Juggling with Life

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirit and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will realise Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four Balls - Family, Health, Friends and Spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it.”

Truth of Life

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: 'I am blind, please help.' There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked,

'Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?'

The man said, 'I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.'

What he had written was: 'Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.' Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so blessed that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

How Parents Can Help Their Kids Overcome SHYNESS

If your little one always seems to be standing apart from their classmates it may be a sign that they need your help. All parents want their kids to be happy and popular, so if your child finds it difficult to make friends, what can you do?

Parents worry that intervening might put pressure on their child, but that doing nothing will make the situation worse. Some children have more difficulty in social situations than others. While some lack confidence and feel too shy to approach their peers to start games, other children have difficulty with social skills and don’t know what to do in certain situations.

If your child doesn’t have many friends, it’s important to talk to them. It is equally important parents to talk to their child’s teacher to see if they have noticed any difficulties.

Although the problem is often simply shyness, classmates may think that your child is being unfriendly. Shy children are often mistakenly perceived by others as being aloof and stand-offish. Often children who are happiest are those with a good circle of friends. Friendships are important in terms of your child’s adjustment and emotional development.

How to help
First, make sure there actually is a problem. Some children are more comfortable having just one or two friends and it might be you who wants them to have lots of pals. Some children might prefer to sit on the sidelines and watch others. If they’re happy, try not to worry about it too much.

Check their hearing. Even a slight hearing problem can affect your child’s ability to interact. In addition, around one in 10 children has speech or language difficulties, which can also hold them back when making friends.

Ask your child what is worrying them. If they’re concerned that another child will laugh or be mean to them if they try to make friends, ask if that’s really going to happen. Help challenge their negative thoughts.

Many shy children are drawn to make friends with another shy child, which is fine, but also encourage them to make friends with a child who’s a little more confident and has some skills they can learn from. Encourage them to take the lead when you’re playing games with them at home, perhaps by explaining the rules to you. That will encourage them to take the lead with other children.

Invite a child in your son or daughter’s class to play. Try to find a child with similar interests as it will give them common ground and help them to play together. While your child plays with another child, provide a kind of commentary and talk about the good things they’re doing as a way of reinforcing good behaviour.

If the children are playing well together say, ‘I love the way you two help each other out,’. It will encourage the child to behave that way again.

Once your child is happy with playing with one other child, the next step is to invite a small group of children to play at your house, or for your child to play at someone else’s house. Praise your child if they are making progress, but don’t go over the top. A smile or a wink is often enough.

If your child has significant social problems that affect their everyday life, then you may consider professional help.

BANISH THEIR FEAR OF PARTIES
While most children adore birthday parties, if your little one doesn’t have any friends it can be a terrible ordeal. And with many primary school kids inviting the whole class to their birthday parties, there could be one almost every weekend.

But letting your child avoid them won’t help in the long-term as they’ll never realise that parties aren’t as scary as they thought. Talk to your child about what you can do to make parties easier for them. Perhaps you could stay at the party with them, or wait until they are paired off with another child. If they have one particular friend, call the child’s mother and suggest they go together.

ADVICE FOR LONELY TEENAGERS
Older kids might be surprisingly willing to co-operate if you bring the subject up with them. On one hand they can just refuse to do things but on the other they might be more motivated to overcome it because they realise they have to do something about it.

Ask your teenager what’s stopping them from making friends. Some might not be sure what to talk about with their peers, so brainstorm ideas with them, such as what they watch on TV.

Remind them of times when they did really well in social situations.

Encourage them to take up an activity that interests them – it will help them meet others with the same interests. Team sports such as football are good, as they don’t have to talk much, which can stop them feeling awkward. It’s also a good way to meet people with shared interests, and teams are good for bonding.

If your teenager isn’t sporty, there are plenty of other ways they can meet like-minded people in a group situation such as a chess or computer club.

Five Reasons Which Cause Anger

Unfairness - We believe that we have been treated unfairly. We tell ourselves that we deserve more, and we buy into this story that someone has wronged us.

Lost - We feel that we have lost something that we have identified ourselves with. Feelings, pride, money, car, job.

Blame - We blame other people or external situations for having caused our loss, for taking advantage of us unfairly. The blame often only resides in our heads and is a product of our imagination. We fail to see things from other people’s perspectives. We become deeply selfish.

Pain - We experience pain, mental distress, and anxiety. The pain causes physical responses in our body, which disturbs our natural energy flow and state of wellbeing.

Focus - We focus on the thing we don’t want, and energize it by complaining about it passionately, and repeating it to as many people who will listen. This creates a downward spiral of anger. “What we focus on expands”, this is true regardless of the emotion.

Dream Deep, for every dream precedes the goal!! (Determination)

Ever try to put the skids on an ant? Its virtually impossible.

They never stop.

