Ever wondered how to slow the mental aging process?
Photo at left is of my mother December 2008 at age 97.
She passed away on March 19, 2009.
Photo at right is my friend Winnie on her 100th birthday, October 2010.
Why do we get old? Can we slow the mental aging process?
I don't mean in years, but the inner person, the all-encompassing thing that is the 'real me'. Is there really a way that we can slow the process of mental aging? Some people seem old at fifty, spending their time in front of the television watching soaps and sit-coms, filling themselves with chips and pop--or worse, smoking and drinking alcohol. They need to do something to slow the mental aging process or they will find their lives either cut off short or they will not have a quality life.
And then there are those, like my friend Winnie, who, on October 8 will celebrate her 101st birthday. The mental aging process has slowed in her life. Up until the beginning of 2009 she was still doing volunteer work in the General Store at a chronic care hospital--serving coffee and running the cash register! My mother, who lived with me for nearly five years, was able to look after herself almost until she died. Obviously the slow aging process was visible in her life, too. She ran her own home , alone , for 20 years before she broke her hip and moved here in 2004. Winnie has a friend who is about 105, and it was only a couple of years ago that she was still in her own home and entertaining her friends. As a result of a broken shoulder, she now lives in a retirement home. Yes, we can slow the aging process if we follow certain life-style principles.
Have you ever wondered what makes the difference? What, exactly, slows the mental aging process?
I realize our genetic make-up plays a major role in how many years we live. Disease can age the body long before its time. Excessive amounts of unhealthy stress can over-burden our systems and short-circuit our life-span as well. Unless we put in the effort to change those things in our lives that are contributing to early desease, aging and death, we will not be able to slow the mental aging process in our lives.
Healthy living contributes to longevity. (By the way, what do you call it when longevity isn't the outcome--shortevity?) To a large extent, the food we eat dictates the outcome of our lives. Eat at fast food restaurants several days a week and it will very likely lead to an early grave. As the old saying goes, we are what we eat. And exercise--that's important, too, as is adequate sleep. There are many good nutritional supplements available today that also help to slow the mental aging process. Reishi mushroom, an ingredient in Healthy Coffee, is one that will improve not only mental capacity but also will improve physical problems and help prevent age-related diseases and conditions. Music can also play a part in how our brain operates and can relax our body as well as mind. But there seems to be something more than that needed to slow the mental aging process.
I believe our state of mind plays a giant role in how fast we age and how many years we live. In other words, how we think is directly related to whether we slow the mental aging process or speed it up. The Bible says that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." (Proverbs 18:21 NASB) Proverbs 23:7 (NASB) says, "For as he thinks within himself, so he is." If you think and speak negative things, death will be the result. Maybe not immediately in the final sense of the word, but gradual death to the mind, the body and the spirit. It will probably cause a disintegration of relationships as well. But when you think and speak positively, you produce life. And I'm not talking about just speaking, by rote, a lot of motivational quotes. We have to believe what we say and think and we have to carry it into every part of our lives. It has to become a way of life. A positive mind-set.
People who feel they are not needed lose interest in life far more quickly than those who have others relying on them, be it family, an employer, friends, it doesn't really matter who or the reason why. As long as human beings feel useful, they find purpose in living. Take away that usefulness and you take away their reason for life. Those who keep their minds active are more apt to keep their bodies active, thus slowing the mental aging process exponentially.
Winnie began volunteering at Parkwood Hospital in 1975, the month after she officially retired from a job she held for nearly 50 years. She visited the residents, took them shopping, accompanied them to the Western Fair every fall. She helped at the strawberry socials, the monthly birthday parties. When she could no longer do these things, she spent every Monday afternoon working in the General Store at the hospital. She was their oldest volunteer. She has always been involved in church. She loves the Lord and has followed Him for more than 7 decades. Now, if she can't find someone to take her out every day she's not a happy camper. Though she has slowed down physically and is now somewhat unsteady on her feet, she still keeps going--and still refuses to take her cane or walker when she goes out! Though her eyesight has dimmed, she still reads and watches some TV though her hearing has deteriorated.
