking about past failures and bad experiences but be encouraged by our past success and good experiences. Similarly, we should not be unduly anxious about future, as our anxiety is not going to have a positive effect. We should plan and work hard for the future.

In whatever circumstances you find yourself, you can never have a total lack of God-given and man-made happiness. Even if everything is taken, one's family and friends are there. One's precious body is there. Even if you chain somebody securely in a dungeon, one's mind is free. One is free to be happy in one's mind! Mind is difficult to be mastered by oneself, but it is impossible to be vanquished by anybody, any authority, or whatever conditions or situations.

Abraham Lincoln beautifully expressed it: "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be!"

7 Helpful Habits.

A Positive Mental Attitude is essential to successfully overcome the challenges you will encounter in your day to day life. Just as you would nurture your body with a good diet and exercise, you need to develop your positive mental attitude with regular mental exercises. Read about the 7 habits that will help you...

1. Always Use Positive Self Talk- You are constantly talking to yourself in your mind. It has been estimated that up to 1500 words a minute flow through your mind. Your thoughts are either positive in nature - "I can do this..." or they are negative in nature "It's too hard for me..." Negative self talk will lead to self doubt, poor self esteem and a negative mental attitude. Positive self talk will lead to confidence, high self esteem and positive mental attitudes.

2. Control The Pictures In Your Mind- You use mental pictures to represent places, events, dreams and visions. You may not be aware of all the pictures that you make. One thing is certain, the outer world you will see is a reflection of the inner pictures that you create in your mind today. If you predominantly create negative pictures, your future will be the same as or worse than your present. If you focus on positive pictures, your future will be better than your present.

3. Feed Your Mind A Healthy Diet- You are bombarded on a daily basis with negativity. People with negative attitudes, media that focus on bad news are everywhere. You need to take positive steps to give your mind a daily diet of positive information - motivational tapes, books and videos, intelligent reporting in quality newspapers.

4. Associate With Positive People- Your level of success has been proven to be strongly correlated with the people you associate with. If you mix with people with a negative attitude and low levels of success in life, that's where you'll end up. If you mix with successful people with positive, supportive mental attitudes, you'll join them!

5. Positive Training And Development- You should strengthen your mind with personal growth and development programs - aim for at least four programs a year. If you don't grow as a person, you'll stay just where you are. The key to a better future is to start from the inside and grow yourself as a person.

6. Develop A Healthy Lifestyle- The old saying "a healthy body makes a healthy mind" is correct. You need to ensure that you have high levels of mental energy in order to deal with the world and maintain a positive mental attitude. A good diet and regular exercise will mean that your body is able to supply plenty of nourishment to your brain. A poor diet and no exercise will leave you feeling tired and unable to cope with the challenges of life.

7. Be Proactive- If you are proactive, you will always take the initiative, you will be in control of your life and your self esteem will rise. If you let yourself be reactive, life will control you, you'll become the victim of circumstances and you will have low self esteem.

To develop and maintain a positive mental attitude you need to develop, exercise and feed your mind. This article has outlined a seven point program for developing a positive mental attitude. If you build all the habits into your life, you will become a positive thinker who is headed for success.

You'll need to incorporate these habits into your life for at least 21 days, to give them time to take effect. If you do, you'll see a difference in your results!