Put one to the test some day. Pretend you are five years old again, and make a little hill in the ant's path. The ant will walk up and over the top without braking. It will go into a hole, over a log, through grass. If it can't go through, it will go around. An ant will never turn around and walk the other way, no matter what obstacles are in its path.

Try applying that kind of tenacity to your life. Of Course, you'll want to use your brain too. But in the determination department, be an ant. Refuse to be stopped. Keep going, and learn as you go.

People who patiently persist, finally see their dreams come true.

10 Powerful Meditation Techniques and TipsBy Michaiel Bovenes

Meditation is a powerful way to reduce stress, feel better and develop inner peace. You can become more conscious of your truer self. Meditations' true purpose is to shift your consciousness from the outer world to your inner world, where all change begins. Meditation offers you a way to create a pause in your daily activity to consciously connect with your inner power. Here are ten tips I teach new students.

1. Establish a quiet space to meditate. Find a comfortable room in which you are going to meditate regularly, especially in the beginning as you are learning to relax and quiet your mind.

2. Select a meditation chair. Do not lie down and try and meditate on your bed, unless you want to fall asleep. Your subconscious mind associates your bed with sleep. So find a couch or designate a special chair that you will meditate in.

3. Find a meditation time when you will least likely be disturbed. If the kids come home from school at 3:30, don't try and meditate at 4PM. Rather choose a time when you will be interruption free as much as possible. Please turn off the ringer on your phones. If you receive a call when you are meditating you can return it later.
4. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Repeat this 5-10 times. You can mentally repeat the words "relax" as you exhale.

5. Meditation is a mental function that has many physical forms. Meditation can take the form of long distance running, gazing into a fireplace (while there is a fire burning, of course), sunbathing at the beach, Tai-Chi and, even weight-lifting are some common examples of moving meditations. These forms allow your thoughts to slow down and your mind to become reflective. We all have the capacity to train our minds to have the same effect without running ten miles or driving to the beach. Moving meditations do have one draw back, the individual must still give attention to the physical world, thus reducing the clarity and guidance that would otherwise be there if they were to close their eyes and shift their full attention inward. So don't worry about being perfectly still.

6. Relax your Eyes. We project an enormous amount of energy through our eyes. When you desire to relax your body, start with your eyes. A great way to relax the tiny muscles in and around your eyes is to do this exercise. Keeping your eyes closed simply lift them up, then look down, then look to the right and then to the left, holding for 5-10 seconds in each position to stretch your eye muscles, then allow them to softly go back to center.

7. Relax your tongue. If your tongue is pressed against the roof of your mouth or behind your front teeth, then you are in the mind-frame for speaking which is not a meditative state. When you relax your tongue and allow it to go back into the center of your mouth, your mind will slow down your thinking process. Try it right now. Let close your eyes and relax your tongue and notice how your mind subtly shifts into a more relaxed state.

8. Visualization versus Imagination. If you can't visualize in your minds eye, don't worry. Imagination includes all of your five senses to communicate to your body. It might be easier for you to imagine the smell of the ocean and hear the sounds in your mind. Imagining the smell and sounds can be easier for some then visualizing. Your imagination is very powerful, so learn to use it.

9. Scan your body for tension. Mentally take an inventory of your physical body and where you tend to hold onto stress. If it is in your shoulders, it is ok to tighten them, holding for a moment and then relax them. This is called progressive relaxation and can help break the bond of tension in your body. Scan your body and those tight areas flex and relax while you breath slowly repeating the word "relax" with your exhale.

10. A good way to relax those pesky thoughts. Don't be frustrated as you begin learning to meditate. It is natural to have many thoughts come to you when you're learning to meditate. An example... If you worry about a report due at work while meditating, don't fight it. Listen to your inner concerns and then release it. If you can't stop your mind from thinking (I have to finish that report by Tuesday morning), simply take in a deep breath and as you exhale imagine your blowing that thought out of your head. Perhaps see the words written on a chalk board and imagine you are blowing the message off the board with your exhale. Or imagine you are erasing it. This gives the subconscious mind a very clear message.

On a spiritual level... learning how to meditate offers a ritual to commune with your Soul to receive guidance, healing and wisdom from within.

On a mental level... meditation will bring you clarity and can reveal deeper understanding about the way you're living you life, and what thoughts and beliefs are holding you back.

On an emotional level... meditating offers a way to get in touch with your feelings and to resolve them constructively producing profound inner peace.

On a physical level... meditation is a stress reducer, as you practice it on a regular basis, you will renew your physical energy and stamina. The siesta times many countries honor is a great way to bring balance back into a busy life-style, even if it's only a 15 minute meditation on your lunch break at work.