We had quite a scare one day this past January. I took her shopping, as usual (we do this every other Wednesday), and while she was pushing the grocery cart to the car, it must have hit something on the uneven pavement and it tipped over, throwing her to the ground as a result. I was only a few steps away, going to open the car door for her. She smacked the side of her forehead hard on the pavement. But, after only 2 hours in the emergency department she was home. By Saturday she accepted an invitation out for dinner. You just can't keep this lady down! The mental aging process has slowed down to a greater degree than the aging of her body.
So, my advice to anyone who wishes to slow the mental aging process in order to have a long, productive and satisfying life is to feed your mind with positive, challenging things . Make sure you spend some quality time with family and friends--even, sometimes, with people you don't know well. Don't be afraid to try something new even if you think you are too old. At age 66, much of the technology of the age appears daunting to my technologically-challenged mind. But here I am, after setting up my Musings and Meditations web site with little outside help (except the Lord and the training webinars for this site). And I have been blogging away for almost two years now --just as if I had been doing it for years, first in e-Blogger, then with this network blog, then my own site. And just this week I set up another web site just for fun! Best of all, I feel invigorated by the process. I'm excited about what I'm doing, and challenged to continue. Things suddenly look different. My creativity is flowing free. I've learned my lesson. I'm slowing the mental aging process.
We're never too old to learn.
6 Steps you can take to slow the mental aging process:
- Keep feeding your body healthy nutrition.
- Exercise in whatever way suits your schedule and physical condition best.
- Get enough hours quality sleep each night and keep mentally active.
- Feed your mind with healthy, positive thoughts.
- Spend time with people who will stimulate your mind.
- Try something new: take a course, start a hobby, anything that will keep your interest.
I won't guarantee you will live to 100, but your years will be more productive and you will be much happier if you follow these simple steps to healthy living and to slow the mental aging process in your life.
Posted in Body by .
Does the title, Thoughts About Thoughts, seem a little strange? After all, we think thoughts, but do we ever have thoughts about our thoughts?
Have you ever thought about how much power our thoughts have? The Bible tells us that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21 NASB). "As he thinks within himself, so he is" (Proverbs 23:7).
But exactly what does that mean? First of all, what we speak originates in our thought life. Agreed? So, it follows that if our words can bring either death or life, then our thoughts can do the same. Just about everything starts with a thought: words, attitudes, actions, motives. My thoughts, though secret from everyone but me and the Lord, do manifest themselves outwardly. Have you ever looked at someone and thought, "Boy, he doesn't look like he's in a very good mood!" We don't know his exact thoughts, but we do know the tenor of them. And it is not life-giving.
I sometimes have a problem keeping my thoughts focused. I call this 'scattered thoughts' and I have to fight against it if I hope to accomplish what I am doing. I cannot keep track of numerous scattered or wandering thoughts, so some of them may just etch a new path in my mind and work themselves down into the subconscious part of my mind. And there they live, in a secret place where I sometimes cannot, or do not wish, to go, and if they are not good thoughts they will fester there until something erupts outwardly.
Have you ever had an outburst of anger, an attack of depression or heaviness, or perhaps just a nervous, anxious feeling stealing over you and you couldn't figure out where it came from? Those near you were startled, and it even surprised you. Perhaps everything is going fairly well, you are generally happy. Then this sharp mood intrudes into your life like a sharp arrow, an unreasonable reaction to some simple thing that should not have rattled you. The source could possibly be one of those thoughts that have disappeared into the subconscious mind. So, unless we take direct action to keep our thoughts guarded and never give negative thoughts the opportunity to stay long enough to take up residence and root themselves, we may find our mind filling with dark things. And remember, we become what we think. You recall the verse in Proverbs 23. We need to learn to instantly rebuke wrong thoughts, to renounce their presence and their residual effects and influence forever.
This may take concentrated prayer and reading of the Word of God. It may seem like a lot of effort, a lot like a battle. And that is exactly what it is - a battle in our minds, a battle to keep our thoughts pure. There is good reason for our brain to be in our head - the top - from where it rules the whole body. So the mind rules the whole soul part of us: will, mind, emotions, intellect, imagination. In other words, how we conduct our lives within and without. As born-again Christians, we must make every effort to rebuke any thought that has its root in worldly knowledge or wisdom, our own unsanctified imagination, thoughts that have been planted by others or that Satan has whispered into our spiritual ears - every thought that has the potential to produce an ungodly word, action, attitude or motive.
The tap roots of our thoughts go deep. We need to ask the Lord to help us break up the fallow ground (see Hosea 10:12) so He can pull out those roots intact. Thoughts do reproduce - they foster other thoughts. When I rebuke and renounce wrong thoughts I am, in essence, rebuking any offspring of those thoughts - those harsh words, negative attitudes, hurtful actions, wrong motives.
Thoughts are seeds that, once planted and allowed to grow, produce crops depending on what kind of seed it is - good or bad, pride or humility, kind, edifying 
words or bitter words of accusation and condemnation, love or hate, joy or depression, peace or turmoil and confusion, patience or anger and frustration, kindness or cruelty, goodness or evil, faithfulness or betrayal, gentleness or harshness, self-control or loss of control.
In me, in you - in the natural, fleshly sense - there dwells no good thing. Without Jesus we are and can do nothing. But if we don't deal with uncontrolled, wrong, negative thoughts before they take root, we become less than nothing because we enter the negative equation - death, spiritually. But as we take control and rely on the Lord to fill our minds with good things, we will find life is so much better. So much smoother. No, we will not be without problems, trials, sorrows, difficulties, but we will have the Spirit of God working in us to produce the good fruit that brings us nearer to God. "Finally, brethren [and sisters too!], whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things" (Philippians 4:8 NASB). We have a serious responsibility concerning what we think. But we also have Jesus to strengthen us in our weakness. The Apostle Paul wrote, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
So, take heart. Let's make sure that our thoughts are good thoughts, fed by the Word of God as we learn to live in His presence and obey His will.
Posted in Body by .
Apr 11
16
Climbing Out Of Depression
Climbing Out Of Depression
One man is scaling each continent's tallest mountain to heighten global awareness of depression.
Twenty years after the suicide death of his father, mountain climber Joe Lawson formed Expedition Hope to help raise awareness of depression and the risks of letting the illness go untreated.
Lawson's father battled depression his entire life, until he decided to put an end to his suffering when Joe was just 16 years old. After struggling to understand his father's suicide, Lawson developed an interest in mountain climbing and has since traveled the world in search of new adventures and personal challenges. One of these personal challenges includes Lawson's attempt to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents.
Up to 19 million Americans suffer from depressive disorders, including major depression.
Although it is one of the most frequently seen psychiatric disorders in the primary-care setting, it often goes undiagnosed or is under-treated. This may be because depressed patients often discuss their physical symptoms rather than emotional complaints. In fact, in one study about 70 percent of patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) presented with only physical complaints. Pain is present in approximately 45 to 75 percent of patients with MDD, and can include headache, back, shoulder and abdominal pain.
"My father's depression left him feeling isolated and estranged, making it hard for him to seek help and talk about his condition," said Lawson. "Had he had the proper treatment, his life might have been saved."
With the help of Eli Lilly and Company, Lawson began his journey in May 2004 by climbing Alaska's Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America. However, after injuring his knee while on the mountain, Lawson had to turn back. Instead of giving up, Lawson went on to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, in September 2005, and Mt. Kosciusko, the highest peak in Australia, in November 2005.
"Like mountain climbing, persons suffering from depression may face extreme challenges, but help, treatment, and relief from symptoms are attainable with appropriate assistance," said Lawson.
In 2007, Lawson fulfilled his goal to reach the summit of Mt. Elbrus, the highest peak in Russia, and has yet to succeed in reaching the summit of Mt. Vinson Massif, the highest peak in Antarctica.