Michaiel Patrick Bovenes is a personal empowerment teacher and speaker and author. Since 1994, he's published a popular series of guided visualization meditations, called, "Soul-utions". Michaiel currently resides in San Francisco, CA and teaches throughout the USA and Canada. Receive Free Meditation MP3 Download at his website at: RelaxationMeditations.com
Article Source: http://www.artipot.com

Teens Busy in Internet Surfing "Is Not a Waste of Time"(Personality Development)

Parents who always worried about the personality development and complain about their kids getting distracted and wasting time due to long hours spent on the internet can now take a breath of relief.

The most extensive US study undertaken to analyse the impact of digital media on the life of American teenagers reveals that the internet can actually prove beneficial for the youth.

“It might surprise parents to learn that it is not a waste of time for their teens to hang out online,” said Mizuko Ito, University of California, Irvine researcher and the report’s lead author

The $50 million study, funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, says that online activities like social networking, instant messaging etc. help the teens in developing social as well as technical skills that are in a way essential for the overall personality development.

As part of the study, Ito and his team of researchers conducted personal as well as group interviews of 800 teens and their parents over a period of three years. In addition to this, the researchers invested about 5000 hours tracking the most popular websites among teens like Facebook, MySpace, Youtube and a few others, wherein the researchers carefully observed all the teen activities on these sites. With a view to support their findings, researchers also conducted diary studies to figure out the ways and extent to which the American youth is involved with digital media.

“This study creates a baseline for our understanding of how young people are participating with digital media and what that means for their learning,” said Connie Yowell, Ph.D., Director of Education at the MacArthur Foundation

During their study, the researchers found two basic purposes for the teens to access various forms of digital media. The teens either had friendship-based purpose for 'hanging out' and staying connected with friends 24*7, or interest-based purpose for seeking relevant online information and communities which are relatively difficult to find elsewhere.

According to the report presented at the American Anthropological Association’s annual meeting held today, adults tend to be skeptical about the plausibility of internet usage by the youth only for fair and healthy purposes. The adults often seem to be negatively curious about what exactly the youth is doing online, therefore finding the digital media risky and unproductive for youth. Contrary to this, the study also suggested that today's youth is avid for acquiring knowledge and gaining expertise in diverse fields, and for this the teens remain awfully busy in navigating complex technical and social world by their online participation.

Hence, the conflicting adult and youth psychologies lead to a generation gap in how they view the value of online activity.

“This study creates a baseline for our understanding of how young people are participating with digital media and what that means for their learning,” said Connie Yowell, Ph.D., Director of Education at the MacArthur Foundation. “It concludes that learning today is becoming increasingly peer-based and networked, and this is important to consider as we begin to re-imagine education in the 21st century."

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ATTITUDE story! Interesting!

An old man lived alone in Minnesota . He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison.

The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation: Dear Son, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden because your mother always loved planting time. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren't in prison. Love, Dad

Shortly, the old man received this telegram: 'For Heaven's sake, Dad, don't dig up the garden!! That's where I buried the GUNS!!'

At 4 a.m. the next morning, a dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden without finding any guns.

Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what had happened, and asked him what to do next.

His son's reply was: 'Go ahead and plant your potatoes, Dad. It's the best I could do for you, from here.'

MORAL: " NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN THE WORLD, IF YOU HAVE DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING DEEP FROM YOUR HEART, YOU CAN DO IT. IT IS THE THOUGHT THAT MATTERS, NOT WHERE YOU ARE OR WHERE THE PERSON IS. "

7 Tips to great Career!

Here goes your 7 Tips to great career

- If you are solution-focused you'll be more creative.
- Reflect on and record the times you've been creative.
- Use practical things to prompt your thoughts, like shapes and colours
- Develop different techniques for doing the same job.
- Find practical ways to create your ideas and spend time making them work
- Creative ideas should be fresh, fun, feasible.
- Dare to think the unthinkable!

Personal development - Unlock your Creativity

It's not just being artistic - a creative person finds solutions by emulating the approach of young children

When do you have your best ideas? Most of us do when we're away from distractions - walking the dog, taking a shower, or gazing from a train window. Turning a 'good idea' into a reality is the sign of a creative individual, and easier to achieve when we let external demands and distractions give way to inner creative ability.

Children become creative when they're given the space and opportunity to explore, experiment, imagine and construct. If they are given the right props and environment to encourage this, they create all kinds of ideas, stories, games and problem-solving approaches.

As adults we should re-kindle a childlike capacity to be creative and develop knowledge of how to turn ideas into different and stimulating ways of working and providing. This in turn can provide children with a good role model.

Confidence: Its all in the mind

When referring to the current economic challenges, Niall Ferguson, the journalist and prolific author who specializes in financial and economic history tells us that “Fifty percent of the problem is confidence.” When I heard him say that on the BBC, I decided to further investigate by interviewing a couple of City Fund Managers and analysts. Each of the individuals I spoke to concurred with Mr. Ferguson’s take. In fact, some of them believe that it's much higher than 50%!