Posted in Mind by .
It's time to break free from the helplessness of depression
Helplessness is a major part of depression, so let's look at how you can reduce the impact this flawed belief has.
Believing you are helpless in life is a truly terrible feeling and I write from personal experience here. Years ago, a number of traumatic events led me to the point where I believed life held nothing but pain and anguish. Depression. I truly believed life would never unfold in a way that would benefit me and that there wasn't a single thing I could do about it.
Perhaps you've felt this way too?
The underlying belief is the important factor here. It is a firm belief that life is something that happens to you and you have NO CONTROL over anything. In short, you are a powerless, passive recipient for whatever life decides to throw at you.
Depression is an awful state to be in. Furthermore, this belief simply isn't true.
Let me give an example. Say you and your partner split up. Now, this can be one very traumatic experience, and many have been through it. You react in a highly negative and emotionally arousing way:
"I'm devastated. He/she was my whole world and now my world has fallen apart. Everything I do in life always goes wrong and this is another disaster. I'll never be happy again." This mind-set, if not addressed properly, will lead to depression.
Wow. It's a powerful reaction isn't it? I'm sure you, like me, have either reacted this way to an event or you've heard someone react this way. It is a very damaging way to assign a meaning to an event you are confronted with.
The last two sentences reveal the belief in helplessness. The key words are: 'Everything always goes wrong' and 'I'll never be happy again'. When you react in such a way, you are telling yourself that you are helpless because nothing has ever gone right for you and you'll never be happy no matter what. You're saying you cannot control anything and therefore, you truly believe you're helpless. This leads down the road to depression.
How do you think you'll feel when you react like this? Exactly. You'll feel deeply unhappy, confused, frustrated and of course, helpless to change your life. Why would you feel anything else? Everything ALWAYS goes wrong and you'll NEVER be happy again so what's the point of doing anything to create change?
Do you see how helplessness works? But it simply isn't true. Of course, there are many things in life that are entirely beyond your control. Other people and Mother Nature to name but two. There are things in life you have some control over - where you live and work for example. It is important to keep these facts about control firmly in mind.
Here's the most important fact about helplessness: There is one thing you have full control over in your life and that is how you react and assign meanings to everything you are confronted with. In the example above, a better reaction would be:
"OK, my relationship hasn't worked but other things in my life are going well and I'll concentrate on them for a while as I come to terms with what's happened. Just because this relationship hasn't worked out, it doesn't mean future relationships will fail and once I've got over this, I'll get out there and find someone better. There is no reason why I should allow depression to control my life."
See the difference? You're keeping control by assigning a less emotional meaning, a meaning more in keeping with reality. You're acknowledging that you're hurting, but that this is temporary and when you're ready, you'll try again. You know you have other things in your life that you can concentrate on and this reaction will prevent a feeling of helplessness arising. Now you have chased away the demon of depression. Now you can lead a productive life.
See you soon.
Posted in Mind by .
L-Theanine, naturally occurring in green tea, proves effective in dealing with anxiety symptoms and providing anxiety relief
Anxiety is a state of intense fear, uncertainty, uneasiness, or apprehension due to anticipation of an imagined or real threatening future event. Anxiety can be both physically and psychologically devastating to the Anxiety sufferer's life. Anxiety is often sub-categorized according to the focus of the perceived threat. There is social anxiety, separation anxiety, dating anxiety, performance anxiety, math anxiety, etc. Stress and anxiety often go hand in hand and can result in anxiety depression as the individual feels powerless to receive any anxiety help.
There are a variety of anti-anxiety treatments to consider in overcoming anxiety. For some, anxiety medications prove to be a source of anxiety relief. Other's prefer not to use any of the anti-anxiety drugs and opt for more natural cures for anxiety management. These may include herbs for anxiety, acupuncture anxiety treatments, anxiety vitamins, aromatherapy for anxiety relief, even hypnosis has has proved beneficial overcoming anxiety.
This article discusses the perhaps little known amino acid L-Theanine as a natural remedy for anxiety relief.