So, I thought to myself, if what Ferguson and other economic experts are saying about confidence is accurate, we can fix that… can’t we? A healthy self-confidence is pivotal when making any important decision. It enables us to be passionate, resolute and focused. So what happens when our confidence becomes weakened, or eroded? Or more importantly, what do we need to do when we’re able to recognise those debilitating feelings?

A lack of self-confidence is often brought on by unhelpful thoughts, thoughts that often are not verifiable. Contemporary psychologists call that kind of thinking, catastrophizing. So, if we can better manage our emotions, can we better manage ourselves in business? The answer is an unequivocal yes, of course we can. Daniel Goleman’s books on EQ (Emotional Intelligence) are perfect foils for those of you who are feeling a little less steady on your feet. Having used EQ in my personal life and my coaching practice since its inception about 20 years ago, I can attest to the positive effect it has on people. It teaches us how to manage our emotions, in effect, to transcend them. EQ is one of the most helpful ways we can prevent ourselves being at the mercy of those negative feelings.

As Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of business magazine Forbes and former U.S Presidential candidate said in a recent BBC interview - “Emotion is your enemy.”

Only You Can Overcome Your Frustration!

The only way to deal with Frustration is to have more fun.

Frustration is nothing but certain unpleasant feelings which are created by your own mind. These could be due to unfullfilled desires, unaccomplished tasks etc.

It is impossible to enjoy yourself and be frustrated at the same time. So go out in the weekend, play with your children or have a good time with your friends. On Monday, you will be much less frustrated at work.

If your frustration concerns your relationship: take time for enjoying yourself (without forgetting your partner). You will be happier and that will have a positive effect on your relationship. If you have responsible tasks that frustrate you: make sure that you have a good time in other situations. When you get a happy feeling, your responsible task will seem much easier.

The only way to deal with Frustration is to have more self-confidence.

People who are frustrated have the feeling that their situation is to difficult to deal with. So one solution to deal with this frustration is : build more self confidence. Two bits of advice for self confidence:

1. Say your affirmations. Sit and write down what you need to believe for self confidence. For example: I am self confident. I am able to deal with this situation. I love myself and I am good. Write your own affirmations and say them twice a day.

The only way to deal with Frustration is to have more love.

Possibly your children are frustrating you. You are angry with your children, but you also feel love and you want to help them even when they do terrible things that frustrate you. If its your spouse who is frustrating you, you can still remember your love for her or him and you want to do everything to help.

When people at work are frustrating you, instead of hating them, consider loving them more. Love will heal more than you can imagine. Both in your family, your relationship and at work: have more love. Maybe you are so frustrated that you cannot feel love anymore. Then take a few minutes and sit in a chair. Imagine a star of light. Send this star of light to the person or the situation that is frustrating you. After you do this a few times you will be able to feel love again. Send your love to the person or the situation. You can be sure that you will receive it back one way or another.

So if you have to deal with frustration, try one, two or all three of these suggestions and your life will become much easier.

Steps to Self-Confidence Building

God has made you unique

The very first step in building self-confidence is to accept yourself in an unconditional way. You are human, therefore you are not perfect, so don?t dwell on what you see as flaws. Everyone has qualities that someone else does not. This is what makes us want to go out and find partners who give us love, and make us feel wanted and complete. Those great feelings would not be possible if you were perfect.

Accept yourself how you are

It will help to rid you of constant stress and worry over things that you cannot control. Do what you want! How long it has been since you last did something that you really liked, something that you enjoyed doing as a child? How long has it been since you went out for ice cream with a friend? These simple things have the power to build your self-confidence and add fulfillment to your life. Life can be very quite simple. It is easy to get caught u in the rat race of today?s world, and lose yourself in the process. It is easy to forget your purpose, what you like and what you enjoy doing. It happens to people all of the time. It is your responsibility to yourself that you get back to those simple things in life.

Find people with whom you enjoy spending time and doing things

You?ve heard the saying, ?birds of a feather flock together?. It is important to find people with whom you enjoy spending time and doing things. You will find that life is a little bit easier when you are among the people who share your interests and your feelings. There is an understanding between you, as well as an open dialogue. Good conversation and friendship are healthy and important for our minds and souls.

Set achievable goals and go for them!

Take one step at a time. Those single steps will develop into a giant gait over time. Do not overwhelm yourself, but simply do the task at hand. But set achievable goals and go for them! Don?t focus on the big picture, concentrate on the small steps. This is the only way to accomplish anything, and to avoid procrastination and depression. Even the smallest achievement will give you a sense of accomplishment that will boost your self-confidence.

Attitude and Expectations

Your attitude is the only thing in life you can control.

You can't control other people, you can't always control situations, but you can control your attitude.

You don't always get what you want, either, but you'll usually get what you expect.

So approach everything in life with an attitude of expectation!

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