L-Theanine is a unique free form amino acid found only in the tea plant and in the mushrooms Xerocomus badius and certain species of genus Camellia, C. japonica and C. sasanqua. Often drinkers of green tea report a feeling of calmness they feel after ingesting a cup or two even though green tea has roughly half the caffeine of coffee. This is due to the high L-Theanine content.
In addition to reducing anxiety symptoms, studies have shown L-Theanine may be effective in promoting concentration, supporting the immune system, improving learning performance, lowering blood pressure, increasing formation of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, and increasing brain dopamine levels among other positive benefits with no known downside.
Studies in cooperation with Taiyo Kagaku Co., The University of Shizuoka, and The Family Planning Institute of Japan have shown that women taking 200 mg L-Theanine daily have lower incidence of PMS symptoms. These symptoms include physical, mental, and social symptoms. Overall, a significant alleviation of PMS symptoms by L-Theanine was observed.
While still under investigation, L-Theanine appears to have a role in the formation of the inhibitory neurotransmitter Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GABA). GABA blocks release of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, playing a key role in the relaxation effect.
Everyone knows the effects stress and anxiety can have on an individual's physical state of well-being. Fascinating neurochemistry research has revealed that given a shot of GABA essentially turned back the clocks in the brains of older monkeys, whose brain function briefly operated at levels normally seen in monkeys less than half their age.
GABA, or gamma-amino butyric acid, is a neurotransmitter chemical that is essential for optimizing how brain cells transmit messages to each other and acts to put a damper on unwanted brain signaling activity. Although GABA's age-related decline has not been documented in humans, a host of studies in mammals, including other primates, suggests that a similar process is at work in people.
Monkeys ages 26 and 32 -- considered old age for monkeys -- that got GABA directly delivered to their neurons responded to visual patterns, such as flashing vertical and horizontal lines, in much the same way as monkeys aged 7 to 9 years old did.
Without GABA delivery, the monkeys' aged brains had more difficulty firing neurons that specifically gauge various aspects of depth perception, motion and color. Instead, older monkeys have more random firings that make it difficult to observe visual nuances. In younger monkeys, GABA had no effect since their brains already had optimal GABA functioning.
L-Theanine is considered to be safe based on its historical use as a component of tea and on favorable toxicology studies. Tea is the most consumed beverage worldwide after water, and has been consumed for thousands of years by billions of people. It is estimated that a heavy tea drinker (6-8 cups daily) will consume between 200 to 400 mg of L-Theanine daily.
While dosage for depression and anxiety disorder remain individual, it is recommended to take 100 to 200 mg 1 to 3 times daily for anxiety relief. Based on the results of clinical studies, it has been established that L-Theanine is effective in single dosages in the range of 50-200 mg. It is suggested that subjects with higher levels of anxiety take a dose at the higher end of the effective range (100 - 200 mg) for overcoming anxiety.
Mar 11
26
Anxiety – Naturally Of Course
What causes anxiety?
Well, we all knew that life wouldn't be a bed of roses, but why anxiety?.
We need to be able to nip anxiety in the bud (excuse the pun) before it causes the damage it is capable of, like interfering with and preventing a person from leading a normal life. There are many different theories behind the cause of anxiety, but because each of us differ in personality, background and circumstances, it makes it more difficult to pinpoint the specific reason behind its beginning.
If you find you are losing control of your thoughts and actions to an extent that no matter what you say or do it is beyond your ability to manage, it is then medical help is strongly advised. There is evidence that anxiety concerns develop from physical means like an over active thyroid gland which controls different body functions. Anxiety and drugs (prescription medication) are sometimes not a match made in heaven, so it is important to talk to your doctor before taking any over-the-counter tablets/pills that you are not familiar with.
Stressful events past or present are main factors also queried concerning a persons anxious moments. If depression/anxiety runs in the family then there is an increased risk or possibility that history may repeat itself.
We all have anxious moments but it is how we deal with these upsets which is the important thing. Anxiety can be brought on by the least little thing, but common factors, like losing a job, moving house, and parting of the ways from a partner, are just a few. To deal with these depressing events we have to learn to cope. By conquering the coping process you will notice your depression/anxiety symptoms easing.
Relaxation classes have a great effect on patients who suffer from emotional disturbances in their mind body and soul. Listening to water lapping on the shore or bubbling over rocks in a brook can also have a soothing effect on someone suffering from anxiety. Music is another calming influence if it is soft and gentle.
Watch the video for a combination of water sounds and music and see for yourself how peaceful it can be.
Anxiety does affect people in diverse ways. Many patients experience anxiety chiefly through emotional /psychological symptoms, while others suffer from physical effects. Either way both are powerful enough to destroy not only the anxiety-sufferer, but also their relationships.
Anyone at anytime can become affected by anxiety. Anxiety is diagnosed as a mental health disorder. Five per cent of the population at some stage in their lives have had an anxiety or depressive bout where it has left them feeling agitated and concerned for their health. Irregular pace of the heart, or the beat speeding up has given some people reason to believe that their experience of anxiety or a panic session is that of a heart attack.
Reclaim your mind, body and soul naturally if modern science is not your way of dealing with such health matters. Natural means have proven to be very successful in the healing process for anxiety, and courses of herbal remedies are readily available. You may also enjoy a deep muscle massage on a regular basis to help you relax. I have found this very beneficial. Actually it can almost put me to sleep, so I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking a way to relieve anxiety in their lives. Combine this with the water sounds and music and perhaps add some aromatherapy and you have an excellent chance of chasing away anxiety.
Posted in Mind by .
Today is the day to Improve Your Personal Life
You have no control over tomorrow or yesterday. Today you are going to get the most of your day while working to improve your personal life.
To do this you will need to set up time management plans. You want to include your daily activities, work, and entertainment, relax time, family time and so on. When you set time plans, you are growing to spend your time wisely. You learn to live for now, instead of tomorrow or yesterday, and go to work to improve your personal life.
As you write your plans, consider how you will deal with the world around you. If you are sweating their every move, you are wasting time. Instead, say, the world is their own, today is mine. If you have to work, then practice dealing with your fellow employees respectively. When you learn to respect, work in order, and try to get along, you go a long way towards improving everyone's personal life.
Each day you want to choose a couple of new strategies that help you to improve your personal life. For instance, if you are into a daily routine of drinking only one glass of water daily, move to drink two glasses. Build your health and you improve your personal life. If you do not exercise, plan today to walk thirty minutes. Plan to practice walking each day. The more effort you put into building a positive you, the more you will get from your works.
"Faith without works is dead"
the Bible tells us. It has proven true far too many times to ignore.
If you are attending school or working long hours, learn to manage your time as well. Overworking yourself is leading you nowhere but to poor health. You need to take time out just for you. During work hours and school time, you can learn to deal with the complex problems first, as well as deal with the boring items to eliminate stressing your day. Once you get past the tough, you will get moving toward the simple. Here you will find relief, even if you are studying hard or working long hours. Don't put off what you can do today. Do it now, get it over with and watch as you grow and improve your personal life.
As you plan, set a time that is best for you. For instance, if you are a student or worker and do your best job in the early morning, work hard then and relax throughout the day. The rest of the day will improve as well as your personal life.
Tips for relaxing:
Posted in Body by .
Values make us as a person and define how we invest our time, energy and money, so if you wish to improve your personal life, raise your standards, set higher values.
When our values are high, we can reach the limits of improving our personal life. Throughout our life, we decide what we want to do with our time. Time is essential, since time runs out quickly. For this reason, you want to invest time, and spend it wisely. Spending time wisely includes activities, entertainment, work, quality time and so on.
The average person spends most of their day working. At the end of the day they return home to spend time watching television, or engaging in activities with the family. Unfortunately, family is becoming a thing of the past in many households. If you want to improve your personal life, you are going to have to put family first. If you have a wife/husband and kids, you will need to learn how to invest time with the family. Unfortunately, you have five or six hours after a day of work to do this. You also want time for yourself. But if you hope to improve your personal life, you must pay attention to these details.
To achieve a time frame that works for everyone, consider seeking out new interests. The discovery of new ideas will help you open the doors to success. Your directions in life are based on new ideas. For instance, if you come home after work without spending time with the family, make sure you at least eat at the dinner table each night with your family. Do not allow room for excuses. As you feast together, take time to ask how each person's day went. This has proven to enhance relationships. When you enhance relationship, you are also building a new bridge to improving your personal life.
One of the biggest mistakes some people make is spending all their spare time with friends who have a negative influence. If you hang out with this kind of people, you are wasting time. Your values are low. You will need to build your values to improve your personal life by changing company. You want to hang around with positive influences. Let me draw you a picture.
If you hang around at bars with your friends, you are wasting your life. In time, you will face court costs, fines, and perhaps jail, especially if you visit the bars and drive home after drinking. You may end up injuring someone or even destroying your family life. In time, you will develop even more bad habits. Each bad habit you learn takes over your life, which only keeps you down. Habits control your life. Bad habits control all the bad stuff that happens to you. Good habits lead to a positive lifestyle and by practicing them you will improve your personal life, be much happier and have much more peace. Only if you are strong and have positive values that could influence others in a good way should you spend some of your time with those of negative influence. But not all of your spare time. You need to build yourself up, not allow others to pull you down.
Finding new positive influences is one key to success. Spend time with people who think positively and it will rub off on you, helping you to develop good habits. When you find friends that care about you, you will have friends that do not allow your to drink and drive, or do anything else that could ruin your relationships and/or life. You will have friends that care about your future, who want to see you improve your personal life.
To make new friends you have to learn communication skills. Don't be afraid to smile and say hi. There is nothing wrong with being friendly. One has to use good judgment however, since this world is filled with bad characters that have harmful intents. In addition, many people today fear friendliness. If you use discretion, you might just find you have made a wonderful new friend. Together you can work towards improving your personal lives.
When you learn to communicate however, you are creating building blocks that lead you to building a happier future. Failure to communicate is one of the leading causes of failed businesses, of faltering relationships, children killing, and so on. Communication comes in many forms. Sometimes when you sit and listen as well as pay attention to gestures or body languages you learn best. Observation is the ultimate key that helps you to gain successfully and learn to develop skills that lead you to improve your personal life.
You have many options in the world.
Take those options, use them to your advantage and you are on the road to improving your personal life.
Posted in Body by .
How to discover your intentions to improve your personal life:
Good intentions are the ultimate choice of improving your life. If you have bad intentions, it is a sign you are filled with greed, envy, hate and so on. You want all these negative influences out of your life. Intentions are powerful. Intentions tell others where our goals are heading. It is our purpose. Intentions are our motive that helps us to achieve our objectives. But intentions without action will not bring improvement to your personal life.
To learn your intentions you must put forth effort. Sometimes you will feel grouchy, and grit your teeth, yet as you continue to learn you will see a light at the end of the tunnel. So what if some of your intentions are bad. Welcome to reality, humanity and imperfection. Yet, you can change those bad intentions to good thoughts. The key to find your intentions is to consider discovering. Acquire the determination to reach for the stars, learn about you, decide what you want and move ahead. Take the action so that you can develop healthier thoughts, habits, behaviors etc that guide you to success. In short, improved personal life.
The system of entry:
It always helps a person to write down their intentions. When you pen your intentions on paper, it helps you to discover you. Many people do not like to write; however if you keep a journal you can look back later to see the growth stage in improving your personal life. It only takes a few minutes daily to jot down your feelings, thoughts, ideas and so on.
Accessing your interests and strengths within:
To access your interests, first you have to sit down and consider what you want. Once you decide what you want, you will need to write a plan, set goals and take action. Move to get what you want. To access your strengths, test your abilities and skills. What can you do best? How can you use your skills and abilities to improve your personal life?
Once you access your inner you, you can move to set your own standard of living. Do not live for others; rather learn to live for you. As you move ahead, explore your vocation paths. Do you see you in the future enjoying the job you love? Do you see you in the future working at the same company going nowhere? If you see yourself stuck, check your options to find a way to better your situation. You can start by identifying the jobs that peek your interest. Once you discover what you want to do, set up strategies to achieve your goals. Take action and move ahead to improve your life.
How to improve your personal life:
Discover you and what options you have available. Pull up resources. In fact, build resources. Resources are the key that unlocks the doors to success. Check your intentions. What is the ideal vocation for you? Pull up your assets and use them to your advantage. Do a job search to help you find a new career that makes you happy. Always follow through with your plans. Never give up! And demand results.
To achieve your goals discover your wants so you can improve your personal life.
Take action by recording your specific needs and wants. Review the inner pictures you develop and listen to the voices that tell you how you can improve your personal life. We have a cute little thingy ma-jigger that tells us when we do wrong. Learn to train your conscious to live healthier. We have another cutie inside us, which is called instincts. Learn to re-establish your instincts and listen. Listening is the key to help you improve your personal life. Learn how to recognize your bodies needs also.
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Do you have the competence to improve your personal life and overall human existence, or do you lack this quality?
To improve personal life you must have competence to take control. Our life is the personal way we as humans live. It is our way of making choices, which contributes to our person.
In life we have people willing to be coaches, counselors, etc. to help us achieve our goals in life. We also have helpful experts in the world who will take the time to help those who find it difficult to help self. You have many options and resources available to you to make those improvements in your personal life.
How to use competence to improve your personal life:
Competence is a quality we develop with experience. We must learn how to build competence to use it. A person with competence will take what they learn and use it to solve different situations in their life. They will make what they learn second to the first nature they intend to acquire. A competent person always sees the new light at the end of each tunnel and works, with a positive attitude, toward improving their personal life.
When a person has competence, he or she feels joyful. A joyful person will consider each experience in life as something they can learn from. Also, this person will not allow the bad circumstances to weigh him or her down. This person will take the bad, see new light and continue to learn from his mistakes, thus improving his personal life.
We hear bad news each day.If we take things beyond our control too much to heart, it will block our ability to improve our personal life.
The US is battling hard with other countries. This is out of our control. Therefore, we must see the new light. For instance, you can say, "I do not have control over the world, yet I have control over my own actions." Once you see that you can only change you, you will live happier and free of chaos and be free to improve your personal life.
You must learn how to suspend judgments of self and others. You are not the Man in control. Only one spiritual being has the right to call judgment down on anyone. Let this Man take the weight on His shoulders. You may need to pray often to cease judging self and others, since this is a common problem we face in the world. It is habitually seen in nearly everyone you meet. And if you are going to improve your personal life you must stop forming judgments that affect your relationships and your everyday life and happiness.
It is OK to have opinions, but when you do not have facts to support your claims, why speak? Too often people are suspicious, offer opinions, speculate, or jump to conclusions. This attitude has caused major problems in the world. If you do not have facts to support what you say, keep quiet. Allow someone else in the world to make the next mistake. It will not help you improve your personal life to spout off about things you know little about factually speaking.
If you want to live happier, you will need to build your energy. To build energy you will need to eat properly, exercise and take good care of you. You will need to associate with positive people and learn to help others as well as yourself. The more effort you put forth, the more you will get back from your efforts. The more you give away, the more you receive in return and, in so doing, will improve your personal life.
Next, you want to consider your health. Medical check-ups, exercise, eating right and avoiding harmful chemicals and substances are a start to bettering your health and improving your personal life.
Once you get your health in check, you can move on to build self-awareness. In fact, you should have a degree of this already, since you needed it to begin to improve your overall life. Self-awareness is the process of evaluating self. When you can sit back and look at you, you have self-awareness. What can I do to change bad habits? How do my bad habits help me?
Remember, laugh as you evaluate yourself to keep from going insane as you work toward the goal of improving your personal life.
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